Fatal diphenhydramine intoxication in infants

Diphenhydramine is an antihistamine available in numerous over-the-counter preparations. Often used for its sedative effects in adults, it can cause paradoxical central nervous system stimulation in children, with effects ranging from excitation to seizures and death. Reports of fatal intoxications in young children are rare. We present five cases of fatal intoxication in infants 6, 8, 9, 12, and 12 weeks old. Postmortem blood diphenhydramine levels in the cases were 1.6, 1.5, 1.6, 1.1 and 1.1 mg/L, respectively. Anatomic findings in each case were normal. In one case the child's father admitted giving the infant diphenhydramine in an attempt to induce the infant to sleep; in another case, a daycare provider admitted putting diphenhydramine in a baby bottle. Two cases remain unsolved; one case remains under investigation. The postmortem drug levels in these cases are lower than seen in adult fatalities. We review the literature on diphenhydramine toxicity, particularly as it pertains to small children, and discuss the rationale for treating these cases as fatal intoxications.     

Politics and Literature: Means and Ends in Koestler

The fruitfulness of imaginative literature as source material for the student of politics has been a subject for much debate over recent years, though the impact of literature on the teaching of politics remains limited. This paper addresses by means of an example (that of the relationship between means and ends) some of the fundamental problems involved in the relationship and some of the advantages which imaginative literature might bring to our understanding of political issue and concepts. Following introductory comments about the relationship between politics and literature in general we consider the treatment of means and ends in political theory, especially Machiavelli's claim that when the 'act accuses, the result excuses'. Finally and substantively we consider the treatment of the means/end theme in Arthur Koestler's Darkness at Noon and The Gladiators and conclude with some general comments about the relationship between the study of politics and imaginative literature.     

这纠缠不清的网

＂哦,当我们第一次编谎话,我们织了怎样一张纠缠不清的网呀!＂这句话摘选自沃尔特·斯各特爵士1808年出版的史诗《玛米恩》。     

奏下去吧

最近,我受韩国艺术协会之邀访问了首尔。访问期间我生平第一次观看了“板索里”（Pansori,韩国清唱）,这也成为多年来最令我动容的艺术体验之一。虽然名为“韩国清唱”,但这种艺术形式主要是朗诵张力十足的戏剧故事,多半是“演”而不是“唱”。其与众不同之处在于,演出可能会很长一一最长可达8个小时（尽管我观看的那一场演出只有两个半小时）一而且是由一位演员演满全场。     

结婚生意

“你愿意嫁给我吗？”多年前,我用最浪漫的语调向她求婚。我承认那一刻我的声音可能有些颤抖,但令我倍感诧异的是,直到两天后我才得到她肯定的回答：“我愿意。”难道在她看来,这紧张表明我对她不够真心？还是她或许真的需要时间考虑—下,还有什么理由让她对一个如此魅力四射、前程似锦的年轻男子的求婚迟迟不予答复呢？我至今也不知道答案,且已有决断：就此问题刨根问底毫无益处,我宁可浑然沉浸在幸福的无知中。     

Rural responses to reform in Post-Soviet countries

This review article discusses three books on post-communist agrarian reforms. At the heart of the discussion are questions over the efficacy of market reform and rural responses to reform policies. The article argues that the conception of reform that stemmed from the Washington Consensus was often too narrow and did not always lead to expected results, and indeed, sometimes led to unwanted, unintended results. Nonetheless, the three books are highly suggestive of rural adaptation in most post-communist nations. The nature and degree of adaptation to a new economic environment across several post-communist nations represent a critical mass of rural responses. Instead of seeing rural responses as resistant to change, or victims of change, a more nuanced view of reform appreciates the transformation in social and economic relations engendered by market reform.     

The global importance of ‘illiberal moderates’, an exchange: partners in peace to precede a concert of democracies

The following is an exchange concerning the concept of ‘illiberal moderates’ and its implications for a new global architecture as well as for a worldview that sees the evolution of a global core of shared values which favour domestic and international security, in sharp contrast to the ‘clash of civilizations’ thesis. The original statement was published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs (Etzioni 2006). A more extensive treatment can be found in Part III of Security first: for a muscular, moral foreign policy (Etzioni 2007b), which examines texts of four religious and two secular belief systems as well as review of relevant public opinion polls and ‘traveller notes’. Here follows a brief summary of the main thesis, followed by comments from prominent scholars and Etzioni's response to these comments.