Suicide after deployment in UN peacekeeping missions--a Danish pilot study

This pilot study looks at the frequency of suicide among Danish soldiers who took part in the UN mandated forces (UNMF) during the 1990's. In a contingent of nearly 4000 Danish UN soldiers four suicides were documented, two of whom committed suicide less than one month before deployment and two who committed suicide within a year after discharge from mission. Contributing factors, prevention strategies, and implications for future research are discussed.     

A Review and Critique of the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ)

This paper reviews and critiques the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ), "... a self-report inventory representing the first attempt to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment in a manner that met traditional psychometric standards" (Fitzgerald, Gelfand, & Drasgow, 1995, p. 427). Widely used by its developers and others as a measure of sexual harassment, the SEQ is not a finished product, has a number of problems, and has weak psychometric properties. Because of inconsistencies (e.g., in time frame, number of items, wording of items), the SEQ lacks the advantages of standardized measures, such as the ability to assess changes over time. It defines sexual harassment very broadly, having the effect of distorting findings about sexual harassment. Most importantly, it is not clear what or whose definition of sexual harassment the SEQ assesses.     

Determination of the severity of endogenous intoxication at the level of average molecular peptides

A possibility was demonstrated of using the method related with determination of the level of average-weight molecules or average molecules (AM) for the diagnosis of sudden death in forensic medical expertise of cadaver. Blood plasma was investigated according to the method of M.I. Gabriekyan modified by Yu. V. Pervushin, which involves deproteinization of samples with subsequent spectrophotometry at 254 and 280 nm. The AM levels were studied in different pathologies including cardiovascular diseases, alcoholic and narcotic intoxications and pneumonia, caused by a variety of agents, as well as the syndrome of sudden children's death. An analysis of the obtained results denotes a possibility of using the postmortem determination of the AM level concurrently with determination of an endogenous intoxication degree in the forensic medical practice for establishing the cause and mechanisms of nonviolent death.     

Detection of ABO and GM system antigens in the teeth

A series of experiments using agglutination inhibition reaction and material extraction in PBS with pH 7.2 (phosphate-buffer-sedin) has been made to detect antigens of the GM system in the teeth. Parameters of the test material/serum ratio are proposed. In parallel, control specimens of blood were examined. The results of the experiments suggest that detection of Gm antigens in the teeth is feasible. In some cases this may raise an identification level of the expert conclusions. The above technique can be used for investigation of the bones.