Examining Interobserver Reliability of Metric and Morphoscopic Characteristics of the Mandible

Mandibular metric and morphological characteristics have long been used for sex and ancestry estimation. Currently, there are no large‐scale studies examining interobserver agreement, particularly examining the role of observer experience. This study examines the interobserver agreement of six morphoscopic and eleven metric mandibular variables. Four observers with varied levels of experience scored 183 mandibles from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection. Absolute agreement and consistency were evaluated with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Additionally, technical error of measurement (TEM) and relative TEM (%TEM) were calculated for each metric variable. All analyses were conducted twice—once with all observers and again with only experienced observers. Results show mean morphoscopic agreement of 0.543 among all observers and 0.615 for experienced observers, and mean metric agreement of 0.886 among all observers and 0.911 for experienced observers. Further, no TEM exceeded 2 mm. All results were significant (p < 0.001).     

Proximal End Root Morphology Characteristics in Antemortem Anagen Head Hairs

The proximal end morphology of antemortem anagen head hair was compared with the characteristics documented to occur in postmortem hairs. Antemortem anagen and telogen head hairs (N = 967) were recovered following exposure to seven environments. Root morphology characteristics consistent with those reported in postmortem hairs were observed in 66 (14%) hairs exposed to a water, normal saline, outdoor soil, or indoor shower environment. Thirty‐three anagen hairs (7%) exhibited a root band at the proximal end. The mean distance from the root tip to the onset of the root band ranged from 0.23 to 0.7 mm, depending on the environment. The mean distance from the root tip to the onset of the root band was 0.46 mm, with a mean band length of 0.44 mm. The results illustrate the need to better characterize postmortem banding through quantitative measurements, including the range for root tip to band distance and the overall band length.     

Does residency matter? Local residency as a predictor of arrest

Prior studies show that a number of offender characteristics impact police officer use of discretion. Although there are exceptions, characteristics such as race and gender have been shown to influence decisions made by police officers with racial/ethnic minorities and men more likely to be arrested than their counterparts. Yet, much less is known about the impact of morphology, an important component from Black’s Behavior of Law, on enforcement decisions. Using 2014 state-wide data on Class ‘B’ arrests in Idaho, we examine the role of morphology, as operationalized by offender residency in the community in which the violation occurred, on the odds of a police officer affecting an arrest as opposed to writing a citation for the violation. Results of logistic regression models show that local residents are significantly less likely to experience an arrest than non-residents. Theoretical explanations and implications for these findings are offered.     

大鲵体表溃烂病的病理组织学观察

通过病理切片和HE染色技术,对自然发生体表溃烂病大鲵的皮肤、肌肉、肝、脾、肺、胃肠道、肾等器官的病理组织学变化进行了观察.结果显示,肠道黏膜层、黏膜下层及浆膜层有大量炎性细胞浸润,黏膜上皮细胞大量坏死;肝中央静脉扩张淤血,肝细胞肿胀,体积增大,部分肝细胞胞浆及胞核淡染、溶解、消失,只剩下细胞轮廓,肝间质充满大量淋巴细胞、单核细胞等炎性细胞;肾间质出血,大量红细胞浸润,肾小球毛细血管严重扩张、充血,肾小囊扩张,部分肾小囊内可见均质红染的蛋白样物质,肾小管上皮细胞空泡变性,部分肾小管上皮细胞坏死、溶解、消失,管内有大量管形出现;脾实质细胞弥漫性坏死;肺泡腔内充满数量不等的红细胞;肌肉可见间质水肿,间隙增宽,肌纤维零星分布;部分肌细胞肌浆凝固、红染,有的肌细胞胞浆溶解成蜂窝状,甚至胞浆大量消失,只剩下肌膜.表明,患病大鲵除体表皮肤肌肉变化外,肝、脾、肾等重要器官均出现不同程度的病理变化.     

县域社会违建执法的组织形态与治理绩效辨析

县域社会违建执法需要一定的组织载体,但在不同农村类型中,体制层面执法资源配置不均和社会层面违建个体情境差异共同塑造了不同类型的政府执法组织,并产生不同治理绩效。在城中村,正式化执法组织具备常规执法权且执法密度大,虽能够强化执法效果,但在执法过程中始终存在政府与征拆居民的利益博弈;在城郊村,正式化与半正式化相结合的执法组织有助于强化政府执法力量和权威,但受信息制约和人情关系影响容易产生灰色利益空间,进而侵蚀执法目标;在远郊村,半正式化执法组织本身没有专业执法权,政府常在一定时期内通过组织动员手段来补强执法力量,但执法绩效具有不稳定性。三类农村违建执法组织的治理绩效差异,反映出国家法律在县域城乡社会落地的非均质性。     

Using Frons Width to Differentiate Blow Fly Species (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Phormia regina (Meigen) and Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy)

Protophormia terraenovae (Robineau‐Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are morphologically similar blow fly species commonly used for estimating postmortem intervals. Field collection and storage of adults can result in color changes, in particular on calypters and palps; often collected specimens show damage such as wing fray or fungal growth. We measured the frons width: total head width ratio using photographs (ImageJ version 1.49) to differentiate these two species. Both sexes were distinguishable to species, with the greatest difference between males: 12.34% P. terraenovae versus 1.62% P. regina, less so for females: 40.25% P. terraenovae, versus 33.65% P. regina. Incorporating this feature into future blow fly keys would help with distinguishing field‐caught specimens when other features are obstructed.     

Microscopic Pattern of Bone Fractures as an Indicator of Blast Trauma: A Pilot Study

The assessment of fractures is a key issue in forensic anthropology; however, very few studies deal with the features of fractures due to explosion in comparison with other traumatic injuries. This study focuses on fractures resulting from blast trauma and two types of blunt force trauma (manual compression and running over), applied to corpses of pigs; 163 osteons were examined within forty fractures by the transmission light microscopy. Blast lesions showed a higher percentage of fracture lines through the Haversian canal, whereas in other types of trauma, the fractures went across the inner lamellae. Significant differences between samples hit by blast energy and those runover or manually compressed were observed (p < 0.05). The frequency of pattern A is significantly higher in exploded bones than in runover and compressed. Microscopic analysis of the fracture line may provide information about the type of trauma, especially for what concerns blast trauma.     

多民族混居村落中的公共空间——以会同高椅村为例

基于空间公共性的研究,村落的公共空间可以分为"显性"与"隐性"两种类型。这两种公共空间之间相互关联,相互转换。在不同的环境,这两类公共空间会以不同的方式影响村落的形态演化。本研究以湖南会同高椅村为例,分析多民族混居村落中"显性"与"隐性"公共空间的构成与演变,分析了它们与社会人文因素、自然地理条件的相关性,并研究了村落公共空间在民族融合中所起到的作用。     

Preliminary studies into fluorescent semiconductor nanorods for the detection of latent fingermarks: Size matters,shape matters

The effect of the shape of semiconductor nanocrystals on their performance for visualising latent fingermarks was investigated for the first time. Highly luminescent CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals in rod and spherical shapes were synthesised in organic solvent and transferred to aqueous solution using ligand exchange. The 3-mercaptopropionic acid coated nanorods and nanospheres were characterised using electron microscopy and UV-visible absorbance and luminescence spectrophotometry. A simple and rapid development of fresh to less than a week-old natural fingermarks from 4 donors (male and female) on non-porous surfaces including glass slides, aluminium foil and germanium disks using both CdSe/CdS core/shell nanorods and spherical dots was achieved, wherein nanorods demonstrated an enhanced development of ridge details in comparison to the spherical dots.