Showing papers by "Chaminade University of Honolulu published in 2009"

Early post-mortem changes and stages of decomposition in exposed cadavers

Abstract: Decomposition of an exposed cadaver is a continuous process, beginning at the moment of death and ending when the body is reduced to a dried skeleton. Traditional estimates of the period of time since death or post-mortem interval have been based on a series of grossly observable changes to the body, including livor mortis, algor mortis, rigor mortis and similar phenomena. These changes will be described briefly and their relative significance discussed. More recently, insects, mites and other arthropods have been increasingly used by law enforcement to provide an estimate of the post-mortem interval. Although the process of decomposition is continuous, it is useful to divide this into a series of five stages: Fresh, Bloated, Decay, Postdecay and Skeletal. Here these stages are characterized by physical parameters and related assemblages of arthropods, to provide a framework for consideration of the decomposition process and acarine relationships to the body.

Early Postmortem Changes and Stages of Decomposition

Abstract: When faced with the task of estimating a period of time since death, there are generally two known points existing for the worker: the time at which the body was discovered and the last time the individual was reliably known to be alive The death occurred between these two points and the aim is to estimate when it most probably took place This will be an estimate since, it is generally accepted that there is actually no scientific way to precisely determine the exact period of time since death What is done in the case of entomology is an estimation of the period of insect activity on the body This period of insect activity will reflect the minimum period of time since death or postmortem interval (PMI) but will not precisely determine the time of death In most cases, the later point is more accurately known than the former Individuals tend to recall when they first encountered the dead body with considerable precision This is typically not in their normal daily routine and it makes an impression, even on those accustomed to dealing with the dead

Phoretic Mites and Carcasses: Acari Transported by Organisms Associated with Animal and Human Decomposition

Abstract: Ephemeral and fluctuant, the fauna associated with a corpse provides a rich diversity of species. Several groups of arthropods are known to visit a carcass of a vertebrate at its various stages of decay; however, forensic investigations have so far been primarily limited to insects, focussing mainly on flies (Diptera) and beetles (Coleoptera) as often the largest and most persistent representatives. These insects might fly, walk or occasionally swim to reach the corpse and sooner or later abandon it in a similar way. Most will build transitional food webs that will lead to a faunal succession of species that will reflect the degree of decay under given environmental conditions.

Forensic acarology: an introduction

Abstract: Mites can be found in all imaginable terrestrial habitats, in freshwater, and in salt water. Mites can be found in our houses and furnishings, on our clothes, and even in the pores of our skin—almost every single person carries mites. Most of the time, we are unaware of them because they are small and easily overlooked, and—most of the time—they do not cause trouble. In fact, they may even proof useful, for instance in forensics. The first arthropod scavengers colonising a dead body will be flies with phoretic mites. The flies will complete their life cycle in and around the corpse, while the mites may feed on the immature stages of the flies. The mites will reproduce much faster than their carriers, offering themselves as valuable timeline markers. There are environments where insects are absent or rare or the environmental conditions impede their access to the corpse. Here, mites that are already present and mites that arrive walking, through air currents or material transfer become important. At the end of the ninetieth century, the work of Jean Pierre Megnin became the starting point of forensic acarology. Megnin documented his observations in ‘La Faune des Cadavres’ [The Fauna of Carcasses]. He was the first to list eight distinct waves of arthropods colonising human carcasses. The first wave included flies and mites, the sixth wave was composed of mites exclusively. The scope of forensic acarology goes further than mites as indicators of time of death. Mites are micro-habitat specific and might provide evidential data on movement or relocation of bodies, or locating a suspect at the scene of a crime. Because of their high diversity, wide occurrence, and abundance, mites may be of great value in the analysis of trace evidence.

Discounting Women: Context Matters in Risk and Need Assessment

Abstract: Widely used risk/need assessment instruments assume that female offender risks for recidivism are essentially equivalent to those of male offenders. A look at the lives of female and male offenders reveals that there are important differences in the context of both offending and re-offending. This research draws on both quantitative and qualitative data to explore the effectiveness of a well known risk instrument to both predict recidivism and potentially direct intervention efforts. The results, particularly the in-depth interviews with offenders (both male and female) serving time on parole or felony probation reveal differences not detected by most contemporary risk and need assessment instruments. Ultimately, the gendered links among physical and sexual abuse, drugs, and crime are missed in risk and need assessments, thereby placing female offenders at risk for neglect and criminalization in an otherwise seemingly objective method of assessment.

Forensic Implications of Myiasis

Abstract: Myiasis has been defined variously by numerous different authors over the years. The term itself was first coined by Hope in his 1840 paper entitled “On insects and their larvae occasionally found in the human body” although there were some earlier accounts by other authors. Subsequently there were additional treatments but not with equal restrictions. Possibly the most enduring and practical definition is that of Zumpt in his 1965 work entitled “Myiasis in Man and Animals in the Old World.” In this work myiasis is defined as: “the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which, at least for a certain period feed on the host’s dead or living tissue, liquid body-substances, or ingested food.” A similar definition was followed by Guimaraes and Papavero in their 1999 work on myiasis in the Neotropics. Based on the system of classifying parasites developed by Patton (1922), Zumpt divides these myiasis-causing larvae into Obligatory Parasites and Facultative Parasites. Diptera larvae within the obligatory group develop in the living tissues of the host and this is, in fact, a necessary part of their life cycle. By contrast, the facultative group includes species that are normally free-living, feeding on decaying material, such as animal carcasses, fecal material, and even decaying vegetable materials. Under some While some species included in this category, such as Phaenicia sericata, may frequently act as parasites for all or part of their larval development, more commonly, species in this classification are associated with dead tissues present in a wound and do not actually feed on living tissues. Another situation, termed “Pseudomyiasis or Accidental Myiasis,” occurs when Diptera larvae are accidentally ingested with food materials and pass through the digestive tract. Keep in mind that this passage is most often passive and may result in the death of the larva. Their presence in the gut of the animal will often trigger various gastric problems, as noted by (e.g. Kenny, 1945). These infestations are not to be confused with the obligatory infestations of mammal digestive tracts by species in the subfamily Gasterophilinae (Colwell et al. 2006).

Glycoconjugate organization of enteromorpha (=ulva) flexuosa and ulva fasciata (chlorophyta) zoospores(1).

Abstract: Ecologically successful algae that colonize natural and artificial substrates in the marine environment have distinct strategies for opportunistic dispersal and settlement. The objective of this research was to visualize molecular architecture of zoospores from Enteromorpha (=Ulva) flexuosa (Wulfen) J. Agardh and Ulva fasciata Delile that coexist but alternate in dominance on an intertidal bench. Multiple fluorescent lectins were used to stabilize and probe for diverse zoospore glycoconjugates (GC) that could be involved in cell and substrate interactions. Results from epifluorescence microscopy showed distinct cellular and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) domains of GC relative to settlement morphologies. Glycoconjugates were similar for both species with (1) α-d mannose and/or glucose moieties localized on flagella, the anterior domes and anterior regions, the plasma membranes, and EPS; (2) α-fucose localized on flagella and anterior regions; (3) N or α,s-N acetylglucosamine localized on flagella, the anterior regions, and EPS; and (4) varied N-acetylgalactosamine and/or galactose moieties localized on each domain for both species excluding the plasma membranes. Some differences in lectin binding were observed for each species at the flagella, the anterior domes, and the plasma membranes. Glycoconjugate distributions shifted with morphological changes that followed initial adhesion. TEM of E. flexuosa zoospore stages following carbohydrate-stabilizing fixations and gold-conjugated lectin probes resolved GC with α-d mannose and/or glucose, and/or N-acetylglucosamine at the plasma membrane, ER and diverse vesicles of the anterior pole, EPS, and discontinuous regions or knobs associated with flagellar surfaces. The distinct distribution and diversity of zoospore GC may be central to recognition and attachment on diverse substrata by these algae.

A comparison of curricular effects on the integration of arithmetic and algebraic schemata in pre-algebra students

Abstract: This research examines students’ ability to integrate algebraic variables with arithmetic operations and symbols as a result of the type of instruction they received, and places their work on scales that illustrate its location on the continuum from arithmetic to algebraic reasoning. It presents data from pre and post instruction clinical interviews administered to a sample of middle school students experiencing their first exposure to formal pre-algebra. Roughly half of the sample (n = 15) was taught with a standards-based curriculum emphasizing representation skills, while a comparable group (n = 12) of students received traditional instruction. Analysis of the pre and post interviews indicated that participants receiving a standards-based curriculum demonstrated more frequent and sophisticated usage of variables when writing equations to model word problems of varying complexity. This advantage was attenuated on problems that provided more representational support in which a diagram with a variable was presented with the request that an expression be written to represent the perimeter and area. Differences in strategies used by the two groups suggest that the traditional curriculum encouraged students to continue using arithmetic conventions, such as focusing on finding specific values, when asked to model relations with algebraic notation.

Assessing organizational stability via network analysis

Abstract: It is widely known that the email system forms a social network. Analysis of email networks reveals properties similar to classic social networks such as friendship or academic collaboration networks. Like other social networks, the properties observed in email networks are the result of patterns of human social behavior rather than the underlying technology. Hence, email social network properties correlate to the social environment in which they are generated. The overall social behavior observed in an organization may be attributed directly to organizational stability and robustness. As a result, organizational health and robustness may be discerned by examining the social network properties of the network formed by the email interaction of its employees because they certainly reflect changes in organizational mood. The fears, worries, gossips, the good and the bad, are reflected in the email activity of individuals in the organization; the challenge though is to extract his information from the network itself. In this paper we provide a first step in the process of demonstrating that email social network analysis can tell us more about the organization than we may think; we show using a case study based on the Enron corporation that problems in the organization were apparent as an emergent characteristic of social network formed by email exchange in the organization.

Chapter 103 – Forensic Entomology

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses forensic entomology, which includes any situation in which insects or their actions become evidence within the legal system. Medicocriminal entomology involves insects as evidence in a criminal case, most frequently homicide, and this is the area that has been most closely associated with the term “forensic entomology” by the general public and most entomologists. The use of insects and other arthropods as evidence in criminal investigations dates from 12th century China. The use of insects to estimate the postmortem interval requires an understanding of the insect's life cycle, the relationship of the insect to the remains, and the relationship of the remains to the habitat in which they are discovered. Insects pass through a number of distinct stages during their life cycle. Using a blowfly in the family Calliphoridae as an example, the female fly arrives at the body and deposits eggs in body openings associated with the head, anus, and genitals, or in wounds. After hatching, larvae or maggots feed on the decomposing tissues. There are three larval stages, with a molt in between each stage. Once the maggot is fully developed, it ceases to feed and moves away from the remains before pupariation. The puparium is an inactive stage during which the larval tissues are reorganized to produce the adult fly.

Traveling With Purpose

Abstract: Traveling has many purposes, including seeing new places, visiting friends, relaxing, or recreating. For educational travel, one of the best experiences is a multi-experiential tour of small groups...