Veblen’s Imperial Germany revisited

He is editor of Intereconomics,a journal issued in English, and author of major policy statements on economic and social issues.     

Suicide,gender, and age variations in India. Are women in indian society protected from suicide?

A new set of data concerning the pattern of suicide in India between 1991-1997 are presented. Suicide rates rose over this period despite a small decline in the Indian suicide rate in 1995 and 1996. It was found that between 1995 and 1997 there was a modest fall in the suicide rates among under 29-year-olds of both sexes, and an increase among those 30 years and older. The pattern of suicides in India is bimodal: the incidence of suicides is highest for those in the 30-44-year-old category of both sexes and tends to decline in higher age categories. Suicide rates were nearly equal for young women and men, a contrast with the pattern of suicide sex ratios in eight developed countries.     

Besprechungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

“Everybody's looking at you!”: Girls negotiating the “femininity deficit” they incur in physical education

There is a growing awareness of the complex and largely negative attitudes many girls in the UK hold towards physical activity in general and Physical Education (PE) in particular. This research in the UK involves a qualitative study of six Year 9 girls' experiences and motivations in PE.Reflexive interpretation and biographical analysis of in-depth interviews are utilized to explore the themes of the relationship between “sportiness” and heterosexual desirability; and the polarized images of “tomboy” and “girlie.” Work by Connell [Connell, R.W. (1987). Gender and power. Cambridge: Polity Press.] on the gender order, and theories arising from the cultural analysis tradition on teenage girls' subcultures and identity formation are drawn on in order to make sense of the girls' narratives.The findings of this research reveal that images of teenage girls and young women being physically active are non-congruous with the traditional ideologies of acceptable femininity. This paper describes how these girls negotiate the contradictions and the tensions caused by the “femininity deficit” incurred in PE by creating “double identities” and living “split lives.”     

Discrepancy between CYP2D6 phenotype and genotype derived from post-mortem dextromethorphan blood level

OBJECTIVE: To describe the death of a toddler after a therapeutic dose of dextromethorphan and its investigation. STUDY DESIGN: Case report, cytochrome P450 phenotype and genotype determination in the victim and post-mortem drug redistribution study performed in rats. RESULTS: A 20-month Asian male who received 3 mg of dextromethorphan once at 09:00 h and again at 22:00 h was found dead at 04:35 h. Post-mortem examination showed signs of early bronchopneumonia (bacterial cultures were negative); dextromethorphan and dextrorphan blood concentrations taken from the heart cavity were 500 ng/ml (1. 84 micromol/l) and 200 ng/ml (0.78 micromol/l), respectively. Despite the dextromethorphan level being almost 100-fold higher than expected after therapeutic doses, intentional or unintentional overdose was extremely unlikely; other potential causes were investigated. Post-mortem drug redistribution study performed in rats showed that dextromethorphan does not undergo extensive redistribution after death (6+/-5-fold increase) and could not explain the observed dextromethorphan level. The dextromethorphan/dextrorphan concentration ratio of 2.5 found in this toddler was compatible with a slow CYP2D6 metabolizer phenotype. However, the toddler exhibited a fast metabolizer genotype. Potential reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. CONCLUSION: CYP450 phenotypes derived from post-mortem blood levels should be interpreted with caution and preferably confirmed by a genotype analysis.