Metacarpal sexual determination in a Spanish population

Anthropologists and forensic pathologist determine the sex of skeletons by analyzing quantitative and qualitative characters in the bone remains. Generally, the skull and os coxae are the elements most used, but they are not always preserved. In such cases, the investigator needs to have available other techniques based on different remains. The aim of the present work is to develop and describe discriminating functions for sex determination in a recent Spanish population using metacarpal morphology. A sample of bones corresponding to a contemporary Spanish population deposited at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) was analyzed. This sample comprised 697 metacarpals, corresponding to 79 adult individuals (37 men and 42 women). These allowed us to obtain 120 unifactorial discriminant functions. We selected the 10 equations, one for each metacarpal from both hands, that provided the best sexual discrimination. The correct sex classification rank progressed from 81%, for right (R) metacarpals IV and V, to 91%, for left (L) metacarpal II. The results suggest that metacarpals are structures that can be used for sex determination in paleoanthropological and forensic identifications.     

山西省城市化进程中的农村女性人口迁移

女性人口迁移在城市化进程中具有重要作用。但目前山西省农村女性人口的迁移与流动却不尽如人意。究其原因,既有观念的束缚,也有城市产业结构的制约。为加快女性人口的迁移和流动,大中城市要调整产业结构;制定地区发展战略要有性别意识,要充分考虑女性农村人口的迁移;要加强对农村女性的职业培训;要大力发展生产力,促进经济发展,为农村女性人口提供更多的城市就业机会。