An improved method for subtyping Pi in old bloodstains.

Immunofixation procedures were used for detecting alpha-1 antitrypsin protease inhibitor (Pi) phenotypes in bloodstains. Neuraminidase elution of bloodstains, together with isoelectric focusing, immunofixation, and silver staining techniques, makes possible Pi subtyping in old bloodstains. No extra bands appear when the storage time is no longer than three months.     

Foreign investiment in socialist Cuba: Significance and prospects

In February 1982, Cuba’s Council of State approved legislation that authorized some forms of foreign investment in the island. The legislation was largely ignored by foreign business that for nearly a decade showed scant interest in investing in Cuba. However, in the 1990s, foreign investiment in socialist Cuba has increased rapidly. The first part of the article gauges the economic significance of foreign investment in the context of the financial needs of the country. The second part touches on a number of issues that have a bearing on the further growth of foreign investment in Cuba. The article concludes with some general observations on the impact of foreign investment on the Cuban economy and prospects for the future. Jorge F. Pérez-López is an international economist with the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor. His writings on international economics issues— especially on the Cuban economy—have appeared in professional journals and several edited volumes. He is the author ofThe Economics of Cuban Sugar (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1991),The Cuban Second Economy: From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage (Transaction Publishers, 1995), and editor and contributor ofCuba at a Crossroads (University Press of Florida, 1994). He received his Ph.D. in Economics from the State University of New York at Albany. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.     

Increased responsiveness of electric precipitation (electrosynerese) by means of a chemical method.

Electric precipitation is a method in serological diagnostics (determination of species-specificity). Since serum protein fractions (especially immunoglobulins) and extracts from blood stains migrate in agar-gel at pH 8.2--8.6 towards the cathode they cannot be used for the determination of the species specificity. By a chemical method using glutaraldehyde authors have produced an albumin-immunoglobulin complex, altering in this way the direction of electrophoretic mobility. Treatment of the blood samples with glutaraldehyde increases the sensitivity and realiability of the method.     

Autosomal microsatellite data from Northwestern Colombia

Allele frequencies and some forensic parameters for 12 autosomal microsatellites (CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1, VWA, D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, D5S818, F13A1, FESFPS, F13B, LPL) were estimated from three departments from Northwestern Colombia. The total number of samples analysed was 1045 individuals. Comparative analysis among the three studied departments and with other published Colombian populations were also performed and discussed.     

Evaluating the forensic informativeness of mtDNA haplogroup H sub-typing on a Eurasian scale

The impact of phylogeographic information on mtDNA forensics has been limited to the quality control of published sequences and databases. In this work we use the information already available on Eurasian mtDNA phylogeography to guide the choice of coding-region SNPs for haplogroup H. This sub-typing is particularly important in forensics since, even when sequencing both HVRI and HVRII, the discriminating power is low in some Eurasian populations. We show that a small set (eight) of coding-region SNPs resolves a substantial proportion of the identical haplotypes, as defined by control-region variation alone. Moreover, this SNP set, while substantially increasing the discriminating efficiency in most Eurasian populations by roughly equal amounts, discloses population-specific profiles.     

Using the acetabulum to estimate age at death of adult males

The acetabular region is often present and adequately preserved in adult human skeletal remains. Close morphological examination of the 242 left male os coxae from the identified collection of Coimbra (Portugal) has enabled the recognition of seven variables that can be used to estimate age at death. This paper describes these variables and argues their appropriateness by analyzing the correlation between these criteria and the age, the intra- and interobserver consistence, and the accuracy in age prediction using Bayesian inference to estimate age of identified specimens. Results show significant close correlation between the acetabular criteria and age, nonsignificant differences in intra- and interobserver test, and 89% accuracy in Bayes prediction. Obtained estimated age of the specimens had similar accuracy in all ages. These results indicate that these seven variables, based on the acetabular area, are potentially useful to estimate age at death for adult specimens.     

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of 8 Y-chromosomal STRs in the Santa Catarina population of southern Brazil

Allele frequencies and haplotypes of eight Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393 were determined in a sample of 109 males from Santa Catarina. The origin of this southern Brazilian population is mainly from Portuguese people, namely from Azores archipelago.     

STR data for 11 autosomal STR markers from Costa Rica, Central America

Allele frequencies for 11 STR autosomal loci (F13A01, F13B, FESFPS, LPL, CSF1PO, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D16S539, D7S820 and D13S317) were obtained from a sample of 200 unrelated individuals from Costa Rica, Central America.