Investigating polyurethane foam as a form of trace evidence.

The aim of this study was to determine whether polyurethane (PU) foam fragments from different sources could be discriminated from each other. Low and high power microscopy was used to determine whether or not foam fragments were distinguishable from each other under various lighting conditions. Once similar foam fragments were declared microscopically indistinguishable, the visible range microspectrophotometer was highly competent in further distinguishing the spectral characteristics in various fragments from each other. Foam fragments from the same source were shown to display no microscopical or chemical variation. Conversely, it was possible to make clear distinctions between foam fragments from different sources.     

Successor Liability and Asymmetric Information

The doctrine of successor liability transfers tort liabilityarising from the seller's past conduct from the seller to thebuyer. If the buyer has as much information about the liabilityas the seller, all beneficial acquisitions take place and theseller takes the efficient level of precaution. However, ifthe seller has more information about the liability than thebuyer, not all beneficial acquisitions are consummated and theseller takes a suboptimal level of precaution. I argue that,in the presence of information asymmetry, the courts shouldincrease the damages against the (potential) seller to providebetter incentives to take precaution while decreasing the damagesagainst the buyer to encourage more beneficial asset sales.     

Successful DNA typing of ultrafiltered urines used to detect EPO doping

Endogenous and exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) present in urine can be distinguished according to their isoelectric profiles. This methodology requires urine samples to be concentrated about 200 to 1000 times with manipulations that should remove most of the cells occurring in the original sample. In this study, we tried to obtain DNA profiles from 10 ultrafiltered urines (retentates) in order to evaluate whether a formal genetic identification was technically feasible. No nuclear DNA profiles could be established from retentates, despite 34 PCR-cycles amplifications. Contrastingly, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) profiles were obtained for 9 out of the 10 retentates. Apart from some particularities, retentate mtDNA profiles were all distinct and matched mtDNA profiles of corresponding reference samples.     

Azygos vein laceration due to blunt trauma

The azygos vein ascends along the thoracic spine through the mediastinum and drains into the superior vena cava at the level of the fourth thoracic vertebra. Fracture-dislocation of the mid-thoracic spine, as a result of blunt thoracic trauma, can tear the azygos vein. Four such fatal cases (three motor vehicle accidents and one fall) were studied, only one of which was recognized prior to death. The vein can also be torn, in the absence of skeletal injuries, by horizontal acceleration/deceleration forces. The pathologist must consider azygos vein laceration as a possible cause of either hemothorax or hemomediastinum or both in a victim of a blunt chest trauma, if that individual had persistent hypotension during the few hours before death and no identifiable source of hemorrhage can be found postmortem in sites such as the heart, great vessels, lung, and chest wall. A fracture-dislocation of the thoracic spine may not necessarily be present. Azygos vein laceration seems to be an uncommon cause of hemothorax and hemomediastinum; however, this injury is probably more frequent than is implied by the few cases described in the medical literature.     

The case of the empty body.

Autopsy on an externally intact decomposed body showed empty thoracic and abdominal cavities with no trace of normal organ content. The process producing this previously unencountered situation is discussed.