Deaths due to hanging are common among suicides. Various studies in the forensic literature have reported considerable differences in the frequency of hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage fractures and injuries to the musculature and the vasculature of the neck. Some important reasons to which these variations could be attributed include: lack of a common method for examination of neck structures, varying degrees of thoroughness in examining the neck structures and lack of seriousness in the documentation of the findings (as cases of hanging are almost always suicidal) thus affecting the results of retrospective studies. The present study was conducted retrospectively (1994 to 1999) and prospectively (2000 to 2003) on 108 cases of hanging. Seventy-one per cent of the cases were male and 29% female, aged between 15 to 60 years. Hanging was typical in 20% of cases and atypical in 80%; it was complete hanging in 46% of cases and incomplete in 54% of cases. Neck structure fractures were found to be more common in atypical complete hangings; the incidence was found to be 10% in the retrospective group and 27% in the prospective group. Contusions and lacerations of musculature were found in 20% of cases in the retrospective group and 34% in the prospective group, thus stressing the need for thorough postmortem examinations and meticulous documentation of the findings.
The world has entered the new millenium but it is a harsh reality that the woman in India has long been ill-treated in our male-dominated society. She is deprived of her independent identity and is looked upon as a commodity. She is not only robbed of her dignity and pride by way of seduction by the men outside, but also may become a victim of cruelty by her saviours, within the four walls of her own house. However, her trauma does not end here, it may even go to the extent of forcing her to commit suicide or she may be burnt to death for various reasons, including that of dowry. This type of violence transgresses the boundaries of caste, class, region or religion and is prevalent in almost all societies in India. The system of dowry is a social practice which on its own has claimed the lives of scores of women--both young and old, and has made life a virtual hell for many more. Unfortunately, education among women has not produced a reformative effect on their social outlook, nor encouraged any change in them conducive to social upliftment. Those parents who prefer not to take dowry for their well-qualified and settled male children, are in fact considered 'strange' by the society and doubts about 'the respectability of the groom's family' are usually raised. The present study makes an in-depth review of the dowry system in India and analyses the reasons which have demonized dowry into its present commercialized and institutionalized form.
Burn injury is a major problem in many areas of the world and it has been estimated that 75% of all deaths following burns are related to infection. Burns impair the skins normal barrier function thus allowing microbial colonization of the burn wounds and even with the use of topical antimicrobial agents, contamination is almost unavoidable. It is therefore essential for every burn institution to determine its specific pattern of burn wound microbial colonization, time related changes in predominant flora and antimicrobial resistance profiles. This would allow early management of septic episodes with proper empirical systemic antibiotics before the results of microbiologic culture becomes available, thus improving the overall infection-related morbidity and mortality. We attempted to examine the factors affecting risk of infection; strategies for infection control and prevention in burn victims
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