Estimating postmortem interval for human cadavers in a sub‐tropical climate using UV‐Vis‐near‐infrared Spectroscopy

Estimating postmortem interval (PMI) of surface found skeletal remains is challenging. This novel study used UV‐Vis‐NIR spectroscopy to scan soil collected from cadaver decomposition islands (CDIs) ranging from 15‐ to 963‐d postmortem and control soils. A decomposition product spectra model (DPS model) was constructed by deducting the control soil spectra from the CDI soil spectra for the estimation of postmortem indices: PMI (d), ADD₄, ADD₁₀, and ADD₂₀. The DPS model (n = 55) was calibrated and subjected to a full cross‐validation. Calibration R² and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 and from 6.1 to 9.9, respectively, for the four postmortem interval indices. Validation R² and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.73 to 0.80 and from 1.9 to 2.2, respectively. The DPS model estimated postmortem intervals for three test CDIs in a clay soil under perennial grassland (test set 1; n = 3) and six CDIs in a sandy soil under a loblolly pine forest (test set 2; n = 6). Test set 1 had PMI prediction ranges from ?69 to ?117 days, ?796 to +832 ADD₄, +552 to +2672 ADD₁₀, and ?478 to ?20 ADD₂₀ of observed PMI. Test set 2 PMI prediction ranged from ?198 to ?65 days, ?9923 to +2629 ADD₄, ?6724 to +1321 ADD₁₀, and ?2850 to +540 ADD₂₀ of observed PMI. Test set 2 had poor predictions for two CDIs, for all measures of postmortem indices resulting in discussion of sampling depth, effect of body mass index (BMI), and scavenging.     

The Requirement of an 'Express Agreement' for Joint Criminal Enterprise Liability: A Critique of Brdanin

The mode of liability known as joint criminal enterprise (JCE)has emerged in the case law of the International Criminal Tribunalfor the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as a means of assigning criminalliability to individuals for activities carried out by a collective.As a result, the doctrine must be carefully defined so as notto allow it to extend a defendant's liability beyond the appropriatelimits of individual criminal responsibility. In this regard,a recent ICTY Trial Chamber decision in Branin held that, wherea defendant is not alleged to have participated in the physicalperpetration of the crimes charged but to have contributed insome other way to the commission of the crimes by a group, theprosecution must demonstrate that the defendant entered intoan express agreement with the physical perpetrators to committhe crimes charged. The author argues that this ‘expressagreement requirement’ is both conceptually unsound andpractically unhelpful. Conceptually, it would be inconsistentwith core principles of JCE liability to require an expressagreement between a defendant and the physical perpetratorsof crimes, at least in circumstances in which it is allegedthat there existed a structure of two or more overlapping JCEs.Moreover, because this structure allows the accused and thephysical perpetrators to be operating in two separate JCEs,they need not even share a common criminal purpose. On a practicallevel, arguably in a ‘system-criminality’ contextsuch as the one that developed in the former Yugoslavia duringthe time period in question, the organizers of criminal activityare unlikely to enter into express criminal agreements withthose who physically carry out crimes, because existing organizedhierarchies provide much more efficient mechanisms by whichleaders are able to ensure the realization of their criminalplans.     

‘My object is to be of service to you’: Carl Ackerman and the Wilson administration during World War I

The press was outraged in the 1970s when investigations exposed the CIA’s use of American journalists as undercover informants during the Cold War. This was treated as a shocking break in the traditional line between journalism and government. A study of journalist Carl W. Ackerman’s activities in the Great War, however, reveals such cooperation had precedents. While reporting oversees, Ackerman, later dean of Columbia Journalism School, worked behind the scenes with officials to shape and promote the Wilson administration’s foreign policy. This paper is a first step to understanding that pervasive, close relationships between journalists and government were well established at the beginning of the twentieth century.     

Death due to a rare complication of colonoscopy and the potential medicolegal implications

A 64‐year‐old woman was found dead at home after undergoing a screening colonoscopy. At autopsy, 1.9 L of blood was discovered within her abdominal cavity. The only major abnormality was nontraumatic avulsion of the splenic capsule. This was the only identifiable abnormality capable of causing the severe hemoperitoneum and demise of the patient. Although rare, splenic capsule avulsion is a recognized complication of colonoscopy. Many have theorized that it results from excessive traction on the splenocolic ligament resulting in a tear of the splenic capsule. Most patients present within the first 24 hours after the procedure with nonspecific symptoms, and many patients may not seek medical attention. The paucity of the literature in the area of splenic capsular avulsion after colonoscopy reinforces the importance of reporting known cases, and by doing so raise awareness of this rare but devastating complication of an otherwise beneficial screening procedure.     

‘Social Services will not touch us with a barge pole’: social care provision for older prisoners

Older prisoners are the fastest growing subgroup in the English and Welsh prison estate. Older prisoners have high levels of health and social care needs. This mixed-method study involved the distribution of a questionnaire examining the availability of health and social care services for older prisoners to all prisons housing adult males in England and Wales, followed by qualitative telephone interviews with representatives from eight prisons. Over half of establishments had some contact with external social care services, but reported significant difficulties in arranging the care for individuals. A professional lead for older prisoners had been identified in 81% of establishments; however, the value of this role to positively affect practice appeared questionable. Statutory social care was often non-existent in prison due to the lack of understanding of what it constituted and who was responsible for its provision.     

Internet gambling: Community flop or the Texas Hold'em poker rules1

Transformed by technology, the virtualisation of gambling has prompted administrations around the world to respond swiftly to the challenges posed by the new way of carrying out an age-old practice. However, approaches to regulation differ. Within the USA online gambling is prohibited by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act 31 U.S.C. 5361-5367 (enacted in the USA in October 2006). This has been played out by the threats of extradition and arrests of senior executives in Texas and ultimately imprisonment for criminal infringements in among other places Las Vegas. By contrast the UK has implemented a regulatory regime through the Gambling Act 2005. The European Community has provided a regime somewhere between the two following recent European Court of Justice decisions (Plancanica 2 CMLR 25) finding against Member States operating state monopolies preventing the establishment of private providers in this specific sphere of commercial activity, contrary to Article 43TEC (right of establishment) and Article 49TEC (the right to provide services, this will of course also have the corollary of the right to receive services). The appropriateness of these responses leads the commentators back towards embryonic Internet governance discussions on cyber-paternalism and cyber-liberalism with online gambling as the case study.     

Demonstrating the Melbourne University Respirator

The First World War was a theatre for the demonstration of Australia's contribution to the Empire, and the role of science and technology. This paper explores this relationship by tracing the history of the Melbourne University Respirator, a gas mask developed by scientists at the University of Melbourne during the Great War. In the immediate post-war period, the Respirator was used as a political technology to educate citizens about the actual and potential contribution of scientific research to national and imperial defence. Scientists in this manner promoted national scientific and technological development and a more equal partnership with Britain. The political use of the Respirator was staged in the vivid medium of an exhibition, in which sentiment was conceivably used to motivate political action.     

Nanotechnology . . . What Is It Good For? (Absolutely Everything): A Problem Definition Approach

Problem definition studies focus on the ways in which problems are characterized in the political domain, and how they can be used strategically to limit or expand policy participation. Nanotechnology entrepreneurs are vying for resources in the political domain while strategically linking their nano‐solution to multiple and ambiguous problems. This article considers the evolution of nanotechnology as a solution, and the linked problems from a problem definition perspective. We consider how nanotechnology has been defined over time, in the scientific community and in the media, through development of a database of problem and solution definitional change. We find that, over time, advocates have defined the solution from a more narrow perspective while maintaining the overall ambiguity of the problem set. We suggest that the problem definition perspective is a viable framework for understanding the fluid and complex dynamics of science and technology issues and offer several suggestions for further research.