Death of a 6-year-old boy with mental retardation: accident versus child abuse

This case study involved death of a 6-year-old child with a history of mental retardation secondary to meningitis at 11 months, spastic quadriplegia, seizure disorder, and hydrocephaly with a remote ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement and gastric tube feedings. Reportedly, the child was co-sleeping with his mother when she awoke and discovered him lying prone and not breathing on the carpeted floor next to the bed. He was transported to the hospital and died in the emergency room of unknown causes. The medical examiner assumed jurisdiction of the body. The external examination revealed petechial hemorrhages on the neck and face, with patterned linear pressure abrasions on the chest, arms, and face. X-rays revealed leg fractures of different ages. This case emphasizes the importance of coordination of death scene investigation, medical history review, and autopsy results through a forensic team approach to determine the accurate cause and manner of death.     

The draw a person test and young state hospital patients

Because of the increasing number of adolescents being admitted to state hospitals, because of the continuing need for appropriate testing materials for these patients, and because of the frequent criticism leveled against the DAP's validity, this study was undertaken in order to provide normative data for the DAP with this particular clinical population. The subjects were 84 male and 66 female psychiatric patients from the Adolescent Unit (AU) at Rusk State Hospital. As each patient was admitted to the AU, he was scheduled for psychological testing, with the DAP, the Revised Beta, and the MMPI being part of this testing. The results of this study indicate that the social factors of Ethnicity and Work Habits are significantly related to DAP test performance by male subjects, while Diagnosis is significantly related to DAP test performance by female subjects. A subject's performance on the MMPI and the Revised Beta Examination was not found to be significantly related to his performance on the DAP.Received B.S. in psychology from North Texas State University in 1967 and M.S. in psychology from North Texas State University in 1968. Research interest is child and adolescent psychology and etiology of deviant behavior.Received B.S. in psychoogy from Stephen F. Austin University in 1965, M.S. in psychology from Stephen F. Austin University in 1967, and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Alabama in 1971. Research interest is applied research in mental health and mental retardation with emphasis on learning theory and cognitive development.Received B.A. in education and psychology from Baylor University in 1963, M.A. in education from Baylor University in 1967, and Ed.D. in educational psychology from Baylor University in 1970. Research interest is applied research in mental health and mental retardation.Received B. S. in mathematics from William and Mary University in 1960, M.S. in mathematical statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1962, and Ph.D. in mathematical statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1967. Research interest is statistical methodologies in the field of mental health and mental retardation.Received A.S. in data processing from Date Junior College, Miami, Florida, in 1966, B.A. in mathematics from the University of South Florida in 1968, and M.S. in statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1970. Research interest is statistcal methodolgies in the field of mental health and mental retardation.Received B.S. in psychology from Texas A & M University in 1970 and M.S. in psychology from Stephen F. Austin University in 1971. Research interest is child and adolescent psychology and etiology of deviant behavior.     

Fatal capnocytophaga infection associated with splenectomy

A case of fatal sepsis due to Capnocytophaga species is described. Capnatophaga canimorsus and C. cynodegmi can cause localized wound infections and/or systemic infections in people who have been bitten, licked, scratched, or merely exposed to cats or dogs, especially splenectomized individuals. A thorough social, medical, and surgical history, the clinical presentation, and cultures are important in making the diagnosis of Capnocytophaga infections. It is important that the forensic pathologist be aware of this zoonotic disease.     

Taking on the World: The International Activities of American State Legislatures

State legislatures in the United States engage in a substantialamount of international activity. In the 2001-2002 legislativesessions, some 886 bills and resolutions with significant internationalimplications were introduced. Approximately 306 of these wereadopted. This level of international activity has increasedsubstantially since 1991, and the substantive focus has changedover time. In addition, about half of all state legislaturesreceived at least one foreign delegation and sent at least onedelegation of members abroad in the last session. As in mostareas of state policy, there is considerable interstate variationin legislatures' international activities. Some states had virtuallyno international legislative activity, whereas others were veryactive. The principal factors explaining this variation werethe degree of state involvement in the international economy,as measured by the level of state exports, and party controlof the legislature.     

The Rise of Uber and Regulating the Disruptive Innovator

The ride‐hailing company Uber has achieved extremely rapid global expansion by means of outmanoeuvring governments, regulators and competitors. The rise of the company has been based on a deliberate strategy of acting as a market disruptive innovator through a user friendly technology and making use of the ‘sharing economy’. These attributes are not unique, but are distinctively augmented by a relentless expansionary ambition and an ability to maintain the capacity to innovate. Uber has generated great political controversy, but the challenge for governments and regulators is to embrace the benefits of the disruptive innovator, while adopting an approach that takes into account the full range of impacts. For Uber, the challenge is to maintain its expansionary style as a disruptive innovator, while also redefining on its terms the political and public debate. The case study of London provides important insights into the dynamics of these processes.     

CRIME AND PERSONALITY REVISITED

The present study explored the effects of MMPI response sets on relatonships between crime and personality in self-report studies. The MMPI-168 and a 21-item delinquent behavior questionnaire were administered to 1680 high school students. The Psychopathic Deviate, Schizophrenia, and Hypomania scales of the MMPI-168 were correlated with delinquent behaviors, with and without control for the L, F, and K scales of the MMPI-168, considered separately and simultaneously. Controlling for F eliminated some relationships and significantly diminished the magnitude of others, while control for L and K had no significant effect. Studies of this nature that fail to control for the F type of response set may produee largely illusory results.     

The discrimination of small fragments of household gloss paint by microspectrophotometry

A microspectrophotometer has been used to discriminate between sets of household gloss paints of the same British Standard colours obtained from different manufacturers. Reflectance spectra were obtained, over the range 390 to 900 nm, from paint top surfaces and individual cross-sectional layers. Comparison of the reflectance spectra enabled visually similar paints to be discriminated.