Diel Activity and Effect of Carcass Decomposition on the Attractiveness to the Forensically Important Species Oxelytrum Discicolle (Coleoptera: Silphidae)†

Oxelytrum discicolle is a carrion beetle commonly found in the Neotropical region, mainly associated with cadavers and carcasses. Information on behavior related to the likelihood of cadaver colonization is scarce. We performed two field experiments in peri‐urban forest in Brazil in order to strengthen our knowledge on O. discicolle behavior. In the first experiment, we assessed the preference for piglet carcasses at different stages of decomposition offered simultaneously in two seasons, dry and rainy, while in the second experiment we investigated the diel activity of adults. A total of 493 adults were collected in the experiments. A significantly higher abundance was detected in the rainy season. There was a marked preference for carcasses at advanced stages. Adults exhibited a typical nocturnal behavior, the number trapped at night was 17 times greater than those collected during the day. Oxelytrum discicolle is nocturnal species that prefers carcasses in advanced stage of decomposition.     

巴西--发展中大国及其国际战略

这是本刊增设的一个栏目。顾名思义,“大使论坛”就是大使们的论坛。它是由中国社会科学院国际合作局与社科院其他研究所主办的一个论坛,而2005年8月18日由中国社会科学院国合作局和拉美所主办的“巴西的大国地位与大国战略”是首届大使论坛。在首届大使论坛上,巴西驻中国大使路易斯·奥古斯托·德卡斯特罗·内维斯先生作了题为《巴西———发展中大国及其国际战略》的报告并回答了与会者提出的问题。     

Enucleation in psychosis associated with aqueductal stenosis

Reports of self-enucleation are frequent in medical literature, but cases of enucleation towards another are rare. We report the case of a man, 20 years of age, who suffered from psychosis with hydrocephalus and aqueductal stenosis that required a forensic psychiatric investigation to ascertain whether he was of unsound mind when he assaulted and enucleated the right eye of an officer and led to the surgical enucleation of the victim's left eye. Based on his clinical interviews and hospitalization record, we conclude that at the time of the assault, he was suffering from a delusional disorder with religious and demonic content, visual and auditory hallucinations, illusion phenomena, delusional interpretations, imaginative elements, a feeling of terror, and command hallucinations that compelled him to perform the act of aggression.     

How to lose a majority: The competition in single-member districts

Few observers expected that the 1966 elections in Italy would yield a clear-cut outcome. Even fewer people expected that, after the disastrous results of the previous elections, the centre-left coalition would be able to gain a majority of seats in both branches of Parliament. Yet this is precisely what happened on 21 April 1996. This article tries to explain the comeback of the 1994 losers by focusing on three factors which have changed the electoral balance between the two major coalitions in the single-member districts. The first factor was the ability of the centre-left coalition (Ulivo-RC) to broaden its range while its major rival (the Polo) lost key allies. The result has been a more competitive stand of centre-left candidates, particularly in the North. The Polo lost the support of the Lega Nord and suffered the split of the Movimento Sociale on its right. These defections, along with others, led to the loss of a considerable number of seats. Finally, the Polo also suffered from the defection of a considerable number of its voters who voted for one of the parties of the centre-right coalition in the proportional arena, but refused to vote for the Polo candidate in the single-member districts. We conclude by suggesting a number of hypotheses that could explain this split-ticket phenomenon.     

Global Connections: ‘A Tool for Active Citizenship’

As a result of globalisation and changing technologies, young people are increasingly required to engage with the broader world beyond their local and national communities. This raises significant questions about the ways and spaces in which young people will need to engage as active citizens, and the new tools and resources that young people will need to equip them for their futures. The Global Connections Program has been developed to address these identified needs. It is a youth-led global learning initiative which aims to provide an opportunity for connection and learning among young people in Australia and Indonesia. This article explores Plan's youth-led approach to global learning, with a focus on the implementation and evaluation findings of the Global Connections Program, as well as the challenges faced thus far.     

The twenty-first century Armed Forces of the Philippines: orphan of counter-insurgency or military geared for the long war of the century?

This article examines the factors that account for the Armed Forces of the Philippines's (AFP) never-ending involvement in many wars of the third kind. It discusses the essence of counter-insurgency warfare or low-intensity conflict in the Philippine setting. The article then notes that the disruption in the US military assistance after 1992, the AFP's inability to modernize, and its continuous campaign against communist and secessionist insurgents have adversely affected its structure and overall combat efficiency. It also analyzes the impact of the global war on terror on the Philippine military's counter-insurgency operations and the reforms undertaken by the Philippine defense establishment to address these issues. In conclusion, the article argues that reforms will not lead to a significant transformation of the AFP as it will continue to be an orphan of counter-insurgency in the near future. However, if wars of the third kind will persist, this situation will paradoxically make the AFP the only military in Southeast Asia aptly geared for the long war of this century.     

The measurement of open apices of teeth to test chronological age of over 14-year olds in living subjects

Age determination in living subjects is a problem of increasing interest in our community, due to the increasing numbers of individuals without identification papers, who have immigrated illegally or committed crimes, and for whom it is necessary to verify whether they have reached the age of 14 years in order to be charged legally. Although the most widespread methods for age estimation refer to skeletal or dental analysis, these methods do present some drawbacks for identification of the age of 14. The aim of the present study is to discriminate between children who are or are not 14 years of age or older by measuring the open apices of teeth. We evaluated the OPGs of 447 persons aged between 12 and 16 years, of Italian, Croatian and Slovenian nationality. For each individual, dental maturity was estimated using the number of the seven left permanent mandibular teeth with root development complete, and normalized measurement of the open apices of the third molar. The results revealed that an individual is considered to be 14 years of age or older if all seven left permanent mandibular teeth have closed apices and the normalized measurement of open apices of the third molar is lower than 1.1.     

Age estimation using carpals: study of a Slovenian sample to test Cameriere's method

Carpals are often used as age indicators. In a recent study, Cameriere et al. studied the use of the ratio between the total area of carpal bones and epiphyses of the ulna and radius (Bo) and carpals (Ca) as age indicators. The present study, of a sample of 158 Slovenian children and adolescents aged between 6 and 16 years, focused on analysing the best regression for age estimation. The regression model yielded the following equation: age=-3.411+0.942 g+20.927(Bo/Ca), and explained 91.6% of total variance (R(2)=0.916). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.09 years, with a quartile deviation of 0.786 years, and a standard error of estimate of 0.658 years. Comparisons between the previous equation referring to Slovenian children and the equivalent linear equation proposed by Cameriere et al. did not reveal any significant differences between the intercepts and slopes of the two linear models. These results suggested a common regression model for both Italian and Slovenian samples. The common regression model, describing age as a linear function of gender and Bo/Ca ratio, yielded the following linear regression formula: age=-2.907+0.408 g+20.757(Bo/Ca). This model explained 86% of total variance (R(2)=0.86). The median of the absolute values of residuals (observed age minus predicted age) was 0.02 years, with a quartile deviation of 1.02 years and a standard error of estimate of 0.96 years.