Suicide rates in the Slovak Republic in 2011-2020.

PURPOSE: Suicide is a serious public health problem leading to premature mortality. The aim of the present study is to describe and analyze the trends of suicide rates in the Slovak Republic in 2011-2020. METHODS: Trends of age-standardized suicide rates were described and incidence rate ratios of suicide were analyzed by negative binomial regression. The age-standardized rates of death by the undetermined intent and its ratio to suicide rate were calculated. RESULTS: The overall suicide rate for the Slovak population was 7.58 per 100,000. Age-standardized suicide rate had a declining trend in the reported period, from 10.24 in 2011 to 6.65 per 100,000 in 2020. The highest suicide rate was in the oldest age groups. The male to female ratio was 6.09. The most common method of suicide in the Slovak population was hanging. The age-standardized rate of deaths by undetermined intent increased from 15.72 in 2011 to 18.46 per 100,000 in 2020. CONCLUSION: We observed the overall declining annual suicide mortality trends in the Slovak Republic in 2011-2020. Further investigation is necessary to understand the exceptionally high undetermined intent mortality.

Human Remains Identification Using Micro-CT, Chemometric and AI Methods in Forensic Experimental Reconstruction of Dental Patterns after Concentrated Sulphuric Acid Significant Impact.

(1) Teeth, in humans, represent the most resilient tissues. However, exposure to concentrated acids might lead to their dissolving, thus making human identification difficult. Teeth often contain dental restorations from materials that are even more resilient to acid impact. This paper aims to introduce a novel method for the 3D reconstruction of dental patterns as a crucial step for the digital identification of dental records. (2) With a combination of modern methods, including micro-computed tomography, cone-beam computer tomography, and attenuated total reflection, in conjunction with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and artificial intelligence convolutional neural network algorithms, this paper presents a method for 3D-dental-pattern reconstruction, and human remains identification. Our research studies the morphology of teeth, bone, and dental materials (amalgam, composite, glass-ionomer cement) under different periods of exposure to 75% sulfuric acid. (3) Our results reveal a significant volume loss in bone, enamel, dentine, as well as glass-ionomer cement. The results also reveal a significant resistance by the composite and amalgam dental materials to the impact of sulfuric acid, thus serving as strong parts in the dental-pattern mosaic. This paper also probably introduces the first successful artificial intelligence application in automated-forensic-CBCT segmentation. (4) Interdisciplinary cooperation, utilizing the mentioned technologies, can solve the problem of human remains identification with a 3D reconstruction of dental patterns and their 2D projections over existing ante-mortem records.

Use of Advanced Artificial Intelligence in Forensic Medicine, Forensic Anthropology and Clinical Anatomy.

Three-dimensional convolutional neural networks (3D CNN) of artificial intelligence (AI) are potent in image processing and recognition using deep learning to perform generative and descriptive tasks. Compared to its predecessor, the advantage of CNN is that it automatically detects the important features without any human supervision. 3D CNN is used to extract features in three dimensions where input is a 3D volume or a sequence of 2D pictures, e.g., slices in a cone-beam computer tomography scan (CBCT). The main aim was to bridge interdisciplinary cooperation between forensic medical experts and deep learning engineers, emphasizing activating clinical forensic experts in the field with possibly basic knowledge of advanced artificial intelligence techniques with interest in its implementation in their efforts to advance forensic research further. This paper introduces a novel workflow of 3D CNN analysis of full-head CBCT scans. Authors explore the current and design customized 3D CNN application methods for particular forensic research in five perspectives: (1) sex determination, (2) biological age estimation, (3) 3D cephalometric landmark annotation, (4) growth vectors prediction, (5) facial soft-tissue estimation from the skull and vice versa. In conclusion, 3D CNN application can be a watershed moment in forensic medicine, leading to unprecedented improvement of forensic analysis workflows based on 3D neural networks.

Suicide rate trends in the Slovak Republic in 1993-2015.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a significant public health issue worldwide, resulting in loss of lives, and burdening societies. AIMS: To describe and analyze the time trends of suicide rates (SRs) in the Slovak Republic in 1993-2015 for targeted suicide prevention strategies. METHODS: Data for this study were obtained from the mortality database of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. Crude and standardized annual SRs were calculated. Trends and relative risks of suicide according to age and sex were analyzed by joinpoint regression and negative binomial regression. RESULTS: In total, there were 14,575 suicides in the Slovak Republic in the period 1993-2015 (85.3% were men). The overall average age-standardized SR for the study period was 11.45 per 100,000 person years. The rate increases with age, the highest is in men aged 75+ (42.74 per 100,000 person years). Risk of suicide is six times higher in men than in women and nine times higher in men than in women in the age group 25-34. The time trend of SRs is stable or decreasing from 1993 to 2007, but increasing after 2007, corresponding with increased unemployment rate in the country. CONCLUSION: The SR in the Slovak Republic is slightly below the average of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. Highest SR is observed in men of working age and in retirement. Society might benefit from a strategy of education for improving the recognition of suicide risks.

The quantified evaluation of the wounding potential of a ricochet projectile of a handgun cartridge calibre 9 mm (type 82) in a ballistic experiment.

UNLABELLED: The question of handgun use in a city or densely populated aglomerations requires a highly practical level of solution to this issue, though with the knowledge of theoretical presumptions of wound ballistics of ricochet projectiles. The application of wound ballistics into the practice of a forensic pathologist, as well as a surgeon or a traumatologist, enables a good understanding of the dynamics of projectile penetration through anatomic structures of the human body. In forensic assessment, gunshot wounds of limbs are relatively frequent cases. By the integration of wound ballistics principles into the research of gunshot wounds, it is also possible to establish, whether the projectile entered into the anatomic structures under direct trajectory steadily or whether through the course of its trajectory, before reaching the human body, it firstly contacted a particular object in the space, i. e. whether the injury could have been caused by a ricochet projectile. In connection with unclear gunshot wounds and their morphological image, it is necessary to consider the possibility of the effects of a ricochet projectile, especially when persons are injured accidentally. The daily practice of the officers of the Police Corps of the Slovak Republic essentially enhances the necessity of being informed about the behaviour of parametrically designated ricochet projectiles in a ballistic experiment with the use of a model of a built-up area in a town, with typical materials and surfaces of objects in between and a model of a human limb part as a potential target of an uncontrolled ricochet projectile. The proposed design of the situation is undoubtedly of an enormous significance, even when forensically evaluating the morphological consequences of ricochet projectiles. By the application of results of such experiments and their final comparison, when different types of projectiles are used, it is also possible to contribute to the experts groundwork in the process of rearmament of the official armed forces. The main aim of our work is to point out the high potential of the wounding effect of ricochet bullets of a particular calibre cartridge with focus on injuries of the femurs of the lower limbs. The carried out ballistic experiment was designed for the needs of the experimental part of a diploma thesis of a student from the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava and his results point out at the possibilities for civilian safety strategies during the intervention of the armed forces as well. KEYWORDS: Terminal ballistics - Ballistic experiment - Ricochet projectile - Gunshot wounds.

Fatal case of Rapunzel syndrome in neglected child.

Rapunzel syndrome is very extreme form of trichobezoar formation where the tail of the trichobezoar extends from the stomach into the small intestine. Death resulting from this condition is rare and is usually associated with gastric or intestinal perforation. We report a fatal case of Rapunzel syndrome in a 3 years and 10 months old girl. Review of the literature indicates that this case involves the youngest child to have died from this syndrome. Furthermore, this case is unique due to the clear association with the parent's neglect with failure to provide the child with adequate health care.