Fatal complications related to diagnostic barium enema

Thousands of barium enemas are performed in the United States each year without incident. Occasionally complications arise, only a few of which are fatal. Perforation is the most frequent serious complication of this procedure. Two instances of fatal perforation, one colonic and the other vaginal, are described, and the relevant literature is reviewed.     

Teaching "street law" to the criminally insane

A course in "Street Law" was taught to forensic patients by law students, following a format used by Georgetown University Law Center. Although the course has been taught to high school students and inmates of correctional facilities, this was the first time it has been extended to mental patients found not guilty of crimes by reason of insanity. An outstanding feature of the course was marked enthusiasm shown by patients who, through long institutionalization, had become apathetic, indifferent, and despairing. Their readiness and ability to learn brought to mind a couple of old sayings often heard around mental hospitals, "I may be crazy but I'm not stupid," and "Sometimes you can't tell the patients from the staff." The staff of at least one ward has picked up "teaching and learning to use as a central theme in treatment of patients, not abandoning traditional methods, but shifting the emphasis from therapy to teaching as a way of getting the patient's interest in his own rehabilitation. Judges, reviewing cases for release, have looked quizzical when the patients' active participation in a "law course" has been used as evidence of satisfactory progress.     

The past and the future of violence against women

The most important thing we have learned about violence against women over the past 20 years is that violence is gendered and learned and can only be understood in the context of gender inequality. Most violence is male, and although some violence is done by females, it is far from equal and often done for very different reasons. Among other major findings is that children from violent households tend to grow up to be problematic, which means that a major method of curbing juvenile delinquency in 10 years is to stop violence against women today.