The Optimal Combination of Cartilage Source and Apparatus for Long‐Term In Vitro Chondrocyte Viability Analysis

Abstract: Most studies of long‐term chondrocytes survival were for tissue banks. They showed a gradual reduction in the viable chondrocytes percentage as a function of time and ambient temperature, but the samples were harvested under optimal conditions. The aim of our study was to determine the most reliable combination of cartilage source and assay for the in vitro postmortem chondrocyte viability analysis in the conditions that imitate a dead body. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from femoral condyles and talar trochleas of three male donors and stored in the cell culture media at 4 ± 2°C and 23 ± 2°C. The samples were analyzed by a cell viability analyzer and a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) initially 24–36 h after death and then in 4‐week intervals. The results reconfirmed the significant influence of time (p = 0.0002), but not of the temperature (p = 0.237). The largest reproducibility was presented for the knee joint and the CLSM.     

Acronyms of dying versus patient autonomy

In medical practice in Germany and several other countries abbreviated orders linked to end-of-life decisions, such as DNR (do not resuscitate), are increasingly used. In order to investigate their legal status, this article gives an overview of the recently passed German law, which regulates the process of end-of-life decision-making and the use of living wills, giving primacy to patient autonomy. Concerning the risk of misinterpretation of acronyms, the article describes the impacts of such orders on patient autonomy and safety and suggests a clear systematic classification of the different DNR orders in order to investigate their legal status under the German law. Their general binding force is to be acknowledged, depending on its origination and the fulfilment of certain requirements.     

Suicidal single gunshot injury to the head: differences in site of entrance wound and direction of the bullet path between right- and left-handed--an autopsy study

The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the anatomical site of a gunshot entrance wound and the direction of the bullet path between right- and left-handed subjects who committed a suicide by a single gunshot injury to the head. The retrospective autopsy study was performed for a 10-year period, and it included selected cases of single suicidal gunshot head injury, committed by handguns. We considered only contact or near-contact wounds. The sample included 479 deceased, with average age 47.1 ± 19.1 years (range, 12-89 years): 432 males and 47 females, with 317 right-handed, 25 left-handed, and 137 subjects with unknown dominant hand. In our observed sample, most cases involved the right temple as the site of entrance gunshot wound (about 67%), followed by the mouth (16%), forehead (7%), left temple (6%), submental (2%), and parietal region (1%). The left temple, right temple, and forehead were the sites of the gunshot entrance wounds, which were the best predictors of the handedness of the deceased (Spearman ρ = 0.149, P = 0.006). Our study showed that the direction of the bullet intracranial path in cases of suicide was even a more potent predictor of the handedness of the deceased (Spearman ρ = 0.263, P = 0.000; Wald = 149.503, P = 0.000).     

Fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage during sexual anal self-stimulation in a female: a case report

Sudden death after sexual activity is a well-known entity, but it is rare in females. Herein we present a case of fatal, massive subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured berry-shaped aneurysm, during sexual anal self-stimulation. A 39-year-old woman was found dead on a couch, with the wooden handle of a spring twirl whisk inserted inside her anus and rectum as a dildo-like object. External examination was unremarkable with no signs of injuries. Intracranial examination showed a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage, up to 6 mm in thickness, especially around the brainstem and the inferior side of the brain. After removing the blood clots, the saccular aneurysm was found at the site of the bifurcation of the left internal carotid. In this case study, we underline the utility of forensic autopsy, as well as death scene investigation, in reconstructing the mechanism of death, as well as the dynamics of the event.     

The Italo–Yugoslav Conflict over Albania: A View from Belgrade, 1919–1939

After the Great War, Yugoslavia found her most dangerous enemy in Italy, which made every effort to destabilise its Adriatic neighbour—Albania played an important role in this policy. This analysis examines the Yugoslav stance towards aggressive Italian policy, arguing that Belgrade firmly believed it a matter of utmost importance to prevent the Italians from creating a foothold in the Balkans from which they could stir Albanian irredentism in Kosovo and menace Yugoslavia in its strategically sensitive southern regions in conjunction with Bulgaria. To prevent Italian interference, Yugoslavia championed the independence of Albania with its 1913 frontiers from the Paris Peace Conference onwards: it dropped Serbia’s—Yugoslavia’s pre-war predecessor’s—territorial ambitions centred on the town of Shkodra. Yugoslav policy-makers, however, could not maintain the allegiance of Ahmed-bey Zogu, a major Albanian chieftain, who took power in Tirana with Yugoslav support; but he then turned to Rome, which was more capable of and willing to provide financial means for the maintenance of the Albanian administration than Belgrade. There were also a number of officials who favoured a more forward policy that would put northern Albania under Yugoslavia’s control and thus more efficiently keep Italian aggressive designs in check.