Insanity plea

Examining 484 consecutive criminal cases in which the NGRI plea was made, it was found: (1) a high degree of interexaminer agreement existed on the issue of the defendant's mental state in a nonadversary examination procedure; and, (2) court verdicts were highly congruent with the opinions expressed by examiners on the issue of insanity.     

Postmortem tissue embolisms. Report of 3 cases

In three cases of autopsy (cause of death - intoxication and drowning) we found in the lung intraalveolar und intravasal lymphatic tissue and bone-marrow. The results cannot be explained with violence during lifetime, but in tow cases as an effect of fracture of rips caused by external cardiacmassage, in one case by embalming with injection of conservation fluids.     

The role of hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide in fire casualties: a prospective study

Determinations of blood cyanide and carboxyhemoglobin concentrations were performed in 18 victims found dead in buildings after fires during a 2-year period. The results indicated that 50% of the victims had been exposed to toxic levels of hydrogen cyanide and 90% to toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide were found in 83% of the victims. In one case a lethal blood cyanide but a non-toxic blood carboxyhemoglobin value was found. It is concluded that carbon monoxide appears to be more important than hydrogen cyanide as a toxic agent in the fire atmosphere, but cyanide poisoning without carbon monoxide poisoning may, under certain circumstances, be the cause of death in fire victims.     

State legislation on smoking and health: A comparison of two policies

The two principal smoking-related state legislative activities stand in sharp contrast to one another. Cigarette excise taxation diffused among the states well before the connection between smoking and illness became a public issue, yet more recent tax increases appear to reflect a response to the national anti-smoking campaign. The growing disparity in cigarette prices between tobacco and other states has created a lucrative market in bootlegged cigarettes and has thereby brought new taxation to a virtual standstill for six years. Laws restricting smoking in public places represent a phenomenon of the 1970's clearly bearing the imprint of the anti-smoking campaign. From 1972 through 1978, the number of states with such laws in effect grew from 5 to 36, and the restrictiveness of the laws also increased. The dramatic correlation between diffusion of the laws and decreases in cigarette consumption rates seems best interpreted as each of these reflecting changes in social attitudes toward smoking.     

Is technology transfer more than a “mechanical” process?

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