Germany and Japan as Newly Declining Countries (NDCs)

This article reviews the structural problems of the political economies of Germany and Japan, their reduced competitiveness, industrial “hollowing-out” of corporate emigration, and their banking crises following past capital misallocations. To this, policy responses have been grossly inadequate as Japan resorted to massive public works programmes and Germany to an expanded welfare state—both entirely debt financed and unsustainable. These policy choices were the result of vested interests embedded in cartelized political structures and conformist public cultures, with growing tendencies towards collusion and corruption. Germany's and Japan's problems are compounded by societal value changes of an eroding work ethic and the rise of a hedonistic individualism, as evident, inter alia in catastrophic demographic data. As the political class and societies at large are still in a denial mode in both countries—after the September 2005 elections in Germany more so than in Japan—the much needed structural reforms are unlikely to be undertaken anytime soon.     

A kinetic model describing the pharmacokinetics of ethyl glucuronide in humans

The glucuronide conjugation is a minor pathway of ethanol metabolism. The determination of ethyl glucuronide (EG) in serum and urine has gained importance in forensic and other legal decisions. To prospectively calculate the serum concentration of this non-oxidative ethanol metabolite, the computer program developed includes a parameter fitting routine. Multiple ethanol doses can be handled.The mathematical modeling was based on the following assumptions and simplifications, respectively. A single enzyme system is responsible for ethanol conjugation at one distinct site; the distribution of EG into the systemic circulation is delayed; the elimination of EG follows first-order kinetics.The concentration of EG was calculated using three kinetic parameters: a rate constant for the first-order formation of EG from serum ethanol, a transfer constant for an obstructed transfer of EG from the formation site (FS) into the central compartment (CC) and an exponential elimination constant.The program was applied to the data collected from 21 drinking experiments. The fitting algorithm optimized the three kinetic parameters, until the sum of concentration error squares of the data points was minimized. The means+/-standard deviation of the rate constant for the first-order formation of EG from serum ethanol was 0.0011+/-0.0006 h(-1), the transfer constant for an obstructed transfer of EG from the FS into the CC was 0.43+/-0.1996 h(-1) and the exponential elimination constant was 3.0+/-1.45 h(-1).Using the range of these parameters, it is now possible to calculate minimum and maximum serum concentrations of EG based on ethanol doses and drinking times. The comparison of calculated and measured concentrations can prove the plausibility of an alleged ethanol consumption. This can be crucial when the serum ethanol concentration (SEC) itself is not meaningful.     

Spontaneous rupture of the urinary bladder

The report presents the case of a 33-year-old man under the primary assumption of homicide in which the court-ordered autopsy revealed death as a result of bleeding due to a spontaneous rupture of the urinary bladder. The article gives a short summary of the pathomorphological findings and their respective causes, for example the typical location of the rupture at the posterior wall and roof of the bladder and the common concomitant drunkenness. Furthermore, obligatory forensic investigations--beside the autopsy--are mentioned and discussed.     

Fatalities after injuries by wild animals

The article summarises three fatalities after attacks by wild animals. The first case describes a 90-year-old woman who died as a result of pneumonia after a bear fell on her and caused multiple chest fractures. The second case deals with a 76-year-old woman who was hit in the middle face by the hoof of a camel and, thereafter, died of myocardial infarction. The third case describes a 27-year-old biologist who died from severe blunt trauma after an attack of a wild living elephant. The article gives a summary of typical injury patterns of selected wild animals and outlines potential reasons of death as a result of the injuries.     

Der Feinstaubschleier lichtet sich – rechtlich II – zugleich Anmerkung zum Urteil des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts vom 27.9.2007 – 7 C 36.07

Zusammenfassung Nur selten schafft es eine verwaltungsgerichtliche Entscheidung an die erste Stelle der ARD-Tagesschau um 20 Uhr. Dem Urteil des BVerwG vom 27.9.2007 ist das gelungen. Es liefert die Antwort auf eine Frage, die sich mancher TV-Zuschauer und Zeitungsleser seit der ersten H?lfte des Jahres 2005 gestellt haben mag. Einer aufgeregten Medienberichterstattung war damals zu entnehmen, dass der gerade verbindlich gewordene Feinstaubgrenzwert vielerorts überschritten werde und davon Betroffene Erkrankungen des Herz-Kreislauf-Systems und der Atemwege, ja sogar eine Verkürzung ihrer Lebenserwartung zu befürchten h?tten. Die Frage die sich stellte: Was kann ein Betroffener dagegen unternehmen?     

Book Review

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