Methods used for the killing and preservation of blowfly larvae, and their effect on post-mortem larval length

A record of the length of the largest larvae collected from a corpse can be used to estimate the age of the oldest larvae present and, therefore, give an estimate of minimum time since death. Consequently, factors that affect post-mortem larval length will impact on any estimate of PMI based on it. Methods used to kill and preserve larvae are known to affect post-mortem length. This study looks at the effects of different preservatives, and variations in the protocol used for killing larvae by immersion in a hot water bath = [hot water killed; HWK], on the length of dead larvae of two common blowfly species. Post-feeding third instar Calliphora vomitoria and Lucilia sericata larvae were either HWK in boiling water and then placed in 80% ethanol or 10% formaldehyde solution, or placed live into the preservatives. For both species, choice of preservative and method of killing significantly affected post-mortem length. There were significant interspecific differences in their response to identical methods of killing and preservation. Additional experiments were carried out where C. vomitoria larvae were HWK in water at 80 and 100 degrees C for 1, 30, 60 and 90 s duration. Both temperature and duration significantly affected post-mortem length. Maximum length was attained after at least 60 s immersion. The amount of post-mortem decomposition that occurred after the larvae were placed in preservative could be greatly reduced by increasing the duration of immersion and/or increasing the water temperature. For the HWK larvae, it was possible to record their length immediately after death and before they had been placed in preservative. This data revealed that where 80% ethanol was used as a preservative the larvae expanded in the preservative. The timing of this expansion was investigated with a sample of C. vomitoria, HWK at 100 degrees C for 30 s and recording post-mortem length immediately after death and again after 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 27, 30 and 33 h storage in 80% ethanol. Maximum length was recorded after 12 h storage and the rate of expansion was highest during the first 3 h in this preservative. After long-term storage (290 days), larvae killed and preserved in the same way were on average 0.7% longer than immediately after death and 0.6% (0.11 mm) smaller than when last measured (after 28 days storage).     

Navigating the Future: A Case Study of Growing Victoria Together

In an increasingly volatile, uncertain and complex world governments internationally are seeking new frameworks to think about future directions which can guide policy choices that can be turned into realities. This article presents an insiders' case study of the initial development of the Victorian Labor government's Growing Victoria Together, launched in November 2001; it expresses the vision, policy priorities and its key progress measures. It has been developed to guide medium-term policy choices, communicate directions to citizens and engage stakeholders to think collaboratively about the future. The article notes the emerging international interest in alternatives to public policy paradigms based on economic rationality, market decision-making and organisational managerialism and outlines the steps and actions involved in developing its public release and the first stages of implementation. It concludes by reflecting on lessons which can be learned from this experience for exploring new strategic policy frameworks.     

Distinguishing Absentee Students from Regular Attenders: The Combined Influence of Personal,Family, and School Factors

In the present study, the relationship between student attendance and personal characteristics of the student, the student's family relations, and school variables were examined in a sample of 54 high school students. Consistent with earlier reports, t-tests revealed statistically significant relationships between school absence and many student, family, and school variables. The data were also analyzed using a stepwise discriminant analysis. The results showed that the absentee and regular attending students could be distinguished based on a combined set of 6 variables representing each of the three domains of student, family, and school characteristics. The results further revealed that several variables that were statistically significant in the univariate analyses failed to be retained in the discriminant analysis, suggesting that these variables did not contribute sufficient unique variance to warrant their inclusion in the discriminant function. The implications of school absence as a multifactored problem is discussed with respect to assessment and treatment effectiveness.     

Gender,ethnic group,and grade differences in psychosocial functioning during middle adolescence?

Prior research has found significant differences between ethnic groups in identity formation. However, most investigations have either failed to include or adjust for SES level differences. To reassess possible differences in psychosocial development between African American, American Indian, Mexican American, and White American 10th–12th grade male and female adolescents (n=123), ethnic groups were compared according to passive-active dimensions delineated in identity, sex role orientation, and locus of control. A series of analyses of covariance (using education level of father and mother as covariates) were computed using ethnicity, grade, and gender in the factorial model as main effects. Consistent with previous research, White adolescents scored significantly lower than the other groups on ideological foreclosure. Overall, however, more similarity than differences between the four ethnic groups were found. Older students were observed to be more psychosocially mature, and males scored higher than females on identity diffusion. Marginal support was gained for the proposed passive-active delineations of the dependent variables.Partial support for this project was provided to Gerald Adams through funding from the Utah State Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, and the Social Science and Humanities Research Council, Ottawa, Canada.Received Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Department of Psychology, Utah State University. Research interests: identity formation, ego strength and psychosocial maturity in adolescence, interfaith dating and courtship, and ethnic contexts of development.(Visiting Professor, Division of Family Resources, West Virginia University, 1994–1995 academic year.) Received Ph.D. in human development and family studies, Pennsylvania State University. Research interests: personality and social development in adolescence, identity formation, parent-adolescent relationships, and adolescent social problems.     

Regional distribution of cocaine in postmortem brain of chronic human cocaine users

We measured concentrations of cocaine and its major metabolites (benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methylester, norcocaine, and cocaethylene) in 15 autopsied brain regions of 14 human chronic cocaine users. Only slight differences were observed in concentrations of cocaine and its metabolites amongst the examined brain areas. Although it is likely that some postmortem redistribution of the drug must have occurred, our data are consistent with the possibility that behaviorally relevant doses of cocaine are widely distributed throughout the brain of humans who use the drug on a chronic basis. Consideration should therefore be given to the possible pharmacological and toxicological actions of cocaine in both striatal and extra-striatal brain areas in human users of the drug.     

Erikson stage resolution: The relationship between identity and intimacy

Ego identity and intimacy statuses were determined for 88 college students, 44 men and 44 women, and related to each other and to measures of intimacy, loving, and liking. As hypothesized, more advanced stages of identity development were associated with higher levels of intimacy formation. Further, for both males and females, occupational identity development was the primary predictive factor in the identity/intimacy stage resolution relationship.Received her M. S. from Utah State University.Received his M. A. in psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and his Ph.D. in human development from The Pennsylvania State University.     

Toward the development of an objective assessment of ego-identity status

Four investigations were completed to develop a self-report measure of ego-identity status. Following James Marcia's definition of diffusion, moratorium, foreclosure, and identity achievement status, a series of Likert-type items were constructed and validated for use in the study of ego-identity formation. Convergent-divergent, concurrent, and predictive validity and test-retest reliability are documented in the reported data. Cross-sectional data suggest the measure will be sensitive to intraindividual change in identity formation. The new Objective Measure of Ego-Identity Status allows researchers to use either a typology or a distribution of stage responses in future longitudinal investigations.This research was supported by a Division of Research Grant at Utah State University.Received his Ph.D. in human development from the Pennsylvania State University. Current research interests include adolescent personality and social development, interpersonal attraction, and family relations.Received her M.S. from Utah State University and is currently a doctoral student at Pennsylvania State University.Received his B.S. from Utah State University and is currently a graduate student at that institution.