Public and private: change and continuity in economy through two meta-fields in society

The current literature on comparative political economy does not seem to consider unifying under a single theoretical framework the analysis of continuity and change in different economic systems. On the one hand, major comparative works derive their theoretical propositions from dynamics in the Western world. On the other, studies that are focused on national trajectories of development are concentrated in cross-national comparisons involving countries with similar characteristics in what concerns strategies of development. In this paper, I argue that all fields in the world of social action are pervaded by two major fields, hereby dubbed ‘meta-fields’: public and private. Both are in a ‘double movement’ to shape each other's boundaries through the definition of social and property rights that regulate access to human capabilities and capital. Public and private are meta-fields because they constrain human action and the organization of social configurations on state and non-state levels.     

Firing distance estimation through the analysis of the gunshot residue deposit pattern around the bullet entrance hole by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry: an experimental study

The use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in the study of gunshot residues (GSR) is relatively recent, and only a few studies have been published on the subject. In the present paper, this instrumental technique has been used to study the deposit pattern of the GSR around the bullet entrance hole, through the analysis of antimony (Sb), barium (Ba), and lead (Pb). The data obtained were used to establish a mathematical model for estimating the firing distance. Test shots using a 6.35-mm pistol were made against a target of cotton tissue, and the amounts of Sb, Ba, and Pb deposited in quadrangular pieces of the target, cut from 4 radial positions, were determined by ICP-MS. In these experimental conditions, it was possible to estimate the firing distance on the interval [20-80] cm. The best linear correlation between ln m and d, where m is the mass of Sb, Ba, or Pb in the samples, expressed in mug/g of target tissue, and d the firing distance, was obtained at radial distances between 3.5 cm and 4.5 cm from the entrance hole. The best regression curve which adjusted to the data was a linear multiple regression between the firing distance and the logarithm of the mass of each element: d = a + b(1)X(1) + b(2)X(2) + b(3)X(3), where X(1) = ln m (Sb), X(2) = ln m(Ba) and X(3) = ln m (Pb). The accuracy of firing distance estimation using only 1 or 2 elements was not significantly different from the one obtained with the 3 elements.     

A study on ten short tandem repeat systems: African immigrant and Spanish population data

This work presents the results obtained from a genetic-population study for the D1S1656 system in the population of Southwest Spain (Huelva, Cádiz and Sevilla), Spaniards of Caucasian origin from North Africa (Ceuta), as well as in the black Central West African and Moroccan immigrant populations in Spain. The results of a study of the autochtonous population of the Canary Islands (n=138), and immigrant Central West African populations in Spain (n=132), obtained for nine short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D3S1358, VWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820), as well as the amelogenin locus, all contained in Profiler Plus (Perkin-Elmer) PCR amplification kits, are also presented. Except for the FGA and VWA data on immigrant Central West African populations in Spain, no deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were detected.     

The Effects of Corruption on Satisfaction with Local and National Governments. Does Corruption ‘Grease the Wheels’?

Abstract

A causal association was found between higher levels of corruption and lower levels of satisfaction with local and national governments. However, interaction term analysis provides suggestive evidence that: first, as public service satisfaction increases, the effects of corruption change from negative values to positive values for both local and national governments; second, as political situations improve, the negative effects of corruption diminish for both local and national governments; and, third, as the economic situation improves, the negative effects of corruption diminish for local, but not for national governments.     

An efficient strategy to detect latent fingermarks on metallic surfaces

The aim of this work is to use metal sputtering for the development of latent fingermarks on metallic surfaces by taking advantage of the prints' topography. In order to promote the preferential deposition onto fingerprints' ridges the deposition parameters should be optimized. After a previous selection, copper and gold thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering onto stainless steel substrates where fingermarks were intentionally placed. After optimizing the deposition parameters, the influence of the fingermarks' age was studied. The quality of the developed fingermarks was evaluated visually and through optical and scanning electron microscopy. The morphology of the copper and gold thin films was examined by high resolution scanning electron microscopy. The preferential magnetron sputtering deposition of copper and gold thin films, 20-30 nm thick, allows latent fingermarks to be successfully developed. The gold films are more promising, especially for detecting non-fresh fingermarks and for conserving the developed marks. It was possible to detect the contours of the ridges and localize minutiae features in a one-month aged impression developed by gold deposition. These films present discontinuous surface and columnar cross-sections, while copper thin films have a featureless morphology.     

Environmental conditions associated with shark attacks against humans: a case report about territoriality

This article describes the autopsy findings of a victim of a shark attack that took place off the coast of Pernambuco, Brazil. The victim was rescued and immediately taken to a nearby hospital but did not survive, even though the lapse of time between the attack and verification of death did not exceed 15 minutes. The presence of a single, large, contused and incised, semiarched wound with a serrated aspect was decisive in elucidating the event. Thus, this study discusses aspects related to the aggressor species, to the autopsy, to the type of wound, and to the causes that have led to a significant increase in this type of event in the area. It was concluded that the lesion was produced while the victim was still alive and that it was the cause of death.     

Fatal intoxication with tianeptine (Stablon)

Tianeptine (Stablon), although structurally similar to tricyclic antidepressants, acts by enhancing the reuptake of serotonin. A fatal case is presented involving a 26-year-old man, found lying in bed with a "mushroom of foam" around his mouth. Empty blister packs of Stablon and a suicide note were found next to the body. A liquid-liquid extraction procedure with n-hexane: ethyl acetate and n-hexane: 2-propanol, followed by LC-DAD-MS analysis, using positive mode electrospray ionization was performed. The detection limit was 0.001 microg/mL. The toxicological results revealed the following tianeptine concentrations in the post-mortem samples: blood 5.1 microg/mL; urine 2.0 microg/mL; liver 23 microg/g; stomach contents 22 mg. Femoral blood analyses also revealed an ethanol concentration of 0.53 g/L. The present method was also developed and validated for the other post-mortem specimens, since no previous published data had confirmed the post-mortem distribution of tianeptine. The absence of other suitable direct causes of death (macroscopic or histological) and the positive results achieved with the toxicological analysis led the pathologist to rule that death was due to an intoxication caused by the suicidal ingestion of tianeptine in combination with alcohol.     

13 STR loci frequencies in the population from Paraíba, Northeast Brazil

As part of a long-term project on Northeastern Brazilians, population genetic data were obtained from 323 unrelated individuals from the state of Paraíba. The loci studied were CSF1P0, TPOX, TH01, vWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D18S51, D21S11, D8S1179, F13A01, F13B and LPL. Their distributions are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Forensic parameters were calculated and a comparison was made with geographically nearby populations.