Suicidal shot in the mouth with a rubber shot shell

The purpose of weapons designed for self-defence and their ammunition is to allow effective defence without causing serious injury provided that the recommended minimum firing distance is observed. However, close-range and contact shots to vulnerable body regions may cause severe or even fatal injuries. The authors report on a suicide who fired a fatal shot in his mouth with a weapon for self-defence. The weapon used was a double-barrelled SAPL break-action gun, mod. GC 54, from which a Mini Gomm-Cogne, cal. 12/50 rubber shot shell was fired. The wound findings and ballistic characteristics of the weapon are presented and discussed.     

Perceptions of help resources for victims of intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes a major public health problem in the United States. This cross-sectional survey of 108 emergency department (ED) care providers and 146 ED visitors at three metropolitan EDs compared the beliefs of ED health care providers with those of community members about the relative benefits of the helpfulness of resources for IPV victims using hypothetical case scenarios. Although providers generally indicated that help resources were helpful in all scenarios, visitors were more discriminating, showing less support for resources in the lower-risk scenario. Regarding differences between groups, visitors selected police and attorneys more frequently than providers as a helpful resource, whereas providers selected shelters and counselors more frequently than visitors. Adjustment for previous experience with IPV did not change these results. Understanding the differences between health care providers' and community members' perceptions of resources for victims of IPV may improve the effectiveness of referral to IPV resources.     

Coping Strategies in Young Male Prisoners

The general aim of this study is to analyze diverse aspects relating to the use of coping strategies among prison inmates. The specific objectives are (a) to analyze which type of coping strategies predominate among prisoners, considering both the focus and the method; (b) to relate the use of coping strategies with variables related to the prison environment: time spent in prison, previous convictions (first-time vs. repeat offenders) and custodial status (remand vs. convicted inmates); (c) to relate the coping strategies with the appraisal of the stressing situation previously described by the prisoners; and (d) to relate the cognitive level to the strategies used. The sample is composed of 107 males between 18 and 25 years of age in the Centre Penitenciari de Joves de Barcelona (Spain). The coping strategies were analyzed by means of the Coping Responses Inventory Adult Form (CRI-Adult; Moos, R.H. (1993). Coping Responses Inventory. CRI-Adult Form. Manual. Psychological Assessment, Resources, Inc., Odessa, FL.). The data indicate that the predominant strategies are those of cognitive approach. Likewise, it was found that there was a certain relationship between the appraisal of the problem described and the strategies used. The variables time spent in prison and previous convictions influenced the use of specific coping strategies. No connection between coping strategies and the intellectual level was found.     

Eyewitnesses: A comparison of live,video, and photo line-ups

An experiment was conducted in which the effectiveness of three line-up methods (live, video, and photographs) was compared. Participants witnessed a staged event and were subsequently required, by one of the three methods, to identify the target. Both target-present and target-absent line-ups were used. The results showed that all methods led to an equal number of correct identifications (hits). In the target-absent line-ups, participants more often incorrectly identified a person in the video and photographs condition than in the live condition. Presenting photographs simultaneously or sequentially did not affect the number of correct judgments. Dynamic video images, showing locomotion and facial expression, had a marginal significant effect on the number of correct judgments as compared with the static video images. Practical implications are discussed.     

Stalking by law: damaging victims and rewarding offenders

The introduction of anti-stalking statutes throughout Australia and much of the Western world has brought greater protection for the victims of various forms of harassment and intrusions. However, despite these new provisions, the legal system is failing some victims of stalking. This article examines those areas of the justice system that are particularly susceptible to manipulation by stalkers and the impact of these abuses on stalking victims. It also presents ways in which the problems encountered by stalking victims may be frustrated rather than alleviated by specific aspects of the enforcement of anti-stalking laws and of the functioning of certain courts and tribunals. Approaches that prevent or discourage the perpetuation of harassment and damage to victims of stalking within the legal system are discussed.     

A rapid screening procedure for drugs and poisons in gastric contents by direct injection-HPLC analysis

A high performance liquid chromatographic method for toxicological drug screening of gastric content has been developed. The samples were diluted (1:3-1:30) in 0.01 N hydrochloric acid and injected into a reverse phase column for separation by gradient elution. Mobile phase consisted of solvent A (acetonitrile/water 90:10, 0.01 M sodium dodecylsulphate, 0.5% v/v glacial acetic acid) and solvent B (water/acetonitrile 90:10, 0.01 M sodium dodecylsulphate, 0.5% v/v glacial acetic acid); the gradient was programmed from 20 to 80% A in 30 min. The flow was kept constant at 1.5 ml/min. Two home-made internal standards, butyrylsalicylic acid and diacetyltubocurarine with retention times of 5.6 and 21.4 min, respectively, were used. Drugs are identified by matching their relative retention times and UV spectra (200-400 nm) with those contained in a home made library of more than 340 reference compounds (9 analgesics, 22 antidepressants, 30 antihistamines, 14 antihypertensives, 21 antirheumatics, 15 beta-blockers, 9 bronchodilators, 10 Ca antagonists, 14 diuretics, 26 neuroleptics, 25 tranquilizers, and other significant xenobiotic compounds). The fluorometric (FLD) emission spectrum (280-700 nm; excitation wavelength, 230 nm) was used as a further identification. At 50mg/l analyte concentrations, the injection of gastric content after dilution (1:3) produced S/N ratios in the range 8-140. The method is simple, rapid, rather inexpensive and proved to be a useful means of investigation if used in combination with GC-MS screening in blood. On the other hand, the system suffers from a relatively limited sensitivity for compounds with a low UV absorption and from interferences due to the presence in the matrix of some highly UV- and FL-responsive compounds (e.g. tryptophan).     

Concentrated bleach burns in a child

After a review of the literature on inflicted burns in children, we present a case of caustic burns in a child aged 6 months. Its interest lies in the causative agent (concentrated bleach) and in discussion of the intentional nature of the burn.     

Allocution b I'occasion de la parution du Rapport de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones

Sommaire: Dans cette allocution, les co-présidents de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones présentent quelques-uns des principaux thèmes et conclusions du rapport final de la Commission. D'entrée de jeu, ils insistent sur l'urgence de changer la relation entre Autochtones et non-Autochtones au Canada. Dans sa forme actuelle, cette relation entraine un gigantesque gaspillage de potentiel, d'argent et de vies humaines, lequel est confirmé par les statistiques sur les taux de suicide, sur l'alcoolisme et la toxicomanie, sur l'incarcération, sur le chômage, sur la dépendance à l'égard de l'aide sociale, sur l'abandon scolaire préoce, sur le mauvais état de santé et sur les piètres conditions de logement. Le rapport propose une stratégie détaillée sur 20 ans pour restaurer la santé sociale, économique et politique des peuples autochtones et redéfinir leur relation avec l'ensemble des Canadiens. Cette stratégie comporte un double cheminement vers le changement: un nouvel équilibre des pouvoirs politiques et des ressources économiques, complété par un effort en we de restaurer la santé et l'efficacité des individus, des familles, des collectivités et des nations. Les co-présidents croient que le Canada devrait s'engager à réduire de 50% l'écart des conditions sociales et économiques entre Autochtones et non-Autochtones au cours des vingt prochaines années. Ils font valoir que le Canada ne peut plus se permettre de maintenir l'actuel régime de dépendance, de productivité perdue et de dépenses sociales sans cesse croissantes. En effet, on estime à un peu plus de 13 milliards de dollars la somme que tous les gouvernements vont dépenser en 1996 rela-tivement aux Autochtones. Cette wmme pourrait passer à plus de 17 milliards annuellement dans 20 ans, du seul fait de la croissance démographique. Abstract: In this article, the co-chairs of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples present some of the major themes and conclusions of the final report of the commission. From the outset, they insist on the urgency of altering the relationship between aboriginal and non aboriginal people in Canada. As it now stands, that relationship is one of waste: wasted potential, wasted money, wasted lives. It is measured in statistic after statistic: in the rates of suicide, of substance abuse, of incarceration, of welfare dependance, of low educational attainment, of poor health and poor housing. The report proposes a comprehensive strategy over 20 years to restore the social, economic and political health to aboriginal peoples and rebuild their relationship with all Canadians. It entails the pursuit of two mutually reinforcing paths to change: rebalancing political authority and economic resources; and a reinforcing effort to restore health and effectiveness to individuals, families, communities and nations. It is the co-chairs' belief that Canada should commit to reducing by fifty per cent the gap between the social and economic condition of aboriginal and non aboriginal people over the next twenty years. They point out that Canada can no longer afford to maintain the current regime of dependency, lost productivity and ever-growing social expenditures. Indeed, the amount all governments will spend in 1996 in relation to aboriginal peoples is estimated at just over $13 billion. This could rise to over $17 billion annually in twenty years as a result of demographic pressure alone.