Ritual Demonstrations versus Reactive Protests: Participation Across Mobilizing Contexts in Mexico City

Using an innovative survey of protest participants and nonparticipants from five major street demonstrations in Mexico City in 2011 and 2012, this study tests the assumption that influences on protest participation vary across different types of events; namely, ritual demonstrations and reactive protests. The comparison is based on two assumptions: that these are two of the dominant forms of protest in contemporary Latin America, and that specifying the context for different types of social movement participation provides a better understanding of the individual mobilization process for groups seeking to defend their rights or gain new benefits. The comparative analyses reveal some crucial differences. Political interest and previous political experience are more influential in the decision to take part in reactive demonstrations. For ritual demonstrations, the decision to participate tends to be driven more by personal and organizational connections.     

Allele frequencies of nine STR loci—D16S539, D7S820, D13S317, CSF1PO, TPOX, TH01, F13A01, FESFPS and vWA—in the population from Alagoas, northeastern Brazil

The polymorphism of nine STR loci has been studied in a sample of 598 individuals from the population of Alagoas, Northeastern Brazil. Determination of the allele frequencies as well as of several commonly used statistics in forensic and paternity testing were defined. The most polymorphic loci were TH01 and D7S317. The exact test demonstrated that the nine loci analyzed in the population have no deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (P>0.05).     

Importance of radiological diagnosis applied to necroscopy

The authors evaluate the consequences of incomplete necroscopic examinations wherein it was impossible to apply radiological resources to locate firearm projectiles. The study includes 8185 reports from the Instituto Médico-Legal Afranio Peixoto in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing the totality of corpses processed from January to December 2001; of these, 3122 were gunshot victims, 309 of which were buried with unremoved projectiles, being liable to future judicial reappraisal. During the same period, there were 23 exhumation requests by police authorities, 12 of them querying the existence of projectiles. The authors looked into the formal reasons assumed by the medico legal experts to conclude their reports from incomplete examinations, and suggest that gunshot necroscopic examinations should follow specific protocols, as incomplete autopsies will require further exhumations, at unnecessary additional costs.     

Blow Flies from Forest Fragments Embedded in Different Land Uses: Implications for Selecting Indicators in Forensic Entomology

Given the general expectation that forest loss can alter biodiversity patterns, we hypothesize that blow fly species abundances differ in a gradient of native vegetation cover. This study was conducted in 17 fragments across different landscapes in central Brazil. Different land cover type proportions were used to represent landscape structure. In total, 2334 specimens of nine species of Calliphoridae were collected. We used principal component analysis (PCA) to reduce dimensionality and multicollinearity of the landscape data. The first component explained 70%, and it represented a gradient of forest‐pasture land uses. Alien species showed a wide distribution in different fragments with no clear relationship between the abundance values and the scores of PCA axes, whereas native species occurred only in areas with a predominance of forest cover. Our study revealed that certain native species may be sensitive to forest loss at the landscape scale, and they represent a bioindicator in forensic entomology.     

Legal Statements and Normative Language

Can there be a non-reductivist, source-based explanation of the use of normative language in statements describing the law and legal situations? This problem was formulated by Joseph Raz, who also claimed to have solved it. According to his well-known doctrine of ‘detached’ statements, normative legal statements can be informatively made by speakers who merely adopt, without necessarily sharing, the point of view of someone who accepts that legal norms are justified and ought to be followed. In this paper I defend two theses. I argue, first, that the notion of a detached statement cannot be made to work, and that Raz’s problem is thus not thereby solved. But the problem itself, I also suggest, is a false one.     

Peer violence perpetration among urban adolescents: dispelling the myth of the violent immigrant

Researchers have found an inverse relationship between immigrant status and violence perpetration. Most studies have examined Mexican immigrants, and few have assessed immigration factors other than nativity. Additionally, the majority have focused on the most serious forms of violence despite the fact that moderate violence is more common. Using data from the 2008 Boston Youth Survey, we generated prevalence estimates of peer violence perpetration across immigration related factors, examined whether risk factors for peer violence differed by these variables, and explored the contribution of risk factors to peer violence perpetration. Recent immigrants had a significantly lower prevalence of peer violence compared to each other generations/time in U.S. group. Known risk factors for violence perpetration varied by generation/time in U.S.: compared to other groups, recent immigrants were less likely to have used substances, and were more likely earn A's and B's in school. Recent immigrants had a significantly lower risk of violence perpetration relative to U.S.-born (RR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.19, 0.62). Adjusting for known risk factors did not attenuate differences in risk. While immigrant youth had a lower risk of peer violence, the protective effect was diminished among immigrants who had resided in the U.S. for >4 years. This pattern demonstrates that negative assimilation occurs within the first generation, not just across generations. Results suggest that perpetration of violence worsens with increased time in the U.S. Research is needed to identify factors that contribute to the acquisition of behaviors such as violence among recently arrived immigrant youth.     

A model of local crime displacement

In this paper, we develop a two-region model of crime spatial displacement. For high crime regions, the crime rate in one locality is negatively influenced by the crime rate of the other. The magnitude of the displacement depends on the distance between the two regions and on their relative size. For given sized neighbors, a closer distance implies greater displacement. When one region is larger, relative to the other, this increases the displacement, holding distance fixed. Examples show that the displacement from the treated to the adjacent areas can be small, if the relative size of the former is small. Nonetheless, the displacement can be large for other nearby areas, provided that the treated region is relatively big. Neglecting this result can cause an upward bias at the estimated impact of a policy. We also analyze the consequences for the design of public policies.     

Demystifying "oxi" cocaine: Chemical profiling analysis of a "new Brazilian drug" from Acre State

Recent information from various sources suggests that a new illicit drug, called "oxi", is being spread across Brazil. It would be used in the smoked form and it would look like to crack cocaine: usually small yellowish or light brown stones. As fully released in the media, "oxi" would differ from crack cocaine in the sense that crack would contain carbonate or bicarbonate salts whereas "oxi" would include the addition of calcium oxide and kerosene (or gasoline). In this context, this work presents a chemical profiling comparative study between "oxi" street samples seized by the Civil Police of the State of Acre (CP/AC) and samples associated with both international and interstate drug trafficking seized by the Brazilian Federal Police in Acre (FP/AC). The outcome of this work assisted Brazilian authorities to stop inaccurate and alarmist releases on this issue. It may be of good use by the forensic community in order to better understand matters in their efforts to guide local law enforcement agencies in case such claims reach the international illicit market.     

Potential definition of the time of death from autolytic myocardial cells: a morphometric study

Morphometric methods and transmission electron microscopy were used to quantify modifications occurring in the mitochondria of dog myocardium during the first four hours of autolysis. Myocardial fragments were obtained from the outer free wall of the left ventricle, during anesthesia (control-zero) and at 15, 45, 120, and 240 min after cardiac arrest, maintaining the heart "in situ" at 22 degrees C. During the 240 min of autolysis, the main parameters evaluated showed: (a) a decrease in the number of mitochondria from 0.31 to 0.12 per micron 3 of cytoplasm. The decrease over the first 45 min reached 50% of the initial value; (b) an increase in mitochondrial volume, three times greater after the first 45 min (from 0.92 to 2.68 micron 3) and four times greater after 240 min (from 0.92 to 3.79 micron 3); (c) an increase in mitochondrial outer membrane surface area from 5.51 to 12.54 micron 2; (d) an increase in the surface area of individual mitochondria inner membrane and cristae from 27.60 to 56.96 micron 2. The progressive nature of the alterations and the difference in the numerically expressed values allow correlation with the time of somatic death. The authors emphasize the need for further studies in order to complement the present study.