Hyperalgesia in rubber hand paradigm

Dotychczasowe badania wskazują, że iluzja gumowej ręki może wpływać na doświadczenia bólowe. Ich rezultaty nie są jednak konkluzywne w kwestii kierunku wpływu jaki wywiera iluzja. W części badań ma miejsce efekt hiperalgezji, w części odczucia bólowe są obniżane, a w jeszcze innych pozostają bez zmian. Badanie raportowane w niniejszej pracy dotyczy wpływu iluzji gumowej ręki oraz procesu warunkowania oczekiwań osób badanych dotyczących odczuwanego bólu na ocenę intensywności bodźców termicznych. Jego celem było sprawdzenie, czy pod wpływem procesu warunkowania powyższych zmiennych, uda się wywołać u osób badanych efekt hiperalgezji lub wpłynąć na ich oczekiwania względem nadchodzącej siły bodźca. Proces warunkowania, jak również pomiar intensywności bodźców oraz oczekiwania względem nich, zostały przeprowadzone w warunkach iluzji gumowej ręki. Spodziewano się, iż osoby badane będą raportować większą intensywność bodźców bólowych aplikowanych w miejscu warunkowanym oraz że ich oczekiwania dotyczące bólu wywołanego przez bodziec, będą w tym miejscu wyższe w porównaniu do miejsca nie poddanego warunkowaniu. W celu ustalenia, czy iluzja została wywołana posłużono się odpowiednio przygotowanym kwestionariuszem, jak również mierzono dryf proprioceptywny. Uzyskane wyniki nie potwierdziły zakładanych hipotez badawczych. Otrzymane rezultaty tłumaczone są poprzez zjawisko habituacji na ból oraz ograniczenia metodologiczne przeprowadzonego badania.Research to date indicates that the illusion of a rubber hand can affect pain experiences. However, their results are not conclusive with regards to the direction of the influence that illusion has. Some studies suggest occurrence of hyperalgesia, in some the sensations of pain were lowered while in others they remained unchanged. The study reported in this paper concerns the impact of the rubber hand illusion and the process of conditioning the expectations of the participants regarding pain felt on the assessment of the intensity of thermal stimuli. Its purpose was to check whether, under the influence of the conditioning process of the above variables, it would be possible to induce hyperalgesia in the subjects or affect their expectations of the incoming stimulus. The conditioning process, as well as measuring the intensity of the stimuli and expectations towards them, were carried out under the conditions of a rubber hand illusion. It was expected that the subjects would report greater intensity of pain stimuli induced at the conditioned site and that their expectations for pain caused by the stimulus would be higher at this point compared to the non-conditioned site. In order to determine whether the illusion was induced, a properly prepared questionnaire was used, as well as proprioceptive drift was measured. The obtained results did not confirm the assumed research hypotheses. The obtained results are interpreted by the phenomenon of pain habituation and methodological limitations of the conducted study

Artificial intelligence in forensic medicine and related sciences - selected issues

Aim. The aim of the work is to provide an overview of the potential application of artificial intelligence in forensic medicine and related sciences, and to identify concerns related to providing medico-legal opinions and legal liability in cases in which possible harm in terms of diagnosis and/or treatment is likely to occur when using an advanced system of computer-based information processing and analysis. Materials and methods. The material for the study comprised scientific literature related to the issue of artificial intelligence in forensic medicine and related sciences. For this purpose, Google Scholar, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were searched. To identify useful articles, such terms as „artificial intelligence,” „deep learning,” „machine learning,” „forensic medicine,” „legal medicine,” „forensic pathology” and „medicine” were used. In some cases, articles were identified based on the semantic proximity of the introduced terms. Conclusions. Dynamic development of the computing power and the ability of artificial intelligence to analyze vast data volumes made it possible to transfer artificial intelligence methods to forensic medicine and related sciences. Artificial intelligence has numerous applications in forensic medicine and related sciences and can be helpful in thanatology, forensic traumatology, post-mortem identification examinations, as well as post-mortem microscopic and toxicological diagnostics. Analyzing the legal and medico-legal aspects, artificial intelligence in medicine should be treated as an auxiliary tool, whereas the final diagnostic and therapeutic decisions and the extent to which they are implemented should be the responsibility of humans

Experimental and Theoretical Approaches to Describing Interactions in Natural Cell Membranes Occurring as a Result of Fatal Alcohol Poisoning

We propose herein a theoretical model describing the effect of fatal ethanol poisoning on the equilibria between cell membranes and the surrounding ions. Using this model, we determined the parameters characterizing the interaction between the electrolyte solution’s ions and the functional groups on the blood cells’ surface. Via the application of mathematical equations, we calculated the total surface concentrations of the acidic and basic groups, cA and cB, and their association constants with solution ions, KAH and KBOH. Using the determined parameters and mathematical equations’ values, we calculated the theoretical surface charge density values. We verified the proposed model by comparing these values with experimental data, which were selected based on measurements of the electrophoretic mobility of erythrocyte and thrombocyte membranes. Compatibility of the experimental and theoretical surface charge density values was observed in the range of pH 2–8, while deviations were observed at higher pH values

Rare Complications of Fatal Caffeine Intoxication

Many dietary supplements may contain harmful ingredients or compounds. One of them is caffeine, a stimulant that has been utilized globally for centuries, primarily for its ability to improve mental alertness. This report described a case involving a young woman who most likely intentionally took an energy booster containing pure caffeine. Gross and microscopic examination showed extensive necrotic changes with esophageal perforation in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Harmful contents have moved to the posterior mediastinum and the left pleural cavity, causing injuries within them. Postmortem toxicological tests (gas chromatography with the mass detector—GC-MS) have shown the presence of lethal levels of caffeine in the blood (92.0 ug/mL). The remaining toxicological tests were negative

The Activity of N-acetyl-β-hexosaminidase in the Blood, Urine, Cerebrospinal Fluid and Vitreous Humor Died People Due to Alcohol Intoxication

Background: The article aimed to assess the activity of the hexosaminidase (HEX) and its HEX A and HEX B isoenzymes in persons who suddenly died due to ethanol poisoning and explain the cause of their death. Methods: The research involved two groups of the deceased group A—22 people (20 males, 2 females; the average age 46 years) who died due to alcohol intoxication (with the blood alcohol content of 4‰ and above in all biological materials at the time of death—blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and vitreous humor), and group B—30 people (22 males, 8 females; the average age 54 years), who died suddenly due to other reasons than alcohol. Results: The highest activity of the HEX was found in the serum of A and B groups. A significantly lower activity of HEX, HEX A, and HEX B was observed in the urine of group A in comparison to the sober decedents. Conclusion: The lower activity of HEX and its isoenzymes in the dead’s urine due to ethanol poisoning may suggest its usefulness as a potential marker of harmful alcohol drinking. Damage done to the kidneys by ethanol poisoning may be one of the possible mechanisms leading to death. Kidneys may be damaged intravitally via the inflammatory agent. Thus, it is necessary to conduct further research to evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of exoglycosidases while determining the death mechanisms of people who lost their lives due to ethanol poisoning

Do Circulating Redox Biomarkers Have Diagnostic Significance in Alcohol-Intoxicated People?

The toxic properties of ethanol are inextricably linked to oxidative stress. Despite many reports on the effects of alcohol dependence on blood redox homeostasis, there are no data on the oxidative stress profile in alcohol-poisoned cases. There are also no data on the diagnostic usefulness of redox biomarkers determined post-mortem in various biological fluids. This work investigates the utility of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant barrier, redox status, and oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers in different biological fluids (such as blood, urine, vitreous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid) in the post-mortem study of patients with acute alcohol intoxication. The study group included those who died due to acute ethanol intoxication (n = 22). The research showed a significant increase in glutathione peroxidase activity, total antioxidant status, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and tryptophan concentration only in the study group’s urine compared to the control. In other circulating fluids, both antioxidant enzyme activities and glycoxidation product concentrations were not significantly different in individuals who died of alcohol overdose compared with those who died suddenly. We also did not observe a connection between oxidation–reduction balance and the amount of alcohol consumed before death. These unexpected observations may be caused by irreversible post-mortem changes occurring at the cellular level due to autolysis and putrefaction. In summary, the use of circulating body fluids to assess redox homeostasis is limited in the post-mortem analysis. Our results indicate the increased stability of urine collected post mortem compared to other circulating bioliquids. Further studies are needed to assess the intensity of oxidative and carbonyl stress in ethanol-damaged organs and the effects of post-mortem processes on cellular redox balance