Evaluation of Y-STR variation in Bosnian and Herzegovinian population

Eight Y-STR polymorphisms (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393) were analyzed in the samples of 181 unrelated males from Bosnia and Herzegovinia. Observed STR allelic frequency pattern and locus diversity values in Bosnians and Herzegovinians correspond closer to neighboring southeastern European populations than previously reported (mostly western) European populations. One hundred and five haplotypes were identified and 78 haplotypes (74.3%) appeared in single copies. The most frequent haplotypes (DYS19-DYS385-DYS389I-DYS389II-DYS390-DYS391-DYS392-DYS393) were 16-14/15-13-31-24-11-11-13 (7.7%), 16-14/15-13-30-24-11-11-13 (7.7%) and 15-14/15-13-31-24-11-11-13 (5.5%). Total haplotype diversity was 0.9820 +/- 0.0040.     

Population data on 14 STR loci from population of Serbia and Montenegro (new and renewed data)

A renewed and new population study of fourteen short tandem repeat loci (TH01, TPOX, CSF1P0, vWA, FES/FPS, F13A01, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, LPL, F13B, CD4, D5S818 and D8S1179) were performed in a sample of 296-531 unrelated individuals from Serbia and Montenegro. Population data were compared to previously published data from Vojvodina province and neighboring Croatia.     

Iatrogenic tracheal laceration causing asphyxia

Endotracheal intubation is a simple, rapid, and safe technique that is being used as a standard procedure for airway management. However, airway injury during endotracheal intubation could be a significant source of morbidity or even mortality for patients and a source of liability for physicians as well. We report an unusual case of fatal tracheal occlusion by intraluminal blood clot complicating endotracheal intubation. The patient, a 62-year-old woman, with renovascular hypertension and incipient renal failure was scheduled for renal autotransplantation. The surgery was uneventful but the postoperative course was complicated with a lethal airway obstruction. At autopsy a linear longitudinal tracheal laceration was identified with an intraluminal blood clot obstructing the tracheal lumen. Tracheal laceration as a cause of death is a rare and potentially fatal complication of endotracheal intubation with intratracheal bleeding, clot formation, tracheal occlusion, and subsequent asphyxia.     

Death caused by a signal rocket--not an isolated case*

Fatalities related to sporting events are predominantly caused by blunt force injuries especially due to the emotional involvement of crowd, but occasionally other types of trauma are reported as well. A case of very rare trauma caused by shooting with a hand-held parachute signal rocket during a football match is presented. A 17-year-old football fan sustained fatal injuries, a combination of mechanical trauma caused by rocket penetration, as well as extensive thermal burning of the thoracic viscera. Analysis of the event was based on autopsy findings and evidence produced by medicolegal and ballistic experts. Improper use of a hand-held signal rocket, designed for marine distress signals, may cause serious injuries either mechanically, due to explosion, or as a result of thermal discharge. In the reported case, pattern of injuries is discussed, and medical finding corroborated to other available evidence. The presented case is a reminder that the forensic pathologist should be informed accordingly on the type and features of weapon suspected to produce injury, to be able to understand traumatic changes, and look for potential presence of foreign bodies at postmortem examination.     

Structural power and the China-EU-Western Balkans triangular relations

Asia Europe Journal - Narratives about the challenges of China’s growing involvement with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for the region and the EU are exponentially proliferating and have...     

Lethal Bentazone Intoxication – A Report of Two Cases

This study presents two cases of lethal bentazone poisonings, their clinical presentation, the course of the disease and the autopsy findings. The first is a 50‐year‐old male who had sprayed corn with a solution of bentazone and was admitted to the hospital with sweating, fever, nausea, vomiting of aqueous and hemorrhagic content, and bloody, watery stools. He was treated according to the symptoms including extracorporeal hemodialysis, but eventually suffered from multiorgan failure (acute respiratory failure, acute liver failure, coagulopathy, acute renal failure, metabolic acidosis, and gastrointestinal bleeding) and died 11.35 h after admittance. The cause of death was probable bentazone intoxication. The second case, also a male, aged 49 who committed suicide by ingesting a bentazone solution. He was transferred to the hospital prostrated and cyanotic and died 14.15 h after admittance despite all efforts by the hospital staff. The cause of death was acute bentazone intoxication.     

Powdered Activated Carbon: An Alternative Approach to Genomic DNA Purification

Forensic evidence samples are routinely found as stains on various substrates, which may contain substances known to inhibit polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The goal of this study was to evaluate post‐Chelex^®100 purification using powdered activated carbon (PAC). Mock crime scene DNA extracts were analyzed using quantitative PCR and short tandem repeat (STR) profiling to test the DNA recovery and inhibitor removal using PAC with those of the Amicon^®Ultra 100K. For extracted bloodstains on soil and wood substrates, PAC and Amicon^®Ultra 100K generated similar DNA yield and quality. Moreover, the two methods significantly decreased the concentration of humic substances and tannins compared to nonpurified extracts (p < 0.001). In instances where extracts contained indigo dye (bloodstains on denim), Amicon^®Ultra 100K performed better than PAC due to improved amplifiability. Efficient adsorption of humic substances and tannins, which are common inhibitors, indicates PAC's potential application in the purification of high‐template DNA extracts.     

From ideology to pragmatism

He is editor-in-chief of Praxis International. His books include In Search of Democracy in Socialism; Between Ideals and Reality;and, forthcoming From Marxism and Bolshevism to Gorbachev’s Perestroika.     

Cosmopolitanism and National Tradition: The Case of Slovenia

This paper discusses the contradictions of maintaining national identity in the age of globalization. It investigates the central relevance of the concept of citizenship in light of the encroaching forces of economic and cultural globalization, on the one hand; and ethnic, nationalistic, and religious fundamentalism, on the other. The paper argues for the need to recognize not only the meaning of national identity, derived mainly from works of art and literature in a given tradition, but also its potential to head off forms of reductionism, be they economic or ethnic. In this regard, the paper calls for a theoretically subtle approach to the contemporary dilemmas of small nations, caught between the fundamentalist temptation (nationalism) and global corporate homogeneity. The case of Slovenia is used here to spell out the necessity to develop a cosmopolitan attitude, characterized as it is by both local cultural tradition and international codes of expression. Such an attitude may best be developed in a civic sphere that provides the mediating ground between the solipsistic pursuit of individual happiness and governmental political regimentation.