Popliteal Vein Blood Sampling and the Postmortem Redistribution of Diazepam,Methadone, and Morphine

Postmortem redistribution (PMR) refers to the site‐ and time‐related blood drug concentration variations after death. We compared central blood (cardiac and subclavian) with peripheral blood (femoral and popliteal) concentrations of diazepam, methadone, and morphine. To our knowledge, popliteal blood has never been compared with other sites. Intracardiac blood (ICB), subclavian blood (SB), femoral blood (FB), and popliteal blood (PB) were sampled in 30 cases. To assess PMR, mean concentrations and ratios were compared. Influence of postmortem interval on mean ratios was also assessed. Results show that popliteal mean concentrations were lower than those for other sites for all three drugs, even lower than femoral blood; mean ratios suggested that the popliteal site was less subject to PMR, and estimated postmortem interval did not influence ratios except for diazepam and methadone FB/PB. In conclusion, our study is the first to explore the popliteal site and suggests that popliteal blood is less prone to postmortem redistribution.     

The Status of the Budget Constraint,Federalism and the Relative Size of Government: A Bureaucracy Approach

We develop a model along the lines of Niskanen,articulating that under a soft government budgetconstraint the full production cost of the public goodis not reflected in the tax price as perceived by theconsumer-taxpayer-voter. Various proportions ofnon-tax financing and different degrees of votermyopia with respect to discounting the future taxliabilities are taken into account. It can be shownthat both the actual level of public output and theamount of slack resources are lower under a hardbudget constraint than under a soft budget regime.Lower levels of government typically operate under ahard budget constraint when compared with the federallevel since they have only limited (public) borrowingopportunities and no access to money creation(seignorage). In a federalist setting more governmentdecisions are taken under a hard budget constraintthan in a unitary state. Hence one would expect thatthe overall size of government is relatively smallerin a structure with fiscal federalism. An empiricaltest for 19 OECD-countries (1990–1992) seems tosupport this hypothesis.     

Parental Autonomy-Support,Intrinsic Life Goals,and Well-Being Among Adolescents in China and North America

Self-determination theory proposes that prioritizing intrinsic life goals, such as community involvement, is related to well-being, whereas focusing on extrinsic life goals, such as financial success, is associated with lower well-being and that parenting influences the type of life goals that youth adopt. In a sample of 515 Chinese (56% female, mean age = 15.50) and 567 North American (52% male, mean age = 14.17) adolescents, a model of the relationships between parenting, life goals, and well-being was investigated and confirmed for intrinsic life goals. Across societies, autonomy-supportive parenting was associated with the endorsement of intrinsic life goals, which in turn was associated with well-being. Intrinsic life goals partially mediated the relationship between parental autonomy-support and well-being. These findings suggest that, cross-culturally, prioritizing intrinsic life goals is related to increased well-being among adolescents and that parents could encourage intrinsic life goals by being supportive of their children’s autonomy.     

Post-mortem changes of the middle ear: multislice computed tomography study

Six dry skulls were studied by multislice computed tomography (MSCT). They had not previously been prepared, and were natural skeletonized remains. All had been found in the soil. Examination focused on the temporal bones and the ear structures. In all cases, either disruption of the ossicular chain or absence of some ossicular bones were noted. The authors concluded that the fragile ossicles were disrupted in the post-mortem state, and were not indicative of ante-mortem pathology. These observations illustrate the ability of MSCT to visualize taphonomic changes. To further illustrate these findings, we present the results of MSCT performed on an exhumed body. The left ossicular bones were missing and the right ossicular chain was disrupted. With the development of forensic radiology, structures as tiny as the ossicles can be examined. However, the radiologist who performs post-mortem imaging must be familiar with taphonomic changes to avoid interpretation as ante-mortem or peri-mortem traumatic injuries. This could potentially have considerable judicial impact, especially in the study of exhumed bodies.     

Reversal sign on ante- and postmortem brain imaging in a newborn: report of one case

A 16-day-old female newborn was admitted to the emergency department after cardiopulmonary arrest. Total-body radiographs and non-enhanced CT of the brain showed fracture of the right clavicle, pericerebral hemorrhage and brain damage with reversal sign. The infant died on the day of her hospital admission. Because child abuse was suspected, a medicolegal autopsy was ordered by the legal authorities. Prior to autopsy, total-body MRI and CT were performed. Results of the ante- and postmortem investigations were compared with each other and then with the autopsy findings. Postmortem brain imaging showed persistence of the reversal sign. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case describing hypoxic ischemic damage of the brain parenchyma on antemortem CT and persisting on postmortem imaging in a child abuse case.     

Predicting daily-life antisocial behaviour in institutionalized adolescents with Transgression-related Implicit Association Tests

This study investigated whether implicit attitude (IA) and implicit self-concept (ISC) towards transgression predicted daily-life antisocial behaviour (ASB) in institutionalized adolescents. Eighty-seven adolescents completed two Implicit Association Tests (IAT) assessing IA and ISC towards transgression, and reported four times a day during eight days the intensity of their ASB. Staff members concurrently reported the intensity of each adolescent’s ASB. Adolescents filled in the Inventory for Callous-Unemotional Traits and answered a semi-structured interview assessing conduct disorder. Multilevel regression analyses confirmed that adolescents’ ISC towards transgression significantly predicted their self - and staff-reported ASB over and above conduct disorder and callous-unemotional traits. However, adolescents’ IA towards transgression did not predict their ASB. Results indicate that ISC towards transgression is a reliable predictor of daily-life ASB in institutionalized adolescents. These results suggest that transgression-related ISC represents a promising target for ASB prevention in institutionalized adolescents.     

Autonomy and managerial reforms in Europe: Let or make public managers manage?

Drawing on a survey of top executives in central governments in 11 European countries (N = 5,190), this study explores variations in the extent and scale of managerial autonomy across and within European states. The article is based on a comparative, multidimensional and relational approach to autonomy. Confirming predictions of qualitative studies, it shows that these variations can partly be explained by the intensity of New Public Management (NPM) reforms and provides a typology of European countries connecting the intensity of neo‐managerial reforms (measured by the declared use of management tools) to the degree of managerial autonomy. Our findings support Donald Kettl's hypothesis differentiating countries where the ‘let the manager manage’ model prevails, as in the Northern countries, by contrast with those, such as the United Kingdom, dominated by the ‘make the manager manage’ programme. The promise of managerial autonomy has also not been delivered to the same extent across and within countries.     

The Renewed ‘Struggle for Syria’: From the War ‘in’ Syria to the War ‘over’ Syria

ABSTRACT

Syria is generally considered a case of non-intervention. One of the dominant (since the 1990s) kinds of intervention, namely multilateral humanitarian intervention, failed, as did other attempts by a select group of countries to implement a ‘red line’ concerning the use of chemical weapons. However, in this case, there is no sharp dichotomy between intervention and non-intervention. In lieu of an intervention that would tilt the balance and coordinate help to halt massacres, various rival and uncoordinated international and regional interventions overlapped over time, fuelling a market for violence. ‘Weakened interventionism’, as opposed to principled and hierarchical intervention, has manifested itself in Syria in a model recalling “the struggle for Syria” of the 1960s in a new, contemporary setting.     

Process Tracing in Public Administration: The Implications of Practitioner Insights for Methods of Inquiry

The field of public administration is often seen as a late adopter of cutting-edge research methods. Related disciplines like political science use more advanced research methods for single or small-n case studies including techniques like process tracing. Many elements of process tracing are analogous to investigations. To inform process tracing practices, political scientists looked at Sherlock Holmes novels. We draw on the experiences of a police inspector and a former soldier who worked with intelligence to offer insights on the implementation of process tracing, bridge the academic–practitioner gap, and increase the methodological rigor in public administration research.