The effectiveness of low copy number DNA in criminal investigation

When offenders commit crime there is the potential that they may leave behind trace amounts of their DNA, even when there has been no apparent body fluid spill. During the examination of crime scenes, scene investigators try to identify areas that may be sampled to locate these traces. Specialist techniques are then required within the laboratory to enable such small amounts to be analysed to obtain a profile. These techniques are referred to as Low Template DNA analysis (LTDNA), of which Low Copy Number DNA (LCN DNA) is one instance. In 2008, following the Omagh Bombing trial, and comments made by Judge Weir, the UK Forensic Regulator commissioned a review of the science of LTDNA analysis. The subsequent report made specific mention of the fact that there was no available information on the success rate of the use of such DNA techniques and that there seemed to be confusion over what constituted a success. The report went on to state that there was no information on where such trace amounts of DNA were likely to be found, or what factors could influence the likelihood of obtaining a trace DNA profile (Caddy, 2008). This research considered the outcomes of LCN DNA analysis from 3,552 samples to try to establish where trace amounts of DNA could be found, whether some areas sampled were more successful in generating profiles than others, and the likelihood of the profiles obtained being of use to a criminal investigation. Analysis of results identified areas that were more successful in generating profiles of use to an investigation and highlighted significant differences in results across a variety of items from which samples were taken. DNA samples taken from items associated with communication such as mobile phones were much more likely to produce a profile useful to a criminal investigation than those taken from fixed surfaces within premises. The results obtained showed that obtaining a DNA profile did not necessarily correlate with the profile being of use to a criminal investigation. This was due to the fact that a large number of these profiles were anticipated eliminations from legitimate sources. Items that produced high numbers of profiles but were anticipated eliminations, and therefore of no value to an investigation, came from items associated with skin samples and clothing. The research went further to identify key factors that affected the profiling rates. Factors that had a positive influence on the ability to obtain a profile included: any area that had been in close proximity to saliva (direct contact was not required); samples that had been recovered from the inside of premises or vehicles and therefore protected from the elements; those that were dry; items that were of a porous nature; and those that had a rough texture. No differences were found between the actual surface materials (plastic, glass, wood, metal), as all showed a propensity to generate profiles. Other factors that were considered but proved to have no effect on the profiling rates included seasonal differences and whether the area targeted for sampling was clearly defined. Items that had had high contact with a victim, were recovered from outside or had been wet, all proved to be less useful to an nvestigation. A further finding of the research was that swabs that had been recovered and stored frozen appeared to deteriorate in their ability to profile. This was particularly notable if they were submitted later than 5 months after recovery. Items stored in dry conditions did not deteriorate in this way. Overall the research can be used to provide investigators with the knowledge of what areas of crime scenes are most likely to yield trace DNA material, the key factors that can affect the likelihood of obtaining a profile, and those areas that are more likely to produce profiles useful to criminal investigations.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Eff ectiveness of an integrated intimate partner violence and HIV prevention intervention in Rakai, Uganda: analysis of an intervention in an existing cluster randomised cohort

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with HIV infection. We aimed to assess whether provision of a combination of IPV prevention and HIV services would reduce IPV and HIV incidence in individuals enrolled in the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), Rakai, Uganda. Methods We used pre-existing clusters of communities randomised as part of a previous family planning trial in this cohort. Four intervention group clusters from the previous trial were provided standard of care HIV services plus a community-level mobilisation intervention to change attitudes, social norms, and behaviours related to IPV, and a screening and brief intervention to promote safe HIV disclosure and risk reduction in women seeking HIV counselling and testing services (the Safe Homes and Respect for Everyone [SHARE] Project). Seven control group clusters (including two intervention groups from the original trial) received only standard of care HIV services. Investigators for the RCCS did a baseline survey between February, 2005, and June, 2006, and two follow-up surveys between August, 2006, and April, 2008, and June, 2008, and December, 2009. Our primary endpoints were selfreported experience and perpetration of past year IPV (emotional, physical, and sexual) and laboratory-based diagnosis of HIV incidence in the study population. We used Poisson multivariable regression to estimate adjusted prevalence risk ratios (aPRR) of IPV, and adjusted incidence rate ratios (aIRR) of HIV acquisition. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02050763. Findings Between Feb 15, 2005, and June 30, 2006, we enrolled 11 448 individuals aged 15–49 years. 5337 individuals (in four intervention clusters) were allocated into the SHARE plus HIV services group and 6111 individuals (in seven control clusters) were allocated into the HIV services only group. Compared with control groups, individuals in the SHARE intervention groups had fewer self-reports of past-year physical IPV (346 [16%] of 2127 responders in control groups vs 217 [12%] of 1812 responders in intervention groups; aPRR 0·79, 95% CI 0·67–0·92) and sexual IPV (261 [13%] of 2038 vs 167 [10%] of 1737; 0·80, 0·67–0·97). Incidence of emotional IPV did not diff er (409 [20%] of 2039 vs 311 [18%] of 1737; 0·91, 0·79–1·04). SHARE had no eff ect on male-reported IPV perpetration. At follow-up 2 (after about 35 months) the intervention was associated with a reduction in HIV incidence (1·15 cases per 100 personyears in control vs 0·87 cases per 100 person-years in intervention group; aIRR 0·67, 95% CI 0·46–0·97, p=0·0362). Interpretation SHARE could reduce some forms of IPV towards women and overall HIV incidence, possibly through a reduction in forced sex and increased disclosure of HIV results. Findings from this study should inform future work toward HIV prevention, treatment, and care, and SHARE’s ecological approach could be adopted, at least partly, as a standard of care for other HIV programmes in sub-Saharan Africa. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US National Institutes of Health, WHO, President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, Fogarty International Center

JAM-A regulates permeability and inflammation in the intestine in vivo

Recent evidence has linked intestinal permeability to mucosal inflammation, but molecular studies are lacking. Candidate regulatory molecules localized within the tight junction (TJ) include Junctional Adhesion Molecule (JAM-A), which has been implicated in the regulation of barrier function and leukocyte migration. Thus, we analyzed the intestinal mucosa of JAM-A–deficient (JAM-A−/−) mice for evidence of enhanced permeability and inflammation. Colonic mucosa from JAM-A−/− mice had normal epithelial architecture but increased polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration and large lymphoid aggregates not seen in wild-type controls. Barrier function experiments revealed increased mucosal permeability, as indicated by enhanced dextran flux, and decreased transepithelial electrical resistance in JAM-A−/− mice. The in vivo observations were epithelial specific, because monolayers of JAM-A−/− epithelial cells also demonstrated increased permeability. Analyses of other TJ components revealed increased expression of claudin-10 and -15 in the colonic mucosa of JAM-A−/− mice and in JAM-A small interfering RNA–treated epithelial cells. Given the observed increase in colonic inflammation and permeability, we assessed the susceptibility of JAM-A−/− mice to the induction of colitis with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS). Although DSS-treated JAM-A−/− animals had increased clinical disease compared with controls, colonic mucosa showed less injury and increased epithelial proliferation. These findings demonstrate a complex role of JAM-A in intestinal homeostasis by regulating epithelial permeability, inflammation, and proliferation

EMOTICOM: A Neuropsychological Test Battery to Evaluate Emotion, Motivation, Impulsivity, and Social Cognition.

In mental health practice, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are aimed at improving neuropsychological symptoms, including cognitive and emotional impairments. However, at present there is no established neuropsychological test battery that comprehensively covers multiple affective domains relevant in a range of disorders. Our objective was to generate a standardized test battery, comprised of existing, adapted and novel tasks, to assess four core domains of affective cognition (emotion processing, motivation, impulsivity and social cognition) in order to facilitate and enhance treatment development and evaluation in a broad range of neuropsychiatric disorders. The battery was administered to 200 participants aged 18-50 years (50% female), 42 of whom were retested in order to assess reliability. An exploratory factor analysis identified 11 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, which accounted for over 70% of the variance. Tasks showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability and were not strongly correlated with demographic factors such as age or IQ. The EMOTICOM test battery is therefore a promising tool for the assessment of affective cognitive function in a range of contexts.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Frontiers via http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2016.0002

The health of women and girls determines the health and well-being of our modern world: A White Paper From the International Council on Women's Health Issues

The International Council on Women's Health Issues (ICOWHI) is an international nonprofit association dedicated to the goal of promoting health, health care, and well-being of women and girls throughout the world through participation, empowerment, advocacy, education, and research. We are a multidisciplinary network of women's health providers, planners, and advocates from all over the globe. We constitute an international professional and lay network of those committed to improving women and girl's health and quality of life. This document provides a description of our organization mission, vision, and commitment to improving the health and well-being of women and girls globally

Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems from a unique combination of inaccessible habitat and the cryptic and resilient nature of pythons that thrive in the subtropical environment of southern Florida, rendering them extremely challenging to detect. Here we provide a comprehensive review and synthesis of the science relevant to managing invasive Burmese pythons. We describe existing control tools and review challenges to productive research, identifying key knowledge gaps that would improve future research and decision making for python control. (119 pp

Genome-wide association study of Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a developmental disorder that has one of the highest familial recurrence rates among neuropsychiatric diseases with complex inheritance. However, the identification of definitive TS susceptibility genes remains elusive. Here, we report the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) of TS in 1285 cases and 4964 ancestry-matched controls of European ancestry, including two European-derived population isolates, Ashkenazi Jews from North America and Israel, and French Canadians from Quebec, Canada. In a primary meta-analysis of GWAS data from these European ancestry samples, no markers achieved a genome-wide threshold of significance (p<5 × 10−8); the top signal was found in rs7868992 on chromosome 9q32 within COL27A1 (p=1.85 × 10−6). A secondary analysis including an additional 211 cases and 285 controls from two closely-related Latin-American population isolates from the Central Valley of Costa Rica and Antioquia, Colombia also identified rs7868992 as the top signal (p=3.6 × 10−7 for the combined sample of 1496 cases and 5249 controls following imputation with 1000 Genomes data). This study lays the groundwork for the eventual identification of common TS susceptibility variants in larger cohorts and helps to provide a more complete understanding of the full genetic architecture of this disorder

Effectively working with challenging clients who receive hunger service assistance: Case examples and eight recommended guidelines

Those who provide services for people who experience food insecurity come into contact with people who do not always present themselves courteously and favorably. Using case examples from the food bank industry, the authors of this paper will: (1) discuss why people sometimes behave discourteously when seeking assistance from human services professionals; (2) give case examples of how social workers could properly respond to these situations and, (3) give recommendations for effectively working with this client population

Individual and Contextual Determinants of Domestic Violence in North India

Objectives. We examined individual- and community-level influences on domestic violence in Uttar Pradesh, North India. Methods. Multilevel modeling was used to explore domestic violence outcomes among a sample of 4520 married men. Results. Recent physical and sexual domestic violence was associated with the individual-level variables of childlessness, economic pressure, and intergenerational transmission of violence. A community environment of violent crime was associated with elevated risks of both physical and sexual violence. Community-level norms concerning wife beating were significantly related only to physical violence. Conclusions. Important similarities as well as differences were evident in risk factors for physical and sexual domestic violence. Higher socioeconomic status was found to be protective against physical but not sexual violence. Our results provide additional support for the importance of contextual factors in shaping women’s risks of physical and sexual violence