液化石油气中毒死亡兔的法医病理学研究

目的观察新西兰兔在液化石油气中毒后不同组织的病理学特征,探讨其在日常法医鉴定工作中的应用价值。方法健康新西兰兔42只,随机分为3组:轻度中毒组6只,中毒死亡组30只,窒息死亡组6只。在中毒和致死过程中进行行为学观察,分析心血中液化石油气浓度,中毒死亡组和窒息死亡组进行大体解剖形态学和组织病理切片观察及心血检验。结果轻度中毒组在吸入少量液化石油气后会表现为呼吸加快、站立、伸舌、磨牙等兴奋的状态;中毒死亡组尸体解剖主要表现皮肤、肌肉呈土黄色,气管、支气管出血明显,肺气肿明显;中毒死亡组心血中可检验出液化石油气成分。结论新西兰兔液化石油气中毒的特征主要表现为皮肤、肌肉呈土黄色,气管、支气管出血明显,心血可检出液化石油气成分。我们推断液化石油气的神经毒性与缺氧可能是液化石油气中毒死亡的机制。     

论我国刑法中各刑种实际刑度之间的不衔接及对策

各刑种实际刑度间的不衔接指的是无期徒刑和有期徒刑之间、死刑中的死缓与无期徒刑之间、死刑立即执行与死缓之间刑罚程度的不衔接。它是我国现行刑法的一个不足之处。刑种间实际刑度的不衔接破坏了刑罚结构的科学性。因此,根据罪刑相当的原则,重新设定各刑种的实际刑度,对于实现它们之间的衔接,以及完善刑法结构都具有重要意义。     

Me Voici,here I Am,Here I Stand,I Can Do No Other

This article offers a Levinasian reading of the case of Airedale N.H.S. Trust v Bland (1993). My contention is that the judicial reasoning that gave rise to the decision that Anthony Bland should die was driven by an ontological imperative I submit from a Levinasian perspective the decision was ethically indefensible because it failed to recognise Anthony Bland as the other. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

死刑价值认识

不同的死刑价值观 ,往往会导致不同的死刑立法、司法及理论构造选择。迷信死刑者主张“治乱世用重典” ,认为死刑的威慑力足以以暴制暴、以毒攻毒 ;人权主义者则对死刑提出种种诘责 ,认为死刑是不必要的 ,只会宣扬与鼓励暴力 ,甚至是一种社会公共谋杀。对两种死刑价值认识进行综合评述之后 ,作者认为 ,对死刑的价值评判应基于一国具体的国情 ,中国的“保留死刑 ,少杀慎杀”死刑政策是对死刑价值进行理性认识之后正确的、必然的抉择。     

死刑的司法与立法限制--量刑情节的制约

立足云南省死刑适用的司法实践,结合实务部门判处死刑考虑的量刑情节,对如何从实际数量上减少死刑适用并进而从立法上减少死刑罪名提出一些实用性思路.     

肺组织缺氧时分子变化与机械性窒息死亡死因鉴定研究进展

肺是机体最大的呼吸器官,缺氧时肺组织细胞快速发生损伤性变化,同时激活自救通路,进而引发复杂的生物大分子变化。机械性窒息死亡是由机械性暴力引起的急性呼吸障碍导致的死亡。由于缺乏特异性的尸体内部征象,机械性窒息死亡的精准死因鉴定一直是法医病理鉴定的难点。本文回顾了缺氧条件下肺组织的生物大分子变化,探讨了将这些变化用于机械性窒息死亡精准死因鉴定的可能性,以期为相关研究提供新思路。     

论法医对非正常死亡死者家属的解释工作

非正常死亡在法医学上指由外部作用导致的死亡。非正常死亡的判定在基层往往取决于法医对死亡原因和死亡性质的鉴定。法医对非正常死亡死者家属的解释非常必要,在解释之前要做好充分的准备工作,且解释的内容及方法也很重要,需关注一些细节,以保证工作的正常开展。     

Towards molecular autopsies: Development of a FFPE tissue DNA extraction workflow

Sudden unexpected death (SUD) is a devastating event and forms a substantial proportion of the cases investigated at forensic mortuaries each year. Despite post-mortem investigations, the cause of death may remain undetermined. There is potential for these unresolved cases to benefit from retrospective molecular autopsies for investigation into genetic mutations which may have contributed towards death. Often, formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues (FFPET) are the only archival sources of DNA available for retrospective analyses. However, extracting usable DNA from FFPET is challenging as current methods yield poor quality and quantity DNA. Thus, this study aimed to optimise DNA recovery from FFPET by investigating several variables within the DNA extraction workflow, including the selection of tissue type, number and thickness of tissue sections, deparaffinisation method, and DNA extraction kit. The quantity and quality of DNA recovered were assessed using spectrophotometry, real time PCR, digital capillary electrophoresis and DNA profiling. This study was the first to implement a nuclei quantification using microscopy to guide the selection of the best tissue type to use for DNA analysis. The use of a greater number of thinner tissue sections (100 sections, each 1 μm) significantly improved DNA concentration, purity and fragment length. Additionally, the combination of Deparaffinization Solution with the QIAamp® DNA FFPE Tissue Kit proved most favourable with a median DNA yield of 320 ng and 55% of DNA fragments greater than 400 bp. Isolated DNA was of single source, indicating no contamination in the workflow, and FFPET blocks that were stored for up to 3.5 years did not significantly affect DNA degradation (p = 0.1764). These results are especially informative for designing library preparation and sequencing workflows for determining cause of death in unresolved SUD cases.     

Postmortem Analysis of Electrogram Records from an Implantable Cardioverter‐Defibrillator (ICD) in the Reconstruction of a Road Traffic Accident

The case of a 69‐year‐old man, equipped with an ICD and suffering from several chronic cardiac diseases, who died in a car accident, was presented. We analyzed electrogram records from the ICD explanted from the body during the autopsy, which showed that the driver had suffered from malignant ventricular arrhythmia—ventricular fibrillation (VF). A thorough analysis of the details of the accident, as well as the timing of VF and the rhythm observed after the discharge of the ICD showed that the direct cause of the accident was the episode of arrhythmia resulting in a loss of consciousness. Therefore, the presented case illustrates the usefulness of postmortem analysis of electrogram records from ICDs in the reconstruction of road traffic accidents. In such cases, if the victims are implanted with ICDs, it should be a routine procedure performed by forensic pathologists.     

Reasons for South Korean attitudes towards the death penalty: exploring the nexus between strong public support and history of misapplication

As of this writing, South Korea (officially, the Republic of Korea) is an abolitionist-in-practice nation; capital punishment is legal, but no death sentences have been carried out since a moratorium was enacted in 1997. Public support for the death penalty has decreased over time; however, the factors that determine support for or opposition to the death penalty of the South Korean general public are largely unknown. Using survey data from a nationwide sample of 416 respondents, this study examined the potential predictors for public attitudes towards capital punishment support. A majority of survey respondents (83%) supported the death penalty, a higher percentage than recent surveys of the South Korean general public. The deterrence and retribution perspectives were positively related to death penalty support, while crime severity, neighbourhood safety, the brutalisation effect, and innocence were negatively related. This study provides the first multivariate analysis of factors associated with South Korean attitudes towards the death penalty.