Rapid isolation with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges and wide-bore capillary gas chromatography of some butyrophenones

A simple and rapid method for isolation of five butyrophenones with Sep-Pak C18 cartridges from human samples, and their wide-bore capillary gas chromatography (GC), are presented. The GC was made by both flame ionization and electron capture detections. The drugs contained in alkaline samples were directly applied to the cartridges and eluted with chloroform/isopropanol (9:1). The recoveries with use of the cartridges were excellent for most drugs in both urine and plasma samples. We can recommend the Sep-Pak C18 cartridges for isolation of butyrophenones because of simplicity and rapidity, and also wide-bore capillary GC because of high sensitivity and low decomposition of drugs during passage through the column.     

Forensic medicine and morphologic aspects of fatal amniotic fluid aspiration

The massive aspiration of amniotic fluid as one cause of a fatal postpartal asphyxia will be demonstrated under the aspect of preliminary criminal law proceedings against physicians because of medical negligence. The pathomorphologically established diagnosis of a fatal aspiration of amniotic fluid supposes extensive and systematic quantitative histological examination of both lungs. The technique of histological cross sections through the entire lung combined with morphometry is a suitable method to exactly record the alterations of bronchi and lung parenchyma by aspiration of amniotic fluid and their complications, such as interstitial emphysema.     

Evaluation of a lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium method of detecting unapparent myocardial infarction using a standardised sampling technique

Using a standardised block technique, the microscopic lactate dehydrogenase-nitro blue tetrazolium (LDH-nitro BT) and conventional haematoxylin and eosin staining methods were used to investigate the presence of myocardial infarction in a series of fifty forensic autopsies. The microscopic LDH-nitro BT method was found to be reliable; however, it did not reveal the presence of myocardial infarction in any of the cases where this had not been suspected.     

The determination of glyoxalase I phenotypes in human bloodstains

A method is described for the determination of glyoxalase I phenotypes in liquid blood and dry bloodstains. The frequencies of glyoxalase I phenotypes in various populations of S.E. England are included.     

Property rights and unemployment insurance reserves

Unemployment insurance (UI) laws have recently come under considerable criticism for fostering employment disincentives. Imperfections in the experience rating tax schedule has been the primary causal factor behind most of these allegations. In particular, the insurance subsidies created by the tax schedule have been blamed for distorted labor markets and for increased layoffs.This article proposes that a property rights system be established for UI reserves which would enable a firm with an unemployment insurance reserve surplus to lend voluntarily to a firm in need of reserves. Such a system would allocate reserves more efficiently and eliminate some of the disincentives effects of the current unemployment insurance scheme. A property rights system would be a second best solution to perfecting the present unemployment insurance system and making it actuarially sound. However, assigning rights to UI reserves can be implemented without challenging the special interests of the politically dominant industries that have been responsible for maintaining the imperfections in the UI system for 50 years.     

Battered wives,lawyers, and district attorneys: An examination of law in action

The legal services received by 146 Milwaukee women who had been beaten by their husbands, but had been free of the violence for at least a year, are described and evaluated. Of these women 106 recieved legal help in connection with at least one battering incident. Some women saw more than one member of the legal profession, so the total number of legal contacts among the 106 women was 255. There is evidence that lawyers and district attorneys were most likely to be used by those battered women for whom the use of personal strategies and informal help sources (such as family and friends) were ineffective in combatting the violence. Contrary to the negative image of lawyers and district attorneys found in the literature on wife beating, most legal service contracts were rated as very or fairly successful by the battered women. The more difficult and severe the situation, the higher the success ratings given to lawyers and district attorneys by their clients. Despite the generally positive reactions that most beaten women had to lawyers and district attorneys, there were many negative incidents reported, including district attorneys who refused service or discouraged battered women from filing charges, and lawyers who sided with the aggressors or attempted to meet their personal and professional needs at the expense of their clients. These incidents remind us that it would be useful to educate legal professionals about the nature of family violence, the situation and needs of battered women, and the legal and ethical responsibilities that lawyers and district attorneys have when they are contacted by battered women.