Scanning electron microscopy: application in the identification of diatoms in cases of drowning.

A simple and rapid method is described for processing organ and water samples for the identification of diatoms so that they can be studied and recorded for taxonomic and diagnostic purposes. Samples are treated with concentrated nitric acid; the fluid obtained is centrifuged, and its sediment is dried, coated, and examined under the scanning electron microscope. The method does not alter the morphology of diatoms and allows the study of freshwater and seawater species present in the organs of bodies found in the water, making possible the diagnosis of drowning under specific conditions.     

Observations of high velocity bloodspatter on adjacent objects

In a recent homicide investigation, high velocity backspatter was observed on the sleeve cuff of the accused. These minute droplets were discovered only after microscopic examination and were limited in number. A study was initiated to determine if these were truly backspatter droplets or transferred blood produced from light contact with a bloody item. It was observed that the backspattered blood was primarily limited to contact or near contact shots. An exception was a shot into an already bloody surface. It was found that backspattered blood would deposit on the shooter's shirt sleeve irrespective of the weave pattern. Transferred blood was observed only on the fiber tops. This information was found to be useful in reconstruction of events in suicides as well as possible homicides.     

Ethics and the Physician-Patient Relationship

Book Reviews in This Article:
Getting Rid of Patients: Contradictions in the Socialization of Physicians . By Terry Mizrahi
Physicians and Social Change . By John Colombotos and Corinne Kirchner
Changing Values in Medicine . Edited by Eric J. Cassell and Mark Siegler
Professional Ethics and Primary Care Medicine: Beyond Dilemmas and Decorum . By Harmon L. Smith and Larry R. Churchill
Physician—Patient Decision-Making: A Study in Medical Ethics . By Douglas N. Walton
With Dignity: The Search for Medicare and Medicaid . By Sheri I. David
The Dismissal of Students with Mental Disorders. Legal Issues, Policy Considerations, and Alternative Responses .
Courtroom Toxicology . By Marshall Houts, Randall C. Baselt, and Robert H. Cravey     

论行业协会的法律规制

行业协会作为一种介入政府与市场的社会中间协调机制,对市场经济的健康发展十分重要。目前我国政府、行业协会与市场的良性互动机制尚未形成,尤其是行业协会发育极不建全。为此,有必要对行业协会的设立与运作进行法律规制。本文在分析行业协会运作机制及其法律规制需求的基础上,提出了行业协会法律制度建设的建议。     

应用经济学的经世致用

《二十世纪中国社会科学》(共十三卷,由上海市社会科学界联合会发起、组织编纂)问世了,不同学科领域的专家学者们以认真负责的态度、孜孜不倦的努力,向我们奉献了这份集智慧、精神、思想于一体的丰厚财富。100年,是一个漫长的过程,社会历经沧桑变迁,而社会科学的发展变化也是跌宕起伏、纷繁复杂。毋用置疑,将这一过程系统地进行细致而又严谨的梳理,一定是一个浩大的工程,其任务的繁重也可想而知。日前,在《二十世纪中国社会科学》的发布会上,各卷的主编交流了编后感。从中能体会编者们的编纂思路及寄予其中的期许。本刊选辑部分发言,以飨读者。     

应急联动系统的分析、设计与实施

公共安全和公众服务是政府部门一项非常富有挑战性的工作。如何高效利用有限的资源,提高政府对紧急事件快速反应和抗风险的能力,并为市民提供更快捷的紧急救助服务,日益成为加强城市管理的主要内容之一。随着社会的不断进步,社会发生紧急突发事件的种类更加复杂与多变,传统的应对机制已不能适应日益增多的紧急突发事件处置的需要。     

General systems theory and criminal justice

Criminal justice agencies are organized sequentially — “output” from one agency is “input” to the next — but most scholars argue that criminal justice is not a system in a theoretical sense. In this article, it is argued that general systems theory (GST) reveals important insights into criminal justice structures and functions. Specifically, it is argued that the criminal justice system processes “cases” rather than people, and that the common goal of criminal justice processing is to “close cases so that they stay closed.” It also is argued that processing capacity progressively declines, in that at each system point the subsequent agency cannot input as many cases as the previous agency can output. Each agency therefore experiences “backward pressure” to close cases in order to reduce input to the next agency. Overall, this article highlights that criminal justice agents and agencies are best understood as operating in the context of the larger whole, thus it is concluded that criminal justice is a system in the sense of general systems theory.