Study of cathepsin A, B and D activities in the skin wound edges. Its application to the differential diagnosis between vital and postmortem wounds

The aims of the authors in this paper has been to check the diagnostic ability of the Cathepsin A, B and D concentrations in the skin wound edges to the differential diagnosis between vital and postmortem wounds. We have studied 56 domestic pigs grouped in seven experimental series consisting of 8 animals in each, according to the time (0, 5, 15, 30 min and 1, 3 and 6 h) after the injury. The enzymatic activities were investigated following the methods by Bowen and Davison Biochem. J., 131 (1973) 417-419, Suhar and Marks J. Biochem., 101 (1979) 23-30 and by Anson (modified by Yamamoto, Eur. J. Biochem., 95 (1979) 459-467) for Cathepsin A, B and D, respectively. For the differential diagnosis between vital and postmortem wounds, our results showed that the most useful markers studied are the Cathepsin A and D activities, Cathepsin D that of the first one.     

A simplified procedure for simultaneous detection of salivary proteins and its application in paternity testing

An alternative simplified procedure for the genetic analysis of salivary protein complex (SPC) which eliminates the need for a specific concentrated parotid sample is proposed. After the technique is applied isoelectric focusing and protein detection is carried out by silver staining. The chance of exclusion of non-fathers for these systems in our population is 0.161711 for Pr, 0.07948 for Db, 0.07836 for Pa and 0.00995 for PIF. The total exclusion rate for these systems is 0.30042.     

Miscarriages of Justice and the Discourse of Innocence: Perspectives from Appellants,Campaigners, Journalists,and Legal Practitioners

This article problematizes the discourse of innocence in relation to victims of wrongful conviction operating within the criminal justice system. For appellants whose convictions have been quashed by the Court of Appeal, notions of innocence are often at odds with how others perceive and understand the purpose of criminal trials and appeals. This article will examine the views of legal practitioners, journalists, and victims of wrongful conviction and their supporters regarding factual innocence and how misunderstanding can sometimes lead to miscommunication by actors operating within the same system. The article will further examine the issue of compensation in light of the recent ruling by the Supreme Court and conclude that the current debate regarding what constitutes a miscarriage of justice continues to confuse legal practitioners and prolong the anxiety suffered by victims recovering from the trauma of wrongful imprisonment and subsequent losses.     

Authoritarian Regimes and Their Permitted Oppositions: Election Day Outcomes in Cuba

Electoral opposition to long‐established authoritarian regimes may be loyal or rejectionist. Loyal oppositionists vote to send a selective signal to rulers; rejectionist oppositionists vote blank or void the ballot in full disapproval. In Cuba, the number of candidates equals the number of seats, yet voters may vote blank, void, or selectively (choosing some but not all candidates on the ballot), although the Communist Party has campaigned for all candidates. This article uses a unique dataset for Cuba's 2013 National Assembly elections to study aggregate opposition outcomes. It shows the emergence of a loyal opposition, which sometimes votes for and sometimes against Communist Party candidates. The rejectionist opposition, stable over time, never votes for Communist Party candidates; it is found where the Communist Party behaves monopolistically. This combined opposition has better national‐level political information; it comes from more educated or larger urban areas or areas closer to Havana.     

Entre la pampa del lenguaje y el alambrado de la escritura: la mancha roja como síntoma de la ambigüedad de lo real en La ocasión de Juan José Saer

La presencia recurrente del color rojo en La ocasión de Saer desempeña una función desestabilizadora en relación a la representación figurativa. En el artículo se establecen analogías entre esta función y el elemento voluble, no mimético de la pintura que el pensador e historiador de arte, Georges Didi-Huberman, denomina como “pan” en contraste con el detalle, categoría asociada con el carácter icónico de la pintura. Al igual que el “pan”, las manchas rojas en la novela apuntan a la dimensión de lo real que se resiste a la legibilidad y señala los límites de la narrativa realista. Saer se vale de contrastes cromáticos para aludir a tensiones políticas y epistemólogicas y a las paradojas de escribir una novela situada en el siglo diecinueve pero incorporando la experiencia literaria del siglo veinte.     

Administrative Innovations and Accountability Failures: The Termination of the Spanish Telecommunications Agency

We discuss how far accountability practices may be relevant to the success of independent regulators in countries without a tradition of administrative autonomy. We develop a conceptualisation of agency accountability failures and develop an analytical framework to examine the life and termination of the Spanish regulatory agency for telecommunications, CMT (Comisión del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones - Telecommunications Market Commission). We argue that the CMT’s termination was related, among other reasons, to accountability failures in its institutional design. The paper relies on a variety of sources, including legislation, literature, media coverage, and semistructured interviews with agency officials and several stakeholders.     

Motivations for Social Media Use: Associations with Social Media Engagement and Body Satisfaction and Well-Being among Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Adolescents are spending considerable time on social media, yet it is unclear whether motivations for social media use drive different forms of social media...     

Postmortem Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Gunshot Wounds to the Neck

Postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is rarely used for the radiologic assessment of gunshot injuries, although it has clear advantages over postmortem computed tomography (CT) with regard to the imaging of soft tissue injuries. Another benefit in using MRI is that lodged projectiles composed of nonferromagnetic material such as lead present only marginal metal artifacts compared with severe artifacts on CT. This case report presents CT and MRI findings in a case with two gunshot wounds to the neck: a perforating wound and a nonperforating wound with a lead bullet lodged in the cervical spine. The decedent underwent CT and MRI before the scheduled autopsy. A ring of radiopaque material under the dermis in the fatty tissue was identified at both entrance wounds on CT, which was indicative of contact shots. The perforating gunshot was clearly indicated on CT by bullet fragments along the wound channel through the perforated 6th cervical vertebra and the fractured cricoid cartilage at the exit wound. The second trajectory, however, was only assumed based on the presence of gunshot residues at the entrance wound and the position of the lodged bullet. The radiologic assessment was severely impeded by the metal artifacts on CT. Barely noticeable metal artifacts on MRI allowed for clear visualization of the soft tissue injuries and the ruptured medulla oblongata. Only MRI clarified the soft tissue injuries of the brainstem noninvasively, which could provide specific and graphic information on the rapidity of death and the incapacitation of the victim.     

Volatile Organic Compounds,Spectral Characterization and Morphology of Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil (ANFO) Samples

Ammonium nitrate fuel oil is an explosive mixture found in most antipersonnel landmines (APL) buried throughout the Colombian territory. During more than 50 years of internal conflict, the Colombian government has found that trained dogs are the most effective method to detect APL. However, the olfactive signature in ANFO is unknown and also if there are differences in detection related to the explosive manufacturing origin. Therefore, this work begins with the analytical validation of the method used to determine ammonia, in its derivatized form as carbamate, released by home-made ANFO using HS-SPME-GC-FID. Once validated, the method was used to identify ammonia and other organic volatile compounds present in ANFO, under laboratory and simulated field conditions. The validation process includes the evaluation of the optimum conditions for the derivation and extraction of butylcarbamate, the determination of the working ranges with linear response in FID, the limits of detection and quantification, the sensitivity, and the precision. The results of the validation established linearity and sensitivity in a concentration between 20 and 120 mg/L, as well as low limits of detection and quantification of 6.4 and 21.4 mg/L, respectively. Also, an intermediate precision of 11% for butylcarbamate with a repeatability of 8%. The validated method showed in real samples of home-made ANFO besides ammonia, the presence of low molecular methylamines, and also exhibited differences in volatile compositions according to the origin. The objective of this work is to offer a reliable analytical methodology for the extraction and analysis of volatile compounds from ANFO.