Racemization of aspartic acid from human dentin in the estimation of chronological age

The estimation of chronological age in cadavers, human remains and in living human beings by various methods is discussed. These methods, which are based on the age dependent non-enzymatic changes of l-form amino acids to d-form amino acids, mainly aspartic acid, are among the most reliable and accurate methods to date. Most of these methods use gas chromatography (GC). In this review, results of aspartic acid racemization in dentin at different targets are discussed. In addition, pre-considerations and guidelines are given for the selection of dentin from teeth. A pilot project was run to evaluate the efficiency of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with fluorescence detection. New buffer conditions were found to obtain stable derivatives of aspartic acid enantiomers for the estimation of racemization.     

Elevated and similar urinary testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in all samples of a competition testing: suspicion of a manipulation

The case of seven urine samples collected for anti-doping purposes during a cycling stage race with moderately elevated testosterone and epitestosterone ratio (T/E) is reported. The very low probability of having all seven urine samples with such similar elevated T/E ratio (from 3.2 to 4.7) was very suspicious. Different pattern classification tools were tested to categorize the most similar steroid profiles, but none of the models enabled a clear classification of the different urine samples. Subsequently, genetic profiling of all urine samples was performed and demonstrated that three of the seven samples were collected from the same cyclist. Finally, the International Federation confirmed DNA profiling results. This suggests that urinary steroid data using several methodologies are not appropriate for identification purposes and to an extent not unique to individuals.     

Fiscal illusion at the local level: Empirical evidence for the Flemish municipalities

Fiscal illusion refers to a systematically biased perception of fiscal parameters, due to demand-side error/ignorance or supply-side abusive behaviour. As such it is a component of a more general tax choice framework. This paper focuses predominantly on the empirical estimation of the four major sources of fiscal illusion, namely the flypaper effect, renter illusion and the complexity and elasticity of tax systems. The results — based on a dataset of 302 Flemish municipalities — on balance suggest the existence of important illusionary effects.     

China–Angola aid relations: strategic cooperation for development?

Until recently the international donor community has predominantly consisted of members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). However, China does not entirely conform to the OECD on matters related to aid; it is also not a member of the DAC. Hence, the data on China's aid, as well as its focus, purpose, terms and conditions are controversial because they are not clear. Furthermore, on the receiving end, Angola is equally reticent to discuss its management of state funds. The uncertainties and the opaque nature of diplomatic relations are compounded by a perceived overlap and ambiguity between aid and investment. The objective of the study is to examine China–Angola aid relations and provide critical judgement of it characterising strategic cooperation for the development of Angola.     

Failures in agricultural innovation due to poor understanding of farmers’ predispositions

Development projects in Madagascar have increased and evolved for half a century, yet they have failed to enhance farmers’ performances. Related literature attributes the causes of failure as external to the project instigators, who are mostly institutions and funders. This article aims to highlight the role of development agents and their responsibility in unsuccessful projects. Participant observation of participatory learning and action research conducted in the Malagasy highlands revealed that non-consideration of the target audience’s rationale makes the innovation processes provided by development projects obsolete.     

Tax complexity and fiscal illusion

By using the Hirschman-Herfindahl index (HHC) the traditional approach to the tax complexity hypothesis introduces a restriction into the fiscal illusion model which has no theoretical foundation. We analyse the existing framework of the tax complexity hypothesis in detail and propose to capture this complexity through a Hannah and Kay index. We extend the theoretical framework by considering the expected return on investment in information. The empirical tests show that the HHC overestimates the importance of size inequalities between different taxes, while underestimating the impact of the number of taxes as a source of informational costs. The expected revenue hypothesis is not supported.     

From population- to subject-based limits of T/E ratio to detect testosterone abuse in elite sports

In elite sports, indirect testing of testosterone abuse is mainly based on the testosterone over epitestosterone (T/E) ratio. Since this marker is characterized by a small ratio of intra- to inter-individual variation, it is surprising that current anti-doping strategy uses a screening test based on a population-based limit. From a database of more than 15,000 steroid profiles obtained from routine controls, the collection of steroids profiles of 11 elite athletes followed during 2 years, and a longitudinal study involving 17 amateur athletes, 8 of which were orally administrated testosterone undecanoate pills, we selected 12 case studies to represent the possible scenarios to which the anti-doping laboratories are confronted. Various detection strategies at the disposal of the laboratories are employed and discussed, including isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) analysis and a Bayesian interpretation of the T/E-time profile. The weak sensitivity versus specificity relation of a population-based limit for the T/E ratio is outlined. As a result, we propose a Bayesian screening test whose T/E threshold progressively evolves from a population basis to a subject basis as the number of individual test results increases. We found that this screening test heightens drastically the capacity to detect testosterone abuse, at no additional financial and administrative expenses for anti-doping authorities.