Carbon monoxide concentrations in the 2009 Victorian Bushfire disaster victims

Blood was available for the estimation of carboxyhemoglobin saturation (COHb) in 30 of the 173 persons who died in the Victorian bushfires in February 2009. The ages of these 30 deaths ranged from 3 to 80 years and there were 8 females. 13 cases (43%) were considered negative (less than 5% COHb), 12 (40%) were between 5 and 40% COHb, 2 (6.7%) between 40 and 50% and 3 (10%) were greater than 50% COHb. There were 6 persons either found within a building or a car and the COHb in these cases ranged up to 69% (mean 50%). There were 5 cases where the location was unable to be determined as either indoor or outdoor due to the extensive nature of the fire. The remaining 19 deceased persons were all located outside in the open and the concentration of COHb in these cases ranged up to 30% (mean 19%). Hydrogen cyanide was only detected in two deceased persons at concentrations of 0.5 and 2.7 mg/L, respectively. 13 deceased were found to have soot in the airways following necropsy but this did not correlate with the COHb levels.     

Mietzinsminderung wegen Lärmbelastung; Minderung auch der Betriebskosten

Eine durch die Beschaffenheit des Hauses bewirkte L?rmbelastung praktisch rund um die Uhr infolge unzureichender Schalld?mmung ist eine erhebliche Bel?stigung, die den Gebrauch des Bestandgegenstands, wie er gew?hnlich nach der Verkehrsauffassung erwartet wird, erheblich beeintr?chtigt und eine Mietzinsminderung (hier: 15%) rechtfertigt. Bei Vorliegen der Voraussetzungen des § 1096 ABGB ist es sachgerecht, den gesamten Mietzins einschlie?lich der Betriebskosten von einer dem MRG unterliegenden Bestandobjekt einheitlich zu mindern.     

Zur Behandlung der Kostenersatzpflicht aus dem Pflichtteilsprozess bei der Bemessung des Pflichtteils

Wird der ruhende Nachlass von einem verkürzten Noterben geklagt und unterliegt der Nachlass in diesem Pflichtteilsprozess, so ist er nach allgemeinen Regeln zum Prozesskostenersatz verpflichtet. Au?erdem hat er die Kosten der eigenen Vertretung im Verfahren endgültig selbst zu tragen. Der Beitrag geht der Frage nach, ob und in welchem Umfang diese Belastungen des Nachlasses zu einer Minderung der Bemessungsgrundlage für Pflichtteile führen k?nnen; und zwar einerseits gegenüber dem klagenden Noterben selbst und andererseits gegenüber anderen, am Pflichtteilsprozess nicht beteiligten Noterben. Auf Grundlage der vom Gesetz selbst vorgegebenen Wertungen wird eine nach Fallgruppen differenzierende L?sung entwickelt.     

Report

Tibet and the Chinese People's Republic: Being a Report to the International Commission of Jurists by its Legal Enquiry Committee on Tibet. Published by the Commission, Geneva, 1960 (6, Rue Mont‐de‐Sion, Geneva). Pp. 345.     

The incidence of drugs of impairment in oral fluid from random roadside testing

Oral fluid (OF) has become a popular specimen to test for presence of drugs, particularly in regards to road safety. In Victoria, OF specimens from drivers have been used to test for the presence of methylamphetamine (MA) and Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) since 2003 and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA) since 2006. LC-MS/MS has been used to test the most recent 853 submitted OF specimens from Victoria Police for 31 drugs of abuse including those listed in the Australian Standard AS4760-2006. At least one proscribed drug was detected in 96% of drivers, of which MA was the most common (77%), followed by THC (42%), MDMA (17%) and the combination of all three (3.9%). Opioids were detected in 14% of drivers of which 4.8% were positive for 6-acetylmorphine and 3.3% for methadone. The incidence of the opioids tramadol (1.2%) and oxycodone (1.1%) were relatively low. Cocaine (8.0%) was as commonly detected as benzodiazepines (8.0%), and was almost always found in combination with MA (7.9%). Samples positive to benzodiazepines were largely due to diazepam (3.5%) and alprazolam (3.4%), with only 0.2% of drivers combining the two. Ketamine was also detected in 1.5% of cases. While the incidences of the proscribed drugs itself are concerning, it is clear that many drivers are also using other drugs capable of causing impairment.     

The prevalence of drugs in injured drivers

In mid 2009 Victoria introduced compulsory drug testing of blood taken from all injured drivers taken to hospital. Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), methylamphetamine (MA) and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA) are prohibited and if drivers are positive to any amount an automatic penalty is enforced. Laboratory screens were conducted on preserved blood using ELISA testing for cannabis metabolite and methylamphetamines and a fully validated LC-MS/MS method for 105 drugs including THC, amphetamines, opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants and antipsychotics and a number of other psychoactive substances using a minimum of two transitions per drug. Conventional GC-testing for ethanol was used to screen and quantify the presence of alcohol. 1714 drivers were tested and showed alcohol in 29% (≥ 0.01 g/100mL) and drugs in 35%. The positive rate for the three drugs prohibited by legislation was 12.5%. The prevalence of THC, MA and MDMA was 9.8%, 3.1%, and 0.8%, respectively. The range of THC concentrations in blood was 2-42 ng/mL (median 7) of which 70% had a concentration of 10 ng/mL or higher. The range of concentrations for MA and MDMA was 0.02-0.4 and 0.03-0.3mg/L (median for both drugs was 0.05 mg/L). Drugs of any type were detected in 35% of cases. The other drugs were largely prescribed drugs such as the antidepressants (9.3%) and benzodiazepines (8.9%). Neither 6-acetylmorphine nor cocaine (or benzoylecgonine) was detected in these cases.