Fourier transform with matched non-linear frequency modulation in femtosecond laser ranging with imbalanced dispersion.

We propose a new algorithm based on the Fourier transform with matched non-linear frequency modulation for processing femtosecond laser ranging data. The algorithm allows us to compensate for both the influence of the third-order dispersion in the fiber-based dispersive Fourier spectrometer and the influence of imbalanced second- and third-order dispersions in the interferometer. Computer simulations and experimental results show that the proposed algorithm significantly increases the accuracy of measuring the position of an object at larger displacements than the well-established non-linear time stretching.

[Chromatographic analysis of hard tooth tissue to determine the age of personality]. / Khromatograficheskii analiz tverdykh tkanei zuba v tselyakh opredeleniya vozrasta lichnosti.

The biochemical approach for age assessment is most appropriate in forensic medicine, as racemization of aspartic acid in bones and teeth is closely related to human biological age. The aim of the study is to assess the biochemical parameters of aspartic acid in human teeth, which can be implemented into forensic practice in Russia. Samples of dentin in amount of 20, taken from the teeth of subjects aged between 16 and 76, were examined. Chromatographic analysis of the samples was performed on a gas chromatograph using chiral column. Statistical data processing showed that the relative squared peak of D-aspartic acid has a strong correlation with human biological age. Data, obtained from the Russian population study, demonstrate the applicability of chromatography for forensic purposes. It should be noted that the approach to the racemization rate estimation in the hard tooth tissue was performed using standard laboratory equipment, which allows to easily implement this method in forensic medical practice.

[General characteristics of the driver's head injury in road accidents]. / Obshchaya kharakteristika travmy golovy u voditelya pri dorozhno-transportnom proisshestvii.

We studied the characteristics of head injuries in drivers (326 cases). There was no traumatic brain injury (TBI) found in 31.6% of the cases, and no head trauma - in 12.5% of the cases. Trauma of the soft tissues of the head without the formation of TBI was detected in 18.1% of cases, non-lethal TBI - in 19.1%, and fatal TBI - in 59.9% of cases. We characterized the injuries: their types, number and localization. A predominantly left-sided localization of head injuries, as well as anteroposterior damage asymmetry associated with phases of injury was noted. Injuries that form exclusively in the first phase with localization in the anterior parts of the head were found in most of the observations in non-lethal TBI and in cases injury to the soft tissues of the head injury without TBI. In cases of fatal TBI, the formation of injuries in both phases of the car injury was found, while the severity of the injury was mainly due to the impact on the front sections of the head.

[Comparative characteristics of injuries to individual body parts of the driver and passengers inside the passenger compartment of a moving vehicle in a traffic accident]. / Sravnitel'naia kharakteristika povrezhdenii otdel'nykh chastei tela u voditelia i passazhirov vnutri salona dvizhushchegosia avtomobilia pri dorozhno-transportnom proisshestvii.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the general nature of injuries sustained in a moving passenger car during an accident. The study investigated the nature of injuries in drivers (99 cases) and passengers in the front seat (64), rear right seat (15), rear middle seat (29) and rear left seat (22) who died in an accident due to frontal collision with an obstacle. The general characteristics of the resulting damage were determined with regard to their type, quantity and localization. Drivers were found to have predominantly left-sided injuries to the head and chest, as well as right-sided abdominal and pelvic injuries, frequent neck injuries, smaller limb and permanent foot injuries. The injuries sustained by front seat passengers were characterized mainly by right-sided localization of head and neck injuries, maximum left-sided injury of the upper and lower limbs, and an absence of injuries to the feet. Passengers in the rear right seat were predominantly characterized by right-sided localization of injuries to the head, chest, stomach, pelvis and limbs, an absence of injuries to the feet and a relatively high frequency of damage to the internal organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavities. Passengers in the rear middle seat were characterized by uniform distribution of injuries on the left and right sides of the body, a relatively high frequency of injuries to the head, upper limbs, chest, abdomen and pelvis, a relatively low frequency lower limb injuries and an absence of injuries to the feet. Passengers in the left-hand rear seat were characterized by maximum left-sided localization of injuries to the head, chest and left extremities and minimum traumatization of the internal organs of the thoracic and abdominal cavities.

[General characteristics of morphometric and morphoscopic signs of liver rupture with different localizations]. / Obshchaia kharakteristika morfometricheskikh i morfoskopicheskikh priznakov razryvov pecheni razlichnoi lokalizatsii.

The aim of this study was to compare the morphoscopic and morphometric features of local and remote liver ruptures under various external influences. It was found that the local main ruptures were formed in the case of impact trauma more often in the right side of the liver on its diaphragmatic surface, in the anterior third of the organ. They were linear and located in the longitudinal direction. The size of the ruptures increased as the impact force increased. Local additional ruptures were associated with impact and compression trauma and were located only on the diaphragmatic surface of the liver, more often in the right half, in the middle third of the organ. These ruptures were linear, co-directional and small in size under various external influences. Central ruptures were formed by impact and compression trauma, were located more often in the middle third of the right side of the liver and were slit-shaped with a longitudinal direction. The size of central ruptures was associated with falls on the stomach and compression trauma. Peripheral ruptures were formed in the case of impact and compression trauma, were located more often in the right half of the liver on its diaphragmatic surface, mainly in the middle third of the organ and were linear with a slanting direction. The relative constancy of the average sizes of peripheral ruptures was noted. Anti-shock ruptures were observed resulting from shock trauma and were located more often in the right side of the liver, on its visceral surface, in the rear third of the organ. They were linear and curvilinear, and longitudinally and obliquely oriented. Ruptures were relatively constant in size with different types of impact.

[Morphogenesis of central and peripheral liver ruptures in blunt-force trauma]. / Morfogenez tsentral'nykh i perifericheskikh razryvov pecheni pri travme tupymi predmetami.

The purpose of this study was an in depth investigation of the morphogenesis of central and peripheral liver ruptures in blunt trauma and to obtain additional information about their forensic medical significance. It has been established that central and peripheral ruptures are formed by shocks caused by very high forces, as well as by frontal compression of the body as a result of general deformation of the organ and rupture of parenchyma from stretching and tissue shearing. The surface relief of central ruptures was found to be independent of the type of external influence and was determined by the size of the rupture. The peripheral part of such ruptures was characterized by a relatively homogeneous surface topography formed by shear ridges, while the central part was characterized by an inhomogeneous surface topography formed by tensile zones. The surface relief of peripheral ruptures also did not depend on the type of external influence. The surface was relatively homogeneous, with ridges along the edge of the rupture, shear ridges and stretch zones directed deep into the rupture and forming the rupture surface relief in the form of alternating elevations and depressions.

[The characteristic features of vertebral lesions in the victims of a road traffic accident with intrusion into the passenger car compartment]. / Kharakter povrezhdenii pozvonkov u postradavshikh v salone legkovogo avtomobilia pri DTP.

The objective of the present study was to develop the diagnostic criteria for determining the positions of the participants of a road traffic accident inside the passenger car compartment based on the analysis of the characteristic features of vertebral lesions in the victims. The archival documents of forensic medical expertises were used to analyze the specific characteristics of fractured cervical vertebra in the victims of the accident inside the passenger car compartments including the drivers (n=92), the occupants of the forward (n=43) and rear (n=37) seats of the car. Localization and mechanisms behind the formation of vertebral lesions in the cervical part of the spinal column associated with the intra-compartment injury is of primary importance for the diagnostic purposes. The character of an injury to the cervical region gives evidence of the position of the driver and the occupants of the car inside the passenger compartment at the moment of the accident. Injuries to the cervical, thoracic, and/or sacral vertebrae may be indicative of the seat (either driver's, forward or rear) occupied by the victim(s). The fractures of the sacral part of the vertebral column are of negligible value for the differential diagnostics between the positions of the driver and/or other victims because they equally frequently occur in the drivers and occupants of both the forward and rear seats. Nevertheless, the proposed criteria made it possible to construct the mathematical model in the form of the logistic regression equations and to use them for making the probabilistic predictions as regards the positions of the participants of a road traffic accident inside the passenger car compartment based on the selected combination of pathomorphological characteristics in the victims.

[The forensic medical evaluation of the injuries inflicted inside the passenger compartment of a moving car equipped with the modern personal safety systems]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaia otsenka povrezhdenii pri travme v salone dvizhushchegosia legkovogo avtomobilia, oborudovannogo sovremennymi sredstvami individual'noi bezopasnosti.

The objective of the present study was to elucidate the characteristic features of the injuries inflicted to the victims of a road traffic accident inside the passenger compartment of a moving car equipped with the modern personal safety systems. The materials available for the present work included the lesions documented in 210 drivers and 150 occupants of the car passenger compartments. Both comparative, morphometric and statistical methods were used to analyze the data obtained. The morphometric analysis included identification of the form of the injury, such as extravasation, wounds, fractures, and lesions of the internal organs (e.g. hemorrhages, ruptures, etc.), their number and localization. Special attention was given to the specific features of the injuries to the occupants of the cars equipped with the modern personal safety systems. The study has demonstrated that the form, frequency, and localization of the injuries inflicted to the victims of a road traffic accident inside the passenger car compartment (including the drivers and other occupants) can be used for determining the positions of the victims at the moment of the accident.

Thyroid FNA cytology in Asian practice-Active surveillance for indeterminate thyroid nodules reduces overtreatment of thyroid carcinomas.

Although Asian thyroid practices have implemented the American Thyroid Association guidelines, significant deviations in actual risk of malignancy (ROM) have been reported. With review of the literature from Asia, the authors examine the underlining reasons for actual ROMs reported in Asia being so different from western practice based on the author's perspective. Although the most popular diagnostic system for thyroid cytology used in Asian countries is the Bethesda system, the Japan Thyroid Association published clinical guidelines, including a national reporting system for thyroid cytology, to adapt conservative clinical management (active surveillance and strict triage patients for surgery) for low-risk thyroid carcinomas. As less aggressive clinical management is favoured in Asian societies, strict triage of patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules for surgery is usually applied, which ultimately reduces overtreatment of indolent thyroid tumours. As a result, low resection rates and high ROMs for indeterminate nodules were achieved in Asian practices using the same Bethesda system. Recently, borderline thyroid tumours were introduced in the thyroid tumour classification and significant decreases in ROMs have been reported in the indeterminate categories in western practice. However, ROM of indeterminate nodules remained high in Asian practice even after borderline tumours were deemed benign. These results suggested that the diagnostic threshold of papillary thyroid carcinoma-type nuclear features varied among practices (stricter in Asia than in western practice), and diagnostic surgery was not performed for a significant number of indeterminate nodules with benign clinical features in Asian practice, resulting in low rates of borderline tumours in surgically-treated patients.

Prevalence of BRAFV600E mutation in Asian patients with thyroid cancer.

No abstract available.

On the use of an optoacoustic and laser ultrasonic imaging system for assessing peripheral intravenous access.

We describe a universal system for research in combined real-time optoacoustic (OA) and laser-ultrasonic (LU) imaging. The results of its testing on the task of needle insertion into the blood vessel model diagnostics are presented. In OA mode, where laser light is absorbed directly in the sample, the contents of blood vessel model is clearly visible. In LU mode, where the short ultrasonic probe pulse scattered on the sample is detected, the needle is clearly visible. The developed solution combining OA and LU imaging modalities due to the common detection system allowed real-time diagnostics of the position of medical needles (0.63 mm and 0.7 mm in diameter) inside blood vessel models (1.6 mm and 2.4 mm in diameter). Frame rate was 10 Hz. High longitudinal spatial resolution of the system - 0.1 mm - allows distinguishing the two walls of the vessel model and the position of the needle inside.

[Forensic medical characteristic of hepatic rupture in the car driver resulting from the injury inflicted inside the passenger compartment].

The objective of the present work was to study morphological changes in the ruptured liver of the car drivers resulting from the injury inflicted inside the passenger compartment. Special attention was given to the number, localization, and shape of the ruptures as well as their size and direction. It was shown that the majority of the local ruptures were located in the anterior and the adjoining parts of the liver. They were rather deep and long, directed longitudinally, and had a linear, sometimes zig-zag or irregular stellar shape. The local additional ruptures were also found in the frontal part of the liver, they were shorter than and not as deep as the major ones. These oblique ruptures had an ark-like, angular, linear or zig-zag shape. Central ruptures of a slit-like shape were most often located close to the adjacent frontal part of the liver. Shock-proof ruptures were located in the posterior part of the liver. They were long, deep, and directed longitudinally, had either linear or zig-zag shape. The peripheral ruptures were located in the middle and posterior parts of the liver. They were long, rather narrow, and shallow; their distinctive features was the oblique direction, besides a curvilinear or zig-zag shape.

Detection of global hypermethylation in well-differentiated thyroid neoplasms by immunohistochemical (5-methylcytidine) analysis.

PURPOSE: While global hypomethylation of DNA has been found in several malignancies, studies on thyroid tumours have shown controversial results using different techniques. To help resolve this issue, we assessed methylation status using two different techniques in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) and follicular adenomas (FA) and carcinomas (FTC), comparing adjacent non-neoplastic thyroid tissue. METHODS: A series of 15 FA, 18 FTC and 17 PTC were assessed by: (1) measurement of methylation levels of long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1) using a combined bisulfite restriction analysis polymerase chain reaction protocol and (2) immunostaining with an anti-5-methylcytidine antibody that detects methylated DNA regardless of the DNA sequence. Immunostaining was scored by image analysis. RESULTS: Methylation levels of LINE-1 in FA, FTC and PTC were not significantly different from adjacent normal tissue. There was no significant difference in methylation levels of LINE-1 between FA, FTC and PTC (p = 0.44). By immunohistochemical staining for methylation, the 5-methylcytidine score was significantly higher in tumours than in normal tissue counterparts, for FA (p < 0.001), FTC (p = 0.04) and PTC (p = 0.02). PTC showed the highest 5-methylcytidine expression amongst all tumours which was significantly different from FTC (p = 0.015), but not FA (p = 0.09). There was no correlation in methylation level between LINE-1 and 5-methylcytidine scores for each group and overall. CONCLUSIONS: Well-differentiated thyroid neoplasms (FA, FTC and PTC) were not found by two independent methods to undergo global hypomethylation as part of an oncogenic sequence from normal tissue to carcinoma. Instead, hypermethylation was detected in all types of tumours, implying that this epigenetic event may contribute to oncogenic development of thyroid neoplasms (both benign and malignant).

[Modern aspects of forensic medical diagnostics of the craniocerebral injury].

The authors report the results of the investigations of craniocerebral injuries (CCI) including crystallographic studies of brain liquor obtained after the injury and non-traumatic pathological processes. The additional forensic medical criteria for the severity of craniocerebral injuries have been developed and the objective signs of CCI determined to be used for diagnostic purposes in the cases with concomitant diseases and also in the subjects of advanced and declining age. The diagnostic methods for the elucidation of the nature of chronic subdural hematomas and the estimation of the time of their formation have been improved.

[Monitoring of analgesia and amnesia during the general anesthesia in surgeries made on the lungs]. / Monitoring urovnia anal'gezii i amnezii pri anestezioligicheskom obespechenii operatsii na legkikh.

Somatosensorially evoked and auditorially evoked potentials (SSEP and AEP) were evaluated in 75 patients in different stages of general anesthesia during surgical procedures made on the lungs. N19-P23 latent increases of SSEP denoted an adequate level of analgesia. The AEP evaluation is recommended for monitoring the amnesia status during general anesthesia. N1 depression, long-latent N2 and P300 as well as disappearance of AEP and intracerebral asymmetry inversion with predominance of the bioelectric activity in the right cerebral hemisphere are regarded as objective signs of amnesia induction.

[Neuromediatorial mechanisms of analgesia during general anesthesia]. / Neiromediatornye mekhanizmy razvitiia anal'gezii pri obshchei anestezii.

Neuromediatorial analysis with an evaluation of the EEG total bioelectric activity of the cortical and subcortical brain structures was performed in rabbits at general anesthesia variants. Naloxone, mu-opioid antagonist, johimbine, alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, metisergide, serotoninergic blocker were made use of. The leading role of adrenergic, a less important one of serotoninergic and a minimal one of opioid mechanisms are under discussion within the analgesia status during somatosensory nociception. The adrenergic mechanism is considered to be more important in the development of analgetic effects during visceral nociception versus the opioid or serotoninergic ones.

Recently reported sightings of ball lightning: observations collected by correspondence and Russian and Ukrainian sightings.

The observations in the first section of this paper were sent to John Abrahamson in response to the publication of a recent paper on ball lightning, with the correspondents either reading the original paper, or reports of it in popular science articles. A selection of the cases has been made, including those which showed interesting detail possibly useful in debating ball lightning mechanisms. Any inserted text within parenthesis is the observer's response to follow-up queries from J.A. The age of the observer (where noted) is that at the time of the observation. Three observations (1 q-s) did not show motion independent of their surroundings, but have been included because of their other similarities to ball lightning. It is interesting to note the high proportion (greater than 0.5) of scientifically or technically trained observers in this collection. The data presented in the second section of this paper come from both letters and interviews. Our interview questionnaire consisted of 46 questions and was mostly carried out in quiet conditions. Observations in 2 a, e, h, l, m, q-t were corrected during several (two or three) interviews. Heading each observation case we note the most unusual property of the object. Ball lightning appears in Russia and the Ukraine usually in summer (June-August), and more rarely in spring (March-May), or autumn (September-November). It appears usually during the daytime, 13:00-17:00 h, when most summer thunderstorms take place. Observers in their descriptions usually use the term "morning" to describe the period from 06:00 to 11:00 h, "daytime" for 12:00-18:00 h, and "evening" for 19:00-21:00 h. The term "time' means the local time, and sometimes it is difficult to compare it with the local geographic time due to frequent official state summer-winter time changes. The decree time in Russia can in general differ from the geographic time by 1-2 h.