The age of sexual consent

In 1899 the age of sexual consent in some American jurisdictions was 9 years. It has ranged from 7 to 21 years and at present the range is from 11 to 18 years. The age selected seems to be an arbitrary matter, the product of legislative compromise. The age of sexual consent should not be so early that little protection is provided for a child. Conversely, it should not be so late that a man can be held for statutory rape when the "victim" is fully capable of informed consent and readily acquiesced to a proposal or even invited a sexual relationship.     

年龄推断的研究现状

推断年龄目前主要依据人体骨骼、软组织、细胞和生物大分子,以及组织中各类物质的物理和化学特性等随年龄增长的时序性变化。由于生物体各组织器官生长发育的生理性变化及其影响因素极为复杂,不同推断年龄的方法均有其应用价值,但也都存在一定的局限性,在法医学实际检案中如果能综合运用,可提高年龄推断的准确性。本文回顾国内外年龄推断现状,并对各种推断方法进行讨论。     

The use of histomorphology to estimate age

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the major factors that can affect age-at-death predictions when using histomorphological methods. Although evidence suggests that some of the currently available methods are more reliable and accurate, and there are a number of factors other than chronological age that can affect bone remodeling, histomorphological methods, when properly applied, are valuable tools for anthropology and forensic medicine. It is suggested that both accuracy and reliability are maximized when the histomorphometrics of as many anatomical sampling sites as possible are sampled and the resultant ages are averaged.     

X线片的骨骼年龄判定

目前,对儿童青少年骨骼年龄评价以手腕部及膝部较好,方法也较多,但主观性强,随机误差大。随着计算机图像识别及智能化技术的应用,将使得骨骼年龄评价更为客观、准确。对于成年人X线片骨龄推断,以胸骨、耻骨及锁骨等方法具有一定的应用价值,尚需更广泛的方法学研究以增加推断年龄的方法及准确性。本文介绍了X线片的骨骼年龄判定方法的现状及研究进展。     

The third molar as an age marker in adolescents: new approach to age evaluation

Adolescence is a relatively short period between childhood and adulthood. It is very difficult to determine adulthood based on biological indicators. The third molar may be considered a potential age marker for the period between the ages of 16–21. Our study evaluated a set of 1700 panoramic radiographs of individuals aged between 5 and 21 years. Results confirmed the statistically significant difference in the course of third molars development. The mean deviation for individuals with one third molar agenesis is ?0.98 years, for individuals with two third molars agenesis ?1.89 years, and with three molars agenesis ?3.28 years. Thus, the extent of the deviation is directly proportional to the number of unformed third molars. The calculation of age according to the mean of stages of all third molars could lead to the underestimation of age. No intergender differences were found. Age determination using third molars could be used for forensic purposes.     

Individual rights vs. social utility: The search for the golden zigzag between conflicting fundamental values

Since Bentham and Kant, there has been an ongoing conflict between utilitarian and rights-based philosophies of government. However, most discussions of either perspective have been in the form of an advocacy that aggrandizes the positive values of one side and denigrates the negative values of the opposing side. There has been very little systematic analysis of the values protected by utility or the values protected by rights. Nor has there been a systematic analysis of the relationship between these values. This article maps the values underlying the two perspectives, analyzes their relationships, and argues that the utility/rights conflict is an essential and potentially productive conflict because both utility and rights protect fundamental, but limited, values that are necessary for the achievement of justice. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the values underlying both utility and rights.     

The difficult issue of age assessment on pedo-pornographic material

The issue of juvenile pornography has seen an increase in the past few years of the number of expert opinions requested to forensic pathologists, paediatricians and other various experts within the forensic and medical fields concerning the age of represented individuals. Regardless of the entity of the problem, no actual method exists which can allow us to give an objective and scientific answer, particularly in the postpubertal stage. Using parameters related to sexual maturation can be very dangerous. Nonetheless some experts still insist with similar types of “expertises”. This study aims at verifying the ability of different experts in assessing age of postpubertal individuals represented in pornographic material. Results underline the difficulties and major uncertainties of age evaluation by visual observation of photographic material particularly when the subjects have reached the sexual maturation stage – and therefore in verifying whether the individual is above or below 18 years of age (an important age limit for most European countries as far as this type of crime is concerned). Furthermore the study stresses the need both to search for an alternate approach and to apply extreme caution in judicial evaluation.     

运用牙齿影像学方法推断年龄的研究进展

本文对国内外文献在利用牙齿的影像学检查推断幼儿、青少年和成人年龄的方法、特点和优缺点进行了归纳和综述。     

青少年手腕骨骨龄与生活年龄的差异观察

目的比较以不同骨龄标准所评价的青少年手腕骨骨龄与生活年龄的差异,观察生长发育长期变化对青少年年龄推测的影响。方法从中国5座大中城市抽取11464名（男5873,女5591）3～18岁汉族正常青少年儿童,并另随机抽取950名（男516,女434）12～18岁骨发育正常的汉族青少年作为验证样本。按CHN法和RC法骨龄标准评价手腕部X线片骨龄,并对不同方法评价的骨龄及生活年龄进行统计学分析。结果各年龄组CHN法骨龄中位数大于RC骨龄,其差异具有显著性意义（P〈0．05）。验证样本中,在男12—16．5岁、女12～14．5岁之间,CHN骨龄减生活年龄之差值分别为0．35—1．00岁和0．57～1．16岁（P〈0．01）;RC骨龄减生活年龄的差值分别为-0．26—0．23岁和-0．27～0．06岁（P〉0．05）。在男17～18岁、女15～17岁之间,CHN骨龄减生活年龄的差值分别为-0．52～-1．05岁和-0．16～-1．13岁（P〈0．05）,RC骨龄减生活年龄的差值分别为-0．35～-0．48岁和-0．22～-0．79岁（P〈0．05）。结论CHN法骨龄高于生活年龄,在大部分年龄组RC骨龄与生活年龄基本一致。     

网络时代商法发展的机遇

网络时代的到来，给市场交易方式带来了深刻的变革，作为市场交易基本准则的商法受到了巨大的挑战，同时也面临着前所未有的发展机遇。     

不同年龄组颅脑损伤CT扫描分析

本文对520例不同年龄组的颅脑损伤CT片进行了观察分析，表明青少年损伤原因以高坠多见，损伤类型以颅骨凹陷骨折及硬膜外血肿多见，老年组损伤原因以头部击伤多见，损伤类型以颅骨骨折、硬膜下血肿、脑多发性挫裂伤及脑多发性血肿多见，成年组介于两者之间。     

Rule of law v. rule of man: The search for the golden zigzag between conflicting fundamental values

Although most theorists from Aristotle to K. Culp Davis have recognized the need for law and discretion in any government, there has been very little analysis of the values protected by rule of law or the values preserved by rule of man (discretion). Nor has there been a systematic analysis of the relationship between these values. This article suggests that the law/discretion conflict is an essential and potentially productive conflict because both law and discretion protect fundamental, but limited, values which are essential for achievement of justice. Therefore, it is of the essence to understand the values underlying both law and discretion.     

The significance of collagen in determining the age of a wound

The aim of the present study was to find out whether the quantitative and/or qualitative analysis of collagen can be useful in the determination of the age of healing skin wounds in various body regions of patients of different ages and sex. The quantitative measurement of total wound collagen revealed no clear time-dependent changes. Immunohistochemical staining for collagen types I and III demonstrated the presence of type III as early as 2 days after injury. Procollagen type I was found in wounds beginning from 4 days on, while type I collagen was not present before 6 days after the injury. Immunohistochemical analysis of specific basement membrane proteins, collagen type IV and laminin, showed a reconstruction of the epithelial basement membrane beginning from on day 5, while a completely rebuilt basement membrane was found in most cases after more than 14 days, depending on the dimension of the wound and its treatment.     

中国转型期社会警察权益保护

在中国社会从农业国家向工业国家转型的过程中,社会结构分化复杂,利益冲突和社会矛盾日益激化,社会治安形势异常严峻,警察站在解决冲突的"风头浪尖"上,时常被携裹进激烈的冲突中,执法权和人身权等权益受到了各方面的侵害。保护警察权益的核心在于塑造人民警察"恪守法律、秉公执法、超然于利益"的"中立形象",这就需要公安机关在处理热点案件时应遵循"及时、公开、透明"的原则,充分利用网络平台,掌握社会舆论中澄清案件事实的主动权,在与网民的平等互动中,有效维护警察的各项权益。     

端粒DNA在法医学年龄推断中的应用

法医学中年龄推断的常用方法是对齿龄和骨龄进行推断,但这二种方法都受地理环境、营养状况、生活习惯、民族等因素的影响,尤其对成年人而言准确性会下降。随着对端粒研究的不断深入,已证实端粒DNA长度可反映细胞的分裂程度,代表细胞的生长寿命并与供体年龄有负相关性,因此测定端粒DNA长度有望成为法医学推断年龄有价值的新方法。