Cone‐beam Computed Tomography for Analyzing Variations in Inferior Alveolar Canal Location in Adults in Relation to Age and Sex*

Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that the relative position of the inferior alveolar canal and its mental and mandibular foramina in adults vary with age and show sexual dimorphism. Conceivably, these purported differences could be of forensic value for determining identity of human remains. This study was designed to determine the influence of age and sex on the relative position of inferior alveolar canal and its foramina in cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) studies of adults. Existing CBCT studies of the maxillofacial region from dentate adult patients selected at random and ranging in age from 18 to 80 years (110 women and 55 men) were acquired, and the location of the inferior alveolar canal was assessed at three points: the mandibular foramen in axial view, the inferior alveolar canal in coronal view, and the mental foramen in coronal view. Measurements were also expressed for the mental foramen as the percentile position from the nearest superior bony crest to the inferior border; corresponding position of the mandibular foramen from the anterior to the posterior border of the mandibular ramus; and for the inferior alveolar canal at the level of first permanent molar from the nearest buccal bony surface to the lingual surface and from the superior alveolar crest to the inferior border. Regression analyses were performed on the variables with regard to the effects of age and sex. Most analyses resulted in no statistical significance (p < 0.05). A few of the sex‐specific traits demonstrated near‐statistically significant effects; however, these characterizations generally resulted in a 1% or less change per age decade. Overall, the results demonstrated that the relative location of the inferior alveolar canal and associated foramina in adults remain fairly constant without regard to age and sex.     

The complications of controlling agency time discretion: FDA review deadlines and postmarket drug safety

Public agencies have discretion on the time domain, and politicians deploy numerous policy instruments to constrain it. Yet little is known about how administrative procedures that affect timing also affect the quality of agency decisions. We examine whether administrative deadlines shape decision timing and the observed quality of decisions. Using a unique and rich dataset of FDA drug approvals that allows us to examine decision timing and quality, we find that this administrative tool induces a piling of decisions before deadlines, and that these “just-before-deadline” approvals are linked with higher rates of postmarket safety problems (market withdrawals, severe safety warnings, safety alerts). Examination of data from FDA advisory committees suggests that the deadlines may impede quality by impairing late-stage deliberation and agency risk communication. Our results both support and challenge reigning theories about administrative procedures, suggesting they embody expected control-expertise trade-offs, but may also create unanticipated constituency losses.     

Acid phosphatase screening — Wetting test paper or wetting fabric and test paper?

Detecting and locating semen stains is addressed by identifying the associated acid phosphatase activity of semen. The recovery of semen stains is critical as it can, via DNA testing, address the possible source(s) of the semen and may aid in the interpretation of a case. The purpose of these experiments, carried out on behalf of the Body Fluids Forum, was to consider whether wetting the test paper alone or wetting the semen stained fabric and the test paper affected the detection and location of the semen stains on various fabric types, or the subsequent recovery of spermatozoa from these fabrics. It became evident that the preferred approach varied depending on the fabric type being tested but that more often than not, wetting both the fabric and the test paper had a detrimental effect on the recovery of spermatozoa.     

Opportunities and limitations of the exercise of foreign policy power by a very small state: the case of Trinidad and Tobago

The idea that a microstate such as Trinidad and Tobago can possess and use ‘power,’ a trait generally associated with a high level of military and economic capability, would appear to a traditional realist to be absurd. This is largely because power is still seen as exercised at the global systemic level or at regional levels that are globally significant. However, small states generally focus their foreign policies on smaller circles, primarily neighbours and dominant bilateral partners. By moving the power analysis (back) to the state (foreign policy) level, extending the definition of ‘power’ to include status (‘position’) and actual attempts to get others to adopt an influencer's preferences, and employing the newer views of power as soft and smart, this article argues that even very small states can exercise power within limited domains as long as they possess certain capabilities (in this case, energy resources) and are ready to seize available opportunities. The evidence shows, however, that the results of these attempts are still mixed, limited primarily by perceptual constraints on the part of both the small-state influencer and the target influencee.     

Driving growth: Regulatory reform and expressways in Indonesia

This article uses the case study of Indonesian governments' attempts to construct a 1,000 kilometer toll road through the densest parts of Java to shed light on how governments with a checkered past of enforcing contracts and protecting private property rights go about establishing the requisite regulatory framework to attract private investment for infrastructure. While regulatory reform has taken place in Indonesia, vested interests and power will keep the country's political economy from taking on World Bank-promoted best practice characteristics. Programs that promote private sector participation in infrastructure need to be reconsidered where the main ingredients for these programs' success exist in small measures.     

Injustice ignored: a case study of the irregular sea migration of the Rohingyan boat people

Migration has always been a sensitive issue as it is oftentimes driven by a sense of tragedy and loss. This paper examines the irregular sea migration of the Rohingyan Muslims who fled from Myanmar in order to escape state-sponsored socio-cultural persecution. In their quest to find sanctuary in neighboring states such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees report that thousands are now missing at sea, drowned, or detained in holding centers for undocumented migrants. It is against this factual backdrop that the author has chosen to make an analysis of a coastal state's rights to maritime border control vis a vis its established obligations to irregular sea migrants under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the Refugee Convention, and various international human rights instruments. Finally, key regional and bilateral initiatives that deal with the issue will be examined.