Blunt force injury of the abdomen complicating previously undiagnosed peliosis hepatis in a 2-year-old female

Peliosis hepatis is an abnormal accumulation of blood-filled lakes in the liver that is most commonly seen in adults and is generally associated with chronic wasting diseases, use of androgenic steroids or bacterial infection. Few cases have been reported in children. We report a case of a 2-year-old female with no past medical history who presented with homicidal blunt force abdominal injury. The autopsy revealed lacerations in the liver and previously undiagnosed peliosis hepatis.     

The effects of statutory change on the civil commitment of the mentally ill

Several states have revised their civil commitment statutes in recent years. A majority of the recent revisions reflect judicial directives to provide more explicit commitment criteria, but in some instances, criteria have been broadened in reaction to the difficulty of getting some individuals hospitalized under strict criteria. Such statutory changes have impacted considerably on both process and outcome of the civil commitment system. Adoption of explicit commitment criteria has resulted most visibly in substantial reduction of hospital admissions and census. The present study examines the impact of explicit changes in commitment criteria in Florida following the 1982 enactment of amendments to the Baker Act. A total of 80 commitment hearings are reviewed before and after the law took effect to determine procedural effects of the law on degree of defense counsel advocacy, client dispositions, and on the court's adherence to more explicit criteria. State hospital admissions, discharge, and census information is examined in order to identify the larger impact of 1982 statutory changes on the commitment system. Evidence from hearings and state data suggests that changes in the Florida law impacted significantly on both process and outcome of the civil commitment system. Clients referred to commitment hearings are more dangerous, and may represent a new hard-core group remaining after more explicit eligibility criteria are applied by local intake, and emergency detention facilities. State hospital admissions and census in Florida declined significantly following enactment of the 1982 law, consistent with findings from other states enacting similar statutory reforms. Implications for deinstitutionalization policy and administration are discussed.     

Repression and incitement: A critical demographic,feminist, and transnational analysis of birth control in Estonia, 1920–1939

This article addresses the role of inheritance in the economic well-being of widows in early modern urban Holland. It discusses marital property law and inheritance law, as well as inheritance practices, by analysing marriage contracts and wills. The egalitarian distribution of property and the strong commitment to the nuclear family embedded in law was strengthened by wills. Widows benefited from these tendencies. A comparison with English law points to the strong position of Dutch widows. The legal system enabled widows to continue the household after the death of their spouses and in this respect their situation was remarkably similar to that of widowers.