PMICALC: An R code-based software for estimating post-mortem interval (PMI) compatible with Windows,Mac and Linux operating systems

In legal medicine the correct determination of the time of death is of utmost importance. Recent advances in estimating post-mortem interval (PMI) have made use of vitreous humour chemistry in conjunction with Linear Regression, but the results are questionable. In this paper we present PMICALC, an R code-based freeware package which estimates PMI in cadavers of recent death by measuring the concentrations of potassium ([K+]), hypoxanthine ([Hx]) and urea ([U]) in the vitreous humor using two different regression models: Additive Models (AM) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), which offer more flexibility than the previously used Linear Regression. The results from both models are better than those published to date and can give numerical expression of PMI with confidence intervals and graphic support within 20 min. The program also takes into account the cause of death.     

Cyberbullying in Portuguese Schools: Prevalence and Characteristics

This study examined the extent and nature of cyberbullying in 23 Portuguese schools. A sample of 3,525 sixth-, eighth-, and eleventh-grade students completed a self-response questionnaire assessing their perceptions and experiences of cyberbullying. The findings showed that 7.6% of students have been victimized, and 3.9% have bullied others at least once over the last year. The incidences of victimization were higher for females and for the older students. In contrast, more boys reported having bullied others in the eleventh grade. The most frequent medium of cyberbullying was via websites, whilst sending offensive messages was the most widely reported type of behavior. Telling someone about cyberbullying is among the most frequent coping strategies used by cybervictims, who usually chose to tell their friends rather than adults. Implications of these findings for students, schools, and parents are discussed.     

Journals on legal and forensic medicine in Web of Science Core Collection: focus on Forensic Sciences Research

Legal and Forensic Medicine is the application of medical knowledge and methodology for the resolution of legal questions and problems for individuals and socie...     

The Politico-Military Alliance of Russia and Belarus: Re-Examining the Role of NATO and the EU in Light of the Intra-Alliance Security Dilemma

This article examines Belarusian strategies in the bilateral politico-military alliance with Russia, focusing on the issue of recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in addition to the evolution of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. It argues that the approaches interpreting the alliance as a response to decisions of external actors cannot fully account for the disagreements between the parties. The analysis of Belarusian strategies demonstrates how the decisions of external actors, such as the European Union and to a certain extent the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, function as bargaining chips for the Belarusian leadership. Due to the intra-alliance security dilemma, external actors have at times even weakened the alliance rather than automatically inducing its cohesion.     

Analysis of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in oral fluid samples using solid-phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

An analytical method using solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has been developed and validated for the confirmation of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in oral fluid samples. Oral fluid was extracted using Bond Elut LRC-Certify solid-phase extraction columns (10 cm(3), 300 mg) and elution performed with n-hexane/ethyl acetate. Quantitation made use of the selected ion-recording mode (SIR) using the most abundant characteristic ion [THC+H(+)], m/z 315.31 and the fragment ion, m/z 193.13 for confirmation, and m/z 318.00 for the protonated internal standard, [d(3)-THC+H(+)]. The method proved to be precise for THC, in terms of both intra-day and inter-day analyses, with coefficients of variation less than 10%, and the calculated extraction efficiencies for THC ranged from 76 to 83%. Calibration standards spiked with THC between 2 and 100 ng/mL showed a linear relationship (r(2)=0.999). The method presented was applied to the oral fluid samples taken from the volunteers during the largest music event in Portugal, named Rock in Rio-Lisboa. Oral fluid was collected from 40 persons by expectoration and with Salivette. In 55% of the samples obtained by expectorating, THC was detected with concentration ranges from 1033 to 6552 ng/mL and in 45% of cases THC was detected at concentrations between 51 and 937 ng/mL. However, using Salivette collection, 26 of the 40 cases had an undetectable THC.     

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of 8 Y-chromosomal STRs in the Santa Catarina population of southern Brazil

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of eight Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393 were determined in a sample of 109 males from Santa Catarina. The origin of this southern Brazilian population is mainly from Portuguese people, namely from Azores archipelago.     

Population distribution of six PCR-amplified loci in Madeira Archipelago (Portugal).

Frequency data of the short tandem repeat (STR) loci HUMTH01, HUMVWA31/A, HUMF13A1, HUMFES/FPS, D12S391 and HUMFIBRA/FGA were determined in blood stains obtained from a population of unrelated individuals from the Madeira Archipelago. The observed genotype distribution showed no significant deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and there was no evidence for association of alleles among the six loci. Population data showed a combined discrimination power of 0.9999998 and a chance of exclusion of 0.99597. The frequencies are similar to those of other compared caucasian populations but significant differences were found between the Madeira population and Japanese, Chinese, Greenland Eskimos and Quechua Amerindians. The six loci studied, together proved to be highly discriminating and valuable for forensic cases.     

The appointments clause: Judge Bork and the role of ideology in judicial confirmations

The Law of Obligations: The Roman Foundations of the Civilian Tradition. Reinhard Zimmermann. Cape Town: 1990. Ixiv + 1241pp. (incl. Indexes).

Reconstructing the Criminal: Culture, Law and Policy in England, 1830–1914. Martin J. Wiener. Cambridge, 1991. The University Press, ix + 390pp. (incl. Index). £35/$39.50 hb. ISBN 0 521 35045 X.

Women, Crime and Custody in Victorian England, Lucia Zedner. Oxford, 1991. Clarenden Press. 364pp. (incl. Index). £40 hb. ISBN 0 19 820264 4.

St Albans Quarter Sessions Rolls 1784–1820. Edited with an Introduction by David Dean. Hitchen, 1991. Hertfordshire Record Publications, xx + 197pp. (incl. Indexes). £15.95 hb. ISBN 0 9510728 6 2.

The Background of the Common Law. Derek Roebuck. 2nd edn. Hong Kong, Oxford and New York, 1990. Oxford University Press, ix + 143pp. (incl. Index). £6.99 pb. ISBN 019 585165 X.

The Physician‐Legislators of France: Medicine and Politics in the Early Third Republic, 1870–1914. Jack D. Ellis. Cambridge, 1990. The University Press, xii + 305pp. (incl. Index). £35.00/$49.50 hb. ISBN 0 521 38208 4.

Combination and Conspiracy: A Legal History of Trade Unionism 1721–1906. John V. Orth. Oxford, 1991. Clarendon Press, xvi + 207pp. (incl. Index). £30hb. ISBN 0 19 825299 4.

Law and the Shaping of the American Labor Union Movement. William E. Forbath. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1991. Harvard University Press, xvi + 211pp. (incl. Index). ISBN 0 674 517814.

The State, Law and Religion: Pagan Rome, Alanwatson. Athens, Georgia, 1992. University of Georgia Press, xv + 136pp. (incl. Index). $30 hb. ISBN 0820313874.

American Constitutional Rights: Cases, Documents, and Commentary. William A. Carroll and Norman B. Smith. Lanham, USA. 1991. University Press of America, Inc. xviii + 785pp.