Official crime rates and victim surveys: An empirical comparison

This paper compares the Uniform Crime Reports (UCRs) to the results of the National Crime Survey (NCS). Six Part I offenses are used to form the basis for comparison across twenty-six large American cities. The two data sources are conceptually comparable. Empirically, the NCS reveals significantly higher rates for all offenses but auto theft. The two sources are compatible in that the UCR revealed the same distributional pattern as the NCS. Thus it was concluded that the UCR provides an accurate indicator of the relative occurrence of criminal acts.     

Papillary hyperplasia of the lingual tonsil and sudden death in epilepsy.

Papillary hyperplasia of the lingual tonsils is a rare entity not previously reported at autopsy. We report a case that occurred in a 19-year-old man who died suddenly from his epilepsy, associated with aspiration of gastric contents. We describe the pathological features of this unusual condition, discuss the possible significance in this case and stress the importance of routine examination of the tongue and pharynx in every autopsy.     

Ultrastructure of acute ammonia toxicity in the human lung

A tanker truck carrying anhydrous ammonia (NH3) fell off a freeway, releasing a dense cloud of NH3 gas, killing several people. The driver was dead upon impact. To our knowledge, pulmonary NH3 toxicity in humans has not been studied previously by electron microscopy (EM). Therefore, in two cases, the paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of lung were deparaffinized and reembedded in plastic for 1-mu sections and EM examination. The lung tissue of a third case, the truck driver, was similarly processed as a control. Light-microscopic pulmonary findings in the acute NH3 deaths included denudation of the tracheobronchial epithelium, edema of the lamina propria, and marked alveolar edema, congestion, and hemorrhage. In contrast, in the truck driver's lungs, the bronchial epithelium was intact, and there was no gross odor of NH3. Massive pulmonary hemorrhages in his lungs were attributed to trauma rather than NH3 inhalation. EM examination of the lungs of the truck driver showed no discernible toxic alterations in either the capillary endothelial cells or the Type I or II alveolar epithelial cells, and alveolar and capillary basement membranes were intact. In contrast, EM study of the lungs from two individuals dying acutely of NH3 inhalation showed marked swelling and imbitional edema of Type I alveolar epithelial cells; however, alveolar basement membranes and capillary endothelial cells appeared as usual. These electron-microscopic findings demonstrate the Type I epithelial cell to be the target cell of acute alveolar wall injury in NH3 inhalation.