A Biomechanical Evaluation of Skull–Brain Surrogates to Blunt High‐Rate Impacts to Postmortem Human Subjects

The field of forensic injury biomechanics is an emerging field. Biomechanically validated tools may assist interdisciplinary teams of investigators in assessing mechanisms of blunt head trauma resulting in skull fractures. The objective of this study is to assess the biofidelity of spherical, frangible skull–brain (SB) surrogates. Blunt impacts were conducted at 20 m/s, using an instrumented 103 g rigid impactor, to the temporo‐parietal region of four defleshed cephalic postmortem human subjects (PMHS). Force–deformation response, fracture tolerance, and fracture patterns were recorded for comparison to spherical skull–brain surrogates. Three brain substitutes were assessed: 10% gelatin, lead shot with Styrofoam and water. Force–deformation response of the skull–brain surrogates was similar to defleshed PMHS up to the point of fracture; however, none of the surrogates fractured at tolerance levels comparable to the PMHS. Fracture patterns of the skull–brain surrogates were linear and radiating, while PMHS fractures were all depressed, comminuted.     

A Rare Case of an Intact Bone Plug Associated with a Gunshot Exit Wound

This case study presents an unusual manifestation of gunshot trauma in skeletal tissue from a post‐World War II human rights abuse sample uncovered in Vilnius, Lithuania. After briefly reviewing the typical wound appearance of projectile trauma in the cranium, we discuss the presence of an intact bone plug associated with a gunshot exit wound in an individual from the Tuskulenai Case. While this individual demonstrated typical gunshot entry and exit wounds to the cranium consistent with high‐velocity trauma, the bone plug indicates that the projectile likely lost much of its kinetic energy while traveling through the cranium resulting in a low‐velocity impact at the exit site. This study reviews a similar instance of a bone plug recovered from a bioarcheological sample in Peru and emphasizes the importance of thorough archeological excavations of mass graves.     

Psychometric Properties of the Trauma and Post-Trauma Well-Being Assessment Domains of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale for General and Reunification Services (NCFAS G+R)

Two new domains of the NCFAS-G+R, trauma and post-trauma well-being, were tested for reliability and validity in relation to previous NCFAS-G+R domains. Three family preservation programs provided case level data on 170 in-home service families over six months. Domains were tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha, factor structure was explored, and convergent validity was examined through correlations of new scale items with domain ratings on the NCFAS-G+R. Assessment ratings were cross tabulated with practice and outcome variables. Reliability of the new domains was established with Cronbach's alphas of .811 and .905, respectively, factor structure was confirmed, new scale items and domains correlated predictably and significantly with other NCFAS domains. Outcome variables were influenced by trauma assessment ratings. Displaying good psychometric properties, the trauma-focused assessment domains hold promise for assisting child welfare practitioners assess trauma symptomology, and post-trauma well-being following services.     

培育居民消费能量 做大经济发展正力

消费对经济发展具有极其重要的作用。要发挥消费对经济发展的正力,需要积极培育居民的消费能量,这正是拉动内需、启动消费的关键所在。基于居民消费影响因素的实证检验,得出居民收入状况是居民消费能量得以释放最大的制约因素。只有增加居民收入,藏富于民,做好社会保障等工作,才能培育居民的消费能量,做大经济发展的正力。     

Unacademic academics: Holocaust deniers and trivializers in post-Communist Romania

The Romanian Academy (and much of the country's historical establishment) is packed with Holocaust deniers and trivializers, many of whom indulge in Holocaust obfuscation against the background of the post-Communist “competitive martyrdom” between the victims of the Holocaust and the Gulag. Quite a few of these deniers and trivializers are also former secret police informers. On closer examination, however, it turns out that explaining the reluctance to face the country's “dark past” as being the independent variable resultant of the post “Romanianization” of the Communist Party and its Securitate is a partial explanation at best. A substantially more convincing one might be provided by scrutinizing the phenomenon as the product of post-mnemonic cultural traumas.     

Neville Bolt. The Violent Image: Insurgent Propaganda and the New Revolutionaries.

This article examines key setting events and personal factors that are associated with support for either non-violent activism or violent activism among Somali refugee young adults in the United States. Specifically, this article examines the associations of trauma, stress, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), posttraumatic growth (PTG), strength of social bonds, and attitudes towards legal and non-violent vs. illegal and violent activism. Structured interviews were conducted with a sample of Somali refugee males ages 18–25 living in the northeastern United States (N = 79). Data were analyzed using multiple linear regressions and path analysis. Greater exposure to personal trauma was associated with greater openness to illegal and violent activism. PTSD symptoms mediated this association. Strong social bonds to both community and society moderated this association, with trauma being more strongly associated with openness to illegal and violent activism among those who reported weaker social bonds. Greater exposure to trauma, PTG, and stronger social bonds were all associated with greater openness to legal non-violent activism.     

Thurston High School

Abstract

On May 21, 1998 Kipland Kinkel entered Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, gunned down two students and injured scores more, after murdering his parents the night before. There is a dearth of research focused on the effects of such violence in school settings where the perpetrator is a peer of his victims. We do not know if, how, or under what circumstances adolescents exposed to this violence are psychologically changed, or if the changes are temporary or long-lasting. This study explores the incidence of post-traumatic effects of such an incident. These effects are hypothesized to be influenced by both distal (physical) (Pynoos & Nader, 1986) and emotional proximity (Terr, 1990). Emotional proximity is, in this study, measured by connectedness to the school. Effects of peritrauma dissociative responses in the immediate aftermath of the incident on longitudinal effects are also explored. Participants include 80 respondents who completed a lengthy survey at two to three years post incident. The sample was predominantly recruited from three Oregon institutes of higher learning. It includes adolescents who were enrolled at Thurston High School at the time, young adults who had graduated from Thurston in the five years prior to the incident and a control group from another college town 40 miles away. Findings support the hypotheses that distal proximity at the time of the event predicts the longitudinal direct effects of distress from hyper arousal, intrusions, and avoidance. Controlling for distal proximity, emotional proximity to Thurston High School predicts peritrauma dissociative response and alexithymia. Further, elevated peritrauma scores predicts distress from intrusions at two to three years. These results suggest there can be long-lasting effects from one instance of acute school violence. Limitations of the study and future research are discussed.     

Asylum Seekers Along the U.S.-Canada Border

Abstract

Given the large numbers of people fleeing their homelands, social workers are likely to encounter refugees from all over the world. Although the social work profession has a mandate to work with disenfranchised populations, limited attention has been paid to providing services to refugees. Residents of the largest refugee shelter in the U.S. were interviewed about their claims. These findings can help social workers understand the situations refugees come from as well as processes they go through in applying for legal status. With this information, it is possible to identify roles social workers can play with this vulnerable population.     

Chapter 10. Central American Survivors of Political Violence

Abstract

Despite compelling, well-documented findings on the levels of stress and trauma among Central American refugees, this group continues to be underserved. A host of issues contributes to this underservice, ranging from macro-level imposed obstacles, such as citizenship and health insurance as determining factors for accessing social and health services, to institutional factors that impede service utilization, such as an insufficient number of translators or a cumbersome and confusing bureaucracy. This chapter adopts a human rights framework as a strategy for working with groups of Central Americans who have experienced political violence. The ongoing effects of political violence on Central Americans, as they relate to mental and physical health problems, are reviewed and a case vignette is used to illustrate how political violence affects individuals and how macro-level forces and institutions create barriers to access and use of health care and social services. Treatment approaches for helping survivors of political violence in the context of a human rights framework are suggested.     

Sudden Unexpected Death due to Chiari Type I Malformation in a Road Accident Case

This case concerns a sudden death of a patient with Chiari I malformation. A 17‐year‐old female was seen unconscious then fell off a motorbike during the vehicle acceleration. The girl was confirmed dead on the way to hospital, being previously asymptomatic and with a clean medical record. Autopsy findings showed an extremely extra‐long cerebellar tonsillar herniation in the left side and unexplained multiple small cavities in cerebral hemispheres. Microscopic findings revealed loss and abnormal migration of the Purkinje cells, as well as capillary congestion in the herniated tonsil. The cause and mechanisms of this sudden death are considered as the cardiopulmonary dysfunction and arrest resulted from compression of the medulla and cervical cord, which was induced by both the positional insult and minor head trauma. In addition, this study stresses the importance of cervical cord examination in the case of unexpected sudden death following road accidents.