Toxicological Findings in Fatal Motor Vehicle Collisions in Ontario,Canada: A One‐Year Study

Drug‐impaired driving is a complex area of forensic toxicology due in part to limited data concerning the type of drugs involved and the concentrations detected. This study analyzed toxicological findings in drivers from fatal motor vehicle collisions (FMVCs) in Ontario, Canada, over a one‐year period using a standardized protocol. Of the 229 cases included in the study, 56% were positive for alcohol and/or drugs. After alcohol, cannabis was the most frequently encountered substance (27%), followed by benzodiazepines (17%) and antidepressants (17%). There were differences in drugs detected by age but no marked difference in drugs detected between single and multiple FMVC's. Not all drugs detected were considered impairing either due to drug type, concentration or case history. The findings indicate the importance of comprehensive drug testing in FMVCs and highlight the need to consider a variety of factors, in addition to drug type and concentration, when assessing the role of drugs in driving impairment.     

唾液中乙醇含量检测试剂条的研究

目的根据唾液和血液中乙醇含量相关性的实验结果,建立了一种简便快速、准确可靠的检测唾液中乙醇含量的方法。方法本方法利用酶学原理,将一定量乙醇氧化酶(ALO)和过氧化物酶以及底物四甲基联苯胺(TMB)固定于试剂条上,当样本中含有乙醇时,酶学反应使底物TMB显色,通过比对反应的不同颜色,对样本中乙醇质量浓度进行半定量。结果用本方法检测300个自愿者的唾液,和用GC/MS法对照检测志愿者唾液中的乙醇含量,定量结果基本一致。本产品检测过程仅需2min,其检测的阈值为0.1mg/mL,敏感度为96.5%,特异性为91%,准确性为94.7%。结论采用酶学方法制备的乙醇含量检测试剂条,通过显色反应对唾液中的乙醇含量进行半定量检测,其特点为快速简便、准确可靠,适合现场使用。     

Attributions for episodes of marital aggression: The effects of aggression severity and alcohol use

This study examined attributions for husband to wife marital agression as a function of aggression severity and husbands' alcohol use. Subjects were a community sample of 117 wives and 109 husbands who reported an episode of serious physical aggression during a structured interview, conducted at one year of marriage. The results showed that husbands' attributions were influenced by both severity and alcohol use. In particular, sober husbands tended to blame their wives for severe aggression, but, unexpectedly, drinking husbands tended to assume responsibility for severe aggression. In contrast, wives' attributions were influenced mainly by severity. Wives also discriminated between the locus and stability dimensions of causal attributions, whereas husbands relied solely on the locus dimension. Specifically, wives held husbands' behavior more responsible for severe aggression than their own behavior and held husbands' character much more responsible than their own character. Additional findings with regard to relationship attributions were discussed.     

Handling of inspired vaporized ethanol in the airways and lungs (with comments on forensic aspects)

Collections of expired air and chemical determinations of ethanol concentrations in inspired and expired air showed that during prolonged inspiration of ethanol (vapour)-containing air about 55% was absorbed by adult human subjects. The fractional absorption was not detectably affected by variations in tidal volume (0.7-2.1 liters), nor was it significantly reduced in experiments where, due to preceding oral intake, the ethanol concentration of systemic blood was up to 50 times higher than that of inspired air. In these experiments the difference between the rates of change in blood alcohol concentration (beta 60) during and before ethanol inhalation agreed well with values calculated from measured respiratory absorptions. Mass spectrometric recordings of ethanol concentration in expired air vs. expired volume, taken in a state of steady uptake, also gave absorption fractions of about 0.55, and showed that the concentration in end-expiratory air did not fall below some 30% of that of the inspired air. These and other findings show that a large part of ethanol being inspired is deposited in the airway linings to be released again to ethanol-free alveolar air expired through the airways. It is concluded that inspired ethanol deserves consideration as a source of elevations of blood alcohol concentrations.     

Ethanol stability in unpreserved refrigerated antemortem blood

Ethanol stability in preserved antemortem blood has been widely studied since it is a common practice in cases involving suspected impaired driving to collect antemortem blood in evacuated blood tubes containing sodium fluoride. In some situations, antemortem blood is submitted to a forensic laboratory for ethanol analysis in evacuated blood tubes that contain only an anticoagulant. There has been limited research on ethanol stability in antemortem blood stored without a preservative. On two occasions, antemortem blood was collected from five ethanol-free individuals into 6-ml Vacutainer® tubes containing only 10.8 mg potassium EDTA. The blood tubes were spiked with ethanol to approximately either 0.08 or 0.15 g/dl. Dual-FID headspace gas chromatography was used to analyze 58 blood tubes, 29 from each session, for ethanol 1 day after sample collection and again after 1 year of refrigerated storage (~4°C). Statistically significant decreases in ethanol were detected at the 0.05 level of significance. Mean decreases in ethanol after 1 year of storage for the 0.08 and 0.15 g/dl samples were 0.013 and 0.010 g/dl, respectively. The mean ethanol decrease across all tubes was 0.012 g/dl. The range of decreases for the 58 blood tubes was 0.003–0.018 g/dl. The mean ethanol decreases measured in this unpreserved antemortem blood are comparable in magnitude to those previously observed in antemortem blood containing sodium fluoride after 1 year of refrigerated storage. Ethanol did not increase in the antemortem blood samples despite the absence of sodium fluoride.     

采血管中添加剂对血样中乙醇含量的影响

目的：探讨不同种类采血管对血样中乙醇含量检测结果的影响。方法分别用7种一次性真空采血管[无抗凝剂管、促凝剂管、分离胶-促凝剂管、枸橼酸钠（1∶4）管、枸橼酸钠（1∶9）管、柠檬酸钠（9∶1）管、EDTA-K2管]采集10名志愿者饮酒后2 h血液,用顶空气相色谱法检测血样中乙醇含量。结果相同血样用不同的采血管,其乙醇含量检测结果不同,依次为分离胶-促凝剂管〉促凝剂管〉无抗凝剂管〉EDTA-K2管〉枸橼酸钠（1∶9）管〉枸橼酸钠（1∶4）管,柠檬酸钠（9∶1）管与枸橼酸钠（1∶9）管检测结果基本一致。结论采集涉嫌酒后驾驶的驾驶员血样,应选用一次性真空采血管,首选EDTA-K2管。     

Can wine tasting be used as a defence to a charge of excess alcohol?

Wine-tasting has been used as a defence in the UK to charges of driving with excess alcohol on the breath. There is little scientific data to support this explanation. The authors carried out an experimental wine-tasting using twelve volunteer subjects. Breath alcohol samples were taken at the start of the experiment and fifteen minutes after the end. All subjects after wine-tasting had breath alcohol levels below the instrumental limit of detection. The authors conclude that the wine-tasting defence is not credible.     

涉嫌酒后驾驶交通事故人体损伤与驾驶员血中乙醇质量浓度关系研究

目的探讨涉嫌酒后驾驶所致道路交通事故中人体损伤情况与驾驶员血中乙醇质量浓度关系,为预防、控制道路交通事故及人体损伤提供依据。方法对467例涉嫌酒后驾驶机动车的道路交通事故损伤人员相关鉴定资料与肇事驾驶员血中乙醇质量浓度进行系统分析性研究。结果涉嫌酒后驾驶发生道路交通事故的损伤人员中,以20~39岁男性居多;事故中驾驶员损伤机率最高;酒后交通事故以长头小车及摩托车最多,而驾驶员血中乙醇质量浓度（BAC）为0.1~20mg/100mL浓度的摩托车驾乘人员伤亡构成比最高;酒后驾驶机动车肇事导致的人体致命性损伤及人员死亡的饮酒组危险程度均高于未饮酒组,在驾驶员血中乙醇质量浓度（BAC）为0.1~20mg/100mL组与20.1~80mg/100mL组比较无明显差异。结论酒后驾驶肇事导致的人员伤亡比未饮酒驾车交通事故严重;未达酒后驾车组（BAC为0.1~20mg/100mL）和酒后驾车组（BAC为20.1~80mg/100mL）交通事故导致的人员伤亡无明显差异。研究结果提示,应降低饮酒后驾车血中乙醇质量浓度（BAC）法定标准阈值,进一步控制和减少道路交通事故人身伤亡率。     

GABA Receptors,Alcohol Dependence and Criminal Behavior

The aim of this study was to analyze the connection between alcohol dependence and criminal behavior by an integrated genetic–environmental approach. The research, structured as a case–control study, examined 186 alcohol‐dependent males; group 1 (N = 47 convicted subjects) was compared with group 2 (N = 139 no previous criminal records). Genetic results were innovative, highlighting differences in genotype distribution (p = 0.0067) in group 1 for single‐nucleotide polymorphism rs 3780428, located in the intronic region of subunit 2 of the GABA B receptor gene (GABBR2). Some environmental factors (e.g., grade repetition) were associated with criminal behavior; others (e.g., attendance at Alcoholics Anonymous) were inversely related to convictions. The concomitant presence of the genetic and environmental factors found to be associated with the condition of alcohol‐dependent inmate showed a 4‐fold increase in the risk of antisocial behavior. The results need to be replicated on a larger population to develop new preventive and therapeutic proposals.     

Peer Group Delinquency and Sexual Victimization: Does Popularity Matter?

Though a large body of research has found that peer social network characteristics influence both offending and victimization, relatively little is known about the influence of social network characteristics on adolescent sexual victimization. Attractiveness and sociability largely indicate popularity for teenage females, which in turn leads to earlier onset of dating, greater dating options, and potential risk of sexual victimization—an observation not tested in the criminological and criminal justice literature. We suggest and evaluate 2 competing hypotheses: that popularity within a network insulates females from sexual victimization and that popularity may increase exposure to delinquent others and facilitate sexual victimization. Results suggest that popularity does not have a consistent effect but instead that its role is conditioned by the deviance of the network. Popularity is associated with an increase in the likelihood of victimization when peer deviance is high but with a decrease when peer deviance is low. We further demonstrate that an interaction between a female's own drinking and the proportion of her friends that are male strongly affects her likelihood of sexual victimization. Implications for policy and future research are explored.