Traumatic venous aneurysm of the popliteal vein with outcome: a case report and review of the literature.

A case of sudden death due to recurrent pulmonary thromboembolism is described. The fatality took place three and a half weeks following blunt trauma to the left popliteal region. The patient died unexpectedly. Autopsy revealed the source of the emboli as a sacciform venous aneurysm of the popliteal vein, an entity seldom described, but important to consider in cases of soft tissue popliteal masses or unexplained pulmonary embolism, especially in otherwise healthy individuals.     

TerrorWars: Boston,Iraq

This article queries the difference between experiencing an urban terror attack and experiencing war in an urban war zone. The case considered is the Boston marathon bombings of April 2013 and the lockdown that followed, a first in the USA. Official responses to the bombings exceeded militarised urban policing strategies in ways that arguably turned Boston into an urban war zone. To consider that proposition, I juxtapose events in Boston with US war operations around Al Tafar Iraq in 2004, as described by Kevin Powers in The Yellow Birds. I also consider responses to the lockdown by people in the area of the bombings, people waiting for delayed transportation during the lockdown and experts on anti-terrorism.     

Cellular components in interstitial lung tissue in sudden infant death--immunohistochemical characterization

Monoclonal antibodies against the Leucocyte Common Antigens LC and MAC-387 expressed by lymphocytes, mononuclear phagocytes and polymorphonuclears failed to mark the cells of the pulmonary interstitial connective tissue in cases of SIDS. Controls with interstitial pneumonia showed clearly marked inflammatory cells. Although focal proliferation of cells was frequently observed in the vicinity of distended lymphatics in SIDS cases, an inflammatory origin as in the cases of interstitial pneumonia could not be confirmed. A relationship between interstitial edema and a non-inflammatory proliferation of the cells is discussed.     

Amid domestication and Afriexit: whither Nigeria and South Africa on the International Criminal Court?

There is a silent revolution going on among African states regarding the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Some states that previously signed the Statute refused to ratify it. Some that ratified the Statute refused to domesticate it. Some that domesticated it withdrew or threatened to withdraw from it. Some that withdrew from it revoked their withdrawal. The African Union called for the mass withdrawal of African states from the Statute. Amid this storm of domestication and Afriexit, this study probes the question: what will be the status of Nigeria and South Africa on the ICC by 2022, considering the events in these states so far, evidence from data and the spate of domestication and exit procedures in homogeneous African states in contemporary times? The objectives of the study are to predict the status of Nigeria and South Africa by 2022 and reflect on the implication of the predictions for the on-going viability, sustainability and credibility of the ICC. It predicts that Nigeria has a zero per cent indication of domesticating the Statute. South Africa has 100 per cent positive indication to remain an ICC state party.     

Water tariff conflict resolution through indigenous participation in tri-water sector partnerships: Dalun cluster communities in northern Ghana

The paper examines how the perceived ownership of a water resource negatively influenced local people's attitudes towards payment of potable water tariffs and exacerbated conflicts between water users and service providers in the Dalun community of the northern region of Ghana. The paper presents a case study of how community participation and endogenous approaches to conflict resolution contributed to payment of water tariffs. The findings show that the establishment of a tri-water sector partnership (TWSP), consisting of the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL), private sector development practitioners, and community water boards, led to positive mediation of water tariff conflicts using the institution of chieftaincy. Alternative, endogenous conflict resolution methods combined with modern methods in a tripartite partnership showed promise as an approach to managing conflicts in water projects and in broader poverty reduction efforts.     

Accidental death of disoriented persons in long term care facilities

Five cases of accidental death occurring in connection with physical restraints in long-term care facilities are reported. The position in which the deceased were found, autopsy findings, police investigations as well as the evaluation of each case under criminal law are described. The investigations by the prosecution as well as the attention of the public media have meanwhile contributed to an improvement of the technical standards and a reduction of the risk in applying such restraints under the Law on Medical Devices.     

Changes in the ratio of collagen type I and III in the interlobular interstitium of the lung in sudden infant death--a pilot study

In a blind study the interlobular interstitial connective tissue in paraffin embedded lung sections from 45 autopsy cases aged under 2 years (23 SIDS and 22 Non-SIDS) were investigated with the aim of determining the collagen type I:type III ratio by means of polarimetric evaluation. Sections were stained with Resorcin-Fuchsin for elastin fibres, Celestine Blue/Mayer's Haematoxylin for nuclear details and with Solophenyl Red 3 BL in saturated picric acid solution for the differential staining of type I and type III collagen fibres for polarization microscopy. The type I fibres were orange and the type III fibres green in colour. The spectral distribution of the coloured polarized light from the sections was determined and peaks were evident at the wavelengths 590 nm for the orange coloured light of type I and 490 nm for the green coloured light of type III collagen. With corresponding filtres the intensities of the orange and green emissions were separately measured at several points adjacent to lymphatic vessels. The ratio collagen I/III, deduced from the ratio of the intensities of orange to green light, was significantly higher in the SIDS-group than in the Non-SIDS-group (a = 0.001) due to the increase in the amount of collagen type I and could indicate an insiduous fibrosis resulting from lymphostasis.     

Pulmonary lymphatics in SIDS--a comparative morphometric study

Pulmonary lymphatics in a group of SIDS cases were compared with a control group of a similar age distribution. The causes of death in the controls were known to be associated with varying degrees of pulmonary edema. The surface areas of pleural, interstitial, peribronchial, periarterial and perivenous lymphatics were planimetrically measured. The data were statistically tested. The tests showed that the pulmonary lymphatics of the SIDS group were significantly more distended than those of the control group as expressed by highly significant differences in their surface areas. On the whole 2142 lymphatics were measured; 1255 in the SIDS group, which consisted of slides from 10 cases and 887 in the control group which consisted of slides from 11 controls. Although the sample size imposes a limit on the general applicability of the results, the clear distinction between the two groups as shown by the tests do indicate a possible feature of SIDS--lymphatic stasis--which might be secondary to some impairment of lymphatic drainage. This in turn could induce subtle fibrotic changes in the connective tissue framework of these lungs. The results are presented in the light of the forensic significance of the signs of asphyxia frequently found in SIDS and the diagnostic difficulties encountered in differentiating between SIDS and mechanical asphyxia e.g. due to smothering.