Promises made,promises broken: a political economic perspective on German unification

The article provides an overview of the state of the East German economy after more than ten years of unification. It demonstrates that, contrary to what had been promised in 1990, the situation is far from ‘flourishing landscapes’. We argue that a number of policy mistakes, based in the desire of the then government to maintain electoral support, is responsible for this. In addition, the behaviour of West German labour market participants is held responsible for the dismal record of unemployment in East Germany. Hence, political and distributional conflicts lie at the root of the still present East German problem.     

Ontogeny of Size and Shape Sexual Dimorphism in the Ilium: A Multislice Computed Tomography Study by Geometric Morphometry

We studied sexually dimorphic differences in the ilium using geometric morphometric analysis of 10 osteometric landmarks recorded by multislice computed tomography, based on three‐dimensional reconstructions of 188 children (95 boys, 93 girls) of mixed origins living in the area of Toulouse, southern France, and ranging in age from 1 to 18 years. We used geometric morphometrics methodology first to test sexual dimorphism in size (centroid size) and shape (Procrustes residuals) and second to examine patterns of shape change with age (development) and size change with age (growth). On the basis of statistical significance testing, the ilium shape became sexually dimorphic at 11 years of age, although visible shape differences were observed as early as 1 year of age. There was no statistically significant difference in size between sexes. Trajectories of shape (development) and size (growth) differed throughout ontogeny and between sexes.     

The determination of male adult age at death by central and posterior coxal analysis--a preliminary study

In forensic anthropological analysis, the pelvis is of particular interest as it is often a comparatively well-preserved part of the skeleton. This study in age determination uses the acetabulum, the central element of the pelvis, as a complement to the examination of the auricular surface. The test sample consisted of 30 individuals. First, the authors studied the auricular surface using the Lovejoy criteria. Second, they isolated four criteria based on chronological changes in the acetabulum. Third, they conducted an evaluation of each of these variables. The study examines the correlation between these criteria and the age of the individuals. A significant correlation was found between the acetabular criteria and age, and between the acetabular criteria and the Lovejoy criteria of the auricular surface. For forensic purposes, the acetabulum is an effective predictor in the determination of age. This newly proposed method explores the same criteria of ageing as the Lovejoy method. The combination of the two methods produces relatively consistent results in the estimation of age.     

Integrating Growth Variability of the Ilium,Fifth Lumbar Vertebra,and Clavicle with Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines Models for Subadult Age Estimation

Subadult age estimation should rely on sampling and statistical protocols capturing development variability for more accurate age estimates. In this perspective, measurements were taken on the fifth lumbar vertebrae and/or clavicles of 534 French males and females aged 0–19 years and the ilia of 244 males and females aged 0–12 years. These variables were fitted in nonparametric multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) models with 95% prediction intervals (PIs) of age. The models were tested on two independent samples from Marseille and the Luis Lopes reference collection from Lisbon. Models using ilium width and module, maximum clavicle length, and lateral vertebral body heights were more than 92% accurate. Precision was lower for postpubertal individuals. Integrating punctual nonlinearities of the relationship between age and the variables and dynamic prediction intervals incorporated the normal increase in interindividual growth variability (heteroscedasticity of variance) with age for more biologically accurate predictions.     

Thyroid Cartilage Ossification and Multislice Computed Tomography Examination: A Useful Tool for Age Assessment?

Abstract: Many authors have studied the thyroid cartilage ossification process using radiographic features for age estimation of individuals. Their results were various: Sugiyama reported excellent correlation coefficients between ossification rates and civil age, unlike most other authors. We hypothesized that recent advances in imaging techniques would enable more precise evaluation of the ossification of the thyroid cartilage. We retrospectively analyzed the CT scans of 312 French patients using postprocessing software to examine the pattern of thyroid cartilage ossification, calculating the ossified volume of the cartilage on 3D reconstructions. Pearson’s correlation coefficients for volume were 0.73 for men and 0.75 for women (standard error 18.02 and 17.06), indicating considerable inter‐individual variability. Although a correlation between civil age and morphological changes was found, these methods based on thyroid cartilage ossification were not accurate enough for the assessment of individual age.     

Post-mortem changes of the middle ear: multislice computed tomography study

Six dry skulls were studied by multislice computed tomography (MSCT). They had not previously been prepared, and were natural skeletonized remains. All had been found in the soil. Examination focused on the temporal bones and the ear structures. In all cases, either disruption of the ossicular chain or absence of some ossicular bones were noted. The authors concluded that the fragile ossicles were disrupted in the post-mortem state, and were not indicative of ante-mortem pathology. These observations illustrate the ability of MSCT to visualize taphonomic changes. To further illustrate these findings, we present the results of MSCT performed on an exhumed body. The left ossicular bones were missing and the right ossicular chain was disrupted. With the development of forensic radiology, structures as tiny as the ossicles can be examined. However, the radiologist who performs post-mortem imaging must be familiar with taphonomic changes to avoid interpretation as ante-mortem or peri-mortem traumatic injuries. This could potentially have considerable judicial impact, especially in the study of exhumed bodies.     

Reversal sign on ante- and postmortem brain imaging in a newborn: report of one case

A 16-day-old female newborn was admitted to the emergency department after cardiopulmonary arrest. Total-body radiographs and non-enhanced CT of the brain showed fracture of the right clavicle, pericerebral hemorrhage and brain damage with reversal sign. The infant died on the day of her hospital admission. Because child abuse was suspected, a medicolegal autopsy was ordered by the legal authorities. Prior to autopsy, total-body MRI and CT were performed. Results of the ante- and postmortem investigations were compared with each other and then with the autopsy findings. Postmortem brain imaging showed persistence of the reversal sign. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case describing hypoxic ischemic damage of the brain parenchyma on antemortem CT and persisting on postmortem imaging in a child abuse case.