Infrared spectroscopy of the dry residue of liquor crystallograms in various diseases

The article presents the results of an examination of the dry residue of liquor crystallograms (DRLC) using infrared spectroscopy technique. 36 spectrograms were studied. Elements of similarity and difference were revealed in the spectrograms of organic substance (antifreeze, sodium cyclamate and fatty tissue), of DRLC of the crystal-forming matter CuCl(2)x2H(2)0, of DRLC of a live person and cadaveric liquor (with no brain injury in respective case histories), of DRLC of liquor of live persons with a brain injury, of DRLC of liquor of persons who died of a brain injury and of persons who died of other causes.     

Morphological characteristics of head hairs and hairs from other parts of the body in the population of Asia

The paper describes specific morphological features of hairs from the head, beard, chest, axilla, pubis of the native population of Syria, India, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Nepal, Palestine, Bahrain, Iraq and some residents of the Eastern Europe (Russians, Belorussians, Ukrainians). The hairs were studied macroscopically and microscopically (light microscopy). Digital data on hair thickness and number of lines of cuticula pattern were analysed using methods of variance statistics. Original information on some macro- and microscopic characteristics of hair has been obtained for citizens of the above countries.     

Bile analysis of drugs in postmortem cases

Bile is, in certain cases, collected together with blood from different sites (heart, brain, femoral), urine and other organs or matrices. This study reports comparative results obtained from the analysis of blood and bile for different drugs found: acetaminophen, amphetamine and related compounds, several antidepressants, several benzodiazepines, cocaine and its metabolites, dextropropoxyphene and its metabolite, hydroxyzine, methadone and metabolite, morphine and codeine, levomepromazine, thioridazine, propranolol, tramadol and its metabolite. Several findings are presented: (1) There were no significant differences in the levels of the compounds among the samples of blood obtained from different sites. (2) Levels in bile are generally several fold higher than those in blood. The mean bile to blood ratios vary from about 1 (for acetaminophen, amphetamine) to about 2000 (for desmethylclobazam). (3) In certain cases (16 over 44), although the drug or its metabolite was not detected in blood from different sites, it was detected in bile. As other authors had advocated, it is very useful to ask the pathologist to take the gall bladder with its contents together with the other samples, in order that the sample of bile can be used in the comprehensive toxicological analysis and therefore be complementary to the other fluids or matrices. An additional advantage for using bile is that the concentrations of drugs or their metabolites are generally several fold higher than their blood concentrations.     

Polymorphism at fifteen hypervariable microsatellite loci in four populations of Maharashtra,India

Polymorphism at 15 microsatellite loci was studied in four predominant, endogamous populations of Maharashtra state in India. The studied population included Marathas, Desasth Brahmins, Chitpavan Brahmins and Dhangars; all of whom belong to Marathi speaking linguistic group of India. The distribution of the allele pattern at 13 tetranucleotide repeat and two pentanucleotide repeat of Powerplex 16 System portrays that these markers are highly polymorphic and thus, informative in human identification and understanding diversity in the addressed populations.     

Sexual dimorphism in teeth: discriminatory effectiveness of permanent lower canine size observed in a XVIIIth century osteological series

Recent studies have shown that the most dimorphic tooth is the mandibular canine. We have carried out a study on a random sample of 146 skeletons dating from the plague outbreak in Marseilles (1722). We studied 1284 maxillary and 1432 mandibular permanent teeth. Sexual dimorphism was tested on 89 individuals. We selected a set of four dental indices and calculated the dimorphism percentage by ratio expression male/female. Dimorphic ranking was made, by allotting the first rank to the tooth presenting the highest dimorphism and the last rank to the one presenting the lowest ratio. Comparisons of means were made on both sexes (sex determined by post-cranial data) through a Student's test (t-test). We noted that lower canines and lateral incisor are the most interesting teeth in the dimorphic dental determination. The lower index presented the highest relative risk with RR = 1.56 [1.04-2.32]. In 58% of the cases, the lower dental index enabled a correct sex determination (determined on the basis of the post-cranial skeleton). These results showed the existence of a relative dental dimorphism (male > female mesiodistal diameters) with humans. In conclusion, this method, using dental measurements, may be used as an additional technique to determine sex on fragmentary adult skeletons, immature material, missing pieces or ambiguities on post-cranial remains.     

Genetic variation at 15 autosomal microsatellite loci in the three highly endogamous tribal populations of Orissa,India

Although microsatellite diversity in autosomal chromosomes has been extensively described for many of the Indian populations, there is still a lacuna left on information about the genetic diversity of tribal populations. This paper reports the genetic data on the three tribal populations belonging to the Austroloid ethnic group from Orissa (Juang, Paroja and Saora). The 15 STR (D3S1358, THO1, D21S11, D18S51, PentaE, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO, PentaD, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX, FGA) polymorphism would help to accentuate the STR database for better understanding of population genetics and forensic applications. The microsatellites included in the system are found to be highly polymorphic, with the combined power of exclusion being greater than 0.999, in all the three investigated populations.     

Disentangling the Weight of School Dropout Predictors: A Test on Two Longitudinal Samples

The aims of this study are to identify the most powerful predictors of school dropout and to determine how stable they are over time. Two generations of White French-speaking boys and girls from 12 to 16 years old (n = 791 in 1974, n = 791 in 1985) completed a self-administered questionnaire on their psychosocial adjustment at least one year before leaving school. As expected, the analyses showed that school, family, behavioral, social, and personality variables could all predict dropping out of school in the two samples. Furthermore, these predictors were quite stable over time. However, statistical improvement measures in logistic regression analyses indicated that school experience variables (i.e., grade retention, school achievement, school commitment) were the best screening variables for potential dropouts. The contribution of other psychosocial variables, even though significant, did not improve very much the capacity to identify who will drop out of school. The discussion highlights the implications of the findings for secondary prevention and screening practices.