Measuring attitudes, behaviours, and influences in inner city victims of interpersonal violence (VIVs) - a Swiss emergency room pilot study

Background Switzerland is confronted with the problem of interpersonal violence. Violence is in the increase and the potential for aggression seems to be rising. Observations by hospitals discern an appalling increase of the severity of the injuries. The aim of this study is to collect accurate information about the social environment, the motivation and possible reasons for violence. We also intend to investigate whether sociocultural, or ethnic differences among male victims exist. Materials and methods For the first time in Switzerland, this survey employed a validated questionnaire from the division of violence prevention, Atlanta, Georgia. The first part of the questionnaire addressed social and demographic factors which could influence the risk of violence: age, gender, duration of stay in Switzerland, nationality and educational level. Beside these social structural factors, the questionnaire included questions on experience of violent offences in the past, information about the most recent violent offence and intra and interpersonal facts. The questionnaire itself consists of 27 questions, translated into German and French. In a pilot study, the questionnaire was checked with adolescents for feasibility and comprehensibility. Results 69 male VIVs were interviewed at two hospitals in the Canton of Bern. Most of the adolescents emphasised that weapons were not used during their confrontations. It is astonishing that all of the young men considered themselves to be victims. Most of the brawls were incited after an exchange of verbal abuse and provocations with unfamiliar individuals. The rivals could neither be classified with the help of ethnic categories nor identifiable groups of the youth scenes. The incidents took place in scenes, where violence was more likely to happen. Interestingly and contrary to a general perception the offenders are well integrated into sport and leisure clubs. A further surprising result of our research is that the attitude towards religion differs between young men with experience of violence and non-violent men. Discussion Youth violence is a health issue, which concerns us globally. The human and economic toll of violence on victims and offenders, their families, and on society in general is high. The economic costs associated with violence-related illness and disability is estimated to be millions of Swiss francs each year. Physicians and psychologists are compelled to identify the factors, which cause young people to be violent, to find out which interventions prove to be successful, and to design effective prevention programs. The identification of effective programs depends on the availability of reliable and valid measures to assess changes in violence-related attitudes. In our efforts to create healthier communities, we need to investigate; document and do research on the causes and circumstances of youth violence.

On the way to light the dark: a retrospective inquiry into the registered cases of domestic violence towards women over a six year period with a semi-quantitative analysis of the corresponding forensic documentation

Domestic violence victims are increasingly identified at emergency departments (ED). Studies report a prevalence of 6-30%; women are more frequently affected and to a more serious extent than men. Studies have shown that without screening domestic violence victims are often not recognised. The primary aim of the study is to collect data descriptive of domestic violence victims and to show whether medical documentation meets the requirements of forensic medicine.

Characterization of major zinc containing myonecrotic and procoagulant metalloprotease 'malabarin' from non lethal trimeresurus malabaricus snake venom with thrombin like activity: its neutralization by chelating agents

A major myonecrotic zinc containing metalloprotease 'malabarin' with thrombin like activity was purified by the combination of gel permeation and anion exchange chromatography from T. malabaricus snake venom. MALDI-TOF analysis of malabarin indicated a molecular mass of 45.76 kDa and its N-terminal sequence was found to be Ile-Ile-Leu- Pro(Leu)-Ile-Gly-Val-Ile-Leu(Glu)-Thr-Thr. Atomic absorption spectral analysis of malabarin raveled the association of zinc metal ion. Malabarin is not lethal when injected i.p. or i.m. but causes extensive hemorrhage and degradation of muscle tissue within 24 hours. Sections of muscle tissue under light microscope revealed hemorrhage and congestion of blood vessel during initial stage followed by extensive muscle fiber necrosis with elevated levels of serum creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase activity. Malabarin also exhibited strong procoagulant action and its procoagulant action is due to thrombin like activity; it hydrolyzes fibrinogen to form fibrin clot. The enzyme preferentially hydrolyzes A? followed by B subunits of fibrinogen from the N-terminal region and the released products were identified as fibrinopeptide A and fibrinopeptide B by MALDI. The myonecrotic, fibrinogenolytic and subsequent procoagulant activities of malabarin was neutralized by specific metalloprotease inhibitors such as EDTA, EGTA and 1, 10-phenanthroline but not by PMSF a specific serine protease inhibitor. Since there is no antivenom available to neutralize local toxicity caused by T. malabaricus snakebite, EDTA chelation therapy may have more clinical relevance over conventional treatment.

Lethal mitochondrial cardiomyopathy in a hypomorphic Med30 mouse mutant is ameliorated by ketogenic diet

Deficiencies of subunits of the transcriptional regulatory complex Mediator generally result in embryonic lethality, precluding study of its physiological function. Here we describe a missense mutation in Med30 causing progressive cardiomyopathy in homozygous mice that, although viable during lactation, show precipitous lethality 2-3 wk after weaning. Expression profiling reveals pleiotropic changes in transcription of cardiac genes required for oxidative phosphorylation and mitochondrial integrity. Weaning mice to a ketogenic diet extends viability to 8.5 wk. Thus, we establish a mechanistic connection between Mediator and induction of a metabolic program for oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation, in which lethal cardiomyopathy is mitigated by dietary intervention.

Extremely Violent Societies: Mass Violence in the Twentieth Century World

In this groundbreaking book Christian Gerlach traces the social roots of the extraordinary processes of human destruction involved in mass violence throughout the twentieth century. He argues that terms such as 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing' are too narrow to explain the diverse motives and interests that cause violence to spread in varying forms and intensities. From killings and expulsions to enforced hunger, collective rape, strategic bombing, forced labour and imprisonment he explores what happened before, during, and after periods of widespread bloodshed in countries such as Armenia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nazi-occupied Greece and in anti-guerilla wars worldwide in order to highlight the crucial role of socio-economic pressures in the generation of group conflicts. By focussing on why so many different people participated in or supported mass violence, and why different groups were victimized, he offers us a new way of understanding one of the most disturbing phenomena of our times.

Review of Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence

With more than five hundred entries, Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence defines key terms and provides information about legislation, public policy, theoretical perspectives, and programs dedicated to assisting victims and raising awareness of these devastating social problems. Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence features nine pages of material with entries that cover anti-gay gender motivated, racially motivated, and religiously motivated crimes as well as information about the criminal justice response and legislation.

'Security Here is Not Safe': Violence, Punishment, & Space in the Contemporary U.S. Penitentiary

The US penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, was retrofitted in 2008 to offer the country’s first federal Special Management Unit (SMU) program of its kind. This model SMU is designed for federal inmates from around the country identified as the most intractably troublesome, and features double-celling of inmates in tiny spaces, in 23-hour or 24-hour a day lockdown, requiring them to pass through a two-year program of readjustment. These spatial tactics, and the philosophy of punishment underlying them, contrast with the modern reform ideals upon which the prison was designed and built in 1932. The SMU represents the latest punitive phase in American penology, one that neither simply eliminates men as in the premodern spectacle, nor creates the docile, rehabilitated bodies of the modern panopticon; rather, it is a late-modern structure that produces only fear, terror, violence, and death. This SMU represents the latest of the late-modern prisons, similar to other supermax facilities in the US but offering its own unique system of punishment as well. While the prison exists within the system of American law and jurisprudence, it also manifests features of Agamben’s lawless, camp-like space that emerges during a state of exception, exempt from outside scrutiny with inmate treatment typically beyond the scope of the law.

"Security Here is Not Safe": Violence, Punishment, and Space in the Contemporary US Penitentiary

The US penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, was retrofitted in 2008 to offer the country's first federal Special Management Unit (SMU) program of its kind. This model SMU is designed for federal inmates from around the country identified as the most intractably troublesome, and features double-celling of inmates in tiny spaces, in 23-hour or 24-hour a day lockdown, requiring them to pass through a two-year program of readjustment. These spatial tactics, and the philosophy of punishment underlying them, contrast with the modern reform ideals upon which the prison was designed and built in 1932. The SMU represents the latest punitive phase in American penology, one that neither simply eliminates men as in the premodern spectacle, nor creates the docile, rehabilitated bodies of the modern panopticon; rather, it is a late-modern structure that produces only fear, terror, violence, and death. This SMU represents the latest of the late-modern prisons, similar to other supermax facilities in the US but offering its own unique system of punishment as well. While the prison exists within the system of American law and jurisprudence, it also manifests features of Agamben's lawless, camp-like space that emerges during a state of exception, exempt from outside scrutiny with inmate treatment typically beyond the scope of the law

Temporal factors in violence related injuries--An 11 year trend analysis of violence-related injuries from a Swiss Emergency Department

Injury from interpersonal violence is a major social and medical problem in the industrialized world. Little is known about the trends in prevalence and injury pattern or about the demographic characteristics of the patients involved.

Cranio-maxillofacial injuries in victims of interpersonal violence

Recent research has indicated an increase in the severity of head injuries in Switzerland. The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiological features of cranio-maxillofacial (CMF) injuries due to interpersonal violence in patients at the Bern University Hospital Emergency Department (ED), based on injury patterns.