Breaking point? An analysis of fatal stab wounds to the torso in Ireland between 2011 and 2018, examining the extent of rib fractures

This study examines the pattern of rib injuries occurring in cases of fatal torso stab wounds in Ireland between 2011 and 2018. It has been suggested by previous studies that rib fractures are not commonly sustained in stab wounds to the torso. We wanted to ascertain whether this was the case, as our data suggested that rib fractures were frequent, and where a rib is fractured there is a higher chance of organ injury and death, making this an important area of study. One hundred and forty seven cases of fatal stab wounds from an eight-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Fatal stab wounds to other body areas, were excluded; leaving a total of 104 cases with stab wounds to the torso. We found that 69.2% of cases had rib injuries, a figure significantly higher than previously reported. Our data suggests that stab wounds to the torso often fracture ribs, putting the underlying organs at increased risk of injury and perhaps contributing to fatality. The amount of force needed to cause a rib fracture can be difficult to quantify and indeed from the high percentage of rib fractures sustained in our data it appears that the ribs may be fractured regardless of the amount of force used; this is borne out by the finding that self-inflicted injuries also caused rib fractures. Our study shows that other factors, such as anatomical positioning and wound depth may have a greater bearing than force in terms of whether a rib fracture is sustained.     

Fearing the Ghosts of State Officialdom Past? Russia's Archives as a Tool for Constructing Historical Memories of Its Persia Policy Practices

The overarching task of this article is to directly present the main crucial venues – a prototype road map of Russia's study of Persia in the context of foreign policy – to the students of Russia and its relations with Persia, as well as, more specifically, to researchers of Russia's late Imperial and early Soviet policy towards Middle East and Oriental studies therein. Simultaneously, taking into consideration the equivocal and quite often controversial nature of conducting archival research in Russia, it is worth knowing that a scholarly activity, seemingly conventional and rather straightforward in the West, can turn into an adventurous quest in present-day Russia, hampered by various factors. So the article also touches upon the current condition of the archival industry in present-day Russia, with the emphasis on the traditionally most burning issue in this field, namely the unjustifiably excessive secrecy, underpinned by the discourse of protecting Russian state interests, which can turn out to be an unexpected obstacle to research into a period even dating back a hundred years.     

Elimination of Bioweapons Agents from Forensic Samples During Extraction of Human DNA

Collection of DNA for genetic profiling is a powerful means for the identification of individuals responsible for crimes and terrorist acts. Biologic hazards, such as bacteria, endospores, toxins, and viruses, could contaminate sites of terrorist activities and thus could be present in samples collected for profiling. The fate of these hazards during DNA isolation has not been thoroughly examined. Our goals were to determine whether the DNA extraction process used by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police eliminates or neutralizes these agents and if not, to establish methods that render samples safe without compromising the human DNA. Our results show that bacteria, viruses, and toxins were reduced to undetectable levels during DNA extraction, but endospores remained viable. Filtration of samples after DNA isolation eliminated viable spores from the samples but left DNA intact. We also demonstrated that contamination of samples with some bacteria, endospores, and toxins for longer than 1 h compromised the ability to complete genetic profiling.     

Real reform begins within: an organizational approach to health care reform

Health care systems are under pressure to control their increasing costs, to better adapt to evolving demands, to improve the quality and safety of care, and ultimately to ameliorate the health of their populations. This article looks at a battery of organizational options aimed at transforming health care systems and argues that more attention must be paid to reforming the delivery mechanisms that are so crucial for health care systems' overall performance. To support improvement, policies can rely on organizational assets in two ways. First, reforms can promote the creation of new organizational forms; second, they can employ organizational levers (e.g., capacity development, team-based organizations, evidence-informed practices) to achieve specific policy goals. In both cases organizational assets are mobilized with a view to creating complete health care organizations -- that is to say, organizations that have the capacity to function as high-performing systems. The challenges confronting the development of more complete health care organizations are significant. Real health care system reforms may likewise require implementing ecologies of complex innovation at the clinical, organizational, and policy levels. Policies play a determining role in shaping these new spaces for action so that day-to-day practices may change.     

区域经济发展趋势

一、区域经济发展回顾与展望在全球经济蓬勃发展的态势推动下 ,本地区的经济也在复苏。预计2004年的全球产量将增加5个百分点 ,全球贸易总额(包括商品与服务)将增加8.8 %(国际货币基金组织2004)。中国经济迅猛发展推动了全球经济的增长 ,同时美国、日本和欧盟的经济复苏也起到了一定的作用。预计2004年东南亚的GDP的增长率将达到6.2 % ,整个东南亚的GDP将增长7.3 %(亚洲发展银行2004)。区域经济之所以蓬勃发展 ,主要是因为主要经济体(即美国和日本)工业生产增加 ,中国的经济发展使得需求持续上升 ,以及信息通讯技术产业(简称IT产业)好转…     

The responsiblities of a senior public servant: organization,profession and career

Abstract: Having to cope with conflicting responsibilities is one of the hazards of senior positions in the public service. Individuals with a low tolerance for situations of ambiguous or conflicting loyalties are well advised to look for satisfaction elsewhere than in promotion to the higher ranks. With respect to responsibility towards the organization, a frequent dilemma for public servants is the issue of how far to promote policies which are at variance with their personal views about what best serves the public interest. A different but equally common problem is how to carry out one's responsibility for attracting and retaining talented staff in the face of raids from other departments which have been given free licence to offer appointments at higher grades. Senior public servants have a professional responsibility to share their knowledge of the operations and folkways of government through writing and speaking about their experience. Given the prevailing system of recruitment and promotion in the public service, responsibility for career development falls largely to the individual. In this regard public servants should be cautious about accepting the myth of the universal manager: there are high risks attached to changing both one's role and one's field of content expertise at the same time. Sommaire: L'un des risques de la vie de haut fonctionnaire dans la fonction publique est l'obligation de faire face à des responsabilités conflictuelles. C'est pourquoi les personnes qui tolèrent mal les situation où les loyautés sont ambiguës ou en opposition feraient bien de chercher leur satisfaction professionnelle ailleurs que dans la promotion à un poste supérieur. En ce qui concerne leur responsabilité envers l'administration, un des dilemmes que les hauts fonctionnaires rencontrent très fréquemment consiste à décider jusqu'à quel point promouvoir des politiques allant à l'encontre de ce qu'ils considèrent personnellement comme l'intérèt public. Un autre problème, tout aussi coui-rant, consiste à déterminer comment satisfaire à leurs obligations d'attirer et de garder des employés de talent quand les autres ministères peuvent en toute liberté faire du maraudage auprès du personnel en lui offrant des postes supérieurs. Les hauts fonctionnaires ont la responsabilité de partager leur connaissance du fonctionnement et des pratiques du gouvemement en communiquant à d'autres, oralement ou par écrit, leur experience professionnelle. Par ailleurs, en raison du système actuel de recrutement et de promotion dans la fonction publique, chaque haut fonctionnaire est principalement responsable d'assurer son propre avancement professionnel. À cet égard, les fonctionnaires devraient se garder de croire au mythe de l'universalité des capacités de direction; en effet, il s'avère très dangereux de changer à la fois de rôle et de champ de compétence professionnelle. “Life is not a spectacle or a feast: it is a predicament.” George Santayanu “Once you face up to reality, everything is easier.” John D. MacDonald