Predictors of adult attitudes toward corporal punishment of children

This study identifies predictors of favorable attitudes toward spanking. Analyses were performed with survey data collected from a representative sample of 1,000 adults from Quebec, Canada. According to this survey, a majority of respondents endorsed spanking, despite their recognition of potential harm associated with corporal punishment (CP) of children. The prediction model of attitudes toward spanking included demographics, experiencing or witnessing various forms of family violence and abuse in childhood, and perceived frequency of physical injuries resulting from CP. Spanking was the most reported childhood experience (66.4%), and most violence and abuse predictors were significantly and positively correlated. Older respondents who were spanked in childhood and who believed that spanking never or seldom results in physical injuries were the most in favor of spanking. On the other hand, respondents who reported more severe physical violence or psychological abuse in childhood were less in favor of spanking. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention of CP and family coercion cycle.     

Fatal intoxication with tianeptine (Stablon)

Tianeptine (Stablon), although structurally similar to tricyclic antidepressants, acts by enhancing the reuptake of serotonin. A fatal case is presented involving a 26-year-old man, found lying in bed with a "mushroom of foam" around his mouth. Empty blister packs of Stablon and a suicide note were found next to the body. A liquid-liquid extraction procedure with n-hexane: ethyl acetate and n-hexane: 2-propanol, followed by LC-DAD-MS analysis, using positive mode electrospray ionization was performed. The detection limit was 0.001 microg/mL. The toxicological results revealed the following tianeptine concentrations in the post-mortem samples: blood 5.1 microg/mL; urine 2.0 microg/mL; liver 23 microg/g; stomach contents 22 mg. Femoral blood analyses also revealed an ethanol concentration of 0.53 g/L. The present method was also developed and validated for the other post-mortem specimens, since no previous published data had confirmed the post-mortem distribution of tianeptine. The absence of other suitable direct causes of death (macroscopic or histological) and the positive results achieved with the toxicological analysis led the pathologist to rule that death was due to an intoxication caused by the suicidal ingestion of tianeptine in combination with alcohol.     

DXAGE: A New Method for Age at Death Estimation Based on Femoral Bone Mineral Density and Artificial Neural Networks

Age at death estimation in adult skeletons is hampered, among others, by the unremarkable correlation of bone estimators with chronological age, implementation of inappropriate statistical techniques, observer error, and skeletal incompleteness or destruction. Therefore, it is beneficial to consider alternative methods to assess age at death in adult skeletons. The decrease in bone mineral density with age was explored to generate a method to assess age at death in human remains. A connectionist computational approach, artificial neural networks, was employed to model femur densitometry data gathered in 100 female individuals from the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection. Bone mineral density declines consistently with age and the method performs appropriately, with mean absolute differences between known and predicted age ranging from 9.19 to 13.49 years. The proposed method—DXAGE—was implemented online to streamline age estimation. This preliminary study highlights the value of densitometry to assess age at death in human remains.     

Surface Curvature of Pelvic Joints from Three Laser Scanners: Separating Anatomy from Measurement Error

Recent studies have reported that quantifying symphyseal and auricular surface curvature changes on 3D models acquired by laser scanners has a potential for age estimation. However, no tests have been carried out to evaluate the repeatability of the results between different laser scanners. 3D models of the two pelvic joints were generated using three laser scanners (Custom, Faro, and Minolta). The surface curvature, the surface area, and the distance between co‐registered meshes were investigated. Close results were found for surface areas (differences between 0.3% and 2.4%) and for distance deviations (average <20 μm, SD <200 μm). The curvature values were found to be systematically biased between different laser scanners, but still showing similar trends with increasing phases/scores. Applying a smoothing factor to the 3D models, it was possible to separate anatomy from the measurement error of each instrument, so that similar curvature values could be obtained (p < 0.05) independent of the specific laser scanner.     

Has Structural Economic Vulnerability Decreased in Least Developed Countries? Lessons Drawn from Retrospective Indices

The Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI) is a well-recognised measure of the structural vulnerability of developing countries and is regularly used and published by the United Nations for cross-country comparison purposes, primarily to review the list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). However, due to the revisions in methodology occurring over time, the official EVI cannot be used to assess the changes in vulnerability. In this paper, we use two retrospective series of the EVI, based on constant definitions. The real change in vulnerability is thus isolated from the impact of revisions in the design of the index, allowing comparison of the evolution of LDCs and non-LDCs. The implications of the revisions in the EVI design are then discussed.     

Economic development strategies in the American states

Economic development has always been a moving target. Not surprisingly, there is growing evidence that the shape of economic policy and practice is significantly changing in many American states on the eve of the 21st Century. This article reviews the evolution and transformation of state economic development as well as its multidimentional character. The evolution includes roughly three broad, overlapping phases: a period when states focused on attracting businesses, a period when they focused on developing existing businesses, and a period when states refined and sharpened the strategies they already had in place. This article also offers evidence that a new, fourth phase is emerging in economic development. It is called cluster-based economic analysis and strategy development. This new approach has states addressing new issues, using new analytical tools, and experiencing new kinds of results.