Palatal rugae pattern in a Portuguese population: a preliminary analysis

Palatal rugae have been related with specific racial groups and are said to be useful in sex discrimination. This work aimed to characterize the palatal rugae patterns in a Portuguese population. Fifty plaster casts were examined for first and third rugae shape evaluation; shape, frequency, and association with sex were studied. In females, the most prevalent first rugae were the straight type on the right and the curve type on the left; in males, the straight type was the most prevalent on both sides. The most frequent third rugae type was sinuous on both sides, in both sexes. No significant sexual dimorphism in rugae shape was found (p > 0.05). When comparing these results with those from other investigations, it was clear that a particular rugae pattern could be established for different ethnic groups. However, the small sample size justifies further work in larger samples to validate these findings.     

Moving from nos/otros to nosotros: a transcendent approach to sustainable development

Traditional top-down approaches to community development reinforce nos/otros binaries within provider/recipient relationships; transcendent approaches, on the other hand, create space for nosotros collaborative development. This article describes an instance of the nos/otros binary, in which a foreign volunteer in a rural community in Ecuador assumed the role of practitioner and limited community members’ roles to recipients or beneficiaries of her development projects. Inspired by findings from this experience, the article presents a case study highlighting an alternative, transcendent, nosotros approach in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where community members work together to imagine, implement, and sustain projects.     

Who is left out: exploring social boundaries in entrepreneurial ecosystems

The Journal of Technology Transfer - This study attempts to develop our understanding of the ecosystem as a complex social construct by advancing a social network perspective. Based on personal...     

Microwave-assisted extraction and differential scanning calorimetry in the chemical identification of sliming agents apprehended in the south region of Brazil

Over the past decades, consume of slimming agents considerably increased in several countries, including Brazil, due to weight-loss and stimulant properties. Since these drugs are controlled to prevent illicit and indiscriminate use, there is a parallel illegal market that uses the Internet and irregular pharmacies in order to distribute these formulations. Slimming agents produced by these illegal sources are known for being manufactured with little or none quality control resulting in uncertain and unknown formulations. For forensic purposes, apprehended pharmaceuticals have to undergo a process of chemical identification that can be difficult due to its complex matrix. In this sense, application of assisted energies in the extraction step such as microwave irradiation can be a promising method to increase the recuperation of the target molecules of the sample. Therefore, the aim of this research was to identify four slimming agents apprehended in Brazil by means of visual inspection, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry. Moreover, the efficiency of solid-liquid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction was compared. It should be noted that our work was one of the few to use Differential Scanning Calorimetry and the application of microwave irradiation in the analysis of apprehended materials. Results showed that the majority of the samples was counterfeit being composed of one or several adulterants or contaminants. Initially, visual inspection resourcefully screened the slimming agents for possible signs of falsification, however it failed to detect fraudulent products that were very similar to veridical medicines. Sequentially, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy detected functional groups present in the samples while the presence or absence of the alleged active ingredients were successfully measured with Differential Scanning Calorimetry and, thus, providing a full chemical screening of the apprehended materials. Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry confirmed the presence of adulterants such as caffeine, fluoxetine and phenolphthalein as well as contaminants such as sulfurol in the falsified samples. Finally, comparison of extraction procedures indicated that microwave-assisted extraction increased the recovery of compounds detected in chromatographic analysis to a greater extent than solid-liquid extraction.     

Comparative study of Greulich and Pyle Atlas and Maturos 4.0 program for age estimation in a Portuguese sample

Age estimation of living individuals has become one of the big issues of forensic anthropology. The increase of children and adolescents with no valid proof of their chronological age is a legal concern to many countries, especially in situations of illegal immigration, sub adult delinquency and juvenile work. For this purpose, the use of radiological methods for evaluation of skeletal maturation is particularly useful. In this study we compare the two of the most common methods applied in age estimation by hand/wrist radiographs: the Radiographic Atlas of Skeletal Development of the Hand and Wrist made by Greulich and Pyle (GP), 1959,and the Sempé method developed for computer--Maturos 4.0 (MT) program. These methods were applied to a sample of 230 radiographs of the hand and wrist from Portuguese children and adolescents of known sex age and age, aged between 12 and 20 years, who performed medical examination at the University of Coimbra Hospitals during 2005. The methods achieved different performances, depending on the age group. Between 12 and 15 years the bone age with the MT program is closer to the chronological age, whereas in older ages the GP Atlas method is more trustworthy. At the ages with legal consequences in Portugal (16 and 18 years) the GP Atlas method is most accurate, namely to decide whether an individual is younger or older than 18 years. Around 16 years old, although there are doubts in relation to the accuracy of both methods, GP Atlas seems to perform better.     

Mutation rates at 14 STR loci in the population from Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil

Definition about mutation rates of short tandem repeats (STRs) loci used in forensic analysis are useful for the correct interpretation of resulting genetic profiles and the definition of criterions for exclusion in paternity testing. Germline mutation of 14 STR loci was studied for 54,105 parent–child allelic transfers from 2575 paternity testing cases carried out during 2000–2007 from the Pernambuco State, Northeast Brazil. The parenthood in each of these cases was highly validated (probability > 99.99%). We identified 43 mutations at 12 loci. Locus-specific mutation rate estimates varied between 2 × 10⁻⁴ and 2 × 10⁻³, and the overall mutation rate estimate was 8 × 10⁻⁴. Mutation events in the male germline were more frequent than in the female germline. The majority of the mutations could be explained by losses or gains of one repeat unit and there was no evidence for selection between insertion or deletion changes. Our data were compared with those of Portuguese and North-American populations for CSF1PO, D18S51, D21S11, D7S820, TH01, TPOX and demonstrated, despite the great difference in the size of the sample, that mutation rates of STR loci in a mixed population do not differ from that encountered in different populations.     

Canada,the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the flexibility of terror identities

ABSTRACT

Security governance practices are contingent on the imagination of future threats. The “war on terror” has produced a very narrow imagination of threats, almost singularly focused on suspect communities that are Arab, Muslim, or perceived to be Middle Eastern. Discussing how immigration practices in Canada have been influenced by counter-terrorism trends, we argue that “terror identities” are mutable and highly racialised imaginaries that cast indelible marks of suspicion on subjects who are deemed as security threats. Examining the case of a journalist deemed inadmissible to Canada because of her “membership” in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), we argue that terror identities impose authoritative control over the status and lived experiences of individuals who are cast through these racialised labelling practices. Focussing on the shifting characterisation of the PLO by Canadian officials as both political interlocutor and terrorist organisation, our purpose is to highlight how racialised imaginations of terror identities enact punitive and discriminatory practices.     

Behavioral and Institutional Determinants of Political Business Cycles

The link between business cycles and the democratic politicalsystem has long been recognized by economists. However, thedeterminants of political business cycles are not well understood.We discuss several institutional and behavioral determinants ofthose cycles, such as revolving-door appointments, term limits andpreferences of the incumbent politician, electorate and businesscommunity concerning the intertemporal pattern of publicexpenditure. We show how they affect the cycle's amplitude in thecontext of a rational-expectations model.     

Prisoners' expectations of the national forensic DNA database: surveillance and reconfiguration of individual rights

In this paper we aim to discuss how Portuguese prisoners know and what they feel about surveillance mechanisms related to the inclusion and deletion of the DNA profiles of convicted criminals in the national forensic database. Through a set of interviews with individuals currently imprisoned we focus on the ways this group perceives forensic DNA technologies. While the institutional and political discourses maintain that the restricted use and application of DNA profiles within the national forensic database protects individuals' rights, the prisoners claim that police misuse of such technologies potentially makes it difficult to escape from surveillance and acts as a mean of reinforcing the stigma of delinquency. The prisoners also argue that additional intensive and extensive use of surveillance devices might be more protective of their own individual rights and might possibly increase potential for exoneration.