The multidisciplinary approach to dealing with families: a model for medical examiners

Medical examiners function primarily to determine cause and manner of death, and to document illness and injuries. Equally important, however, is the role of providing family members with the initial tools to work through the grief process. By initiating contact with the family, facilitating access to other appropriate services and by making provisions for adequate viewing and meeting facilities, we fulfill these ethical duties and carry out our responsibilities as physicians. We hope to fill some of the void that exists in the forensic medical literature with this presentation and generate awareness for the neglected role of grief intervention.     

A simple and cost-effective method for preparing DNA from the hard tooth tissue, and its use in polymerase chain reaction amplification of amelogenin gene segment for sex determination in an Indian population

The use of teeth as an important resource in the analysis of forensic case history by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or other related methods has been reported. However, a major drawback in using teeth has been that the DNA is present only in trace amounts, and the methods to recover DNA from the flinty material have not been efficient or cost effective. In this report, we describe a method to prepare DNA from the hard tooth tissues. Our studies show that ultrasonication of teeth samples yields sufficient amounts of good quality DNA useful for PCR-based diagnostic methods. The teeth could serve as a reliable source of DNA for amplification-based forensic methods in sex determination. DNA could be obtained from any tooth, regardless of the age of subject. Furthermore, by using the AMEL gene-based primers in PCR, we have shown that the AMEL gene serves as a good marker for sex determination in the Indian population. In our study, the PCR-based method was sensitive and proved to be successful for sex determination with a complete specificity.     

Comparative characteristics of angulometric parameters of teeth and dentitions in terms of personal identification

Angulometric teleroentgenographic characteristics of teeth were compared for 158 subjects. A computer technology of calculation and assessment of 47 angular (quantitative) parameters characterizing spatial position of the teeth and jaws is proposed. This complex of parameters can be used as an additional test in personal identification.     

Definitions of suicidal behavior: lessons learned from the WHo/EURO multicentre Study

Based on the experience matured during the 15 years of the WHO/EURO Multicentre Study on Suicidal Behavior, this paper provides an excursus on main elements that characterize components for definitional needs. It describes the rationale for choosing the initial set of definitions within the study and the subsequent problems and developments. As a result, unifying terminologies are proposed.     

Medicolegal aspects of witnessed suicide due to gunshot to the head. Part 1: Circumstances and psychopathology

In the USA the frequency of witnessed suicide, i.e. suicide committed in the presence of at least one further individual, is reported to range between 5 and 15%. As up to now no detailed analysis of this special issue has been given in the medicolegal literature, this article presents and discusses a number of cases including 8 males and 1 female (age 19-58 years, mean 41.2 years) who had all committed suicide by inflicting a gunshot to the head. In 3 cases post-mortem blood alcohol concentrations of 1.73, 1.88 and 2.23 g/kg respectively were observed. Toxicological tests produced negative results. 5 cases had a medical history of psychiatric disorder with endogenous depression in 3, chronic alcohol abuse and drug abuse with concomitant psychosis in one case each. As far as the motives were known, domestic arguments were of prevailing importance. With one exception the suicides were committed at home. In 6 cases one witness was present, in 2 cases 2 individuals and in one case 22 persons witnessed the suicide. The reported cases are discussed in comparison with the psychiatric-psychological classification according to McDowell et al. with the aim to provide a solid and comprehensive medicolegal method to distinguish between homicide and suicide. Furthermore aspects of psychiatric sequelae and psychological support of the witnesses, which are also of importance for the forensic pathologist called to the scene, are discussed.     

侦查权性质刍议

对于刑事诉讼中侦查职能的定位与侦查权的性质,我国学术界存在着不同的认识。文章首先从侦查权的概念入手,通过对侦查权基本特征的比较分析,明确侦查权的行政属性,在此基础上对我国侦查权的司法控制作一宏观上的建构,以规范我国侦查权的行使,从而达到惩罚犯罪与保障人权的最佳平衡。     

Social Capital and Endogenous Preferences

In this paper we analyze whether social capital can emerge endogenously from a process of preference evolution. We define social capital as preferences that promote voluntary cooperation in a one-shot Prisoner’s Dilemma game. We investigate how the endogenous preferences depend on the amount of information individuals have about each other’s preferences. When there is sufficiently much information, maximal social capital emerges. In general, the level of social capital varies positively with the amount of information. Our results may add to an understanding of the factors that determine a society’s ability to generate cooperative outcomes.     

美国在安理会的行为——以海湾战争为例

在联合国改革呼声高涨的今天,安理会能否形成海湾战争期间的合作模式意义重大。五大常任理事国应考虑各成员国的外交需求和民族利益、事先取得一致,以此提高效率。理性使用否决权将是安理会进步的标志,表明安理会有能力消除威胁和平与安全的因素、挽救深陷困苦或濒临灭绝的生命。     

A high-speed study of the dynamic bullet-body interactions produced by grazing gunshots with full metal jacketed and lead projectiles

Experimenting upon a synthetic, non-biological Skull-Brain Model, our goal was to document and study the bullet-body interaction of grazing (glancing, tangential) gunshots. Thanks to the high-speed study of the dynamic bullet-body interaction it was possible to document the glancing behavior of projectiles with a resolution of 50 million pictures per second. It was possible to demonstrate the differing deformation and fragmentation patterns between the 9mm Luger full metal jacketed projectile and the 38 Smith & Wesson (S & W) lead round nose projectile.In a true-to-life manner the morphologic fracture systems could be documented by utilization of the model in dependence of the projectile's behavior, deformation, and fragmentation. Based on these experimental studies with body models, conclusions could be drawn for surgical and reconstructive forensic questions in real cases.In summary, model substitutes offer a suitable basis for the study of the bullet-body interaction because the experiments are reproducible, totally independent of the biological variances of corpse and animal experiments, and are harmless from the ethical perspective.