Age estimation in children by measurement of open apices in tooth roots: Study of a Mexican sample

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to test the accuracy of Cameriere's European formula for age assessment in a large sample of Mexican children. The accuracy of dental age estimation was defined as how closely real age, measured as the difference between chronological age (CA) and dental age (DA), could be predicted. Digitalized orthopantomographs of 502 Mexican children (254 girls and 248 boys), aged between 5 and 15 years, were analyzed. The seven left permanent mandibular teeth were evaluated using Cameriere's method. Intra- and inter-observer variability for this technique was tested on a small random sample. Dental age was estimated for each individual and compared with known chronological age. Accuracy was measured as the difference between known chronological age and dental age and tested for significance with the mean prediction error (ME). The standard deviation and 95% confidence interval of the mean difference were also calculated. ME was 0.63 years for girls and 0.52 years for boys. ME was found to be slightly overestimated by 0.10 years for girls, but was correctly estimated for boys with an accuracy of 0.00. In conclusion, this method is very useful and may be recommended for practical application both in clinical dentistry and forensic procedures on the Mexican population.     

An experimental investigation on optimal bankruptcy laws

We performed an experimental investigation to assess whether the “restricted auction” mechanism proposed by Berkovitch, Israel and Zender in 1997 works effectively as an optimal bankruptcy law or not. An optimal bankruptcy law is a commitment device that implements efficient choices both before (ex ante) and after (ex post) financial distress, even if moral hazard is binding. We designed an experiment focused on ex ante efficiency and we found that the restricted auction mechanism was able to direct an optimal amount of effort toward entrepreneurial activities. This result confirms the theoretical predictions. Nonetheless, we found that under a plain unrestricted auction mechanism our experimental subjects chose to allocate into their firms a larger amount of effort than that predicted by theory. Although difficult to justify on theoretical grounds, this experimental evidence is robust. Our behavioral interpretation is that this result is due to “moral sentiments”, such as the natural propensity of subjects toward socially desirable behaviors. In fact, we show that it vanishes once these motives are removed.     

Death Due to Complications of Anhidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia

Ectodermal dysplasia comprises a group of disorders affecting ectodermal tissues. Severity depends on the genetic aberration; hyperpyrexia secondary to absence of sweat glands is a common complication. Treatment is supportive. This case report describes a 1‐month, 27‐day‐old male infant with a diagnosis of X‐linked recessive anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. On the day of his death, his mother swaddled him in a blanket and placed him on the couch at 5:30 am. When she picked him up at 8:00 am, he was unresponsive. At the emergency department, his rectal temperature was 40°C. Postmortem blood culture was positive for group B streptococcus, a possible etiology for fever. It is vital to teach parents that close monitoring of children with ectodermal dysplasia is necessary, as an increase in body temperature can become life threatening.     

The religious conversion and race of a prisoner: Mock parole board members' decisions,perceptions, and emotions

Parole board members (PBMs) decide whether to release inmates on parole. Decisions may be affected by in‐group bias or stereotypes regarding religion and race. Two experiments investigated whether religious conversions/secular lifestyle changes and race affect mock PBMs' release decisions, emotions, and perceptions. Mock PBMs read a case file of an inmate who was eligible for parole and decided whether to grant parole. Study 1 manipulated whether the inmate had converted to Christianity or Islam, had a secular lifestyle change, or had no lifestyle change. Study 2 also varied race (African American or Caucasian). Race was not a significant factor, possibly because the manipulation was not strong enough to influence participants or because participants did not want to appear racist. Conversions to Islam and Christianity impacted the parole decision, and effects were mediated by believability of the conversion. Secular lifestyle changes affected release decisions and were mediated by perceptions of the inmate and beliefs about his likelihood of recidivism. Such inmates were the most likely to be released and were perceived most positively; their conversions were the most believable. Inmates who made no changes were perceived least positively, indicating that any lifestyle change is better than none. Importantly, no bias towards either religion (Islam, Christianity) was found. Furthermore, conversion type affected how scared PBMs were of the inmate, but this fear did not impact release decisions.     

Codecision procedure biais: the European legislation game

The European Union’s codecision procedure is analyzed as a bargaining game between the Council and the European Parliament. The model shows that the policy outcome is biased towards the ideal point of the institution that is closest to the status quo, when the negotiation leads to an agreement. If the Council’s ideal policy is closer to the status quo, as is the case for example concerning the duration of maternity leave, the resulting policy will remain closer to the Council’s than to the European Parliament’s position. Furthermore, the result of the codecision procedure is Kaldor–Hicks inefficient. The developments of common policies concerning asylum, fishery and maternity leave illustrate both the possibility of the failure of negotiations and the influence of the Council on the outcome.     

A Comparison Between Digital Radiography,Computed Tomography,and Magnetic Resonance in the Detection of Gunshot Residues in Burnt Tissues and Bone

The radiological search for GSR is crucial in burnt material although it has been rarely tested. In this study, thirty‐one bovine ribs were shot at near‐contact range and burnt to calcination in an oven simulating a real combustion. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) were performed before and after carbonization and compared with former analyses with DR (digital radiography); thus comparing the assistance, the radiological methods can provide in the search for GSR in fresh and burnt bone. DR demonstrated the greatest ability in the detection of metallic residues, CT showed lower abilities, while MR showed a high sensitivity only in soft tissues. Thus, DR can be considered as the most sensitive method in the detection of GSR in charred bones, whereas CT and MR demonstrated much less reliability. Nonetheless, the MR ameliorates the analysis of gunshot wounds in other types of remains with large quantities of soft tissues.     

The mourning process and “living with the dead”: Two case reports and a review of the literature

The discovery of mummified bodies in domestic settings is not unusual in the medico‐legal context. It is often a marker of social isolation, even in our urban modern society, and usually occurs among elderly people living alone or in precarious conditions. However, bereaved subjects can sometimes be found managing their grief by deliberately keeping the corpses of their loved ones at home. Investigation of these atypical cases can be challenging and often requires a multidisciplinary effort by different forensic specialists. We report two cases of people who lived for several months with the mummified remains of a relative. In both cases, the judge ordered a forensic psychiatry assessment of the survivors’ competency and the reasons for this peculiar behavior, which is regarded as abnormal in our society. Case 1 describes a shared psychosis, which developed out of a condition of extreme seclusion of the entire family. Case 2 shows that even a mild personality disorder on which a series of traumatic events operates can trigger psychotic decompensation, causing extreme denial of the reality of death. The analysis of these cases contributes to our knowledge of the scantly studied phenomenon of “Living with the Dead” and raises questions about the psychopathology behind it. It is useful to identify subjects who are more prone to developing this “deviant” behavior, in order to distinguish people with mental illness from those who merely want to profit from the death of a loved one.     

尚昌平和她的南疆

<正>After more than 50 visits there since her fi rst one two decades ago,Shang Changping has an abiding love of southern Xinjiang.When she travels around the oasis of Taklimakan Desert,she feels every cottage could be her second home,she says.While 20 years passed,she matured from a girl to a woman,and her love and understanding of Xinjang became more profound.She even speaks with a Xinjiang accent!