Forensic artefacts left by Windows Live Messenger 8.0

Windows Live Messenger – commonly referred by MSN Messenger – is the most used instant messaging client worldwide, and is mostly used on Microsoft Windows XP.Previous examination into MSN Messenger concludes that few traces reside on the hard disk after MSN usage [Dickson M. An examination into MSN Messenger 7.5 contact identification. Digit Investig 2006;3]. In this article the opposite is concluded based on user settings, contact files and log files. With the use of file signatures and known file structures it is possible to recover useful information when deleted. Programs such as Forensic Box can help to analyse artefacts which are left behind after the use of Windows Live Messenger.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Handicapped Newborns: Humanistic Insights and Hard Choices
Which Babies Shall Live? Humanistic Dimensions of the Care of Imperiled Newborns . Ed. by Thomas H. Murray and Arthur L. Caplan
Should the Baby Live? The Problems of Handicapped Infants . By Peter Singer and Helga Kuhse
The Physician and the Hopelessly Ill Patient: Legal, Medical and Ethical Guidelines . By the Society for the Right to Die
Decisions in Hospice: Guidelines for Making Decisions about the Place or Mode of Treatment When There Is Conflict or Uncertainty among the Patient, Primary Care-Giver, Family Members, Primary Physician, and Hospice Staff . By the Ethics Committee of the National Hospice Organization     

Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination: a conceptual framework

Only if we understand where HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination come from, and how they are connected to broader social inequalities and the denial of fundamental human rights, can we develop effective strategies to combat them. This article is a much-condensed version of a keynote presentation given at "Meeting the Stigma Challenge: New Paradigms for Civil Society," a satellite meeting held in Barcelona on 8 July 2002, and sponsored by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The presentation described the conceptual framework underpinning the 2002-2003 World AIDS Campaign, whose theme is "HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination," and whose slogan is "Live and Let Live." In this article, Peter Aggleton provides a conceptual overview of the relationship between the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS and the human rights violations that ensue from them, with the goal of demonstrating the interconnectedness of these concerns. He also provides some examples of concrete steps that can be taken to counter the stigma, discrimination, and human rights violations.     

In‐Depth Analysis of Computer Memory Acquisition Software for Forensic Purposes

The comparison studies on random access memory (RAM) acquisition tools are either limited in metrics or the selected tools were designed to be executed in older operating systems. Therefore, this study evaluates widely used seven shareware or freeware/open source RAM acquisition forensic tools that are compatible to work with the latest 64‐bit Windows operating systems. These tools' user interface capabilities, platform limitations, reporting capabilities, total execution time, shared and proprietary DLLs, modified registry keys, and invoked files during processing were compared. We observed that Windows Memory Reader and Belkasoft's Live Ram Capturer leaves the least fingerprints in memory when loaded. On the other hand, ProDiscover and FTK Imager perform poor in memory usage, processing time, DLL usage, and not‐wanted artifacts introduced to the system. While Belkasoft's Live Ram Capturer is the fastest to obtain an image of the memory, Pro Discover takes the longest time to do the same job.     

Incidence and forensic value of liver cell hydrops in external asphyxia and sudden infant death

A histological examination was carried out in 108 cases of asphyxia, 28 cases of SIDS, and 33 cases with other causes of death to assess the occurrence of liver-cell hydrops. In almost all cases of violent suffocation of newborns and children up to 10 years of age hydrops of the hepatocytes were found, whereas these results could be verified only exceptionally after violent suffocation of adults. Eighteen cases or 64.3% of SIDS showed a diffuse distribution of liver-cell hydrops over each liver lobule. Liver-cell hydrops seems to represent a frequent morphological equivalent of acute oxygen deficiency in asphyxia in childhood and is a common finding in SIDS.     

人牙咬痕形态学变化动态过程研究

目的　研究人牙咬痕形态学变化的动态过程 ,了解咬痕发生、发展的变化规律 ,为已发生变化的咬痕同一认定提供依据。方法　动态追踪观察活体及死亡动物咬痕的变化过程 ,并测定其相关形态参数 ,多元逐步回归分析咬痕形态、牙面积、时间、牙合力、牙宽度、牙厚度之间的关系 ,建立咬痕形态学变化回归方程。结果　咬痕的形态、牙形态、时间、牙合力有一定的数学关系 :S =-6 96-1 68× 10 2 T -0 11F +2 2 1W +3 75H (活体狗实验T <3 60min) ;S =-2 1 90 +5 3 4× 10 2 T -0 3 6F +4 5 7W +6 66H (死亡狗实验T <14 40min)。     

Some reflections on Undercover: recent developments and enduring issues

She [jury member] was extremely liberal. She was a sociologist, and I don't like sociologists. They try to reason things out too much. (Florida Prosecutor [after losing case involving the undercover purchase of a 2 Live Crew album])I have no sympathy for those who are crybabies about the fact that police officers are selling to those who want to buy drugs. We use every legal means that we can. We want everybody to know that the next drug buy may be from a police officer. (Mayor Marion Barry, News Conference 1988)This paper expands on remarks delivered at the American Society of Criminology meetings, Reno, 1989. Some of these ideas were initially presented in 1988 to the qualitative methods discussion group at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, with the support of NSF grant no. BNS 8700864. I am particularly indebted to Elliot Eisner and Barry Schwartz for their critical comments and friendship.     

Law and Aging: Special Persons, Special Treatment?

Miriam K. Aronson (ed.) and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Understanding Alzheimer's Disease . Charles Scribner's Sons: New York (1988).
Robert N. Brown with Legal Counsel for the Elderly, The Rights of Older Persons (Second Edition). Southern Illinois University Press: Carbondale, IL(1989).
John J. Regan with Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Your Legal Rights in Later Life . American Association of Retired Persons and Scott, Foresman and Company: Washington, D.C. and Glenview, IL (1989).
Ira S. Schneider & Ezra Huber, Financial Planning for Long-Term Care . Human Sciences Press: New York (1989).
James E. Thornton & Earl R. Winkler (eds.), Ethics and Aging: The Right to Live, The Right to Die . University of British Columbia Press: Vancouver, B.C., Canada (1988).
Mark H. Waymack & George A. Taler, Medical Ethics and The Elderly . Pluribus Press: Chicago (1988).     

Book reviews

Stuart M. Kaye. International Fisheries Management. Kluwer Law International, The Hague, Netherlands, 2001. 606 pp. (hard cover). $172.00

Rosalee Love. Reefscape, Joseph Henry Press, Washington D.C., 2001. 264 pp. (hard cover). $24.95

Olav Schram Stokke (ed.), Governing High Seas Fisheries: The Interplay of Global and Regional Regimes, Oxford University Press, New York, 2001. 365 pp. (hard cover). $95.00

Norman J. Vig and Michael E. Kraft (eds.). Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty‐First Century. 4th ed. Congressional Quarterly Press, Washington D.C., 2000. 416 pp. (paperback). $39.95

Joseph Franke and Teresa M. Telecky. Reptiles as Pets: An Examination of the Trade in Live Reptiles in the United States. The Humane Society of the United States, Washington D.C. 2001. 146 pp. (paperback). $10     

May Mediators Draft Settlement Agreements?

This article surveys the current law in various states as well as the Model Rules of Professional Conduct regarding whether a mediator‐lawyer may draft a settlement agreement at the conclusion of a mediation. It includes a look at the traditional boundaries between a lawyer and a mediator and concludes with a recommendation on how California should approach whether a mediator‐lawyer should be allowed to draft a settlement agreement for parties at the conclusion of a mediation.     

A statistical approach to drug sampling: a case study.

In many countries it is left to the discretion of the court to accept or reject conclusions based on sampling procedures as applied to the total drug exhibit. As an alternative to this subjective approach, a statistical basis is presented using binomial and hypergeometric distributions to determine a lower limit for the proportion of units in a population which contains a drug, at a given confidence level. A method for calculating the total weight of a drug present in a population within a given confidence interval is also presented. In the event of no failures (all units sampled contain a drug), a sample size of six or seven units is generally sufficient to state that a proportion of at least 0.70 of the population contains a drug at a confidence level of at least 90%. When failures do occur in the sample, point estimation is used as the basis for selecting the appropriate sample size.     

犯罪客体是刑事违法的最高价值标准

犯罪客体并不具有哲学意义上客体（对象）的含义。它是生活行为是否违反刑法的价值标准。它的内容是刑法法益。它派生出客观构成要件,并对客观构成要件具有解释功能。因为生活行为符合客观构成要件就刑事违法,构成要件符合性必须先形式判断,后实质判断,而犯罪客体就是实质判断的价值标准,所以犯罪客体是刑事违法的最高价值标准。根据罪刑法定原则,犯罪客体必须法定。     

Radiographic demonstration of esophageal and tracheal fistulas at autopsy using a contrasting medium that vulcanizes at room temperature

Esophageal and tracheal fistulas, which occur in 0.05% of medicolegal autopsies, were demonstrated in three cases by a postmortem radiographic technique using silicone rubber/lead oxide as a contrasting medium that vulcanizes at room temperature. In one 83-year-old male, a tracheoesophageal fistula was detected, which had developed after surgical repair of an esophageal rupture caused by a flexible fiberoptic endoscope. In a second case, carcinoma of the esophagus in a 78-year-old male had eroded the trachea and arcus of the aorta creating a fatal tracheoesophagoaortic fistula. In a third case, 55-year-old female developed a tracheobrachicephalic artery fistula as a result of an infiltrating cystic adenocarcinoma of the trachea, resulting in a fatal hemorrhage into the trachea. The results of this study indicate that diagnostic radiologic methods using a vulcanized contrasting medium are useful in supplementing normal dissection in autopsy cases with suspected fistulas of the esophagus or trachea.     

论构建社会主义和谐社会的十大机制

社会主义和谐社会是一个内涵丰富的社会,建构社会主义和谐社会,需要构筑相应地社会机制予以保障。需要构筑构筑党的执政能力的持续提高机制;需要构筑社会诚信保障机制,特别是政府诚信保障机制;需要构筑民主的决策机制;需要构筑建构和谐社会的动员和执行机制;需要构筑民众社会心理的调适机制;需要构筑个体利益诉求和平衡机制;需要构筑公共利益的稳定增长机制;需要构筑公平公正创业和社会保障机制;需要构筑并完善公民权利的法律保障机制;需要构筑多元化的有效舆论监督机制。     

宪法权威的生成机制辨析

宪法权威的大小受制于社会发育的情况,只有在市民社会发育良好,并且能同政治国家形成有力制衡的条件下,宪法权威才有可能逐步形成。宪法实施的积极的、主要的、基本的方式是立法机关的立法,在违宪审查机制的作用下,确保立法机关的立法符合宪法精神和原则,保障宪法实施的内在统一;在相关立法不足的情况下,通过宪法司法化,直接援引宪法规范维护宪法主体的宪法权利,乃是宪法实施的一种辅助方式。在宪政秩序不健全的社会,关注各种宪政事件,对于实施宪法,维护宪法权威具有重要意义。     

Perforating gunshot to the head with a power-actuated tool

The article describes a shortly survived suicide with a powder-actuated tool. A 51-year-old man shot all through his head from the right to the left temple. The pin produced an extensive area of destruction in the brain tissue, but neither in the hospital nor during the autopsy was any projectile found. Finally the pin was detected in a metal fitting of the bed in which the man had killed himself. The suicide instrument was a powder-actuated tool firing a metal pin after igniting a cartridge. Unlike a nail gun using compressed air, pins fired by means of a propellant reach a velocity of up to 150 m/s thus developing a higher destructive potential.     

The ignitability of petrol vapours and potential for vapour phase explosion by use of TASER® law enforcement electronic control device

An experimental study was made of the potential of the TASER-X26™ law enforcement electronic control device to ignite petrol vapours if used by an officer to incapacitate a person soaked in petrol, or within a flammable atmosphere containing petrol vapour. Bench scale tests have shown that a wooden mannequin with pig skin covering the chest was a suitable representation of a human target. Full scale tests using the mannequin have shown that the arc from a TASER-X26™ is capable of igniting petrol/air vapours on a petrol-soaked person. Further tests in a 1/5 scale and a full scale compartment have shown that if a TASER is used within a compartment, a petrol vapour explosion (deflagration) may be achieved. It is evident from this research that if used in a flammable vapour rich environment, the device could prove fatal not only to the target but the TASER® operator as well.     

Is it to the advantage of a defendant to infer a greater number of contributors to a questioned sample than is necessary to explain the observed DNA profile?

When a forensic scientist presents the results of a comparison between a DNA profile from a questioned sample with that of a defendant the interpretation will be based on the premise of a given number of contributors. It is quite common practice for defence counsel to ask how consideration of a greater number of putative contributors to the profile would affect the interpretation. This note discusses the response to such a request.     

我国引航法律制度研究

引航,旧称引水、领港、领江,是指在一定的引航区域内（港口或内河）,专门性的从业人员（即引航员）登上船舶,为船舶指引航向,把船舶安全地引进、带出港口或在港内移泊。引航是一种资源,具有公益性和主权性。引航的目的不是为了盈利,而是提供公共服务。由于港口的航道条件构成了一个国家的天然屏障,事关一国的国防,因而按照国际惯例,引航员必须由本国人担任,并且对出入港口的外国籍船舶实行强制引航。这是一个国家引航权的体现,是国家主权的一部分。本文针对我国引航体制改革,结合国际相关立法,对我国引航法律制度所涉及引航管理体制模式、引航机构资质管理、引航员资质管理以及引航作业中法律责任加以研究。