Fighting with one hand tied behind the back: political budget cycles in the West German states

Theories of political budget cycles have been contested because scholars find that incumbents can manipulate deficits in the pre-election period only if fiscal transparency is low. I argue that these findings do not generally rule out the possibility of fiscal electioneering. Governments may increase spending on highly visible policies. The composition of the budget serves as a second-best strategy. It increases political support without straining the budget balance. An empirical analysis of the West German states reveals alternative electoral budget strategies and ultimately point to the importance of analyzing how governments choose between alternative fiscal instruments.     

Delayed death in sudden infant death syndrome: a San Diego SIDS/SUDC Research Project 15-year population-based report

A fraction of SIDS cases have death delayed by successful CPR, yet they have not been compared to SIDS cases which were found dead or not successfully resuscitated. Our aims were to: (1) determine the percent of SIDS cases in the San Diego SIDS Research Project database for whom death was delayed by CPR and subsequent life support; (2) compare demographics, circumstances of death and autopsy findings of delayed death SIDS cases (delayed SIDS) with those whose deaths were not delayed (non-delayed SIDS); (3) examine the evolution of pathologic changes in delayed SIDS as a function of survival interval. A retrospective 15-year population-based study of 454 infant deaths attributed to SIDS revealed 29 delayed SIDS cases (Group I) and 425 non-delayed SIDS cases (Group II). Group I cases were significantly older than Group II cases (mean age 132 days vs. 102 days and p<0.0001). Eighty-nine percent of the Group I cases were discovered between 08.00 and 19.59 h; none were found between 00.00 and 07.59 h, compared to 38% of the Group II cases. Group I infants were found significantly more often away from home (at daycare, or at the home of a relative, friend, or baby sitter) than Group II infants (45% vs. 25%, p<0.05). There were no differences between groups with regard to gender, gestational age, type of delivery, bed sharing, URI within 48 h of death, ALTEs, a history of referral to child protective services, body position when placed or found, or face position when found. Pathologic changes were semiquantitatively evaluated; findings were characteristic of anoxic-ischemic injury that generally became more severe with increasing survival intervals. Anoxic-ischemic brain injury was the immediate cause of death in all delayed SIDS cases. Aspiration of gastric contents was identified in Group I cases surviving less than 48 h and was the likely etiology of acute bronchopneumonia occurring in 83% of the Group I cases. We did not identify factors that would reliably predict which SIDS cases might be discovered soon enough to allow earlier and more effective CPR and survival without permanent brain injury.     

Molecular study of time dependent changes in DNA stability in soil buried skeletal residues

Stamp marks are used as a unique identification for a range of items, but these can be erased for criminal activities. Erased marks can sometimes be recovered by etching or magnetic means. The present study looked at the application of Fry's reagent to recover erased marks from steel. The investigation also demonstrated that Fry's reagent can deteriorate on storing and will require a longer etching time. The effect of different applied forces of stamping was investigated, and the depth of the underlying deformation was determined by etching after varying degrees of metal removal. The amount of metal needing to be removed depends on the force applied to the die. Metal removal also affects the time needed for recovery. The underlying structural change remains as a hidden identification mark, and could potentially be used by manufacturers as an unseen identifier. A model for the underlying deformation is proposed.     

Intimate Partner Violence Among Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers

The associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health among adolescent and young adult mothers were compared. The sample was drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and participants were 672 mothers between the ages of 14 and 21. IPV was significantly positively associated with both depression and anxiety among young adult mothers. However, these associations were not found among adolescent mothers. In addition, IPV and marital status were significantly related among young adult mothers, but not adolescent mothers. Results suggest that IPV may have different consequences during different parts of the life course, or that mental health symptoms may be reported only later in life.

The parole hearing: Decision or justification?

A detailed content analysis of tape-recordings of 100 randomly selected California parole hearings revealed that these hearings take the form of short, unstructured diagnostic interviews in which the hearing officers ask questions of the prisoners who respond in a very minimal way. Different patterns of questioning and prisoner response occurred for hearings where the eventual decision was to grant parole as opposed to deny parole, and this decision outcome could be predicted with a high degree of accuracy by discriminant function analyses. In general, the hearing officers made their own psychological assessments of the prisoners, even though they lacked knowledge and training in this diagnostic skill. According to the results of this study, the parole decision-making process appears to be a reliable one, but nevertheless its validity is questionable.