The Zeebrugge ferry disaster

On Friday 6 March, 1987, at approximately 19:30 the Herald of Free Enterprise ferry boat capsized just outside the Belgian harbour of Zeebrugge. Almost 200 people died as the ship sank very quickly. This article examines the emergency operations that followed the disaster from the perspective of information and communication dynamics. Five specific aspects are thus analyzed in greater detail and elements of an alternative scenario are suggested for each of them: the initial alert and the subsequent mobilization of the emergency services; the informationhandling performance of the crisis center; interorganizational communication between disasterrelief agencies; external communication to survivors, families and next of kin; the management of the mass media. It is concluded that, when examining the crisis management operations more closely, the alleged success of Belgian disaster relief operations at Zeebrugge appears in many respects something of a myth.The paper is commented on by John P. Heck, Head of Civil Defense at the Dutch Ministry of the Interior.     

The cost price of expertise as an objective index of the work-share coefficient of the forensic medical expert]

The author suggests a method for estimating the net cost of a forensic medical expert investigation, consisting in calculation of an objective real coefficient of the ratio of various expert investigations to the reference value. The ratio between forensic medical investigation budget and the total number of these investigations forms the basis for the estimation of the net cost of an expert evaluation.     

Report of a European collaborative exercise comparing DNA typing results using a single locus VNTR probe

A collaborative exercise was carried out in 1989 among 12 European forensic laboratories using the single locus VNTR probe pYNH24, the restriction enzyme HinfI, the same set of human genomic DNA samples, and a standardized DNA size marker. The objectives of the exercise were: (1) to study the degree of variation within and between laboratories, (2) to obtain information on requirements for technical standardization allowing the exchange of typing results and (3) to compare different approaches for the identification of allelic DNA fragments of unknown size. Each laboratory carried out up to 10 independent typing experiments using the same DNA samples. The results were analysed independently by two laboratories using three different methods. The results of the exercise demonstrate the correlation of typing that can be achieved within and between laboratories under conditions of minimal standardization.     

The polymerase chain reaction and post-mortem forensic identity testing: application of amplified D1S80 and HLA-DQ alpha loci to the identification of fire victims.

The application of DNA typing methods after amplification by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of DNA derived from body tissues from charred fire victims was investigated. A total of 26 different tissue specimens from ten extensively burned individuals were analyzed. The samples included femoral muscle, psoas muscle, bone marrow and blood. The post-mortem period varied from 38 to 183 h. After amplifying the DNA by PCR from the various tissues, the D1S80 locus was analyzed with a high resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique followed by silver staining and the alleles of the HLA-DQ alpha locus were detected by using a reverse dot blot format. All samples could be typed for both loci and the genotypes were consistent in the various tissues from each individual. A parentage test was performed in two cases and Mendelian inheritance of the alleles for both loci was observed.     

The characteristics of injuries to the thoracic spine in children with a forward flexion

Excessive flexure of the thoracic spine in childhood may result in latent lesions of the middle thoracic vertebra and intervertebral disks visible by X-ray and on sagittal cuts. The prior deformation may be judged by their morphological signs. Ability of infantile vertebral bodies to recover their form after load removal reduces reliability of mathematical processing of X-ray data. Use of X-ray method for examination of thoracic spine in expert practical work makes it possible to detect lesions and mechanism of their formation.     

关于福建省苯丙胺类毒品犯罪情况的调查报告

国际反毒专家预测 :苯丙胺类毒品将是二十一世纪全世界范围内滥用最为广泛的毒品。福建省苯丙胺类毒品犯罪的特点 :1、呈现区域化特征 ;2、境内外毒贩勾结 ,团伙犯罪突出 ;3、摇头丸走私入境 ,出现了摇头丸的制造。呈上升趋势的原因 ;1、国际非法市场需求量增加 ;2、地理位置、人文因素 ;3、禁毒经费紧缺 ,力量薄弱 ;4、破案方法简单。     

Myocardial dysplasia of the right ventricle (Uhl's anomaly) as a possible cause of sudden, unexpected death

Partial absence and fatty replacement of the myocardial compacta of the right ventricular wall was observed in five young male adults, four of whom died suddenly and unexpectedly and one in a car accident. In one of these cases there was only one coronary orifice. Four cases of the so-called Uhl anomaly had histological findings indicating dysmorphic myocardial cells associated with minimal lymphohistiocytic infiltrates within the fatty tissue. In one case, chronic destructive inflammation was a prominent feature. Marked dysmorphic alterations in the myocardial fibers suggested the occurrence of arrhythmic episodes as the main cause of sudden heart failure and death.     

GATS Article XVI and national regulatory sovereignty: what lessons to draw from US—Gambling?

The article examines the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body's ruling in US—Gambling that United States (US) prohibitions on the foreign supply of gambling and betting services via the internet to consumers in the US violated US market access commitments under Article XVI of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The article reviews the main arguments criticising the decision and suggests that these views are (i) misguided because they rely excessively on a textual approach to interpreting Article XVI market access commitments, and (ii) lead to results that do not conform with the common intentions of the negotiating parties. The article argues for an approach that relies primarily on examining the facts of each case and the context in which WTO Members' commitments are negotiated. This approach also emphasises the importance of WTO Members making clear and precise market access commitments. In the author's view, the Appellate Body ruling adds more clarity to how GATS market access commitments will be interpreted in the future and, in doing so, facilitates market access negotiations and the making of additional commitments by WTO Members.