Ruthenium under ultrafast laser excitation: Model and dataset for equation of state, conductivity, and electron-ion coupling.

Interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with materials can bring the latter to highly non-equilibrium states, where the electronic temperature strongly differs from the ionic one. The properties of such excited material can be considerably different from those in a hot, but equilibrium state. The reliable modeling of laser-irradiated target requires careful analysis of its properties in both regimes. This paper reports a procedure which provides the equations of state of ruthenium using density functional theory calculations. The obtained data are fitted with analytical functions. The constructed equations of state are applicable in the one- and two-temperature regimes and in a wide range of densities, temperatures and pressures. The electron thermal conductivity and electron-phonon coupling factor are also calculated. The obtained analytical expressions can be used in two-temperature hydrodynamics modeling of Ru targets pumped by ultrashort laser pulses. The data is related to the research article "Similarity in ruthenium damage induced by photons with different energies: From visible light to hard X-rays" [1].

[Increase of X-ray radiotherapy antineoplastic efficacy by use of a gadolinium containing pharmaceutical].

The influence of the gadolinium-containing drug Dipentast (0.5 M water solution of sodium gadopentetate) on the antineoplastic efficacy of X-ray radiotherapy has been studied. Dipentast possesses neither intrinsic antitumor effect, nor tumor-seeking capability. Mice C57Bl/6 with transplanted adenocarcinoma Ca755 were used in the study. The mice were irradiated with an X-ray machine with an anode voltage of 200 kV. The absorbed dose in the tumor after irradiation was 10 Gy for both experimental and control groups. The mice in the experimental group were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of 0.3 ml of Dipentast. The observation of the tumour growth rate has shown that intraperitoneal administration of Dipentast prior to X-ray irradiation results in a significant tumour growth delay (12 ± 1 days for the experimental group versus 2 ± 1 in the control group), increasing the median life span from 36 ± 1 days in the control group to 43 ± 1 days in the experimental group, and leads to complete disappearance of the tumour in 25 ± 1% of the animals in the experimental group, while in the control group, no tumour regression was observed.

[Anaphylactic shock following administration of lidocaine after negative skin test].

A rare case of sudden fatal anaphylactic shock is described in a 50 year-old woman after secondary lidocaine blockade to relieve lumbar pain (the first blockade was performed 4 days before by the same physician after the negative skin test). The patient had the history of multiple allergic reactions to drugs, pollen, home dust, and citrus fruits (repeated Quincke's oedema). In the preceding period, lidocaine was several time administered without side effects during out-patient visits to a surgeon and dentist. The signs of anaphylactic shock appeared within 2 min after injection of 4 ml of 2% lidocaine solution (no other injections were made between the two blockades). Comprehensive emergency measures had no effect. The diagnosis was confirmed at autopsy; microscopic study of soft tissues revealed mast cell degranulation and characteristic changes in internal organs. A literature review of anaphylactic shock symptoms is presented. The fulminant development of this condition after lidocaine administration may be regarded as a fatal coincidence of circumstances that could not be foreseen by the physician. Caution is needed when prescribing medications to polyallergic patients.

[Application of spectral methods for the identification of rubber-sole footwear as a trauma implement].

Kicking to death is estimated to account for nearly 0.5% of all forensic medical autopsies and an appreciable share of murders. Meanwhile, the true number of such cases seems to be much in excess of these statistical data due to the difficulty of ascertaining the nature of injuring tools. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive medico-criminalistic investigation of the traces left by kicking with rubber-sole footwear. It is shown that in certain cases the use of spectral techniques (X-ray fluorescence and emission-spectral analysis) in combination with autopsy data, results of comparative forensic biological studies, and inquest information makes it possible to identify a concrete trauma weapon.

Comparison of BNCT and GdNCT efficacy in treatment of canine cancer.

In this study efficacy of antineoplastic action of gadolinium NCT and boron NCT in cases of canine melanoma and osteosarcoma was compared. Canine spontaneous tumors, such as melanoma and osteosarcoma, have clinical common features with human malignancies, so these tumors in dogs can be considered as clinical model of human melanoma and osteosarcoma. The study has been carried out on 33 dogs with oral cavity melanoma and 9 dogs with osteosarcoma. Dogs with spontaneous melanoma of oral cavity and osteosarcoma of extremities were selected by the results of clinical examination. Irradiation was carried out at the NCT facility of the IRT MEPhI reactor. Neutron irradiation without boron or gadolinium was chosen as a control method to evaluate the efficacy of NCT.

Prompt gamma neutron activation analysis of 10B and Gd in biological samples at the MEPhI reactor.

The purpose of the work was to build a prompt gamma neutron activation analysis (PGNAA) facility at the MEPhI reactor for analyzing the content of various elements for NCT. The facility was implemented on a monochromatic neutron beam. Methods of quantitative (10)B and Gd measurement have been developed for pharmacokinetic studies. The facility is capable of measuring 1 microg of (10)B and 10 microg of Gd in biological samples with an error less than 10%. The detection limit of the facility is 0.3 microg of (10)B and 2 microg of Gd. Neutron flux attenuation within biological tissue samples was estimated and a new system for determining the elemental concentration was suggested.

[Forensic medical assessment of hemorrhages in hyaline cartilages of the larynx]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaia otsenka krovoizliianii v gialinovye khriashchi gortani.

The diagnostic value of hemorrhages to hyaline cartilages of the larynx (CL), which is a sign of a trauma in the neck, were investigated. The application of term "hemorrhage" in respect to foci of reddish (brownish) coloring of the CL tissue was shown to be not always justifiable. Thus, genuine hemorrhages to the CL tissue are not altogether possible in children and teenagers owing to the original avascularity of their hyaline cartilage tissue; as for women, they are possible only in the dorsal CL sections. The reddish coloring results often from the imbibition of the CL tissue by hemoglobin at the places of contact of the cartilage surface with blood. Such false "hemorrhages" can occur not only in trauma but also in nonviolent death and also as artifacts of sectional examinations. It was established experimentally that 10 to 12 minutes are sufficient for postmortal hemorrhage to set on. The differential diagnosis should be made with due respect to the anatomic-and-physiological peculiarities of the dead and by applying the hyaline method.

Calculation of tension exerted on a ligature in incomplete hanging.

The study is devoted to one of the numerous factors (namely, body posture), which determine the strength of the neck compression in hanging. Mathematical modeling method and achievements of biomechanics were used. Human body was supposed to consist of 16 freely joined hard parts. The possibility of ligature tension calculation in any position in incomplete hanging is shown. Weight ranges for hanging of male persons in different body positions are presented: in standing posture the ligature is stretched by more than 65% of the body weight, in kneeling position by 64-74%, in sitting by 17-32%, in recumbent posture by less than 18% of the body weight. The importance of the accurate recording of a corpse posture at the place of accident is emphasized, as well as the necessity of the corpse mass evaluation. Significance of the work for medico-legal practice is illustrated by the study of the neck organocomplex trauma in 108 cases of suicidal hanging. Injuries were revealed stereomicroscopically after the complete preparation of the hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages, preliminary fixed in the formalin solution. Trauma to the neck complex (fractures, infractions, fissures) was found in more than 64% of cases, differences in many of the groups compared are significant, P<0.05. Vulnerability index hyoid bone/thyroid cartilage was 1.75 in complete hanging of the body, 0.88 in standing position, 0.63 in kneeling, 0.33 in sitting, 0.25 in recumbent posture. Results of the study may be used for investigation of dying processes and morphology of hanging.

Pressure on the neck calculated for any point along the ligature.

It had been experimentally shown that disfunction of the airways, major arteries and veins occurs in neck compression due to the violence of different strengths. These differences in the vulnerability of the neck anatomical structures determine the sequence and dynamics of the vital function disorders in strangulation, as well as its morphological features. The purpose of this study was to calculate the value of specific pressure P, which affects the neck along the ligature. Mathematical modeling method was used. Cylinder served the model of the human neck. It was found that P-value is directly proportional to the loop tension and inversely proportional to the radius of the curvature and neck-ligature contact area. Thus, in horizontal neck encirclement the strangulation groove forms a circumference, and P-value is invariable along the loop, as in typical cases of homicidal strangulation. In oblique position of the loop it makes an ellipse with changeable curve curvature, as in most hangings. As the formulas and graphs presented show, the increasing deflection of the loop towards the transverse plane results in increase in P-amplitude, mostly at the expense of its minimal indices (up to hundred per cent) rather than maximal ones (within 20% range). At the same time there are narrow zones along the loop, where the P-value remains almost invariable irrespective of loop deflection degree. The results of the study may be useful for investigation of thanatogenesis and pathomorphology of strangulation, including its experimental modeling.

Knitted fractures of the laryngopharynx framework as a medico-legal matter.

The article presents the analysis of knitted trauma to the hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages, revealed while searching for fresh fractures of the laryngopharynx skeleton for medico-legal purposes. Neck organocomplexes (n = 440) were completely prepared after fixation in formalin. Old injuries were found in 17.3% of cases, and in 3.2% of cases two elements of the complex were formerly broken. More often there was consolidated trauma to the thyroid (11.4% of cases) and cricoid cartilages (7.3%) and, rarely, to the hyoid bone (1.6%) and cervical part of the trachea (0.2%). These injuries occurred twice as often in men (20.3% of cases) than in women (P < 0.01). Substantiated conclusions are: (1) people of working age are most prone to neck trauma; and (2) from the 1960s the percentage of such traumas in the St. Petersburg region has grown due to urbanization. This article presents data on the localization and morphology of the injuries, as well as a review of symptoms and the course of blunt neck trauma. Despite the difficulties associated with the complete regeneration of injured tissues, forensic pathologists can obtain certain information which police officials may be interested in.

[Anomalies of the thyroid cartilage and their forensic medical significance]. / Anomalii shchitovidnogo khriashcha i ikh sudebno-meditsinskoe znachenie.

A total of 433 completely prepared cadaveric neck organ complexes were examined. Four variants of the thyroid cartilage structure were distinguished, with due consideration for the mobility of its attachment to the hyoid bone; three of these variants included abnormal cases. Abnormalities were revealed in 4.8% of cases, and were almost two times more incident in men than in women. The shape of the thyroid-hyoid junction notably influences the vulnerability of the neck structures. Vulnerability of the thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone differed much even among the normal variants. Abnormal or even normal thyroid-hyoid junction can be taken for a fracture by palpation; therefore, thorough complete preparation under laboratory conditions is obligatory.

Injuries to the hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages: effectiveness of different methods of medico-legal investigation.

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of effectiveness of the most widely used methods for medico-legal examination of the hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages, i.e. palpation, radiography and complete preparation. A consecutive study of 137 cases of hanging (including 20 cases of roentgenological analysis) showed that the former two methods can reveal less than 60% of injuries (fractures, infarctions, fissures etc.); at the same time, false diagnostics may occur. These methods can be used only as preliminary, guiding ones, and cannot substitute stereomicroscopic investigation of the skeletized hyoid bone and laryngeal cartilages, which made is possible to find injuries in 76.6% of suicidal hangings.

[The mechanisms of the formation of injuries to the hyoid bone and laryngeal and tracheal cartilages in compression of the neck]. / Mekhanizmy obrazovaniia povrezhdenii pod''iazychnoi kosti, khriashchei gortani i trakhei pri sdavlenii shei.

For the first time the author draws valid conclusions about the mechanisms of formation of an injury to the complex of organs of the neck in strangulation asphyxia. Analysis is based on comprehensive investigation of 137 cases of hanging, 30 cases with strangulation with a loop, and 12 with strangulation by hands. Anatomic and topographic correlations of neck structures, peculiarities of external exposure, localization and type of injuries are considered. New data were obtained, which permit a well-based judgement on the level, direction, and multiplicity (sequence) of exposure of the anterior part of the neck.

[A case of fatal carbon dioxide gas poisoning]. / Sluchai smertel'nogo otravleniia uglekislym gazom.

Presents a rare case with mortal poisoning with carbon dioxide in an industrial setting. A refrigerator worker lost consciousness in a chamber for dry ice and the corpse was removed after 25 min. The author emphasizes the significance of contacts of the expert with legal bodies, administration, and witnesses of the accident.