Comparison of methods to determine sex by evaluating the greater sciatic notch: Visual, angular and geometric morphometrics

Sex estimation is the first step for biological profile reconstruction of an unknown skeleton (archaeological or contemporary) and consequently for positive identification of skeletal remains recovered from forensic settings. Several tools have been developed using different osseous structures. With the intention to provide an objective method comparison, we reported the analysis of three different methods (visual, metric and geometric morphometrics) for sex assessment of the greater sciatic notch. One hundred and thirty pelvic bones (45.4% females and 54.6% males) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico Skeletal Collection pertaining to the contemporary Mexican population were analyzed. We used the ROC-analysis to test between desired false positive thresholds (1-specificity) and expected true positive rates (sensitivity) in order to predict the best approach to sex assessment. The comparison of the area under the ROC-curves shows significant differences among visual and metric methods. At the same time, the analysis suggested that higher morphological variation among the sexes is independent of the methodological approach. The results indicate that the metric (angle), with a high percent of indeterminate cases (34.6%), and visual, with 26.2% of the cases allocated as intermediate cases, were poorly accurate; we cannot recommend these techniques for sexing an unknown specimen. On the other hand, the geometric morphometrics approach improves sex estimation in 82.3% of correctly classified individuals with more than 95% of posterior probability. In addition to the method comparison, the major sexual variation of the greater sciatic notch was determined to be located on its posterior border.     

关于东欧剧变和社会发展道路的思考

首先向中国朋友们表示问候。我很荣幸应邀参与《当代世界》杂志关于东欧剧变等重要问题的讨论并发表个人粗浅之见。     

Constitutional Law in Twenty Years from Now

The principles of constitutional law as those of many other disciplines seem to develop and to be replaced by new paradigms in the light of globalization. The present article using the genre of constitutional futurology attempts to determine whether this change is real or an illusory impression, and to predict the future of constitutional law and of scholarship reflecting on constitutional issues. A mighty forecast emerges from the interplay of opposing forces. While the withering away of the constitutionalist paradigm is unlikely partly because of the lack of a new generation of legal scholars following new patterns of thinking, partly because there is no reason to assume that the prevalent socioeconomic order would cease to exist , the essay maps a number of possible challenges like genetic engineering or personal computers interconnected in the World Wide Web , which constitutionalists shall expect to face in theory and in practice alike.     

La guerre vue d'Ochollo (Éthiopie méridionale)

La quête pour la reconnaissance de la subjectivité et la dignité est au coeur des mouvements sociaux actuels. Les Africains se battent pour obtenir la reconnaissance depuis l’époque où la traite des esclaves et plus tard la colonisation les ont dépouillés de leurs qualités humaines. Ces combats ont été essentiellement révélés par l’écriture et le monothéisme. L’article actuel suggère aux lecteurs de considérer la construction performative du moi où la subjectivité Africaine / Noire est représentée dans toute son autonomie. L’exemple empirique proposé est celui de l’Afrique centrale.     

Time since discharge of rifles

The estimation of time since the latest discharge of rifles has been achieved by the SPME sampling technique and the GC-TEA analytical system. An unidentified compound, designated as the TEA2 compound, was detected in all the rifles investigated. The same compound was observed in shotguns and spent cartridges in our previous work. This compound escapes rapidly from the inside of rifle barrels, but can still be detected there one to two months after the shooting. The decrease of the TEA2 peak with time after shooting is non-exponential, and the curve-fitting procedure proposed for the estimation of time since discharge of shotguns can be applied also for rifles.     

Biting the hand that feeds them? Abkhazia–Russia client–patron relations

ABSTRACT

The article discusses the post-Soviet de facto state of Abkhazia, and its relationship to its main patron, Russia. All patron–client nexuses are marked by a high degree of asymmetrical power – especially with de facto states, which depend upon the patron for their very survival. Thus, it is surprising to see how de facto client states repeatedly show that they are both willing and able to defy the wishes of their patrons and pursue their own agendas instead. Moreover, the patron may be willing to tolerate such rebelliousness. What can explain such “disobedient” behavior? I examine three contentious aspects of Russian–Abkhazian relations: the process leading up to the signing of an extended bilateral agreement in 2014; the tussles over how to fight crime in Abkhazia; and acrimony over Abkhazia’s reluctance to allow Russians to buy property in their country, despite massive pressure from Russian authorities.     

A new method of age estimation based on the changes in human non-collagenous proteins from dentin

The new method exploits the characteristic of staphylococcal protease V8, which specifically splits peptide bonds where l-glutamic or l-aspartic acid participate. Those peptide bonds where d-aspartic acid is present remain unsplit because of the stereospecifity of enzymes. In accordance with expectations, fewer peptide bonds are split by this protease at more advanced ages and larger peptide fragments are thus formed due to the higher content of d-amino acid residues in the proteins of older people. The samples of acid-extracted non-collagenous proteins from dentin were separated using high performance liquid chromatography after enzymatic hydrolysis. A peak with a retention time of 45.3 min was chosen and his enlarging area showed a linear correlation with increasing age. Although the linear correlation with age was proved, the scattering of values decreases the usefulness of the proposed method for age estimation.     

A Leap of Faith? Sanctioning Xenotransplant Clinical Trials

Introducing a new medical technique, procedure or drug to the public via clinical trials is risky at the best of times. When the trial involves a biotechnology which holds out the promise of prolonging, if not saving, life the push to move from the laboratory to clinical trials may be hard to resist. In this article I explore whether the regulatory scheme for clinical trials in the UK is able to accommodate developing technologies by considering how the current legal and ethical frameworks determine when a procedure such as xenotransplantation should proceed to trials. In particular, I discuss whether basing our regulatory schemes on the principles espoused in the Declaration of Helsinki offer sufficient protection to those who may be affected by xenotransplant trials – the recipient, their health-care workers, close contacts and, unusually, the wider public. I question whether it is possible for a technology to be approved for clinical trials when allowing such trials may benefit the individual but ultimately negatively impact on society as a whole.     

New Citizens and Old Politics in Peru

The article presents an analysis of the disjunction between civil and political society in Perú and its consequences in the collapse of the political parties and the rise of an authoritarian regime. It explains how citizenship developed as social rights in the realm of Peruvian civil society before the population gained access to full civil and political rights. This situation diminished the capacity of Peruvian citizens to have their own political representation and created a distance between Peru's civil and political societies, making it difficult for the population to hold politicians accountable for their actions in government and the opposition. This situation proved particularly serious when the country went through a period of deep economic crisis and extended political violence during the 1980s. The breach between civil and political society destroyed the prestige of politicians and democracy, paving the way for an authoritarian cuadillo who dismissed representation with promises of "direct communication with the people" and harsh solutions to the problems of economic crisis and political violence.