One Hundred and One Cases of Plastic Bag Suffocation in the Milan Area Between 1993 and 2013—Correlations,Circumstances, Pathological and Forensic Evidences and Literature Review

Plastic Bag Suffocation is a rare cause of death in developed countries and almost unknown in the rest of the world. This study aims to retrospectively evaluate cases of PBS _asphyxia in Milan's Department of Legal Medicine from 1993 to 2013. Cases were selected from the database of 21,472 autopsies performed in the considered timeframe. One hundred and one cases were considered to be cases of Plastic Bag Suffocation, comprised of 100 suicides, no accidental events and 1 homicide. The most relevant elements pertaining to this type of death were evaluated for both the corpses and the crime scenes. From this study the typical PBS victim is an adult male, aged 52.3 years on average, depressed or afflicted by chronic or terminal diseases, and found at home. In 42.6% of cases, the victims were found with the plastic bag still positioned over their head, fastened by tying. Also common among these cases are drugs, alcohol and chemical abuses. According to the collected data, it is impossible to outline a pathognomonic detrimental background that leads to this cause of death. Crime scene investigation is, therefore, the one and only technical resource for evaluating these cases.     

ICF脑卒中核心分类组合功能的图形建模研究

目的依据《国际功能、残疾和健康分类(ICF)》脑卒中核心组合,探讨脑卒中相关功能类目之间的关系,绘制ICF脑卒中核心分类组合的功能地形图,为脑卒中的伤残评定提供科学理论依据。方法收集106例脑卒中被鉴定人样本,采用"最小的绝对缩减和变量选择算子",研究脑卒中ICF核心组合功能的59项类目变量之间的条件依存关系,并用图形建模分析类目之间的内在联系,绘制功能地形图。结果 59项类目之间的相互联系构成了功能地形图,b340、b735、b175和b152因关联性较高而居于地形图的中心位置。结论脑卒中功能地形图可以揭示ICF功能类目之间复杂的关系结构及关联程度。可以为应用ICF进行脑卒中的伤残评定提供科学理论依据。     

浅议先合同义务

缔约过失责任制度是由德国法学家耶林提出并被誉为法学上的重要发现,对各国的立法和判例法都产生了深远的影响。先合同义务作为缔约过失责任的首要构成要件,对契约生效前契约双方的权利、义务的界定,以及对正确掌握缔约过失责任成立的时间段、缔约过失责任的性质等具有重要的意义。     

环境权实现方式探析

环境权的提出和发展透视了环境问题日趋严重的事实,思考环境权的实现具有现实意义,尤其是在综合分析世界主要国家立法情况的基础之上,对环境权加以必要界定,既而厘清环境权与人权的关系,并借助传统权利、程序权利(如公众参与权利)、义务规定和人权法律最终实现环境权。     

Bribery and Public Debt Repudiation

In cases where policy makers accept ``bribes'' offered by organised lobbies or interestedparties, government decisions can be modelled as a first price menu auction. In this paper we adaptthis structure to model debt repudiation. We considera one-period model in which two generations, parents and children, are present, and debt titles are unevenlydistributed among parents. The government can repaythe debt by a combination of taxes on the children'sincome and on the outstanding debt. We excludeintergenerational conflicts, assuming that the parents'and children's objective is to maximise the utility ofthe family. In this perspective, families make offersthat relate monetary contributions to the taxstructures chosen by the government. On the hypothesisthat all interests are represented, we obtain theresult that the government is indifferent to the taxstructure.     

An analysis of the neighborhood impacts of a mortgage assistance program: A spatial hedonic model

Down payment or closing cost assistance is an effective program in addressing the wealth constraints of low‐and moderate‐income homebuyers. However, the spillover effect of such programs on the neighborhood is unknown. This paper estimates the impact of the City of Dallas Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) on nearby home values using a hedonic model of home sales from 1990 to 2006. We define neighborhoods of 1,000 feet around each sale and estimate the average differences in sales prices between neighborhoods with various numbers of MAP properties before and after their appearance. We find that MAP properties tend to locate in neighborhoods with lower property values; however, unless a concentration of MAP properties forms, the infusion of MAP properties has little detrimental impact on neighboring property values. Moreover, low concentration of MAP properties has a modest positive impact on surrounding property values. © 2010 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Contribution of parkland trees to farmers’ livelihoods: a case study from Mali

Native species of trees and shrubs contribute significantly to farmers' livelihoods by supplying food, medicinal products, fodder, and wood. In the case study reported in this article, this contribution to farmers' annual revenue varied from 26 per cent to 73 per cent, and was as high as US$ 650 a year for households for which agroforestry products were the primary source of revenue. Household consumption was not quantified in the study, but farmers' comments confirmed that native trees also played an important role in assuring food security, especially in the ‘hunger period’ when grain stores are low and farmers are waiting for the next harvest.     

The color of child mortality in Brazil, 1950-2000: social progress and persistent racial inequality

Now that racism has been officially recognized in Brazil, and some universities have adopted affirmative-action admission policies, measures of the magnitude of racial inequality and analyses that identify the factors associated with changes in racial disparities over time assume particular relevance to the conduct of public debate. This study uses census data from 1950 to 2000 to estimate the probability of death in the early years of life, a robust indicator of the standard of living among the white and Afro-Brazilian populations. Associated estimates of the average number of years of life expectancy at birth show that the 6.6-year advantage that the white population enjoyed in the 1950s remained virtually unchanged throughout the second half of the twentieth century, despite the significant improvements that accrued to both racial groups. The application of multivariate techniques to samples selected from the 1960, 1980, and 2000 census enumerations further shows that, controlling for key determinants of child survival, the white mortality advantage persisted and even increased somewhat in 2000. The article discusses evidence of continued racial inequality during an era of deep transformation in social structure, with reference to the challenges of skin color classification in a multiracial society and the evolution of debates about color, class, and discrimination in Brazil.     

对人类未来的乐观展望

苏联解体后,资本主义的思想家和代表人物不遗余力地宣扬所谓资本主义对社会主义的最终胜利。弗朗西斯·福山宣称这是“意识形态的终结”。英国工党理论家安东尼·戈登斯下结论说,“作为一种经济管理制度,社会主义已经不复存在”。