Suicidal intent in single-car accident drivers: Review and new preliminary findings

This study addressed the issue of a possible link between single-car accident drivers and suicidal intent. In the international literature this topic has generated both positive and negative results. Some authors have stressed unconscious suicidal motivations in various single accidents. Nevertheless, refutation of such theory was demonstrated through experimental studies. We selected 30 single-car accident drivers who had been admitted to emergency departments and then hospitalized for an average period of 10 days. We administered the Reason for Living Inventory (RFL) and investigated their attitudes toward suicide. We also matched these patients with a control group of drivers who had never had a car accident. Results showed that single-car accident drivers were not exposed to a higher overall suicidal risk, though they reported a higher risk on the RFL Survival and Coping Beliefs subscale and often expressed tiredness of being alive. These patients had experienced more life events than controls. We conclude that, although suicide risk was low in our patients, they were engaged in looking for a solution to their problems in which the accident played a role in such a process. This behavior has some characteristics of the logic of suicidal individuals.     

Incestuous paternity detected by STR-typing of chorionic villi isolated from archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded abortion material using laser microdissection

Microscopic examination of a blood clot expelled by a physically and mentally disabled woman taken to the emergency room because of genital bleeding revealed the presence of chorionic villi encircled by decidua, hemorrhage, and necrosis. In order to identify the father of the product of conception, sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded abortion material were subjected to laser microdissection: DNA extraction from chorionic villi selectively isolated from the surrounding tissues allowed successful STR-typing of fetal cells, which was otherwise prevented by excess maternal DNA. The large number of homozygous genotypes in the fetal profile suggested incestuous paternity. Analysis of reference DNA samples from male relatives excluded the woman's father, paternal grandfather, and maternal grandfather, whereas the obligate paternal alleles of the fetus were constantly present in the genotypes of the woman's brother, clearly demonstrating brother-sister incest (probability of paternity > 99.99999%).     

Three-dimensional surface topography acquisition and analysis for firearm identification

In the last decade, computer-based systems for the comparison of microscopic firearms evidence have been the subject of considerable research work because of their expected capability of supporting the firearms examiner through the automated analysis of large amounts of evidence. The Integrated Ballistics Identification System, which is based on a two-dimensional representation of the specimen surface, has been widely adopted in forensic laboratories worldwide. More recently, some attempts to develop systems based on three-dimensional (3D) representations of the specimen surface have been made, both in the literature and as industrial products, such as BulletTRAX-3D, but fundamental limitations in achieving fully automated identification remain. This work analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of a 3D-based approach by proposing an approach and a prototype system for firearms evidence comparison that is based on the acquisition and analysis of the 3D surface topography of specimens, with particular reference to cartridge cases. The concept of 3D virtual comparison microscope is introduced, whose purpose is not to provide fully automated identification, but to show how the availability of 3D shape information can provide a whole new set of verification means, some of them being described and discussed in this work, specifically, visual enhancement tools and quantitative measurement of shape properties, for supporting, not replacing, the firearm examiner in reaching the final decision.     

Sexual abuse of vulnerable young and old men

During a 4-year period, aggregated data from Adult Protective Services case files in Virginia revealed 17 cases of sexually abused young, middle-age, and old men. The most common types of sexual abuse across age groups involved instances of sexualized kissing and fondling and unwelcome sexual interest in the individual men's bodies. The majority of alleged perpetrators were male; they typically were similar in age to the men and resided in the same residential facility. In none of the cases was the alleged perpetrator prosecuted. Only two of the men continued to be at risk of further sexual abuse by the alleged perpetrator. Implications of these data for future research and practice include a need for studies that focus on differences between male and female victims, especially concerning investigations and interventions, and for training on reporting and intervention for facilities and agencies and organizations working with victims and alleged perpetrators.     

Jails and Public Health Service Delivery and Empirical Knowledge: The Impact of Jail Population “Flow”

Time/flow is a decisive variable when proposing public health interventions in jail populations and settings. The present paper argues that jail flow affects the types of public health interventions achievable in ways not acknowledged generally by public health/medical researchers. The paper explores how public health interventions vary among jail populations in terms of “flow” and how they are affected by a “period” effect. Interventions that will be effective and reach a substantial portion of the jail population are dependent upon the point in the jail processing process. In turn, the variables that affect the speed of population flow through the jail setting also influence who will be served by public health interventions.     

Hair and urine testing to assess drugs of abuse consumption in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART)

For the first time in Europe hair and urine testing have been applied to assess drugs of abuse consumption in couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology and the eventual association of toxic habits with other lifestyle, health status and sociodemographic factors was also investigated. Couples attending five assisted reproduction centers in Rome were invited to join the study. When they presented at the Centre for the visit, they were asked to answer a structured questionnaire concerning sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle habits, and at the same time to provide hair and urine samples. Hair and urine testing for drugs of abuse, urinary profile of principal endogenous steroids involved in fertility process (testosterone, epitestosterone, androsterone, etiocholanolone and dehydroepiandrosterone) and of alcohol and tobacco smoke biomarkers were performed with validated methodologies. Of the 594 enrolled individuals (297 couples), 352 (164 couples and 24 single individuals from the couple) completed the questionnaire and gave both hair and urine samples, apart from 3 bald men, who only gave urine samples. Urine testing showed an overall 4.8% (17 individuals) positivity to drugs of abuse: 4.2% to cannabinoids, 1.4% to cocaine and 0.85% to both drugs. Results of 4cm segment hair samples testing matched those from urine samples. Thus, taking together, results of urine and hair testing confirmed repeated use of cannabis, cocaine and both drugs in 3.7, 0.85 and 0.57% examined individuals, respectively. Drug consumers were in a statistically higher percentage active smokers and alcohol drinkers, less prone to physical activity and with a trend towards higher weight than non consumers. Finally, repeated drug consumption was associated with significant lower concentration of urinary testosterone in males and of urinary dehydroepiandrosterone in females. The findings of the present study confirm the suitability of urine testing to disclose recent drugs of abuse consumption and of hair analysis to verify repeated consumption. Association between different toxic habits and sedentary lifestyle is also substantiated by the obtained results in our cohort of couples attending assisted reproduction centers.     

Age estimation in children by measurement of open apices in tooth roots: Study of a Mexican sample

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the accuracy of Cameriere's European formula for age assessment in a large sample of Mexican children. The accuracy of dental age estimation was defined as how closely real age, measured as the difference between chronological age (CA) and dental age (DA), could be predicted. Digitalized orthopantomographs of 502 Mexican children (254 girls and 248 boys), aged between 5 and 15 years, were analyzed. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated using Cameriere's method. Intra- and inter-observer variability for this technique was tested on a small random sample. Dental age was estimated for each individual and compared with known chronological age. Accuracy was measured as the difference between known chronological age and dental age and tested for significance with the mean prediction error (ME). The standard deviation and 95% confidence interval of the mean difference were also calculated. ME was 0.63 years for girls and 0.52 years for boys. ME was found to be slightly overestimated by 0.10 years for girls, but was correctly estimated for boys with an accuracy of 0.00. In conclusion, this method is very useful and may be recommended for practical application both in clinical dentistry and forensic procedures on the Mexican population.     

Do Women Representatives Regender Legislative Bureaucracy? Assessing the Effect of Representative Sex on Women's Presence among US Congressional Staff

Achieving greater female presence in influential positions is a commonly discussed strategy for gender reform in institutions such as the US Congress. Using theory adapted from research on gender in the workplace, this study examines whether women representatives, as ‘managers’ of congressional offices, alter patterns of gender representation in Congress by hiring and promoting more women staffers compared with men representatives. Cross-sectional logistic regression analyses of staffer sex during the 110th and 111th Congresses (2007–10) reveal a positive relationship between women representatives and female presence on congressional staffs. However, the relationship does not hold with respect to the most influential staff positions. These findings provide only limited support for theories that women representatives act as ‘change agents’ by directly facilitating opportunities for women, and highlight the importance of exploring alternative strategies for empowering women and regendering legislative institutions.