Methanol Detected in a Subdural Hematoma as an Embalming Artifact

Analysis of subdural hematomata has been used to suggest antemortem drug concentrations, with the assumption that materials within the hematoma are less subject to metabolism or degradation during any survival period and postmortem interval. We report the case of an 87‐year‐old woman whose death had not been reported to the coroner's office until postembalming. Autopsy revealed a traumatic brain injury with subdural hematoma causing a mass effect. Testing of the clot indicated a methanol concentration of 51.8 mg%. No additional analyses were detected. These findings suggest that methanol can be present in a postmortem hematoma sample, yet not represent a poisoning. Our findings also suggest that while the interior of hematomata do not necessarily represent completely “protected space” from postmortem diffusion of some blood constituents, such diffusion is not facile, and analysis may still provide useful indications of antemortem drugs present, if not actual concentrations.     

Children’s Susceptibility to Misidentifying a Familiar Bystander From a Lineup: When Younger is Better

Children from 5 to 12 years of age (N=779) were shown a videotape where a preschool teacher has money stolen from her wallet. Children were shown a lineup, and for children in the bystander condition, the lineup contained a familiar bystander without the thief. Children in the control condition viewed the same lineup but they had not seen the bystander in the videotape. Among the 11–12-year olds, participants in the bystander condition were significantly more likely than control participants to misidentify the familiar bystander. This effect was not found in children from 5 to 10 years of age. When children in the control condition were shown a lineup that contained the thief without the bystander, the 11–12-year olds were significantly more likely than the younger children to correctly identify the thief. These findings demonstrate that age can both increase and decrease the accuracy of children’s lineup identification accuracy depending on the task at hand and the content of a lineup.     

The Effect of Gender in the Perception of Elder Physical Abuse in Court

Two experiments investigated mock jurors' perceptions of elder abuse (EA) in a physical assault case. In Experiment 1, participants read a fictional criminal trial summary of a physical assault case in which the alleged victim was 66, 76, or 86 years old. In Experiment 2, the age of the alleged victim was 76 years old, but the gender of the alleged victim and the gender of the defendant were crossed. The results of the experiments showed that women believed the alleged victim more and rendered a guilty verdict more often than men. Overall, the alleged victim was believed more than the defendant regardless of the age of the alleged victim, and most verdicts were guilty. These results are discussed in terms of the factors that affect perceptions of alleged victims of EA in court.     

Against canons: Liberating the social sciences

She is author of The Origins American Social Science,a study of economics, sociology, political science, and history from their eighteenth-century roots to 1929.     

Public responses to genetic engineering

Her books include Science as Intellectual Propertyand Selling Science: How the Press Covers Science and Technology.Betsy Hanson is a graduate student in the Science and Environmental Reporting Program at NYU.     

The European Union--law, financial institutions and the banking crisis

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. Key points

• Law created by European Institutions affects businessin all areas, none more so than in the financial sector, asthe recent financial crisis has thrown into sharp relief. Notonly the Directives that shape regulation of financial businesses(outside the scope of this article), but some provisions ofthe Treaty, Directives, Regulations and Decisions affect theability of banks to do business, in their dealings with States,as well as in their dealings with commercial customers and eachother.
• Key in the financial crisis have been the Treaty ruleson State aid: these have affected the ability of States to assistfinancial institutions in difficulty and the manner in whichthey give assistance; the recognition of the global financialcrisis as creating a disturbance in the economy of many MemberStates has been central to the swift approval of rescue aidin accordance with new guidance, while reconstruction . . . [Full Text of this Article]