Breaking point? An analysis of fatal stab wounds to the torso in Ireland between 2011 and 2018, examining the extent of rib fractures

This study examines the pattern of rib injuries occurring in cases of fatal torso stab wounds in Ireland between 2011 and 2018. It has been suggested by previous studies that rib fractures are not commonly sustained in stab wounds to the torso. We wanted to ascertain whether this was the case, as our data suggested that rib fractures were frequent, and where a rib is fractured there is a higher chance of organ injury and death, making this an important area of study. One hundred and forty seven cases of fatal stab wounds from an eight-year period were retrospectively reviewed. Fatal stab wounds to other body areas, were excluded; leaving a total of 104 cases with stab wounds to the torso. We found that 69.2% of cases had rib injuries, a figure significantly higher than previously reported. Our data suggests that stab wounds to the torso often fracture ribs, putting the underlying organs at increased risk of injury and perhaps contributing to fatality. The amount of force needed to cause a rib fracture can be difficult to quantify and indeed from the high percentage of rib fractures sustained in our data it appears that the ribs may be fractured regardless of the amount of force used; this is borne out by the finding that self-inflicted injuries also caused rib fractures. Our study shows that other factors, such as anatomical positioning and wound depth may have a greater bearing than force in terms of whether a rib fracture is sustained.     

Determination of GHB in urine and serum by LC/MS using a simple one-step derivative

A sensitive and specific method for the determination of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in urine and serum is described. Prior to quantification by LC/MS in a Pauli-type ion trap, the molecule is converted by a fast and simple one-step procedure into its n-butyl ester derivative. Hexa-deutero GHB has been used as internal standard.     

Intra-Party Support for the Good Friday Agreement in the Ulster Unionist Party

Party organisations are often 'black boxes' overlooked by scholars in favour of party leaders, manifestos and elections. Yet intra-party dynamics are often crucial. This article uses the example of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to illustrate this. Events in the 1998–2003 period highlight the importance of splits within the party's governing Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) over the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) which underpins the Northern Ireland peace process. This article pioneers the use of postcode-profiling technology and uses multi-level analysis of a UUC party list to show that delegates' party section provides the best predictor of their stance towards the Good Friday Agreement. Consequently, the article argues that delegate voting behaviour within the UUC is best explained by reference to highly embedded, meso-level institutions which perpetuate networks and condition individual preferences.     

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of DNA extracted from postmortem muscle tissues

DNA extracted from 33 postmortem muscle specimens was analyzed using MZ 1.3, a hypervariable minisatellite probe, as well as locus-specific minisatellite probes (g3, MS1 and MS43). After storage at -25 degrees C for 10 months, DNA from all the samples was partially (approximately 21% of total DNA) degraded even when autopsy was performed 1 day postmortem. However, more than 90% of DNA samples up to at least 3 days postmortem were suitable to obtain good restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns. When small strips of specimen were stored for 8 days at room temperature in moist chambers, approximately 42% of total DNA was degraded. Only 30% of these DNA samples still showed good RFLP patterns. However, no obvious relation between qualities of DNA analyzed by detection of RFLP and quantities of total and high-MW DNA became apparent. A case of familial relationship was ascertained by DNA fingerprints. Since DNA of good quality can be recovered from muscle tissues in large quantities, DNA extraction from muscle tissues and detection of RFLP patterns should be very useful for individual identification in autopsy cases.     

More than Pathological Formalization: Understanding Organizational Structure and Red Tape

Most research has conceptualized red tape as being a pathological subset of organizational formalization. This article argues that focusing on a single dimension of organizational structure as a red tape driver is unrealistically narrow. Specifically, the article advances hypotheses as to how organizational centralization and hierarchy affect perceived red tape, in addition to formalization. This reasoning is tested using survey data from employees of three local government organizations in the southeastern United States. All three hypotheses are supported: higher levels of organizational formalization, centralization, and hierarchy are associated with more red tape. Open‐ended comments also indicate that red tape is not solely perceived as related to formalization. The findings imply that red tape is a multifaceted perception of organizational structure rather than perceived pathological formalization.     

Rational Choice and Progress in the Study of Ethnic Conflict: A Review Essay

Through an analysis of eight recent books and a number of articles and papers, this article evaluates recent progress in the study of ethnic conflict, including large scale conflicts and episodic riots. Four main approaches have been applied to the study of ethnic conflict: rational choice, constructivism, essentialism, and structuralism (or realism). This evaluation of recent work includes that rational choice has been the least successful of the approaches; its focus on individuals' pursuit of (mainly) material benefits makes it difficult to recognize or to admit the explanatory power of nationalist feelings that do not depend on the prospect of material benefits. Constructivism has been the most influential approach over the past few decades but until recently has suffered from methodological weaknesses that have hindered testing. Essentialism has been out favor for as long as constructivism has been in, but recent methodological improvements have produced strong work that has resurrected this approach. Structuralism is the youngest approach; it is still immature but has already yielded important new insights. Some eclectic approaches are emerging that combine strengths of the latter three approaches; it remains to be seen whether comparable eclecticism will combine rational choice with one or more of the others.

Daniel L. Byman, Keeping the Peace: Lasting Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002).

Donald L. Horowitz, The Deadly Ethnic Riot(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001).

Stuart J. Kaufman, Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War(Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001).

Roger D. Petersen, Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, and Resentment in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002).

Monica Duffy Toft, The Geography of Ethnic Violence: Identity, Interests, and the Indivisibility of Territory(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003).

Ashutosh Varshney, Ethnic Conflict and Civic Life: Hindus and Muslims in India (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002).

Barbara F. Walter, Committing to Peace: The Successful Settlement of Civil Wars(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001).

Steven I. Wilkinson, Votes and Violence: Electoral Competition and Ethnic Riots in India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004).