Mitral valve prolapse syndrome as cause of sudden death in young adults

Mitral valve prolapse syndrome (MVPS) is a relatively common disorder of the mitral valve and most cases take a benign clinical course. Only a subset of patients develop severe clinical symptoms such as arrhythmia, insufficiency of the mitral valve or infective endocarditis. As a consequence, sudden death might occur in these patients, thought to be caused by an arrhythmogenic event. By presenting six cases of sudden unexpected death in young female adults, we point at clinical and pathological data from the literature, which are of interest from the viewpoint of legal medicine. The incidence of MVPS in autopsy series has been reported to be about 4-5%, while clinical data hint at an incidence of about 2.5%. The presented cases suggest that even clinically benign cases of MVPS in young adults might result in sudden unexpected death. Such cases are not included in hospital based studies on the topic. This might lead to an underestimation of the fatal risk associated with the disease, even if sudden death might be a rare event in MVPS.     

Computed tomography as routine in connection with medico-legal autopsies

CT-scanning as routine examination before medico-legal autopsy was introduced at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2002. The present series comprises of 525 medico-legal examinations performed in the year 2003. The purpose is to determine the value of CT-scanning prior to the post-mortem examination. All findings, CT- as well as patho-anatomic findings - more than 4000 - were registered in a database. To increase the clearness, the findings are divided in accordance to regions such as head, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, extremities and vessels and the CT-findings are compared to the patho-anatomic findings, with the purpose to estimate the advantages and disadvantages with the two types of examination. The preliminary results show, that the CT-scanner is superior when it comes to detection of extremity fractures. The scanner has ability in detecting hemorrhages and hematomas, especially, intracranial.     

Another Weber: state,associations and domination in international relations

While there has arguably been a partial reception of Weber in international relations (IR), we argue here that his ideas have either been misunderstood or neglected. In order to highlight the most valuable Weberian insights, we focus on two topics of crucial importance to IR. First, in our view, Weber's crucial contribution to the study of states is not his alleged emphasis on the monopoly of violence but his concern with the problem of legitimacy, which is the key to understanding why individuals actually orient an action according to their beliefs in the idea of a state. Second, Weber conducted seminal historical investigations on religion, the rationalization of economic ethics, and organizations that show that the diffusion of isomorphism has little to do with supposedly uninterested and persuasive scientific and professional associations. Instead, more attention should be paid to rational domination and less to reified concepts such as John Meyer's ‘rationalized otherhood’. These arguments are also examined empirically.     

Flexible Adjustment and Political Stability: The Terms of the Debate

Flexibility is a prominent catchword in recent economic and political debate. The need for increased flexibility in various areas of society is generally accepted. The article presents and criticizes the terms of this debate. As part of the general neoliberal trend flexibility is often perceived as a purely desirable quality. Less state, less unions and flexibilization by means of greater reliance upon markets are the policies that are proposed to overcome the crisis of the Western industrialized countries. However, flexible adaptation requires a foundation of stable institutions and behaviour patterns. Japan today represents one successful combination of flexibility and stability. Scandinavia - and other small European countries - have been attributed other successful combinations. Here, political stability seems to arise from a big state and an extended corporatist system and, according to Katzenstein, this does not contradict, but rather reinforces, the capacity for economic flexibility. Recent developmental trends, however, challenge this interpretation. The recent structural changes have been considered part of a general transition from Fordism to post-Fordism. The international race to modernize or to implement post-Fordism might imply a new 'match' of techno-economic structures and sociopolitical institutions - also in the Scandinavian countries.     

The great financial crisis and the end of normal

In his book The End of Normal, James K. Galbraith turned to the causes of the Great Financial Crisis beginning in 2007. The central question was if the (supposed) pre-crisis normality of high growth rates could be reestablished – which Galbraith, from the perspective of a “biophysical analytical framework” and with view to the structural problems of high energy prices, geopolitical instability, technological change and the faulty design of the financial system, doubted. In the present paper, Galbraith reconsiders his central theses and explains why he holds on to them in spite of recent economic recovery and other developments like falling oil prices, and what, from his point of view, speaks against a return to a “new normal.” In addition, he discusses what political implications follow from his diagnosis. Klaus Dörre introduces Galbraith’s approach and underlines its relevance for the thematic context of capitalism, growth and democracy. For Dörre, Galbraith shows that “post-growth capitalisms” have, at least in the societies of the Global North, long become a reality – which is why it makes little sense to reserve the concept of “post-growth society” for utopic visions of the future, yet all the more to engage with Galbraith’s call for policies suited to an economy of slow growth.