More, Less, or More of the Same? Trends in State Social Welfare Policy in the 1990s

Major reforms to cash assistance and other welfare programsin the 1990s raise questions about whether states gained newflexibility in setting social policies, and, if so, how theyexercised this flexibility. We extend prior research on statesocial policy by examining trends during the middle to late1990s in five areas of cash or near-cash policy affecting theeconomic security of low-income families. We find evidence ofsubstantial change in the generosity and the availability ofthese benefits between 1994 and 1999, along with evidence ofgreater divergence or cross-state variation in policy choices.By considering several forms of assistance simultaneously, wealso find evidence that states constricted traditional welfare-basedassistance while expanding some forms of non-welfare supportfor the working poor.     

Intracoronary Thrombus Formation Following Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Thromboembolic events in the context of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure have been well described in the literature. Six cases of clinically significant coronary thrombosis following CO exposure were previously reported. However, factors affecting the development of coronary thrombus in CO exposure are poorly understood, and the significance of this finding in a forensic context is not clear. This article discusses a case of coronary thrombosis found at autopsy following a death in which CO poisoning was suspected. A 67‐year‐old man was found dead in his garage with four vehicles with their ignition in the “on” position and their tanks empty. At autopsy, severe coronary atherosclerosis and an acute nonocclusive coronary thrombus were found. Given the dissimilarities among cases and the presence of CO exposure, it was suggested that the coronary artery thrombosis is likely due to the inherent prothrombotic mechanism of CO, the only common denominator in all the cases.