Sudden infant death syndrome and hypertrophy of the palatine tonsil: reports on two cases.

Two cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) with hypertrophy of the palatine tonsil were reported. The pathogenesis of the SIDS has been clarified (Guilleminault et al., Pediatrics, 68 (1981) 354-360). According to this theory, it is due to a central impairment of the breathing control during sleep, which is particularly pronounced in predisposed subjects. The present cases suggest that the hypertrophied palatine tonsil might contribute as a predisposing factor to the emergence of a SIDS by mechanical impediment to breathing by narrowing of the upper airway.     

Apoptotic and necrotic brain lesions in a fatal case of carbon monoxide poisoning

A 41-year-old man was accidentally exposed to carbon monoxide (CO) gas and found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest while he took bath. After admission, he was resuscitated and underwent artificial ventilation in a comatose state and died about 19h later. Computed tomography (CT) examination disclosed bilateral low density area in the basal ganglia and the thalamus, a well-known finding in the CO intoxication. Necropsy, histological examination, DNA ladder assay gave the first line of evidence for the presence of apoptosis as well as necrosis in the human case of CO intoxication. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) positive apoptotic cells were more predominant in the CA2 area than in CA1 area. There is general co-relation between the ratio of TUNEL-positive cells and the DNA laddering on the agarose gel. Basal ganglia and thalamus, which showed bilateral low density area in CT, were revealed to be severe edema. The two types of cell death occurred in the cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, thalamus, and cerebellum. Hypoxia caused by CO-hemoglobin formation alone cannot explain the phenomena.     

Crime Clearance and Temporal Variation in Police Investigative Workload: Evidence from National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data

Objectives

Police workload’s relationship with crime clearance has been studied widely. In the challenging environment now facing police, even small and possibly temporary changes in investigative workload could harm clearance. However existing workload-clearance research either used only a yearly average that obscures temporal variability in caseload, or explored proxy rather than direct measures of workload’s short-term variation. Our improved workload measures capture caseload’s daily changes as crimes are reported, cleared, or remain uncleared but reach the end of active investigation. We examine relationships between clearance and both long- and short-term variability in workload.

Methods

Using NIBRS and LEMAS data, we calculated between-agency (typical or long-term) and time-varying, within-agency (daily fluctuating or short-term) workload measures. We used these and other agency/jurisdiction- and incident-level variables in multi-level survival analysis of clearance by arrest for serious violent incidents from 2007 NIBRS.

Results

Both workload measures were significantly and negatively related to the clearance hazard rate; higher long- and short-term workloads are associated with reduced chance of a case being cleared. The estimated relationship between longterm workload and clearance became progressively stronger (more negative) as the crime incident’s legal seriousness decreased. However, estimates indicated greater sensitivity of the clearance hazard to short-term workload fluctuations for more serious crimes, though the workload-clearance relationship remained negative for all crime types.

Conclusion

Crime clearance should be considered by police agency planners when addressing workload through staffing decisions. Refinement of our workload measures will require additional information, and should be considered in future agency- and incident-level data collection.

     

Japanese biotechnology: Government,corporations, and technology transfer

In the newly emerging field of biotechnology, Japan so far is generally considered to be lagging somewhat behind the US. Through the judicious application of industrial policy to encourage the growth of the industry, however, Japan is rapidly gaining on the US lead. Joint ventures between large Japanese companies specializing in areas such as chemicals and food and new American biotechnology companies play a key role in the technology-transfer process. This paper analyzes the dynamics and potential of Japanese efforts in biotechnology. Certain structural features of the Japanese economy, such as extensive corporate financial resources, traditional fermentation expertise, and, in particular, government policy to encourage high-technology research and development, serve to increase Japanese competitiveness in the field.     

The Borda rule is also intended for dishonest men

This paper examines the welfare consequences of strategic voting under the Borda rule in a comparison of utilitarian efficiencies in simulated voting games under two behavioural assumptions: expected utility-maximising behaviour and sincere behaviour. Utilitarian efficiency is higher in the former than in the latter. Strategic voting increases utilitarian efficiency particularly if the distribution of preference intensities correlates with voter types. The Borda rule is shown to have two advantages: strategic voting is beneficial even if some but not all voter types engage in strategic behaviour, and even if the voters’ information is based on unreliable signals.