Choosing a runoff election threshold

This paper investigates when a runoff election is desirable and when a plurality result is good enough. A runoff election increases the likelihood that the Condorcet winner will be elected but also entails additional costs. The metric for determining whether a runoff election is desirable will be the probability that the winner of the plurality election would win an ensuing runoff. Statistical models of voter behavior are developed that estimate this probability, which are verified with runoff-election data from United States elections. The models allow governments to make more informed choices in creating rules to decide when to hold runoff elections.     

A critique of the rhetoric, ambivalence, and promise in the protocol to the African charter on human and people’s rights on the rights of women in Africa

The desire to formulate a viable treaty framework for women’s rights that will meet the challenges of the sociocultural peculiarities in Africa led to the emergence of the original draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights on the Rights of Women in the twilight years of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Without doubt, the recent adoption of the African Women’s Protocol by the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government in July 2003 is a welcome development coming at a most opportune time. However, if the African Women’s Protocol is to serve its purposes in an effective way, it is absolutely necessary to articulate the normative and structural modalities that would secure the achievement of its stated ends. It is therefore in the quest for defining the strategic parameters of this new-fangled instrument that I analyze the normative promises as well as notable structural and conceptual limitations inherent in the African Women's Protocol with a view to identifying trajectories for its sustained relevance and viability. I address these concerns against the backdrop of the instrument’s provisions. Fighting for women’s rights is a positive struggle which recognizes the quality of women’s contribution to every aspect of the community... I therefore invite all to renew their energies in undertaking practical and creative initiatives to achieve full respect of the human rights of women. Mary Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2001).     

The development of empathy and prosocial behavior through humane education,restorative justice,and animal-assisted programs

Literature suggests that developing empathy for animals will result in caring toward other living things. Empathy is often seen as a key building block of prosocial behavior and can be defined as sharing of another person’s emotions and feelings. In older childhood and adolescence, a lack of empathy may have deleterious consequences, leading to antisocial behaviors. However, children and adolescents who exhibit human and non-human animal aggression have often been witness to animal cruelty in the home. When empathy and prosocial behaviors are not learned in the home, there are alternatives to facilitate that process. This study discusses the development of empathy and prosocial behavior by working with animals through the modalities of humane education, restorative justice, and animal-assisted programs. Each modality focuses on building compassion, caring, responsibility, and kindness with the help of animals. Through these violence prevention programs, children and adolescents can develop empathy, which will decrease the likelihood of future aggression.     

Injuries of the Head from Backface Deformation of Ballistic Protective Helmets Under Ballistic Impact

Modern ballistic helmets defeat penetrating bullets by energy transfer from the projectile to the helmet, producing helmet deformation. This deformation may cause severe injuries without completely perforating the helmet, termed “behind armor blunt trauma” (BABT). As helmets become lighter, the likelihood of larger helmet backface deformation under ballistic impact increases. To characterize the potential for BABT, seven postmortem human head/neck specimens wearing a ballistic protective helmet were exposed to nonperforating impact, using a 9 mm, full metal jacket, 124 grain bullet with velocities of 400–460 m/s. An increasing trend of injury severity was observed, ranging from simple linear fractures to combinations of linear and depressed fractures. Overall, the ability to identify skull fractures resulting from BABT can be used in forensic investigations. Our results demonstrate a high risk of skull fracture due to BABT and necessitate the prevention of BABT as a design factor in future generations of protective gear.     

Forensic Entomology and the Estimation of the Minimum Time Since Death in Indoor Cases

Eight cases that occurred indoors in which the insects played an important role in the mPMI estimation are presented. The bodies of socially isolated people and old people living alone were discovered in central Italy between June and November. mPMI ranged from a few days to several weeks. Insects were collected during the body recovery and the postmortem. Climatic data were obtained from the closest meteorological stations and from measurements performed on the site. Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae species were present in 75% of the cases with Lucilia sericata and Chrysomya albiceps collected in 50% of the cases. Chrysomya albiceps was always found in association with Lucilia species. Scuttle flies (Phoridae) were found in 37.5% of the cases, confirming the ability of these species in indoor body colonization. We show that if sealed environment may delay, the insect arrival dirty houses may create the environment where sarcosaprophagous insects are already present.     

Increased lung weight in fatal intoxications is not unique to opioid drugs

Fatal intoxications with opioids are known to be associated with an increased lung weight, as well as with brain and pulmonary edema and urinary retention. However, there is evidence to suggest that fatal intoxications with non-opioid substances are also associated with increased lung weight; however, the latter aspect has not been comprehensively analyzed. To determine to what extent opioid and non-opioid substances are associated with increased lung and brain weight, we studied these organs in cases where the cause of death was attributed to intoxication with a single agent. Using data from cases autopsied at the National Board of Forensic Medicine (NBFM) in Sweden from 2009 through 2019 where the cause of death was attributed to a single substance, we created models of combined lung weight and brain weight. The models used age and sex as predictors as well as nested varying effects for the specific intoxicant and category of intoxicant. Suicidal hanging with negative toxicology cases served as controls. The population majority was male among both intoxications (68%) and controls (83%). The most common single substance group was opioids. All tested substances were associated with heavier lungs than controls, with the largest effect in the opioid group. Our findings show that several substances are associated with increased lung weight and that among intoxication deaths there is no difference in expected brain weight between substances. Hence, heavy lungs, without a reasonable explanation, should prompt a broad toxicological screening.     

Suicide of an adolescent girl with sodium nitrite ordered on the internet

Nitrites are commonly used in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Recently, they have been identified in cases of voluntary intoxication. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl who was found lifeless on her bed next to a glass containing a white powder and a bottle containing a white powder with a moistened appearance. External examination and autopsy revealed a nonspecific asphyxia syndrome, which was confirmed by the pathological analysis. Analysis of the samples revealed metoclopramide in the peripheral blood at a concentration of 0.402 mg/L (LC–HRMS). An analysis of the gastric contents was carried out after sodium nitrite was detected in the powders found near the body (Raman spectrometry). Nitrites were found in the gastric fluid at a concentration of 30.9 mg/L. Death occurred secondary to anoxia, following ingestion of nitrites; suicide kits are available on the web and nitrites are relatively easy to source and inexpensive. Nitrites are delivered in powder form to be dissolved in liquid, which may then be consumed with metoclopramide (or an alternative anti-emetic drug) to maximize absorption and reduce emesis. The toxic effect of nitrites lies in their oxidizing power, causing the transformation of hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which, when it accumulates, induces tissue anoxia resulting in death. There has been an alarming increase in the number of cases linked to suicide using nitrites or a nitrite suicide kit. The fact that nitrites are readily available online underscores the importance of establishing effective preventive measures such as limiting the access and use of this chemical.     

Subnuclear renal tubular vacuoles in alcohol use disorder

Subnuclear vacuoles in the proximal renal tubules have been reported as a histologic sign of ketoacidosis. Originally described in diabetic ketoacidosis, renal vacuoles can be found in other ketogenic states such as alcoholic ketoacidosis (AKA), starvation, and hypothermia, underpinned by deranged fatty acid metabolism. A retrospective analysis of 133 deaths associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) examined at autopsy between 2017 and 2020 was undertaken. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of subnuclear vacuoles in deaths of those with AUD and their specificity for deaths from AKA, and to elucidate what demographic, biochemical, and pathologic findings are associated with subnuclear vacuoles. In each case, vitreous humor biochemistry including electrolytes, glucose, and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) was analyzed alongside postmortem hemoglobin A1c and renal and liver histology. Renal histology was graded for the presence of vacuoles as absent (0), scanty (1), or easily identifiable (2). Liver histology was graded for steatosis and for fibrosis if Masson trichrome staining was available. Vacuoles were commonly seen in the deaths of those with AUD. They were seen in deaths due to AKA but were not specific to that cause of death. With vacuoles present, lower vitreous sodium (139 vs. 142 mmol/L; p = 0.005), higher vitreous BHB (1.50 vs. 1.39 mmol/L; p = 0.04), severe hepatic steatosis, and severe hepatic fibrosis were seen, compared with those without renal vacuoles.