Integrating the Forensic Sciences in Wildlife Case Investigations: A Case Report of Pentobarbital and Phenytoin Toxicosis in a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

The application of medical knowledge to the purpose of law is the foundation of forensic pathology. A forensic postmortem examination often involves the expertise of multiple scientific disciplines to reconstruct the full story surrounding the death of an animal. Wildlife poses additional challenges in forensic investigations due to little or no associated history, and the disruptive effects of decomposition. To illustrate the multidisciplinary nature of wildlife forensic medicine, the authors outline a case of secondary pentobarbital/phenytoin toxicosis in a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). The eagle was the single fatality in a group of 8 birds that fed on euthanized domestic cat remains that had been improperly disposed of in a landfill. Cooperation between responding law enforcement officers, pathologists, and other forensic scientists led to the successful diagnosis and resolution of the case.

Morphological identification of animal hairs: Myths and misconceptions, possibilities and pitfalls.

The examination of hair collected from crime scenes is an important and highly informative discipline relevant to many forensic investigations. However, the forensic identification of animal (non-human) hairs requires different skill sets and competencies to those required for human hair comparisons. The aim of this is paper is not only to highlight the intrinsic differences between forensic human hair comparison and forensic animal hair identification, but also discuss the utility and reliability of the two in the context of possibilities and pitfalls. It also addresses and dispels some of the more popular myths and misconceptions surrounding the microscopical examination of animal hairs. Furthermore, future directions of this discipline are explored through the proposal of recommendations for minimum standards for the morphological identification of animal hairs and the significance of the newly developed guidelines by SWGWILD is discussed.

Quality of life comparisons after coronary angioplasty and coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the differences in realization of expected benefits, complications, and quality of life (QOL) 3 months after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. DESIGN: Nonexperimental, prospective, and comparative. Before discharge, participants listed benefits expected from the procedure, as well as comorbid health problems (Charlson Comorbidity Index) and complications. At 3 months, they quantified their realization of expected benefits, reported postdischarge complications, and completed Ferrans and Powers' Quality of Life Index-Cardiac Version III. SAMPLE: 36 patients who had PTCA; 38 patients who had CABG. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups in realization of expected benefits or QOL. Patients who had CABG reported a greater number of complications after discharge, and a greater proportion of patients who had PTCA reported angina. Patients who had PTCA and then recurrent angina had significantly lower health QOL and psychologic and spiritual QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who undergo CABG need guidance regarding what complications to expect, and patients who undergo PTCA need to know that recurrent angina is possible and how to manage it.

The impact of marital status and quality on family functioning in maternal chronic illness.

Married individuals tend to enjoy greater health and well-being than nonmarried. However, investigators disagree about whether this is related to the quality of the marriage or to participation in the socially accepted role of marriage. In the present study, we examined the roles of marital quality and marital status as predictors of the family's adjustment processes in the context of maternal chronic illness. We found that the family functioning of single women and unhappily married women was similar and that happily married women enjoyed higher levels of family functioning and family coping. Unhappily married women reported more illness demands, particularly on their time and energy, than did happily married or single women. We suggest it is the quality of the marital interaction, and not the role benefits of marriage, that facilitates family adjustment under conditions of maternal chronic illness.

The relationships among social support and short- and long-term recovery outcomes in men with coronary heart disease.

To determine the extent to which social support from the spouse and a health care provider (HCP) is associated with short- and long-term recovery outcomes in individuals after a cardiac illness, 93 patients were interviewed 2 months (short-term) after their event; 73 (78%) subjects responded to a follow-up questionnaire 1 year later (long-term). Tangible aid from the spouse was associated with better short-term psychological recovery. Satisfaction with and more emotional support from the spouse were associated with better short- and long-term psychological recovery outcomes. Greater satisfaction with HCP support was associated with patients' short- and long-term physical recoveries. These results highlight the value of different sources and types of support as having differential effects on physical and psychological recovery outcomes.

Theoretical perspectives on the nature of social support in cardiovascular illness.

In light of the minimal follow-up care that cardiovascular patients typically receive and the few patients who enter cardiac rehabilitation programs, it is evident that these patients need more support resources to improve their health outcomes. A better understanding is needed of the basic support processes that occur after a cardiac event so that the different sources and types of support can be tapped for the desired outcome. This article highlights the research findings on social support for cardiovascular patients in light of various theoretical perspectives and provides implications for practice and future research.

Comparison of psychologic stress responses in patients and spouses ten weeks after a cardiac illness event.

A stress scale that is brief and easy to administer would be clinically useful to assess patients' and spouses' psychological stress responses to a cardiac illness situation and provide objective data for health care recommendations. The purpose of this study was to: a) develop and test an instrument to evaluate the stress or difficulties associated with the recovery process after a cardiac event; and b) assess the similarities and differences between patients' and spouses' perceptions of stress. Stress was conceptualized to be reflected by two broad dimensions, namely environmental stress and individual stress. A correlational survey design was used to examine patients' (n = 180) and spouses' (n = 168) stress responses 10 weeks after the cardiac event. The findings suggested that the tool demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity in measuring the patients' but to a lesser extent the spouses' stress responses. The three most significant stresses reported by most patients were uncertainty about if and when the illness might recur, not being able to participate in work or retirement activities, and adopting a low cholesterol diet. For the majority of spouses, the three most significant stresses were uncertainty about the husband's illness, increased demands within the marital relationship, and assuming more family roles. For those individuals trying to quit smoking or who quit immediately prior to the cardiac event, smoking was the most stressful change for patients and the second most stressful for spouses. Educational programs for cardiac patients and spouses need to provide information related to these stresses to offset the potentially adverse impact of stress and promote adjustment.

Predictors of physical functioning after a cardiac event.

An increased understanding of the factors that promote or hinder patients' return to optimal activity levels after a cardiac event is necessary to help them achieve this goal. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine psychologic resources, depression, physical recovery, and illness severity for their relationships with subjective and objective physical functioning (exercise data). A correlational survey design was used to assess patients' (n = 46) illness responses 9 weeks after the cardiac event. Patients also participated in a symptom-limited exercise test. The findings suggested that the individual's return to greater activity levels after a cardiac illness was associated with less depression and illness severity, and higher levels of objective physical functioning, physical recovery, and self-esteem. Further, patients' objective physical functioning was associated not only with greater subjective physical functioning but also with greater levels of physical recovery and mastery.

Social support for women during chronic illness: the relationship among sources and types to adjustment.

The purpose of this study was to explore who in the network provided what type of support in relation to psychosocial adjustment for women experiencing chronic illness. The Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire was administered to 125 chronically ill women, along with measures of depression (CES-D), family illness demands (Demands of Illness Inventory), marital quality (Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale), and family functioning (FACES-II). Repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the average amount of support from four main sources: partner, family, friends, and others. Women perceived more support from the partner than from any other source. Family members provided more affective support than friends or others. Friends provided more affirmation than family or others. After the partner, women reported confiding about their illness more to health care providers, counselors, or religious personnel than family or friends. Pearson correlation coefficients were computed for the amount of support from each source and the measures of individual, dyadic, or family adjustment. In general, affect, affirmation, and reciprocity from both the partner and family were associated with less depression, higher marital quality, and better family functioning.