Niche crime: The Columbus gangs study

Even though researchers have studied gangs for many years now, very little is known about the criminal activity of gang leaders. The purpose of this study is to examine the types of criminal activities in which gang leaders participate. Analysis of the criminal histories of 83 gang leaders from Columbus, Ohio, suggests that gangs there specialize in certain types of crime. These data imply that gang suppression policies might be more effective if they target specific niches of the crime market. The Office of Criminal Justice Services of the State of Ohio funded this research under Grant No. 91-JJ-C010682. The author wishes to thank Dr. Michael R. Sutton of Nottingham Trent University for his contributions to this article.     

Cold bacon: co-partisan politics in Brazil

Public Choice - This paper provides evidence of alignment effects between the executive and the legislative branches of the central government. We rely on detailed data on Brazilian...     

Suicidal carbon monoxide poisoning in an automobile with the engine switched off

Report is made on a suicidal carbon monoxide poisoning through entrance of exhaust fumes into the interior of the vehicle. The situation of discovery (switched-off engine) occasioned experimental examinations. The result showed that fatal carbon monoxide concentrations can obviously remain in the interior of a vehicle over a long period of time.     

Suicide with sodium azide

A case report is presented of the suicide of a 27-year-old female laboratory assistant by means of sodium azide. Simple colorimetric and volumetric methods are present to detect and estimate the salt.