[Measurement of benzodiazepine receptor agonists metabolites and their concentration in urine]. / Opredelenie metabolitov agonistov benzodiazepinovykh retseptorov i ustanovlenie ikh protsentnogo soderzhaniya v moche.

The study objective was to detect and measure the ratio of metabolites of benzodiazepine receptor agonists in urine during forensic chemical and chemical and toxicological studies, as well as to characterize the main metabolites to use them to confirm the oral intake of the test substances. Data on the presence of metabolites in the urine will allow us to reliably confirm the intake of zaleplon, zopiclone, clobazam, and phenazepam and determine the routes of administration (intake) into the body of the victim. Benzodiazepine derivatives (clobazam and phenazepam) and non-benzodiazepines (zaleplon and zopiclone) have different chemical structures and similar mechanisms of action resulting in a similar clinical presentation of side effects and the need for forensic chemical study according to poisoning symptoms. Metabolites of benzodiazepine receptor agonists and their ratio in urine after oral administration were measured: zaleplon (parent compound), deethylzaleplon, 5-oxozaleplon, 5-oxodeethylzaleplon, oxozaleplon glucuronide; zopiclone (parent compound), zopiclone-N-oxide, N-desmethylzopiclone; clobazam (parent compound), N-desmethylclobazam, 4-hydroxyclobazam, hydroxydesmethylclobazam; phenazepam (parent compound) and 3-hydroxyphenazepam. It is advisable to determine zaleplon in urine by the presence of 5-oxaleplon (97% of the total amount of metabolites), zopiclone by zopiclone-N-oxide (86% in urine), clobazam by the parent compound (61% in urine), phenazepam by the parent compound (90-100% in urine).

[Potential for the use of cards for sampling and transportation of biological material during forensic chemical and toxicological examinations]. / Vozmozhnost' ispol'zovaniya kart dlya zabora i transportirovki biologicheskogo materiala pri sudebno-khimicheskom i khimiko-toksikologicheskom issledovaniyakh.

The objective of the study is to evaluate the potential for the use of cards for sampling and transportation of biological material during forensic chemical and toxicological examinations by the example of a biological sample, urine containing zopiclone. Two methods of sample preparation were compared. The use of cards for the collection and transportation of biological material, such as urine, followed by high-resolution high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) for the identification of zopiclone metabolites was shown to be beneficial in forensic chemical and toxicological examination. The validation evaluation of the proposed sample preparation and identification method met the acceptance criteria.

[Features of obtaining of biological material during emergency incidents with human victims, its referral and forensic chemical examination]. / Osobennosti iz"yatiya, napravleniya i provedeniya sudebno-khimicheskoi ekspertizy biologicheskogo materiala pri chrezvychainykh situatsiyakh s chelovecheskimi zhertvami.

In this article, we consider features of the referral of biological material and assessment of medical and legal chemical researches at emergencies of technogenic character, plane crashes, the fires with the numerous human victims. Practical recommendations on obtaining of biological material for a research on volatile organic compounds, including ethyl alcohol and its metabolites, volatile products of burning, including monoxide of carbon and cyanides are made. Features and the recommended order of conducting judicial and chemical examination at emergencies are designated.

[The establishment and development of the Forensic Biochemical Department in the Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise of the Moscow Health Department]. / Stanovlenie i razvitie sudebno-biokhimicheskogo otdeleniia v Biuro sudebno-meditsinskoi ékspertizy Departamenta zdravookhraneniia Moskvy.

The Forensic Biochemical Department commemorates its 53d anniversary in 2018, the jubilee year for the Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise of the Moscow Health Department. The author describes the history of the establishment and development of forensic biochemistry in this country, its significance for and contribution to the practical work of forensic medical experts.

[Forensic medical peculiarities of mechanical strangulation asphyxia in the hanged subjects aged above 50 years].

This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the morphological manifestations of mechanical strangulation asphyxia in the hanged subjects aged 50 years and the elder ones. In addition, the new diagnostic approaches to the expert confirmation of this condition are proposed.

[Biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication].

Biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication remains a topical problem in forensic medical science and practice. We investigated materials obtained in the course of forensic medical expertise of the cases of fatal opium intoxication. The study revealed significant differences between myoglobin levels in blood, urine, myocardium, and skeletal muscles. The proposed approach to biochemical diagnostics of fatal opium intoxication enhances the accuracy and the level of evidence of expert conclusions.

[On the quality control in forensic biochemical departments].

The main principles of quality control in the laboratory practice of forensic biochemical departments are discussed. Recommendations on international standardization are suggested. Characteristics of the main phases of intralaboratory quality control of investigations and the reagents used in them are described. The necessity of quality control at all stages of forensic-biochemical studies and expertise is emphasized.

[Clinical and anatomical features of the middle ear in the premature infants at different gestational time].

The objective of the present study was to analyse anatomical features of the middle ear in the premature infants of different gestational age. Materials from 100 still-born and live-born babies (200 temporal bones) were available for the investigation. The study has revealed a number of distinctive clinical and morphological peculiarities in the structure of tympanic membranes in both the prematurely born infants depending on the gestational age and in the full-term babies. The fluid from the tympanic cavity was found to contain human beta-chorionic gonadotropin.

[Prospects for using chemiluminescence technique for the solution of certain topical problems of forensic medicine].

Chemiluminescent techniques are employed in forensic medicine for the elucidation of such important problems as prescription of death coming, prescription and life-timeliness of a mechanical injury. Oxidation of free radicals is known to play an important role in pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The present study demonstrates the necessity of investigation of chemiluminescent properties of the blood and tissue homogenates during the postmortem period for differential diagnosis of the causes of sudden death.

[A method for differential diagnosis of death from coronary heart disease and alcoholic cardiomyopathy using diagnostic coefficients].

Differential diagnosis of the factors leading to deaths from cardiovascular diseases remains a mainstream activity in forensic medicine. Biochemical, macro and microscopic studies revealed the most informative and statistically significant diagnostic signs for the detection of these clinical conditions and differential diagnosis of coronary heart disease from alcoholic cardiomyopathy. A set of criteria is proposed for reliable scientifically sound differential diagnosis between the causes of death from these pathologies.

[The importance of biochemical studies for practical forensic-medical expert examination].

Sudden death along with differential diagnosis of deaths from coronary heart disease and alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a challenging problem in practical forensic medicine. Relevant investigations demonstrated the possibility to address it using a battery of biochemical methods, such as measurement of blood glucose level in heart cavities, lactate dehydrogenase activity in myocardium, etc.

[ELISA-based determination of opiates in purulent transformation of cadaveric material].

Abuse of drugs has been a topical issue up to the present-day. Opiates like morphine and heroin are still prevalent. The routine methods of determination of drugs in blood made within the forensic medical expertise are time-consuming and samples must be specially prepared for them. ELISA, when used for the determination of opiates in blood and urine, significantly cuts the test time. According to our research results, the diagnosis of opiates by ELISA is advisable at the preliminary stage of the forensic expertise of cadaver; the method is informative, which is of extra importance in cases of purulent transformation of cadaveric material.