Morphology findings in intentional hand amputation

Presented is the case of a 33 years old farmer, who alleged to have lost his left hand accidentally when grasping into a chuff-cutter. Immediate investigation of the amputate proved, that the hand must have been severed initially by a single cut and was only secondarily bruised by multiple blunt contusions. The farmer confessed to have mutilated himself with some kind of a guillotine which he had constructed for that particular purpose. The amputate was then thrown into the chuff-cutter to make his allegation appear credible and to prevent replantation. The motivation of this self-mutilation was the expectation of considerable insurance payments.     

Dragging deaths: a case in point

A 16-year-old boy was riding his bicycle when he was struck by a truck. He was dragged over 2 1/2 miles (4 km) before he was deposited on the side of the road. The injuries evident at autopsy revealed the boy died from dragging and not from the initial impact. The scene, and the autopsy findings, will be discussed.     

Postmortem non-invasive virtual autopsy: death by hanging in a car

A body was found behind a car with a noose tied around its neck, the other end of the rope tied to a tree. Apparently the man committed suicide by driving away with the noose tied around his neck and was dragged out of the car through the open hatchback. postmortem multislice-computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated that the cause of death was cerebral hypoxia due to classic strangulation by hanging, and not due to a brainstem lesion because of a hang-man fracture as would be expected in such a dynamic situation. Furthermore, the MRI displayed intramuscular haemorrhage, bleeding into the clavicular insertions of the sternocleidomastoid muscles and subcutaneous neck tissue. We conclude that MSCT and MRI are useful instruments with an increased value compared with 2D radiographs to augment the external findings of bodies when an autopsy is refused. But further postmortem research and comparing validation is needed.     

The liberty of free riders: the minimum coverage provision, Mill's "harm principle," and American social morality

A direct requirement for most Americans to purchase any product or service .... certainly is an encroachment on individual liberty, but it is no more so than a command that restaurants or hotels are obliged to serve all customers regardless of race, that gravely ill individuals cannot use a substance their doctors described as the only effective palliative for excruciating pain, or that a farmer cannot grow enough wheat to support his own family. The right to be free from federal regulation is not absolute, and yields to the imperative that Congress be free to forge national solutions to national problems, no matter how local--or seemingly passive--their individual origins.     

DNA typing in a cattle stealing case.

DNA profiling was used as probative evidence in a cattle stealing case. The carcasses of the dead animals were found from a report and a farmer recognized the remains as those corresponding to the stolen animals by the farm mark on the coat. Those remains were collected as reference samples. Meat pieces were sequestered from a butchery and then sent to our Laboratory by the Justice Department of Buenos Aires (Argentine) to perform a DNA comparative analysis with the reference. Matches were found between the evidences and the references, supporting the hypothesis that the meat pieces had been obtained from the stolen animals. The butcher was suspected of stealing animals but no direct incrimination had been made yet.     

论中国村民自治制度的完善

村民自治是宪法赋予广大农民的一项神圣权利，是依宪治政的必然要求，是社会主义新农村建设的重要内容，是构建社会主义和谐社会的需要。但现行村民自治制度运行存在诸多弊端：自治权的界限不清楚，行使自治权的程序不规范，解决争议的方法不明确，权利保障不得力，村民自治与乡镇政府间的关系不明确，乱用权利的情况时有发生．这些问题要想得到根本解决，必须在立法上明确村民自治机构、自治权的范围和行使自治权的程序，强化监督工作，理顺各种关系，打击妨害村民行使自治权的黑恶势力。本文试图从法治的角度，探讨村民自治制度的完善，并就此提出自己的一些看法。     

刑事司法改革的新举措——评《办理死刑案件证据规定》及《非法证据排除规定》

连日来，河南赵作海冤案引起了社会舆论的广泛关注。随着赵作海被无罪释放并获得65万元的国家赔偿，遣起冤案才逐渐落下帷幕。冤假错案，这个刑事司法界最棘手的问题在不同时期不同程度地上演着。从此前的云南杜培武“故意杀人”案到佘祥林“杀妻”案，再到至今还未讨到说法的河北聂树彬案，诸多的冤假错案轮番登场，     

Shielding farmers' rights

Legal context: Farmers are integral to the economy of most developing countries.There is currently a broad consensus that farmers, being custodiansof genetic diversity, should be granted rights for their enormouscontributions in identifying and conserving plant genetic resources.Farmers' rights recognize farmers as equivalent to breedersand give a farmer who has bred or developed a new variety aright of registration and protection in similar manner to abreeder. The Indian legislation on plant varieties places thefarmer on a very high footing by entitling him to save, use,sow, re-sow, exchange, share, or sell his farm produce. Key points: Farmers' rights discussed in this article are a collective rightgiven to farmers who conserve biodiversity. Plant varietiesdeveloped by modern biotechnology utilize traditional varietiesand are merely improvements of the breeding carried out by generationsof farmers. Yet little consideration is given to the contributionsof these farmers. Therefore it is essential that both the farmeras well as the breeder is protected where he achieves such geneticimprovements. Practical significance: The farmer's right acts as a countervailing force to the breeder'sright and is a retrospective reward of unlimited duration forthe conservation of plant genetic resources. Though the processof innovation by the farmer may not conform to the strict termsof the distinctness, stability, and uniformity requirement,his products also have definite criteria for the identificationof improved varieties. The pool of genetic diversity now availablewas largely obtained through the efforts of farmers of the pastwho identified, conserved, developed, and bred the now-traditionalvarieties.     

Fatal intravenous fentanyl abuse: four cases involving extraction of fentanyl from transdermal patches

The transdermal fentanyl system delivers a specific dose at a constant rate. Even after the prescribed application time has elapsed, enough fentanyl remains within a patch to provide a potentially lethal dose. Death due to the intravenous injection of fentanyl extracted from transdermal patches has not been previously reported. We present 4 cases in which the source of fentanyl was transdermal patches and was injected. In all of these cases, the victim was a white male who died at home. Case 1 was a 35-year-old with no known history of drug use, who was found by his wife on the floor of his workshop. Police recovered a fentanyl patch, needle, and syringe at the scene. Case 2 was a 38-year-old with a known history of drug use whose family claimed that he was in a treatment program that used fentanyl patches for unknown reasons. His brother found him dead in bed, and law enforcement officers found a hypodermic needle beside the body; a ligature around his left hand, and apparent needle marks between his first and second digits were also noted. Case 3 was a 42-year-old with a recent attempted suicide via overdose who was found dead at his home. An empty box of fentanyl patches, Valium, Ritalin, and 2 syringes were found at the scene. Case 4 was a 39-year-old found by his mother, who admitted to removing a needle with attached syringe from the decedent's arm. Medications at the scene included hydrocodone, alprazolam, zolpidem, and fentanyl patches. All reported deaths were attributed to fentanyl intoxication, with blood concentrations ranging from 5 to 27 microg/L.     

论征地补偿制度的完善

土地征收补偿制度是协调和解决在土地征收过程中国家、社会和个人利益冲突的一项基本制度,妥善解决土地征收补偿问题,对保护农民的土地利益,建设社会主义新农村,实现和谐社会具有重要意义。为此,应当加快征地制度改革步伐,扩大征地补偿范围,提高补偿标准,丰富补偿方式,拓展安置途径,以期切实维护农民的土地利益,促进社会稳定健康发展。     

Death secondary to a donkey's bites

We present a unique case of death due to the assault and bites of a donkey on a 65-year-old man. The farmer, found dead in his farmyard, had a very deep wound in the anterior region of the neck, with a sharp transection of the trachea and severe bleeding by several minor vessels wall disruptions. The cause of death was established to be massive bleeding combined with asphyxia due to aspiration of the blood. Moreover, multiple contusions with associated skin abrasions and perforations were present. The general impression of the injuries was consistent with an animal's bite marks. Herbivorous or omnivorous bite attacks on humans are rare; instead, these animals attack by kicking, trampling, and kneeling, resulting in secondary blunt injuries. The donkey is usually a docile animal, but its behavior can be aggressive during the mating season, and the possibility of biting should not be underestimated, as illustrated by the 2 cases published previously as well as by the case presented here.     

Saddle Pulmonary Embolism with Paradoxical Coronary Artery Embolism through a Patent Foramen Ovale

A 35‐year‐old male patient was found in cardiac arrest in his vehicle, with no apparent injuries after a minor motor vehicle collision. The decedent was found to have a saddle pulmonary embolus with a thromboembolus impacted across a patent foramen ovale and a paradoxical embolism in the circumflex coronary artery, as well as significant clotting in the deep veins of both lower extremities. There were no risk factors in his history to explain the deep venous thrombosis; family history suggested the possibility of an unrecognized clotting disorder.     

农民专业合作社责任制度的完善——合作社成员承诺责任的引入

农民专业合作社并不具有独立的财产所有权,其拥有的是包括成员出资等在内的财产支配权.基于<农民专业合作社法>的规定,合作社支配的财产具有虚无性与变动性的特点,不能实现明确成员以及合作社承担财产责任界限、保障合作社交易对象信赖利益和维护市场交易安全的立法目标,进而会损害合作社交易相对人的信赖利益以及合作社自身利益和市场交易机会,并阻碍合作社的长期发展.为了进一步完善农民专业合作社的责任制度,在考察<公司法>责任制度、以财政补助为核心的责任制度的基础上,应当在现有<农民专业合作社法>关于合作社及其成员的责任制度的基础上构建成员承诺责任制度.     

Diagnosis of a captive-bolt injury in a skull extremely destroyed by fire

The authors report on a combined suicide of a 71-year-old farmer who fired a shot to his forehead with a livestock stunner before burning himself. As the fire was fueled by a pile of firewood it burnt for many hours, thus, causing subtotal incineration of the body. The remaining bones were calcined and reduced to a residual mass of only 3 kg. In spite of the extreme destruction, a circular bone defect corresponding to the site where the captive-bolt had entered the skull could be identified in the frontal squama. The example of this suicide is used to illustrate the problems of distinguishing between mechanical and thermal fractures. As expected, the attempted isolation and amplification of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA for the purpose of identification was not successful.     

Positional Asphyxia without Active Restraint Following an Assault

Deaths due to positional asphyxia are most often accidental, associated with alcohol and/or drug intoxication. A 19‐year‐old male is reported who was assaulted and placed in a head‐down position in the back of a car were he was later found dead. Brush abrasions indicated that he had been dragged to the vehicle. The head and right shoulder were wedged into the foot well with the body uppermost. At autopsy, there was marked congestion of the face, neck, and upper chest with conjunctival ecchymoses, bruising of the face and scalp, focal subarachnoid hemorrhage, minor cerebral contusion, and diffuse cerebral swelling with early hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Toxicology was negative. Death was attributed to HIE resulting from the unusual positioning of the body. Cases of positional asphyxia involving others may not always include restraint, and when encountered should initiate a careful evaluation of the possible events and lethal pathophysiological processes.     

失地农民问题研究

城市化是我国经济社会新一轮发展的突破口,是我国承接信息化、提升工业化、接轨国际化、提前基本实现现代化的必然要求。但伴随着城市化的推进,大量土地被征用,大批农民从土地上剥离出来,成为失地农民,并迅速扩大。但随着市场经济的全面推开,企业用工方式也走向市场化,政府不可能统包统揽,采用就业安置办法把农民“塞”进企业,而自行谋生又面临当前国有企业下岗失业人员再就业、大学扩招后毕业生就业和农村富余劳动力向城市转移的“三碰头”就业严峻形势,农民离开土地后如何就业生活成了困扰各级政府的一大难题。     

An unusual death by propranolol ingestion

A case of acute intoxication with propranolol is reported. A 60-year-old man was found dead in his car with no evidence of trauma or signs of asphyxia. Near the car, a pharmaceutical box of Inderal, a pharmaceutical formulation containing propranolol, was found. The man was not under therapy with this medication, but circumstantial data suggested the use of this medicine by his sister. High blood levels of propranolol confirmed the suspected drug use and induced us to discuss the probable lethal mechanism of this substance. The analysis of this compound was performed by liquid-liquid extraction followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry determination.     

寻找学术自由之奥义:学术—政治关系的宪政维度

学术自由与学术规范相为里、表,共同体现着话语权的分散化配置,并由此关联着共和精神和分力格局。学术自由故而为宪政的题中之义。宪政体制下政治系统对学术自由的尊重和对学术的纯粹性的敬畏,自有其内在逻辑。当代的情形则是,学术被纳入了相应的政治动员之中,从而形成了学术—政治关系的复杂形态。不过,宪政体制下对学术的政治动员和法治—宪政进程中对学术的政治动员呈现出不同的情形。     

案外情节与人身危险性

犯前、犯后情节简单归属于人身危险性不只是语义缺损,而且违背法治原则。因为处罚未然之罪缺乏正当根据。从理论上讲,累犯、惯犯可罚性的根据是行为人蔑视、敌视法益的意志状态能被罪过归属;积极救助、赔偿被害人或者威胁被害人或因部分减轻犯罪侵害程度、或客观说明其犯罪意志状态和改变而可以影响刑罚轻重;行为人自首、立功从宽处罚在于他与法律合作的态度是其再社会化的基本要求。简言之,为安全适用刑法,所谓“人身危险性”在特定情况下可影响刑罚适用的综合评判标准,但不宜直接成为情节的定性根据。     

儒家民族主义者——王韬的国际法思想

中国固有文化中礼所规定的明具伦理色彩的等级秩序以及在此基础上形成的朝贡体制不能在智仁志士的观念和政治上产生国际法。近世文人王韬的国际法思想产生于其移居上海和香港特别是太平天国失败之后 ,之前他和同代人一样 ,信奉中国文化上的优越主义。王韬这种观念的产生与回应西方列强的冲击和自身的经历有关。但笔者对这种“冲击———回应”模式的运用并非费正清式的 ,毋宁说它更是柯文版的。王韬对国际法的矛盾态度显示了一种局内人的无奈。王韬的国际法思想最后落基于他给晚清政府开具的全面改革旨在图强采取新的思想方式的药方。