Population data on 14 STR loci from population of Serbia and Montenegro (new and renewed data)

A renewed and new population study of fourteen short tandem repeat loci (TH01, TPOX, CSF1P0, vWA, FES/FPS, F13A01, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, LPL, F13B, CD4, D5S818 and D8S1179) were performed in a sample of 296-531 unrelated individuals from Serbia and Montenegro. Population data were compared to previously published data from Vojvodina province and neighboring Croatia.     

Iatrogenic tracheal laceration causing asphyxia

Endotracheal intubation is a simple, rapid, and safe technique that is being used as a standard procedure for airway management. However, airway injury during endotracheal intubation could be a significant source of morbidity or even mortality for patients and a source of liability for physicians as well. We report an unusual case of fatal tracheal occlusion by intraluminal blood clot complicating endotracheal intubation. The patient, a 62-year-old woman, with renovascular hypertension and incipient renal failure was scheduled for renal autotransplantation. The surgery was uneventful but the postoperative course was complicated with a lethal airway obstruction. At autopsy a linear longitudinal tracheal laceration was identified with an intraluminal blood clot obstructing the tracheal lumen. Tracheal laceration as a cause of death is a rare and potentially fatal complication of endotracheal intubation with intratracheal bleeding, clot formation, tracheal occlusion, and subsequent asphyxia.     

Death caused by a signal rocket--not an isolated case*

Fatalities related to sporting events are predominantly caused by blunt force injuries especially due to the emotional involvement of crowd, but occasionally other types of trauma are reported as well. A case of very rare trauma caused by shooting with a hand-held parachute signal rocket during a football match is presented. A 17-year-old football fan sustained fatal injuries, a combination of mechanical trauma caused by rocket penetration, as well as extensive thermal burning of the thoracic viscera. Analysis of the event was based on autopsy findings and evidence produced by medicolegal and ballistic experts. Improper use of a hand-held signal rocket, designed for marine distress signals, may cause serious injuries either mechanically, due to explosion, or as a result of thermal discharge. In the reported case, pattern of injuries is discussed, and medical finding corroborated to other available evidence. The presented case is a reminder that the forensic pathologist should be informed accordingly on the type and features of weapon suspected to produce injury, to be able to understand traumatic changes, and look for potential presence of foreign bodies at postmortem examination.     

Potential of the state to control privatized firms

The privatization strategy in many transition economies involved the creation of a special government agency that administered state property during privatization programs as well as after the privatization was declared complete. The National Property Fund (NPF) was the agency in the Czech Republic. In many firms the state kept property long after the privatization was completed. We analyze the control potential of the state exercised through the NPF via the control rights associated with capital stakes in firms along with special voting rights provided by law. Based on a complete data set on assets as well as the means of control in privatized firms we conclude that for most of the 1994–2005 period, the state control potential was extensive and certainly larger than has been found by earlier research.

Structural power and the China-EU-Western Balkans triangular relations

Asia Europe Journal - Narratives about the challenges of China’s growing involvement with Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for the region and the EU are exponentially proliferating and have...     

Colchicine Extract Suicidal Lethal Poisoning Confirmation Using High‐Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometry: A Case Study

A case of suspected acute and lethal intoxication caused by colchicine has been reported. The woman was hospitalized after her suspicion of suicidal poisoning by a rare autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale). Suspected colchicine poisoning was confirmed using a novel UHPLC method with a modern reversed‐phase stationary phase with a sub 2‐micron superficial porous particle size combined with a QTOF mass spectrometer. Sample preparation procedure included the addition of propiverine as internal standard, protein precipitation using methanol and solid phase extraction. High‐resolution MS only and targeted MS/MS modes are reported for the qualitative analysis and screening of other potential drugs of abuse in blood samples. All Ion MS mode was used for quantitative determination of colchicine afterward. The concentration of colchicine in the blood sample was approximately 41 ng/mL, and more than 200 μg/mL of the plant extract used for the suicide.     

Lethal Bentazone Intoxication – A Report of Two Cases

This study presents two cases of lethal bentazone poisonings, their clinical presentation, the course of the disease and the autopsy findings. The first is a 50‐year‐old male who had sprayed corn with a solution of bentazone and was admitted to the hospital with sweating, fever, nausea, vomiting of aqueous and hemorrhagic content, and bloody, watery stools. He was treated according to the symptoms including extracorporeal hemodialysis, but eventually suffered from multiorgan failure (acute respiratory failure, acute liver failure, coagulopathy, acute renal failure, metabolic acidosis, and gastrointestinal bleeding) and died 11.35 h after admittance. The cause of death was probable bentazone intoxication. The second case, also a male, aged 49 who committed suicide by ingesting a bentazone solution. He was transferred to the hospital prostrated and cyanotic and died 14.15 h after admittance despite all efforts by the hospital staff. The cause of death was acute bentazone intoxication.     

Powdered Activated Carbon: An Alternative Approach to Genomic DNA Purification

Forensic evidence samples are routinely found as stains on various substrates, which may contain substances known to inhibit polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The goal of this study was to evaluate post‐Chelex^®100 purification using powdered activated carbon (PAC). Mock crime scene DNA extracts were analyzed using quantitative PCR and short tandem repeat (STR) profiling to test the DNA recovery and inhibitor removal using PAC with those of the Amicon^®Ultra 100K. For extracted bloodstains on soil and wood substrates, PAC and Amicon^®Ultra 100K generated similar DNA yield and quality. Moreover, the two methods significantly decreased the concentration of humic substances and tannins compared to nonpurified extracts (p < 0.001). In instances where extracts contained indigo dye (bloodstains on denim), Amicon^®Ultra 100K performed better than PAC due to improved amplifiability. Efficient adsorption of humic substances and tannins, which are common inhibitors, indicates PAC's potential application in the purification of high‐template DNA extracts.     

The development of political science in Lithuania: Years of the breakthrough

Abstract. The development of political science was closely connected to the democratic changes and the restoration of statehood at the end of the 1980s in Lithuania. This paper examines the historical and contemporary social and academic roots of political science in the country. The other issue investigated in detail is the institutionalisation of political studies, which required the development of new academic curricula. Major vehicles for the institutionalization of political science were the decentralisation of academic activities and the establishment of new institutions, such as the Institute of Political Science and International Relations (University of Vilnius) and the Lithuanian Political Science Association, and intensive cooperation withWestern universities and funding organizations. Nonetheless, the growth and efficiency of political studies and research depend very much on their successful integration into the environment of the existing universities. The research output of Lithuanian political science is characterised by a widening of research interests and the further introduction of statistical and computer methods of investigation, with problems of Lithuania's foreign and security policy and issues of democratisation as topics of continuing popularity.     

From ideology to pragmatism

He is editor-in-chief of Praxis International. His books include In Search of Democracy in Socialism; Between Ideals and Reality;and, forthcoming From Marxism and Bolshevism to Gorbachev’s Perestroika.