Do citizens hold mayors accountable for local conditions? Evidence from Italian municipalities

Using data on 75 big Italian municipalities between 2010 and 2015, this paper looks at the extent to which citizens’ evaluations of mayors are responsive to changes in local performance indicators. While local economic and crime measures are found not be associated with mayoral approval ratings, there is a correlation between mayors’ popularity and indicators for local public transportation and air quality. Mayors of municipalities where more individuals use public transport and where there is less polluted air enjoy higher approval ratings. Additional analysis shows that this result is driven by very big municipalities (with a population over 500,000) that are more likely to be exposed to high levels of traffic congestion and pollution.     

Language and education laws in multi-ethnic de facto states: the cases of Abkhazia and Transnistria

Even after the conflicts of the early 1990s that brought them to their de facto independence, both Abkhazia and Transnistria remained strongly multi-ethnic. In both territories, no single ethnic group is an absolute majority and Russian is the language that is mostly spoken on the streets of Sukhumi and Tiraspol. Legislators of both entities felt the need to deal with multi-ethnicity and multilingualism, including in their constitutions, in laws related to education, or more directly with specific language laws (1992 law “On languages” in Transnistria; 2007 law “On the state language in Abkhazia”). The protection of linguistic rights that is formally part of the legislation of both territories finds limitations in practice. The language of education has proved to be particularly contentious, in particular for Moldovan/Romanian language schools in Transnistria and Georgian language schools in Abkhazia. Why are language laws in Abkhazia and Transnistria so different, in spite of the fact that they are both post-Soviet, multi-ethnic territories that became de facto independent in the early 1990s? The different approaches found in Abkhazia and Transnistria represent remarkable examples of language legislation as a tool for nation-building in ethnically heterogeneous territories.     

A case of beta-carboline alkaloid intoxication following ingestion of Peganum harmala seed extract

Beta-carboline alkaloids harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine can stimulate the central nervous system by inhibiting the metabolism of amine neurotransmitters, or by direct interaction with specific receptors; they are found in numerous plants, including Peganum harmala, Passiflora incarnata and Banisteriopsis caapi, and in the entheogen preparation Ayahuasca, which is traditionally brewed using B. caapi to enhance the activity of amine hallucinogenic drugs. The ingestion of plant preparations containing beta-carboline alkaloids may result in toxic effects, namely visual and auditory hallucinations, locomotor ataxia, nausea, vomiting, confusion and agitation. We report a case of intoxication following intentional ingestion of P. harmala seed infusion; P. harmala seeds were bought over the Internet. The harmala alkaloids were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the seed extract and the patient's urine. This is, to our knowledge, the first case of P. harmala intoxication corroborated by toxicological findings.     

Post-mortem stability and redistribution of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT)

Post-mortem diagnosis of chronic alcohol abuse is a challenge for forensic experts due to the lack of pathognomonic morphological findings and often also inadequate background information. Objective methods demonstrating chronic excessive alcohol consumption would therefore be a useful tool for forensic pathologists. In clinical practice, several markers of chronic alcohol abuse have recently been introduced, among which carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) is the most accepted, but the use of these markers in autopsy has not yet been established. We examined post-mortem stability and possible post-mortem redistribution of CDT and compared two analytical methods, capillary zone electrophoresis and high-performance liquid chromatography. According to our results, CDT remains stable for an appreciable time after death. The results further indicate that CDT is not subject to major post-mortem redistribution.     

D: Reviews and notes: bibliographies and works of reference

HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF SAUDI ARABIA. By J. E. Peterson. (Asian Historical Dictionaries, no. 14). Metuchen, NJ and London, Scarecrow Press, 1993. xxii, 244 pp. £29.25.

THE OXFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE MODERN ISLAMIC WORLD (4 volumes). Editor in Chief John L Esposito. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1995.

MUSLIM WOMEN THROUGHOUT THE WORLD: A BIBLIOGRAPHY. By Michelle R. Kimball and Barbara R. Von Schlegell. Boulder, CO and London, Lynne Rienner, 1997. ix, 307 pp. £59.95.

ALGERIEN‐BIBLIOGRAPHIE: DEUTSCHLAND, ÖSTERREICH, SCHWEIZ, 1962–1994. Complied by Ernstpeter Ruhe. 2nd enlarged edition. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 1995, 283 pp., DM 148.     

Sudden Unexpected Deaths Due to Intracranial Meningioma: Presentation of Six Fatal Cases,Review of the Literature,and A Discussion of the Mechanisms of Death

Deaths due to meningiomas are routinely diagnosed in clinical practice because this neoplasm tends to present with the typical progression of neurological deficits. On the other hand, sudden unexpected deaths due to meningiomas are rarely described in the literature. The study presents six fatal cases of previously undiagnosed intracranial meningiomas from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office from 1998 to 2014. The most common explanation of the mechanism of sudden death due to intracranial neoplasms is a rapid increase in intracranial pressure produced by the mass effect of the neoplasm. Other mechanisms of death include acute intracranial and intratumoral hemorrhage, and benign neoplasms that grow in the vicinity of vital centers altering neural discharge in autonomic pathways leading to cardiac suppression or lethal arrhythmia. Forensic pathologists must keep in mind that sudden unexpected death caused by intracranial meningiomas, although extremely rare, may be encountered in the forensic setting.     

Determination of carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) with capillary electrophoresis: an inter laboratory comparison

Carbohydrate deficient transferrin (CDT) is currently the most specific laboratory marker of chronic or sustained alcohol abuse. CDT is increasingly being used as a diagnostic tool in the areas employment, traffic safety and forensic medicine. In recent times, capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been proposed as a convenient tool for rapid, precise and accurate CDT determination, not only for research but also for routine analyses. Quite recently, commercial kits have been introduced which, reportedly, could simplify and standardize CDT analysis with capillary electrophoresis. The present work was aimed at testing the ruggedness of a capillary electrophoretic method based on a commercial kit (CEofix, Analis), by comparing the results obtained with different instruments in different laboratories, on a panel of sera randomly collected and exchanged. The results showed, notwithstanding few outliers, excellent correlation of the results obtained in the two laboratories (R=0.974). Also high concordance was found when results were classified as positive or negative on the basis of a cut-off (1.25%) established from a control group of teetotalers. In conclusion the present data support the usefulness of capillary electrophoresis for CDT determination for clinical, forensic and administrative diagnosis of chronic alcohol abuse.     

An evaluation of the Cozart RapiScan system as an on-site screening tool for drugs of abuse in a non-conventional biological matrix: vitreous humor

The aim of this project was to evaluate the Cozart RapiScan Oral fluid Drug Testing System as an on-site screening tool for vitreous humor samples collected during post-mortem examinations. Vitreous humor is easy to collect and as it is contained within the eye it is almost completely unaffected by post-mortem redistribution. The ability to carry out an initial drug screen on vitreous humor at the earliest stage of the death investigation process could contribute significantly to the assessment of the role drugs may have played prior to confirmation with toxicological analyses at the laboratory. Vitreous humor (n = 146) was collected from autopsy examinations (111 males and 35 females) with a specific focus on cases where death occurred following a road traffic accident or where an overdose was suspected. All samples were screened using the five-panel methadone Cozart RapiScan Cartridge with an overall positive rate of 29%. Of the positive results, 43% screened positive for benzodiazepines, 17% for cocaine, 7% for methadone and 33% for opiates. Positive samples, with the exception of benzodiazepines, and 20% of negative samples were analysed by GC/MS. This is the first reported use of this system as an on-site forensic tool in death investigation and for screening for drugs of abuse in vitreous humor. The conclusions from this study show that the Cozart RapiScan System could play an important role in obtaining information on the toxicological state of the person at the time of death.