A sensitive and simple assay of saliva on stamps

Identification of saliva on stamps or envelope flaps remains yet a not widely studied problem. In most forensic laboratories it is seldom carried out, but this fact does not reduce the importance of the assay. Most authors consider amylase a sufficiently specific marker of the presence of saliva; really, the only other human body fluid that contains high amounts of this enzyme is the pancreatic juice (and therefore feces). Here we present a simple and sensitive assay for the determination of alpha-amylase that uses a commercially available and well-known substrate. It is hydrolyzed by amylase with the production of soluble blue fragments, that can be measured by photometry, obtaining objective results. The presented assay identifies 1 X 10(-6) diluted saliva or that present on 0.5 mg of a stamp; 16-year-old samples can also be identified. Intra-assay and day-to-day CV resulted in 10.8% and 13.7%, respectively. Owing to the high sensitivity of the test, handling samples or reagents can introduce contamination with saliva traces, giving false-positive results. Addition of EDTA 0.1 mol/l to the incubation mixture, lowering the sensitivity to 1 X 10(-3) diluted saliva, overcomes this problem.     

论大国安全战略调整的趋势

冷战后，大国的安全战略调整主要有以下一些趋势：在威胁判断上，强调威胁的综合性，把经济安全置于综合安全的中心位置；在安全发展战略上，注重将军事实力的发展与提高综合实力、抢占科技制高点结合起来；在安全斗争手段上，主张综合运用各种斗争手段以实现安全；在战备重点上，突出以应付地区冲突和局部战争为主；在军事战略设置上，采用威战结合、攻防兼备、灵活反应的多功能、复合化军事战略     

论我国人事诉讼程序之建构

人事诉讼程序是适用于人事诉讼案件的特别程序。现行民事诉讼法中人事诉讼程序的厥失不利于人事诉讼案件的处理和当事人权益的保护 ,有必要在修改民事诉讼法时增设独立的人事诉讼程序 ,完善其具体程序内容 ,以建构我国的人事审判制度。     

Lethal orphenadrine intoxication: report of a case.

A case of lethal orphenadrine intoxication is reported. Included are the anatomical and toxicological findings. Most conspicuous histologically was the centrilobular necrosis of the liver.     

Struggling against suicide: the need for an integrative approach

Transcultural comparisons would be beneficial for both our understanding of suicide phenomena and the setting up of preventative strategies. Changes in attitude throughout history, gender and age differences, socio-economic factors, influence of race and ethnicity, and the impact of religion are among the aspects mentioned in this article. All of them can actually have a considerable effect on suicide rates, and all of them should be taken into account when interpreting suicide trends and designing antisuicide strategies. In fact, both risk and protective factors may vary remarkably in different cultures. The need for an integrative approach is evident today more than ever, and this fact calls for more concerted and coordinated, multidisciplinary approaches to suicide prevention.     

3D measurements on extrusion marks in plastic bags

The surface of different types of garbage bags was scanned using non-contact laser profilometry. Manufacturing defects known from visual inspection of the bags (fish eyes, arrowheads, and surface scratches) appear as differences in the height profile. Extrusion lines could only be detected in low-density polyethylene bags. Their correlation length is a couple of centimeters, whereas visually they continue over meters. This can be used to link together the end of one garbage bag with the beginning of the subsequent bag. Extrusion lines are of the order of 0.1 microm for high-density polyethylene garbage bags.     

Multiple regression models for age estimation by assessment of morphologic dental changes according to teeth source

The aims of this study were twofold: (1). to measure parameters that contribute significantly to estimates of dental age, using a combination of classic methods and a computer-assisted image analysis procedure to avoid the bias inherent in observer subjectivity; and (2). to develop new mathematical regression models for age prediction according to postmortem interval. Two different populations were studied. Forty-three permanent teeth (Group I), extracted for valid clinical reasons, were taken from patients 25-79 years of age. The other population group (Group II) was composed of 37 healthy erupted permanent teeth obtained from human skeletal remains (age 22-82 years) with a postmortem interval ranging from 21 to 37 years. Morphologic age-related changes were investigated by measuring variables on intact and half-sectioned teeth. Multiple regression analyses were performed with age as the dependent variable for each sample source. In fresh extracted teeth, the variables that made the greatest contributions to predictions of age were dental attrition, dentin color, and translucency width, the latter measured with a computer-assisted image analysis method. In teeth from human skeletal remains, the variables that made the greatest contributions to age calculation were cementum apposition, pulp length measured by computer-assisted image analysis, dental attrition, root translucency, and dental color. We conclude by recommending different regression models to calculate age depending on the postmortem interval.