Alcohol content of beer and malt beverages: forensic consideration

Beer consumption is commonly an issue in a medico-legal setting, requiring estimates either of a likely blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for a given pattern of consumption or vice versa. Four hundred and four beers and malt beverages available for sale in the State of Washington were tested by gas chromatography for their alcohol content. Considerable variability in the alcoholic strength was found, even within the same class. Overall the range of concentrations was 2.92%v/v to 15.66%v/v. The mean alcohol concentration for ales was 5.51%v/v (SD 1.23%v/v), and for lagers, 5.32% (SD 1.43%v/v). Some specialty brews had characteristically higher or lower mean concentrations: ice beers 6.07%v/v, malt liquor 7.23%v/v, light beer 4.13%v/v, seasonal ales 6.30%v/v. Six brands of lager and four light beers account for the majority of all beer sales in the United States, and the mean alcohol concentration for these products was measured as 4.73%v/v and 4.10%v/v respectively. Few of the beers (17%) were labeled with respect to alcohol content, and in some cases, there was a significant disparity between the concentration listed on the label, and the measured alcohol concentration. Toxicologists need to exercise caution when performing Widmark type calculations, using all available information to select the most appropriate estimate for alcoholic strength of a beer or malt beverage.     

Wischnewski ulcers and acute pancreatitis in two hospitalized patients with cirrhosis, portal vein thrombosis, and hypothermia.

Accidental hypothermia has been described in the forensic literature but reports of occurrence in hospitalized patients are rare. Associated anatomic lesions include acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis and characteristic acute gastric ulcers termed Wischnewski ulcers. We report here two patients with cirrhosis and ascites; one also had hepatocellular carcinoma. Portal vein thrombosis, acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis and Wischnewski ulcers were present in both. The clinical records documented hypothermia that progressed over several days. Temperature nadirs of 31.0 degrees C (87.8 degrees F) and 32.2 degrees C (90.0 degrees F) were recorded in each patient, respectively, one day before death, although each transiently reached temperatures that did not register on standard monitoring devices. This is the first report that chronicles antemortem body temperatures in hypothermic patients with Wischnewski ulcers and pancreatitis at autopsy. Also, the association of these findings with portal vein thrombosis and cirrhosis has not been previously described. We discuss this constellation of findings with regard to possible mechanistic interrelations.     

From trust on intimacy: A new inventory for examining erikson's stages of psychosocial development

A new inventory for examining the first six of Erikson's psychosocial stages is described. The self-report questionnaire, developed in a pilot study of 97 adolescents and tested in a study of 622 adolescents, has 12 items for each subscale. Measures of reliability and validity are reported. It is concluded that the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory (EPSI) is a useful measure for researchers interested in development from early adolescence and in mapping changes as a function of life events.This research was supported by a grant from the Education Research and Development Committee.Received Ph.D. from University of Melbourne. Current research interests are adolescent adjustment, ethnicity, and sex-role psychology.Received Ph.D. from University of Melbourne. Current research interests are effects of unemployment and adolescent adjustment.Received Ph.D. from Florida State University. Current research interests are sex-role psychology and adolescence.     

Sex differences in sex-role conceptions and family orientation of high school students

Studies of college freshmen find that men are more sexist in their attitudes than women. Does this hold also for high school students? This paper reports the relationship of (1) sex-role attitudes to selected school and family characteristics and (2) attitudes toward family life to sex-role conceptions for women and men. The study is based on 529 students in grades 9 to 12 attending four high schools. The findings show that males are more sexist than females and Blacks more so than Whites. Women who are bright, from upper class backgrounds, and whose mothers work are more equalitarian in sex-role conceptions. For men, family background is unimportant, but attending an elite public school seems to foster equalitarian sex-role conceptions. Men's sex-role attitudes are harder to explain than women's, and, unlike women, their role attitudes have little connection to their family orientation.