Exposure assessment to heavy metals in general population in an area at high environmental risk through biological monitoring

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Applicability of T1-weighted MRI in the assessment of forensic age based on the epiphyseal closure of the humeral head

This work investigates the value of magnetic resonance imaging analysis of proximal epiphyseal fusion in research examining the growth and development of the humerus and its potential utility in establishing forensic age estimation. In this study, 428 proximal humeral epiphyses (patient age, 12-30years) were evaluated with T1-weighted turbo spin echo (T1 TSE) sequences in coronal oblique orientation on shoulder MRI images. A scoring system was created following a combination of the Schmeling and Kellinghaus methods. Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between age and ossification stage of the proximal humeral epiphysis (all subjects: rho=0.664, p<0.001; males: 0.631, p<0.001; females: rho=0.651, p<0.001). The intra- and inter-observer reliability assessed using Cohen's kappa statistic was =0.898 and =0.828, respectively. The earliest age of epiphysis closure was 17years for females and 18years for males. MRI of the proximal humeral epiphysis can be considered advantageous for forensic age estimation of living individuals in a variety of situations, ranging from monitoring public health to estimating the age of illegal immigrants/asylum seekers, minors engaged in criminal activities, and illegal participants in competitive sports, without the danger of radiation exposure

Forensic age diagnostics by magnetic resonance imaging of the proximal humeral epiphysis

The most commonly used radiological method for age estimation of living individuals is X-ray. Computed tomography is not commonly used due to high radiation exposure, which raises ethical concerns. This problem can be solved with the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which avoids the use of ionizing radiation. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the utility of MRI analysis of the proximal humeral epiphyses for forensic age estimations of living individuals. In this study, 395 left proximal humeral epiphyses (patient age 12-30years) were evaluated with fast-spin-echo proton density-weighted image (FSE PD) sequences in a coronal oblique orientation on shoulder MRI images. A five-stage scoring system was used following the method of Dedouit et al. The intra- and interobserver reliabilities assessed using Cohen's kappa statistic were =0.818 and =0.798, respectively. According to this study, stage five first appeared at 20 and 21years of age in males and females, respectively. These results are not directly comparable to any other published study due to the lack of MRI data on proximal humeral head development. These findings may provide valuable information for legally important age thresholds using shoulder MRI. The current study demonstrates that MRI of the proximal humerus can support forensic age estimation. Further research is needed to establish a standardized protocol that can be applied worldwide

Recensement des conflits et tensions d'usage des espaces ruraux en Haute Corse par l'analyse de la presse quotidienne régionale

sous la direction de Paoli J.C * INRA SAD Développement de l'élevage LRDE Quartier Grossetti BP 8 20250 CORTE Diffusion du document : INRA SAD Développement de l'élevage LRDE Quartier Grossetti BP 8 20250 CORTE Diplôme : MaîtriseLes espaces ruraux sont de plus en plus soumis à des usages multiples voire concurrents. D'espace essentiellement agricole, le rural est en effet devenu espace de loisirs, enjeu touristique, espace d'intérêt environnemental, ou encore zone périurbaine sous l'emprise directe de la ville. Ces " multi usages " sont à la source de tensions ou de controverses latentes débouchant sur des conflits entre acteurs ou groupes d'acteurs. Le règlement de ces conflits est désormais devenu un enjeu majeur de la gouvernance des espaces ruraux. Des équipes de chercheurs de l'INRA ainsi que d'autres organismes tels que l'ENGREF, le CIRAD ou le CNRS mènent un programme de recherche intitulé " modalité d'émergence et procédures de résolution de conflits d'usage autour de l'espace et des ressources naturelles " dont l'objectif est de mettre en évidence les arrangements institutionnels construits dans le cadre de la résolution de ces conflits. Parmi les zones ateliers retenues pour l'élaboration de ce programme figure la Corse et plus particulièrement la Haute-Corse. Ce travail comporte dans un premier temps le recensement des conflits dans la zone considérée et ce, par l'intermédiaire de trois méthodes : les enquêtes à dire d'expert, l'analyse de dossiers juridiques et enfin, l'analyse de la presse quotidienne régionale ( PQR ) qui nous intéresse particulièrement dans le cadre de ce stage. Ce rapport de stage consiste en un premier temps à recenser les conflits portés par la presse quotidienne régionale. Leurs analyses permettront d'en dégager les causes, leurs motivations économiques ainsi que les types d'acteurs mis en jeu et éventuellement, leurs modalités de résolution. Ce recensement permettra d'autre part d'évaluer la pertinence de la PQR face aux conflits ainsi que la part d'information mobilisable que celle-ci détient

Recensement des conflits et tensions d'usage des espaces ruraux en Haute Corse par l'analyse de la presse quotidienne régionale

sous la direction de Paoli J.C * INRA SAD Développement de l'élevage LRDE Quartier Grossetti BP 8 20250 CORTE Diffusion du document : INRA SAD Développement de l'élevage LRDE Quartier Grossetti BP 8 20250 CORTE Diplôme : MaîtriseLes espaces ruraux sont de plus en plus soumis à des usages multiples voire concurrents. D'espace essentiellement agricole, le rural est en effet devenu espace de loisirs, enjeu touristique, espace d'intérêt environnemental, ou encore zone périurbaine sous l'emprise directe de la ville. Ces " multi usages " sont à la source de tensions ou de controverses latentes débouchant sur des conflits entre acteurs ou groupes d'acteurs. Le règlement de ces conflits est désormais devenu un enjeu majeur de la gouvernance des espaces ruraux. Des équipes de chercheurs de l'INRA ainsi que d'autres organismes tels que l'ENGREF, le CIRAD ou le CNRS mènent un programme de recherche intitulé " modalité d'émergence et procédures de résolution de conflits d'usage autour de l'espace et des ressources naturelles " dont l'objectif est de mettre en évidence les arrangements institutionnels construits dans le cadre de la résolution de ces conflits. Parmi les zones ateliers retenues pour l'élaboration de ce programme figure la Corse et plus particulièrement la Haute-Corse. Ce travail comporte dans un premier temps le recensement des conflits dans la zone considérée et ce, par l'intermédiaire de trois méthodes : les enquêtes à dire d'expert, l'analyse de dossiers juridiques et enfin, l'analyse de la presse quotidienne régionale ( PQR ) qui nous intéresse particulièrement dans le cadre de ce stage. Ce rapport de stage consiste en un premier temps à recenser les conflits portés par la presse quotidienne régionale. Leurs analyses permettront d'en dégager les causes, leurs motivations économiques ainsi que les types d'acteurs mis en jeu et éventuellement, leurs modalités de résolution. Ce recensement permettra d'autre part d'évaluer la pertinence de la PQR face aux conflits ainsi que la part d'information mobilisable que celle-ci détient

Considerazioni medico-legali in tema di “Perdita di chance di sopravvivenza” su un caso di omessa profilassi antitrombotica

Nell'ambito della responsabilità professionale medica, sta assumendo sempre maggiore importanza la fattispecie del danno da perdita di chance di sopravvivenza, concetto che riguarda la perdita della possibilità di conseguire un determinato risultato (sopravvivenza) e non la perdita effettiva di un risultato utile. Pertanto la chance, configurandosi come la possibilità che il paziente avrebbe potuto avere e che invece ha perduto a causa di un fatto illecito, è un evento puramente ipotetico. Alla luce di questo concetto, l'analisi di danno richiede la massima cautela e non deve lasciar spazio ad errori di interpretazione. Il caso che viene presentato è utile per comprendere l'importanza di una sua corretta valutazione.In the context of medical liability, the cases of damage deriving from "loss of chance of survival" are becoming more and more important. "Loss of chance of survival" is a concept that concerns not the actual loss of a useful result (survival), but the loss of the opportunity to achieve it. Being a possibility lost by the patient as a result of an unlawful act, the chance is, therefore, a purely hypothetical event. Thus, the analysis of such damage requires the utmost caution and cannot leave space for misinterpretation. The authors present a useful case to understand the importance of a correct assessment

Urban air pollution and children respiratory hospital admissions in Pisa (Italy) a time series and a case-crossover approach

Objectives: we evaluated the association of daily pollutants’ concentrations with daily hospital admissions for respiratory causes in children residents in Pisa during 1998-2002. We compared the results obtained with two methods of statistical analyses. A total of 657 children under ten years and admitted to local hospitals for respiratory diseases (ICD 9: 460-469, 480- 519) were included in the study. Design: both time-series and case-crossover analysis were applied, controlling for temperature, holidays, influenza epidemics, rain and relative humidity. Pollutants’ effects are expressed as percentage increase (and 95% CI) of hospital admissions for an increase of 10 μg/m3 of pollutants (1 mg/m3 for CO). Results: with both analyses, children’s hospital admissions for respiratory conditions were significantly associated to increasing daily levels of PM10 and CO at different time lags, while no association was found for NO2 and O3. In the case-crossover analysis, for a daily increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM10, a significant increment of 8.5% (CI 95% 0.02; 17.6) in children respiratory admissions was observed at lag 0-3. Results were stronger for males and during the warm season. A 1 mg/m3 increment in daily CO levels was associated with an increase of respiratory admissions at lag 0 (20.2%, CI 95% 5.3; 37.2) and at all cumulative lags: the maximum value was observed at lag 0-3 (32.6%, CI 95%8.3; 62.2). Time series analyses provides similar results, although the estimates were lower than with the other method, in terms of percentage increment and length of confidence intervals. Conclusions: this study indicates adverse effects of air pollution on respiratory health of children living in urban environment. The results of both analyses were consistent