Specific Patterns of Canine Scavenging in Indoor Settings

Postmortem animal mutilations due to domestic dogs in isolated domestic deaths are taphonomic modifications regularly observed by forensic pathologists. They are rarely described in the literature; however, even though they present specific patterns. Through 41 cases, 10 at the forensic institute in Lille (France) and 31 at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (USA), plus 22 cases from the literature, specific locations and patterns of postmortem scavenging lesions are proposed. These lesions are mainly distributed in three locations: the face, especially the nose and the mouth (73.1%), the neck (43.1%), and the arm (shoulder/upper limb [29.2%], hand [26.8%]). We discuss the time span between death and scavenging, the consequences on identification, and comparison with outdoor settings. Outdoor scavenging lesions are mainly located on the trunk and limbs usually sparing the head, which strongly differs from indoor distribution and imply different animal motivations.     

Prolonged QT interval and sudden infant death--report of two cases

In the two cases where infants died suddenly and unexpectedly the electrocardiogram (ECG) of a younger sibling (case 1) and of a living twin (case 2) led to the suspicion that the two infants could have died from long QT syndrome (LQTS). In case 1, a His bundle (HB) dispersion and a pronounced hypoplasia of the right external nucleus arcuatus were detected. In case 2, a severe interstitial pneumonia and an accompanying mild myocarditis were found by histology. Molecular genetic investigations of the coding regions of the genes, HERG, KVLQT1 and SCN5A gave no indication for the mutations, thus, affecting related myocardial ion channels as possible sources of inhomogeneity of repolarisation.Since a molecular genetic deviation could not yet be elaborated the possible role of related disturbance remains unknown.     

The European Social Contract and the European Public Sphere

Abstract:  The possible existence of a European democracy does not depend on the prerequisite of a homogeneous public sphere but on the understanding of the relationship between the normative basis of a European democracy—here a social contract—the structure of the European public sphere and the corresponding institutions. The normative concept of democracy as expressed in social contract theory is neither bound to the city-state nor the nation-state, but can be transferred to the European level. To realise the normative aims of the social contract the democratic institutions have to be—and were in the city—and the nation state—adapted to the structure of the respective public sphere. Two institutional characteristics of the democratic European polity could correspond to the heterogeneous European public sphere: (1) a cooperation of institutions with clearly separated and limited competences—contrary to the ideal-type sovereign institutions with broad competences in the nation-state, and (2) the policy field-oriented structure—contrary to the more uniform and functional structure of democratic institutions in the nation states.     

Public Private Partnership als „Negotiated Order“ —

Der Beitrag versteht Public Private Partnership (PPP) als negotiated order — als Produkt kontextgebundener Aushandlungsprozesse zwischen Akteuren der öffentlichen und privaten Welt. Am Beispiel der vorvertraglichen Phase von drei Entwicklungspartnerschaften der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) werden auf Grundlage der Negotiated-Order-Theorie drei zentrale Thesen herausgestellt: PPP-Aushandlungsprozesse sind durch informelle Vorverständigungen gekennzeichnet, in denen Legitimationsanforderungen beider Welten frühzeitig auf spezifische Handlungskontexte abgestimmt werden. Diese Vorleistung wird von ?bridging agents“ erbracht, die als Vertreter öffentlicher und privater Organisationen und einer gemeinsamen Fachwelt Handlungskontexte interpretieren und damit Verhandlungsspielräume schaffen ?to get things done“ aber auch beschränken. Sie orientieren sich dabei an kontextbezogenen Praktiken der Zusammenarbeit, die den Charakter — die negotiated order — einer jeden PPP prägen. Bewähren sich diese Praktiken im Rahmen einer PPP, so gehen diese in die Vorstellungswelt der Akteure im Alltag über und geben eine Vorlage für zukünftige (PPP-)Kooperationen.