Civil Society and the Modern Constitutional Complex: The Argentine Experience

While constitutionalism is generally reduced to the idea of limited government, little has been said to its contribution to the juridification of the social sphere. The article shows the significance of constitutionalism for the institutionalization of modern civil societies. Modern civil societies, it is argued, can only flourish in a form of modern state that has undergone a process of internal differentiation in the direction of a separation of powers. Through the analysis of the process of self-constitution of Argentine civil society, I show how the erosion of the constitutional components of the state by populist democratizing movements resulted in the disintegration of civil society.     

The Application of Flow Cytometry as a Rapid and Sensitive Screening Method to Detect Contamination of Vitreous Humor Samples and Avoid Miscalculation of the Postmortem Interval

Research into maximizing the speed, precision, and reliability of estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) has been a recurring object of investigation and methodologies based on the vitreous humor (VH) have provided good results. However, contamination from causes not readily apparent, such as blood, can occur, and thus lead not only to an erroneous estimation of PMI, but also interfere with the correct identification of other substances in the VH. We have developed a flow cytometry method which quantifies blood contamination and is able to detect erythrocytes in 1:750,000 dilution of contaminated VH which affects the results of hypoxanthine. It is an improvement on the previous more complex mass spectrometry method, being faster, more sensitive, and readily available. As such, it could be proposed for the rapid screening of appropriate samples by detecting and eliminating blood contaminated samples from PMI estimation.     

Définitions,interprétations et pratique des droits de l'homme

Sans résumé     

A forensic entomology case from the Amazon rain forest of Brazil

The first case of application of forensic entomology in the Brazilian Amazonia is described. The corpses of 26 men were found in the rainforest in Rondonia State, Brazil. Fly larvae collected on the bodies during autopsy were identified as Paralucilia fulvinota (Diptera, Calliphoridae). No data or specimens were collected at the crime scene. At the laboratory, the larvae developed into pupae in 58 h and into adults in 110.5 h. The total development time for P. fulvinota was measured in field experiments inside the forest. The age of the larvae when collected from the bodies was estimated as the difference between the time required for them to become adults and the total development time for this species. The estimated age of the maggots and the minimum postmortem interval was 5.7 days.     

Reporting a sudden death due to accidental gasoline inhalation

The investigation of uncertain fatalities requires accurate determination of the cause of death, with assessment of all factors that may have contributed to it. Gasoline is a complex and highly variable mixture of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons that can lead to cardiac arrhythmias due to sensitization of the myocardium to catecholamines or acts as a simple asphyxiant if the vapors displace sufficient oxygen from the breathing atmosphere. This work describes a sudden occupational fatality involving gasoline. The importance of this petroleum distillate detection and its quantitative toxicological significance is discussed using a validated analytical method. A 51 year-old Caucasian healthy man without significant medical history was supervising the repairs of the telephone lines in a manhole near to a gas station. He died suddenly after inhaling gasoline vapors from an accidental leak. Extensive blistering and peeling of skin were observed on the skin of the face, neck, anterior chest, upper and lower extremities, and back. The internal examination showed a strong odor of gasoline, specially detected in the respiratory tract. The toxicological screening and quantitation of gasoline was performed by means of gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and confirmation was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Disposition of gasoline in different tissues was as follows: heart blood, 35.7 mg/L; urine, not detected; vitreous humor, 1.9 mg/L; liver, 194.7 mg/kg; lung, 147.6 mg/kg; and gastric content, 116,6 mg/L (2.7 mg total). Based upon the toxicological data along with the autopsy findings, the cause of death was determined to be gasoline poisoning and the manner of death was accidental. We would like to alert on the importance of testing for gasoline, and in general for volatile hydrocarbons, in work-related sudden deaths involving inhalation of hydrocarbon vapors and/or exhaust fumes.     

Coercive Europeanization: the EU's struggle to contain secessionism in the Balkans

Secessionism is still the predominant conflict type in Europe. Even though the European Union (EU) extended the enlargement perspective to the Balkans 15 years ago, secessionist ambition remains pervasive, especially in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia. How does secessionism affect Europeanization and how does Europeanization affect secessionism? It is argued here that in cases of unattained statehood domestic power struggles among deeply divided elites over status and territorial control undermine the consensus needed for Europeanization. In cases of attained de facto statehood the conflict focuses on recognition, which likewise polarizes societies and marginalizes reform. In such high-resistance scenarios, where the inclusionary EU norms clash with the exclusionary norms of the secessionists, the EU vigorously works to marginalize the secessionists by relying mainly on denial, punishment and imposition. Still, the EU's leverage is often insufficient in moving the conflicting parties towards within-state solutions and reform. A study of Bosnia's transformation since Dayton reveals, however, that the EU's leverage varies over time and that the EU at times itself inadvertently fans secessionism.     

Ethnographic filmmaking as narrative capital enhancement among Atauro diverwomen: a theoretical exploration

This article reports on a project involving the development and release of an ethnographic film about the women divers of Atauro Island, Timor-Leste, and suggests a theoretical framework to interpret its outcomes. It describes the project aims and the filmmaking process, and reports on its results. In doing so, the paper explores the potential use of an agent-based concept of narrative capital focused on collective agents. The article suggests that the ideas of narrative capital and transformations of capital by collective agents can provide a valuable interpretative framework for the design, implementation, and analyses of results of development interventions involving filmmaking.     

拉丁美洲从金融危机中吸取的惨痛教训

20世纪90年代以来,拉美地区多次发生金融危机,引起各国学者的广泛关注。美洲开发银行行长恩里克·伊格莱西亚斯先生是拉美著名经济学家,多年从事美洲开发银行领导工作,曾发表过大量相关文章和报告。2005年4月18日,应中国社会科学院拉丁美洲研究所邀请,恩里克·伊格莱西亚斯先生在拉美所做演讲,精辟地分析了拉美国家的金融危机及相关问题。现将其书面报告全文译出,并将问答内容加以整理,一并发表。     

Microwave-assisted extraction and differential scanning calorimetry in the chemical identification of sliming agents apprehended in the south region of Brazil

Over the past decades, consume of slimming agents considerably increased in several countries, including Brazil, due to weight-loss and stimulant properties. Since these drugs are controlled to prevent illicit and indiscriminate use, there is a parallel illegal market that uses the Internet and irregular pharmacies in order to distribute these formulations. Slimming agents produced by these illegal sources are known for being manufactured with little or none quality control resulting in uncertain and unknown formulations. For forensic purposes, apprehended pharmaceuticals have to undergo a process of chemical identification that can be difficult due to its complex matrix. In this sense, application of assisted energies in the extraction step such as microwave irradiation can be a promising method to increase the recuperation of the target molecules of the sample. Therefore, the aim of this research was to identify four slimming agents apprehended in Brazil by means of visual inspection, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry. Moreover, the efficiency of solid-liquid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction was compared. It should be noted that our work was one of the few to use Differential Scanning Calorimetry and the application of microwave irradiation in the analysis of apprehended materials. Results showed that the majority of the samples was counterfeit being composed of one or several adulterants or contaminants. Initially, visual inspection resourcefully screened the slimming agents for possible signs of falsification, however it failed to detect fraudulent products that were very similar to veridical medicines. Sequentially, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy detected functional groups present in the samples while the presence or absence of the alleged active ingredients were successfully measured with Differential Scanning Calorimetry and, thus, providing a full chemical screening of the apprehended materials. Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry confirmed the presence of adulterants such as caffeine, fluoxetine and phenolphthalein as well as contaminants such as sulfurol in the falsified samples. Finally, comparison of extraction procedures indicated that microwave-assisted extraction increased the recovery of compounds detected in chromatographic analysis to a greater extent than solid-liquid extraction.