Cardiac tamponade caused by migration of a swallowed sewing needle

The case of a 20-year-old female prisoner who died due to cardiac tamponade caused by a swallowed sewing needle migration is reported. According to the autopsy report and complete analysis of medical records, the migration of the swallowed needle was reconstructed: from esophagus and stomach, through diaphragm and pericardium up to the left heart ventricle, where the needle was found at the autopsy. The case is very interesting and unique: there has been no similar case described in medical literature so far.     

The Uncovered Set and the Limits of Legislative Action

Ivan Jeliazkov Department of Economics, University of California, Irvine,Irvine, CA Itai Sened Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO We present a simulation technique for sorting out the size,shape, and location of the uncovered set to estimate the setof enactable outcomes in "real-world" social choice situations,such as the contemporary Congress. The uncovered set is a well-knownbut underexploited solution concept in the literature on spatialvoting games and collective choice mechanisms. We explain thissolution concept in nontechnical terms, submit some theoreticalobservations to improve our theoretical grasp of it, and providea simulation technique that makes it possible to estimate thisset and thus enable a series of tests of its empirical relevance.     

Risk of suicide ideation associated with problem-solving ability and attitudes toward suicidal behavior in university students

The present paper investigates the risk of lifetime suicide ideation associated with problem-solving ability and attitudes toward suicidal behavior in a sample of 328 university students (41% male, 59% female). The response rate was 77% based on the total number of students registered for the relevant courses. A series of questions assessed lifetime suicide ideation, while problem solving and attitudes toward suicide were measured using the Self-Rating Problem Solving scale and four subscales of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire, respectively (McLeavey, 1986; Domino et al., 1989). Almost one-third of the students surveyed had lifetime suicide ideation. Both genders were similar in terms of their suicide ideation history, problem solving, and attitudes toward suicidal behavior with the exception that male students were more in agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior lacks real intent. Compared with 2% of nonideators and ideators, one in four planners reported that they would more than likely attempt suicide at some point in their life. Greater agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior is normal was associated with significantly increased risk of being an ideator, as was poor problem solving and less agreement with the attitude that suicidal behavior is associated with mental illness.     

Literature, Social Poetics, and Identity Construction in Montenegro

This article outlines the contested nature of identity in Montenegro and elaborates on its phases of development. It also problematizes the nature of the efforts to create mechanisms of civil society in contemporary Montenegro.     

Postmortem production of ethanol in different tissues under controlled experimental conditions

The aim of this study was to follow the postmortem ethanol production phenomenon under controlled experimental conditions (temperature, time interval) in different tissues. Specimens of blood, liver, skeletal muscle and kidney were taken from 30 corpses and no chemical preservatives were used in the specimens collected. Ethanol concentrations were detected by gas chromatography. All specimens stored at -20 degrees C and 4 degrees C did not show any change in ethanol concentration in an eight-day time interval. At 20 degrees C and 30 degrees C, all tissues, except blood, showed statistically significant ethanol production over the time interval tested. However, blood sample kept at 30 degrees C, showed statistically significant increase in ethanol production on the 2nd and 4th day comparing to the controls. Thus, we can state that postmortem ethanol production occurs in different tissues, and is increased at higher temperatures and, in general, it is in accordance with the course of time.     

Determination of polymorphism at eight STR loci in the Croatian population using automated detection

Population study was carried out on the sample of 167 unrelated donors from the wider area of the Croatia's capital, Zagreb, using the short tandem reapet (STR) loci: TH01, VWFA31, FES/FPS, F13A01, D1S1656, D12S391, D18S535 and D22S683.     

Copycatting the smell of death: Deciphering the role of cadaveric scent components used by detection dogs to locate human remains

Human remains detection dogs (HRDD) are commonly used by law enforcement agencies to search for cadavers. Biological material is typically used as a training stimulus, also called aids, to train dogs to recognize the smell of cadavers. While HRDD training approaches have received extensive attention, information remains limited on the olfactory cues used to train them. Here, we aimed to decipher the chemical basis of detection dog olfaction. Five specific objectives were explored to precise whether the composition or the concentration of the training aids drives the HRDDs responses. We recorded the behavioral responses of four HRDDs exposed to different cadaveric-like smells. We found that HRDDs recognized a simplified synthetic aid composed of cadaveric compounds. The lowest concentration at which HRDDs continued to perceive the cadaveric smell was determined. HRDDs were not impacted by slight modifications to the chemical composition of a blend of odors that they have been trained with. HRDDs associated sulfur and nitrogen compounds as human cadaver. Our findings highlight a lack of specificity of HRDDs to cadaveric compounds, which could lead to error of detection. Moreover, all dogs did not positively respond to the same blends, despite being trained with the same aids and procedure. However, we confirmed that dogs could be trained with a simplified blend of molecules. The chemical composition of a training aid has, therefore, high consequences on the performance of the trained animal, and this conclusion opens additional questions regarding olfaction-based detection animals.