Patent Production at a European Research University: Exploratory Evidence at the Laboratory Level

Most studies of academic patenting focus on the university as the unit of analysis. In contrast, we examine this phenomenon at the laboratory level. Based on a sample of 83 research laboratories of Louis Pasteur University (ULP, Strasbourg, France) from 1993 to 2000, we constructed a panel data set that allows us to discriminate between patents that are owned by the university and those that are owned by firms and other organizations but invented by faculty members. We use these data to estimate a patent production function and find that university-owned patents are more responsive to specific public funding, while non-university-owned patents are more responsive to industrial funding. Our results also highlight the importance to control for disciplinary and institutional differences, since they significantly affect the production of the different kinds of ULP patents.     

Sex Estimation from Human Cranium: Forensic and Anthropological Interest of Maxillary Sinus Volumes

Sex estimation is a key objective of forensic science. We aimed to establish whether maxillary sinus volumes (MSV) could assist in estimating an individual's sex. One hundred and three CT scans were included. MSV were determined using three‐dimensional reconstructions. Two observers performed three‐dimensional MSV reconstructions using the same methods. Intra‐ and interobserver reproducibility were statistically compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (α = 5%). Both intra‐ and interobserver reproducibility were perfect regarding MSV; both ICCs were 100%. There were no significant differences between right and left MSV (p = 0.083). No correlation was found between age and MSV (p > 0.05). We demonstrated the existence of sexual dimorphism in MSV (p < 0.001) and showed that MSV measurements gave a 68% rate of correct allocations to sex group. MSV measurements could be useful to support sex estimation in forensic medicine.     

Distribution and optical purity of methamphetamine found in toxic concentration in a civil aviation accident pilot fatality

Toxicological evaluation of postmortem samples collected from a pilot involved in a unique fatal civil aircraft accident is described in this paper. A one-occupant airplane was substantially damaged upon colliding with terrain in poor visibility. Remains of the pilot were found outside the aircraft. Pathological examination revealed multiple blunt force injuries and vascular congestion. The fluorescence polarization immunoassay disclosed 8.0 microg/mL amphetamines in urine. Gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analyses determined the presence of methamphetamine (1.13 microg/mL in blood and 59.2 microg/mL in urine) and amphetamine (0.022 microg/mL in blood and 1.50 microg/mL in urine). Methamphetamine was distributed throughout the body, including the brain. The amount of methamphetamine in gastric contents was 575-fold higher than that of amphetamine. The (+)- and (-)-forms of methamphetamine were present in equal proportions in gastric contents. The methamphetamine concentration found in blood was in the range sufficient to produce toxic effects, causing performance impairment.     

Unvermeidbare Ungleichheiten? Alltagsweltliche Ungleichheitsdeutungen zwischen sozialer Konstruktion und gesellschaftlicher Notwendigkeit

The article sketches a tacit ??enlightened common sense?? within stratification research according to which citizens in modern societies regard inequality as being caused by social factors and therefore in need of legitimation. The paper asks whether this is a plausible assumption about lay interpretations of stratification. Based on qualitative interviews with interviewees in privileged and disadvantaged social positions, the article reconstructs an interpretive scheme of the ??inevitability of inequality?? which regards inequality as an inescapable necessity of every social order and not as a contingent societal construct. Yet, another interpretive scheme exists that emphasizes the influence of social origin and thereby points to the social roots of stratification. Empirically, however, both interpretive schemes coexist within the consciousness of the interviewees. The potential for the criticism of inequality is thus circumscribed.     

Interparental Aggression and Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Emotional Insecurity and Adrenocortical Activity

Adolescents exposed to interparental aggression are at increased risk for developing adjustment problems. The present study explored intervening variables in these pathways in a community sample that included 266 adolescents between 12- and 16-years-old (M?=?13.82; 52.5 % boys, 47.5 % girls). A moderated mediation model examined the moderating role of adrenocortical reactivity on the meditational capacity of their emotional insecurity in this context. Information from multiple reporters and adolescents’ adrenocortical response to conflict were obtained during laboratory sessions attended by mothers, fathers and their adolescent child. A direct relationship was found between marital aggression and adolescents’ internalizing behavior problems. Adolescents’ emotional insecurity mediated the relationship between marital aggression and adolescents’ depression and anxiety. Adrenocortical reactivity moderated the pathway between emotional insecurity and adolescent adjustment. The implications for further understanding the psychological and physiological effects of adolescents’ exposure to interparental aggression and violence are discussed.