Glucose and lactate in vitreous humor compared with the determination of fructosamine for the postmortem diagnosis of diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic illness responsible for a great number of deaths. In postmortem diagnosis, because of the difficulty involved in interpreting blood glucose levels and relatively nonspecific pathologic features, biochemical markers in vitreous humor are useful. The aim of this study was to compare the results obtained for the combined determination of lactate and glucose with fructosamine levels recorded in the vitreous humor of two diagnostic groups (one diabetic and the other nondiabetic). The authors intended to ascertain the capacity of different markers measured in vitreous humor to diagnose diabetes mellitus. Fifty-one cadavers (mean age, 58.7 years; standard deviation, 17.09) were studied. The mean postmortem interval was 16.4 hours (standard deviation, 9.05). Cases were assigned to two diagnostic groups according to whether they were previously diagnosed as either diabetic or nondiabetic. Statistically significant differences for glucose, fructosamine, and the sum values of glucose and lactate were found between the two diagnostic groups. The highest levels were obtained in the group of cases with a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. After the comparison of receiver operating characteristic curves, the sum values of glucose and lactate in vitreous humor is a better predictor of antemortem diabetes mellitus than the fructosamine.     

The use of the LightCycler for the detection of Y chromosome SNPs

A novel methodology based on PCR monitoring on-line with fluorescent formats using the LightCycler for Y chromosome SNP typing is proposed. The main advantages of the system are the time necessary for the analysis (which is around 20 min), the robustness and the accuracy of the method and especially its sensitivity, which permits the detection of the male component in male-female mixtures up to 1:300 for some of the SNPs.Singleplexes of four different SNPs (M9, sY81, SRY-1532 and SRY-2627) as well as two duplexes (M9 and sY81 on the one hand and SRY-1532 and SRY-2627 on the other) were efficiently implemented. A simultaneous amplification and analysis of the four SNPs is also possible. It seems difficult with the current methodology to implement more than a quadruplex.     

Occupational safety and health in Poland in the 1990s: A regulatory system adapting to societal transformation

The societal transformation underway in Poland createda fundamental challenge to the occupational health and safety system, as the ideological and administrative principles on which it was founded vanished along with the communist-dominated regime. This paper examines the regulatory reform in Poland during the 1990s: its structural elements, implementation record and future prospects. Drawing on five case studies of privatized firms, a mailed questionnaire, and policy and institutional analysis, we find that Poland had considerable success in developing an effective regulatory system for managing occupational health hazards in privatized sector while also achieving considerable socioeconomic progress. The fundamental legitimacy of the regulators and regulatory process, the availability of information about firms and regulatory intents, and the capacity for case-specific decision making, are among the key explanatory factors. The case-specific implementation in Poland is consistent with models advocated by several authors in relation to other industrialized European economies (termed variously as negotiated compliance, tit-for-tat, cooperation-deterrence), despite a uniquely Polish context related to the continuing legacy of the communist era. The study also shows how in Poland a good fit between regulatory institutions and policies on the one hand, and their social context on the other hand, contributes to the effectiveness of the regulatory system.     

Calculation of percent shrinkage in human fetal diaphyseal lengths from fresh bone to carbonized and calcined bone using Petersohn and K?hler's data.

Calculation of age from fetal and newborn remains may be problematic, and when these remains are altered by maceration, decomposition or burning, age may be more difficult to discern. When soft tissue indicators are transformed, then two techniques exist for accurate age determination; dental development, which may prove difficult given the degree of tissue alteration; and appearance, size and fusion of ossification centers, including diaphyseal length, which may yield inaccurate ages if shrinkage is not accounted for. This study is undertaken to facilitate age calculation by systematically re-evaluating diaphyseal shrinkage and determine shrinkage rates from wet to carbonized states and wet to calcined states using Petersohn and K?hler's data, originally published in German and then published in Fazekas and Kósa (1978:362-369). Average shrinkage, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values are calculated for each diaphysis and then for all diaphyses between 4-10 lunar months (LM) and for newborns. Associated values for carbonized diaphyses are: 4 LM--32.50% +/- 12.12%; 5 LM--14.04% +/- 4.44%; 6 LM--6.78% +/- 1.06%; 7 LM--4.18% +/- 0.31%; 8 LM--3.47% +/- 0.42%; 9 LM--3.05% +/- 0.18%; 10 LM--2.46% +/- 0.67%; and in newborns 2.16% +/- 0.29%. Similar values for calcined diaphyses are: 4 LM--40.11% +/- 17.51%; 5 LM--18.29% +/- 4.42%; 6 LM--9.84% +/- 1.27%; 7 LM--9.82% +/- 0.51%; 8 LM--9.42% +/- 0.72%; 9 LM--9.45% +/- 0.33%; 10 LM--8.94% +/- 0.37%; and in newborns 8.96% +/- 0.49%. These findings suggest that percent shrinkage due to carbonization and calcination is greatest in the earliest age groups, decreasing substantially with advancing age. The rates of shrinkage, however, vary by the burning process utilized and age group studied. These general findings are similar to those of Petersohn and K?hler, yet specific values for percent shrinkage vary greatly from values cited in this analysis. These data provide a means to assess the degree of shrinkage that occurs for each diaphysis for each given age group.     

Allele frequency distribution of the STR loci HUMTPOX, HUMTH01 and HUMVWA in Asturias (north Spain)

In order to use genetic loci in forensic identity testing, some population data are needed. This paper presents a report of allele frequency data for the loci HUMTH01, HUMTPOX and HUMVWA in a population sample from Northern Spain. No deviation from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was detected in any of the three markers investigated and there was no evidence of association between the alleles of these loci. Statistical analysis was also carried out to obtain some parameters of medicolegal interest and comparative studies were carried out with other populations studied to date for these five loci. The Asturian sample does not differ substantially from other Caucasian and Spanish populations.     

What challenges offers nanotechnology to bioethics?

Though nowadays science means progress, for some people it means a moral danger. However, the progress should not be suppressed, and in every case, it should be controlled. These authors uphold that science and morality are closely linked and complementary. That is, technology, society and morality, by themselves, do not have the absolute truth and must be complemented among them without any of the three being suppressed.