Suicidal single gunshot injury to the head: differences in site of entrance wound and direction of the bullet path between right- and left-handed--an autopsy study

The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the anatomical site of a gunshot entrance wound and the direction of the bullet path between right- and left-handed subjects who committed a suicide by a single gunshot injury to the head. The retrospective autopsy study was performed for a 10-year period, and it included selected cases of single suicidal gunshot head injury, committed by handguns. We considered only contact or near-contact wounds. The sample included 479 deceased, with average age 47.1 ± 19.1 years (range, 12-89 years): 432 males and 47 females, with 317 right-handed, 25 left-handed, and 137 subjects with unknown dominant hand. In our observed sample, most cases involved the right temple as the site of entrance gunshot wound (about 67%), followed by the mouth (16%), forehead (7%), left temple (6%), submental (2%), and parietal region (1%). The left temple, right temple, and forehead were the sites of the gunshot entrance wounds, which were the best predictors of the handedness of the deceased (Spearman ρ = 0.149, P = 0.006). Our study showed that the direction of the bullet intracranial path in cases of suicide was even a more potent predictor of the handedness of the deceased (Spearman ρ = 0.263, P = 0.000; Wald = 149.503, P = 0.000).     

Fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage during sexual anal self-stimulation in a female: a case report

Sudden death after sexual activity is a well-known entity, but it is rare in females. Herein we present a case of fatal, massive subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured berry-shaped aneurysm, during sexual anal self-stimulation. A 39-year-old woman was found dead on a couch, with the wooden handle of a spring twirl whisk inserted inside her anus and rectum as a dildo-like object. External examination was unremarkable with no signs of injuries. Intracranial examination showed a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, up to 6 mm in thickness, especially around the brainstem and the inferior side of the brain. After removing the blood clots, the saccular aneurysm was found at the site of the bifurcation of the left internal carotid. In this case study, we underline the utility of forensic autopsy, as well as death scene investigation, in reconstructing the mechanism of death, as well as the dynamics of the event.     

Summit diplomacy of the seventeenth century: William III and Peter I in Utrecht and London, 1697-98

This article evaluates the meetings of the Russian Tsar Peter I and the English King William III in 1697-98 as the high point of Russia's 18-month Great Embassy to western Europe. The emphasis is on the diplomatic aspects of Anglo-Russian summits as well as on their results for international relations and diplomacy in Europe with particular focus on dramatic changes in Russia's attitude to international cooperation. Reform of Russian diplomatic machinery, enacted by Peter I as a follow-up of his European journey, were as well to a great degree motivated by his personal contacts with William III and his English and Dutch diplomatic advisors. Based on British and Russian archival sources, the article attempts to prove that Anglo-Russian summitry, and, in the first place, the rendezvous in Utrecht (1 September 1697, old style), signified Russia's intention to acquiesce to the raison d'etat principle in international relations and in practical diplomatic behaviour, thus abandoning religious and political prejudices that had kept Russians on the periphery of European diplomacy.     

Privatisation and liberalisation in the utility sector: the case of telecommunications in the Czech and Slovak Republics

This article addresses the issue of telecommunications reform in the context of economic, political and technological changes. It reviews recent approaches to utilities and telecommunications management from the perspective of socio‐economic theories and with reference to European Union (EU) telecommunications policies. It then addresses telecommunications reform in the Czech and Slovak Republics as they prepare to join the EU. The emphasis is on the efficiency, pricing, quality and scope of services, as well as the social consequences of liberalisation. The indications are that, while liberalisation is favoured, certain basic government guarantees are still required in the ‘public interest’. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.