A forensic entomology case from the Amazon rain forest of Brazil

The first case of application of forensic entomology in the Brazilian Amazonia is described. The corpses of 26 men were found in the rainforest in Rondonia State, Brazil. Fly larvae collected on the bodies during autopsy were identified as Paralucilia fulvinota (Diptera, Calliphoridae). No data or specimens were collected at the crime scene. At the laboratory, the larvae developed into pupae in 58 h and into adults in 110.5 h. The total development time for P. fulvinota was measured in field experiments inside the forest. The age of the larvae when collected from the bodies was estimated as the difference between the time required for them to become adults and the total development time for this species. The estimated age of the maggots and the minimum postmortem interval was 5.7 days.     

Criminalystic: effectiveness of lysochromes on the developing of invisible lipstick-contaminated lipmarks on human skin. A preliminary study

Latent prints are an important evidence for identification. Nowadays, the technical means, the implementation of image processing techniques and the use of database makes it possible to detect and get information from some prints that seem to be useless at first sight. On the other hand, the possibility of using the print as a DNA source has to be considered, so as to double its identifying value. Human skin is a particularly difficult surface for developing this kind of evidences. Although different methods for locating and developing latent fingerprints on the skin have been already described, it has not been found any method, at the revised bibliography, to obtain and develop invisible lipmarks, that is, lipmarks from protective lipstick, or permanent or long-lasting lipstick. The aim of the work that follows is to determine the effectiveness of several reagents for developing invisible lipmarks on the corpses' skin. Preliminary results show that, under the described experimental conditions, the reagents used, Sudan III, Oil Red O and Sudan Black, are effective for obtaining recent latent lip prints on corpse's skin.     

Transparency and accountability: principles and rules for the construction of publicity

Western countries have experienced a growing demand for accountability as a key element to the democratization of the State. This demand has given rise to an advocacy towards a transparency of State institutions and its subsequent public policies. This advocacy, in turn, aims to make governments accountable before the public. The goal of this article is to establish a critical perspective towards what we call transparency policy in favor of what we call publicity policy. The latter provides a normative argument for the concept of accountability aimed towards a deeper democracy and stronger public management processes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Partner Violence Entrapment Scale: Development and Psychometric Testing

This article describes the development and testing of the psychometric properties of the Partner Violence Entrapment Scale (PVES), an instrument that evaluates the women’s perceived reasons for staying in violent partner relationships. After initial pilot testing, the scale was administered to 213 Spanish women who were victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). An exploratory factor analysis identified six factors: Socio-Economic Problems, Attachment and Fear of Loneliness, Blaming Oneself and Resignation, Impact on Children, Fear of Harm and Worry for the Partner, and Feelings of Confusion. Discriminant validity was established by demonstrating associations between PVES factors and socio-demographic, clinical and abuse variables. The scale appears to be a useful assessment tool for social and clinical settings. Its factor structure, reliability, and validity need to be replicated in other populations and samples.     

Antibiotics and probiotics in chronic pouchitis:A comparative proteomic approach

AIM:To profile protein expression in mucosal biopsies from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis following antibiotic or probiotic treatment,using a comparative proteomic approach. METHODS:Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry were used to characterize the changes related to antibiotic therapy in the protein expression profiles of biopsy samples from patients with chronic refractory pouchitis.The same proteom...     

Using Cluster Analysis and ICP‐MS to Identify Groups of Ecstasy Tablets in Sao Paulo State,Brazil

The variations found in the elemental composition in ecstasy samples result in spectral profiles with useful information for data analysis, and cluster analysis of these profiles can help uncover different categories of the drug. We provide a cluster analysis of ecstasy tablets based on their elemental composition. Twenty‐five elements were determined by ICP‐MS in tablets apprehended by Sao Paulo's State Police, Brazil. We employ the K‐means clustering algorithm along with C4.5 decision tree to help us interpret the clustering results. We found a better number of two clusters within the data, which can refer to the approximated number of sources of the drug which supply the cities of seizures. The C4.5 model was capable of differentiating the ecstasy samples from the two clusters with high prediction accuracy using the leave‐one‐out cross‐validation. The model used only Nd, Ni, and Pb concentration values in the classification of the samples.     

Ambivalent sexism,empathy and law enforcement attitudes towards partner violence against women among male police officers

Police attitudes towards partner violence against women (PVAW) can play an important role in their evaluation and responses to this type of violence. The present study aims to examine ambivalent sexism and empathy as determinants of male police officers' law enforcement attitudes towards PVAW. The study sample was composed by 404 male police officers. Results suggested that male police officers scoring low in benevolent sexism expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement (i.e. regardless of the victim's willingness to press charges against the offender), whereas those scoring high in benevolent sexism expressed a preference for conditional law enforcement (i.e. depending on the willingness of the victim to press charges against the offender). Results also showed that police officers scoring high in empathy and low in hostile sexism were those who expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement. The presence of sexist attitudes and low levels of empathy among some police officers, and their influence on law enforcement attitudes, highlights not only the importance of specific training, but also the need to pay attention to the selection process of police officers dealing with PVAW.