Journal of Forensic Research

Wildlife crime investigation is one of the important facets of forensics science. DNA typing is one of the effective protocols for dealing such issues. The availability of conserved and universal primers has enormous scope in DNA wildlife forensics. These universal primers are designed based on the various conserved regions located on the genes of mitochondrial genome. This study explains the use of DNA typing and genetic profiling in dealing the wildlife crime cases.

Background: Theoretical models of persecutory delusions have emphasized the impact of negative emotion namely anxiety at the early stages of symptom formation. Also, studies on persecutory delusions have discovered that trait anger is associated to the presence of paranoid delusions.

Method: We did a quasi experimental study that induced social stress. Firstly we constituted three groups based on standardized cut off scores for measures of paranoia, social anxiety and depression: a paranoia group vs. a socially anxious group vs. a control group. We then measured the psychological characteristics of the three groups by self-report at time 1 (before the experiment). Participants were randomly assigned to the conditions of success vs. failure of personal performance in a computer game task. After the experience (time 2) participant’s positive vs. negative emotional reactions to performance and their levels of multidimensional paranoid ideation, anger and anxiety were measured by self-report.

Results: A MANCOVA revealed a statistically significant interaction between group x condition for the emotional reactions to performance but not for the paranoid ideation at time 2. Results further revealed that hostility acted as a vulnerability factor, presenting a main statistically significant effect on paranoid reactions (time 2) and interacted with the independent variables of group belonging and experimental condition for an increase on the frequency of paranoid ideation, whereas anxiety interacted with group and condition for an increase of the distress of paranoid ideation.

Conclusions: The importance of temperamental hostility and anxiety suggest clinical interventions that would help individuals to deal with their anger and anxiety preventing the development and maintenance of paranoid ideation.

Ridge width influences the number of ridges present in a specified area of a fingerprint epidermal ridge density and several researches have been carried out on this aspect of fingerprints. The present study has been carried out to examine ridge density differences in two Northern Indian populations (Khatri and Bania). In the present study it has been found that 92% of Khatri females have a mean ridge density above 13, whereas 76% of Khatri males have (a mean ridge density) below 13, while in Bania, 100% of females have mean ridge density above 14 and 80% of males below 14. The study suggests that there are significant differences in epidermal ridge density between males and females within each of the two populations and also significant differences between the two populations. This study will provide additional information for the fingerprint examiner in analyzing finger impressions and narrowing down an investigation involving a large number of samples.