Naslov
An Interdisciplinary Study: Alcohol and Its Influence on Breath Alcohol Concentration (BrAC), Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAc) and Handwriting

Autori
Ledić, Andrea

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, prošireni sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Proceedings of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences 71st Annual Scientific Meeting / - , 2019, 971-971

Skup
71st Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Mjesto i datum
Baltimore (MD), Sjedinjene Američke Države, 18.02.2019. - 23.02.2019

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
handwriting, blood alcohol concentration, breath alcohol concentration

Sažetak
Experts for handwriting and document examination often face problems when it comes to examining handwriting and signatures of persons whose handwriting characteristics were distorted due to various external and internal influences. Alcohol is one of the most common factors which influence handwriting. Alcohol is a substance which is toxic to the human body, primarily the brain, and it directly influences human behaviour as well. Ethanol, as a type of alcohol, can be found in alcoholic beverages. It is a modern poison which has an effect on the body’s central nervous system (CNS) similar to that of anaesthetics – ether or chloroform. Papers published up until now were mostly based on the analysis of the characteristics of handwriting and signatures of persons under the influence of alcohol with no significant statistical analyses. The aim of this research was to establish the significance of measuring the influence of alcohol in relation to blood, breath and handwriting, and to carry out a statistical analysis of the collected data. In order to verify the collected data, a controlled drinking study was conducted with 63 perfectly healthy volunteers (21 male and 42 female participants between the ages of 26 and 61) with a body mass index lower than 30. The participants consumed alcoholic beverages in order to simulate real drinking conditions. Handwriting samples were taken before, immediately after, and an hour following alcohol consumption. They were examined under VSC -6000 HS and Leica stereo microscopes. The Drager Breath Alcohol Analyser, model 6810Za, was used for breath analysis before and 15 minutes after alcohol consumption. Blood samples taken before and an hour after alcohol consumption were analysed using the PerkinElmer (Clarus 500) Gas Chromatograph with an ionization detector (GC/FID-HS) and TurboMatrix Headspace Auto Sampler (PerkinElmer, Shelton, CT, USA). The breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) is the amount of alcohol in breath, while the blood alcohol concentration is the amount of alcohol in blood (BAC). No significant differences were found between the BrAC and BAC results obtained from a single participant. However, the same amount of the same alcoholic beverage shows different blood alcohol concentrations in taller and heavier individuals as opposed to shorter and lighter individuals due to the fact that the organism of taller and heavier persons contains more water which dilutes the alcohol they consume. Taking into consideration practice and theory, the changes visible in the handwriting of persons who are under the influence of alcohol are proportionate to BAC, but the effects of alcohol on handwriting may vary depending on the individual’s health and their physical traits. As regards the handwriting, the results obtained indicate that, in certain cases, handwriting characteristics such as the size of the letters/words, length of syllables/words, space between letters/words, tremor, as well as others, significantly increase under the influence of alcohol. Handwriting was also compared to the results obtained by the Drager test and blood sample analysis with the aim of establishing whether handwriting can be used for obtaining an accurate measurement of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the person writing. The results of this research may also be used in certain cases for establishing the effects of alcohol on the person’s ability to drive, considering that the same part of the brain is responsible for writing and driving.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Kemija, Biologija, Interdisciplinarne prirodne znanosti, Kognitivna znanost (prirodne, tehničke, biomedicina i zdravstvo, društvene i humanističke znanosti), Biotehnologija u biomedicini (prirodno područje, biomedicina i zdravstvo, biotehničko područje)

POVEZANOST RADA