Toxicity of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs

Data are reported on toxicity of a majority of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAD), which are the most frequently used in clinical practice and whose chemical structures are different. The action mechanism and side effects of some NSAD, in particular, of diclofenac, ibuprofen and indometacin, are also in the focus of attention.     

Studies of the allelic diversity in micro-satellite locus D16S539, F13B, FESFPS, TH01, and TROX in European population of Russia Ural region using capillary electrophoresis

Allelic frequencies of chromosome micro-satellite locuses D16S539, F13B, FESFPS, TH01 and TPOX were determined, within the case study, in a sampling of Europeoidal individuals residing in Russia's Ural Region. The allelic variants were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis after the enzyme amplification in polymerase chain reaction with fluorescent primers. The genotypic frequencies of the studied locuses were shown not to divert with statistical reliability from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The estimated aggregate discriminative potential for a panel of 5 studied locuses made 0.99995. No nonequilibrium was found by linkage between alleles of all lucuses examined within the present case study or between their alleles and the alleles of previously investigated locuses D7S820 and D13S317. The implemented testing of the population homogeneity of allelic frequencies of investigated locuses for 3 samplings of Europeoids showed a deviation for locus FESFPS versus the Ural and Polish samplings and for locus F13B in the Ural and North America samplings. The distribution of allelic frequencies of other locuses was homogenous in the compared samplings.     

Topical issues of organisation and implementation of forensic medical expertise

The shaped-up experience of management and implementation of expertise as applicable to civil and criminal cases and with respect to the requirements of new legislative acts was analyzed. Issues connected with composing a commission of experts, with the range of competence of forensic medical expert and of clinical practitioner, as well as with the content and form of the expert conclusions are under discussion.     

Medical malpractice: a study of case histories by the Forensic Medicine Section of Bari

The learning objectives of this paper are to study the actual extent of medical malpractice, the medical acts at risk, and their impact on mortality. The number of suits filed against physicians for deaths resulting from alleged malpractice and autopsies ordered by the Judicial Authority in cases of possible therapeutic misadventures are rising. A major factor pushing this trend is public mistrust of healthcare providers and public and facilities. This mistrust is partly fueled by the mass media which, often to gain larger audience shares, sensationalizes single cases of real or alleged iatrogenic injury. Further, the potential for astronomic settlements, either from the single doctor or from the healthcare institution, has increased the number of legal proceedings that start on the basis of mere suspicion. In this context, the autopsy becomes an important instrument for shedding light on the situation, and it must be carried out by highly qualified and experienced professionals capable of ascertaining the cause of death, identifying any possible misconduct, and assessing its consequences. We reviewed the data regarding autopsies performed at the Forensic Medicine Section of the Department of Internal and Public Medicine of the University of Bari over 1991 to 2000. We culled the cases alleged malpractice and, from these, identified those in which the death had truly been caused by medical error. This study also allowed us to understand the incidence of lethal therapeutic misadventures and to identify the medical and surgical branches more frequently involved.     

Genetic diversity in four tribal groups of western India: a survey of polymorphism in 15 STR loci and their application in human identification

Genetic diversity at 15 STR loci: 2 pentanucleotide and 13 tetranucleotide STR loci was determined in four highly endogamous tribal groups, viz. Madia-Gond, Mahadeo-Koli, Katkari and Pawara of western India. The distribution of genotypes at studied 15 loci was found in agreement with expected values according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The combined power of discrimination of 15 loci was calculated as 0.80 while combined power of exclusion was observed as 0.53 among the studied four tribal groups. The study demonstrate very low heterozygosity and low power of exclusion of the loci of Powerplex 16 among the selected groups indicating less informativeness of the studied markers in human identification testing.     

Haplotype diversity in mitochondrial DNA hypervariable regions I and II in three communities of Southern India

The sequence polymorphisms at the mtDNA hypervariable regions I and II (HVR-I and HVR-II) were analyzed in 87 individuals belonging to three religious groups, Hindu, Muslim and Christians of Karnataka (South India). A total of 122 polymorphic sites were observed in the sequenced regions, with HVR-I exhibiting higher variation than HVR-II. The populations exhibited high sequence and nucleotide diversity, alike other studied caste groups of Karnataka.