The use of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) to differentiate two UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina and Calliphora vomitoria

Traditionally identification of forensically important insects has been carried out based upon morphological differences between species. However insect evidence found at a crime scene may on occasion be difficult to distinguish by morphological techniques and under these circumstances another method of accurate identification is required. This work utilises a cytochrome oxidase I partial mitochondrial gene region (COI) to distinguish the two of the main UK blowfly species -- Calliphora vicina (Robineau Desvoidy) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus) (Diptera:Calliphoridae). Seventeen interspecific differences in COI sequence were located. Use of the restriction enzyme SfcI on this gene region provides a simple method for distinguishing between C. vicina and C. vomitoria.     

Nonviolent offenders' and college students' attachment and social support behaviors: implications for counseling

This study examines the relationships between adult attachment orientations and the ability to seek social support as factors in mediating behavior. Data were collected on non violent offenders (n = 57) and college students (n = 89). The results indicated the non-normative group of nonviolent offenders reported being more securely attached and having more satisfaction with their social supports than the normative group of college students. Fewer college students reported being securely attached than the nonviolent offenders but had a larger number of social supports. In the insecure categories, nonviolent offenders reported being more dismissively attached whereas college students reported being preoccupied in their attachment orientation. The study suggests that attachment and social-support-seeking behaviors across different populations may be potential factors in designing counseling services that are used for risk classification and needs assessment.     

Explaining Sexual Harassment Judgments: Looking Beyond Gender of the Rater

Law and Human Behavior - In two decades of research on sexual harassment, one finding that appears repeatedly is that gender of the rater influences judgments about sexual harassment such that...     

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.     

Traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and extracranial vertebral artery injury: a case report and review of the literature

The case is presented of a 19-year-old man who was assaulted and died shortly afterward from a large traumatic basal subarachnoid hemorrhage (TBSAH) that arose from rupture of the left vertebral artery, proximal to the point at which the artery penetrated the dura. The literature regarding TBSAH and vertebral artery rupture is reviewed, and a number of points are highlighted: patients with TBSAH may remain conscious for a period of hours after injury, subcutaneous or muscular bruising may be contralateral to the ruptured vessel, fractures of the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae and significant pathology of the vertebral artery are not typically associated with TBSAH, and rupture of the vertebral artery may be intracranial, junctional, or extracranial.     

Population data on the AmpFlSTR SGM plus PCR amplification kit in Germans and Austrians

Allele frequencies for the short tandem repeat loci D3S1358, VWA, D16S539, D2S1338, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D19S433, THO1 and FGA were determined in 231 German and 100 Austrian unrelated Caucasoids using the AmpFlSTR SGM plus kit (Applied Biosystems). All loci met Hardy-Weinberg expectations. In 212 meioses per locus, one mutation event for D19S433 was observed.