The usefulness of measuring n-butyric acid concentration as a new indicator of blood decomposition in forensic autopsy

In forensic medicine, although various alcohols have been reported as indicators of decomposition in collected blood, no studies have examined short-chain fatty acids as indicators. In this study, the blood n-butyric acid concentration was quantified, and the association between n-butyric acid and decomposition was investigated to determine whether the detection of n-butyric acid could be a new indicator of decomposition. Among the forensic autopsies performed from 2016 to 2018 in our laboratory, the cases were divided into decomposed (n = 20) and non-decomposed (n = 20) groups based on macroscopic findings. Blood samples collected at the time of autopsy were derivatized with 3-nitrophenylhydrazine hydrochloride after solid-phase extraction. The n-butyric acid concentration was measured using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. In addition, ethanol and n-propanol were measured using a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. There was a significant difference (p < 0.01) in the concentrations of n-butyric acid between the decomposed and non-decomposed groups (0.343 ± 0.259 [0.030–0.973] and 0.003 ± 0.002 [0.001–0.007] mg/mL, respectively). In the decomposed group, n-butyric acid was detected at high concentrations, even in cases where n-propanol was low. These results suggest that n-butyric acid is more likely to be an indicator of blood decomposition than n-propanol.     

A case of sudden cardiac death due to mitochondrial disease

A 25-year-old, emaciated man without medical treatment was found to have died suddenly at home by his mother. At autopsy, there were no injuries to his body, but significant circulatory insufficiency was observed. Electron microscopy revealed abnormal mitochondria in cells of the cardiac conduction system. The conduction system was filled with mitochondrial size abnormalities and mitochondrial cristae abnormalities. No notable abnormal findings were observed in other organs. Genetic examination of the blood revealed the mitochondrial pathogenetic variant m.3243A>G. Epileptic seizures, diabetic ketoacidosis, and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state were unlikely to be the cause of sudden death. The cause of death was diagnosed as arrhythmia possibly induced by the failure of the cardiac conduction system due to mitochondrial disease. This is a rare case of sudden death caused by an accumulation of abnormal mitochondria in the cardiac conduction system.     

A fully automated sex estimation for proximal femur X-ray images through deep learning detection and classification

PurposeTo develop a fully automated deep learning pipeline using digital radiographs to detect the proximal femur region for accurate automated sex estimation.MethodRadiograph predictive features from 2122 Chinese Han clinical pelvic with ages ranging from 18 to 26 years were collected retrospectively to train and test the sex prediction model using deep machine learning’s convolutional neural networks (CNN). Model performance was assessed using a Chinese Han population with 361 samples and a white population with 50 samples. The average accuracy of the sex estimation of the two test datasets was determined.ResultsFor the Chinese Han population test dataset, the sex estimation accuracy was 94.6% (males: 93.9% and females: 94.7%). For the white population samples, the accuracy of sex estimation was 82.9% (males: 80.9% and females: 88.6%). The accuracy of CNN tested in the Chinese population was significantly higher than that tested in the White population (p < 0.001)ConclusionsThe model based on convolutional neural networks has an accuracy similar to that of current state-of-the-art mathematical functions using manually extracted features for the Chinese Han population samples, proving to be a reliable choice for the human sex estimation.     

The effectiveness of specialized nursing interventions for patients with Parkinson disease: A randomized controlled study protocol

Background:The purpose of this experiment is to evaluate the impact of the care of Parkinson disease nurse specialist on improving motor symptoms and life quality for patients with Parkinson disease (PD).Method:This is a randomized controlled research, and it will be conducted from April 2021 to October 2021 at Sichuan Provincial People''s Hospital. The experiment was granted through the Research Ethics Committee of Sichuan Provincial People''s Hospital (004510293). All the patients suffer from PD, age 18 years or older, both female and male, regardless of the duration or severity of this disease are eligible. The exclusion criteria contains: lack sufficient knowledge to complete questionnaires, serious physical comorbidities or refuse to take part in the program. In our experiment, the major result measures are motor symptoms and life quality. For the measurement of life quality, we will utilize Parkinson disease Questionnaire-39, the most extensively utilized the scale of life quality in PD. The evaluation of motor symptoms severity is carried out with the revision of Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale sponsored by Movement Disorder Society.Results:Table 1 indicates clinical outcomes at different time points.Conclusion:The Parkinson''s disease nurse specialist care may promote the life quality in the PD patients.Trial registration number:researchregistry 6284.     

Acquired semi-squamatization during chemotherapy suggests differentiation as a therapeutic strategy for bladder cancer

1. Download : Download high-res image (118KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Photodynamic therapy-a promising treatment of oral mucosal infections

The treatment of oral mucosal infections is increasingly challenging owing to antibiotic resistance. Therefore, alternative antimicrobial strategies are urgently required. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has attracted attention for the treatment of oral mucosal infections because of its ability to effectively inactivate drug-resistant bacteria, completely heal clinical infectious lesions and usually offers only mild adverse reactions. This review briefly summarizes relevant scientific data and published papers and discusses the potential mechanism and application of PDT in the treatment of oral mucosal infections.     

DIEP flap breast reconstruction combined with vascularized lymph node transfer for patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema

IntroductionLymphedema is a condition which heavily impacts patients QoL. For patients who desire autologous breast reconstruction, lymph nodes can be included in the Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery (DIEP) flap combining vascularized lymph node transfer and autologous breast reconstruction.Material and methodsPatients who received autologous breast reconstruction with a DIEP flap in combination with vascularized lymph nodes were included in this study. Volume measurements pre and post-surgery were analyzed and surveys including two versions of the ULL-27 questionnaire to measure QoL before and after surgery were send.ResultsIn total, 45 out of 64 patients returned the questionnaires. The average follow up was 51 months. The total ULL-27 score increased with 12.6 points on average (p = 0.00). The subdomain scores (physical, psychological and social) also significantly increased (p = 0.00). In addition 69% of patients were able to decrease physiotherapy, 63% of patients were able to decrease compression garment usage and the incidence of skin infections decreased in 6 patients out of 7 patients who had recurrent skin infections prior to surgery. The volume difference between the affected and the healthy arm did not significantly change (407 ml–406 ml, p = 0.988).ConclusionsVascularized lymph node transfer in combination with DIEP flap breast reconstruction can cause a significant improvement on lymphedema related QoL, even when a volume difference decrease is absent. It can also decrease compression garment usage and reduce the need for physiotherapy. Future prospective studies should evaluate these findings and identify patients that benefit most from such procedures.     

不同类型抗癫痫药物对开颅手术患者术后早期高氨血症发病率的影响

目的：评价开颅手术患者应用左乙拉西坦、丙戊酸钠和卡马西平等3种不同抗癫痫药（AEDs）诱发高氨血症（AHA）的发生率、发作程度，并分析患者发生AHA的危险因素。方法：纳入2014年4月至2018年9月间在某院神经外科进行开颅手术的108患者，并将其随机分为左乙拉西坦组（n=36）、丙戊酸钠组（n=36）与卡马西平组（n=36）。3组患者术后分别口服左乙拉西坦片、丙戊酸钠片与卡马西平片进行癫痫预防治疗，在术前，手术当天，术后第1，3，7天检测并比较3组患者的血氨浓度、肝功能和凝血指标，评价3组患者术后AHA发生率、血氨浓度、血氨变化趋势及AEDs对患者肝功能和凝血功能的影响。根据术后患者是否发生AHA，将患者分为术后AHA组（n=70）与术后血氨正常组（n=38），比较2组患者的临床特征，评价患者发生AHA的危险因素。结果：左乙拉西坦组、丙戊酸组与卡马西平组分别有24（66.7%）例、29（80.6%）例及17（47.2%）例患者发生AHA，丙戊酸组患者AHA发生率显著高于卡马西平组（χ²=8.669，P=0.003）。丙戊酸钠组患者术后第3天和第7天血氨浓度及术后血氨的平均浓度均显著高于卡马西平组患者（P=0.023，<0.001，0.028）。术后第7天丙戊酸组患者ALT指标显著低于左乙拉西坦组与卡马西平组（均P<0.001）。影响患者术后发生AHA的危险因素包括：较低的年龄（t=2.061，P=0.042）与较高的术前血氨浓度（t=7.986，P<0.001）。AHA组患者术后总胆红素（t=3.788，P<0.001）、直接胆红素（t=3.329，P=0.001）和血清白蛋白（t=11.624，P<0.001）较术前显著降低，血浆凝血酶原时间显著延长（t=4.109，P<0.001）。而衡量急性肝炎的指标丙氨酸转氨酶没有显著变化（t=0.956，P=0.341）。结论：卡马西平对患者术后血氨浓度影响较小，是开颅手术患者的首选AEDs药物，而丙戊酸钠更适合肝脏氨基转移酶异常的患者。