Pete Maravich's incredible heart

Postmortem examination of a former professional basketball player revealed an abnormal heart, most notably a single coronary artery. The literature on single coronary arteries is briefly reviewed, and the possible mechanism which caused the patient's condition is considered. This case is particularly unusual because of the patient's profession, which is so physically demanding.     

The relationship between education, experience, and police performance

This study used data from 299 police officers from 12 municipal police departments across the state of Virginia to determine the relationship between education and police performance. Performance was measured by supervisor evaluations of each officer's overall performance, communication skills, public relations skills, report writing skills, response to new training, decision making ability, and commitment to the police department. Significant correlations were found between education and most measures of performance. Most importantly, the results show a significant correlation between overall performance and education (r=24, p.<001). The only variables not proving to be significantly related to education were objective measures of the volume of arrests, number of times the officer required discipline, and number of accidents. Interestingly, the benefits of a college education do not become apparent until police officers gain experience. In addition, police, officers with only a high school diploma decreased in overall performance after five years of experience.     

Comparison of fingernail striation patterns in identical twins.

The fingernail ridge patterns of a pair of identical twins were compared to each other, their parents, and an unrelated subject. The patterns of the twins' nails showed regions of strong similarity but were distinguishable from one another. Fewer similarities were found when comparing the nails to those of the parents and the unrelated control. The twins were shown to be monozygotic by means of DNA profiling. This therefore represents the first demonstration of unique fingernail ridge patterns in subjects shown conclusively to be identical twins. When the fingernail ridge patterns were examined with a scanning electron microscope, the backscattered electron (BEI) images were found to have superior contrast when compared to the secondary electron (SEI) images.     

Responding to the global tobacco industry: Canada and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Abstract: In a continuing quest to build and defend world markets for tobacco products, tobacco companies have long been involved in international cooperation and information‐sharing through their own international corporate networks, as well as through national and international industry trade associations. This is evidenced in tobacco industry corporate documents now freely available on the internet. In order to institute effective tobacco control policy, policy‐makers needed to become equally astute at sharing information across national boundaries and at considering the cross‐national implications of policy and legislation. The World Health Organization has been instrumental in developing the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), and Canada has played an important part in this effort. The FCTC contains both demand‐reduction provisions and supply‐side provisions intended to reduce tobacco use worldwide. As a signatory to the FCTC, Canada has pledged to adhere to these provisions, thereby providing Canadian public administrators with effective tools to reduce tobacco use and its associated health burden both nationally and internationally. Sommaire: En cherchant continuellement à développer et à défendre les marchés mondiaux pour les produits du tabac, les sociétés productrices de tabac sont impliquées depuis longtemps dans la coopération internationale et le partage d'informations par le biais de leurs propres réseaux de sociétés internationales et d'associations professionnelles nationales et internationales. C'est ce qui ressort des documents des sociétés productrices de tabac auxquels on peut accéder librement sur Internet. Afin d'instituer une politique efficace de contrôle du tabagisme, les décideurs politiques ont dù devenir astucieux quant au partage d'informations et à l'étude des répercussions transnationales des politiques et des lois. L'Organisation mondiale de la santé a fortement contribuéà l'élaboration de la Convention‐cadre sur la lutte contre le tabagisme (CCLCT), et le Canada a joué un rôle important sur ce plan. La CCLCT contient à la fois des dispositions relatives à la réduction de la demande et d'autres relatives à l'offre qui visent à réduire la consommation de tabac dans le monde entier. En tant que pays signataire de la CCLCT, le Canada s'est engagéà respecter ces dispositions, fournissant ainsi aux administrateurs publics canadiens des outils efficaces pour réduire la consommation de tabac et le fardeau sur la santé qui lui est associéà l'échelle nationale et internationale.     

Scales for perceived risk of student-on-student victimization in grades 7 through 10: A psychometric analysis of the adolescent index on school safety

Although past research has developed scales for the incidence, prevalence, and fear of student-on-student victimization (SSV), little is known about the scaling of perceived risk (i.e., the cognitive appraisal of the chances of experiencing SSV). Hence, this study examined self-report survey data for the perceived risk of SSV as measured in the Adolescent Index for School Safety (AISS). Children in grades 7 through 10 (n=337) in a single Florida public school completed the AISS. Factor analyses using Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Oblimin Rotation identified nine unique factors for perceived risk. Reliability analyses found standardized Cronbach Alphas that ranged from .64 to .91, and seven out of the nine identified scales were above .80, which suggested good to excellent internal consistency. Future research should examine the content validity, construct validity, and predictive validity for the AISS and other self-report surveys of SSV dynamics. This publication was made possible by a grant [#97-MU-FX-KO12 (S-l)] from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (O.J.J.D.P.), United States Department of Justice (U.S.D.O.J.). This grant is administered through the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence at George Washington University. This specific study was developed and implemented by staff at: 1) East Carolina University’s Department of Criminal Justice; and 2) Florida State University’s Center for Educational Research and Policy Studies. All points of view and opinions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of East Carolina University, Florida State University, the Hamilton Fish National Institute on School and Community Violence, the O.J.J.D.P., or the U.S.D.OJ. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Bill Doerner and Jennifer Jolley for their support, editorial feedback, and insightful comments regarding earlier drafts of this paper.     

Forensic psychiatry and malpractice

This paper concerning the last 87 malpractice cases referred to the Department of Psychiatry and Law, Menninger Clinic, includes 57 suits against mental health practitioners and/or institutions, and 30 nonpsychiatric suits against general hospitals, surgeons, obstetricians, etc. A patient was available for interview in only 12 percent of the psychiatric cases; in 88 percent we reviewed medical records and consulted with attorneys. In the psychiatric cases the crucial question was whether a generally accepted standard of care was breached. The inherent problems of applying appropriate criteria to standards of care by practitioners and institutions are discussed. In half the psychiatric cases we found no significant deviation from acceptable clinical performance; in half we concluded that negligent practice had occurred. We did see a litigant for evaluation in 90 percent of the nonpsychiatric cases. The main issue involving them concerned harm or disability related to presumed negligence by medical personnel. How we evaluate such cases and apply disability criteria is discussed.     

Traffic accidents and drivers suspected for drug influence

All records from the Danish Medicolegal Council concerning drivers suspected for drug influences were examined for the 5 year period 1981-1985. 461 records were included, 62 women and 399 men. In 250 cases drugs from more than one of ten groups had been taken thus making 786 combinations of drug/driving. The major drug group was benzodiazepines, accounting for 65% of all drug intake. Opioids also contributed substantially, found in 38% of the cases. A traffic accident had occurred in 180 (39%) of the records. Drivers who had been taking antidepressives were involved in an accident in 67%, significantly above the mean. For benzodiazepines, the corresponding percentage was 43%, while for opioids it was only 23%, significantly below the mean. This striking difference has been demonstrated in most of the studies concerning drugs in traffic. It may support the hypothesis that opioids do not necessarily make driving dangerous, as do antidepressives, barbiturates and especially benzodiazepines.