Ultrastructural pathology of mechanical skeletal muscle damage

In continuation of previous light microscope investigations the question has been raised whether the criteria determined for vital muscle damage using light microscopy, could be verified and perhaps extended for the ultrastructural region. In addition to existing human pathological material taken early post mortem, muscle tissue obtained from animal experiments was also examined. The evaluation concentrated on the muscle cells, the cell organelles and the contractile apparatus. An evaluation of semi-thin-sections was carried out in parallel. The following reaction patterns could be defined as vital reactions: hypercontraction bands, zones of rupture in narrow topological relationship to organelle changes, microstructure changes with disintegration of the fibre structure, subsarcolemmic and interfibrillary oedema, decomposition of the sarcolemma. The earliest vital reactions were detectable after only a few minutes survival time. The comparison between the results of animal experiments and human pathology and the application of the results to forensic pathology will be discussed.     

Economic security, 1935-85

The economic well-being of both working and retired persons has improved significantly since the Social Security Act was passed in 1935. More people are employed now than at any time since then, despite declining employment among the aged and more years of school attendance among the young. The ratio of non-workers to workers--a broad measure of dependency--is lower now than at any time since the 1930's. Social security has grown and matured to become a strong foundation of retirement income, and other work-related employee benefits have grown in tandem with social security. Employer contributions for social insurance and related employee benefits have grown from being about a 1-percent supplement to aggregate wages and salaries in 1929 to nearly 20 percent today. Social security and Medicare account for just over a fourth of employer contributions, while other public and private retirement systems represent just over another fourth. The balance of benefits for active workers includes group health and life insurance, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, temporary disability insurance, and related benefits. Pay for holidays, vacations, and sick leave is estimated to have increased from less than 1 percent of aggregate pay in 1929 to about 10 percent today. The improved economic status of the aged has been documented by a series of surveys beginning in 1941-42 and carried out from time to time until 1972 and biennially since 1976. The earlier surveys were supplemented with estimates from record data and tables from the Bureau of the Census. The income of the aged as a whole has grown by about 75 percent over the past 2 decades after taking inflation into account. The income of the aged as a whole grew faster than that of the nonaged in the 1970's and early 1980's when real social security benefits increased faster than inflation and wages lagged behind it. New beneficiaries in 1982 were in better health and were more likely to retire because they wanted to than was true of their counterparts in the early 1940's. Not only have benefits continued to be the main component of income of the aged as total incomes have grown, but also benefits have become much larger in relation to average earnings than used to be the case. Retired workers are much more likely now than in the early 1940's to have other pensions or income from assets to supplement benefits.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Juror experience and jury verdicts

Most trial attorneys believe that repeated jury service produces several effects in jurors, one of the most important of which is an increased disposition toward conviction of criminal defendants. However, case law reveals a reluctance to accept the proposition that prior service per se would disquality a juror from sitting on an instant case because of actual or implied bias. The need for direct empirical investigation of the effects of prior jury service prompted the present study, which examined a complete docket of 175 consecutive criminal trials across onecalendar year in a state circuit court which required a 30-day term of its venire. The results indicated that as the number of jurors with prior jury experience increased there was a modest, but significant, increase in the probability of a conviction. Analysis of the relationship between initial verdicts and subsequent service disconfirmed the alternative hypothesis that attorneys deselected jurors on the basis of their first verdicts. Several parameters of experience were also related to foreperson selection. Implications for legal practice and for additional research are discussed.Support for this research was provided, in part, by National Science, Foundation grant No SES-8209479. A portion of this work was conducted while the senior author was a James McKeen Cattell Foundation Fellow.     

Death of a twin--infanticide or intrauterine fetal death?

The authors report an intrauterine death in a twin pregnancy. Due to external circumstances, infanticide was initially suspected. Forensic examination of fetus and placenta, however, revealed a placental cause for the death of the twin. The macerated fetus, which had been retained for at least one week, was expelled, apparently unnoticed, shortly before the live birth of the hypotrophic second twin. The question of the possibility of unnoticed fetus expulsion was discussed.     

Rapid isolation with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and wide-bore capillary gas chromatography of some butyrophenones

A simple and rapid method for isolation of five butyrophenones with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges from human samples, and their wide-bore capillary gas chromatography (GC), are presented. The GC was made by both flame ionization and electron capture detections. The drugs contained in alkaline samples were directly applied to the cartridges and eluted with chloroform/isopropanol (9:1). The recoveries with use of the cartridges were excellent for most drugs in both urine and plasma samples. We can recommend the Sep-Pak C18 cartridges for isolation of butyrophenones because of simplicity and rapidity, and also wide-bore capillary GC because of high sensitivity and low decomposition of drugs during passage through the column.     

Changes in calls for police service with changes in routine activities and the arrival and passage of weather fronts

Proceeding on the assumptions that the day of the week is the best predictor of the levels of calls for police service, that calls for police service emanate from the pursuit of routine activities, and that weather influences routine activities, this paper examines how the expected change in the level of calls for service for a particular day of the week in Chicago is altered with the arrival and passage of weather fronts. Fronts taking 1 day to pass Chicago have a broader effect on the changes in calls across the days of the week than fronts taking 2 days in passage. On the whole, the 2-day fronts significantly alter calls for service during the weekdays but not on the weekend, while 1-day fronts significantly alter calls on both weekdays and weekends. In general, cold fronts decrease calls for service, and warm fronts increase calls for service.     

Classroom training in sexual victimization awareness and prevention skills: An extension of the Red Flag/Green Flag people program

This study is an extension of a previous evaluation of a program (Red Flag/Green Flag) in which children, parents, and teachers were exposed to a workbook and film designed to teach personal safety strategies for preventing sexual victimization or encouraging adult assistance through disclosure of such incidents. In the current investigation, only children and their teachers received this didactic training program. Children and teachers from neighboring schools were assigned to a Training or Control group. Self-reports from children, teachers, and parents, as well as guidance counselor incident reports, were obtained to evaluate outcome. Results indicated greater gains in general knowledge and prevention skills at post-training and 6-month follow-up for trained than control children. Some improvements were made by trained teachers and parents of trained children. Child reports of personal experiences and guidance counselor incident reports were in accord with the assistance component of the program. However, the pattern of reports across sources is difficult to interpret. The findings are discussed in light of salient issues regarding the content of training, child disclosure, and methodology.