Fatal intoxication with labetalol (Trandate)

The dead body of a 44-year-old woman, previously known for depression and alcoholism, has been discovered at her place of residence by her husband. A forensic autopsy has been carried out. The results indicated unspecific histological lesions (alveolar oedema, liver steatosis and interstitial nephritis) but did not reveal any apparent cause of death. Several boxes of medicines have been found near the body, justifying a toxicological analysis. This has been performed on peripheral blood and urine samples using liquid chromatography with diode array and mass spectrometric detections, in conjunction with gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Ethanol has been found (1.24 g/L in blood, 2.63 g/L in urine and 1.33 g/kg in gastric content), as well as therapeutic concentrations of meprobamate (14.1mg/L) and low concentrations of nordazepam (0.12 mg/L) in blood. On the other hand, particularly high levels of labetalol, a widely used beta-blocker, have been found both in blood (1.7 mg/L) and urine (20.2mg/L), which led us to measure labetalol levels in available viscera samples (liver, heart, kidney, and lung) and gastric content. Measured concentrations were 14.2 microg/g, 7.8 microg/g, 5.4 microg/g, 5.2 microg/g and 31.1 microg/g, respectively. We describe here the first report of a fatal intoxication attributed to labetalol that is linked to its acute toxicity, with tissue distribution of this beta-blocker.     

Characterization of lesions in hanging deaths

Hanging is a common method of committing suicide and a routine task in medico-legal autopsies. The hanging mark is the most relevant external sign and its characteristics are well known, but, for unknown reasons, there are major differences in reports on internal findings. We retrospectively studied 228 consecutive cases of hanging deaths. A complete standard autopsy was performed for every case. We investigated the association between the characteristics of the hanging mark and the frequency of bone, cartilage, soft tissue, and vascular injuries with the mode of suspension. Most cases (75.3%) presented some kind of bone or cartilage fracture, but these were unrelated to any of the variables studied. Vascular lesions are clearly more infrequent: intimal injuries were found in the carotid artery (9.1%), the jugular vein (2.2%), and ruptures of the carotid adventitial layer (21.7%). These could be partially associated with the use of a hard fixed noose and body weight.     

Changes in the Most-Cited Scholars in 20 Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals Between 1990 and 2015 and Comparisons with the Asian Journal of Criminology

The main aim of this article is to assess the most-cited scholars in 20 criminology and criminal justice journals in 2015 and to compare them with the most-cited scholars in these journals in 1990–2010 and with the most-cited scholars in the Asian Journal of Criminology (AJC) in 2015. Five American criminology journals, five American criminal justice journals, five international criminology journals, and five international criminal justice journals have been studied since 1990. The most-cited scholars tended to be those who carried out research on developmental and life-course criminology. Most of these highly cited scholars were also highly cited in previous years, showing the persistence of scholarly influence. Generally, the most-cited scholars in criminology and criminal justice journals overlapped considerably, as did the most-cited scholars in American and international journals. Also, the most-cited scholars in AJC in 2015 overlapped considerably with the most-cited scholars in these other categories of journals. We conclude that there is considerable agreement in American, Asian, and international criminology and criminal justice on the most-cited, and therefore most influential, scholars.

     

Population data for 16 Y-chromosome STRs in four populations from Pyrenees (Spain)

Population frequencies for the eight Y-STR loci included in the "minimal haplotype" from Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) plus other eight Y-STRs (DYS434, DYS435, DYS436, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, GATA H4 and GATA A10) were obtained for a sample of 133 males from four main geographical areas in the Pyrenees (Spain): Vall D'Aran (Lérida), Cerdanya (Gerona), Alt Urgell (Lérida) and Jacetania (Huesca). Haplotype diversities were estimated in the four populations.     

The many faces of violence: A theoretical and statistical comparison of homicides,suicides, and motor vehicle fatalities

Homicide as a form of lethal violence has occupied a dominant place in criminological research over several decades. Researchers have explained the causes of homicide from various theoretical frameworks. Two other forms of lethal violence, namely suicide and motor vehicle fatalities, have been largely ignored. This study explores the trends in three forms of violent deaths namely, homicide, suicide, and motor vehicle fatalities in Phoenix, Arizona for the period 1950–1988. These three forms of violence have been tested from two dominant theoretical perspectives, namely social disorganization and social conflict. The findings from our study suggest that the social conditions which influence homicide are the same as those that influence other forms of lethal violence.     

Party System Compactness: Measurement and Consequences

Jonathan Nagler Department of Politics, New York University, 726 Broadway, Room 752, New York, NY 10003 e-mail: jonathan.nagler{at}nyu.edu An important property of any party system is the set of choicesit presents to the electorate. In this paper we analyze thedistribution of parties relative to voters in the multidimensionalissue space and introduce two measures of the dispersion ofthe parties in the issue space relative to the voters, whichwe call measures of the compactness of the parties in the issuespace. We show how compactness is easily computed using standardsurvey items found on national election surveys. Because westudy the spacing of the parties relative to the distributionof the voters, we produce metric-free measures of compactnessof the party system. The measures can be used to compare partysystems across issues, over time within countries, and acrosscountries. Comparing the compactness of party systems acrosscountries allows us to determine the relative amount of issuechoice afforded voters in different polities. We examine thecompactness of the issue space and test the impact it has onvoter choice in four countries: the United States, the Netherlands,Canada, and Great Britain. We demonstrate that the more compactthe distribution of the parties in the issue space on any givenissue, the less voters weight that issue in their vote decision.Thus we provide evidence supporting theories suggesting thatthe greater the choice offered by the parties in an election,the more likely it is that issue voting will play a major rolein that election.