Palatine Sutures as Age Indicator: A Controlled Study in the Elderly

Abstract:  Vault sutures have proven their low reliability for estimating age at death in individual forensic science cases. We broke down the palatine sutures of 134 skulls (with known sex and age at time of death) into 15 subparts and 5 stages of fusion to obtain a mean coefficient of obliteration ( C p) which was then linked to five age classes. We completed this study with multiple regression equations of total palatine suture scores. We compared our results with those obtained using the Mann method on the one hand and classically segmented and scored ectocranial suture age determination methods on the other. Palatine sutures generally do not estimate age at death any better than cranial vault sutures. Despite the partly subjective aspect of suture study, palatine suture observation contributes additional information to age-range estimation, especially in old and very old subjects where other methods lose their effectiveness.     

Political Thuggery and Democratic Dividends in Nigeria

This study focuses on political thuggery and democratic dividends in Nigeria. Utilizing secondary and personal observation data the authors sought to address the following concerns: meaning of political thuggery and democratic dividend, manifestation and spate of political thuggery, and causes and effect of political thuggery and democratic performance since 1999 to date. The study reveals that poverty, unemployment, financial attractiveness of elective positions, the value system of wealth accumulation, and an ineffective security agency account for the incidence of political thuggery in Nigeria. Political thuggery hinders public accountability of elective officers and thus is a bane to good governance in Nigeria. Itg also increases the crime rate and the emergence of credible candidates in elections and thus is a threat to the achievement of democratic dividends and exercise of citizenship rights in Nigeria. On the basis of these findings, the study recommends that government should make elective offices less attractive financially and conceited government programs and policies should be aimed at alleviating unemployment and poverty and strengthening the capacity of security agencies. Government must consistently educate citizens and youth on the evil of political thuggery and violence.     

Volume Determination of Fresh and Dried Bloodstains by Means of Optical Coherence Tomography

The volume of bloodstains found on crime scenes may help forensic investigators reconstruct the location and kinematics of bloodletting events, as stain size, volume, and impact velocity are related. Optical coherence tomography was used as a method to determine the volume and volume ratio of dried and fresh bloodstains on both glass and irregular surfaces or deposited with an impact velocity. The volume of blood drops deposited on smooth glass surfaces was measured within a deviation of 2%. This deviation increased for droplets on irregular surfaces or deposited with an impact velocity. The volume ratio of dried and fresh bloodstains was equal to 19–28% depending on the individual donor and on the use of an anticoagulant. Optical coherence tomography is a good method to determine the volume of fresh and dried bloodstains in laboratory conditions and allows accurate determination of the dry/fresh ratio.     

The Dunnes payments scandal, Charles Haugheyy and contemporary Irish political culture

This article offers interpretation and commentary regarding the Tribunal of Inquiry (Dunnes Payments) which was established to look into large sums given by Ben Dunne, a leading Irish businessman, to senior Irish politicians, most notably the former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey, and Michael Lowry who was a cabinet minister at the time. The article attempts to place this affair within the general context of contemporary Irish political culture, and the relatively unique, ‘cult of the personality’ personified by Charles Haughey. The article notes that it has been the convention to assume that Irish political culture reflects features commonly associated with the prevalence of traditional and conservative social and political values. The article argues that Irish political culture is now unmistakably in step with the trends observed throughout the European Union, while at the same time acknowledging that certain particular factors still remain distinctive. Despite Haughey's long tenure as the most powerful politician of his day, the privileges accorded by his lofty position alone cannot fully account for his political actions nor, in particular, his dubious ethics in relation to his personal finances. The article considers the contents of the McCracken Tribunal itself and concludes with a brief discussion of the Tribunal findings, the nature of corruption in Irish politics and the corresponding implications for Irish political culture. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.