The periphery-dominated centre

Abstract Irish political parties cannot be easily fitted into a conventional left-right framework. The Lipset-Rokkan centre-periphery concept is employed to explain this situation, and, in particular, to throw light on the persistent success of Fianna Fáil, the nationalist-populist party which has dominated the system since 1932. It is argued that Ireland affords an example of a polity in which the political concerns and style of the rural periphery came to 'invade' and dominate the urban centre for more than a generation. Evidence from a study of urban party activists indicates a persistence of rural political styles and ideological perspectives in a social context which has been for well over half a century.     

Identification of Eight Synthetic Cannabinoids,Including 5F‐AKB48 in Seized Herbal Products Using DART‐TOF‐MS and LC‐QTOF‐MS as Nontargeted Screening Methods

Synthetic cannabinoids are sprayed onto plant material and smoked for their marijuana‐like effects. Clandestine manufacturers modify synthetic cannabinoid structures by creating closely related analogs. Forensic laboratories are tasked with detection of these analog compounds, but targeted analytical methods are often thwarted by the structural modifications. Here, direct analysis in real time coupled to accurate mass time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (DART‐TOF‐MS) in combination with liquid chromatography quadruple time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐QTOF‐MS) are presented as a screening and nontargeted confirmation method, respectively. Methanol extracts of herbal material were run using both methods. Spectral data from four different herbal products were evaluated by comparing fragmentation pattern, accurate mass and retention time to available reference standards. JWH‐018, JWH‐019, AM2201, JWH‐122, 5F‐AKB48, AKB48‐N‐(4‐pentenyl) analog, UR144, and XLR11 were identified in the products. Results demonstrate that DART‐TOF‐MS affords a useful approach for rapid screening of herbal products for the presence and identification of synthetic cannabinoids.     

An Investigation into the Relationship between Human Cranial and Pelvic Sexual Dimorphism

When faced with commingled remains, it might be assumed that a more “masculine” pelvis is associated with a more “masculine” cranium, but this relationship has not been specifically tested. This study uses geometric morphometric analyses of pelvic and cranial landmarks to assess whether there is an intra‐individual relationship between the degrees of sexual expression in these two skeletal regions. Principal component and discriminant function scores were used to assess sexual dimorphism in 113 U.S. Black individuals. Correlation values and partial least squares regression (PLS) were used to evaluate intra‐individual relationships. Results indicate that the os coxae is more sexually dimorphic than the cranium, with element shape being more sexually dimorphic than size. PLS and correlation results suggest no significant intra‐individual relationship between pelvic and cranial sexual size or shape expression. Thus, in commingled situations, associations between these skeletal elements cannot be inferred based on degree of “masculinity.”     

A Validation Study of the Langley et al. (2017) Decision Tree Model for Sex Estimation

Langley et al. (2017) developed a sex estimation decision tree utilizing two traditional cranial traits (glabella and mastoid) and a new trait: zygomatic extension. This study aimed to test the reliability of their zygomatic extension scoring method and validate their sex estimation method. Ordinal score data were collected from 281 male and female U.S. White and Black individuals. The five traditional cranial traits were collected from physical specimens, while zygomatic extension was scored from 3D cranial models. Intra‐ and interobserver analyses carried out on a subsample of 30 individuals indicate good agreement between zygomatic scores. The decision tree correctly sexed 71.5% of the sample, but a strong sex bias (94.2% correct for females, 49.3% correct for males) severely limits the utility of this method. The Walker (2008) and Stevenson et al. (2009) methods produced higher accuracy rates (80.8% and 82.6%, respectively), although these methods also produced sex and ancestry biases.     

Evaluation of match criteria used for the comparison of refractive index of glass fragments

For comparative glass examinations, the refractive indices (RIs) of recovered glass fragments are often compared to a test interval defined by measurements from a broken glass object. RI measurements from five modern float glasses were used via resampling to assess the frequencies of false exclusion errors for eight test criteria as functions of the number of measurements. The test criteria were based on ranges, fixed intervals, and multiples of standard deviations of the known source measurements. The observed error rates for the eight tests studied are between zero and c. 35%, depending upon the match criteria, the number of measurements, and the RI distribution for a glass source. The results of this study can be used to predict the false exclusion rate for a test criterion under a given set of conditions or to select test criteria that result in a desired error rate for these typical sheet glasses.     

Ossification of laryngeal structures as indicators of age

As the role of forensic anthropologists expands to the medical examiner setting, their expertise is being applied beyond the traditional dry skeletal material. In such scenarios radiographic techniques can be applied when maceration is not appropriate. This study explores the use of radiographic analysis of laryngeal structures for age-at-death determination. Isolated human laryngeal structures (n = 104) from individuals between the ages of 15 and 89 were removed at autopsy and radiographically examined. The cricoid and individual regions of the thyroid cartilage were scored according to degree of ossification, and the relationship between age and degree of ossification statistically examined. A previously published study on age-determination from thyroid ossification by Cerny was assessed for accuracy. The results of the study indicate that although a consistent sequence in the ossification of laryngeal structures exists, variations in timing does not permit narrow age range estimates. Consequently the method presented by Cerny is inaccurate and should not be used in the forensic setting.     

An Alternative Method to Using a Mandibulometer

Mandibular length, mandibular angle, and maximum ramus height measurements used during forensic evaluation of skeletal remains require use of a mandibulometer. This study presents a new method of taking these measurements from images, so that practitioners without access to an expensive mandibulometer or those working with 3D models (e.g., CT scans) can collect and utilize these measurements. Ten trials performed on a sample of 45 mandibles were used to compare measurements collected from photographs and images extracted from 3D surface scans to those collected with a mandibulometer, including intra‐ and inter‐observer analyses. All technical error of measurement (TEM) values were less than 2 mm regardless of observer, trial, or method. Relative TEM values were less than 2% for all except mandibular length (2.10%) and ramus height (2.32%) for the right versus left photographs. Results are comparable with mandibulometer error rates, indicating that the proposed method is accurate and reliable.