Analysis of ionic ratios in myocardial tissue and their relation to cardiac damage

The authors evaluated the usefulness of the postmortem biochemical analysis of ionic ratios in different parts of the heart and their relation to cardiac damage caused by chest trauma, as observed by anatomopathologic study. Fifty-nine 59 cases were studied, selected from routine necropsies, and samples were taken from different sites of cardiac tissue. The cause of death was trauma in 40 cases and nontraumatic causes in 19 cases. The object of this study was to analyze the levels of Na+, K+, Ca+2, Mg+2, and Zn+2 in different zones of the heart, and the relationship between intracellular and extracellular ion ratios and the different causes of death and any anatomopathologic alterations observed. The biochemical tests revealed a possible relation between the ionic values and cause of death. Alterations in cell membrane permeability and corresponding modification of the ionic ratios were produced earlier than histologic alterations, which need longer to establish themselves whether or not they follow a traumatic process.     

Psychosocial Correlates of Intimacy Achievement Among Adolescent Fathers-to-Be

We investigated the relation between urban psychosocial stressors and intimacy achievement in a sample of 59 African American, Hispanic American, and White adolescent fathers-to-be. Participants received an intimacy score based on Orlofsky's Intimacy Status Rating Scale. Those with higher cumulative psychosocial stressors had lower levels of intimacy. One psychosocial risk factor, low interpersonal empathy, was significantly associated with intimacy levels. African Americans had lower levels of intimacy than Hispanic or White participants.     

Forensic ethnic identification of crania: the role of the maxillary sinus--a new approach

Forensic pathologists may be asked to identify the ethnic group and gender of a cranium of unknown origin. An analysis of the maxillary sinus--its volume, shape, and dimensions in dried crania of different ethnic and gender groups (European and Zulu male and female)--was conducted to establish a new approach. A variation in maxillary sinus volume may mean a variation in anatomic landmarks between the groups. Ethnic and gender variations in the shape of the maxillary sinus of the crania were investigated. This research was further extended to predict the gender and ethnic group from an unknown cranium to make this research valuable to the fields of forensic pathology and anthropology. Helical, multislice computed tomography was performed using 1-mm coronal slices. The area for each slice was obtained by tracing the outline of each slice. The computed tomographic machine calculated a volume by totalling the slices for each sinus. Advanced computer methodology including a neural network was designed and applied to search for classification patterns in data. A discriminant analysis was performed to improve classification results. Ethnic and gender variations were found in the different groups, and the predictive role of the maxillary sinus in ethnic classification was established. It was found that European crania had significantly larger antral volumes than Zulu crania, and males had larger volumes than females. Dimensions of European sinuses were larger than those of Zulu sinuses. The medial antral wall of the sinus allowed for ethnic classification. The discriminant analysis allowed for a very successful 90% ethnic prediction, while gender prediction was ultimately 79%. The measurements taken and the formulae created in this research will be valuable to those in the field who are seeking to ethnically classify a cranium into one or another ethic group. This research aims to be an aid in identification, as well as a starting point for other scientific studies based on other ethnic groups. Perhaps its true value will lie in confirming ethnicity by adding to existing criteria. It must be noted that this classification is based on actual measurements and therefore eliminates the some of the subjectivity present in current methods of ethnic classification.     

First Generation in Chilean Higher Education: Tension between Access and Inclusion in a Segmented University System

We analysed the Chilean university student selection processes, comparing ‘First Generation’ and ‘Continuist’ students, using the Chilean Higher Education population databases (2000–2015). Findings confirm that 60 percent of participants in the selection process are First Generation students. The data registers an increasing self-exclusion phenomenon. Of the students who did not take the selection test after enrolling, 80 percent are First Generation and 18 are enrolled in a selective university, compared to 44 in the Continuist conglomerate. These differences may be explained by cultural capital in the Bourdieu sense, in conjunction with a diversified, massified and marketalised higher education system.     

Looking for Sustainability: Environmental Coalitions across the State-Society Divide

This paper compares environmental policymaking in two Brazilian cities, Rio de Janeiro and Cubatão. It examines the formation of state-society synergistic interactions in the public policymaking process and their effect on long term sustainability of social mobilization. It concludes that whereas social capital can be constructed in the context of policymaking, it is critically dependent on a concerted effort from both state and society actors to build trust in their daily interactions. The Cubatão and Carioca River cases show that state-society synergy had little effect on the ability of the policy coalitions formed for pollution clean up to sustain themselves over time. Instead, there are indications that rather than a constraint, the flexible and informal nature of such coalitions may have been a critical factor in their ability to carry out policy successfully.