Blood typing of blood stains on sweat stains by the iso-agglutinins detection method

When a blood typing is made for mixed stains of sweat and blood, erroneous results may be obtained. The reason is that the blood group substance in the sweat is detected at the same time as that in the blood. In this paper the typing of the blood stain on the sweat stain is carried out by the detection of isoagglutinins which may give additional information to the forensic serologist.     

Language and the Learning Crisis: Evidence of Transfer Threshold Mechanisms in Multilingual Reading in South India

This paper provides evidence for a non-linear relationship between local language and English reading scores in multilingual South India. The mechanism suggests that being taught English prematurely may lead to struggles in English literacy acquisition; whereas being taught English after achieving a threshold reading level in the local language may lead to success in transitioning to English literacy acquisition. We base our findings on non-parametric and parametric regression analysis of data from assessments that were uniquely designed for South and Southeast Asian languages, and for multilingual children. Our findings help explain the global trend of increased school enrolment, with learning achievements lagging.     

The Impact of a Disaster on Asset Dynamics in the Gobi Region of Mongolia: An Analysis of Livestock Changes

Measuring wealth levels dynamically through productive assets, the ‘asset-based approach’, allows persistent or dynamic differentiation of the transitions in household living standards and predictions concerning the people who may continue to experience low standards of living in the future. Studies using the asset-based approach have been conducted mainly in Africa. For a comparison, we conducted a similar study of herders in Mongolia. There were differences in our results compared to the studies on Africa. First, some herders transitioned chronically. Second, the recovery rate was different among herder types. Third, a hierarchical reversal among different herder types occurred after the disaster.     

Vaginal fluid zinc concentration as a marker for intercourse

Zinc is present in high concentration in semen, but in low concentration in vaginal fluid. We evaluated vaginal zinc levels as a marker for intercourse by measuring precoital (greater than 11 h after intercourse) or postcoital (less than 5 h after intercourse) zinc and acid phosphatase levels in 26 specimens of vaginal fluid from 18 women. The approximate 95% reference range for zinc in precoital vaginal fluid was 1.2 to 15 micrograms/mL (mean 4.5), and in postcoital vaginal fluid 4.0 to 135 micrograms/mL (mean 24). There is an overlap between the precoital and postcoital reference ranges. Provided that the vaginal fluid zinc level is less than approximately 4.0 micrograms/mL or greater than approximately 15 micrograms/mL, vaginal fluid zinc concentration may be useful as an indicator of intercourse.     

Prospects for Islam in post‐Soeharto Indonesia∗

The Islamic parties combined may win a majority of the popular vote in the general elections in Indonesia in June, says Professor Mitsuo Nakamura of the Department of Cultural Anthropology, Chiba University, but there is virtually no possibility that so‐called “Islamic fundamentalism” will gain influence, and little likelihood that a solid Islamic bloc dominating both legislative and executive bodies of the government would initiate a comprehensive program of Islamization. In this article, Nakamura discusses the implications of the growing number of Islamic political parties for the future of Indonesian politics, and whether the emergence of these parties is likely to be detrimental or conducive to the reconstruction of Indonesia's national life on a more democratic footing.     

Traumatic rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with the use of a seatbelt

Injury to the abdominal aorta after blunt trauma continues to be a relatively infrequent occurrence. In this report, we describe a case of traumatic rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm associated with inappropriate seatbelt use.     

Simultaneous detection of multiple STR loci on sex chromosomes for forensic testing of sex and identity.

The forensic usefulness of X and Y chromosomal STR loci has recently been demonstrated. One quadruplex-PCR, using 2 X- and 2 Y-STRs (STRX1/HPRTB and DYS390/ DYS393), and 2 duplex-PCRs, each using an X- and a Y-STR (ARA/DYS390 and ARA/DYS393), and detection of PCR products by using an automated DNA sequencer are reported herein. This approach allows us to determine not only the sex of the donor of a sample, but also the X- and/or Y-STR genotypes of the sample. A male biological specimen yields 4 amplified products in quadruplex-PCR and 2 amplified fragments in duplex-PCRs, whereas a female biological specimen yields only 2 amplified fragments of X-STR in quadruplex-PCR and one fragment, also of X-STR, in duplex-PCRs. Our study thus provides useful information for many activities in forensic practice, such as identity testing, paternity testing, especially of deficiency cases, compilation of population data, and sex determination of a biological sample from a single PCR.     

An unusual case of fatal gas embolism.

We describe an unusual case of fatal gas embolism, in which a man died by connecting an extension tube supplying oxygen to an indwelling catheter that was inserted into the left cephalic vein.