Age estimation using carpals: study of a Slovenian sample to test Cameriere's method

Carpals are often used as age indicators. In a recent study, Cameriere et al. studied the use of the ratio between the total area of carpal bones and epiphyses of the ulna and radius (Bo) and carpals (Ca) as age indicators. The present study, of a sample of 158 Slovenian children and adolescents aged between 6 and 16 years, focused on analysing the best regression for age estimation. The regression model yielded the following equation: age=-3.411+0.942 g+20.927(Bo/Ca), and explained 91.6% of total variance (R(2)=0.916). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.09 years, with a quartile deviation of 0.786 years, and a standard error of estimate of 0.658 years. Comparisons between the previous equation referring to Slovenian children and the equivalent linear equation proposed by Cameriere et al. did not reveal any significant differences between the intercepts and slopes of the two linear models. These results suggested a common regression model for both Italian and Slovenian samples. The common regression model, describing age as a linear function of gender and Bo/Ca ratio, yielded the following linear regression formula: age=-2.907+0.408 g+20.757(Bo/Ca). This model explained 86% of total variance (R(2)=0.86). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.02 years, with a quartile deviation of 1.02 years and a standard error of estimate of 0.96 years.     

The potential for tackling inequality in the Sustainable Development Goals

The recently passed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encompass a variety of explicit and implicit goals that address inequality. Although formulations remain vague and targets abstract, the SDGs go much further than previous development goals in addressing inequality as a central issue. Against the background of insights from inequality research, the article assesses their potential to become discursive resources for fundamental reforms of established development ideas.     

Are China and Japan rivals in Latin America? A rivalry perception analysis

Abstract

This article investigates whether the People’s Republic of China and Japan perceive each other as rivals in Latin America (LA; both the Chinese and Japanese governments tend to refer to the region as Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), but for the purposes of this article we focus mainly on LA), and what impact such a perception might have on their foreign policy decision-making. We take LA as a case study because China’s and Japan’s recent (re-)engagement there began almost simultaneously in the early 2000s, and has developed against the background of domestic leadership transitions, growing demands for energy and markets, as well as international political agendas in which LA might play a key role. Developing the work of Thompson [(1995). Principal rivalries. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 39 (2), 195–223; (2001). Identifying rivals and rivalries in world politics. International Studies Quarterly, 45(4), 557–586] and Vasquez [(1993). The War Puzzle. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; (1996). Distinguishing rivals that go to war from those that do not: Aa quantitative comparative case study of the two paths to war. International Studies Quarterly, 40 (4), 531–558] on rivalry, in combination with perception theory [Jervis, R. (1976). Perception and misperception in international politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press], the article suggests three indicators by which to measure the extent to which China and Japan might perceive each other as rivals. Drawing on content analysis of a range of Chinese- and Japanese-language official writing, news reports, and academic analysis, the article argues that, despite some media representation of China and Japan as competitors for resources and power in LA, in fact mutual perceptions concerning rivalry have not affected LA policy decisions of these two countries.     

Väter in Elternzeit. Deutungen,Aushandlungen und Bewertungen von Familien- und Erwerbsarbeit im Paar

Berliner Journal für Soziologie - Der Anteil von Vätern, die Elternzeit beanspruchen, ist mittlerweile auf über ein Drittel angestiegen. Der Beitrag analysiert Deutungen...     

UNHCR and the pursuit of international protection: accountability through technology?

Better management and new technological solutions are increasingly portrayed as the way to improve refugee protection and enhance the accountability of humanitarian actors. Taking concepts of legibility, quantification and co-production as the point of departure, this article explores how techno-bureaucratic practices shape conceptions of international refugee protection. We do this by examining the evolving roles of results-based management (RBM), biometrics and cash-based interventions as ‘accountability technologies’ in the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ international protection efforts. The article challenges the assumption that these technologies produce a seamless form of accountability that is equally attentive to donor requests and the protection needs of refugees. By focusing on how the constitution of these techniques as ‘accountability solutions’ shapes conceptions of the very meaning of protection (ie the problem to be addressed), we also show what dimensions of protection get omitted in this co-production of technical solutions and socio-political problems.     

Sentencing Transparency in the Information Age

How unrestricted or restricted should judges be when deciding a sentence? To what extent should sentences be predetermined, or to what extent should judges be left with the right to decide a sentence in each individual case? Some legal systems, most notably in the United States, have chosen sentencing guidelines to control judicial discretion. However, another approach has been to use computer technology in the form of so‐called sentencing information systems (SIS). This article examines these developments and what possible influence they have had and could have in the Scandinavian, particularly in the Norwegian, context. Penal institutions today are adjusting to the demands of the information society. Does and could the fact that we are living in an increasingly technologically mediated world influence judicial decision‐making? The article argues that the use of technology is not simply a question of technological change, but is first and foremost a social and political phenomenon, related to the relations of trust in a society.     

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy versus chronic myocarditis--immunohistological investigations with LCA, CD3, CD68 and tenascin

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disorder of unknown aetiology characterized by the left ventricular cavity enlargement and wall thinning associated with reduced left ventricular wall motion. DCM in chronic alcoholics is supposed to be caused by alcohol induced myocardial damage (alcoholic cardiomyopathy). Nevertheless, cardiotropic viruses, such as enteroviruses have long been suspected as causative agents for at least some forms of DCM. In the present study, 13 cases of DCM in chronic alcoholics were investigated with qualification and quantification of infiltrating leucocytes using immunohistological antibodies against leucocyte common antigen (LCA), T-lymphocytes (CD3) and macrophages (CD68). In addition, the expression of tenascin, playing a role in the initiation of fibrotic changes, was examined. All antigens were known to be possibly enhanced in cases of chronic myocarditis. Using these immunohistological techniques, 2 out of 13 cases had evidence for chronic inflammatory myocardial alterations in the sense of lymphocytic infiltrates (>2.0 CD3 T-lymphocytes/visual field at 400 x (HPF); >7 CD3 T-lymphocytes per mm(2)). These cases were diagnosed as having inflammatory cardiomyopathy. The other cases without myocardial inflammation were diagnosed as idiopathic/alcoholic DCM.     

Validation of SRY Marker for Forensic Casework Analysis

Abstract:  Determining the gender of the source of forensic DNA evidence is based on the amelogenin test. However, at times the assay may not be indicative of gender assignment, because of deletions at the amelogenin site. Previously, we described successful coamplification of a marker residing within the SRY gene with the short tandem repeat markers from two commercially available human identification kits. The study herein addresses the validation of primers for the target SRY gene regarding specificity, sensitivity, and robustness. Among 115 unrelated male Slovenians no null allele was observed. Repeatable and reliable results were obtained from as little as 25 pg of template DNA, indicating a high sensitivity of detection for the assay. No polymerase chain reaction product was observed even at a concentration of 10 ng/μL of template female DNA. Additionally, the male specific marker could be detected in mixed male and female samples down to a ratio of 1:16.