Cause of death in heroin users with low blood morphine concentration

The blood morphine concentrations in cases of heroin-associated fatalities can vary considerably. Currently, a free-morphine concentration of > or = 100 ng/ml in blood is generally considered as potentially fatal. Moreover, it is a common observation that fatal cases of heroin-intoxication with blood morphine concentrations lower than 100 ng/ml occur. This poses the question of how the fatal cases with low blood morphine concentrations can be explained. In the study described here, 62 cases of morphine only intoxications were examined. The fatal cases were divided into two groups according to the free morphine concentrations measured in the blood of the heart (group I: free morphine concentration < 100 ng/ml, n = 21 cases; group II: free morphine concentration > or = 100 ng/ml, n = 41 cases). The two groups were compared as to circumstances of death, as well as to autopsy findings and histopathologic alterations. Overall, infections of the respiratory tract occurred significantly more often in group I (lower morphine concentrations) than in group II. In a second step, the group I cases were analyzed individually to get detailed information on the cause of death. In 19 of the 21 cases the authors could find a plausible explanation for death in combination with low free morphine concentrations in the blood.     

Evolving structure of governments: Portfolio adoption across the Canadian provinces from 1867–2012

Based on work by Moon and Sayers on the assignment of ministerial portfolios in Australia, we use a new dataset on portfolio adoption across all ten Canadian provinces and the federal government from 1867–2012. This data set when analyzed shows four distinct patterns of portfolio adoption that point to key motivations behind the development of new portfolios. We show that much of the common wisdom fails to explain portfolio creation but that patterns of development may be better explained by a new typology. The work attempts to fill a gap in the understudied area of Canadian ministerial portfolios and comparative provincial politics.     

The Process of Leaving an Abusive Relationship: The Role of Risk Assessments and Decision-Certainty

Seventy female residents of an urban domestic violence shelter were interviewed to examine a series of hypotheses concerning two factors relevant to the process of leaving an abusive relationship: risk assessments and decision-certainty. Participants' subjective estimates of their own risk of returning to the batterer were examined relative to their perceptions of the likelihood that most battered women will return to the batterer, their certainty regarding the decision to leave the batterer, and their status on known risk factors for returning to an abusive relationship. As hypothesized, battered women's perceptions of personal risk for returning to the batterer were biased by unrealistic optimism; specifically, personal risk was estimated as significantly lower than the risk of most battered women and was not correlated with actual risk factors. Further, the magnitude of the optimistic bias was significantly greater among women expressing high certainty about their decision to leave than among women who expressed less certainty. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Projected Convention on Chemical Weapons and its Application in Time of Armed Conflict

As the US prepares to pull out of Iraq, the ‘national reconciliation’ process that was launched in the Summer of 2006 remains stalled. The March 2010 legislative elections, which were expected to consecrate the rebuilding of a national pact between Iraqis, have led to even greater fragmentation of Iraq's socio-political landscape. The power sharing agreement ultimately presages more tensions to come. With the essence and reality of the Iraqi ‘nation’ long debated and subjected to continued deconstruction under the combined effects of authoritarianism, military conflagrations and economic sanctions, it will likely take decades before a genuine reconciliation can come about.