Lethal injuries of the thorax due to shots fired from blank cartridges calibre 8 mm are reported in three cases. The muzzle of the weapon was in contact with the left side of the breast (contact discharge) and injuries to bones were absent in all three cases. In two of the cases the pericardium was not involved but the anterior wall of the right heart ventricle was ruptured and death was due to cardiac tamponade. In the third case the pericardial sac and the left ventricle were both ruptured and the victim died due to rapid exsanguination. The cases demonstrate that the gas pressure from the exploding propellent of blank ammunition can be powerful enough to penetrate the thoracic wall.

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Close to process measuring improves the data quality of a condition monitoring process. A possibility to access such measurements comes with the addition of a sensory function in machine elements. For a systematic development of sensing machine elements, an approach is presented for the identification of possible measurands to determine a variable of interest. Based on a modelling of physical causeeffect- relationships by using an effect matrix and an effect catalogue it allows to consider both direct and indirect measurements for the determination of measurands in technical systems.The presented approach is initially applied to develop a sensory solution for self-lubricated fibrecomposite sliding bearings. The aim is to measure a variable of interest that can give a conclusion about the estimated remaining useful lifetime. The development process is described and possible solutions for measurement concepts are presented. The electrical capacity measurement, evaluated as the most promising concept, is described in detail and experimental results are presented.These results show the applicability of the sensory concept and therefore, the benefits of the presented approach.

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The purpose of this paper is to define the criteria for the differential diagnosis of trauma following resuscitation and road accidents. To this end, 311 cases of thoracic and epigastric trauma were selected from the 2893 medico-legal autopsies carried out between 1979 and 1982 at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the University of Heidelberg. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation had to be considered as the cause of trauma in 140 of these, but 45 of this group were excluded from further evaluation as they had been the victims of blunt trauma and no clear-cut distinction was possible between trauma resulting from an accident and trauma resulting from resuscitation. Thus, we were left with 95 cases of internal injury that presented as emergencies and in whom death followed resuscitation, as a group for comparison with 171 road accident victims who had not received cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Rib fractures, predominantly on the left side, were established in half the cases resuscitated, sternal fractures also being found in one-third of these victims. Bleeding at various sites, including hemato-thorax, was rare, with an incidence of 15%, thus making it highly unlikely that serious traumas caused by resuscitation were a major factor in the cause of death. This paper encompasses an extensive discussion on serious injuries, such as aortic and gastric ruptures, in this connection.