The association of alcohol-induced blackouts and grayouts to blood alcohol concentrations

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between measured blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and the presence and degree of amnesia (no amnesia, grayout, or blackout) in actively drinking subjects. A secondary aim was to determine potential factors other than BAC that contribute to the alcohol-induced memory loss. An interview questionnaire was administered to subjects regarding a recent alcohol associated arrest with a documented BAC greater than 0.08 g/dL for either public intoxication, driving under the influence, or under age drinking was administered. Demographic variables collected included drinking history, family history of alcoholism, presence of previous alcohol-related memory loss during a drinking episode, and drinking behavior during the episode. Memory of the drinking episode was evaluated to determine if either an alcohol-induced grayout (partial anterograde amnesia) or blackout (complete anterograde amnesia) occurred. Differences in (1) mean total number of drinks ingested before arrest, (2) gulping of drinks, and (3) BAC at arrest were found for those having blackouts compared with no amnesia; while differences in drinking more than planned were found between the no amnesia and grayout groups. A strong linear relationship between BAC and predicted probability of memory loss, particularly for blackouts was obvious. This finding clinically concludes that subjects with BAC of 310 g/dL or greater have a 0.50 or greater probability of having an alcoholic blackout.     

Death of an infant involving benzocaine

This report describes the death of a four-month-old Hispanic male which may be related to benzocaine toxicity. A toxicological evaluation revealed benzocaine at a concentration of 3.48 mg/L, and postmortem methemoglobin of 36% (normal 0.4-1.5). Methemoglobinemia is a complication of benzocaine toxicity. In light of the toxicology findings, the coroner investigated the source of the benzocaine and discovered that the child was treated with Zenith Goldline Allergen Ear Drops containing 0.25% w/v benzocaine and 5.4% w/v antipyrine. There was an admission by a caregiver that on the day prior to the child's death, he had been treated with three times the prescribed dose. Blood benzocaine concentrations in nine other unrelated cases were determined and concentrations ranged from <0.05-5.3 mg/L (mean 1.48 mg/L). Seven of the nine cases were positive for drugs of abuse, and one additional case was described as a known drug user. Methemoglobin in these benzocaine positive cases ranged from 6-69%; however, methemoglobin concentrations in postmortem cases are frequently elevated and should be interpreted with caution. The unknown significance of the benzocaine, and the circumstances of the case raise questions about the ultimate attribution of this death to SIDS.     

Preston v. Meriter Hospital in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin

When a baby is born in a hospital birthing center, the newborn has come to the "emergency department" for purposes of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). Thus, the hospital must provide "an appropriate medical screening examination" to any infant born at the hospital birthing center in order to determine whether the infant has an emergency medical condition.     

Pettis v. Smith and Braddock. In the Louisiana Court of Appeal

HOLDING: Tube feeding may be withheld or withdrawn from a person in a persistent semi-conscious state even though her living will did not explicitly decline tube feeding, and there is no clear and convincing evidence of her intention to decline tube feeding.     

The Belfast Agreement,the Purloined Letter and the ``Politics of the Ostrich'

Jacques Lacan's Seminar on The PurloinedLetter gives centrality to the operation ofthe signifier in the construction of thesubject, rather than to any `content' thatmight pertain to the signifier. In Lacan'saccount, the trajectory of the signifier isorganised around three intersubjectivepositions: seeing, not seeing and seeingoneself not being seen. This article, in anexamination of the operation of `the nation' asan origin for legal authority in the 1998Belfast Agreement, will explore the relevanceof Lacan's insight to the questions ofsovereignty and authority thrown up by legaltransition in Northern Ireland. In particular,this article will explore the way in whichnation is `suspended' as a foundation of legalauthority from the administrative discourse ofthe Belfast Agreement, but remains a potentpoint of legal and political identification.This will be done by treating `the nation' notin terms of its capacity to represent thefoundation of legal authority, but as asignifier whose displacement from `grand'aspirational constitutional discourse to themore `banal' administrative discourse of theBelfast Agreement operates to reconfigure legaland political identification.     

A comparison of student legal issues perceptions held by chief student and chief legal affairs officers: a study of metropolitan universities in the US

This study explored the similarities and differences of the perceptions held by chief legal and chief student affairs officers with regard to student legal issues. The study follows an earlier project published by Education and the Law (9(1), pp. 41‐49) which solely examined the perceptions of chief legal affairs officers. In the present study, there was a significant difference in the perceptions of chief student affairs and chief legal affairs officers with regard to which student legal issues will be litigated in the next 10 years. Chief student affairs and chief legal affairs officers prepare for student legal issues in a very similar fashion. Both officers make use of legal conferences, student affairs conferences, continuing education, and professional literature. There appears to be many chief student affairs officers who attend legal conferences and chief legal affairs officers who attend student affairs conferences in order to better prepare for future student legal issues.