Fatal aortic injury during laparoscopy: report of two cases

The authors report the cases of two young women who died of massive hemorrhage resulting from trocar aortic injuries during abdominal laparoscopy. In the first case, wherein the patient underwent laparoscopy for cecopexy, the forensic autopsy showed a through-and-through perforation of the abdominal aorta and of the ileum. The other woman, who had morbid obesity, underwent a laparoscopy for gastroplasty. In this second case, the main postmortem findings were stab wounds of the thoracic aorta and of the diaphragm.     

How economic crises affect political representation: declining party‒voter congruence in times of constrained government

How do economic crises affect political representation in times of constrained government? Our paper shows that among voters salience of economic issues increases during economically harsh times. However, parties respond only to a limited degree to economic shocks, with the result that congruence between parties and voters decreases. We theorise the incentives and disincentives different political parties have in choosing a saliency strategy and we provide evidence on the extent to which congruence depends on the severity of economic shocks and the government/opposition status of the party. We draw on cross-national data to measure issue salience for parties (CMP) and voters (CSES). While our findings clearly indicate a decline of congruence in times of economic crisis, we also find that it remains best for government and office-seeking opposition parties. We substantiate this finding by unpacking the ways in which incumbent and office-seeking opposition parties address the economy in their manifestos.     

Perceived Dimensions of Parenting and Non-suicidal Self-injury in Young Adults

Family experiences are influential in the development of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). The current study aimed to identify specific dimensions underlying early parent–child relationships in association with NSSI. It was hypothesized that all relationship dimensions would be related with NSSI, with some dimensions being stronger predictors when accounting for shared variance. Gender differences were also assessed. Participants were grouped according to the endorsement of NSSI in the past 6 months, resulting in a Non-NSSI group (n = 1133) and a NSSI group (n = 105). Significant differences were found for the relationship dimensions between the two groups. When shared variance was accounted for, fear and alienation were the only dimensions predicting NSSI. Similar results were found for females (n = 887), while no analyses using males (n = 351) were significant. These results emphasize the need to acknowledge the role of parent–child relationships in prevention programs and intervention models for NSSI.     

Islands and Undesirables: Introduction to the Special Issue on Irregular Migration in Southern European Islands

This introduction presents the challenges to studying irregular migration in the southern European islands. After presenting the debates surrounding the category of irregular migration and recent developments in irregular migration to southern European islands, we argue that the situation of islands needs to be contextualized within the broader scheme of Euro-Mediterranean irregular migration. We then propose considering islands as remarkable “places of condensation” in the Euro-Mediterranean migratory setting. The article introduces two themes that will be developed throughout the special issue: (1) analyzing and challenging narratives of islandness and (2) policing and bordering the islands.     

Advisory bodies and morality policies: does ethical expertise matter?

Policy Sciences - Governments and parliaments struggle to design biomedical policies: while research and practice make rapid progress, they often trigger value conflicts. One response involves...     

Detection of amitriptyline, citalopram, and metabolites in porcine bones following extended outdoor decomposition

Skeletal remains of a domestic pig were assessed for relative distribution of amitriptyline, citalopram, and metabolites. Following acute exposure and outdoor decomposition for 2 years, drugs and metabolites were analyzed in 13 different bones. Bones were pulverized following a simple wash procedure, and drugs were extracted by passive incubation in methanol, followed by solid-phase extraction. Samples were analyzed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) and confirmed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The Kruskall-Wallis test showed that bone type was a main effect with respect to drug level for all analytes, with levels varying from 33- to 166-fold. Ratios of levels of drug to that of the corresponding metabolite were less variable, varying roughly one- to eightfold. This suggests limitations in the interpretive value of drug measurements in bone and that relative levels of drug and metabolites should be further investigated in terms of forensic value.