Pontomedullary lacerations in unhelmeted motorcyclists and bicyclists: a retrospective autopsy study

ABSTRACT: Pontomedullary lacerations (PMLs) have often been reported in car occupants and pedestrians, are less frequently described in motorcyclists, and are very rarely described in bicyclists. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of brainstem PMLs among fatally injured motorcyclists and bicyclists as well as the frequency of concomitant cranial, facial, and cervical spine injuries in such cases. A possible underlying mechanism of PML in fatally injured motorcyclists and bicyclists might thus be established. Of 443 cases of fatally injured motorcyclists and bicyclists, a sample of 381 cases of fatally injured motorcyclists and bicyclists with head injury of Abbreviated Injury Scale score of 3 or greater was formed and further analyzed. This group was composed of 345 men and 36 women. The average age was 48.8 ± 20.8 years (range, 15-99 years). In the analyzed sample group, there were 158 motorcyclists and 223 bicyclists. Partial PMLs were present in 44 cases (12%) within the sample of 381 head injuries, which breaks down to 40 men and 4 women. In our study, the impact area on the head and the specific skull base fracture type were good predictors of either PML occurrence or absence (B = -2.036, Wald = 161.312, P < 0.01, for the whole model). Impact to the chin, with or without a skull base fracture, most often led to this fatal injury due to impact force transmission, either through jawbone or vertebral column. Also, lateral head impact, the most frequent in bicyclists, with subsequent hinge fracture, PML, and frontoposterior hyperextension of the head that is associated with upper spine fracture, could be possible mechanisms of brainstem injury in fatally injured motorcyclists or bicyclists. Our study showed that the jawbone, as well as other facial bones, could act as shock absorbers, and their fracture could diminish energy transfer toward the skull and protect the brain and brainstem from injury.     

Human Y-specific STR haplotypes in population of Serbia and Montenegro

Nine Y chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci (DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393) were analyzed in group of 237 unrelated healthy males from population of Serbia and Montenegro in order to assess the frequencies of Y haplotypes. We observed 174 different haplotypes of which 146 (61.6%) were seen only once. Y-STR allelic frequencies in Serbia and Montenegro, in general, correspond to other European populations, except for the DYS19, DYS385 and DYS389II loci.     

Attitudes Toward Electronic Monitoring: An Exploratory Analysis Among Criminal Justice Students in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The purpose of this research study is to examine attitudes associated with the use of electronic monitoring as a criminal justice sanction in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Utilizing self-reported survey data from 57 graduate students enrolled in a criminal justice policy based course at the University of Sarajevo, students’ attitudes toward electronic monitoring are assessed. Specifically, students’ personal views about whether electronic monitoring meets the sentencing goals of deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation and reintegration are evaluated. Perceptions of the cost-effectiveness of electronic monitoring and the appropriateness of electronic monitoring as a sentence for specific offender types are also examined. Finally, the influence of student socio-demographic characteristics on opinions are also assessed. As a whole, students surveyed appear to support the use of electronic monitoring for juvenile offenders and offenders awaiting trial. Additionally, respondents do not view the conditions associated with electronic monitoring as all that negative or obtrusive. Implications from these findings, as well as limitations and suggestions for further research are discussed.     

How Putin''s Russia embraces authoritarianism: The case of Yegor Gaidar

The ability of an Orwellian society to bend the will of individuals and force them to change their minds is well known. Putin's Russia, however, has proved that not only a harsh totalitarian state, such as the Soviet Union, but also a somewhat milder, authoritarian regime is able to achieve almost the same result. Such a regime can threaten to diminish the income, privileges or social status of prominent people. By murdering or jailing only a few active people (businesspeople, journalists and politicians), the regime can show its potential opponents that everyone in the country is vulnerable. Looking back on Stalin's time, one cannot help but think that he could have achieved his goals and stayed in power until his death without using such horrendous acts of violence. The ideological evolution of Yegor Gaidar represents a strong piece of evidence in support of this thesis.