The ending of Japan's ODA loan programme to China—All's well that ends well?

Official Development Assistance has been the most important instrument of Japan's foreign policy towards China since 1979 and has been useful in softening many difficulties in the bilateral relationship. Most of Japan's ODA to China consists of yen loans. Usually the Japanese government adheres to certain economic indicators set by the international banking institutions in order to phase out ODA programmes. However, in 2005 the Japanese government decided abruptly without applying the usual guidelines to end its loan aid to China by 2008, the year China will stage the Olympic Games. The article concludes that the decision was taken for political reasons, taking into consideration the criticism of certain Chinese policies, the deterioration of Japan's relations with China, the fast economic development of China with its implications for Japan's interests, and a general aid fatigue of public opinion against the backdrop of Japan's economic and budgetary problems. The process leading to this decision throws an additional light on all the complexities of the bilateral relationship, including the historical legacy.     

Prosthetic restorations, dental root fillings and periodontal bone resorptions as a forensic-odontologic aid for determining the age above 18 years: A radiographic study of orthopantomograms from a group of teenagers and yount adults

The human teeth are a valuable source of information concerning identification and age calculation in forensic sciences. Dental treatment often causes permanent alteration of the teeth, which is visible on radiographs. The correlation of prosthetic restorations, root canal fillings and periodontal bone loss with chronological age has not yet been used for determining the completed 18th year of life in teenagers and young adults, e. g. for legal and anthropological purposes. The aim of this study was to determine whether the evaluation of such findings on radiographs correlates with the chronological age in teenagers and young adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The dental X-rays (orthopantomogram, OPG) of 1053 outpatients (age: 14 to 24 years) were avaluated. The values "prosthetically restored", "filled dental root", or "periodontal bone loss" were recorded for each tooth present. The data were then evaluated using statistical tools. RESULTS: The correlation between the number of prosthetically restored teeth and the chronological age is high. The positive predictive value of determining an age of at least 18 years proved to be very high. However, these findings are rarely present in this age group. The number of endodontically treated teeth correlated less exactly with age. On the other hand, the determination of periodontal bone loss gave reasonable positive predictive values for the threshold value "chronological age of 18 years or more". DISCUSSION: This study provides for the first time predictive values for the estimation whether a person is 18 years of age, based on the evaluation of teeth with prosthetic restorations, root canal fillings or periodontal bone loss on OPGs only. Whereas the number of patients with such findings is generally low in this age group, some of the positive findings can be used for age estimation as an adjunct to other sources of age calculation. The sole application of these criteria is not recommended, as sanitary conditions of the teeth depend on both social and individual circumstances. Therefore, the calculated values also reflect the culture of the sample studied. Finally, they are time-dependent and have to be compared to data from other populations. These results have some bearing on the field of forensic odontology.     

Virtopsy: postmortem imaging of the human heart in situ using MSCT and MRI

The rapid further development of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) induced the idea to use these techniques for postmortem documentation of forensic findings. Until now, only a few institutes of forensic medicine have acquired experience in postmortem cross-sectional imaging. Protocols, image interpretation and visualization have to be adapted to the postmortem conditions. Especially, postmortem alterations, such as putrefaction and livores, different temperature of the corpse and the loss of the circulation are a challenge for the imaging process and interpretation. Advantages of postmortem imaging are the higher exposure and resolution available in CT when there is no concern for biologic effects of ionizing radiation, and the lack of cardiac motion artifacts during scanning. CT and MRI may become useful tools for postmortem documentation in forensic medicine. In Bern, 80 human corpses underwent postmortem imaging by CT and MRI prior to traditional autopsy until the month of August 2003. Here, we describe the imaging appearance of postmortem alterations--internal livores, putrefaction, postmortem clotting--and distinguish them from the forensic findings of the heart, such as calcification, endocarditis, myocardial infarction, myocardial scarring, injury and other morphological alterations.     

Medicolegal aspects of witnessed suicide due to gunshot to the head. II. Legal medicine aspects and examination of the firing hand

The second part of the paper on suicides by gunshots to the head in the presence of witnesses focuses on relevant morphological autopsy findings such as entrance site, signs of close range or contact shots, bullet path etc. and also discusses selected aspects of ascertaining gunshot residues. For the identification of the shooter an integral medicolegal assessment of all the facts including the investigation results and the autopsy findings is essential. However, the morphological findings alone do not allow safe diagnosis, as for example in a homicide the temporal region, which was affected in all our cases, may have been deliberately chosen by the perpetrator as a localization typical of suicide. Thus methods to ascertain gunshot residues on the firing hand (by means of adhesive films and the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method--PVAL) are of great practical importance. In seven cases adhesive films and/or the polyvinyl-alcohol collection method were used. In one case the gunshot residues (GSR) were analysed by means of tape lifts and subsequent scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that especially the combined application of topographical (adhesive tape/PVAL) and cumulative (SEM) methods allowed for the doubtless identification of the shooter, thus usually confirming the suicide. By the example of one case it is demonstrated that without the immediate collection of evidence at the scene objective reconstruction of the event becomes impossible. On the basis of the reported cases recommendations are finally given for a differentiated approach in the medicolegal evaluation of alleged witnessed suicide by gunshot (to the head).