An unusual case of fatal accidental paraquat poisoning

Paraquat, a useful contact herbicide is now used in over 130 countries of the world, including Sri Lanka. The number of cases of accidental poisoning reported with paraquat is small, relative to instances of suicide. When a clear history is not available, accidental paraquat poisoning is sometimes difficult to diagnose. A 9-year-old boy was admitted to a peripheral hospital with a history of diarrhoea and vomiting. He later developed abdominal pain, subcutaneous emphysema and difficulty in breathing. Following transfer to a district hospital and then to a teaching hospital, poisoning with paraquat was suspected only on day 11 of the illness. On persistent questioning, on day 13 of the illness the child remembered that the day prior to the onset of illness, on his way from a shop, he felt thirsty and having found an empty bottle of Gramoxone (paraquat) on the wayside he used it to drink water from a water tank. The child died on day 17 and the histology of the lung showed typical changes of paraquat poisoning. This tragic episode emphasises the need for proper disposal of empty containers of all poisonous substances.     

论我国行政体制改革的价值导向

推进行政体制改革必须明确它的价值导向。效率与公平是人类活动所追求的两大基本价值目标,而效率与公平兼顾则是我国行政体制改革的基本价值导向。当前,我国的行政体制改革正面临一系列难题,需要坚持科学的价值导向把改革推向深入,以实现行政体制的创新。     

当前加强外来人口管理的探索与实践

在法制日益完善的新形势下,必须改变外来人口的传统管理模式。开辟租赁房屋市场化管理的新途径;用足法律,强化外来人口的“人头”管理;查询比对,掌握控制外来“高危人群”;各司其责,协调配合,落实对外来流浪乞讨人员的救助管理。     

Gm and Km frequencies in West Germans: usefulness of typing Gm(1,2,3,10,21) and Km(1,3) in paternity cases

The immunoglobulin allotypes G1m(1,2,3) and G3m(10,21) were typed in 2855 unrelated West German adult individuals. 1455 individuals were typed for the factors Km(1,3). Phenotype and haplotype frequencies are reported. The usefulness of this routine typing programme in paternity tests is demonstrated in three case reports.     

Recent changes in the Mexican industrial labor force

"We study...some of the repercussions of the crisis and economic restructuring on the manufacturing labour force in the main urban areas of Mexico. Using the data of the National Survey of Urban Employment for the period 1986-1992, we set, first of all, the evolution of female and male presence in the manufacture of the country's main industrial cities. Further, some of the characteristics of the manufacturing labour force in different types of cities are examined. For this purpose, we are considering several issues: the condition of wage earner and non-wage earner workers, the size of the establishment, some sociodemographic aspects (gender, age, schooling level, and condition of the head of household), as well as different aspects related to labour conditions (length of workday, job benefits, and salary levels)." (EXCERPT)     

The Political (and Economic) Origins of Consumer Confidence

Economic conditions, the story usually goes, influence consumer confidence, which in turn influences both political evaluations and votes. But we have little sense of the origins of consumer confidence itself. It is generally assumed that monthly reports of the nation's level of consumer confidence respond to objective economic conditions. We argue that politics is important for understanding consumer sentiment beyond what we know from economic conditions. Specifically, we demonstrate a direct effect of political evaluations of the president's management of the economy, the party of the president, extraordinary political events, and monetary policy, as well as an indirect effect of media coverage of the economy, on consumer sentiment, after controlling for economic conditions. When news coverage is positive, citizens give favorable evaluations, leading to more positive sentiment. Our findings suggest that understanding the political economy requires an emphasis on the causal effect of politics as well as economics.     

Morphological findings of ‘cardiac concussion’ due to experimental blunt impact to the precordial region

The dog’s precordial region at the sternum was impacted with a mechanical elastic-cord propelled impactor at the velocity of 8.0 m/s. The left and right intraventricular pressures and electrocardiogram (ECG) were monitored continuously for 60 min after the impact. The micro- and ultra-structure of myocardium were examined. Localization of myocardial myoglobin (Mb), creatine kinase BB (CK-BB) and creatine kinase MM (CK-MM) as well as plasma membrane permeability were studied by immunohistochemical and lanthanum probe techniques. Upon the impact, abrupt over-pressures within both ventricles were recorded with transient depression of the left ventricular systolic pressure. In all the dogs, some rhythm- and conduction-disorders were noted, which lasted transiently and resumed to normal sinus rhythm. At autopsy, no gross injuries of the heart were detected, and microscopic examination showed no visible myocardial lesions. However, immunohistochemically, focal patchy loss of myocardial Mb, CK-BB and CK-MM was identified with scattered deposition of these substances between myocardial fibers elsewhere. Such changes as relaxed myofibrils with widened I band, contracted myofibrils and broken cristae of the mitochondria were observed in myocardial ultrastructure. Lanthanum particles deposited inside the mitochondria. These results indicate that increase in cardiac cell membrane permeability and ultrastructural damage in myocardium may be involved even in cardiac concussion.     

Effects of individual dental factors on genomic DNA analysis

The use in forensic medicine of methods pertaining to molecular biology has made it possible to identify human remains through the analysis of polymorphic profiles of human DNA. Voluntary, accidental, or natural postmortem degradation, as well as environmental conditions, influences the preservation state of the corpse, making it sometimes difficult to obtain biologic material suitable for genetic analysis (e.g., hair, soft and/or hard tissue). According to their anatomic/morphologic characteristics, dental formations are particularly resistant to external insults and are thus suitable for this kind of research. The purpose of this work, conducted on nonselected dental findings (presenting intrinsic characteristics similar to those usually found in forensic cases) that were homogeneous with regard to environmental factors, was to determine an operative protocol that will enable combination of the maximum availability of genomic DNA with the preservation of the morphologic characteristics of the tooth for classic anthropologic evaluations.     

重修丝绸之路:迈向亚洲一体化

丝绸之路是指将东亚、中亚、南亚与地中海沿岸国家(包括北非和欧洲)连接在一起的、纵横交错的泛亚贸易交通网络。在过去的几十年中,随着全球化的不断深入,亚洲再度成为世界经济的重心。许多亚洲经济体成为了国际生产网络中不可分割的一部分,他们自身也从不断扩大的国际贸易、投资以及加速的经济增长中获益良多。然而,由于缺乏区域性连接,亚洲巨大的发展潜力尚未发挥出来。本文认为,缺乏全面的区域性连接是影响地区增长、阻碍亚洲乃至世界一体化进程的重要因素之一。鉴于此,亚洲应该加强地区通道建设,使之成为国际通道的一部分。本文还讨论了在通过泛亚运输基础设施建设实现地区连接的过程中,可能遇到的一系列问题和挑战。