bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improving safety for patients in a new era of anticoagulation
Authors: Speed Victoria , Byrne Rosalind
Published: August 2015

This article provides an overview of the use of anticoagulants, and the issue of patient safety within medicines optimisation. It explores how over the past 10 years, direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have been licensed and approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), for treatment of venous acute deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, the prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, and the prevention of venous thromboembolism in hip and knee replacements. The article looks at DOACs in comparison to established use of vitamin K antagonists. It explores the new challenges these drugs present, such as common risks and the importance of the healthcare professional's role in supporting their patients.
Ethical practice for managers
Authors: Stonehouse David
Published: August 2015

In this article, the author will examine and discuss how the manager can practice in an ethical way, thereby enhancing their performance and day-to-day role. Codes of conduct are both legal and ethical frameworks which assist managers in knowing what is expected of them by their employers, service users, government and the wider public. What is meant by ‘ethics’ will be discussed before examining the ethical framework of Rowson (2006) applying this to the manager's role. By following codes of conduct and thinking in an ethical way will enable the manager to ensure quality care is delivered and the best decisions are made for service users, staff and the wider community.
Examining commissioners' leadership behaviour
Authors: Bohan Peter , Mitchell Graeme
Published: August 2015

Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) now control around two-thirds of the NHS budget, influencing healthcare provider priorities and playing a key role in implementing the NHS plan. However, significant failures in healthcare have highlighted a dissonance between expressed values of leaders and everyday routine practices. This research explores the leadership behaviour of commissioners and the role it plays in determining quality and safety in healthcare. The research took a two phase approach: phase 1 used focused video ethnography to observe commissioners in a mock board room setting; phase 2 employed a quantative questionnaire to determine the leadership behaviours that subordinates would expect their commissioners to adopt. The findings of this research identified that the leadership style most prevalent within the commissioners was transactional in nature. The questionnaire to subordinates of commissioners identified that transformational leadership had the best outcome on staff performance if this was linked to positive leadership style. In addition, commissioners appear to lack consistency when analysing risks effectively and holding providers to account, citing issues such as ‘professional drift’ and concerns over further scrutiny, as validation for this approach. This confusion of leadership behaviours, allied with poor analyse of risk leaves commissioners prone to repeating previous healthcare failures.
A redesign while the plane is in flight
Authors: Timmins Nick
Published: August 2015

Nick Timmins, senior fellow at the Institute for Government and the King's Fund, comments on the current approaches to leadership and improvement
Looking to other countries for lessons learned
Authors: Tingle John
Published: August 2015

John Tingle argues that when discussing patient safety and health quality issues, taking a comparative, world-view approach can often yield a number of valuable and important benefits. In this second article of a two-part series he discusses some more key patient safety and health quality publications from organisations outside the UK
Magnetic resonance enterography: a pictorial review of Crohn's disease
Authors: Ravindran Srivathsan , Barlow Neil , Dunk Arthur , Howlett David
Published: August 2015

Use of magnetic resonance enterography has significantly increased and its role as an adjunct to ileocolonoscopy is best practice, particularly in the evaluation of Crohn's disease. This article reviews magnetic resonance enterography, and describes common findings related to Crohn's disease and unexpected extra-intestinal findings.
Nutritional management of the patient with Crohn's disease
Authors: Reilly Ian , Dibb Martyn
Published: August 2015

Active Crohn's disease often co-exists with malnutrition and requires input from the inflammatory bowel disease multidisciplinary team in order to assess, prevent and treat the complications of both malnutrition and active disease.
Renal replacement therapy: implications for the surgeon
Authors: Bellringer SF , Guthrie Lt Col HC , Talbot BEM , Ricketts DM , Rogers BA
Published: August 2015

Renal replacement therapy comprises peritoneal dialysis, haemodialysis and renal transplantation. Patients undergoing renal replacement therapy often require surgery for a number of different reasons. This review summarizes likely surgical procedures for these patients and some of the common complications.
Does money or the law reduce doctors' working hours in the UK?
Authors: Moreton Adam , Collier Andrew
Published: August 2015

What can be learned from a 45-year journey to reduced junior doctors' working hours? The authors investigated the impact of financially punitive measures (the 2001 New Deal contract) and legislation (Working Time Regulations) on the average working week for doctors-in-training.
Every ward is a ‘Nut Island’? Preventing good health-care teams ‘going bad’
Authors: McKimm Judy , Coupe Bryony , Edwards Luke , Gibson Russell , Morgan Holly , Paramore Louise , Ramcharn Meera
Published: August 2015

This article explores how Levy's ‘Nut Island effect’ can be used to help identify health-care teams at risk of becoming isolated, disenchanted and separated physically and psychologically from senior management. Such isolation can lead to disastrous effects.
But is it art? The tale of Sequentia Pannelart
Authors: Locke Simon
Published: August 2015

In this article, I aim to cast doubt on the commonly told history of the development of North American comics ‘art’ as an emancipation from predatory ‘business’. To accentuate the point, I begin with a brief parody of this history designed to show its ironic formulaic quality and to highlight the centrality assigned to the metaphor of the ‘assembly line’ to describe the labour process in the ‘mainstream’ industry. I suggest that the image of the assembly line is a folk category, employed by members of the comics community to accentuate a contrast with a notion of art as single creative visions, a view supported by examples from the writings of Gary Groth and Dave Sim, leading figures during the 1980s in developing a critique of industry production practices. Their critique sharply contrasted ‘art’ and ‘business’ to help provide a legitimizing framework for independent and self-publishing, and for creator rights. However, I use a further example from Sim to show that the contrast was open to more flexible characterization, thus highlighting its rhetorical form. I conclude from this that the categories ‘art’ and ‘business’ have attached to them a set of commonly recognized attributes that may be mobilized to advance contrastive characterizations, but which are open to inventive modification in accord with specific argumentative purposes. It follows that inferences drawn about the artistic merit of the products of the mainstream industry based on its contractual relations and labour process rely upon this rhetorical contrast rather than features inherent in those industrial practices. Therefore, the adoption by comics scholars of a description of these practices through the image of the ‘assembly line’ uncritically adopts the same rhetoric presenting at best only a partial and selective account of the mainstream industry and the aesthetics of its products; a folk tale that comics scholarship needs to advance beyond.
Depiction and demarcation in comics: Towards an account of the medium as a drawing practice
Authors: Miers John
Published: August 2015

Despite the insistence of many authors on the primacy of the visual in comics, there has been comparatively little attention given to the drawing practices that create comics texts. This article will argue for the value of, and make some initial proposals regarding the nature of, an account of comics production as a distinct drawing practice, not as a rejection of language-centred accounts, but as a necessary complement to the understandings they enable. Accounts of depiction by Kendall Walton, Michael Podro and Patrick Maynard describe a process of imagining into drawn marks, in which the viewer maintains an awareness of their own cognitive activity in taking the sight of the image before them as the sight of the depicted subject. Readerly awareness of this type is well-known to comics researchers through discussion of the cognitive effort involved in achieving what Scott McCloud famously describes as ‘closure’, yet such discussions generally begin with the assumption of the reader’s recognition of depicted scenes. A full account of this fundamental operation of comics reading also requires an account of the methods by which readers use what is perceptually presented to them to imagine events taking place within the images. Walton’s theory of ‘mimesis as make-believe’ will be used here to suggest the way in which fictional truths are generated by drawing styles common to comics. Drawing on the phenomenological grounding of Walton’s approach, I will argue for its compatibility with conceptual metaphor theory, and that the less obviously pictorial drawing conventions of emanata operate as visual metaphors that emerge from our embodied experience of the world.
Experiments in comics storytelling
Authors: Dittmar Jakob F.
Published: August 2015

The article looks at several examples of experimental comics storytelling, which are results of various comics courses at Malmö University. The article starts with an explanation of the basis of the narrative and graphic structure of comics before focusing on three examples. All examples use the particularity of sequencing images as their starting points but continue into quite different areas. While the options available in digital materials are worked with in two of the examples, the third focuses on expanding sequential pictorial storytelling into tactile print for blind people. The different examples show how much comics can be expanded on when experimenting on page styles and pacing of narration.
Grade 7 students actively creating graphic narratives: A linear process?
Authors: Noel Resa R.
Published: August 2015

Existing literature on using graphic novels as a pedagogical tool rarely reports on the complexities of producing graphic narratives as part of disciplinary content. This article draws from a wider case study designed to explore the pedagogical potential of graphic novel texts in developing Grade 7 students’ multiliteracy skills over one school term in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Teachers’ practice did not include graphic novels so a professional development workshop was facilitated to develop strategies for the integration of graphic novel texts into the English Language curriculum. Then, teachers implemented a pre-designed teaching unit plan to formulate lessons for the study of one graphic novel text followed by the creation of conventional narratives, storytelling via words, which were then transferred into graphic narratives, storytelling via words and pictures. Lastly, students’ and teachers’ experiences, interpretations and text productions were captured through multiple data sources such as interviews, surveys and texts/artefacts. This article examines the experiences of and artefacts produced as a result of students’ making meaning of and creating graphic narrative texts. This raises questions about the ways in which conventional narrative writing strategies and knowledge might become transferrable to graphic narrative writing, and vice versa. It also raises questions about graphic novels as legitimate, stand- alone texts for making meaning and production in the research site where graphic novels had not been used prior to the intervention. A framework including sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning that emphasizes the importance of culture and context in constructing knowledge, frame the results and show the dissonance students experienced as they negotiated the diverse demands for transferring their conventional narratives into graphic narratives. In addition, the results show that some students engaged in an authentic, creative experience in which they drew on a myriad of multimodal and experiential resources. These findings contribute to the gap in the literature on the experiences of and texts/artefacts produced as a result of the integration of multimodal texts like graphic novels within the secondary English Language curriculum.
Teaching comics in class: Between mainstream and the alternative
Authors: Krantz Gunnar
Published: August 2015

Since the turn of the millennium Swedish mainstream comics have moved from traditional towards the alternative, with best-selling artists working with autobiographical, political and feminist comics. A part of this development is credited to Serieskolan i Malmö/The Comics Art School in Malmoe, which was founded in 1999. The idea of educating comic artists initially met resistance within the field, and leading experts and artists proclaimed their distrust in the concept of comics education. However, this notion is, as this article explains, false. The majority of successful comic artists have undergone some kind of artistic training before entering the field, either by attending art or design schools, through specially designed courses within the studio system, or by studying at comic educational institutes, such as the SVA – The School of Visual Arts – or The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. The experience of teaching comics in Sweden during the last fifteen years shows that comic schools educating comic artists not only educate their students in the craft of making comics but also function as a platform for collaboration. By introducing courses on comics at university level in Malmoe (often called ‘the city of comics’), the mix of theory and practice creates opportunities for scholars, artists and practitioners to gain new knowledge.
‘The roaring 30s’: Style, intertextuality, space and history in Marvel Noir
Authors: Lund Martin
Published: August 2015

This article analyses Marvel Comics’ Marvel Noir franchise, published between 2009 and 2011. Taking as its starting point the promise in a 2008 press release that in the comics, Marvel superheroes would ‘meet’ film noir in a new continuity set in the ‘roaring 30s’, the article considers the advertised ‘meeting’ from three different angles: (1) Marvel Noir’s relationship to ‘classic’ film noir; (2) intertextuality in Marvel Noir; and (3), the franchise’s engagement with space and history. In the first instance, drawing on recent film noir scholarship, the article argues that for historical reasons, Marvel Noir manages only to evoke a pastiched ‘image’ of noir drawn from a popular conception of what noir is. Second, it highlights how the heterogeneity of the franchise’s intertextual orbit further defers the ‘meeting’ and that, ultimately, because it builds upon and anticipates the seriality of regular superhero fictions, the real content of the stories is neither film noir nor other historical popular culture, but rather earlier Marvel stories. Third, it looks at how space and history are figured. Although a few exceptions that deal with racial formation are discussed, space appears as largely anonymous ‘images’ that deepen the image of noir while history is generally connoted through a vague sense of ‘pastness’. By way of concluding, the article notes that the postmodern depthlessness of the franchise’s ‘meeting’ with film noir is to be expected, given the style’s historical progresses. Rather, while Marvel Noir perhaps represents an attempt to escape the present through a postmodern play with nostalgia, intertextuality and surfaces, the choice of setting and the recurrent confirmation of the superhero genre’s primacy betrays a return of the repressed, in which the past becomes an unuttered hope for the future.
Using International Standards to Control the Positional Quality of Spatial Data
Authors: Ariza-López F.J. , Rodríguez-Avi J.
Published: August 2015

A positional quality control method based on the application of the International Standard ISO 2859 is proposed. This entails a common framework for dealing with the control of all other spatial data quality components (e.g., completeness, consistency, etc.). We propose a relationship
between the parameters “acceptable quality level” and “limiting quality” of the international standard and positional quality by means of observed error models. This proposal does not require any assumption for positional errors (e.g., normality), which means that the
application is universal. It can be applied to any type of positional and geometric controls (points, line-strings), to any dimension (1D, 2D, 3D, etc.) and with parametric or non-parametric error models (e.g., lidar). This paper introduces ISO 2859, presents the statistical bases of the proposal
and develops two examples of application, the first dealing with a lot-by-lot control and the second, isolated lot control.
On the asymptotic distribution of an alternative measure of kurtosis
Authors: Suaray Kagba
Published: August 2015

Pearson defined the fourth standardized moment of a symmetric distribution as its kurtosis. There has been much discussion in the literature concerning both the meaning of kurtosis, as well as the effectiveness of the classical sample kurtosis as a reliable measure of peakedness and tail weight. In this paper, we consider an alternative measure, developed by Crow and Siddiqui, used to describe kurtosis. Its value is calculated for a number of common distributions, and a derivation of its asymptotic distribution is given. Simulations follow, which reveal an interesting connection to the literature on the ratio of normal random variables.
Harmonic analysis and generalized functional equations for the cosine
Authors: Zeglami Driss , Fadli Brahim , Kabbaj Samir
Published: August 2015

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An Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for Human Semen Identification Based on a Biotinylated Monoclonal Antibody to a Seminal Vesicle-Specific Antigen
Authors: Herr JC , Woodward MP
Published: August 2015

Monoclonal antibody mouse antihuman semen-5 (MHS-5) (immunoglobulin G1 [IgG1]) was biotinylated using N-biotinyl-w-aminocaproic acid-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester. This monoclonal antibody-biotin conjugate recognized low molecular weight peptide bands between 10.5 and 20 kilodaltons on immunoblots of liquefied semen. Immunodominant peptides had molecular weights of 10.5, 11.5, and 13.5 kilodaltons. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) developed with the biotinylated-MAb and streptavidin peroxidase demonstrated sensitivity curves with lower limits of 10 ng of seminal fluid protein per microtiter well using 50 ng per well of monoclonal antibody-biotin conjugate. Cross-reactivity studies on a panel of human biological fluids and tissues demonstrated no cross-reactivity or false positives using the monoclonal antibody-biotin conjugate. The sensitivity of the monoclonal antibody-biotin ELISA was compared to ELISA based upon a polyclonal secondary antibody-peroxidase conjugate. These findings indicate that this ELISA assay, based on a biotinylated monoclonal antibody to a seminal vesicle-specific antigen, may be useful for semen identification.
The Cutaneous Ink Sign: A Tipoff to Suicide or Suicide Notes
Authors: Hanzlick RL , Ross WK
Published: August 2015

The presence of smeared or unsmeared ink on the skin resulting from the writing process has been observed in a number of suicide victims who have left suicide notes. The authors report a case of a palmar “cutaneous ink sign” and discuss its forensic science import.
A Method for Routinely Producing High Resolution Black-and-White Journal Quality Photographs of Electrophoretic Gels
Authors: Alexander LA , Reeder DJ , Budowle B
Published: August 2015

A method is described for obtaining high resolution, black-and-white, journal quality photographs of electrophoretic protein patterns produced from a variety of stain systems. The photographic procedure employs a 35-mm single-lens reflex camera with an uncoupled, built-in light meter, Kodak Tech Pan Film, Kodak D-19 developer, and Kodak Grade 5 high-contrast paper. The procedure is applicable to a variety of protein stain systems which included Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250, bromophenol blue, silver, negative gold, tetrazolium dyes, and fluorescence.
A Review of Abortion, Medicine, and the Law
Authors: Moenssens AA
Published: August 2015

The first Abortion, Medicine, and the Law was a 1967 special issue of the Case Western Law Review. This third edition collects 16 articles that address the legal, medical, and ethical issues in the ongoing abortion debate. Repeat articles include those by the late Dr. Alan F. Guttmacher on the beginnings of the abortion movement and by Daniel Callahan on the ethical issues concerning abortion. The new articles are written from the viewpoints of educators, physicians, lawyers, psychiatrists, and politicians who are well-known and outspoken on the subject of abortion, such as President Ronald Reagan.
A Review of The Personal Identification of Living Individuals
Authors: Principe A
Published: August 2015

This book is an overview of the many methods of personal identification of living individuals. It is heavily referenced with little or no original subject matter. The book is a narrative work intended for field workers or generally interested readers. The field of personal identification via the techniques addressed in this book such as fingerprints, lip prints, handwriting, visual identification, voice printing, and dentition have been known for years. The author discusses the Bertillion Measurement System as a method of individual identification that has lost credibility years ago.
An Analysis of Toxic Deaths, 1982 to 1985, Pima County, Arizona
Authors: Froede SM , Byers JM , Wolfgang GHI , Froede RC , Jones AM , Henry TE
Published: August 2015

Toxic deaths in Pima County, Arizona, were studied over a four-year period. The deaths were analyzed according to cause and manner of death, toxic substance, and demographic data. The age group 40 to 49 years had the highest rate of suicide from toxic substances. The accident death rate was highest for ages 20 to 29 years. Carbon monoxide was most often found to be the cause of deaths in this study. The most prevalent drugs were narcotics followed by antidepressants, cocaine, and barbiturates. Comparisons are made with similar studies.
Introduction
Authors: Cravey RH
Published: August 2015

“Designer drugs” are not new. Analogs of amphetamine, DMA, DOM, DOB, MDA, MMDA, and TMA, appeared in the 1960s and were widely used and abused. Phencyclidinc analogs appeared in the 1970s. These drugs were taken in milligram amounts and we could usually find them in the blood following a single dose.
Simultaneous Diagnosis of Coagulation Factor XIIIA (F13A) and Plasminogen (PLG) Phenotypes by Polyacrylamide Gel Isoelectric Focusing
Authors: Caeiro JLB , Llano C , Parra E
Published: August 2015

In this paper, we report a simple rapid method for simultaneous determination of Coagulation Factor XIIIA (F13A) and plasminogen (PLG) phenotypes by PAGIF with a nominal pH range of 3.5 to 10. followed by immunofixation and silver stain. Critical considerations concerning the conditions of molecular separation and detection strategies are also presented.
Simulated Paraphilias: A Preliminary Study of Patients Who Imitate or Exaggerate Paraphilic Symptoms and Behaviors
Authors: Paul Fedoroff J , Hanson A , McGuire M , Malin HM , Berlin FS
Published: August 2015

In a consecutive series of admissions to the Johns Hopkins Sexual Disorders Unit, 4 out of 20 patients appeared to have simulated paraphilic symptoms that further assessment indicated were either exaggerated or not present. The paper presents case histories of these 4 patients. A descriptive comparison is made between these patients and control groups of patients who admitted having paraphilic symptoms and a group of patients accused to having paraphilic symptoms but who denied them. Patients who simulated paraphilias tended to be self-referred (75%) and without current legal charges (100%). None of these patients was referred or sought treatment for pedophilia, in contrast to the other two patient groups, in which pedophilia accounted for 75% of the referrals. Several possible explanations for why patients might simulate paraphilias and implications for therapists who evaluate or treat sex offenders are discussed.
In Vitro Accuracy and Precision Studies Comparing Direct and Delayed Analysis of the Ethanol Content of Vapor
Authors: Goldberger BA , Caplan YH
Published: August 2015

In vitro accuracy and precision studies were conducted using silica gel, magnesium perchlorate, and indium encapsulation breath collection tubes in conjunction with three infrared breath ethanol analyzers (BAC Verifier, Intoxilyzer 5000, and Intoximeter 3000), the Breathalyzer 900A, and the GC Mark IV. Statistical analyses revealed good accuracy and precision and correlation between direct and delayed vapor ethanol analyses for each combination of instruments and collection devices (range = 0.000 to 0.250 g/210 L, N = 42/instrument, r > 0.99). Delayed vapor ethanol analysis utilizing each instrument and collection device combination appears to predict satisfactorily original vapor ethanol concentrations.
Evaluation of the Abbott TDx-Radiative Energy Attenuation (REA) Ethanol Assay in a Study of 1105 Forensic Whole Blood Specimens
Authors: Caplan YH , Levine B
Published: August 2015

In a preliminary study to determine the applicability of the Abbott radiative energy attenuation (REA) method for the quantification of ethanol in whole blood specimens it was concluded that a larger number of samples was required to evaluate the method, particularly for use in forensic toxicology applications. In this study, 573 blood specimens from suspected driving while intoxicated individuals (DWI blood) and 532 postmortem blood specimens (PM blood) were analyzed by the REA method and a headspace gas chromatographic method (GC) currently used in this laboratory. “Negative” specimens (<10 mg/dL by GC) and “positive” specimens (≥ 10 mg/dL by GC) in each category were analyzed. Linear regression analysis comparing the REA values with the GC values was performed for each type of blood specimen. The equation obtained for DWI blood specimens was REA = 0.943 GC + 1.54; the equation for PM blood specimens was REA = 0.980 GC + 2.76. The correlation coefficient for each group was greater than 0.99. The data suggested that a limit of detection of 10 mg/dL could be applied for DWI blood specimens, while 20 mg/dL would be recommended as the limit of detection for PM blood specimens.
Estimation of the Absolute Density of Glass Following the Sink/Float Technique
Authors: Kahane D , Thornton JI
Published: August 2015

Following the sink/float technique for the determination of comparative density, the refractive index of a bromoform/bromobenzene mixture may be determined by means of an Abbe refractometer. Reference to a calibration curve of the density and refractive index of bromoform/bromobenzene mixtures will then permit an estimation to be made of the density of the liquid, and by extension, the glass. This represents an alternative to the pycnometer method for the determination of the absolute value of the density. An estimation of the density will permit an opinion to be reached concerning how common or unusual the sample is by reference to a scatter-gram of an extended set of glass density and refractive index data.
Histochemical Demonstration of Methamphetamine by Immunocytochemistry
Authors: Ishiyama I , Mukaida M , Yoshii T , Suyama H
Published: August 2015

A method for the demonstration of methamphetamine (MA) by immunocytochemistry was established. The tissues of intoxicated mice, administered various amounts of MA in single doses of from 0.01 to 1 mg of MA-HCl, were fixed in glutaraldehyde-containing fixatives. Cryostat and paraffin slices gave a positive reaction of MA localization by staining the brain, liver, kidney, lung, stomach, spleen, and so forth, with the aid of the indirect immunperoxydase technique. Those of animals administered a single dose of 0.1 mg or more (over 3 to 4 mg/kg—the usual dose of MA in acute intoxication death in forensic medicine), in particular, gave a strong strong reaction, so that the diagnosis of MA intoxication can be performed by macroscopic observation of stained slices. The histochemical diagnosis of MA intoxication in clinical toxicology and pathology might be regarded as a useful tool, especially in forensic pathology. The following cells gave a strong positive reaction: nerve cells and myelin sheaths, hepatocytes, epithelial cells of the distal part of the renal tubule and of the collecting tubule, alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells of the lung, chief and parietal cells of the gastric gland, capillaries of the renal glomerulus, macrophages in the blood and tissues, and striated muscle cells including cardiocytes. The morphological evidence of the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of MA can be determined at the cellular level by immunocytochemistry.
Demonstration of Esophageal Varices Postmortem by Gastroesophageal Phlebography
Authors: Segerberg-Konttinen M
Published: August 2015

The study presents a method for the demonstration of esophageal varices at autopsy by gastroesophageal phlebography. The veins visible on the radiographs were controlled and evaluated by studying the gross appearance of sections of the esophagus at the level of the varicose veins and by hi-tologic examination of the sections. The phlebography was found to be useful in estimating the varicose and normal veins of the esophagus. The study indicates further that the degree of varicosity is not always proportional to the severity of cirrhosis of the liver, and there may be varicose esophageal veins in patients with liver or heart disorders without hepatic cirrhosis.
Investigation of Gunshot Residues by Means of Auger Electron Spectroscopy
Authors: Hellmiss G , Lichtenberg W , Weiss M
Published: August 2015

In the past years, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) has displayed many advantages over established methods such as optical emission spectroscopy (OES), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and neutron activation analysis (NAA) for the investigation of gunshot residues (GSR). In a research project, Auger electron spectroscopy was used instead of EDX. This method makes possible analyses of the chemical elements with superior lateral resolution. Furthermore, elements with low mass numbers and elements whose peaks overlap at EDX can be measured. In addition, sputtering equipment depth profiles can be established. Our experiments demonstrate the potential of Auger electron spectroscopy for the investigation of GSR. Also, they produced many details on GSR from various ammunition.
A New Method for Cross-Sectioning Single Fibers
Authors: Barna CE , Stoeffler SF
Published: August 2015

A procedure for the cross-sectioning of textile fibers is described. The fibers are placed in microlitre pipet tubes to which a mounting medium is added. After the mounting medium has dried, the tubes are cut with a razor blade. The method is quick and simple, usable on almost all types of fibers, and usable on fibers as short as 1 mm. The method also allows for easy recovery of the cross sections and the whole fiber from the mount and for the subsequent determination of denier.
Not All Bite Marks Are Associated with Abuse, Sexual Activities, or Homicides: A Case Study of a Self-Inflicted Bite Mark
Authors: Warnick AJ , Biedrzycki L , Russanow G
Published: August 2015

A case of self-inflicted bite mark during an episode of myocardial ischemia is presented. Using current bite mark identification techniques, the bite mark was shown to be self-inflicted. Self-biting may be an emotional response to pain or a type of counterirritation to alleviate pain. The recognition and documentation of this unusual case of a self-inflicted bite mark was due to the cooperation of the forensic pathologist and forensic odontologist.
Analysis of Gunshot Primer Residue Collection Swabs Using Flameless Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry: A Reexamination of Extraction and Instrument Procedures
Authors: Koons RD , Havekost DG , Peters CA
Published: August 2015

Methods of extraction of gunshot residue (GSR) swabs for determination of antimony (Sb), barium (Ba), and lead (Pb) by flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) have been studied. Optimum extraction parameters were determined using recovery studies of Sb, Ba, and Pb added to swabs at amounts representative of actual GSR and handblank levels. Two difficulties with most extraction-AAS procedures are incomplete extraction of Sb and incorrect Ba results arising from improper matching of sample and standard matrices before AAS determinations. Utilization of standards made by spiking analyte elements on swabs and extraction along with samples by an efficient procedure minimizes errors in Sb, Ba, and Pb determination.
Methamphetamine from Ephedrine: I. Chloroephedrines and Aziridines
Authors: Allen AC , Kiser WO
Published: August 2015

Illicit methamphetamine clandestinely synthesized from ephedrine via reduction of chloroephedrine is discussed. The stereochemistry, mechanism, synthetic impurities, and analysis of clandestine methamphetamine samples is addressed. Stereochemical relation of (+)methamphetamine to its initial precursor (−)ephedrine or (+)pseudoephedrine is achieved by detection of (+)chloropseudoephedrine or cis-1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylaziridine, in the case of the first, and (-)chloroephedrine or trans-1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylaziridine in the case of the latter.
Discharging the Violent Psychiatric Inpatient
Authors: Travin S , Bluestone H
Published: August 2015

Since psychiatrists may be held legally accountable for their patients' violent acts against others, psychiatrists on inpatient wards are faced with the dilemma of deciding whether or not, and when, to discharge improved but still possibly dangerous patients. This paper presents a survey of an inner-city hospital's experience with violent patients admitted over a seven-month period and describes an interdisciplinary disposition committee, composed of a senior consulting psychiatrist and other mental health professionals, established by this hospital to help make these difficult decisions. The committee carefully evaluates all identified high-risk patients according to specific criteria before such patients are discharged. Two case studies illustrate this process of evaluation.
A New Method for Typing Haptoglobin in Bloodstains Using Immobilized Allo a Lectin
Authors: Harada A , Umetsu K , Ikeda N , Suzuki T
Published: August 2015

Allo A lectin from the beetle, which is β-D-galactose specific, reacts to haptoglobin but not to hemoglobin. The use of allo A-Sepharose for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains helped eliminate hemoglobin from the bloodstain extract and presented highly resolved haptoglobin patterns by disc gel electrophoresis. This method is simple and rapid for typing haptoglobin in bloodstains and can be easily used in forensic science laboratories.
Typing of Urine in the ABO and Lewis Systems
Authors: Kotowski TM
Published: August 2015

A study was conducted to investigate the reliability of determining the ABO type and Lewis group from urine samples stored for prolonged periods under different conditions. Urine samples were successfully typed regardless of storage conditions and storage duration.
A Review of Forensic Medicine
Authors: Sweeney ES
Published: August 2015

This text, first published in 1947, and now in its ninth edition, is intended to serve as a “guide to the study and practice of forensic medicine.” The information presented, heavily slanted toward the British experience, is divided into two sections, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology. The former, representing two thirds of the book, includes topics of forensic pathology such as changes after death, firearm wounds, and asphyxia, but also topics such as medical ethics and medicolegal aspects of insanity. The second part of the book, Toxicology, describes the various poisons, divided into eight subgroups, and the laws regulating the sale of drugs and poisons in the United Kingdom.
Classification and Discrimination of Sheet and Container Glasses by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry and Pattern Recognition
Authors: Koons RD , Fiedler C , Rawalt RC
Published: August 2015

Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometric determination of the concentrations of aluminum, barium, calcium, iron, magnesium, managanese, sodium, strontium, and titanium in 184 colorless container and sheet glasses was used to evaluate classification procedures for these two classes of glass. Effective two-dimensional visualization of the classification results is afforded by principal components analysis of the data with correct classification of 180 of the 184 samples. Good discrimination among sources of glass within a class is provided using hierarchical, unsupervised clustering. Individual manufacturing plants of a common container glass can be distinguished in most instances.
Vaginal Fluid Zinc Concentration as a Marker for Intercourse
Authors: Rogers C , Bernstein G , Nakamura R , Endahl G , Bhoopat T
Published: August 2015

Zinc is present in high concentration in semen, but in low concentration in vaginal fluid. We evaluated vaginal zinc levels as a marker for intercourse by measuring precoital (>11 h after intercourse) or postcoital (<5 h after intercourse) zinc and acid phosphatase levels in 26 specimens of vaginal fluid from 18 women.

The approximate 95% reference range for zinc in precoital vaginal fluid was 1.2 to 15 μg/mL (mean 4.5), and in postcoital vaginal fluid 4.0 to 135 μg/mL (mean 24). There is an overlap between the precoital and postcoital reference ranges. Provided that the vaginal fluid zinc level is less than approximately 4.0 μg/mL or greater than approximately 15 μg/mL, vaginal fluid zinc concentration may be useful as an indicator of intercourse.
Sudden Death in Mitral Valve Prolapse
Authors: Scala-Barnett DM , Donoghue ER
Published: August 2015

Four cases of sudden death in young females with clinical and pathologic features of mitral valve prolapse are discussed. The approach to postmortem examination of the mitral valve is reviewed and various risk factors are stressed. Because of the sudden nature of these deaths, this entity is more commonly seen in medical examiner's populations than hospital autopsies. A practical approach to the investigation of such cases is given.
Name Variation and Aspects of Body Image Among Male Offenders
Authors: Harry B
Published: August 2015

The author studied 100 incarcerated adult male felons who were referred consecutively for psychiatric evaluation. As part of the investigation, he ascertained whether each man had ever used a name variation, either by self-report or as documented in official records. He also administered two body-image questionnaires, each to half of the sample population. Those who used a name variation, however defined, were found to have increased head awareness and decreased stomach awareness when compared with those who had not used a name variation. Otherwise, these groups had no statistically significant differences among a wide group of descriptive variables. The author suggests that the differences in body image may be associated with cognitive differences in the ways in which these subjects approach themselves and their environments.
On the Application of Metallurgical Techniques to Forensic Sciences
Authors: Rittel D , Faingold G
Published: August 2015

Metallurgical techniques, such as metallographic examination, are seldom reported as being used in forensic science investigations. In these cases, most findings related to the metal's nature rely on visual and chemical examinations. The potential of applying metallurgical techniques to forensic science investigations is illustrated by means of two case histories. The information needed to establish a link between different pieces of metal is obtained from a metallographic examination of the metal's microstructure which reflects its thermomechanical history. It is shown that this kind of information is unique and cannot be obtained by applying conventional techniques such as chemical analysis. It is therefore concluded that metallurgical techniques can successfully complement other scientific techniques commonly employed in the forensic science context.
Cardiac Injury During Valve Replacement Surgery
Authors: Hawley DA , Kennedy JC , Pless JE , Gauger DW , Waller BF
Published: August 2015

The commonly referenced mortality of cardiac valve replacement surgery is 2 to 5%. Some of this mortality is due to therapeutic misadventure during the procedure. Therapeutic misadventure during cardiac valve replacement may result in patterned injury of the heart, so that postmortem examination can establish the nature of the surgical injury. A case of patterned myocardial injury during valve replacement surgery is presented, with a review of literature and associated cases.
Erasable Felt Tip Writing Instrument Detection
Authors: Zimmerman J , Doherty P , Mooney D
Published: August 2015

This project was undertaken to determine if erasable felt tip writing instruments and their chemical erasers were susceptible to nondestructive examination techniques which are accepted in the field of questioned documents. Through the application of seven different examinations, class characteristics of the inks and erasers were observed and found to be distinguishable.
Letter Quality Impact Printer Hammer Impressions
Authors: Anthony AT
Published: August 2015

While acquiring typewriter standards, an unusual mark was encountered. Scrutiny of the mark and the electronic typewriter (ET) that produced it disclosed that the impression was a reproduction of the ET's hammer. This was the result of a missing character as a result of a broken spoke. Initially, it was thought that encountering such a mark would assist in the identification process. Subsequent examination of hammer marks from various manufacturers shows them to be highly distinguishable. Potential therefore exists for dating, classification, and make and model determinations when impressions of this type are present in typescript cases. Hammer marks from letter quality (LQ) impact printers are illustrated, and their value in case work is discussed.
Identification of Wooden Instrument by Scanning Electron Microscopy from Splinters Left in Victim
Authors: Adelman HC , Peterson PC , Sorger LJ
Published: August 2015

Case presentation concerns a twelve-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted, beaten, and murdered. A broken wooden broomstick was used in the attack to impale the victim through the rectum. Following the autopsy, splinters from the body were found by light microscopy. Macrodissected splinters were removed from the anus, rectum, and urinary bladder of the victim and examined by scanning electron microscopy. The splinters were identified as the same type of wood as the broomstick.
Delayed Traumatic Intracerebral Hematoma (DTICH) and the Determination of the Manner of Death. A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Authors: McFeeley PJ , Blisard KS
Published: August 2015

The concept of a traumatic incident resulting in death when there has been a prolonged interval between the two events raises questions for medical examiners. A case is presented in which a 33-year-old man was found dead in his locked home. Although there was no evidence of foul play at the scene, the death was subsequently found to be directly related to an episode of head trauma sustained in an altercation approximately 1½ months before. The fatal lesion was a large intraparenchymal hematoma in the right frontal lobe of the brain which had developed in an area of contusion identified by computerized tomography (CT) scan while he was hospitalized following the trauma. The literature regarding delayed traumatic intracerebral hematoma (DTICH) is reviewed and its relevance to cases coming under the jurisdiction of a medical examiner is discussed.
High Haloperidol Concentrations in a Traffic Suicide
Authors: Richard Johnson G
Published: August 2015

High concentrations of haloperidol are seen in a psychiatric patient who ran from a health care facility into traffic. Haloperidol concentrations were found to be 1.2 mg/L in heart blood, 2.7 mg/L in brain, and 10.8 mg/L in liver. No other drugs were detected.
A Review of Advances in Forensic Haemogenetics
Authors: Sensabaugh GP
Published: August 2015

This volume summarizes the proceedings of the 1 lth Congress on the Society for Forensic Haemogenetics held in Copenhagen in August 1985. Papers are presented in the form of “extended abstracts,” that is, short papers of 4 to 6 pages in length. Most of the papers are in english, the remaining few being in german. The papers have been organized into 6 sections: blood cell allotypes (8 papers), proteins and enzymes (32 papers), DNA and chromosomes (3 papers), population genetics (21 papers), stains (24 papers), and paternity, biostatistics, and quality assurance (20 papers). This organization, which differs somewhat from the order of presentation at the meeting (in fact, at least one paper not presented at the meeting appears in the volume), makes good sense from the standpoint of reading continuity. The papers vary considerably in content and style; some are mini-reviews, some describe new techniques, some focus on experimental detail, some are discursive. Unfortunately, the question and answer periods following each presentation and the discussion session are not recorded here; as a result, the “life” of the meeting is not fully conveyed. Thus, one does not sense the excitement that attended the introduction of DNA analysis in paternity and stain testing nor the vigor of the continuing debate on what paternity statistics really mean and how they should be presented. Overall, however, this volume reflects the various facets of forensic biology and is a useful resource in this regard.
A Review of CAP Handbook for Postmortem Examination of Unidentified Remains
Authors: Wetli C
Published: August 2015

This manual is designed to help the medical examiner or coroner faced with gathering sufficient data to aid in the identification of a deceased person. Despite some drawbacks, the CAP Handbook has achieved its goal, particularly for the inexperienced or parttime medical examiner.
A Review of Electron Microscopy in Forensic, Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences
Authors: Rhodes EF
Published: August 2015

This book represents a collection of articles based on presentations by the various authors at the Forensic, Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences Symposium, held as part of the 1985 joint national meetings of the Electron Microscopy Society of America and Microbeam Analysis Society. As such, the book is comprised of 16 different articles by 13 different authors or groups of authors. Extended abstracts of the presentations were previously published by San Francisco Press under the title Proceedings-Electron Microscopy of Society of America, Forty-Third Annual Meeting.