Pacemaker/defibrillator evaluation at Los Angeles County Department of Coroner*

Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted medical devices for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. These devices are now commonly encountered in the postmortem situation. The Los Angeles County Department of the Coroner uses the services of a cardiac electrophysiology consultant to interrogate pacemakers and ICDs, producing a detailed picture of the cardiac events recorded by the device. We have used this method to evaluate 20 cases where the ICD or pacemaker provided significant information. We report four forensic cases to illustrate the different applications of pacemaker interrogation and its contribution in forensic investigation. This technique was used to establish identification of the decedent, to determine the cause and time of death, and to determine whether device malfunction could have played a role in the death. We conclude that detailed evaluation of the pacemaker or ICD in selected cases may provide essential information to the forensic pathologist.     

Evaluating the Short-Run Benefits of Six Department of Energy R&;D Projects

This paper evaluates the short-run benefits of research and development (R&D) projects funded by the Automotive Lightweighting Materials (ALM) Program of the Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The six ALM projects evaluated—using qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods—yielded numerous benefits in the short-run. From the qualitative assessment, all met their technical goals, increased intellectual knowledge among the research teams, and led to increased collaboration among DOE, the auto industry, its suppliers, and national laboratories. Moreover, U.S. competitiveness appeared to have increased as a result of each R&D effort. One interesting finding, however, is that most of the participants indicated their firms would not have engaged in the research efforts without DOE funding. If they had engaged in the effort, it would have been with considerably less person time and financial commitment. With respect to quantitative measures, several graduate students were supported by the projects and numerous publications and presentations resulted, although these metrics varied across the ALM R&D projects.     

Maximizing R&D investments in the Department of Energy's Environmental cleanup program

The investment made in research and development (R&D) by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) program must result in products that will significantly benefit the Department's cleanup efforts. A customer-oriented decision-making process for managing technology development is needed to appropriately link technology development activities with cleanup operations. This paper presents a process for R&D management, which we have named the Technology Investment Decision Model.The model identifies six R&D stages leading to technology implementation. The model incorporates decision points (or “gates”) within the R&D process where projects are selected for funding. The purpose of this “stage-gate” process is to ensure early evaluation of projects against technical and nontechnical criteria in order to ensure that end products will not only provide superior performance, but also meet the acceptance requirements of the intended customers. The model addresses the technology transfer and commercialization factors that must be considered to get technological innovations into the marketplace. The model is now being implemented within the EM technology development program and is providing a common framework to align the Department's environmental R&D activities with its cleanup goals.     

Book Review Department

Book Reviewed in this Article.
ADVERSE POSSESS ION By Charles C. Callahan
Society and the Law (New Meanings for an Old Profession). By F. James Davis, Henry H. Foster, Jr., C. Ray Jeffery, and E. Eugene Davis.
The Pyramid Climbers By Vance Packard
Conceptual Foundations of Business By Richard Eells and Clarence Walton Homewood, Illinois Richard D. Irwin
Principles of Business Law By Dillavou, Howard, Roberts, Robert and Corley Englewood Cliffs     

Book Review Department

Book Review Department in this articles:
SOCIAL FORCES AND THE LAW–A GUIDE FOR THE BUSINESSMAN AND THE CITIZEN, R onald A. A nderson
ANGLO-AMERICAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE, D elmar K arlen
THE LIFE AND LEGAL WRITINGS OF HUGO GROTIUS, E dward D umbauld     

Book Review Department

Book Review Department in this articles:
LAW IN A CHANGING AMERICA, G eoffrey C. H azard , J r . editor
THE CORPORATE DIRECTOR: A CRITICAL EVALUATION, S tanley C. V ance
TRANSNATIONAL LEGAL PROBLEMS–MATERIALS AND TEXT, H enry J. S teiner D etlev F. V agts     

Book Review Department

Book Review Department in this articles:
BUSINESS REGULATION IN THE COMMON MARKET NATIONS, VOL. I, H arlan M orse B lake , Ed.
THE ROAD FROM RUNNYMEDE: MAGNA CARTA AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN AMERICA, A. E. D ick H oward
LAW WITHOUT SANCTIONS, M ichael B arkun
THE TROUBLE WITH LAWYERS, M urray T eigh B loom
THE CRIME OF PUNISHMENT., K arl M enninger
ANATOMY OF THE LAW, L on L. F uller     

Maternal and child assistance programs; model application form--HHS, Department of Agriculture. Notice

This notice publishes a model application form that States have the option of using in full, in part, with modification or not at all. It would be used by pregnant women or by children under 6 years of age to apply for benefits simultaneously under several congressionally specified "maternal and child assistance programs": (1) The Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act; (2) the Health Care for the Homeless grant program under section 340 of the Public Health Service Act; (3) the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services block grand program under title V of the Social Security Act; (4) the Migrant and Community Health Centers programs under sections 329 and 330 of the Public Health Service Act; (5) the Head Start program under the Head Start Act; and (6) the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. This notice is published in accordance with section 6506(a) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989 (OBRA '89) (Pub. L. 101-239), which requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, to develop a model application form for the specified maternal and child assistance programs for publication in the Federal Register. This model application form represents a first effort to develop a joint model application form covering the programs mandated by Congress. If modifications are necessary due to changes in program requirements, or States or other user experience, they will be pursued.     

Schedule for rating disabilities; fibromyalgia. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Final rule

This document adopts as a final rule without change an interim final rule adding a diagnostic code and evaluation criteria for fibromyalgia to the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) Schedule for Rating Disabilities. The intended effect of this rule is to insure that veterans diagnosed with this condition meet uniform criteria and receive consistent evaluations.     

Interim final rules for nondiscrimination in health coverage in the group market. Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, Department of Labor; Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services. Interim final rules with request for comments

This document contains interim final rules governing the provisions prohibiting discrimination based on a health factor for group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan. The rules contained in this document implement changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Code), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) enacted as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).     

Sharing information between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Final rule

This document adopts as final, without change, the interim final rule published in the Federal Register on October 20, 2011. This final rule removes a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulatory restriction on the sharing of certain medical information with the Department of Defense (DoD) that is not required by the applicable statute and is inconsistent with the intent and purpose of that statute.     

Sharing information between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense. Interim final rule

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) regulation pertaining to the applicability of certain VA regulations that restrict the disclosure of certain medical information to the Department of Defense (DoD). This interim final rule removes a restriction that is not required by the applicable statute, 38 U.S.C. 7332(e), and is inconsistent with the intent and purpose of that statute.     

Concordance Between the AmpFℓSTR® MiniFiler™ and AmpFℓSTR® Identifiler® PCR Amplification Kits in the Kuwaiti Population

Abstract:  The AmpFℓSTR^® MiniFiler™ polymerase chain reaction amplification kit, developed and supplied by Applied Biosystems, complements the AmpFℓSTR^® Identifiler^® polymerase chain reaction amplification kit (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, U.K.) by improving the success rate when profiling DNA that is degraded or contains inhibitors. Before applying the MiniFiler™ kit to casework, the profiles from 200 unrelated Kuwaitis were compared to Identifiler^® profiles. Concordance was observed for 99.875% (1598 of 1600) of the compared STR loci. The two discordant profiles displayed allelic dropout: one at the D13S317 locus due to nonamplification of allele 10 in the MiniFiler™ profile, and one at the D18S51 locus due to nonamplification of allele 18 in the Identifiler^® profile.     

部门法理论批判

首先对部门法理论进行了总结,然后从认识论和价值论两个方面对部门法理论进行了批判,并对 部门法理论产生的原因进行了探讨。最后,提出了自己的法律分类构想。从理论上来看,部门法 理论在概念、划分方法、体系、结构和部门关系等方面存在一系列缺陷;从实践上来看,部门法理 论弊多利少。部门法理论是苏联模式的产物,目前在我国已经丧失了存在价值。鉴于部门法理 论的缺陷,提出了法律分类理论新构想。法律规范分类的最小单位是法律规范元,其集合是法律 规范群;法律规范的结构是一个由不同划分标准的划分结果结合起来形成的多维空间交叉结构。     

来自法医室的鉴定手记(一)

弯弯曲曲的苏州河,不经意地流遍了整个上海,为上海留下了许多藏龙卧虎的河湾。 在中山公园的北边,苏州河转了个300度的急弯,形成锐角形的河湾。这里深藏着华东政法学院,而学院的对面,则虎蹲着一幢书橱般方正的建筑,每个窗口都象一册厚厚的书,让过路人凝神注目。这里车来车往,车身上都标着醒目的“公安”、“法院”、“检察”、“司法”的字样,让人几疑“公检法”并成了一家。不过,疑惑瞬间就会消失,这里是公开的机构,门口挂着黑白分明的招牌:中华人民共和国司法部司法鉴定中心。