Image-guided virtual autopsy findings of gunshot victims performed with multi-slice computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging and subsequent correlation between radiology and autopsy findings

Because the use of radiology in modern forensic medicine has been, until today, mostly restricted to conventional X-rays, which reduces a 3D body to a 2D projection, a detailed 3D documentation of a gunshot's wound ballistic effects was not possible. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether the progress in imaging techniques over the last years has made it possible to establish an observer-independent and reproducible forensic assessment using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies for the documentation and analysis of gunshot wounds. The bodies of eight gunshot victims were scanned by MSCT and by MRI; the data of these imaging techniques were post-processed on a workstation, interpreted and subsequently correlated with the findings of classical autopsy. With the spiral CT and MRI examinations and the subsequent 2D multi-planar reformation (MPR) and 3D shaded surface display (SSD) reconstruction, the entire gunshot-created complex skull fractures and brain injuries (such as wound channels and deeply-driven bone splinters) could be documented in complete and graphic detail. CT and MRI also documented vital reaction to the gunshot by demonstrating air emboli in the heart and blood vessels and the classic pattern of blood aspiration to the lung. Gunshot residues deposited within and under the skin were visible. In conclusion, we think that the radiological methods of MSCT and MRI have the potential to become a routine "virtual autopsy" tool in the future. Bullets and relevant histological samples from specific sites then might be won in image-guided minimally invasive fashion via percutaneous biopsy. The rapid application of developing radiological methods may lead to new horizons in forensic documentation and intravital as well as postmortem examination.     

Generalisierung von Beschäftigungsrisiken oder anhaltende Arbeitsmarktsegmentation?

The article inquires whether segmentation concepts might shed a new light on the debates about the generalization of employment risks in Germany and develops the concept of firm employment sub-systems. The result of our empirical analyses is that the German labour market structure is shifting from a hegemony of Internal Labour Markets to a tense and instable co-existence of Internal and External markets, with East Germany having taken the lead. There is neither a generalisation of risks nor a stable division of employment. We rather observe dynamic segmentation with shifts between Internal and External Markets and endogenous transformations within segments.     

Voters AS A Hard Budget Constraint: On the Determination of Intergovernmental Grants

Recent empirical literature has shown that the determination of intergovernmental grants is highly influenced by the political bargaining power of the recipient states. In these models federal politicians are assumed to buy the support of state voters, state politicians and state interest groups by providing grants. In this paper we provide evidence that the fiscal referendum reduces the reliance of states on matching grants received from the central government and thus the possibility of interest groups and state bureaucrats to obtain more grants. If referendums are available, voters serve as a hard budget constraint.     

Employment service: Public or private?

This paper deals with the relative performance of private and public employment services. For this purpose, two behavioral models are developed which take into account that private and and public employment agents not only pursue different aims but also face different restrictions, in particular since a public employment agency lacks the right to reject applicants. While analysis of the necessary optimality conditions yields tentative conclusions about the advantages and disadvantages of both types of employment service, empirically testable hypotheses result from the predicted responses to increases in unemployment and in the cost of service, respectively. These predicted behaviors are likely to be considered unfair by society, causing dissatisfaction with both private and public employment agencies.     

When citizen deliberation enters real politics: how politicians and stakeholders envision the place of a deliberative mini-public in political decision-making

Policy Sciences - In the wake of the increasing use of deliberative citizen assemblies in the public sphere, this article studies how traditional policy actors receive a mini-public as...     

Good governance and multidimensional poverty: A comparative analysis of 71 countries

In 2015, the international community committed to “reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions.” According to international development agencies, good governance is crucial to achieving this. We examine the relationship between good governance and multidimensional poverty using hierarchical models and survey data for 71 countries. Our results suggest there is a direct effect of good governance on multidimensional poverty and that good governance is associated with reduced horizontal inequalities. However, we find evidence of a beneficial effect of good governance for middle‐income countries but not for low‐income countries. Thus, while our results suggest that good governance can play a role in reducing multidimensional poverty, they also suggest that governance reforms alone might not yield the desired effect for all countries.     

Metabolism and toxicological detection of the designer drug N-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)-3-methoxypropanamine (PCMPA) in rat urine using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Studies on the metabolism and the toxicological detection of the phencyclidine-derived designer drug N-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)-3-methoxypropanamine (PCMPA) in rat urine are described using gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) techniques. Based on the identified metabolites, the following metabolic pathways could be postulated: N-dealkylation, O-demethylation partially followed by oxidation of the resulting alcohol to the corresponding carboxylic acid, hydroxylation of the cyclohexyl ring at different positions, and aromatic hydroxylation. The formed metabolites were identical to those of the homologue N-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)-3-ethoxypropanamine (PCEPA) with exception of the mono hydroxyl metabolites of PCEPA. All PCMPA metabolites were partially excreted in conjugated form. An intake of a common drug users' dose of PCMPA could be detected in rat urine by the authors' systematic toxicological analysis (STA) procedure using full-scan GC-MS after acid hydrolysis, liquid-liquid extraction and microwave-assisted acetylation. The STA should be suitable for proof of an intake of PCMPA also in human urine assuming similar metabolism.     

Zu den Pflichten des Immobilienverwalters bei rechtsgeschäftlicher Beendigung des Verwaltungsverhältnisses

Im Zusammenhang mit der Beendigung des Verwaltungsverh?ltnisses und der damit einhergehenden Notwendigkeit einer Verwaltungsübergabe stellt sich eine Reihe rechtlicher Fragen, deren Beantwortung sich nicht ohne weiteres aus den Bestimmungen des ABGB über den Bevollm?chtigungsvertrag bzw aus den speziellen Verwaltungsbestimmungen des WEG erschlie?t. Angesichts der in der Praxis im Zuge der Verwaltungsübergabe doch sehr h?ufigen – weder dem Interesse der Auftraggeber noch dem Ansehen des Berufsstandes des Immobilienverwalters f?rderlichen – Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den beteiligten Personen (Liegenschaftseigentümer bzw Eigentümergemeinschaft, übergebender Verwalter, übernehmender Verwalter), die bisweilen vor dem Hintergrund diffuser Rechtsmeinungen geführt werden, ist eine n?here Untersuchung1) des für die "Verwaltungsübergabe" relevanten rechtlichen Rahmens durchaus angebracht.     

Legislative bargaining with costly communication

We investigate the effects of voting rules on delay in a multilateral bargaining experiment with costly communication. Our design is based on a variant of the Baron–Ferejohn framework. Communication takes place after a proposer is selected and before a proposal is made. In contrast to prior experiments, communication is directly associated with costs in our setup. Specifically, every second of communication increases the probability that the game is terminated before a proposal can be made. In case of ‘breakdown’, each player receives an exogenously fixed disagreement value. Those values sum up to less than the amount of the available surplus, implying that delay owing to communication is costly. We vary the decision rule (majority versus unanimity) as well as the distribution of disagreement values (symmetric or asymmetric). We find that unanimity rule leads to longer communication delays and more frequent breakdowns in asymmetric, but not in symmetric situations.