To evaluate the utility of smaller sample sizes when assessing dental maturity curves for forensic age estimation

Dental maturation and chronological age estimation were determined from 144 healthy Western Australian individuals aged 3.6-14.5 years. The results were compared with Farah et al.'s previous study which comprised a larger heterogeneous sample of Western Australian individuals (n = 1450). Orthopantomograms were analyzed with the application of Demirjian and Goldstein's 4-tooth method based on eight stages of dental mineralization. Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in dental maturity scores in each age group among the males in both studies; similar results were seen in the females. Paired t-tests showed no statistical significance overall between chronological and estimated ages for the males in our sample (p = 0.181), whereas the females showed significant differences (p < 0.001). Our results show that smaller samples may be used when assessing dental maturity curves for forensic age estimation.     

A comparison of Demirjian's four dental development methods for forensic age assessment

The aim of this study was to determine the comparative accuracy of Demirjian's four dental development methods for forensic age estimation in the Western Australian population. A sample comprising 143 individuals aged 4.6 to 14.5 years were assessed using Demirjian's four methods for dental development (original 7-tooth: M(2), M(1), PM(2), PM(1), C, I(2), and I(1); revised 7-tooth: M(2), M(1), PM(2), PM(1), C, I(2), and I(1); 4-tooth: M(2), M(1), PM(2), and PM(1); and an alternate 4-tooth: M(2), PM(2), PM(1), and I(1)). When comparing all four methods, the 4-tooth method overestimated age in both males and females by 0.04 and 0.25 years, respectively. The original 7-tooth was least accurate for males, while the original 7-tooth, the revised 7-tooth, and the alternate 4-tooth were unsuitable for females. Therefore, we recommend the 4-tooth method to be used for forensic age estimation in Western Australian males and females, as it has the lowest overall mean deviation and the highest accuracy.     

Population data for 16 Y-chromosome STRs in four populations from Pyrenees (Spain)

Population frequencies for the eight Y-STR loci included in the "minimal haplotype" from Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) plus other eight Y-STRs (DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, GATA H4 and GATA A10) were obtained for a sample of 133 males from four main geographical areas in the Pyrenees (Spain): Vall D'Aran (Lérida), Cerdanya (Gerona), Alt Urgell (Lérida) and Jacetania (Huesca). Haplotype diversities were estimated in the four populations.     

Assessment of body fluid identification and DNA profiling after exposure to tropical weather conditions

Despite current advances in body fluid identification, there are few studies evaluating the effect of environmental conditions. The present work assessed the detection of body fluids, blood, semen, and saliva, through lateral flow immunochromatographic (LFI) tests, exposed to tropical weather conditions over time, also evaluating the possibility of obtaining STR (short tandem repeat) profiles and identifying mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms. Blood, semen, saliva samples, and mixtures of these fluids were deposited on polyester clothes and exposed to open-air tropical weather conditions for 1 month. The test versions from LFI (SERATEC®, Germany) Lab and crime scene (CS) used for the detection – one per each body fluid type – demonstrated that it is possible to identify body fluids and their mixtures up to 14 days after deposition. At 30 days, blood and semen were detected but not saliva. Full STR profiles were obtained from 14-day-old blood samples, and partial profiles were obtained from the remaining samples. It was possible to sequence mtDNA in the samples previously analyzed for STR profiling, and haplogroups could be assigned. In conclusion, this study demonstrated for the first time the possibility of body fluid identification and DNA profiling after exposure to tropical weather conditions for 1 month and also demonstrated the value of mtDNA analysis for compromised biological evidence.     

The Effects of Contraception on Female Poverty

Poverty rates are particularly high among households headed by single women, and childbirth is often the event preceding these households’ poverty spells. This paper examines the relationship between legal access to the birth control pill and female poverty. We rely on exogenous cross‐state variation in the year in which oral contraception became legally available to young, single women. Using census data from 1960 to 1990, we find that having legal access to the birth control pill by age 20 significantly reduces the probability that a woman is subsequently in poverty. We estimate that early legal access to oral contraception reduces female poverty by 0.5 percentage points, even when controlling for completed education, employment status, and household composition.     

Minimum wage effects across the private and public sectors in Brazil

Most of the available evidence on the effect of minimum wages concerns the private sector of developed countries. In this paper, we examine minimum wage effects in both private and public sectors for a key developing country. We use monthly data from a Brazilian household survey from 1982 to 2000. We find a strong compression effect in the wage distribution for both the private and public sectors. However, we find no evidence of adverse employment effects in either sector at the aggregate level or for vulnerable groups such as teenagers, women and the low educated. Hence, minimum wage policies in Brazil appear to be a potentially viable anti-poverty instrument.     

Supply response reconsidered: Cocoa in Western Nigeria, 1909–44

This essay uses time‐series data on cocoa plantings in Western Nigeria to re‐examine some popular conclusions about the price responsiveness of farmers in underdeveloped economies. Annual variations in the rate of planting were found to be more closely related to farmers’ income from cocoa sales than to current price. Qualitative evidence suggests that longer‐term trends in cocoa plantings were also influenced by changing opportunity costs and by the institutional structure of rural factor markets. These results cast some doubt on commonly accepted capital stock adjustment models of investment in tree crops, which assume that farmers rely heavily on forecasting future price trends when deciding how much to plant. Given the uncertainty of future crop prices, it seems more likely that farmers plant more trees when they can afford to do so, so long as opportunity costs are not prohibitive.     

Rape victim and perpetrator blame and the Just World hypothesis: The influence of victim gender and age

Abstract

Victims of rape are sometimes blamed for the assaults against them. Research has examined primarily female victims; much less is known about men as victims and whether victim age affects attributions of victim blame. Furthermore, the study investigated the effects of Belief in a Just World (BJW) on blame attributions. Employing a vignette-type experimental study with a 2 (gender of participant)×2 (victim's gender)×2 (victim's age)×2 (participant BJW score) between-subjects design and several measures of blame attributions towards victim and perpetrator as dependent variables, a community sample (n = 164) participated. The main results were as hypothesised, namely that young male victims were attributed more blame, particularly by participants scoring high on BJW. Overall, victim blame level was low and perpetrator blame was high, and BJW was a powerful predictor of blame attributions.