An unusual area of injury in postmortem animal feeding beneath clothing

The authors report on a woman who died on the age of 75 years and who was found dead in her dwelling with an extensive injury of the left thigh two days after the last sign of life. Together with the corpse a poodle was present in the dwelling. Due to the unusual localization totally beneath the clothes (trousers) and the morphology of the injury an unnatural cause of death was suspected. According to the autopsy findings and the histological results, postmortal animal scavenging caused by the poodle remained the only explanation for the injury. Supplementary DNA testing yielded final certainty.     

青少年犯罪预防理论的研究视角：从犯罪原因到犯罪断念的转向

断念是行为主体(特别是青少年越轨者或犯罪人)在一段稳定的时期内对犯罪偏好明显与确定的拒绝。现阶段犯罪预防措施通过控制青少年犯罪原因遏制青少年犯罪增长趋势,绩效前景颇为黯淡。从聚焦于犯罪原因分析到致力于犯罪断念研究的战略性转向将成为当代社会犯罪预防的重要突破。作为人生状态与行为过程的犯罪断念,在静态结构与动态运行的结合中发挥青少年犯罪预防的积极效果。     

德国法学方法论

一般认为,对于一门学术型学科而言,一套方法的存在及由此而形成的方法论至关重要。在德国,法律一直以来都是一门学术型学科。作为被称之为"法学"(字面意思是法律"科学",更确切地说是有关法律的学问)的研究对象,法律以具有一套专门的法学方法论为其特征。在德国大学法学院中,法学方法论是一门非常重要的讲授科目,且围绕这门课程有大量的法学文献。这些文献所讨论的是德国法律人如何(或者更准确地说:应该如何)开展法律工作。德语文献相关讨论中的一个特殊之处在于,在概念上区分"法律解释"与"法的续造"。方法论的讨论涉及制定法解释的各种相关要素、先决条件、不同层级,以及法的续造的合法性等问题。除此之外,还应意识到,对于德国法方法论的讨论是在不同的政治发展历程下展开的。基于此,本文从以下五个一般性话题展开对方法论的讨论:第一,德国、瑞士以及奥地利在方法论上的共性;第二,方法论讨论的规范特征;第三,不同法律领域中所出现的方法论上的差异;第四,法教义学与法学方法论的关系;第五,德国所讨论问题的历史背景。     

Values and concepts in Max Weber's comparative studies

Abstract. This restatement of Max Weber's methodological position takes as its point of departure a point-by-point response to a critique by Talcott Parsons of the author's rejection of system, function and evolution as basic concepts of sociological theory – and of studies of political development. In turn, Weber's position that is 'intermediate' between materialism and idealism, the purpose of his typological approach, and of his comparative studies are discussed. The last part of the paper restates Weber's position on 'ideal types' and examines their assets and liabilities through an analysis of contrast-conceptions.     

In vitro production of GHB in blood and serum samples under various storage conditions

The in vitro production of GHB was observed in freshly collected, untreated whole blood samples using glass BD-Vacutainers and polypropylene S-monovettes. GHB concentrations were determined daily over a period of one week and after 3, 6 and 9 weeks again. Furthermore, the GHB concentration in 40 untreated random whole blood samples stored at 4°C for a longer period of time (10 samples 12 month, 10 samples 24 month and 20 samples 36 month) was also determined. For comparison, the in vitro production of GHB in freshly collected and prepared serum samples was observed. GHB serum concentrations were determined three times over a period of one week and once again after six weeks. Sample preparation was performed by means of methanolic extraction following the precipitation of whole blood and serum samples. A methanolic standard calibration was done in a low range of 0.005-0.1 μg/mL (LOD: 0.004, LLOQ: 0.013). For quantification a spiked blood bank serum with a determined GHB concentration of 0.09 μg/mL was used. Corrected calibrations in the range of 0.09-5.09 μg/mL were used (LOD: 0.08 μg/mL, LLOQ: 0.30 μg/mL), recovery: 91.3% (high level: 4.09 μg/mL) 50.5% (low level: 0.19 μg/mL). RESULTS: Relevant elevation of GHB was observed in all whole blood samples stored in liquid form (4°C or room temperature). In two of the 40 whole blood samples stored over a longer period of time at 4°C, GHB concentrations in the range of 13 μg/mL were even determined. These findings constitute grounds for caution. Even a GHB cut-off level of 5 μg/mL cannot be considered as "absolutely positive" proof of a case of exogenous administration, at least in untreated liquid blood samples in long time storage. However, no significant elevations of GHB were otherwise observed in any of the serum samples independently of storage temperature nor in the whole blood samples that were frozen for storage. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the cut-off for exogenous GHB of 5 μg/mL could be lowered significantly, with the consequence of winning valuable time for the potential victim, but only if serum is collected for GHB determination or if the whole blood sample is frozen immediately after collection and the procedure well documented.