Importance of radiological diagnosis applied to necroscopy

The authors evaluate the consequences of incomplete necroscopic examinations wherein it was impossible to apply radiological resources to locate firearm projectiles. The study includes 8185 reports from the Instituto Médico-Legal Afranio Peixoto in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing the totality of corpses processed from January to December 2001; of these, 3122 were gunshot victims, 309 of which were buried with unremoved projectiles, being liable to future judicial reappraisal. During the same period, there were 23 exhumation requests by police authorities, 12 of them querying the existence of projectiles. The authors looked into the formal reasons assumed by the medico legal experts to conclude their reports from incomplete examinations, and suggest that gunshot necroscopic examinations should follow specific protocols, as incomplete autopsies will require further exhumations, at unnecessary additional costs.     

Exchange Rising? Karl Polanyi and Contentious Politics in Contemporary Latin America

Free‐market reforms in the last quarter of the twentieth century weakened the point of production—labor unions—as the source of effective nonparty political countermovement to liberal capitalism. Has another significant source of societal resistance arisen in association with the resurgence of market economics? Building on the work of Karl Polanyi, this article argues that circuits of exchange—the commodification of labor, land, and money—can be powerful sources of movement against contemporary forms of free‐market capitalism. It draws on the cases of Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador to explore how Polanyi's exchange‐based approach helps to elucidate three phenomena: the great variety of identities behind the myriad movements against free‐market capitalism, the emergence of community as a powerful locus for organizing, and the proliferation of new forms of transgressive and highly disruptive direct action to reinforce the debilitated effectiveness of the strike.     

Preliminary study of the succession pattern of necrobiont insects, colonising species and larvae on pig carcasses in Temuco (Chile) for forensic applications

Knowledge regarding the succession patterns of insects that visit carcasses as well as the other arthropod that colonise them and analysis of the parameters that are associated with larvae allow calculation of the minimum postmortem interval (PMI). This information is obtained from experiments carried out under specific geoclimatic conditions, which determine their application in forensic environments under similar conditions. The field study presented here is the first in Chile to analyse the decomposition process of pig carcasses and the associated succession of insects, colonising species and parameters related to larval masses. All of the larvae obtained from daily samples were measured (in mm), and their mean, range, standard deviation and stage of development (instars) were determined. The carcasses reached the dry remains stage in only 11 days. Seven species of Diptera visited the carcass during the process, but only two species colonised it by means of egg deposition followed by development of larvae: Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) and Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), which exhibited a duration of the development cycle from egg to adult of 21 days. The collected Coleoptera correspond to five predator species (Staphilinidae and Histeridae). From the results of this study, it can be concluded that only some of the insect species present in this region can provide information that can be used in forensic entomology and that analysis of larval masses of colonising species can be a valuable tool for determining the PMI(min) in this region of Chile.     

Domestic relations in Brazil: legacies and horizons

Grounded in literature review and an ethnographic study, this article examines contemporary Brazilian domestic life. Relations among women (employers and maids) and between women and men are analyzed with a focus on the home as a space in which gender, race, and class inequalities are constantly reproduced. The article argues that what happens in domestic life is constitutive of wider social divisions and that the domestic is a universe integral to the national social context. A case in point is the connection between the widespread use of paid domestic labor and the naturalization of black women as subservient, complementing the pairing of whiteness and class entitlement. Another case is the buffering role of maids in the development of gender conflicts in well-off homes, thus blurring gender hierarchies at a broader scale. Locating the domestic within the recent discussion on global domestic labor, the article compares particularities of Brazilian domestic life to those elsewhere.     

Can analysis of a small clod of soil help to solve a murder case?

Soil forensics utilizes extensive soil information to answer legal questions and test hypotheses. The main difficulty often is the determination of different variables from a small amount of soil sample collected on the suspect. We developed a sequential mineralogical and chemical analyses to assess a limited quantity of soil vestiges (0.5 g) from a suspect's vehicle (adhered to the outside rear-view mirror and to the left front fender) involved in a murder case and compared them with the surface samples found at the victim's body disposal site at the Graciosa Road, Paraná State, Brazil. All results affirm that the suspect’s vehicle could have been in contact with the edge of the Graciosa Road, approximately the place where the victim’s body was located. As a result of the soil analysis and comparison, the results support the likely contact of the suspect’s vehicle with the crime scene.     

Heat Induced Changes to Dental Resin Composites: A Reference in Forensic Investigations?*

The objective was to investigate color change and surface damage in dental resin composites exposed to high temperatures over different time intervals for comparative purposes. Samples were prepared using two resins - Z100(R) (R1) and Charisma (R2), heated at the following temperatures: 200 degrees C, 400 degrees C, 600 degrees C, 1000 degrees C, for 15, 30 and 45 min (n = 104 for each resin sample). Color (DeltaE) and brightness (DeltaL) changes were analyzed by spectrophotometry using the CIE Lab system and surface changes by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). R1 showed more intense color changes after heat exposure than R2. DeltaL values were found to be the best parameter for evaluation of light and color change. A biphasic pattern after thermal exposure was detected, from dark brown to light white. SEM showed more intense alterations in R2 than in R1. These results indicate that the parameters observed in both resins are useful as a guide in forensic analyses.     

In defense of human rights of indigenous people

The nations of the world are generally shaped by a cultural diversity, which must be preserved. This leads to a fundamental and essential defense of indigenous groups and their human rights. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of defending human rights of indigenous cucapa, natives settled in the northeast of the state of Baja California in the Delta of the Colorado River, especially with regards to their fishing rights, which is their main source of food and survival. The environmental laws that have been issued in the country have greatly affected them, banning commercial fishing in some areas and totally in many other areas, adding to that a not to subtle performance by the appropriate regulation authorities, preventing them from fishing sea bass, hence their consumption and marketing, which is reflected in their socioeconomic status. For this reason and in response to this violation of their human rights, women have decided to enter a cucapa womb strike, which threatens the existence of the tribe by not reproducing.     

Evaluation of Lip Prints on Different Supports Using a Batch Image Processing Algorithm and Image Superimposition

This study aimed to develop and to assess an algorithm to facilitate lip print visualization, and to digitally analyze lip prints on different supports, by superimposition. It also aimed to classify lip prints according to sex. A batch image processing algorithm was developed, which facilitated the identification and extraction of information about lip grooves. However, it performed better for lip print images with a uniform background. Paper and glass slab allowed more correct identifications than glass and the both sides of compact disks. There was no significant difference between the type of support and the amount of matching structures located in the middle area of the lower lip. There was no evidence of association between types of lip grooves and sex. Lip groove patterns of type III and type I were the most common for both sexes. The development of systems for lip print analysis is necessary, mainly concerning digital methods.