Volatile organic compounds released by blowfly larvae and pupae: new perspectives in forensic entomology

To evaluate postmortem intervals (PMIs), one should take into account the determined age of necrophagous flies present on the cadaver. However, PMI determination needs further improvement, and rapid and accurate approaches have therefore to be developed. While previous studies have focussed on insect cuticular hydrocarbons, here we explore the volatile profile released by larvae and pupae of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae). We monitored changes in volatile compounds daily, by headspace solid-phase microextraction, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Branched and unbranched hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters and acids were identified, and the volatile profile was shown to vary, in both composition and quantity, with the age of the larva/pupa under investigation. We concluded, based on the analysis of the released volatile organic compounds, that it is possible to increase the accuracy of the estimated PMI, through improved estimation of the age of blowflies present on the cadaver.     

Integrity management in post-1997 Hong Kong: Challenges for a rule-based system

Unlike some of its Western counterparts, where the first line of defence against corruption and unethical behavior has been a reliance on a public service ethos, the Hong Kong government has traditionally relied on strict compliance with rules and regulations in its successful drive against bureaucratic malpractices. Since 1997, however, a changing political, economic and administrative environment has also seen efforts to introduce a more value-based approach to integrity. This article examines the factors that have led to the modification of the Hong Kong government??s strategy and evaluates its success in the wider theoretical context of the relationship between a predominantly rule-based and a value-based approach to integrity management.     

基于纤维二次转移确定纤维屑作为示踪物质的探讨

目的 考察纤维屑在涉及二次转移案件中作为示踪物质的适用性.方法 根据一个实际案例展开,在该案中,犯罪嫌疑人涉嫌多起入室盗窃案.纤维开始分散于嫌疑人所用车辆,后被嫌疑人“携带”并分散到犯罪现场,最终这些纤维在勘查过程中被收集.设计完善了一个可用于散布纤维的便携式装置,并完成了一系列二次转移的相关实验.结果 设计的装置可在短时间均相的散布纤维,单次接触不能全部转移第一表面的纤维碎屑.只有1-15％的纤维会转移到代表犯罪现场的第三表面.实际转移的纤维数与包括比如表面的材质在内的各种因素都有关系.结论 在所选参数范围内,相对大量的纤维有可能转移到犯罪现场并在现场勘查过程中被提取.     

Studying the Arabs: Myths and metaphors

The relationship between knowledge and power is examined in this article in terms of the social science literature base on Arab countries. It is argued that knowledge imposes normative constraints on the exercise of power, and the exercise of power is dependent on the lack of knowledge. This is examined in terms of the knowledge base on Iraq and Palestine, the two countries in the Arab world most decimated in the post-World War II era by the exercise of external power politics. The study is organized in three phases: (1) delimiting the population of scholarly literature in the social sciences on the Middle East by country; (2) drawing representative samples of scholarly literature on Iraq and Palestine from this population; and (3) content analysis of the samples. Jacqueline S. Ismael is a professor of social work at The University of Calgary. She has published a number of articles and monographs on social change in the Middle East, as well as several works on Canadian social policy. She is co-author with Tareq Y. Ismael ofThe People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen: The Politics of Socialist Transformation (1986),Government and Politics in Islam (1986),Politics and Government in the Middle East andNorth Africa (1991), andThe Gulf War and the New World Order (1994). Her most recent work isKuwait: Dependency and Class in a Rentier State (1993). Tareq Y. Ismael is a professor of political science at The University of Calgary. He has written extensively on Middle East politics, the international relations of the Middle East, and ideology in the Arab world. His recent publications includeInternational Relations of the Contemporary Middle East (1986),Middle East Studies: International Perspectives on the State of the Art (1990),The Communist Movement in Egypt (1990),Politics and Government in the Middle East and North Africa (1991), andThe Gulf War and the New World Order (1994).     

Hyperuricemia in rats during acute carbon monoxide poisoning

The effect of carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation on plasma levels of uric acid and hypoxanthine in rats was investigated. Exposure to 3% CO caused respiratory arrest within about 2 minutes. The plasma uric acid level of CO-treated rats increased to 157% above that of ether-treated rats. When rats were exposed to 1% or 0.8% CO, the exposure periods until the onset of respiratory arrest were prolonged, and plasma uric acid levels at respiratory arrest were further elevated. Plasma uric acid levels at respiratory arrest increased with prolongation of the exposure periods. Under our experimental conditions, hypoxanthine or xanthine was not detected in plasma of CO-treated rats. These results are discussed in relation to the hyperuricemia in hemorrhagic shock or hypoxemia: CO-induced hyperuricemia can be attributed to the stimulated degradation of adenine nucleotides under tissue anoxia, and thus could be an excellent parameter of tissue anoxia.     

Determination of age from the sternal rib in white males: a test of the phase method

The effectiveness of a given age determination technique can better be assessed by testing the standards on unknown specimens. A test of this nature was carried out to evaluate the authors' previously published phase method for age estimation from the sternal extremity of the rib. A sample of 15 test ribs was judged by 25 physical and forensic anthropologists with varying levels of education and experience. The judges were asked to match the rib to the phase it most closely resembled by comparing it with the photographs from the original study. The results indicated that interobserver error based on experience was minimal, and nearly all of the participants averaged within one phase of the ideal. Variation appeared to be greater among the ribs than among the judges, yet no consistent association could be made between this variation and factors such as cause of death, antemortem medical history, drug or alcohol abuse, and occupation.