Acute selenium poisoning: suicide by ingestion

Selenium is a ubiquitous element in the environment essential to the human diet and widely utilized in industrial processes. Fatal human selenium intoxication is rare. The authors report a case in which investigators recovered a bottle of gun-bluing agent beside a 24-year-old man. He exhibited signs and symptoms typical of acute selenium intoxication presenting with nausea and vomiting, followed by pulmonary edema and rapid cardiovascular collapse approximately 3 to 4 h after ingestion. Classic electrocardiographic (EKG) changes, which have been reported to occur in acute selenium intoxication, included sinus tachycardia with ST wave alteration. Toxicological results confirmed elevated blood and tissue concentrations. The cause of death was ascribed to acute selenium intoxication, which ensued rapidly after oral consumption. The manner of death was suicide. This case report, which presents an overview of acute and chronic selenium poisoning, underscores the value of thorough toxicologic analyses of tissue and body fluids in humans.     

Survey of crowbar and household paints in burglary cases-population studies, transfer and interpretation

Experimental data useful for the interpretation of paint evidence recovered during burglary cases were obtained. A population study was carried out on 41 blue crowbars seized on suspects in Switzerland and 37 blue paints traces found at burglary scenes. Paint traces were also searched on the blades of 207 crowbars seized by the police in Switzerland and 24 white traces were analysed: these paints were analysed using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to estimate relative frequencies of each paint type. Simulated contacts were carried out between crowbars and painted wood in order to study the phenomenon of transfer and to evaluate the amount of paint transferred: a total of 198 simulations were carried out including individual, successive and cross transfer. The paint properties such as the chemical composition and its age influenced the amount of paint transferred. Cross transfer from the tool paint to the wood and vice versa was regularly observed. Moreover, secondary transfer of paint coming from the preceding wooden surfaces was also systematically observed: this could establish links between several burglary scenes and a suspected tool. A scenario of a burglary case involving the cross transfer between tool and household paints is proposed as a numerical example: the evaluation of such case was formalised using likelihood ratios based on the experimental data obtained.     

A Linear Poisson Autoregressive Model: The Poisson AR(p) Model

Time series of event counts are common in political scienceand other social science applications. Presently, there arefew satisfactory methods for identifying the dynamics in suchdata and accounting for the dynamic processes in event countsregression. We address this issue by building on earlier workfor persistent event counts in the Poisson exponentially weightedmoving-average model (PEWMA) of Brandt et al. (American Journalof Political Science 44(4):823–843, 2000). We developan alternative model for stationary mean reverting data, thePoisson autoregressive model of order p, or PAR(p) model. Issuesof identification and model selection are also considered. Wethen evaluate the properties of this model and present bothMonte Carlo evidence and applications to illustrate.     

A comparative evaluation of a new generation jail

This study reports findings from an evaluation of a new generation jail in a large southwestern state. The jail is one component of a complex containing a traditional jail, an indirect supervision facility (barracks), and the new generation jail. Using survey and operational data, we compare the new generation jail to the other two facilities. The findings provide generally positive support for the effectiveness of the new generation jail. Inmates and staff were much more satisfied with the physical facilities. Staff perceived it as more secure, though they reported only limited advantages in safety and security. Violence and disciplinary problems were substantially lower. However, no savings in staffing levels were noted, nor were there differences in job satisfaction for staff in the new generation jail. We discuss the implications of the findings and suggest additional directions for jail evaluations.     

A. Reviews and notes of recent bibliographies

i. Middle East and Islam: A Bibliographical Introduction (Bibliotheca Asiatica 15). Edited by Diana Grimwood‐Jones, for the Middle East Libraries Committee [MELCOM]. Revised and enlarged edition. Zug, Inter Documentation Company, 1979. pp. ix, 429.

ii. Middle East Studies and Libraries. A Felicitation Volume for Professor J.D. Pearson. Edited by B.C. Bloomfield. London, Mansell, 1980. pp. xi, 231.

iii. Cultures of the Islamic Near East: A Guide to Introductory Readings for the Non‐Specialist. By John W. Bagnole. Washington, D.C., America‐Mideast Educational & Training Services, Inc. (Occasional Paper, No. 4), 1978. pp. ii, 79. $4.00

iv. The Modern Arab Woman: A Bibliography. By Michelle Raccagni. Metuchen, N.J. & London, The Scarecrow Press, 1978, pp. x, 282.     

Policy trade-offs in “home care”: the Ontario example

Abstract: As Canada enters the twenty-first century, its highly prized program, medicare, is undergoing radical transformation. With technological change and the restructuring of health systems, the locus of care is shifting from institutions to the home. As a result, care that was formerly publicly financed under the Canada Health Act is technically becoming de-insured. This paper analyses the reform of community-based long-term care services in Ontario from 1985 to the present. During this period, three different parties, the Liberals, the ndp and the Progressive Conservatives, in turn, formed the government. Four different models were put forward before the current model was adopted by the current pc government. Each of these models is analysed with respect to design decisions that must be made in the policy dimensions of financing, delivery and allocation and evaluated in terms of equity, liberty, security and efficiency. Underlying the debate in Ontario was a fundamental disagreement about the role of government, reflected in views about the responsibilities of individuals and their families, and the appropriate place of for-profit organizations within a publicly funded system. The reform of this sector has significance that goes beyond its boundaries, with wider implications and warnings for health care in general. Sommaire: Au moment même où le Canada se trouve au seuil du vingtième siècle, son très populaire régime d'assurance-maladie subit une transformation radicale. À cause de l'évolution technologique et de la restructuration du systéme de soins de santé, le fardeau de ces soins se déplace des institutions vers les foyers. Par conséuent, des soins auparavant financés par les deniers public en vertu de la Loi cana-dienne sur la santé deviennent techniquement non-assurés. Dans cet article, on analyse la réforme des services ontariens de soins à long terme axés sur la communauté, de 1985 áG ce jour. Pendant cette période, trois partis differents, les Libéraux, les Né-démocrates et les Progressistes conservateurs ont formé le gouvernment à tour de rôle. Quatre modèles différents ont été préconisés avant l'adoption du modèle actuel par le gouvernement progressiste conservateur qui est aujourd'hui au pou-voir. On y analyse chacun de ces modèles quant aux décisions conceptuelles á faire pour les politiques de financement, de prestation et d'allocation, et chaque modèle doit être évalué en termes d'équité, de liberté, de sécurité et d'efficacité. À l'arrièreplan du débat, en Ontario, il y avait un désaccord fondamental sur le rôle du gouvemement, que reflétaient les opinions concemant la responsabilité des citoyens et de leurs familles ainsi que sur la place appropriée des organismes à but lucratif à au sein d'un système financéà même les derniers publics. La réforme de ce secteur a des répercussions non seulement sur le secteur hi-même mais aussi sur les soins de santé en général.     

Reforming rural Ontario

Abstract: This paper turns the scholarly spotlight onto an overlooked aspect of the Ontario municipal system by exploring the issue of county government reform in four selected communities in southern Ontario. Various proposals for county government reform have been advanced by the provincial government during the last quarter-century; here we consider the “common sense” approach to municipal government reform adopted by the Harris government after its election in 1995. We analyse how four counties have responded to this concerted and forceful attempt to bring about major county restructuring. The study has two major objectives. First, it illustrates the forces that have at once advanced and constrained county government reform in recent years; second, it attempts to explain major differences in the manner in which individual counties have responded to the Harris government's drive for reform. Finally, the paper concludes with some reflections on the viability of rural government in Ontario in the light of the substance and process of county government reform. Sommaire: Cet article examine un aspect négligé du système municipal ontarien en explorant la question de la réforme des gouvernements de comté dans quatre communautés choisies du sud de l'Ontario. Le gouvernement provincial a fait diverses propositions de réforme du gouvemement de comté au cours du demier quart de siècle; ici, nous examinons l'approche basée sur le « ban sens » adoptée par le gouvernement Harris en ce qui concerne les gouvernements municipaux, après son élection en 1995, et nous analysons la manière dont quatre comtés ont réagi à cette tentative concertée et vigoureuse de déclencher une forte restructuration au niveau du comté. Cette étude a deux grands objectifs. Premièrement, elle illustre les forces qui ont à la fois promu et retenu la réforme des gouvernements de comté au cours de ces dernières annèes; deuxièmement, elle essaie d'expliquer les principaux écarts dans la façon dont chaque comté a réagi aux efforts de réforme du gouvemement Harris. Enfin, I'article offer quelques réflexions sur la viabilité du gouvernement rural en Ontario à la lumière du fond et du processus de réforme des gouvernements de comté.