Further observations on the speed of death in hanging

Given that most fatal hangings are suicidal and occur in locations that have been selected to conceal this activity (thus maximizing the chances of a lethal outcome), there has been very little corroboration of the speed with which unconsciousness and death may occur. A 35-year-old male is reported who committed suicide by hanging immediately after talking to his spouse. Police investigations confirmed her reliability as a witness indicating that lethal anoxia in this case had occurred within a very short time (most likely in less than 1 min) of suspension. The speed with which death may result from hanging not only gives an insight into fatal pathophysiological mechanisms, but also provides useful information for situations where a lethal outcome is to be avoided, or is not intended. For example, individuals at risk of suicide who are being monitored in institutional facilities need to be constantly under direct visual surveillance as significant hypoxia can be rapidly induced, parents and caregivers with infants and children in potentially unsafe sleeping environments need to realize how swiftly death or irreversible anoxic brain damage may occur from neck compression, and those who engage in recreational asphyxia should be informed just how quickly a fatal outcome may ensue.     

Comamonas testosteroni meningitis in a homeless man

We report a case of meningitis caused by Comamonas testosteroni in a 54-year-old, alcoholic, homeless man. He, as a pedestrian, was struck by a car and suffered multiple fractures of the facial bones including the left frontal sinus. Over the course of 2-week hospitalization, he was clinically diagnosed with multiple cerebral and cerebellar infarcts resulting in altered mental status. He was pronounced dead 15 days after the injury. At the time of autopsy, diffuse purulent meningitis was found on gross examination. A swab culture of the brain surface was positive for C. Testosteroni, a saprophytic organism commonly found in soil and water. This is the first reported case of fatal meningitis caused by this micro-organism.     

大鼠急性心肌缺血后肌浆网RyR2 mRNA表达变化

目的 研究大鼠急性心肌缺血后心肌肌浆网兰尼碱受体蛋白2(ryanodine receptor 2,RyR2)mRNA表达的变化.方法 将SD大鼠分为正常对照组、心肌缺血组和缺血性猝死组.采用腹腔注射垂体后叶素的方法复制大鼠急性心肌缺血和猝死模型,对心肌进行半定量荧光RT-PCR检测,观察RyR2 mRNA表达水平的变化.结果 与正常对照组相比,不同时间和不同程度的急性心肌缺血后心肌肌浆网RyR2 mRNA表达均显著降低(P<0.05).结论 心肌缺血性损伤可诱导心肌钙调控蛋白RyR2 mRNA表达下调.     

应用AFLP检测大麻遗传多样性

目的 筛选对于大麻多态性好的AFLP引物标记来区分大麻品种.方法 利用AFLP技术用55对引物组合对12个大麻地域品种进行初筛.结果 选出5对多态性好的引物组合进行了遗传多样性研究.每对AFLP引物组合扩增出47～76务带.共获得285条带,其中多态性条带为99条以及10条品种特异带.结论 AFLP对于大麻具有很高的分辨率,为今后深入地研究大麻植物遗传多样性奠定了很好的基础.     

Differentiation between drug use and environmental contamination when testing for drugs in hair

Personality disorders are associated with criminality and antisocial and borderline personalities as strong predictors of violence. Nevertheless antisocial patients show more instrumental violence, while borderline patients more emotional violence. We surveilled medical records of a personality disorder facility, searching data of aggression and crimes against property among 11 patients with antisocial personality disorder and 19 borderline personality disorder. We found that there are differences regarding engagement in violence and lawbreaking according to the personality disorder: antisocial patients statistically engage more in crimes against property than the borderline patients, and more in this kind of crime than in aggression, whilst borderline patients show a tendency to engage more in episodes of aggression and physical violence than antisocial patients, and less in crimes against property. We conclude that the distinct personality leads to a distinct pattern of crimes and violence: antisocial patients are cold and get more involved in crimes requiring more detailed planning, whilst borderline patients are impulsive and engage in explosive episodes of physical violence. Further studies on the association among personality disorder, behavior pattern and violence type may be useful for both treatment and criminal profiling.     

Identification of colorants in pigmented pen inks by laser desorption mass spectrometry

Pigments are rapidly replacing dyes as colorants in pen and printer inks, due to their superior colors and stability. Unfortunately, tools commonly used in questioned document examination for analyzing pen inks, such as TLC, cannot be used for the analysis of insoluble pigments on paper. Laser desorption mass spectrometry is demonstrated here as a tool for analyzing pigment-based pen inks. A pulsed nitrogen laser can be focused onto a pen stroke from a pigmented ink pen on paper, and positive and negative ions representative of the pigment can be generated for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis. Targeted pens for this work were a set of Uni-ball 207 pigmented ink pens containing blue, light blue, orange, green, violet, red, pink, and black inks. Copper phthalocyanine was identified as the pigment used to make both blue inks. A mixture of halogenated copper phthalocyanines were identified in the green ink. Unexpectedly, the pink ink was found to contain a red pigment, Pigment Red 12, treated with a mixture of water-soluble dyes. Each sample yielded ions representative of the pigments present.     

刑法中的消极义务与积极义务：对刑法管辖权根据的思考

将犯罪视为法益侵害的一般理论对社会规范结构的理解过于肤浅,这种理论既无法把握积极履行的义务,又无法为刑法区分作为与不作为的义务提供根据,而且在价值上也毫无意义。作为一种保证人义务,每个人的组织领域必须保证交往的安全,因此保证人地位的预设不仅是不作为,而且还是作为。消极义务是每个人的义务,它可以通过作为来实现,也可以通过不作为来违反,这与义务人组织自己的组织领域有关。积极义务旨在用其他组织领域的成就来弥补另一个组织领域的不足,尽管该义务只影响负有特殊义务的人;但由于其属于重要意义的协助义务,任何人都可能参与该义务的违反。在负有特殊义务的人非但没有协助受益人,甚至还干扰了受益人的组织领域的场合,违反积极义务可能与违反消极义务同时发生。     

Risk assessment in offenders with intellectual disability: a comparison across three levels of security

In mainstream offender samples, several risk assessments have been evaluated for predictive validity. This study extends this work to male offenders with intellectual disabilities. Participants from high-, medium-, and low-security settings, as well as community settings, were compared on a range of risk assessments. The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide, HCR-20-Historical Scale, the Risk Matrix 2000-C (combined risk), and the Emotional Problems Scales-Internalising discriminated between groups, with participants from high security having higher scores than those in medium security, who had higher scores than those in the community. The Violence Risk Appraisal Guide, all HCR-20 scales, the Short Dynamic Risk Scale, and the Emotional Problems Scales (Internalising and Externalising) showed significant areas under the curve for the prediction of violence. The Static-99 showed a significant area under the curve for the prediction of sexual incidents. The discussion reviews the value of these various scales to intellectual disability services.     

The exclusion-inclusion spectrum in state and community response to sex offenders in Anglo-American and European jurisdictions

Continental European and Anglo-American jurisdictions differ with regard to criminal justice and community responses to sex offenders on an exclusion-inclusion spectrum ranging from community protection measures on one end to therapeutic programs in the middle and restorative justice measures on the other end. In the United States, populist pressure has resulted in a community protection approach exemplified by sex offender registration, community notification, and civil commitment of violent sexual predators. Although the United Kingdom and Canada have followed, albeit more cautiously, the American trend to adopt exclusionist community protection measures, these countries have significant community-based restorative justice initiatives, such as Circles of Support and Accountability. Although sex offender crises have recently occurred in continental Europe, a long-standing tradition of the medicalization of deviance, along with the existence of social structural buffers against the influence of victim-driven populist penal movements, has thus far limited the spread of formal community protection responses.