Forensic medicine and clinical research

After a review of the development of ethics committees, their relationship to forensic medicine as a university subject is illustrated. This is followed by a discussion on the structure, competence and efficiency of ethics committees on the faculties of medicine, taking into account the specific aims of internal pharmacological research projects and particularly risky operations taking place on humans for the first time.     

Identification of blood stains and fetal tissue using genetic fingerprinting

Two cases from practical forensic serological investigations which could not be clarified by means of conventional serological methods, but could be resolved on the basis of the DNA finger print technique with oligonucleotide probes are presented. Both the comparison of the identity of the blood sample which had been stored for a long time and the determination of paternity in fetal material in a case of incest demonstrate the enormous possibilities of this method. However, some problems which still have not been resolved at least at present with regard to the evaluation and appraisal of the band patterns are also discussed.     

The influence of loss of blood and alcohol intoxication on early vital wound reactions (author's transl)]

The influence of loss of blood and alcohol intoxication on wound reactions in the first 12 hours after incisions into the skin of the back of guinea pigs was examined. As the most important result we found differences in the cellular and zymohistochemical reactions: while begin and progression of the dermal leucocytosis were not influenced, the parallel running activation of different structure bound enzymes was significantly delayed and decreased. Considering the first result and the haematogenous origin of the leucocytes there is reason to believe that in the hierarchy of the biological control circuit-at least in guinea pigs-the local reflex hyperaemia of the wound area certainly is primary to the dermal vasoconstriction during collapse. The animals with haemorrhagic shock showed a retardation in the liberation of histamine and serotonin. This decrease of the local mediators of the stromae dissociation is considered the reason of the impaired initial enzyme activities in the mesenchymal tissue.     

Local Government Tax Policy: Measuring the Efficiency of New York City's Tax Mix, FYs 1984-1998

This article applies the Markowitz portfolio model to New York City's tax mix to determine whether it is 'mix-efficient,' in the sense that the portfolio minimizes volatility for given levels of growth. The results indicate that New York City's tax-revenue portfolio is very close to being mix-efficient. The analysis also extends the Markowitz portfolio model to consider the impact on growth and volatility of adopting a tax-equity constraint.     

The private security complex and its regulation in Africa: select examples from the continent

ABSTRACT

This article aims to provide an overview of the primary trends and developments of the domestic private security industry in select countries in Africa, while also further reflecting on a selection of operational challenges and obstacles inherent to the industry and its regulation. In particular, field research was conducted in Uganda to explore the nature of the state ownership of private security companies so as to further highlight the regulatory difficulties. Our findings raise a number of questions pertaining to the theorising of private security regulation answers of which, we conclude, may find utility in drawing on the concept of “hybridity” as an alternative heuristic tool to engage with the realities of state regulation in the Global South.     

Taking sides: Gender and third‐party partisanship in disputes

We examine the role of a norm protecting women in understanding third‐party partisanship in verbal and violent disputes. Our analyses are based on reports provided by male inmates and men they know who have never been arrested. The results show that third parties are more likely to support female adversaries than male adversaries. The gender effect is stronger when we control for the relational distance between adversaries, which indicates that a privacy norm might inhibit this normative protection. The gender effect is somewhat weaker when we control for the relative physical size of the adversaries, which indicates that a general norm protecting vulnerable people partly explains the gender effect. The strong gender effect that remains, however, demonstrates the importance of the normative protection of women, regardless of relative size, during disputes. The results have implications for research on situational factors in violence and violence against women.     

The role of emotional abuse in physically abusive relationships

Two hundred thirty four women were interviewed to assess the relationship of emotional abuse to physical abuse. Six major types of emotional abuse were identified. Analyses determined if the types of emotional abuse were related to the frequency and severity of physical abuse. Women in long-term abusive relationships were contrasted with women experiencing only short-term abuse. Other comparisons consisted of: women who thought emotional abuse was worse than physical abuse vs. women who thought the opposite; and women who could predict physical abuse from the emotional abuse were compared with those who could not. The extent to which the women believed the men's threats and ridicule or thought their abusive behavior was justified was used as a factor to determine the impact of emotional abuse. Future research should investigate emotional abuse patterns in nonbattering relationships for comparison with battered women's experiences.     

Distribution of cimetidine in postmortem tissues

The postabsorptive distribution of cimetidine is described. Assays by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of postmortem samples of cerebrospinal fluid, serum, and solid tissues were used to determine pharmacokinetic parameters as well as mean tissue: serum concentration (T:S) ratios in seven patients with renal and liver dysfunction. Correlations were calculated between the T:S ratio and the volume of distribution, and between the T:S concentration ratio and the time of sampling after death. The highest T:S ratios occurred in the eliminating organs, the liver and kidneys, and the lowest in fat. As the time of autopsy increased after death, the T:S ratios decreased.     

The reaction of lung mast cells to acute barbiturate and bromureide poisoning (author's transl)]

Guinea pigs were poisoned by large oral doses of hypnotics in order to study the effect of bromureides on the mast cell contents of the lungs in comparison to the influence of barbiturate intoxication. The dose of the hypnotics chosen was thus, that all animals died within the first three hours after the beginning of feeding. Then the degranulation of mast cells with decrease of the mast cell number in the lung tissue was merely small in the barbiturate poisoned animals, but very extensive in the animals intoxicated by bromureides. The difference is highly significant. The possible influence of this effect upon the different clinical course of both kinds of intoxication is discussed.