[Forensic characteristic of drowning cases in the Russian Federation for the period from 2013 to 2022]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaya kharakteristika sluchaev utopleniya v Rossiiskoi Federatsii s 2013 po 2022 god.

OBJECTIVE: To study forensic characteristic of drowning mortality cases in the Russian Federation for the period from 2013 to 2022. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Dynamics and territorial specificity of drowning (in absolute values and in terms of 100 thous. population), proportion of histological examinations, cases of ethanol detection in the blood upon the occurrence of death by drowning and the proportion of children under 14 years among deceased from drowning. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The evidence suggests the necessity for intersectoral approaches of preventive measures creation. The results of the study could be used to establish a monitoring system as part of a national water safety strategy.

[Experience of Data Analysis application for proceeding research data in solving the problem of target age group establishment]. / Opyt ispol'zovaniya Data Analysis issledovatel'skikh dannykh pri reshenii zadachi ustanovleniya tselevoi vozrastnoi gruppy.

The article presents the experience of artificial intelligence application in research process. The article contains general information about basic concepts of machine learning (clustering and visualization), as well as considers more detaily an experience of clinical testing. The effectiveness of applying Data Analysis methods and means as one of the research stages is demonstrated on the example of a case on processing medical information using algorithms of machine learning: solving the problem on diagnostic value of the proposed indicator (FTF) for determining target age groups. Implementation of such approach of digital transformation improves the operational effectiveness of researches, as well as quality and availability of final technological products being developed - software for solving expert problems.

[Validation of method for estimation age of majority by the third molar maturity index on the sample of Ufa population]. / Validatsiya metoda opredeleniya vozrasta sovershennoletiya po indeksu zrelosti tret'ego molyara na vyborke naseleniya g. Ufy.

The assessment of majority age is important for determining legal responsibility. The definition of the 3rd molar maturity index (Im3) have proven to be a simple and effective method of majority age establishment, the accuracy of which has been tested in different populations. There is a clear lack of studies in this scientific area in Russia. OBJECTIVE: To test diagnostic accuracy of majority age assessment method by 3rd molar (Cameriere index) in the Ufa sample. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The number of orthopantomograms equal 120 from males and females aged from 14 to 23 years without apparent pathological changes of the pulp of teeth 38 and 48 was examined. The measures were conducted using the standard R. Cameriere method. The method of logistic regression, determination of predictive values of sensitivity and specificity were used. RESULTS: The Im3 cut-off point, that was equal 0.08, had a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 95% in the male sample, accuracy of age group determination was 93%. In the female sample the method sensitivity was 93%, specificity - 97%, accuracy - 97%. CONCLUSION: The study results confirmed the absence of population variability of the Cameriere index value, that makes it possible to use the majority age determination method by 3rd molar for practical application in the examination of a living person at the territory of the Russian Federation.

[Forensic age diagnosis by assessment of sternum ossification processes]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaya diagnostika vozrasta posredstvom otsenki protsessov ossifikatsii grudiny.

OBJECTIVE: To study the sternum ossification processes that take place over time as well as the possibilities of sternum X-rays application to evaluate the age on the modern Russian population in forensic terms. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sternum X-rays with fragments of ribs' chondral parts were obtained from 369 male and female corpses aged 12-96 years without pathological and traumatic changes. The X-rays were done in frontal projection. The set of examined parameters included: complete and partial synostosis of manubrium and body, induration along the synostosis (or on the articulated edges of manubrium and body), complete and partial synostosis of body segments, traces of body segments union, complete and partial synostosis of body and xiphoid process, induration along the synostosis (or on the articulated edges of manubrium and body), form of costal notches, induration of articular edges of body, presence of calcification foci in sternal edge of II-VII ribs' cartilages, depth of sternum notches, overgrowths on articular edges of body, presence of union between body's costal notches and calcification centers of ribs' cartilages. Mean values, standard deviation and correlation coefficient were determined. RESULTS: The maximal correlation with age was found in such parameters such: overgrowths on articular edges of body (r=0.6), presence of calcification foci in sternal edge of II-VII ribs (r=0.6), induration of body's articular edges (r=0.5), presence of union between costal notches and calcification centers of ribs cartilages (r=0.5), synostosis of body and xiphoid process (r=0.4). CONCLUSION: A subsequent construction of linear model for age diagnosis has its details when comparing the predicted age with the real.

[Forensic toxicological characteristics of modern occupational injuries]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaya toksikologicheskaya kharakteristika sovremennogo proizvodstvennogo travmatizma.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the contribution of alcohol and drug intoxication to fatal occupational injuries and sudden death at the workplace in Moscow. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A number of death cases of various organizations' employees equal 357 in Moscow in 2023 were investigated. The mean age of the deceased was 48.29±13.9 years, 92.4% of them were men. RESULTS: Ethanol in blood has been determined in 15% of the deceased. Narcotic drugs and psychotropic medications have been found in 6.7% of cases. Signs of chronic intoxication have been established in 16.5% of the deceased. Chronic intoxication accompanied or aggravated the course of 70% of cardiomyopathies. The proportion of deceased in an accident at an industry or construction site equal 23.9%, as well as 1/2 of the deceased in an accident on the street and in a residential building were impaired by alcohol. CONCLUSION: The study of the contribution of alcohol and drug consumption to occupational mortality will allow to plan measures for reducing the mortality of working-age population.

[Morphology of sternum for formation of the biological profile of unidentified individual]. / Morfologiya grudiny dlya formirovaniya biologicheskogo profilya neopoznannogo individa.

Identification of a person by general group characteristics does not lose its relevance over a long period. An analysis of publications (2000-2023) devoted to the possibilities of using the sternum to determine gender and age showed a fairly large amount of work on this topic, with very promising results. The trend in the development of this area is the use of modern methods of medical imaging. This becomes the starting point for conducting such studies on the territory of the Russian Federation and developing a methodology that includes the Russian population, taking into account their population characteristics.

[Mechanical asphyxia in the structure of violent death in the Russian Federation from 2013 to 2022 years]. / Mekhanicheskaya asfiksiya v strukture nasil'stvennoi smerti v Rossiiskoi Federatsii s 2013 po 2022 g.

The objective of the study is to examine the death incidence from mechanical asphyxia in the Russian Federation in the period from 2013 to 2022 yr., to determine the dynamics of changes in indicators of its main types and to reveal territorial specificity. The results obtained with the use of medical statistics methods can be applied to implement measures for health protection, prevent risk factors of fatal outcome among population, to improve the training of forensic medical experts.

[Review of age assessment methods of children and adolescents by teeth X-rays]. / Obzor metodov otsenki vozrasta detei i podrostkov po rentgenogrammam zubov.

Interest in the topic of age assessment for forensic medical identification of personality has not decreased for over the past decade. Establishing an exact age have a critical importance for law enforcement authorities, for example in case of wrongdoing by illegal migrants without identity documents. The search and systemic analysis of published researches devoted to age assessment by dental status in children and adolescents with subsequent updating of the directions of development in this scientific subject theme and the possibility of their realization in practice in the Russian Federation were carried out in order to have an objective concept of used methods of dental status assessment in the world practice.

[Investigation of regularities of scientific and practical development of forensic medical personality identification using elements of scientometric analysis]. / Issledovanie zakonomernostei nauchno-prakticheskogo razvitiya sudebno-meditsinskoi identifikatsii lichnosti s ispol'zovaniem elementov naukometricheskogo analiza.

The article presents the results of scientometric analysis of theses, defended in the period from 1800 to 2020 yrs. on the «Forensic medicine¼ specialty, which are devoted to personality identification. Based on the analysis of defended theses for a significant period of time, a change of scientific directions was established and their dynamics, main tendencies and prospects were revealed. This allowed to determine the potential vector of research development on the forensic medical identification of personality. The conducted research can be used as a scientific and theoretical basis for predicting the relevance of future scientific investigations.

[Forensic medical examination of the age of living persons in Russia: problematic aspects and solutions]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaya ekspertiza po ustanovleniyu vozrasta zhivykh lits v Rossii: problemnye aspekty i puti resheniya.

The article presents the results of the study of quantitative indicators and analytical compilation of forensic medical expert practice data in terms of the age of living persons in Russia examination as a whole and in individual federal districts and subjects of Russia in the period from 2003 to 2021. It has been established that against the background of the rather low number of expert examinations, performed to determine the living persons age, there has been an increase in this indicator since 2018, mainly due to the Central Federal District. Regional differences in the studied indicators were identified. A systematic survey study of literature (electronic search of publications in PubMed, Science Direct Scopus and eLIBRARY databases) was conducted on the issue of forensic medical assessment of living persons' age, including the methodical support of this examination type, to form an idea of existing scientific clusters. Search modes allowed to form an array of 184 publications indexed in the database Scopus, PubMed, and 8 publications presented in Russian Science Citation Index. The study results were used as a predictor of the efficacy of the package of measures to modernize this type of expert study. The proposed set of measures to improve the scientific and methodical support of forensic medical examination for age establishment will optimize practical activities and increase the evidential efficacy of expert opinions.

[Research and development of Sechenov University forensic medicine department within the program «Priority-2030¼ implementation]. / Nauchno-issledovatel'skaya rabota kafedry sudebnoi meditsiny Sechenovskogo Universiteta v ramkakh realizatsii programmy «Prioritet-2030¼.

A comprehensive analysis of research and development results of Sechenov University forensic medicine department for the last 5 years (from 2018 to 2022) was performed. The thematic structure and citation indices of scientific publications were presented. The most promising directions of the department's research activities were identified.

[Age assessment using CT of knee joint and neural network technologies]. / Otsenka vozrasta s ispol'zovaniem KT kolennogo sustava i neirosetevykh tekhnologii.

Age assessment of living persons plays an important role in clinical and sports medicine, as well as in law practice. Traditional methods have a number of problems: age restrictions, technical difficulties of visualization, low reproducibility and subjectivity of estimation. The proposed approach, which implies the use of multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) and database mining, will eliminate these drawbacks and improve the estimation of age. The aim of the study was to investigate the use of deep learning algorithms to classify the age groups (with a threshold level of 18 years) for CT images of knee joint. The study included 455 MSCT images of the knee joint of male and female subjects aged from 13 to 24. The method included score assessment of the distal femur's epiphyseal synostosis stages, tibia and fibula proximal epiphyses and a preliminary statistical analysis of correlations between age and stages of synostosis. The challenge of binary classification of target age groups with the use of convolutional neural networks was implemented at the second phase of the trial. Various architectures of convolutional neural networks and their ensembles were tested. The result of the study showed that the total score of epiphyseal synostosis has the highest correlation with the age (r=0.88). The proposed method of chronological age assessment on the basis of the knee area CT images research using deep learning algorithms demonstrated a good result. The classification accuracy (threshold level of 18 years) was 0.86.

[Forensic medical diagnostics of age by the Cameriere method]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaya diagnostika vozrasta po metodu Cameriere.

THE AIM OF THE STUDY: Was to conduct the comparative analysis of the age groups' separation accuracy (<18 years old; ≥18 years old) by orthopantomogram depending on the examination's side in Russian population sample. The number of orthopantomograms equal 600 (190 of male and 410 of female) aged from 14 to 23 were investigated. Index value of third molar (Im3) was calculated by the R. Cameriere method, in female and male, on the right and left sides. Index of third molar on the right and left sides shows a high correlation. In the male sample the result specificity was 0.97 on the left and 1.0 on the right, the sensitivity was 0.96 on the left and 0.94 on the right. In the female sample the values were as follows: the specificity was 0.96 on the left and 0.98 on the right, the sensitivity was 0.92 on the left and 0.94 on the right. The results showed the possibility of Im3 (0.08) use to determine the target age group for Russian citizens of both sexes regardless of examination side.

[Age determination by microstructural features of human cricoid cartilage]. / Opredelenie vozrasta po mikrostrukturnym parametram perstnevidnogo khryashcha cheloveka.

THE AIM OF THE STUDY: Was to develop the age determination's technology by the morphometric features of the human cricoid cartilage using a regression analysis method. Cricoid cartilages of 65 variously-aged males were examined. The number of histomorphometric parameters equal 16 for each sample were determined and measured on the histological sections. A descriptive statistical processing of data using the regression analysis method was done, as a result of which the model of age determination was developed. This model has a high predictive accuracy, where the prediction error was less than 5 years in 64.62% of cases. The practical use of this model may be limited by the morphometric parameters' number translating complication to calculate the formula. The developed method can be improved while increasing the sample and conducting further statistical processing, and in the future it can be used in the age determination in forensic medical examination.

[Establishment and initial stage of forensic anthropology's development at Moscow University]. / Stanovlenie i nachal'nyi etap razvitiya sudebno-meditsinskoi antropologii v Moskovskom universitete.

A historical and medical study of preconditions and circumstances of the forensic anthropology establishment is presented. Official demographic statistics and P.A. Minakov's scientific publication on anthropology and forensic medicine were used. The circumstances of forensic anthropology occurrence (a new scientific direction in forensic medicine) were studied. The precondition of its appearance was a strong migration process, with a prevalent concentration of population in large industrial cities. The fact that studied occurrence took place in Moscow can be explained by the high level of development of the anthropological school at Moscow University, and by the fact that one of its leaders, P.A. Minakov, simultaneously headed the university's department of forensic medicine. The idea of anthropology scientific integration into forensic medicine, which was successfully implemented at the Forensic Medicine Department of the Moscow University, belonged to him.

[Histomorphometric characteristics of age-related changes in cricoid cartilage.]

The paper presents the results of a histomorphometric study of age-related changes in hyaline cartilage tissue by the example of studying cricoid cartilage from 88 corpses of males of various ages. A comparative assessment of the parameters between the groups was carried out and the dynamics of age-related changes in the main ones was studied. As a result of the studies, the greatest correlation with age was recorded in the following indicators: length (r=0,88) and width (r=0,89) of the ossification zone, the area of bone (r=0,87), adipose (r=0,77) and reticular tissue (r=0,86), the number of chondroblasts (r=-0,7). It was found that the transformations of cricoid cartilage occurring with age are characterized by a decrease in the area of cartilage tissue, the average number of chondrocytes and chondroblasts also tends to decrease steadily with increasing age. Age-related bone tissue transformations are characterized by an increase in the area of bone tissue and the transformation of the tissue structure itself: the number of bone beams and their dimensional characteristics (length and width) change. The results of the study allow us to evaluate the age dynamics of quantitative markers of involution processes of hyaline cartilage tissue in men by the example of studying cricoid cartilage and supplement the existing ideas about the pathogenesis of age-associated cartilage diseases.

Ear identification: A multi-ethnic study sample.

The external human ear is considered to be highly variable among individuals. Hence, forensic applications could be explored for human identification. This research compares the usefulness of Cameriere's ear identification method, in samples originating from six different countries (Brazil, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa and Turkey) in order to examine possible differences in their accuracy values. A sample of 2,225 photographs of the external human ear (1,134 left and 1,091 right ears) from 1,411 individuals (633 females and 778 males) was collected. The samples included healthy subjects with no systemic disorders and without any craniofacial trauma, maxillofacial abnormalities, auricular anomalies, ear diseases or previous auricular surgery. Cameriere's ear identification method was applied and measurements were performed on the images of each ear, considering four anatomic regions: helix, antihelix, concha, and lobe. The quantified measurement values were converted into a proposed coded number system. A search for identical codes was accomplished to find out the distinctiveness of the morphology of the human ear. The combined codes of left and right ears of each of the 814 subjects were not repeated in this multi-ethnic study sample. Dirichlet's distribution and the inherent study equation showed that the probability of two different individuals having the same code (false-positive identification) was found to be <0.0007. Because of the distinctive metrics of the ratios of external human ears, studies with Cameriere's ear identification method may be valuable for human identification. Studying the differences between the left and right ears of the same individual and across different ethnic groups could contribute to the development of supplementary tools for human identification.

[Statistical analysis of performance indicators of medical forensic departments of the FME bureaux in the Russian Federation]. / Statisticheskii analiz pokazatelei mediko-kriminalisticheskikh podrazdelenii byuro SME v Rossiiskoi Federatsii.

This article presents the results of the study of the quantitative performance indicators of medical forensic departments of state forensic medical expert institutions in Russia as a whole and in individual federal districts from 2009 to 2018. Medical statistics methods were used. We analyzed absolute and intensive indicators, their percentages, and correlation relationships. Trends and patterns were studied to identify causal relationships and assess the effect of various factors. A steady trend of reducing the total number of expert examinations performed in the medical forensic departments was shown. However, their share of the total number of violent death cases is increasing. The labor intensity of medical forensic examinations and the number of examination methods used are increasing. Regional differences in the studied indicators are revealed. The presented metadata can be used to improve the workflow management of forensic medical departments and monitor the effectiveness of improvements. The findings confirm the need to modernize and adapt the regulatory and procedural framework of the expert work.

Age Classification in Forensic Medicine Using Machine Learning Techniques.

The aim of the study was to assess the capabilities of age determination (age group) at death using classification techniques by histomorphometric characteristics of osseous and cartilaginous tissue aging. Materials and Methods: The study material was a database containing the findings of morphometric researches of osseous and cartilaginous tissue histologic specimens from 294 categorized male corpses aged 10-93 years. For data analysis and classification we used modern machine learning methods: k-NN, SVM, logistic regression, CatBoost, SGD, naive Bayes, random forest, nonlinear dimensionality reduction methods (t-SNE and uMAP), and recursive feature elimination for feature selection. Results: The used techniques (algorithms) provided effective representation of a complex data set (76 histomorphometric features), allowing to reveal the cluster structure inside the low dimensional feature space, thus fitting the classifier becomes even more reasonable. During feature selection, we estimated their importance for age group classification and studied the relationship between classification quality and the number of features inside the feature space. Data pre-processing made it possible to get rid of noise and keep most informative features, thereby accelerating a learning process and improving the classification quality. Data projection showed more well-defined cluster structure in the space of selected features. The accuracy of establishing certain groups was equal to 90%. It proves high efficiency of machine learning techniques used for forensic age diagnostics based on histomorphometric findings.

Age-related changes in cationic compositions of human cranial base bone apatite measured by X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) coupled with scanning electron microscope (SEM).

One of the most common scientific methods to study the chemical composition of bone matter is energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). However, interpretation of the data obtained can be quite complicated and require a thorough understanding of bone structure. This is especially important when evaluating subtle changes of chemical composition, including the age-related ones. The aim of current study is to create a method of processing the obtained data that can be utilized in clinical medicine and use it to evaluate the age evolution of bone chemical composition. To achieve this goal, an elemental composition of 62 samples of cadaver compact bone, taken from the skull base (age: Me = 57.5; 21/91(min/max); Q1 = 39.5, Q3 = 73.75), was studied with EDS. We used the original method to estimate the amount of Mg2+ cations. We detected and confirmed an increase of Mg2+ cation formula amount in the bone apatite, which characterizes age-related resorption rate. Analysis of cation estimated ratio in a normative bone hydroxylapatite showed an increase of Mg2+ amount (R = 0.43, p = 0.0005). Also, Ca weight fraction was shown to decrease with age (R = - 0.43, p = 0.0005), which in turn confirmed the age-dependent bone decalcification. In addition, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) were performed. EDS data confirmed the EPMA results (R = 0.76, p = 0.001). In conclusion, the proposed method can be used in forensic medicine and provide additional data to the known trends of decalcification and change of density and crystallinity of mineral bone matter.