Immunohistochemical detection of fibronectin and tenascin in incised human skin injuries

Immunohistochemical detection of molecules involved in inflammatory reaction can be useful for the diagnosis of vitality in skin wounds. We studied the expression of fibronectin (FN) and tenascin (TN) in 58 human skin wounds (48 vital and 10 postmortem). The age of vital injuries ranged from 3 min to 8 h and postmortem specimens were collected after a postinfliction interval of 15-180 min. One hundred thirty-seven formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded sections (mean: 2.3 sections per case) were stained with each of two monoclonal antibodies against FN and TN using the streptABC technique. A reticular staining for FN in wound edge and dermis was observed in 50% of vital specimens versus 0% in postmortem cases. Immunoreactivity was reduced in 10 autolysed cases. FN positivity exclusively at the injury margin was observed in 39.4% of vital wounds and 10% of postmortem cases. TN was negative in all specimens. Vital and postmortem hemorrhage areas showed positivity for FN and TN. Due to its low sensitivity, immunohistochemical analysis of FN is useful for determining vitality only in a minority of cases. Different factors in everyday practice, including autolysis and technical problems often produce false negative reactions with the result that FN cannot be regarded as a reliable parameter of vitality. Positive reactions (network staining) are more valuable than negativity but are not pathognomonic. Both vital and postmortem hemorrhages show an enhanced positivity for FN and TN, thus impeding the diagnosis.     

Loners,Colleagues, or Peers? Assessing the Social Organization of Radicalization

This study explores the utility of a sociological model of social organization developed by Best and Luckenbill (1994) to classify the radicalization processes of terrorists (i.e., extremist perpetrators who engaged in ideologically motivated acts of violence) who are usually categorized as loner or lone wolf attackers. There are several organizational frameworks used to define or classify violent acts performed by individuals who may or may not have ties to extremist groups, but these studies largely ignore the role of social relationships in radicalization and the extent to which they inform our knowledge of terror. To address this gap, we apply the Best and Luckenbill model of social organization using a qualitative analysis of three case studies of four lone actor or small cell terrorists. The findings demonstrate lone actors are not always true loners in the context of radicalization, and highlights the ways that the Internet and social ties foster the radicalization processes of terror.

     

Detecting deception in second‐language speakers

Purpose. We examined whether language proficiency had an impact on lie detection. Methods. We collected video footage of 30 targets who spoke English as their native or second language and who lied or told the truth about a transgression. Undergraduate students (N = 51) then judged the veracity of these 30 clips and indicated how confident they were in their ratings. Results. Participants were more confident when judging native‐language truth‐tellers than second‐language truth‐tellers. In addition, participants were more likely to exhibit a truth‐bias when observing native‐language speakers, whereas they were more likely to exhibit a lie‐bias when viewing second‐language speakers. Conclusions. Given the difficulties and biases associated with second‐language lie detection, further research is needed.     

Validation of the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT) in Spanish Adolescents

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of two instruments that assess attitudes justifying use of aggression in adolescents?? dating relationships: the Attitudes About Aggression in Dating Situations (AADS) and the Justification of Verbal/Coercive Tactics Scale (JVCT). The sample was made up of 2,856 adolescents from different high schools of Madrid. Results supported the three-factor structure for the AADS and the six-factor structure for the JVCT, which was consistent with the theory and with previous research. As expected, the relation between attitudes and aggressive behavior was between small and moderate but significant in most cases. Furthermore, attitudes differed depending on the type of violence, the respondent??s sex, and on whether aggression is carried out by a man or a woman. Finally, the potential applications of these two scales are discussed, and it is concluded that both constitute useful tools to assess justification of aggression in dating relationships in young couples.     

Claiming the Right to Health in Brazilian Courts: The Exclusion of the Already Excluded?

The aim of this article is to test a widespread belief among Brazilian legal scholars in the area of social rights, namely, the claim that courts are an alternative institutional voice for the poor, who are usually marginalized from the political process. According to this belief, social rights litigation would be a means (supposedly “a better means”) of realizing rights such as the right to health care, since supposedly both the wealthy and the poor have equal access to the courts. To probe the consistency of this belief, we analyzed the socioeconomic profiles of plaintiffs in the city of Sao Paulo (Brazil) who were granted access to specific medications or medical treatments by judicial decisions. In this study, the justiciability of social rights has not proven to be a means of rendering certain public services more democratic and accessible.     

Mechanisms and Consequences of Professional Marginality: The Case of Poverty Lawyers Revisited

A partial replication of Jack Katz's (1982 ) Poor People's Lawyers in Transition, this article explores the manifestations and consequences of professional marginality of legal aid lawyers. Based on thirty‐five interviews with poverty attorneys and interns in Chicago, the authors show that scarce material resources and unclear expectations continue to give rise to the marginalization of this segment of the legal profession. The authors analyzed ideological, task, status, and material dimensions of attorneys' professional marginality. With no access to reform litigation, central to the legal aid “culture of significance” in the 1970s, present‐day poverty lawyers seek new ways to cope with marginality. The authors argue that these lawyers' coping strategies have many negative consequences. Thus, over time, poverty lawyers' deep engagement with clients, ideals of empowerment, and social justice orientation give way to emotional detachment, complacency, and an emphasis on “making do” within the constraints of the system.     

Social or political cleavages? A spatial analysis of?the?party system in post-authoritarian Chile

Lipset and Rokkan??s (Party system and voter alignments: cross national perspectives, Lipset and Rokkan eds., New York: Free Press, pp. 1?C64, 1967) sociological model of cleavages and the so-called ??freezing hypothesis?? dominate theorizing about party system formation. Torcal and Mainwaring (Br. J. Polit. Sci. 33:55?C84, 2003) show the relevance of a purely political cleavage for structuring the party system in the case of Chile, challenging the freezing hypothesis??s claims. They also dispute case-specific research that argues Chile??s party system still reflects a ??three-thirds?? division between Left, Right, and Center. Revisiting this debate, our study employs spatial maps of the party system. Such political-economy models are rare in studies of Latin American politics. The application here supports a democratic/authoritarian political cleavage in Chile.