Analysis of STR loci in Cartagena, a Caribbean city of Colombia

Allele frequencies, together with some parameters of forensic interest were estimated for nine STRs included in the AmpF/STR Profiler kit (CSF1PO, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, FGA, TH01, TPOX and vWA) in a sample of 215 unrelated individuals from Cartagena (Colombia). For all loci, no significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed. Comparative analysis results between our data and those from other Colombian and African population samples revealed significant differences, except with two Colombian Caribbean Coast sub-regions.     

Solid-phase microextraction for the determination of cocaine and cocaethylene in human hair by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A method for the simultaneous determination of cocaine (COC) and cocaethylene (CE) in human hair was developed, using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as analytical technique to identify and quantify the drugs. Selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode was used to obtain higher sensitivity. The deuterated-labeled analogues were used as internal standards. The detector response was linear for the drugs studied over the range 0.4-15 ng/mg, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.995. The coefficients of variation oscillated between 0.65% and 14.18% and the accuracy was in the range from 0.73% to 11.20%. The limits of quantitation and detection were found to be acceptable. Finally, this method was applied to 15 hair samples from cocaine users, obtaining positive results in all cases. The mean concentrations were 5.39 ng/mg (range: 0.43-8.98 ng/mg) for cocaine and 1.11 ng/mg (range: 0.42-2.23 ng/mg) for cocaethylene.     

New findings concerning the pathogenesis of acute carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning

The pathomechanism of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning was studied by means of cardiopathological and neuropathological investigations in experimental CO intoxication. It has been shown that besides CO-hemoglobin association, the binding of CO to cytochromes is a significant factor. The latter is thought to be responsible for the cytotoxic phenomena. Combined ultrastructural and cytochemical studies have enabled differentiation between toxic, hypoxic, and mixed alternations.     

Population genetic data for 18 STR loci in Costa Rica

Allele frequencies for 18 STR autosomal loci (D3S1358, VWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, TH01, TPOX, CSF1PO, Penta D, Penta E, D19S433, D2S1338 and SE33) were obtained from a sample of 191-500 unrelated individuals from Costa Rica, Central America.     

Searching for the origin of Romanies: Slovakian Romani, Jats of Haryana and Jat Sikhs Y-STR data in comparison with different Romani populations

Haplotype frequencies for 11 Y-STR markers (DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS437, DYS438 and DYS439) in a Romani population (n=63) from Slovakia, Jats of Haryana (n=84) and Jat Sikhs (n=80) from India were determined. The Slovakian Romani, the Haryana and Sikh populations were endogamous based on their unique haplotype ratio and haplotype diversity values, although the Sikh population appeared to be more diverse. AMOVA revealed non-significant differences between the Romanies and significant differences with non-Romani populations. The Macedonian Romani population differed from all Romani populations examined. Frequent haplotypes observed in Romani populations were sporadic in northwest Indian populations. Thirteen out of 316 populations worldwide were found to share the six most frequent haplotypes of the Slovakian Romanies when the screening conditions were narrowed based on the population size to be over 40, the occurrence of the haplotypes was more than one and the sum frequencies of the most frequent haplotypes was at least 0.02. The most common haplotypes were also observed in other Romani groups. When searching with two Indian (Malbar and Malaysian Indian) most frequent haplotypes under the same conditions matches could be detected in all Romani populations except for the Macedonian Romanies. The search with the Jat Sikhs and Jats of Haryana most frequent haplotypes resulted no matches in Romani populations.     

Public and private sector wages interactions in a general equilibrium model

It is common wisdom that public sector wages are not determined in the same way as private sector wages. At the same time, the empirical evidence available for OECD countries finds a strong positive correlation between public and private sector wages. In this paper, we develop a model that is consistent with a political economy view of the determination of public sector wages and employment, while being consistent with the said empirical evidence. Public finance constraints are crucial: In booms, governments expand employment and wages, while in downturns, lack of tax revenues forces the government to cut back the wage bill.     

Do ideological and political motives really matter in? the?public choice of local services management? Evidence from urban water services in Spain

This paper studies the influence of ideology and political motives on the choice of management for urban water services. Our contribution is two-fold. Firstly, we use a considerably more detailed set of variables to represent ideological and political motives than previous research. Secondly, the variables that explain local politicians’ decisions are observed at the time decision-making occurs, rather than at a later date. Beyond pragmatic reasons, we find that ideological and political motives also matter when explaining decisions regarding the management of water services. Furthermore, considering the time dimension of decision-making noticeably improves the explanatory power of our model.     

"Legal highs"-Toxicity in the clinical and medico-legal aspect as exemplified by suicide with bk-MBDB administration

The easily available "legal highs", which are products containing psychoactive substances, such as cathinones, piperazines and synthetic cannabinoids, are abused by adolescents in Poland and in the world as alternatives to classic drugs, such as amphetamines or marijuana. The majority of these potentially dangerous substances are still legal and they are associated with a risk of severe poisoning or even death, and provide new challenges in clinical and forensic toxicological practice. Investigations in the field of "designer drugs" may be well illustrated by the case of a suicide of a 21-year old male who ingested a specified dose of a preparation called "Amphi-bi-a" that contains bk-MBDB, chemically 2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl) butan-1-one, which belongs to the cathinone group, as a synthetic euphoric empathogen and psychoactive stimulant that is chemically similar to MDMA. It is one of more common components of "legal highs" examined in Poland and other countries. The documentation of the case includes a clinical assessment of the patient's health status performed during his almost 4-h hospitalization before death, autopsy and histological examinations supported by toxicological findings revealing bk-MBDB at extremely high concentrations (at 20mg/l in the blood and 33mg/kg in the liver); hence, this body of evidence contributes to knowledge in the field of "designer drugs". Inventions of designers of new psychoactive xenobiotics, which are much in demand, especially in view of the dynamic Internet marketing, which drums up narcobusiness, must be balanced by a national strategy developed by medical, legal and educational circles in the modern civilized world in order to prevent the spreading of the phenomenon.     

Postnatal ontogenesis of the tibia. Implications for age and sex estimation

The growth of five variables of the tibia (diaphyseal length, diaphyseal length plus distal epiphysis, condylo-malleolar length, sagittal diameter of the proximal epiphysis, maximum breadth of the distal epiphysis) were analysed using polynomial regression in order to evaluate their significance and capacity for age and sex determination during and after growth. Data were collected from 181 (90♂ and 91♀) individuals ranging from birth to 25 years of age and belonging to three documented collections from Western Europe. Results indicate that all five variables exhibit linear behaviour during growth, which can be expressed by a first-degree polynomial function. Sexual significant differences were observed from age 15 onward in the two epiphysis measurements and condylo-malleolar length, suggesting that these three variables could be useful for sex determination in individuals older than 15 years. Strong correlation coefficients were identified between the five tibial variables and age. These results indicate that any of the studied tibial measurements is likely to serve as a useful source for estimating sub-adult age in both archaeological and forensic samples.