Technical and interpretive pitfalls of postmortem CT: Five examples of errors revealed by autopsy

Image acquisition of dead bodies, particularly using postmortem computed tomography (PMCT), has become common in forensic investigations worldwide. Meanwhile, in countries such as Japan which have an extremely low rate of autopsy, PMCT is being increasingly used in the clinical field to certify the cause of death (COD) without performing an autopsy or toxicological tests, even in cases of unnatural death. Additionally, these PMCT images are predominantly interpreted by clinical personnel such as emergency physicians or clinicians who are not trained in PMCT interpretation and who work for the police, that is, the so-called police doctors. Many potential pitfalls associated with the use of PMCT have been previously described in textbooks and published papers, including the pitfalls of not performing a complete forensic pathology investigation, and the use of physicians without appropriate PMCT training to interpret PMCT and direct death investigation and certification. We describe five examples in which apparent misdiagnosis of COD based on PMCT misinterpretation was revealed by autopsy. Here are the five examples of errors: (1) Postmortem changes were misinterpreted as COD, (2) resuscitation effects were misinterpreted as COD, (3) COD was determined after an incomplete examination, (4) fatal findings caused by external origin were wrongly interpreted as ‘of internal origin’ based on PMCT, and (5) non-fatal findings on PMCT were wrongly interpreted as fatal. Interpretation of PMCT by appropriately trained physicians and an accompanying complete forensic investigation, including autopsy when indicated, is necessary to prevent significant errors in COD determination and related potential adverse medicolegal consequences.     

日本新宗教团体创价学会与公明党之政教关系

日本新宗教团体创价学会继承日莲正宗"立正安国"的政教合一理念,从20世纪50年代开始,在二战后民主法治环境中积极开展政治活动,于1964年成立公明党。创价学会与公明党之间的关系经历了四个时期:教团主导政教合一时期(1964-1969)、政教分离时期(1970-90年代初)、教团成为政党斗争工具时期(20世纪90年代)、政党保守化与教团集权化时期(2000年至今)。二者关系的变化说明从战后民主化到政治、宗教多元化的今天,宗教势力依然对日本政坛有深远的影响,同时政党的本质属性决定宗教政党必须以夺取政权为最高目标,在复杂多变的现实政治斗争中,宗教政党的政治主张往往与宗教理念发生冲突,形成对其母体教团的反噬效果。     

佩里来航事件与近代日本语言政策转变的关系

1853年的佩里来航，给日本社会带了前所未有的恐慌。第二年，《日美和亲条约》的签订标志着日本持续了近两百年的锁国时代就此结束。从此，为了与西方列强保持平等的关系，建立一个近代国家，日本政府开始积极学习和效仿西方的「一国、一民、一语」原则，大力推行国语统一的政策。可以说，此次佩里来航事件的发生极大地刺激了日本人的民族意识，为日后的民族认同以及国家认同打下了基础。     

基于耗散结构理论的日本“二次元”动漫产业系统

近年来，日本“二次元”动漫产业已成为动漫界热议的焦点。基于耗散结构理论解析日本“二次元”动漫产业系统发现其具有远离平衡态、非线性、突变性和涨落等耗散结构特点。支撑日本“二次元”动漫产业系统的体系包括政府支持、人才输送、知识产权法律、投融资渠道等。日本经验启示中国发展动漫产业应采取建立激励保健机制、创建学科交叉平台、增加信息技术投入和变“走出去”为“融进去”等措施。     

日本社会教育的概念研究

明治维新后，伴随着近代学校教育制度的诞生，日本的社会教育也应运而生。本研究不仅考证了社会教育在日本的由来，确认了社会教育乃日本明治以后出现的特有的教育形态；并从教化型、民主型、终身型等三方面厘清了日本不同历史时期学者对社会教育的多元界定；而且对日本的社会教育和社会事业、社会政策、国家教育、国民教育、家庭教育、学校教育、终身教育、终身学习、成人教育、社区教育等相关概念的区别与联系进行了辨析。在此基础上，归纳了日本社会教育概念的五个特征，即丰富多样性、暧昧模糊性、服务主体性、法律健全性、实践追求性等。     

The more the merrier? Sino-Japanese security relations in the context of complex interstate rivalry in the Asia-Pacific region

Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of Sino-Japanese rivalry in the security sphere concentrating on the Chinese perspective, and placing it within the wider context of complex interstate rivalry between China, Japan and the United States. From a theoretical viewpoint, this research contributes to the literature on interstate rivalry from multiparty perspective, which has been overlooked in existing research. China–Japan–US complex interstate rivalry includes elements of positional, spatial and ideological rivalry simultaneously. When rivalries mix two or more rivalry types, they become more difficult to resolve. The two broad trends of China’s military build-up and deepening US–Japan alliance evolve in tandem intensifying rivalry dynamics and increasing positional elements of rivalry. There are many indications on various levels that for China, controlling Japan’s international ambitions has become less important and more attention is paid to ways in which Japan helps the United States in reaching its objectives in Asia through their alliance agreement. The cases analysed to display complex interstate rivalry include the Taiwan question, territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, and the North Korean nuclear issue.     

明治前期日本教育中儒教主义的展开

1879年明治天皇下达的《教学大旨》标志着儒教主义的复活。《教学大旨》下达之初虽遭遇来自以伊藤博文为主导的政府的抵制,但以明治天皇和元田永孚为代表的宫廷势力仍通过各种渠道和措施积极致力于儒教主义教育理念的具体化。明治十四年政变以后,明治政府也开始转到儒教主义路线来。儒教主义不仅作为一场德育运动成为明治日本教育上的独立阶段,而且形成了日本的教育政策主体或教育领导权的宫府二元结构。     

中日韩自贸区的可行性与经济周期规律

自2002年中日韩自由贸易区的构想提出以来,学界和决策部门对其建立的可行性仍持怀疑态度。本研究率先采用惩罚性样条滤波（Penalized Spline Filter）对中日韩实际产出变量进行分解,计算了周期项的相关系数和滚动相关性并检验了格兰杰因果关系,探讨建立三国自贸区的可行性。实证研究结果表明：中日、中韩间同期相关度低,但日韩间具有显著的同期相关性,并自1998年趋强,三者之间无格兰杰因果关系。因此,笔者认为从经济周期的协动性角度来看,建立中日韩自由贸易区的时机尚未成熟。建议可以先尝试建立日韩自由贸易区,逐步推进中日韩自贸区进程。     

显微日本近代公民教育的形成

日本社会于近代自上而下发生了质变,朝资本主义方向全面西化,其公民教育方面也不例外。从分析日本公民教育的历史背景、展开历程以及存在的问题,来深入了解日本的公民教育发展状况。     

Toward Olympics 2008: China's development in the reform period

Owen Bennett-Jones presents ‘Newshour’ and ‘The Interview’ for BBC World Service Radio. He has reported from all over the world and was the BBC Correspondent in Islamabad between 1998 and 2001. He is currently preparing a second edition of his book Pakistan: Eye of the Storm.