Application of automatic image analysis (IBAS system) to age calculation. Efficiency in the analysis of several teeth from a single subject.

In a previous paper (M. López-Nicolás et al., Forensic Sci. Int., 45 (1990) 143-150) we obtained a model of multiple regression to estimate age using computerized image analysis (IBAS) to study teeth. This method should provide more precise measurements of the parameters involved and to test this hypothesis we have carried out a blind study using more than one tooth from the same individual in order to check the diagnostic accuracy of the method. Our results show that individual variability introduced serious errors in tooth age estimation using computerized image analysis. However the study of more than one tooth per individual improves the accuracy of age estimation. Specific cases should therefore be interpreted cautiously, as a degree of variability can be expected using the parameters defined in this method.     

Intraventricular hemorrhage originating from choroid plexus angioma in a road accident victim

A 76-year-old woman sustained severe multiple injuries when hit by a car. During the treatment a massive intraventricular hemorrhage was found by computer tomography. The postmortem examination revealed no craniocerebral injuries except for a small contused wound of the scalp. Microscopic examinations revealed a choroid plexus angioma in the lateral ventricle as the cause of the hemorrhage into cerebral ventricles.     

Comparative electron-microscopic investigation of postmortem human heart muscle biopsy

Based on Harvard criteria findings, comparative morphological investigation on postmortem heart muscle biopsy following coronary insufficiency after sudden cardiac death have been reported. The subendothelial layer of the left ventricular wall has revealed a severe interstitial edema, various types of actin-myosin filamental destruction, mitochondrial damage, and disseminated muscle fiber necrosis. One of the first alterations observed was the change in transmembrane calcium and intracellular calcium metabolism. A decrease in succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase activity was discovered early.     

Ceremonial regionalism,institutions and integration in the Americas

Latin America's recent integrationist proposals have been presented as part of a new commitment to increasing living standards and international competitiveness. However, the frustrating results of integration in the past three decades should caution us against placing excessive emphasis on the technical aspects of trade. The author argues that important lessons can be learned from previous attempts to promote integration in this region while neglecting the political dimensions of integration. Inadequate organizational forms, weak institutional arrangements ruled by technocratic elites, may be more helpful as ceremonial devices in the legitimation of those elites than in advancing the substance of the integration project. Verónica Montecinos is assistant professor of sociology at The Pennsylvania State University, McKeesport Campus. She has researched the consequences of economic reforms on women as well as the growing involvement of professional economists in government and party politics. Her book on the economic bureaucracy in Chile is forthcoming.     

Genetic profile of a multi-ethnic population from Guiné-Bissau (west African coast) using the new PowerPlex 16 System kit

Allele and haplotype frequencies of 15 chromosome STR loci included in the kit PowerPlex16 System from Promega, were determined in a sample of unrelated males from Guiné-Bissau, a country from the west African coast. All individuals were subjected to an interview in order to make sure that their ancestors belonged to the same ethnic group. This way we intended to look for possible inter-ethnic differences. PowerPlex 16 includes STRs not studied before in any multi-ethnic population. The kit includes two new allele markers (Penta D and Penta E), which are very useful either in forensics or population genetic studies. The Guinean population presents significant differences when compared with other African populations.