Factitious disorder comorbid with bipolar I disorder. A case report

We describe a case of factitious disorder with physical and psychological symptoms comorbid with bipolar I disorder in a 37-year-old woman. Since the onset of bipolar disorder, which occurred at the age of 31, she increasingly complained of physical symptoms, compulsively seeking medical and surgical interventions. She has been hospitalised several times and her Munchausen-type factitious disorder recently appeared to be developing into Munchausen by proxy, involving her 11-year-old daughter. The patient adhered poorly to stabilising and antipsychotic drug treatment and did not improve through the years. We here analyse her mood phases, which were always associated with changes in the quality of factitious symptoms, according to whether the disorder was in its depressive phase (somatic complaints and suicidal ideation prevail), or in its manic or mixed phase (medical intervention-seeking and manipulation of clinicians to obtain surgical interventions). We also briefly discuss some important forensic issues to consider in similar cases, mainly stemming from the psychotic aspects of these two co-occurring disorders. Clinicians should be aware of some patients' ability to produce signs and symptoms of physical and/or psychological illness and consult psychiatrists before giving consent to invasive diagnostic procedures or surgery.     

Evaluation of the Role of Toxicological Data in Discriminating Between H2S Femoral Blood Concentration Secondary to Lethal poisoning and Endogenous H2S Putrefactive Production

Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas and has a strong odor of rotten eggs. It is absorbed by the upper respiratory tract mucosa, and it causes histotoxic hypoxemia and respiratory depression by exerting an inhibitory effect on cytochrome oxidase. To evaluate the role of toxicological data in distinguishing between the H₂S blood concentration secondary to lethal poisoning and the endogenous H₂S produced during putrefaction, we compared the postmortem H₂S concentrations of six fatal H₂S poisoning cases (8.7–28.6 mg/L) with the postmortem concentrations of endogenous H₂S of 12 subjects who died from other causes (traffic‐related deaths) (2.2–32.7 mg/L). These results will be of interest to the forensic community as it underlines the importance of considering circumstantial evidence along with the toxicological and pathological findings in the identification of H₂S lethal poisoning.     

Platforms,media and voters

Abstract The paper presents data on party platforms, political communication and public opinion in the 1996 Italian election campaign. It is shown that the electoral platforms of the two major coalitions were largely overlapping, except for some economic and social issues. The centre–right coalition seemed more inclined to adopt pro–market policies, while the platform of the Ulivo coalition was more oriented toward a social partnership approach. In the month before the elections, policy issues were discussed on television more extensively than political issues. Public and private networks covered the 1996 election campaign at the same level as in 1994 and to some extent with the same bias. Voting intentions seem to have remained stable prior to and during the electoral campaign.     

Analysis of 13 tetrameric short tandem repeat loci in a population of Tuscany (Central Italy) performed by means of an automated infrared sequencer

Allele frequencies for the 13 STRs of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) core were obtained from a sample of 188 unrelated individuals living in the area of Florence, Prato and Pistoia (Tuscany, Central Italy).     

Evaluation of three rapid detection methods for the forensic identification of seminal fluid in rape cases

We sought to discover whether spermatozoa concentration and the delay between ejaculation and test influence the results of seminal fluid fast detection tests. Two hundred and twenty-seven anonymous samples divided into four groups (normospermia, oligospermia, azoospermia, and controls) after a semen analysis were subjected to three fast detection semen tests: Diff-Quick fast coloration, Phosphatesmo Km Paper for acid phosphatases (AP) detection, and PSA-Check 1 for prostate specific antigen (PSA) detection. The study was performed at three time points (0, 48, and 72 h). Unlike cytology, results obtained with AP and PSA were not influenced by spermatozoa concentration. PSA detection results remained constant up to 72 h and were more reliable after 48 h than those obtained by AP detection.     

Security relations in the Black Sea region: Russia and the West after the Ukrainian crisis

The Ukrainian conflict – as all post-Soviet conflicts – has three interrelated dimensions – global, regional and local – with deep implications for international security including the Black Sea region. The strategic interdependence between Russiaand West during the last decade became not only anaemic but antagonistic. The regional implications of that can be compared to the boomerang effect: problems at the strategic level affect the regional level and return to the originators. Generally speaking, Commonwealth of Independent States conflicts can be viewed as the product of the Soviet legacy and the patchy collapse of the USSR as well as the ill-conceived policies and mistakes of the involved parties, Russia and external actors – USA, NATO and EU.     

Do the Ladies Run This Mutha? The Relationship between Political Rap and Black Feminist Attitudes

Music has been thought of as an art form that expresses ideas and sentiments of the artist. This article examines the relationship between political and non-political rap and Black feminist attitudes. This study includes data from original experiments conducted at Benedict College; a historically Black college in Columbia, SC, where Black males and females were exposed to various genres of music and their support of Black feminist attitudes were measured. Blacks exposed to political rap display increased support of Black feminist attitudes compared to those exposed to non-political rap and the control group, subjects who were not exposed to any form of music. Our research finds that those exposed to non-political rap have less affinity for Black feminist attitudes than those in any other group. This research is important to political science because it furthers our knowledge about public opinion and political attitudes. Specifically, this article demonstrates that non-traditional media forms also have an impact on political attitudes. Specifically, exposure to political rap has a significantly positive impact on the agreement with Black feminist attitudes when compared to exposure to non-political rap. Therefore, not all subgenres of rap music are consistently harmful to Black feminist attitudes and attitudes toward women.