Independence day explosion on lovers key

The display of fireworks is a popular holiday celebration in the United States. Because injuries due to recreational fireworks-related explosions among private consumers are relatively common, the sale of fireworks is regulated by the federal government and is also limited by state and local laws. In contrast, because fireworks display companies are under tight safety regulations, explosions in the professional pyrotechnics industry are uncommon occurrences, and the literature contains rare reports of injuries and fatalities resulting from such explosions. We report the 2003 Fourth of July commercial fireworks explosion on Lovers Key in southwest Florida that resulted in five fatalities. Events occurring during the investigation of the scene of this explosion illustrate the unique considerations and hazards for medicolegal death investigators, law enforcement and other investigative agencies. Additionally, this case demonstrates unusual aspects of the postmortem examinations performed on victims of fireworks-related incidents.     

Economic freedom and economic rights: Direction,significance and ideology

The discussion here takes stock of and analyses the way in which ideas of economic freedom and basic economic rights have evolved during the last half century to generate legal discourse and legal action, and with what effect, with particular reference to Europe as a site for such developments. It is necessary to probe the understanding and purpose of such ‘rights talk’ and also to set the discourse in relevant ideological contexts. For the purpose of this exercise, a broad distinction is drawn between two major categories of economic right. The first category may be broadly described as ‘integration rights’—entrepreneurial in character, forward‐looking and opportunistic in a historical context of supranational integration and trade liberalisation. The second category, in contrast, may be termed ‘vulnerability rights’; these are more protective in character, and serve to enhance the opportunities of the economically disadvantaged, those sections of the population at risk of social exclusion and poverty. An assessment is made, on the one hand, of the achievement of the movement to exploit integration rights, and on the other hand, the prospect for the mobilisation and assertion of vulnerability rights in the wake of governmental policies of austerity.     

Discussion of 'International Political Economy from a Chinese Angle'

According to Zhu Wenli, Chinese scholars of political economy have been examining many of the same issues as their American counterparts, but have reached quite different conclusions. Chinese scholars accept the importance of globalization, but do not believe that globalization is making the nation-state less relevant or international regimes more powerful. They concede that economic and other transnational issues are becoming increasingly salient in international affairs, but conclude that they are simply altering the ways in which nations compete for power rather than making the international system more cooperative. They agree that much of today's world order is rooted in American hegemony, but do not consider that US foreign policy can be characterized as 'benign'. These conclusions have troubling implications for US‐China relations. They suggest that China will not agree to be integrated into an international community led by the United States, and that the relationship between Beijing and Washington is more likely to be competitive than cooperative.     

DNA typing and forensic science

With new typing techniques forensic scientists can characterise individuals at the fundamental level of their DNA. Variation between individuals at this level can be used to discriminate between them. Why this is so and how it is achieved is described in relatively simple terms for legal and medical practitioners who have no formal training in genetics.     

Identification of atractyloside by LC-ESI-MS in alleged herbal poisonings

An LC-MS screening method was developed to detect the presence of atractyloside (ATR), the toxic principle of a commonly used medicinal plant in South Africa, Callilepis laureola, in biological matrices such as body fluids and human viscera.     

The uncertain future of US‐China relations

The coming months may be critical in determining whether it will be possible for the United States and China to forge a stable and productive relationship, says Harry Harding, Dean of the Elliot School of International Affairs, George Washington University. Problems are mounting in several sensitive areas of the relationship: human rights, trade, and security, and there remain differences between the two countries over Taiwan and Korea that could bedevil their bilateral ties. Furthermore, American critics of China are resuming their attacks on the relationship, charging that engagement has failed either to narrow differences or to promote common objectives. Harding argues that the benefits of the US‐China relationship are so great, and the costs of failure so large, that the two countries should make every effort to maintain the momentum toward building a constructive strategic partnership.     

Healthy Families America: ruminations on implementing a home visitation program to prevent child maltreatment

Following a 1990 federal report forecasting a national child abuse and neglect epidemic, Prevent Child Abuse America (PCA America) promoted a home visitation program known as Healthy Families America (HFA). HFA achieved rapid adoption and implementation across the nation going from 25 sites in 1992 to 430 in a decade. In this article, the authors describe PCA America's approach to develop, promote, oversee, and evaluate a national home visitation program. Despite its promising growth, HFA has been criticized for failing to achieve the goal of preventing child maltreatment. HFA's past and present are critiqued based on theory and implementation practice of home visitation and its future projected from the perspective of insiders. Developing a better understanding of HFA's history will advance existing models of home visitation and add to the emerging knowledge base of child maltreatment prevention.