PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

C G Wilber

Publications and source records attributed to C G Wilber.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Gunshot residue, ten years later.

Gunshot residues may be central to a competent reconstruction of a shooting incident. When a young boy was shot in the neck by a playmate using a .22-caliber single-action revolver, permanent paralysis from mid-thorax downward ensued. Ten years later the victim sued the importer, the vendor, the German manufacturer, and the shooter's family. Investigative reports indicated "horseplay" and questionable emergency medical team care. Depositions were contradictory. The entry wound, removed at surgery, was fixed and processed for slides. The histopathologist referred to "black pigment granules" in the wound track. The 10-year-old slides and block were retrieved. The coverslip was removed from a representative slide that was examined under the scanning, x-ray dispersive microscope. The black granules contained amounts of lead, barium, and antimony far beyond any normal range. The firing range had to have been no greater than 6-12 in (15.24-30.48 cm). The case was promptly settled out of court.

Antimony↗
PubMed1987

Some thoughts on suicide. Is it logical?

The phenomenon of suicide is unique to Homo sapiens. Explanations are many but not satisfying. The clearly documented rise in suicide rate among younger age groups, at least in the United States, is cause for worry. Those who succeed in self-destruction all too frequently are highly intelligent individuals; the waste of human talent is obvious. A review of suicides investigated and of literature suggests that total loss of hope on the part of the victim results in an astigmatic perception of reality; in the face of these circumstances, suicide is a logical conclusion for the victim.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

The assassination of the late President John F. Kennedy. An academician's thoughts.

Another look is taken at the murder case of the late President John F. Kennedy. The overall pattern established by various investigations should force any reasonable person to conclude that a conspiracy of greater or lesser proportions did exist. The actors in that conspiracy have not been identified. The role of Lee Harvey Oswald in the event is still obscure. The art and science of pathology, in this case, failed the nation. Federal agencies were incompetent and possibly criminally negligent in their handling of the case. The fact that more than a single gunman was involved in the murder seems indubitable. Scientists, as scientists, have contributed all that they can to resolving the case. Suppression, modification, and destruction of evidence crucial to the case by those having it in custody have been completed so effectively that one esteemed historian has asserted, "at least some of those responsible for the murder of a President of the United States got away with it."

Famous Persons↗
PubMed1982

Deadly force: some human and ethical considerations.

The legal aspects surrounding the use of deadly force in the United States are changing in a significant way. Police may use deadly force only to protect themselves or other innocent persons from serious bodily injury or death. Appropriate force may be used to arrest a malefactor or a fugitive from jail or prison. The documented, excessive percentage of deaths to blacks and hispanics from "police intervention" is a festering sore in American society. Numerous groups are aroused by the situation and will force some sort of controls nationwide on the use of deadly force by police. The changing climate surrounding civilian use of deadly force is dramatic and worrisome. At present, retreat carried to the extreme is the prudent legal course for the civilian victim of attack to take. Deadly force may be prudently used only when faced with immediate, fatal attack. Ethical considerations do not, in this instance, mesh with the law as it seems to be diverging from the traditional common law concepts of self-defense and sanctuary in the home. The defence of dependents is an ethical imperative that may run counter to man-made laws. Ethical considerations must be given precedence especially since the history of the United States Supreme Court decisions clearly demonstrate that law and morality are not necessarily related.

Crime↗
PubMed1980

The Big Thompson Flood.

The Big Thompson Flood of 1976 yielded a known death toll of 139. The temporary morgue set up was successful in personally identifying all of the bodies. This effort was made possible by the fortuitous presence of the three scientists necessary for such an operation, to wit, the forensic pathologist, a forensic odontologist, and a forensic anthropologist. An outcome of the morgue effort was the establishment of the Center for Human Identification. Many law enforcement agencies and county emergency disaster offices in the country contacted the morgue directors for advice on how to cope with similar disasters. It would appear that there are no state or federal statutes or planning in the area of body identification. One function of the Center at CSU is to advise on just how a total effort in body identification can be effected.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Toxicology of selenium: a review.

The concentration of selenium in soil, water, or minerals is site specific. World or regional averages are of little practical value. In one report from the front range area of Colorado, average selenium concentrations in bodies of standing water were from 0.3 to 15.8 micrograms Se per liter of water. In some aquatic organisms there is a strong correlation between the Se content of the water ant that of the body tissues; in others no such correlation obtains. Some organisms bioaccumulate Se by factors as high as 1300 to 3800. In most fish the amount of Se in the flesh seems to depend on the amount in the food taken in; there are exceptions, however. Aquatic organisms from seleniferous regions bioconcentrate selenium so as to reach total body levels of 60 micrograms Se per gram or up to 100 micrograms Se per gram of liver. There seems to be no evidence for "biomagnification" of selenium by aquatic organisms. Selenium exerts a strong protective action against the poisoning effects of many heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury, for example) and of some organic toxicants (paraquat, for example) in birds, mammals, and man. Data on man are sketchy. Selenium is released into the environment from the burning of coal. No identifiable hazard to man or to plants and animals useful to man can, at this time, be attributed to this source. Selenium is poisonous to man and animal in large amounts. It is a necessary micronutrient for many animals in small amounts; it may also be a needed micronutrient for man, but the data are sparse. The usual American diet contains adequate selenium for human health. Occupational selenium poisoning is mostly accidental and rare.

Animals↗