[The forensic implications of the relationship between the proteolytic enzymes activity and the changes in NADH and FAD fluorescence intensity in skeletal muscle when determining the time of death (experimental study)]. / Sudebno-meditsinskoe znachenie vzaimosvyazi aktivnosti proteoliticheskikh fermentov i dinamiki intensivnosti fluorestsentsii kofermentov NADH i FAD v skeletnoi myshtse pri diagnostike davnosti nastupleniya smerti (eksperimental'noe issledovanie).

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of the relationship between the activity of proteolytic enzymes (cathepsin D and calpains) and the dynamics of the fluorescence intensity of the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the rats' skeletal muscles in relation to the time of death. The proteolytic activity of enzymes in rat skeletal muscle was determined at the postmortem time points corresponding to the most significant changes in the dynamics of coenzymes NADH and FAD fluorescence intensity. The proteolytic enzymes activity was found to be low during the period of increasing intensity of NADH fluorescence observed within 3 hours after death. An increase in the activity of proteolytic enzymes was registered in 4.5 hours after death which corresponds to the initial point of decrease in NADH fluorescence intensity. In 24 hours post-mortem, corresponding to increased FAD fluorescence intensity a significant decrease in the activity of calpains was found. The results of the study suggest that the nature of the postmortem dynamics of the fluorescence intensity of coenzymes is largely due to the peculiarities of intracellular proteolysis. The study results suggest that the pattern of post mortem changes in coenzyme fluorescence intensity is largely attributable to the specifics of intracellular proteolysis. The relationship between coenzyme fluorescence and molecular mechanisms of cell death confirms the viability and feasibility of laser-induced spectroscopy for post-mortem changes assessment when determining the time of death.

[Determination of the fluorescence intensity of coenzymes NADH and FAD in the skeletal muscle of the rat depending on the post-mortem interval]. / Opredelenie intensivnosti fluorestsentsii kofermentov NADN i FAD v skeletnoi myshtse krysy v zavisimosti ot davnosti nastupleniia smerti.

Aim of the study is to identify patterns of variations of the fluorescence intensity of NADH (reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) and FAD (oxidized flavin adenine dinucleotide) in the skeletal muscle depending on the time since death. For the evaluation of fluorescence intensity of the studied coenzymes, laser-induced spectroscopy in situ was used. We revealed the dynamic of the fluorescence intensity of NADH and FAD in the skeletal muscle of a rat at different times during the post-mortem period, and theoretically justified the observed phenomena. The results obtained allow us to consider the studied indicators as a potential criterion for determining the post-mortem interval.

[Obturation, aspiration, and inhalation in case of mechanical asphyxia].

This paper aims at updating terminology employed for the characteristic of selected forms of mechanical asphyxia. The medical terms "obturation", "aspiration", and "inhalation" are not infrequently used by forensic medical experts and pathological anatomists engaged in diagnostics of mechanical asphyxia, elucidation of the mechanism of the accompanying injury and causes underlying its fatal outcome. It is argued that the use of these terms for the purpose is sometimes either unjustified or incorrect or both. To begin with, they have different meanings in different situations. Second, the mechanism of death from mechanical asphyxia is variable and associated with specific morphological features that are directly dependent not only on the route by which a foreign body enters the respiratory tract but also on its size, weight, structure, shape, properties, and aggregated state. Third, it is necessary to differentiate between inhalation of a toxicant in case of poisoning and inhalation of a gaseous substance leading to mechanical asphyxia.

[Morphology of acute lung injuries in mechanic trauma].

The lungs from 60 subjects who had died of polytrauma were studied morphologically. The heads of the corpses were not injuried. The aim of the study was investigation of characteristics and time of development of structural changes associated with lung injury. Early structural changes in trauma were disorders of circulation including microcirculation, acute emphysema, distelectases and atelectases, injury of bronchial and bronchiolar mucosa. Pulmonary edema and systemic inflammatory reaction emerge in the first hours after trauma.

[Dynamic morphological changes observed in the respiratory system immediately after craniocerebral trauma].

Microscope and morphometry examinations of specific structural changes observed in the respiratory system in death immediately after severe craniocerebral trauma denoted profound lesions with a certain sequence of progression. The extent of histomorphological changes in the lungs is shown to be influenced by a life span of victims after inflicted trauma, i.e. by the prescription of trauma.

[The relationship of injuries of the skin of the head to its morphometric characteristics and to the weapon of the trauma]. / O zavisimosti povrezhdenii kozhnykh pokrovov golovy ot ee morfometricheskikh osobennostei i orudiia travmy.

Fifty-six experiments with biomannequins revealed that the severity of injuries to soft tissues of the head inflicted with blunt hard instruments with three-surfaced and spherical active surfaces depended on the scope of injury to the skull, size of the part of the instrument coming in contact with the skull, curvature of the bones, and thickness of soft tissues in the injured area of the head. Comparative study of the effects of different factors on the scope of injury to skin integument of the head demonstrated the significance of each of them with different instruments of injury.

[Role of the structural changes of lungs in thanatogenesis of cranio-cerebral complicated trauma]. / Rol' strukturnykh izmenenii legkikh v tanatogeneze pri cherepno-mozgovoi i sochetannoi travme.

The lungs of 27 persons, who died of severe craniocerebral and combined trauma, were histologically examined. A deformation of the bronchi is registered in 15-60 min after craniocerebral trauma; desquamated epithelium and mucinous contents are found in their lumens. Erythrocytes and macrophages are detected in the alveolar lumens. The capillary alveolar septums are full-blooded; the alveolar septums are edematous with signs of hemorrhages and clusters of lymphoid cells. The venules are enlarged and full-blooded. Regions of the emphysema alternate with dystelectases and atelectases. The interstitial edema set on and the alveolar edema aggravates in 2-8 hours after trauma. There is an aggregation of erythrocytes. The leukocytic infiltration worsens. Hyaline membranes take shape. Similar changes are observed in the lungs in case of combined trauma; at the same time, the morphological changes are faster in the latter trauma variation. The detected structural impairments are typical of an acute pulmonary lesion and are crucial in thanatogenesis in craniocerebral and combined trauma.

[Characteristics of blood circulation in the lungs during the early period after blunt multiple trauma]. / Osobennosti gemotsirkuliatsii v legkikh v rannem periode tupoi sochetannoi travmy.

The microscopic and histostereometric examinations of specific features of blood circulation in the lungs (in lethal cases) performed during the early period after combined trauma showed pronounced disturbances of blood circulation in body organs which had a certain sequence in the development of vascular reactions and vascular temporal dynamics. The influence of a preceding alcoholic intoxication and intensive hemorrhage on the circulatory dynamics was demonstrated.

[Early morphological changes of the respiratory system after blunt multiple trauma]. / Morfologicheskie izmeneniia dykhatel'noi sistemy v rannem periode tupoi sochetannoi travmy.

Pronounced changes with a specific development sequence were detected on the basis of microscopy and morphometry examinations of peculiarities of structural changes in the respiratory system in death soon after mechanical trauma concomitant with head injuries. It was demonstrated the way the severity of histomorphologic changes occurring in the lungs influence the survival time of victims after trauma (time prescription).