Suicide by pipe bomb: a case report.

While lying down, a 23-year-old man detonated an improvised explosive device placed behind his head. The posterior neck and shoulders were singed, and much of the brain was avulsed. Death was due to laceration and partial avulsion of the cerebrum, midbrain, and brain stem. The injuries had a directional nature. Facts derived from the scene investigation and gross dissection, including nature, distribution, and extent of the wounds, in conjunction with preceding medical and social history, allowed for a reasonable reconstruction of the circumstances.     

Death by power car window. An unrecognized hazard.

The unusual accidental asphyxial death of a 26-month-old girl involving a car power window is reported. The circumstances and investigation results are discussed, as well as how such tragedies may be avoided.     

Suicide bomber using a pipe bomb

Suicidal deaths caused by pipe bombs are rare. An 18-year-old man was found dead in a forest by hikers. In immediate proximity to the body, a crater was located obviously induced by a detonation. The postmortem examination revealed severe damage of the head, upper-body and both arms and hands along with the extensive presence of soot and dirt. Particularly noticeable were numerous "entry wounds" and the presence of five bullet like pieces of metal in the body. The young man had a history of drug abuse and psychiatric problems. On the basis of autopsy findings, the conclusions of the police investigation and psychopathological considerations regarding the victim's case-history, discussion centers upon the differentiation between suicide by self-explosion, homicide by explosion or death as a consequence of numerous bullet wounds followed by an attempt to burn the body. Also considered is the possibility of paranoid psychosis induced by cannabis use as a cause of suicide.     

The significance of fibres found on car seats

The front seats of 108 vehicles were examined for the presence of two types of commonly occurring fibres, the so-called “target” fibres. A total of 8436 fibres was removed from the seats for comparison using standard methods. The maximum number of matching fibres found on any one seat was 13; and in any one vehicle, 20. In only two vehicles were sufficiently large enough numbers of fibres present to suggest primary transfer of fibres to the seats, the probable source garments for these fibres being found in both cases. In only one vehicle were matches found to both types of target fibre. No matching fibres were recovered from vinyl-covered seats. These results indicate that when large numbers of more than one type or colour of matching fibres are found on a car seat, the evidence for contact appears to be highly significant.     

SEM检验漆膜厚度鉴别同种颜色的汽车油漆

目的研究扫描电子显微镜测量漆膜厚度的方法对颜色相近的汽车油漆的区分能力。方法应用扫描电子显微镜对不同汽车厂家生产的12块蓝色油漆进行总厚度及分层厚度测量,并对所得数据进行t检验分析。结果在所有两两比对的66组样品对中,在置信度为95％时,用总厚度及分层厚度进行区分,区分率达到100％。结论用扫描电子显微镜微观测量油漆样品总厚度及分层厚度的方法,可对颜色相近的汽车油漆进行有效区分。     

The transfer and persistence of petrol on car carpets

The significance of the presence of petrol in motor vehicle fires has often been challenged due to the possibility of a natural occurrence of petrol residues inside the vehicle. Transfer and persistence studies were undertaken to investigate the potential transfer and persistence of petrol onto vehicle carpets through the 'normal' usage of motor vehicles. The results of the transfer study indicate that petrol may be transferred from the external environment in sufficient quantities via the shoes of drivers or passengers to be detected after a 24 h period, but not after 1 week. Low levels of petrol were detectable after 24 h on all carpet mats where the initial volume was 500 microL or more. The level of evaporation of the petrol detected increased with corresponding increases in the time period between transfer and analysis. The results of the persistence study indicate that small volumes of petrol (less than 100 microL) are unlikely to be detected on carpet after a 24 h period, and volumes of less than 1000 microL are unlikely to be detected on acoustic padding after this time period. Larger volumes may be detected after this period, but will generally not be detectable on either carpet or acoustic padding after 4 weeks. In each case, the petrol that is detected exhibits a chromatographic profile of greater than 60% evaporated petrol. These results demonstrate the significance of finding a large volume of fresh or slightly evaporated petrol on car carpet.     

The Cyprus and other EU court rulings on data retention: The Directive as a privacy bomb

This paper discusses the controversy surrounding the Data Retention Directive with an emphasis on the 2011 decision of the Cyprus Supreme Court which has annulled several district court orders that allowed the police access to telecommunications data relating to certain persons relevant to criminal investigations. The annulment has been on the ground that the legal provisions upon which the orders have been issued are unconstitutional. It will suggest that the decision does not entail a direct rejection of the EU Data Retention Directive and that in any event, Cyprus is not a Member State resisting the particular measure. This is because the legal provisions are deemed unconstitutional, though part of the law that has transposed the relevant Directive into national law are provisions that go beyond what the EU legislator intended to regulate through that Directive. Still, the particular Directive sits rather uneasily within the ‘human rights’ regime, in particular the one governing the individual right of privacy.     

Four deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning in car washes.

In a period of 13 months, three separate incidents of lethal carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in closed car wash bays resulted in the deaths of 4 white men aged 20 to 36 years. Each man appears to have been intoxicated with mind-altering substances, which may impair judgment, perception of outside conditions, and self-awareness. All four died in winter months. For three men, the deaths were ruled accidental, and for the remaining man, the previous deaths appear to have provided a model for suicide. Warning signs may not be effective to prevent future CO deaths in car washes because of the possible role of intoxication. Mechanical or electronic methods to prevent a bay door from closing completely may be preferable.     

China's self-driving car legislation study

The ongoing developments of artificial intelligence have made the self-driving car industry enter the phase of extensive road testing in recent years. However, in China, research on self-driving car legislation is basically nonexistent. This paper focuses on comprehensively analyzing the self-driving car legislation and testing process based on the latest provisions in both China and the United States and conducts a comparative study. This study gives a detailed analysis of legislation trends in the legal field and provides practical suggestions for promoting the self-driving car industry in China as well as for that in other countries.     

Decapitation due to car accident

The occurrence of complete decapitation as a consequence of car accident is an extremely rare event. This fatality is generally seen in pedestrians run over by trains and also in motorcyclists who impact against the tailboard of trucks. Moreover, complete transection of pedestrians and occupants of cars has been described in road accidents especially in case of vehicles traveling at a high speed. We present a case of decapitation with complete degloving injury of the neck in a patient involved in a traffic accident, and we briefly discuss the possible mechanisms producing this injury.     

Fatigue in single car fatal accidents

In a reexamination of 101 fatal single car accidents without any reasonable explanation besides possible intoxication, 50 drivers were found to have been intoxicated with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of more than 0.08 mg% at the time of the accident. Thirty-seven of these accidents happened between 2400 h and 0600 h in the morning and 21 of the drivers were found to be intoxicated. The remaining 64 accidents took place during the rest of the day and 21 drivers were found to be intoxicated. By comparing this apparent over-representation of intoxicated drivers in night-time accidents with that of a control group of no less than 15.923 drivers it was possible to convert this over-representation into a significant under-representation indicating another human accident factor specific to night-time traffic. It is concluded that fatigue is an often overlooked but most obvious cause to an otherwise unexplainable accident in the night-time traffic.     

盲摸器开启轿车用弹片锁形成痕迹的研究

目的研究盲摸器开启轿车用弹片锁形成的痕迹。方法解剖盲摸器开启的弹片锁后,观察比对弹片上痕迹位置和形态。结果4s店购买的锁具较小商品市场购买的锁具不易形成痕迹;经验丰富的开锁人员较经验少的开锁人员不易形成痕迹;盲摸器二较盲摸器一不易形成痕迹。结论盲摸器开启汽车锁形成的痕迹与锁具材质、开锁人员及工具形态有关。     

Students,academic institutions and contracts — a ticking time bomb?

Traditionally the courts have been reluctant to trespass too far on the sanctity of academic freedom, and have certainly not wished to be seen as final arbiters of academic decisions. It is doubtful whether anything in the fast changing world of higher education has yet changed enough to modify such reluctance. However, when the student/college relationship is viewed through the prism of 'service provision' very different conclusions may be reached. It seems very hard to deny that the agreement between an academic institution and a student is a contract, and (most obviously) a contract for the provision of educational services. If the advertised services are not provided, or are provided inadequately or incompletely then an action for breach of contract on behalf of the student(s) affected may lie. Moreover any generalised disclaimer on behalf of the academic institution may (now) fall foul of unfair contract terms legislation. In Education and the Law Vol 11 No. 2, 1999, Tim Birtwistle and Melissa Askew began the process of exploring such issues. This article will endeavour to examine in greater depth matters such as the formation of the student/college contract; claims for breach of contract and unfair contract terms.     

Using STR analysis to detect human DNA from exploded pipe bomb devices

This study investigated the possibility of recovering a bomb assembler's DNA from an exploded pipe bomb device. Metal and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes were examined to determine if one surface type would allow better DNA recovery than the other. Ten subjects each handled components of one metal and one PVC pipe bomb. The bombs were exploded, the fragments were collected and swabbed using the double swab technique, and the samples were extracted, quantified, amplified, and genotyped using polymerase chain reaction/short tandem repeat (PCR/STR). Of the 20 bombs handled by the subjects, four bombs gave reportable results that matched the subject's known DNA profiles. An additional eight profiles, also matching the subject's known DNA profiles, were generated but were below the reportable threshold. There was no difference in the success rate of obtaining DNA profiles related to the use of either PVC or metal in the manufacture of the pipe bomb. The variables that appeared to have the greatest influence on the success of generating a DNA profile were the amount of fragmentation and subsequent recovery of the bomb fragments. It is suspected that successful DNA profiling could also be dependent upon the bomb assembler's propensity to slough skin cells on objects they handled.