Death by sewer gas: case report of a double fatality and review of the literature

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the toxic gas associated with the smell of "rotten eggs," is an important cause of work-related sudden death. The gas is particularly insidious due to the unpredictability of its presence and concentration and its neurotoxicity at relatively low concentrations, causing olfactory nerve paralysis and loss of the warning odor. We report a double fatality involving 2 surveyors working near a man-hole, who fell into the sewer and died due to sudden exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas. Key historical, physical, and toxicologic findings are described. Additionally, we present a discussion of the clinical presentations and differential diagnosis, mechanism of injury, metabolism and toxicology, incidence, and scene and safety concerns in fatal hydrogen sulfide exposures.     

The evolution of methods for estimating the time of death from body temperature

A chronological survey is offered of the development of concepts and techniques to use body temperature in the estimation of time since death. For a century and a half, this method has been investigated, though accuracy still cannot be claimed, especially in operational conditions.     

The application of eight reported temperature-based algorithms to calculate the postmortem interval.

There exist numerous temperature-based techniques to calculate the early postmortem interval of human corpses. This paper presents eight commonly used time of death algorithms and describes how they were applied to eight corpses.     

Students of nationalism

Really Existing Nationalisms: A Post‐Communist View from Marx and Engels. By ERICA BENNER. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp.ix + 266, biblio, index. £30. ISBN 0–19–827959–0.

Nationalism in Europe Past and Present (2 vols.). Edited by JUSTO G. BERAMENDI, RAMÓN MÁIZ and XOSÉ M. NÚÑEZ. Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 1994. Pp.751 + 661. NP. ISBN 84–8121–195–8 (vol. 1) and ‐196–6 (vol. 2).

Nationhood and Political Theory. By MARGARET CANOVAN. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1996. Pp.vii + 159, biblio, index. £39.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85278–852–6.

Contemporary Crisis of the Nation State? Edited by JOHN DUNN. Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1995. £14.99 (paper). ISBN 0–631–19263–8.

The Future of the Nation State in Europe. Edited by JYRKI IIVONEN. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1993. Pp.ix + 252, index. £39.95 (cloth). ISBN 1–85278–740–6.

Nationalism and Nationalities in the New Europe. Edited by CHARLES A. KUPCHAN. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1995. Pp.xi + 224. £31.50 (cloth); £11.95 (paper). ISBN 0–8014–8276–3.

The God of Modernity: The Development of Nationalism in Western Europe. By JOSEP LLOBERA. Oxford and Providence, RI: Berg, 1994. Pp.xiv + 229, index. £39.95 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 0–85496–921–7 and ‐940–3.

Crossfires: Nationalism, Racism and Gender in Europe. Edited by HELMA LUTZ, ANN PHOENIX and NIRA YUVAL‐DAVIS. London and East Haven, CT: Pluto Press, 1995. Pp. xi + 196, index. £45 (cloth); £14.95 (paper). ISBN 0–7453–0994–1 and ‐0995‐X.

On Nationality. By DAVID MILLER. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp.viii + 210, biblio, index. £19.99. ISBN 0–19–828047–5.

Notions of Nationalism. Edited by SUKUMAR PERIWAL. Budapest, London and New York: Central European University Press, 1995. Pp.x + 247, index. £35 (cloth); £12.99 (paper). ISBN 1–85866–021–1 and ‐022‐X.

Republics, Nations and Tribes. By MARTIN THOM. London and New York: Verso, 1995. Pp.vii + 359, index. £44.95 (cloth); £15.95 (paper). ISBN 1–85984–920–2 and ‐020–5.

For Love of Country: An Essay on Patriotism and Nationalism. By MAURIZIO VIROLI. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. Pp.206, biblio, index. £22.50 (cloth). ISBN 0–19–827952–3.

Nationalism in Europe, 1815 to the Present: A Reader. Edited by STUART WOOLF. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. Pp.215, index. £35 (cloth); £10.99 (paper). ISBN 0–415–12563–4 and ‐12564–2.