Scanning electron microscopy analysis of experimental bone hacking trauma

The authors report on their macro- and microscopy study of bone lesions made by a sharp force instrument (a single blade knife), and a sharp-blunt instrument classified as a chopping weapon (a hatchet). The aim of this work was to attempt to identify the instrument by analyzing the general class characteristics of the cuts. Each weapon was used on human bones. The results indicate that macroscopic analysis is more problematic. The microscopic analysis assessed that characteristics examined were effective in distinguishing sharp from sharp-blunt injury to the bone. The microscope facilitates analysis unachievable with macroscopic methods, some three-dimensional characteristics not visible to the naked eye being clearly defined with its use. Emphasis has been placed on the value of SEM as an anthropologist's tool in bone lesion injuries.     

Y-chromosomal STR haplotypes in Inuit and Danish population samples

Nineteen Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385, DYS388, DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS460, DYS461 and DYS462 were typed in Inuit (n=70) and Danish (n=62) population samples.     

Politiques publiques d'innovation régionale et compétitivité mondiale : une étude comparée Québec-Wallonie

Abstract: The objective of this article is to analyse public initiatives to stimulate regional innovation in Walloon region in Belgium and in the Province of Quebec. The empirical analysis relies on the competitive poles program in Walloon and on the ACCORD project (Action Concertée de Coopération Régionale de Développement) in Quebec. The comparison will allow discussing the implementation and regional embedding of these programs and will reveal the similarities and the differences between the structure, the organization and the deployment of these strategies in the various regions targeted.     

European Elections in Germany: Legitimacy for the European Union?

Turning out for elections can be treated as an indication of long-term support for a political system, if citizens perceive that system as legitimate. Applied to the level of the European Union this would suggest that levels of participation in elections to the European Parliament are crucial to the legitimacy of the EU's political system. Due to the multi-level character of these elections, however, causes for relatively low levels of turnout may be located at the national as well as the European level. We will use individual-level survey data to analyse the reasons for voter participation at European elections in Germany. Based on system-theoretic arguments we develop a model of voter participation including both European and national factors. The results of our binominal logistic regression models suggest that participation at European elections depends on individual characteristics like political interest on the one hand and perceptions of the performance of both the EU and the national government on the other.     

Sentencing private benefits in takeover contest

We present a model of profit diversion into a takeover environment. The model incorporates a legal environment characterized by a probability of being convicted, a monetary sanction (ex-ante protection) and the costs of administrating the takeover (ex-post protection). We show that the extraction of private benefits is reduced by the existence of such a legal environment, which is consistent with a number of empirical studies. It also predicts that legal environment can conduct the bidder to acquire more than 50% of the share due to the impact of the final holding of the bidder on the fine. The paper contributes to the current debate on regulation of white-collar crime. It highlights the trade-off between the ex-post profit diversion and minority protection, and the ex-ante probability of efficient takeovers. But, considering simultaneously two tools of protection, the ex-ante and the ex-post ones, which do not have the same impact, we derive some guidelines in order to analyze the current trend of the US and the EU laws.     

Can Business Development Services practitioners learn from theories of innovation and services marketing?

Business Development Services (BDS) programmes have become big business for international donors and NGOs. Focusing on small enterprises in developing countries, the current BDS approach assumes that the development of commercial markets is the key to success. Yet many of these programmes continue to have a limited impact. A review of modern theories of innovation and services marketing management suggests that this may be because current BDS support practice reflects a rather limited understanding of how new markets actually develop. Drawing on the insights that these theories offer, the authors suggest that BDS practice should develop a more evolutionary approach, recognising that service innovations develop through active, on-going interaction between suppliers and customers. The article concludes with practical policy guidelines and a discussion about tools that could help BDS to adopt this more successful approach.     

Detection of fingermarks by colloidal gold (MMD/SMD)--beyond the pH 3 limit

Dust was investigated for its ability to retain source attribution profiles (SAPs) after chemical exposure. Three distinct sources of the organophosphate pesticide acephate were investigated as a proof-of-concept model. In addition, attribution profiles were created and tested using compounds related to chemical warfare agents (CWAs), specifically VX and G-series agents: O-ethyl methylphosphonothioate (EMPTA), N,N-diisopropylmethylamine (DIPMA), N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIEA), diisopropylamine (DIPA), diethyl aniline (DEA), diethyl ethyl phosphonate (DEEP), trimethyl phosphite (TMP), dimethyl hydrogen phosphite (DMHP), diethyl hydrogen phosphite (DEHP), triethyl phosphate (TEP), ethyl methylphosphonate (EMPA), and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP). Dust was collected from a storage shed, aliquots deposited on carpet and loaded with distinct chemical profiles using an exposure chamber and aerosolizer. After a given period of time (1h, 24h, or 72 h), the dust was extracted and its SAP analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and/or liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to determine the association of dust exposed to the same and different chemical sources. PCA results demonstrate that dust samples exposed to distinct chemical sources are clearly differentiated from one another across all collection times. Furthermore, dust aliquots exposed to the same source can be clearly associated with one another across all collection times. When the CWA-related compounds were subjected to elevated temperature (90°C) conditions, it was found that the signature was stable at the 1h and 24h collections. At 72 h and elevated temperature, larger deviations from the control were observed for some compounds. Elevated pH (10) affected the profile to a lesser degree than elevated temperature. Overall, dust is found to be an effective media for the in situ collection of source attribution profiles.