Genetic analysis of the Amerindian Kichwas and Afroamerican descendents populations from Ecuador characterised by 15 STR-PCR polymorphisms

Allele frequency data for the 15 STR systems and Amelogenine were determined in a population sample of healthy Amerinidian Kichwas and Blacks individuals. All loci met Hardy-Weinberg expectations and the high discrimination power of combined system showed the forensic efficiency of these genetic markers.     

Luminous lip-prints as criminal evidence

Luminescence is specially a useful property for the search of invisible evidences at the scene of a crime. In the latent fingerprints particular case, there are at one's disposal fluorescent reagents for their localization. The study of latent lip prints (that is lip prints from protective lipstick, or permanent or long-lasting lipstick that do not leave any visible marks) is more recent than fingerprints study. Because of the different composition of both types of prints, different reagents have been tried out on their developing. Although, lysochromes are particularly useful reagents to obtain latent lip prints, it may occur on coloured or multicoloured surfaces, the developing is not perceived due to contrast problems between the reagent and the surface where the print is searched. Again, luminescence offers the possibility to solve this problem. Nile Red is being studied as a potential developer for latent lip prints. The results on very old prints (over 1year) indicate that this reagent is highly efficient to get latent lip prints.     

Determination of several psychiatric drugs in whole blood using capillary gas-liquid chromatography with nitrogen phosphorus detection: comparison of two solid phase extraction procedures

A simple and reliable gas chromatographic method with nitrogen-phosphorus detection without derivatization was developed for the detection of several psychiatric drugs in whole blood as part of systematic toxicological analyses (STA). Drugs included mirtazapine, chlorpromazine, methotrimeprazine (levomepromazine), clothiapine, olanzapine, clozapine, haloperidol, and thioridazine. All drugs were studied at concentrations of 100-2,000 microg/L, except haloperidol that was studied at concentrations of 400-8,000 microg/L. In order to select the best blood purification procedure and therefore increase the signal to noise ratio we have compared two solid-phase extraction (SPE) columns, Chem Elut and Bond Elut Certify, for their recovery, precision, sensitivity and matrix purification efficiency. Recoveries for these drugs using Chem Elut columns at 500 and 2,000 microg/L (2,000 and 8,000 microg/L for haloperidol) were in the range 21-65%, with intra-assay and inter-assay precisions of less than 17% and 19%, respectively. Limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantitation (LOQs) for mirtazapine, chlorpromazine, methotrimeprazine, clothiapine, olanzapine, clozapine, and thioridazine ranged from 62 to 161 microg/L and from 205 to 531 microg/L, respectively. LOD and LOQ for haloperidol were 442 and 1,458 microg/L, respectively. Recoveries of these compounds using Bond Elut Certify columns at 500 and 2,000 microg/L (2,000 and 8,000 microg/L for haloperidol) were in the range 44-97%, with intra-assay and inter-assay precisions of less than 7% and 14%, respectively. LODs and LOQs for mirtazapine, chlorpromazine, methotrimeprazine, clothiapine, olanzapine, clozapine, and thioridazine ranged from 37 to 66 microg/L and from 122 to 218 microg/L, respectively. LOD and LOQ for haloperidol were 156 and 515 microg/L, respectively. Linearity was observed in the studied range for all compounds with r(2) values of >0.999. The use of the mixed-mode bonded-silica Bond Elut Certify columns showed advantages comparing with Chem Elut columns for the screening of these psychotropic agents such as higher recoveries, cleaner extracts, better sensitivity, better precision and less solvent consumption and subsequent disposal.     

Postmortem vitreous humor beta-hydroxybutyrate: its utility for the postmortem interpretation of diabetes mellitus

Ketoacidotic coma is one of the most serious complications arising from diabetes mellitus, especially type I, and may be the cause of sudden death especially in diabetes type I. Since beta-hydroxybutyrate (beta-OHB) serum concentrations might provide more information on the severity of ketoacidosis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of beta-OHB in vitreous humor and its correlation with other biochemical parameters during postmortem examination. We intended to ascertain the sensitivity and the specificity of these markers for diagnosing diabetes mellitus and the presence of ketoacidosis. This study involved 453 cadavers with a mean age of 57.6 years (S.D. 20.7) and a mean postmortem interval of 17.8 h (S.D. 9.6, range 2-61 h). Cases were assigned to two diagnostic groups according to the antemortem diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, based on the patients' medical records. In vitreous humor statistically significant differences were found in biochemical marker concentrations between the two diagnostic groups, the highest values being obtained in the group of subjects with a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. The measurement of beta-OHB in vitreous humor may be a useful alternative to using blood during postmortem analysis. The presence of high levels of beta-OHB may help interpret the cause of death in diabetics when the autopsy result is negative.     

Lung embolism with liquid silicone

A lung embolism was reported in a case involving death following repeated injections of liquid silicone for aesthetic reasons. The liquid extracted from the sites of injection was identified as methylsilicone using infrared spectrophotometry, and the presence of silicone in vacuoles in the lung was verified by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA). A study has been carried out with rats after intravenous and subcutaneous injections of methylsilicone.     

Asking the Sovereignty Question in Global Legal Pluralism: From “Weak” Jurisprudence to “Strong” Socio‐Legal Theories of Constitutional Power Operations

The article examines recent theories of legal and constitutional pluralism, especially their adoption of sociological perspectives and criticisms of the concept of sovereignty. The author argues that John Griffiths's original dichotomy of “weak” and “strong” pluralism has to be reassessed because “weak” jurisprudential theories contain useful sociological analyses of the internal differentiation and operations of specific legal orders, their overlapping, parallel validity and collisions in global society. Using the sociological methodology of legal pluralism theories and critically elaborating on Teubner's societal constitutionalism, the author subsequently reformulates the question of sovereignty as a sociological problem of complex power operations communicated through the constitutional state's organization and reconfigured within the global legal and political framework.     

Can experts judge elections? Testing the validity of expert judgments for measuring election integrity

Expert surveys have been used to measure a wide variety of phenomena in political science, ranging from party positions, to corruption, to the quality of democracy and elections. However, expert judgments raise important validity concerns, both about the object being measured as well as the experts. It is argued in this article that the context of evaluation is also important to consider when assessing the validity of expert surveys. This is even more important for expert surveys with a comprehensive, worldwide scope, such as democracy or corruption indices. This article tests the validity of expert judgments about election integrity – a topic of increasing concern to both the international community and academics. Evaluating expert judgments of election integrity provides an important contribution to the literature evaluating the validity of expert surveys as instruments of measurement as: (1) the object under study is particularly complex to define and multifaceted; and (2) election integrity is measured in widely varying institutional contexts, ranging from electoral autocracies to liberal democracies. Three potential sources of bias are analysed (the object, the experts and the context), using a unique new dataset on election integrity entitled the ‘Perceptions of Electoral Integrity’ dataset. The data include over 800 experts in 66 parliamentary and presidential elections worldwide. It is found that validity of expert judgments about election integrity is increased if experts are asked to provide factual information (rather than evaluative judgments), and if they are asked to evaluate election day (rather than pre‐election) integrity. It is also found that ideologically polarised elections and elections of lower integrity increase expert disagreement about election integrity. The article concludes with suggestions for researchers using the expert survey data on election integrity on how to check the validity of their data and adjust their analyses accordingly, and outlines some remaining challenges for future data collection using expert surveys.     

Unveiling the Features of a Regulatory System: The Institutional Grammar of Tobacco Legislation in Mexico

The United Nations will host a drug policy summit in 2016. This will be a good forum to evaluate the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks. The institutional grammar tool can help with such evaluation. This article uses the tool to analyze the inherent features of tobacco regulations in Mexico. The analysis shows that the legal framework seeks to curb consumption with a combination of information and choice rules, and administrative penalties. As the analysis reveals, the usefulness of the method depends upon the availability of a solid theory that allows one to link rule features and the behavior they expect to induce.