Analysis of Y-STR loci in a population sample from northeast China

POPULATION: A total of 141 unrelated Chinese Han male individuals living in Liaoning in northeast China.     

Y chromosome STR haplotypes and allele frequencies in Illinois Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic males

POPULATION: Population: Illinois Caucasian ( n =117), Illinois African American ( n =218), and Illinois Hispanic ( n =68).     

The Legal Profession in the european Union – a Comparative Analysis of Four Member States

Cross-border legal practice has finally become reality in Europe mainly thanks to two factors: the legal framework offered to EC lawyers by the EC legislator and the effect of globalization on legal profession. This article focuses primarily on the success of EC/EU efforts in abolishing obstacles to the free movement of lawyers. Particular attention is drawn to the Establishment Directive, adopted in 1998, opening up new perspectives for lawyers. Secondly, it discusses how globalization has contributed to this development. In relation to the above, this article also explores the new concept of establishment stemming from the expansion of law firms in Europe. Thirdly and mainly, it considers the national positions and the difficulties in harmonizing the legal professions throughout Europe. The examples of four Member States: the UK, France, Germany and Italy demonstrate how much they differ from each other as far as the needs, expectations and rules governing the legal profession. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Assessment of intra- and intercostal variation in rib histomorphometry: its impact on evidentiary examination

Rib histological age estimation requires the evaluation of the middle third of the sixth rib. Human ribs have thin cortices and, when recovered, are often fragmented or absent, making it difficult to identify a specific midthoracic rib. This research explores the amount of microstructure variation in the middle third of the midthoracic ribs and determines whether the sixth rib age prediction equation can be applied to non-sixth ribs with similar accuracy. The amount of variability must be evaluated in order to meet the criterion for evidentiary examination. The sample consists of 120 cortical bone cross-sections from the middle third of ribs 3-8 removed from 20 cadavers. For each rib, osteon population densities (OPDs) and associated age estimates were calculated. The results demonstrate that non-sixth ribs can provide similar OPD values compared with those of the sixth ribs; however, individual variation proved to be significantly associated with bias, suggesting that individual factors influence the magnitude and direction of bias in non-sixth rib OPD values. This demonstrates the importance of evaluating multiple cross-sections (both intra- and inter-rib) to estimate age due to the normal remodeling variation within individuals.