Investigation of markers to indicate and distinguish death due to alcoholic ketoacidosis, diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state using post-mortem samples

Data from 191 post-mortem cases where post-mortem blood beta-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) and acetone concentrations and vitreous humor glucose concentrations (where available) had been measured were retrospectively investigated to determine the markers required to identify and distinguish between Alcoholic Ketoacidosis (AKA), Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) and Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State (HHS). Blood βHB concentrations above 250 μg/mL were considered significant and it was shown to be the preferred marker of ketoacidosis. All cases with significant βHB detected also had acetone present (greater than 2mg/dL) demonstrating that acetone can be used as a marker to identify ketoacidosis and can be used to indicate when βHB measurement is necessary. Vitreous humor glucose concentrations above 6.9 mmol/L were considered high and indicative of hyperglycemia prior to death. Vitreous humor glucose concentrations can be used to distinguish between DKA and ketoacidosis from other causes and to identify deaths due to HHS. The data showed that ketoacidosis can occur without a history of alcoholism or diabetes. Many diabetics are undiagnosed for many years. Therefore, DKA or HHS should be considered in sudden or unexplained deaths and glucose should be routinely measured especially in cases with risk factors for diabetes including obesity, old age, a history of mental health problems or treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs including clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone.     

From Traumatic Memory to Traumatized Remembering: Beyond the Memory Wars, Part 1: Agreement

From the mid-1980s onwards, US courts have seen a dramatic increase in personal injury and criminal cases alleging harm caused by sexual abuse whose memories were ??recovered?? after decades of forgetting. These recovered memory claims were countered by the defense that they were false memories. Three types of personal injury cases have been the center of media attention: (1) adult daughters suing their fathers for alleged childhood incest; (2) families and patients suing psychotherapists for allegedly suggesting false incest memories; and (3) adults suing the Catholic Church alleging sexual abuse by priests. Legal outcomes have been inconsistent in part because scientific controversy has called the reliability of recovered memories into question. This article is the first in a three-part series that provides a forensic framework for understanding the current state of the recovered memory/false memory debate. It briefly describes the reasoning behind inconsistent legal decisions, identifying the minimum scientific issues that must achieve consensus to meet the needs of the legal system. It proposes epistemological criteria for determining whether a consensus has been achieved. It then identifies recovered memory issues about which there is now a consensus. The second article identifies recovered memory issues that lack consensus. The third article argues that the scientific controversy reflected confusion about different memory types. It proposes a phenomenological schema to integrate them and reduce legal confusion. It concludes that there is sufficient consensus about some recovered memory issues to meet minimal legal needs, while more research is needed for others.     

What is language? A response to Philippe van Parijs

When we consider the issue of linguistic justice, we must define what we mean by language. Standardisation of languages is closely associated with the development of the nation state, and the de Saussurian conception of language as system is in concert with nationalism and its divisions. In the early twenty-first century, however, this view of the world as a mosaic of stable national monolingualisms is outdated. In a globalising world, much of the political, social and economic structure that is developing is transnational and patterns of contact, both real and virtual, have become extraordinarily complex. In the resulting communities of communication of this superdiverse world, much language practice is more function driven than in the recent past. New practices mean that we cannot consider questions of linguistic justice in this new world order using the linguistic toolkit of the old. The flows, exchanges and networks of globalisation present us with a new paradigm and we need to recalibrate concepts.     

Developmental and Validation of The Illustrated Version of The Home Inventory for Dangers and Safety Precautions: Continuing to Address Learning Needs of Parents in Injury Prevention

This paper describes the development and validation of the Home Inventory for Dangers and Safety Precautions – Illustrated Version to be used with parents whose children are at significant risk for home injury. Because illustrations are useful in facilitating learning by parents who have difficulty ensuring child and self home safety, colored illustrations representing 6 home rooms or areas were empirically developed for assessment purposes. The dangers depicted were selected from previous work and represented those associated with the majority of family home injuries. Score-sheets contained dangers and associated precautions administered to 62 referred young parents. Administration and psychometric characteristics were examined; specific hypotheses were tested. Obtained measures of internal consistency for dangers and precautions for all illustrations (except for Stairway) and for totals were satisfactory. Administration was suitable for use with this population. Parents were able to identify approximately half of the depicted dangers while being able to provide a suitable precaution for 40%. Reading comprehension was predictive of danger identification whereas reading recognition was predictive of precautions given. The HIDSP-IV is useful in assessing a parent's knowledge of dangers and precautions from which more individualized home safety instruction can occur.     

Characteristics of court-involved men and non-court-involved men who abuse their wives

The characteristics of court involved (CI) (n=86) and non-court-involved (NCI) men (n=42) who abused their wives and attended a treatment program were investigated. The groups experienced similar childhoods concerning family violence. The NCI men had more years of education, were more likely to be employed full-time, and tended to earn more money than the CI men. The NCI men also had more social support and scored higher on interpersonal problems than the CI men. The CI men were more likely to be separated, more reported drinking during their most recent assaultive occasion. Compared to the norms on the Basic Personality Inventory, both groups scored significantly higher on depression, anxiety, feelings of alienation, hypochondriasis, and impulse expression. CI men had higher denial and social introversion scores and NCI men had higher interpersonal problem scores than the norm. These findings have some implications for the planning of treatment programs.