Study of Chilean Children’s Dental Maturation*

Abstract: In forensic science, determining a person’s chronological age has become a challenge for researchers. Determining age using dental calcification is becoming increasingly important. The objective of this study is to estimate the dental age of the children’s population in Region VIII, Chile. The sample was randomly taken from children under the care of the Faculty of Dentistry at the Universidad de Concepción in Chile. The study encompasses 159 children between 3 and 14 years of age. The dental age was determined following the Demirjian method. The Bland–Altman method was applied to establish the correlation. It was determined that the range between chronological and dental age is similar, and the degree of correlation between both ages is nearly perfect. In conclusion, the degree of correlation between the chronological and dental ages for each gender is also very good although it is slightly higher for females.     

Privacy and security in centralized vs. decentralized databank systems

This paper explores the questions of whether or not a centralized personal-information databank system presents a greater threat to the privacy and other related rights of the persons on whom data are kept than does a decentralized system that collectively holds the same data, and which databank system can provide better data security. It is concluded that, except possibly in the case of a coup d'état, a properly designed and controlled centralized databank system is a smaller threat to privacy and provides more effective security than a decentralized system.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Grant No. 29943.     

Discriminant function sexing of fragmentary and complete femora: standards for contemporary Croatia

Determining sex is one of the first and most important steps in identifying decomposed corpses or skeletal remains. Previous studies have demonstrated that populations differ from each other in size and proportion and that these differences can affect metric assessment of sex. This paper establishes standards for determining sex from fragmentary and complete femurs in a modern Croatian population. The sample is composed of 195 femora (104 male and 91 female) from positively identified victims of the 1991 War in Croatia. Six discriminant functions were generated. one using seven variables, three using two variables, and two employing one variable. Results show that complete femora can be sexed with 94.4% accuracy. The same overall accuracy, with slight differences in male/female accuracy, was achieved using a combination of two variables defining the epiphyses, and with the variable maximum diameter of the femoral head.     

Abstract rules for complex systems

European Journal of Law and Economics - This article addresses the question—What is the structure of rules required to undergird a complex dynamic system of actions such as the market...     

College Student Reporting Responses to Hypothetical and Actual Safety Concerns

Campus violence prevention often includes proactively reducing crime through noticing and resolving concerning situations. Within these efforts, interventions aimed at enhancing reporting have been considered necessary. The current study explored several reporting influences on college students’ responses to hypothetical and actual campus safety concerns. Students were unwilling to report most (i.e., 52%) vignettes of pathway behavior, and most students who witnessed campus safety concerns did not report (i.e., 87%). Students who witnessed several concerning behaviors from a nonfriend perpetrator tended to be more willing to report, especially if personally victimized and understanding the violence risk associated with pathway behavior. Analyses supported campus-wide exhibitions of the dangerousness of various pathway behaviors and the fair, flexible authority problem solving available to struggling students.     

A novel platform for the modular integration of forensic assay setup and medium- to high-throughput purification of nucleic acids

With its extraction and assay setup modules, the QIAsymphony^® provides a highly flexible solution for processing forensic samples in a medium- to high-throughput scale. We tested the sensitivity of extraction, precision of sample processing, and accuracy of automated assay setup of this integrated system. Results attest to QIAsymphony's ability to isolate DNA from a spectrum of common forensic samples and process these samples without cross-contamination. Furthermore, accurate assay setup for downstream applications, like PCR, make this system highly suited for enhancing laboratory workflow.     

Some Considerations on Faces of Justice by a 'Non-Specialist'

The author examines the well-known book by Mirjan Damaka aswell as other more recent books and writings of the distinguishedauthor against the specific background of the Italian experiencein reforming its system of criminal procedure with a view tocommenting upon sensitive issues in current international criminalproceedings. Three key factors in assessing the ‘real’nature of a procedural system are examined: (i) the role ofjudges in the proceedings; (ii) the rules on evidence and (iii)the duty to render reasoned decisions. Subsequently, the authortackles the issue of self-representation in international criminaljustice, in light of Damaka's categories (conflict-solving v.policy-implementing) and of the difficulties in transposingthem to the international level. Finally, the author warns thatthe analysis of international criminal justice should not beconfined in over-rigid models. The overriding concern must beto harmonize the ‘fair trial’ model with sensitivityto certain objectives of justice that cannot be possible objectsof compromise (as they may be where judicial authority operatespurely as arbiter of a dispute).     

New challenges for universities in the knowledge triangle

This paper discusses the role of higher education institutions within the framework of the knowledge triangle between academic education, scientific research and innovation, as it has gained importance in recent years as a framework for innovation policies especially in the OECD and Europe. First, complementary concepts of universities’ outreach activities and extended role model such as ‘third mission’, ‘triple helix’, ‘entrepreneurial or civic university’ models and ‘smart specialization’ are reflected against their fit with the concept of the knowledge triangle, also with respect to new requirements for university governance. Second, a new understanding of spillovers between public sectors research and the business sector according to knowledge triangle is presented.