Sex identification of forensic specimens by polymerase chain reaction (PCR): two alternative methods

Sex identification of forensic samples (bloodstains and decomposed tissue) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was investigated. Amplification of a segment of the amelogenin gene using a pair of primers revealed both Y- and X-specific bands at the same time. The gene has counterparts in both the X and Y chromosomes and a small deletion in the former made it possible to distinguish them. Analysis of the X-specific band is the most reliable method for sex identification. THe locus includes a single copy gene so a sample of 250 ng/tube of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is required for identification. Amplification of part of the DYZ1 locus was attempted as an alternative method for analysis of infinitesimal amounts of sample. Even DNA from putrefied tissue could be analyzed by PCR because the locus consists of thousands of copies of repeating units pHY10.     

An unusual case of fatal gas embolism.

We describe an unusual case of fatal gas embolism, in which a man died by connecting an extension tube supplying oxygen to an indwelling catheter that was inserted into the left cephalic vein.     

Advantages of dental mitochondrial DNA for detection and classification of the sequence variation using restriction fragment length polymorphisms.

After amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the nucleotide sequences of a 452-bp section of the D-loop region of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were determined in 40 teeth extracted from patients living in Kanagawa prefecture, Japan. Dental DNA was extracted separately from the dental pulp and dentin (i.e., the attached pulp cells from the most superficial layer of the pulp cavity wall) of the same tooth. Comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the 452-bp region of the D-loop demonstrated that nucleotide substitutions and insertion/deletion events were identical in material from both sources. Thus, dentin produces equivalent results when the dental pulp of a tooth is unsuitable for mtDNA analysis. To establish the reliability of the screening procedure for the sequence analysis, we identified restriction sites for the enzymes KpnI and MnlI in the 452-bp region of the D-loop. Thirteen of 14 patterns of four polymorphisms analyzed using the mtDNA from the 40 tooth samples were identifiable by an initial screening procedure involving restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Combined use of sequence analysis and RFLP analysis proved extremely efficient in analyzing mtDNA polymorphisms, allowing identification of individuals.     

An autopsy case of intraoperative death due to pulmonary fat embolism--possibly caused by release of tourniquet after multiple muscle-release and tenotomy of the bilateral lower limbs

Acute interstitial pneumonitis (AIP), also known as Hamman-Rich syndrome, is a distinct type of idiopathic interstitial pneumonia affecting patients of both genders without pre-existing lung diseases. We describe the case of a fulminant form of AIP and discuss the pathophysiological mechanisms of AIP with reference to the histological pattern. A 15-year-previously-healthy male boy presented to the Hospital with a 6-day history of malaise, fever and cough. The clinical prodromes were followed by the acute onset of increasing shortness of breath rapidly progressing in acute respiratory failure. Chest X-ray demonstrated bilateral diffuse airspace opacification; the high resolution CT confirmed the presence of bilateral, symmetric diffuse ground-glass attenuation. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit, but died after few hours. An autopsy was performed within 24h. The histological examination of lung specimens showed a pattern of diffuse alveolar damage. immunohistochemical, microbiological and toxicological tests were also carried out. The clinical presentation, the histological findings and the exclusion of infective, traumatic, toxic and metabolic causes of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) allowed us to conclude that the boy was affected by AIP. In conclusion, AIP is a diagnosis of exclusion. It has a mortality rate ranging about 50%, despite mechanical ventilation. In fatal cases of AIP diagnosis can be based on clinical presentation, radiological, histological and microbiological findings and can be further confirmed by immunohistochemical analysis.     

The post-Aum films of Kurosawa Kiyoshi

The films of Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi in the late 1990s and early 2000s capture the malaise of the ‘lost decade’ (ushinawareta jû-nen) of the 1990s, a period characterized by the end of an economic boom that propelled Japan through two decades of unprecedented prosperity. Facing the decline of high-growth, the country for the first time in two decades could no longer ignore the things that it had suppressed to realize progress: the failure of Japan's radical movements of the 1960s and early 1970s and their de-evolution into extremism. As the haze of prosperity dissipated in the early 1990s, Japan was again stunned by a violent uprising more than two decades after the collapse of the student movements – the Tokyo subway gassings in 1995, an event that many associated with the radicalism of the 1960s and 1970s. The attacks served as a reminder of the deep-seated social dissatisfactions that existed among the activist generation and the violence that results from extremism. Utilizing trauma theory, this paper will examine the way Japan's radical past is re-experienced in Kurosawa's films in the years following the gassings. Through an analysis of the cinematic style of Charisma (Karisuma 1999 Karisuma, 1999. DVD. Directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi. Nikkatsu Studio. [Google Scholar]), Pulse (Kairô 2001 Kairo, 2001. DVD. Directed by Kurosawa Kiyoshi. Tokyo: Daiei Studio. [Google Scholar]), and other cinematic works in light of their narrative references to radicalism, this article will flesh out the layered process through which Kurosawa's films engage the past while coping with the trauma of post-Aum Japan.     

The discourse on Japanese commitment to Africa: The planning process of the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV)

TICAD was held for the fourth time in 2008, raising unprecedented public interest about Africa in Japan attracting attention not only from aid, diplomatic, trade and research communities but also among the general public. Due to geographic distance and limited historical connection, it has always been a matter of debate as to why Japan should increase its commitment to Africa. The different interest groups that have participated throughout the TICAD process have always had varying answers to this question. Through analysis of newspapers, journal articles and various documents this article seeks to untangle the process of TICAD's policy making and its outcomes.     

Crucial Decisions By Small Towns and Villages: Why Did Some Municipalities Choose to Merge But Others Did Not During the Nationwide Wave of Municipal Mergers in Japan?

This article focuses on the nationwide wave of municipal consolidations in Japan that took place from 2003 to 2006 and examines why some municipalities merged but others did not. The central government did not legally force consolidations but instead provided municipalities with fiscal incentives. I argue that small municipalities were reluctant to merge because they would lose generous transfers from the central government as well as decision-making powers once they unified with their larger neighbors. Fiscal incentives by the central government significantly raised the cost of remaining intact and induced a large number of fiscally weak municipalities to merge.     

Can a rentier state evolve to a production state? An ‘institutional upgrading’ approach

ABSTRACT

Can a rentier state evolve to a production state? This article attempts to answer this question by analysing how historically states evolved to production states and by comparing their experience with today’s Gulf states. Although the Gulf states show some productive traits today, their mode of production largely remains ‘production with rentier characteristics’, that is reliant on oil-driven advantages. Their further economic diversification requires improved governance capabilities that enable their government to enhance human capital. Production states around the world acquired such governance capabilities through ‘institutional upgrading’, a replacement of clientelistic institutions with meritocratic ones. While clientelistic institutions tend to persist, such institutions were significantly reduced in these states through the exit of vested-interest players from major fiscal and organizational spaces. The exit appears to occur when these vested-interest players accept pain-sharing to ensure their protection in the context of the revealed vulnerability of their patron regime and when alternative productive gains are offered to them in lieu of conventional distribution. Presently neither condition is in existence in the Gulf states, which continue to be characterized by their direct and extensive distributional regimes. Without a prospect for immediate governance improvement, a realistic reform possibility lies in agency under institutional constraints.