Preliminary observations on the effects of hydrocortisone and sodium methohexital on development of Sarcophaga (Curranea) tibialis Macquart (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), and implications for estimating post mortem interval.

Larvae of Sarcophaga (Curranea) tibialis (S. tibialis) were reared at constant temperature on chicken liver treated with a steroid or a barbiturate at concentrations that would be lethal, half-lethal and twice-lethal doses for humans. Trends to greater mortality at higher drug concentrations were not statistically significant. Larvae exposed to either drug took significantly longer to reach pupation compared to those in the control, while larvae exposed to sodium methohexital passed through pupation significantly faster than those in the control. No systematic relationship was found between drug concentration and development time of larvae or pupae. The total developmental period from hatching to eclosion did not differ between treatments, implying that estimates of post mortem intervals- (PMI) based on the emergence of adult flies will not be affected by the involvement of these drugs in a case. On the other hand, anomalous pupation spans may indicate the presence of barbiturates. These findings are compared with patterns found in another fly fed other contaminants.     

Democratic and aggressive political participation: Estimation of a nonrecursive model

Previous empirical research concerning political participation has made either one of two errors. In the first case, the research has omitted aggressive or extralegal forms of political participation. In the second case, the research included aggressive forms of participation but estimated models of aggressive and democratic participation separately despite the strong positive correlation between them. Each error leads to an incorrectly specified model of political participation. To correct this situation, we specify a nonrecursive model and test it using data from two disparate sample surveys. In each test the results indicate that earlier participation models were incorrectly specified in that aggressive behavior is a significant cause of democratic participation while the reverse is not true.     

Auf dem Weg in eine europäische Gesellschaft?

After half a century of European integration it is legitimate to ask if, how and in how far a ?European society“ has emerged. But how is this difficult notion to be conceptualized? What is European, what denotes society? Following the distinction of unity and difference, this article sets out to discuss the analytical options of the perspective of unity (the model of the nation state, the United States of Europe, a reality sui generis) and of difference (the ?other“ of Europe by comparing Europe to the regions of the world). According to the main thesis, European society denotes a reality sui generis, i.e., is an emergent phenomenon which can neither be conceptualized by the old model of the nation state nor the new notion of world society. European society should be characterized according to its leitmotif of structured diversity, its cultural and historical legacies, its logic of institutional separation and differentiation and its common basic institutional infrastructure. European society, therefore, rests upon a shared historical community of fate and exhibits a multiple unity of economy, work, education, solidarity, law, religion and culture. The engine of Europeanization is the European Union which together with nation states and regions fosters a veritable pressure of convergence upon the European space. Given its taken-for-granted character, the European society is half latent, half manifest, half empirically traceable and analytically conceivable, half normatively desirable or controversial.     

The social cost of trading: Measuring the increased damages from sulfur dioxide trading in the United States

The sulfur dioxide (SO₂) cap and trade program established in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments is celebrated for reducing abatement costs ($0.7 to $2.1 billion per year) by allowing emissions allowances to be traded. Unfortunately, places with high marginal costs also tend to have high marginal damages. Ton‐for‐ton trading reduces emissions in low damage areas (rural) while increasing emissions in high damage areas (cities). From 2000 to 2007, conservative estimates of the value of mortality risk suggest that trades increased damages from $0.8 to $1.1 billion annually relative to the initial allowance allocation and from $1.5 to $1.9 billion annually relative to a uniform performance standard. With U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) values, trades increased damages from $2.4 to $3.2 billion annually compared to the initial allowance allocation and from $4.4 to $5.4 billion compared to a uniform performance standard. It is not clear that the ton‐for‐ton SO₂ cap and trade program is actually more efficient than comparable command and control programs. The trading program needs to be modified so that tons are weighted by their marginal damage. © 2011 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Odontometrical method useful in determining gender and dental alignment

Rao et al.'s method of sex determination, which considers the mandibular canine index (MCI) is one giving satisfactory results. However, they did not take occlusion into consideration. The aim of this study, therefore, was to evaluate the effectiveness of this method with respect to tooth alignment.The study population involved the students enrolled in the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis. Two hundred and ten girls and 214 boys were randomly sampled (1/20). Both tooth sizes and dental arches were measured using a vernier calliper to calculate MCI for both sexes. The results were compared to standard MCI, taking into account tooth alignment.Rao et al.'s method can only be used in the case of correct lower-anterior dental alignment and by using the standard MCI of the local population.     

Trauma Severity,Poly-victimization,and Treatment Response: Adults in an Inpatient Trauma Program

The goal of the current study was to evaluate the extent to which abuse history predicted change in treatment in an inpatient setting. Poly-victimization and trauma severity were examined as predictors of treatment response measured by the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40 and the Symptom Checklist-90-R at admission, discharge, and 6-months follow-up. Data from 161 clients of an inpatient trauma treatment program were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results indicate that level of poly-victimization predicted treatment response from admission to discharge on two of four outcome variables; however, this relationship was not found at follow-up. Further analyses suggest that the difference in treatment response at discharge among clients with higher rates of poly-victimization was an artifact of scores at admission. Trauma severity analyses reveal that differing types of abusive experiences generally did not predict treatment response. Overall, results demonstrate that this inpatient treatment program is similarly effective for a broad array of patients, including those with a greater number, and higher severity, of victimizations.     

Attachment-Based Intervention Strategies in Family Therapy with Survivors of Intra-Familial Trauma: A Case Study

There is little research to date on the role of sibling relationships in mitigating attachment-related trauma. This paper is a clinical case study that illustrates the therapeutic process involved in working with siblings as well as the parent–child dyad, following a history of intra-familial trauma. We present an attachment-based treatment approach that recognizes and makes clinical use of a secure sibling attachment system. The process of facilitating therapeutic change in children with an insecure attachment style in relation to their parents, contrasted with a relatively secure sibling attachment system, is discussed. The implications of improved parent–child relationships on family outcomes, as well as on sibling relationships, are also explored.