Chronic hydrocephalus and alcohol abuse in a young male suicide

The paper describes a case of suicide in a young man affected by compensated chronic hydrocephalus who was subject to alcohol abuse. The case was studied by means of a complex set of analyses, including circumstantial and clinical data, anatomohistopathological findings, and chemicotoxicologic tests. What clearly emerges in the case is the importance of a continuing neuropsychological follow-up in patients with shunted hydrocephalus. The forensic interest in the case is due to the peculiar autopsy findings discussed in relation to the possible causes of sudden death in subjects with hydrocephalus.     

Max Frei theory revisitation: does really strokes depth change along time?

A serious problem in questioned document examination is to establish the age of written lines. With respect to paper dating, in the past, Max Frei theory (based only on microscope analysis) claimed that strokes are time-dependent. Therefore, according to this theory, it has been asserted that from the analysis of the strokes depth changes it is possible to try to date the handwritten document (to find out that the document is older than ...). In the present work, we investigate the strokes depth change by a laser profilometer considering not only the time but also microclimatic variations. First, we analyze the stability of stroke characteristics along the time. In particular, we demonstrate that if the document is preserved without change of temperature and humidity, the depth of the strokes has not appreciable changes. In this way, we have the purpose to verify the real possibility of documents dating by means of Max Frei theory. Subsequently, we test how the 3D profile of strokes changes in connection with the microclimatic variations. In particular, we test humidity variations. With this experiment, we show that humidity variations reduce the strokes depth. Moreover, this effect shows a non-linear trend, leaving a hysteresis on the depth. Finally, we show that the analysis of 3D stroke profile is unable to determine the age of documents.     

Voting under uncertainty: the effect of information in the Scottish independence referendum

Despite extensive research on campaign effects, the issue of whether information can actually influence vote choice in a campaign remains debatable. This study provides novel evidence of how issue-based arguments influenced voting preferences in the campaign for the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The findings, based on a lab experiment and a follow-up survey with the experimental subjects, show that provision of information lead to a one-sided persuasion effect, by increasing the support for independence mainly through reduction of indecision. This effect occurred regardless of the possibility to select the arguments and found further confirmation in the actual increase of Yes votes in the referendum. Additional analyses reveal that personal economic expectations significantly moderated the effect of information, since the support for independence increased only among those who did not expect future economic gains. In line with prospect theory, these results suggest that risk-based calculations and economic perceptions prove important determinants of voting decisions, especially in a context of asymmetrical vote choice between an uncertain “Yes for a change” and a safe “No for the status quo”.     

Machinery‐Related Deaths: Relevance of Workplace Investigation and Antemortem Radiological Data in Reconstructing the Fatality

Abstract: Machinery‐related fatalities are one of the leading causes of traumatic occupational deaths. In our report, we present the case of a 40‐year‐old male who suffered a severe head trauma while working in a cut‐foam industry and died despite an early craniectomy. The radiological reconstruction of the skull based on preoperative computed tomography scans disclosed a large depressed conical fracture of the left parietal bone. The 3D‐reconstruction of the work area, combined with a fit‐matching analysis between the machinery and the depressed skull fracture allowed us to conclude that the head was crushed between the sliding bar of the cutting device and the metallic protuberance on the opposite side. The case underlines the importance of a detailed workplace investigation and of a thorough evaluation of all circumstantial, clinical, radiological, and autopsy data in the reconstruction of machinery‐related fatalities to identify any possible legal responsibilities of the worker and/or the employer.     

“This Argument Fails for Two Reasons…”: A Linguistic Analysis of Judicial Evaluation Strategies in US Supreme Court Judgments

The centrality of argumentation in the judicial process is an age-old acquisition of research on legal discourse. Notwithstanding the deep insights provided by legal theoretical and philosophical works, only recently has judicial argumentation been tackled in its linguistic dimension. This paper aims to contribute to the development of linguistic studies of judicial argumentation, by shedding light on evaluation as a prominent aspect in the construction of the judge’s argumentative position. Evaluation as a deep structure of judicial argumentation is studied from a discursive point of view entailing the analysis of a sample of authentic judicial language. Evaluative lexis is investigated within a single genre of judicial discourse, i.e. judgments, instantiated by a corpus of US Supreme Court judgments. Findings show that judges use diversified strategies to take stance as they organise their argumentative discourse: from easily recognisable verbal and adjectival tools to more finely-grained discourse elements such as the encapsulating pattern ‘this/these/that/those + labelling noun’.     

Distributive Politics and Regional Development: Assessing the Territorial Distribution of Turkey’s Public Investment

Turkey is often perceived as a country with low bureaucratic capacity and prone to political manipulation and ‘pork-barrel’. This article tests whether this is the case, by analysing the extent to which politics, rather than equity and efficiency criteria, have determined the geographical allocation of public investment across the 81 provinces of Turkey between 2005 and 2012. The results show that although the Turkish government has indeed channelled public expenditures to reward its core constituencies, socioeconomic factors remained the most relevant predictors of investment. Moreover, in contrast to official regional development policy principles, we uncover the concentration of public investment in areas with comparatively higher levels of development. We interpret this as the state bureaucracy’s intentional strategy of focussing on efficiency by concentrating resources on ‘the better off among the most in need’.     

The 2015 Regional Election in Italy: Fragmentation and Crisis of Subnational Representative Democracy

In May 2015, voters in seven Italian regions went to the polls to elect new regional councils and governments. The final election result was apparently similar to that of 2010: centre-left coalitions won in five out of seven regions, as in the previous election, leaving the remaining two to the centre-right. Yet behind this picture of stability, dramatic changes have occurred in the internal composition of regional coalitions, cross-party equilibriums and levels of participation. Generally, regional party-based democracy seems to be experiencing increasing fragmentation and a crisis of representation and legitimacy.     

Alcohol dependence and criminal behavior: preliminary results of an association study of environmental and genetic factors in an italian male population

The aim of this study is to propose an innovative approach evaluating the connection between alcohol use disorders and criminal behavior. The research, structured as a case–control study, was based on the analysis of environmental (social variables) and genetic factors (single nucleotide polymorphisms of glutamic acid decarboxylase) in a population (N = 173) of Italian alcohol‐dependent men. Group 1 (N = 47, convicted subjects) was compared with Group 2 (N = 126, no previous criminal conduct). Grade repetition, work problems, and drug problems were statistically associated with criminal behavior. Having daily family meals together and having children were inversely related to convictions. The genotype distribution of the two groups was similar. The association between environmental factors and antisocial behavior confirms previous findings in the literature. The lack of genetic association does not exclude the role of the gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in determining antisocial behavior; further studies with larger samples are needed, together with investigation of other components of the GABA pathway.     

Metal objects mapping after small charge explosions. A study on AISI 304Cu steel with two different grain sizes

Evidence of exposure of a metal component to a small charge explosion can be detected by observing microstructural modifications; they may be present even if the piece does not show noticeable overall plastic deformations. Particularly, if an austenitic stainless steel (or another metal having a face-centered cubic structure and a low stacking fault energy) is exposed to an explosive shock wave, high-speed deformation induces primarily mechanical twinning, whereas, in nonexplosive events, a lower velocity plastic deformation first induces slip. The occurrence of mechanical twins can be detected even if the surface is damaged or oxidized in successive events. In the present research, optical metallography (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) were used to detect microstructural modifications caused on AISI 304Cu steel disks by small-charge explosions. Spherical charges of 54.5 or 109 g TNT equivalent mass were used at explosive-to-target distances from 6.5 to 81.5 cm, achieving peak pressures from 160 to 0.5 MPa. Explosions induced limited or no macro-deformation. Two alloy grain sizes were tested. Surface OM and SEM evidenced partial surface melting, zones with recrystallization phenomena, and intense mechanical twinning, which was also detected by STM and X-ray diffraction. In the samples' interior, only twins were seen, up to some distance from the explosion impinged surface and again, at the shortest charge-to-sample distances, in a thin layer around the reflecting surface. For forensic science locating purposes after explosions, the maximum charge-to-target distance at which the phenomena disappear was singled out for each charge or grain size and related to the critical resolved shear stress for twinning.