Mortality Change, the Uncertainty Effect, and Retirement.

We examine the role of declining mortality in explaining the rise of retirement over the course of the 20th century. We construct a model in which individuals make labor/leisure choices over their lifetimes subject to uncertainty about their dates of death. In an environment with high mortality, an individual who saves for retirement faces a high risk of dying before he can enjoy his planned leisure. In this case, the optimal plan is for people to work until they die. As mortality falls, however, it becomes optimal to plan, and save for, retirement. We analyze our model using two mathematical formulations of the survival function as well as data on actual changes in the US life table over the last century, and show that this "uncertainty effect" of declining mortality would have more than outweighed the "horizon effect" by which rising life expectancy would have led to later retirement.

The gynaecologist as an expert witness in cases of sexual abuse.

The High Criminal Court of Kirklareli province of Turkey dealt with a sexual abuse case where the victim was a 14-year-old girl. She was abducted and abused by her boyfriend with her consent, which was legally invalid because of her age. Medical examination was required in order to bring an accusation against the perpetrator. The girl was sent for hymen examination three times because two gynaecologists and one forensic expert produced different witness reports, confusing the court. This caused psychological damaged to the victim. It is proposed that gynaecologists should be made aware of their potential input into sexual assault cases and be informed of the way in which these cases should be handled. In addition, photo-documentation should be established in the Turkish legal system to avoid re-examination of the victim.

The use of DNA microsatellite loci for "Caretta caretta" identification.

Caretta carettas, one of the members of Chelonidae family, live primarily in water, except the periods of their ovulation where they come out to the shores to lay their eggs. Following an incubation period of 50-60 days, the newborns return to sea water to continue their 10-12-year life. Studies using marking methodology of the animals have shown that females return to the same place for ovulation every 2-3 years. The development of molecular genetic studies gives us now opportunity to trace all these routes that Caretta carettas follow during their life cycle. One of the basic techniques that is used for identification in general is the polymorphic DNA microsatellite loci. These 2-4 base pair DNA segments are considered to be ideal for Caretta caretta identification also. In this study we tried to establish a protocol in order to identify both male and female carettas in tissue samples collected from animals in the Mediterranean shoreline in the southern Turkey once this shoreline is one of the main spots of them for ovulation. The sampling has been done from 89 locations (Dalyan, Dalaman, Fethiye, Patara, Kale, Kumluca, Belek, Kizilot, Demirtas, Gazipasa and Anamur) from 246 dead baby Caretta carettas. DNA was extracted using silica-based extraction technology from the tissue homogenates. Cc7 locus was selected for identification to be tested for its degree of polymorphic content and therefore power of discrimination in general. The methodology used is PCR, followed by polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining.

DNA analysis as a tool for breast cancer malpractice determination: an interdisciplinary approach.

Malpractice in breast cancer can be seen as false-negative or false-positive findings which may result in either late or incorrect therapies. Biopsy material can be unintentionally interchanged, leading to incorrect treatment, and psychological damage to the patient. There is an obvious need for individualization of the tissue samples in such cases. In this study we used a multidisciplinary approach to integrate DNA technology that has been standardized and used in forensic science for other purposes, mainly to prove malpractice that has been the result of interchanging tissue samples in breast cancer. The main focus of the study was to evaluate the applicability of the technique, therefore we studied the samples of a 58-year-old female for whom the result of pathological analysis was reported as 'invasive ductal carcinoma'. The patient was surgically treated by a modified mastectomy technique and referred for chemotherapy. Prior to chemotherapy we found that the tissue samples analyzed did not belong to the patient in question. We used a battery of 15 polymorphic STR loci to identify the sample and we had strong evidence for exclusion of the patient. The analysis was done on both blood and buccal swab of the patient and on the tissue sample. We concluded that the technique is applicable and useful; however care should be taken in the interpretation of the results because the mutations in the tumoral tissues are very well known. Therefore, the maximum of informative loci should be studied and loss of heterozygosity should always be considered. We should also have in mind the possibility of intentional interchange which gives the results value in medico-legal investigations.