Fluidity of cadaveric blood after sudden death: Part II. Mechanism of release of plasminogen activator from blood vessels

Experiments by the vascular perfusion technique in isolated hind leg of the dog showed that after addition of various vasoactive drugs to the perfusate, fibrinolytic activity (plasminogen activator level) of the effluent was elevated. The effects of the drugs were completely inhibited only by the specific blocker of their receptor on the vascular wall. High K+ level of the perfusate also induced abundant release of plasminogen activator from the vascular wall.     

On the Logic of Deontic Conditionals*

Abstract. The paper outlines the approach to the analysis of deontic conditionals taken in earlier work by Jones and Pörn, compares it very briefly with two main trends within dyadic deontic logic, and then discusses problems associated with the augmentation principle and the factual detachment principle. The author then modifies Jones and Pörn's previous system, using a classical but not normal (in the sense of Chellas) deontic modality to provide the basis for an alternative analysis of deontic conditionals. This new analysis validates neither the factual detachment nor the augmentation principles. However, influenced by the approach of James Delgrande to default reasoning, the author tries to show how a restricted form of factual detachment may be accommodated within the revised system.     

Forensic-medical aspects of dermatoglyphics of the hands and feet

Issues on possibility of using capillary patterns of hands and feet in medicolegal examination of unidentified dead bodies and unknown persons, in cases of disputed paternity and maternity and child substitution are considered. Up-to-date theories on inheritance of dermatoglyphics features, their racial, sexual, age and occupational variability as well as interrelationship with some genetic diseases are analysed. Ways of researches in the field of dermatoglyphics of hands and feet for expert practice are outlined.     

Forensic pathology--Catch 22. A no-win situation(?)

The practice of forensic pathology finds itself in the unenviable position of existing in a political environment, the existence of which depends upon compromise. The professional pathologist cannot compromise ethically, morally, or legally. As a practical fact of life, most of us find ourselves in the compromising position and with the compromising attitude of "you get what you pay for." The end result all too often is tragedy for those who depend on our observations, our conclusions, our practice of medicine. What has not been widely recognized apparently is the all too common consequence of the personal jeopardy that the forensic pathologist is placed in--defenseless, friendless, disgraced, and left with a severely tarnished professional reputation.     

Enhancement of the luminol test by means of light amplification

The type of device commonly referred to as a "starlight scope" will amplify available light by a factor of approximately 17 000. The use of this device will permit an image to be formed by exceedingly small amounts of blood when reacted with luminol reagent. Modification of the apparatus is necessary to permit focusing at short distances.     

The informative aspects of the wound surface for determining vitality and wound age in skin cuts

A histological study was carried out on skin cut wounds of guinea pigs at various time intervals during the first day after infliction of the cut. At the same time intervals, blood cells were obtained from the wound surface prints and analyzed cytologically and cytochemically. Histological examination showed that a central and peripheral zone formed in the wound area, demonstrating that necrobiotic and inflammatory processes were even occurring in the early hours after injury. However, changes in the quantitative relationships between individual kinds of cells were much more differentiated cytologically and reflected much more precisely. Functional and structural macrophage and lymphocyte changes in the wound region during inflammation were also revealed. In correlation, cytochemical analysis confirmed the concept concerning the development of the inflammatory process in the wound area, as enzyme-activity changes clearly detectable, which reflected the rapid, energetic, plastic cellular processes on the wound surface. Our combined results suggest that the wound surface is a zone of vital processes, but that it is not a "dead," "necrobiotic" area. The dynamics of the cellular alterations in the wound surface, reflecting the vital processes developing there, can be successfully used when the problem of vitality, especially the time lapse after the skin injury, is to be resolved.     

What is Ideology? Theoretical Problems and Lessons from Soviet-Type Societies

The article contrasts two approaches to ideology which view it, respectively, as a belief system and as a form of discourse, and argues for the second. Viewing ideology as a belief system involves unwarranted assumptions about the uniformity of convictions among the adherents of an ideology and reduces its causal power to its contingent capacity to condition beliefs. Viewing ideology as a discourse enables a more adequate account of the diversity of beliefs among members of an ideological movement and also locates its causal power at the level of social conventions rather than individual psychology. The power of ideology is based on respect, not faith. This theoretical discussion is linked with the case of Soviet-type societies, serving as the basis for a reinterpretation of ideology's role in the maintenance and more recent decline of these political systems.