This is what I understand happens, following the process of production of progesterone, described on page 894, second column.
In the first two steps cholesterol is brominated in benzene, and oxidized in a solvent with acid permanganate(aq). In the last step the product is again debrominated using zinc dust.

The strong oxidizing agent potassium permanganate is used, as well as sulfuric acid. The article below describes the process of production of progesterone from cholesterol.
Progesterone has numerous physiological effects. Although primarily associated with the reproductive system, progesterone has multiple effects outside of it. This steroid hormone can act as an antiinflamatory agent, reducing the immune response; it can also assist in thyroid hormone action and bone building. Progesterone appears to prevent endometrial cancer (cancer involving the uterine lining) as well as breast cancer .

A Breathalyzer makes use of the fact that alcohols (in this case ethanol) oxidize into carboxylic acids. It uses the strong oxidizing agent Potassium dichromate in a yellow solution of sulfuric acid, under the presence of a Silver Nitrate catalyst, to complete the reaction quickly. As ethanol oxidizes and the Potassium dichromate reacts, the chromate ion changes from Cr (VI) to Cr (III). This causes the color intensity of the yellow solution to decrease, and a spectrophotometer in the breathalyzer compares the absorbance of this solution with that of an unreacted solution

Using Beer’s law, the spectrophotometer can relate concentration to absorbance levels of the chromium ion. The amount of alcohol present is proportional to the stoichiometric coefficients. An actual breathalyzer only needs to detect 25 micrograms of ethanol to give a reading 0.10 Blood Alcohol Level.