Using PMCT of Individuals of Known Age to Test the Suchey–Brooks Method of Aging in Victoria,Australia

The estimation of an individual's age at death plays a critical role in the investigation of unidentified human remains. The Suchey–Brooks method, which involves the analysis of degenerative morphological changes in the pubic symphysis, is currently widely used to estimate age in adults. This study tested the applicability of the Suchey–Brooks method on a contemporary adult Australian (Victorian) subpopulation by observing three‐dimensional volume‐rendered postmortem computed tomographic (PMCT) reconstructions of the pubic symphysis of 204 individuals aged 15–100 years. Results showed the method was reliable for females (85% correct allocations) but not for males (67% correct allocations). It is therefore recommended that extreme caution be used when applying the Suchey–Brooks method for estimating age at death of an individual in this subpopulation from PMCT images. The results suggest further investigation into alternate age estimation methods is required.     

DETECHIP®: A Sensor for Drugs of Abuse*

Abstract: The design and preliminary characterization of a novel sensor for drugs of abuse, DETECHIP^®, is described in this proof‐of‐concept note. Combining both colorimetric and fluorimetric assays, DETECHIP^® is suitable for lab and field use. More than a conventional spot test which provides a single “yes or no” answer, DETECHIP^® provides twenty responses for a more complete characterization of suspect material. This is accomplished by visually noting colorimetric and fluorescent changes of carefully selected dyes upon the addition of test analytes, including drugs of abuse, with respect to controls. Color and fluorescence changes are recorded numerically so that a 20 digit identification code can be constructed for comparison of test analytes and known compounds. DETECHIP^® is applicable to a variety of drugs, both plant‐derived and synthetic, addressing the need to use several different spot tests simultaneously for a single sample.     

Juries and Viewpoint Representation

To generate high-quality deliberations, juries should be diverse in terms of not only demographics but also viewpoints. Using data from the Survey of Texas Adults (n = 1380), we examine whether existing processes select for individuals who represent the population on a variety of viewpoint characteristics, particularly whether the process of forming juries selects for people who are more independent-minded versus authority-minded. We find, on average, that those who believe in the importance of speaking English, are less compassionate, support Biblical literalism, and express more concern about the community effects of wrongdoing are more likely to have been former jurors than to not have served. Death penalty support is also modestly predictive of jury membership. Non-jurors rate their neighborhoods as cleaner than do former jurors. Results point to composition effects in the summonsing process and to the possibility that some types of people exempt themselves from this civic obligation.     

评阿兰·沃森的《法律移植:比较法的方法》

<正> 爱丁堡大学民法教授阿兰·沃森在其《法律移植:比较法的方法》(Legal Transplants:An Approach to Comparative Law,佛吉尼亚大学出版社,1974年版)一书中试图证实比较法是一门学科。沃森教授提出:"比较法是研究有关法律的本质,特别是有关法律发展的本质的学科。"其主要功能在于使人了解"决定法律发展进程的独特因素。" 然而,研究十六世纪在鲁瑞斯坦(本文作者杜撰的国家)以特殊形式出现的独特的法律     

How America disguises its violence: colonialism,mass incarceration,and the need for resistant imagination

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how a delusive social imaginary of criminal-justice has underpinned contemporary U.S. mass incarceration and encouraged widespread indifference to its violence. I trace the complicity of this criminal-justice imaginary with state-organized violence by comparing it to an imaginary that supported colonial violence. I conclude by discussing how those of us outside of prison can begin to resist the entrenched images and institutions of mass incarceration by engaging the work and imagining the perspective of incarcerated people.     

Dimock's philosophy of administration

Marshall E. Dimock was a self-confessed non-conformist who valued individualism and individual self-development above all other values. For him a philosophy of administration is more than a science or art and “must deal with institutional goals and objectives, with social values and individual growth, as well as with the paraphernalia of organizing and running things, which are only “incidental.^”(1) He warned that “over specialization of the individual makes him dull and lacking capacities for administrative growth^”(2)and decried the parochialism of behaviorists, logical positivists and other methodologists. At the core of his thinking about problems of administration, management and organization was what he regarded as the fundamental importance of “moral philosophy” although he recognized that “the political economist who epitomizes moral philosophy is regarded as a regrettably nonconformist and excessively individualistic relic of a past age.^”(3)     

The biochemical alteration of soil beneath a decomposing carcass

The processes associated with cadaver decomposition in outdoor settings, particularly those that occur during the extended postmortem interval (>30 days) are poorly understood. Thus, few methods are currently available to accurately estimate the extended postmortem interval (PMI). Of these methods, a soils-based approach has the potential to address the postmortem interval between which entomology and anthropology are the most valuable. Although the validity of soil-based methods has previously been established, little work has been conducted to explain the processes that have been designated for forensic application. As a consequence, we investigated the dynamics of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus-based compounds in soil beneath pig (Sus scrofa) cadavers (gravesoil) that were placed on the soil surface over a period of 100 days. Decomposition was assessed through the physical characteristics of the cadaver, soil pH, soil moisture content, and the concentration of total carbon, total nitrogen, soil-extractable phosphorus, and lipid-phosphorus in soil. Cadaver decomposition did not result in a significant difference in soil carbon and moisture content. However, significant (P < 0.05) increases were observed in the concentration of soil pH, total nitrogen, soil-extractable phosphorus, and lipid-phosphorus. Based on the current results, a significant increase in the concentration of gravesoil nutrients represented a maximum PMI of 43 days (lipid-P), 72 days (total nitrogen), or 100 days (soil-extractable phosphorus). This work provides further evidence that a soil-based method has the potential to act as a tool for the estimation of extended PMI.     

A preliminary investigation of the stages of adipocere formation

Adipocere is a postmortem decomposition product which forms from a body's adipose tissue. This study aimed to chemically demonstrate the process of conversion from adipose tissue to adipocere. Samples of adipocere were collected from pig cadavers that were allowed to decompose for varying intervals. Samples of soil were collected from beneath the cadavers and analyzed to determine the leaching effect of adipocere. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to quantify the fatty acid composition of pig adipocere. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used as a confirmatory test and to identify other components such as triglycerides and calcium salts of fatty acids. The study demonstrates the process of adipocere formation and the stages of formation through which the process passes using chemical techniques.