Effects of blood loss on organ attenuation on postmortem CT and organ weight at autopsy

Background Cases of external hemorrhage are difficult to recognize on postmortem computed tomography (PMCT). Purpose To investigate the effects of blood loss on CT attenuation of the spleen, liver, kidneys, and lungs on PMCT and to assess the relationship between blood loss and organ weight. Methods A total of 125 cases with blood loss were sex- and age-matched to 125 control cases without blood loss. Individual organ attenuation was measured on transverse CT images. Organ weights of the liver, spleen, kidneys, and lung were extracted from the autopsy protocols. Results Organ weight was significantly lower in cases with blood loss (lung 30%, spleen 28%, kidneys 14%, liver 18%) than in controls. CT attenuation of the lungs was significantly lower (30%) in cases with blood loss than in controls. CT attenuation of the spleen and kidneys did not significantly differ between cases and controls. CT attenuation of the liver was significantly higher (25%) in cases with blood loss than in controls. Conclusion Blood loss decreases organ weight and CT attenuation of the lungs but appears to have no significant effect on CT attenuation of the spleen and kidneys. The increased liver attenuation in cases with blood loss compared to controls was an unexpected finding and remains challenging to explain. One probable interpretation refers to different levels of hepatic glycogen; however, further work is warranted to substantiate this hypothesis.

Zidovudine Induced Pancytopenia: A Case Study

Zidovudine is the oldest anti-retroviral agent that is in clinical use. It’s common adverse effects are headaches (42-62.5%), nausea (46-61%), anorexia (11-20%), vomiting (6-25%), anemia (1.1-29%), granulocytopenia (1.8-37%) and neutropenia (3%). This study is to increase awareness of Zidovudine induced pancytopenia. This is an observational type of case report of a 40 year old man with known complaints of HIV on anti-retroviral therapy since 8 years who came with complaints of easy fatigability since 1 year which was aggravated since 1 week, epigastric discomfort, constipation since 2 weeks, chest pain retrosternal in position which was radiating to both upper limbs, sweating, palpitations, decreased appetite since 1 week and cough with expectoration. He was given tablet ZLN (Zidovudine 300 mg + Lamivudine 150 mg + Nevirapine 200 mg) twice daily regularly for the past 8 years. His last CD4 count was 300 cell/mm3. He had pallor. His laboratory results were: hemoglobin (6.6 g/dL), TLC (2400/μL), platelets (18,000/μL), neutrophil (36%) and MCV (107.4fL). He was diagnosed with pancytopenia (dimorphic anemia + leucopenia + thrombocytopenia) and neuropathic pain. It was confirmed to be Zidovudine induced pancytopenia by objective analysis and Naranjo score suggesting “probable” interpretation. Pancytopenia improved after withholding Zidovudine along with Oxcarbazepine. Suggestion was made to change his anti-retroviral regimen once his counts improve. Tenofovir + Lamivudine (or Emtricitabine) + Efavirenz is the preferred first line combination therapy according to latest WHO guidelines (2013 and 2015). In case Zidovudine is used in first line combination therapy (2009 WHO guidelines), physicians should monitor for its toxicity. A clinical pharmacist can help in such situations by creating awareness among prescribers regarding latest WHO and other recommended guidelines, checking whether the prescriptions follow these guidelines and also by monitoring patients for toxicities. Keywords: Zidovudine, Drug induced pancytopenia, Adverse drug reaction

Iniuria Suffered by a Slave?

<p>The dissonance between the perception of <em>edictum de iniuriis quae servis fiunt</em> on Ulpian’s and Gaius’ part is so significant that it can lead to a conclusion that a deed done to a slave – even if not always, what seems the most probable, certainly in most cases – qualified only as an insult harming the slave’s owner, whereas a would-be <em>actio</em> <em>servi</em> <em>nomine</em> was <em>de facto</em> not in use. As an infringement of a slave could additionally give rise to an owner’s entitlement to plead for damages according to the Aquilian regime, it seems that practical use of the edictal clause with regard to <em>actio</em> <em>servi</em> <em>nomine</em>, even if possible to take place at a certain level of legal development of the delict, was of minor importance. However, recognizing the main role of the edict in providing a modern and flexible basis for bringing praetorial <em>actio</em> <em>iniuriarum</em> <em>suo</em> <em>nomine</em> in a case of <em>iniuria</em> suffered through one’s slave, not limited to decemviral instances of <em>os fractum</em> and <em>membrum ruptum</em>, appears to be the most probable interpretation.</p>

Vignette of Constantinople on the "Tabula Peutingerianana". The Column of Constantine or the Lighthouse

The article contains the analyses of 40 descriptions of the vignette of Constantinople in Tabula Peutingeriana created between the years 1768 and 2018. The number of these descriptions is not at all complete, however, it seems to give quite a representative survey of how has this vignette been interpreted throughout the last 250 years. Among these descriptions, merely five authors (H. Thiersch – 1909; F. Castagnoli – 1960; A. and M. Levi – 1967 and M. Reddé – 1979) believe that one of the elements of that vignette is a lighthouse. The article explains the origin of this erroneous interpretation on the basis of the edition of Tabula Peutingeriana from the year 1753, prepared by F.C. von Scheyb, and repeated by K. Mannert (1824), E. Desjardins (1869–1874) and K. Miller (1888), as well as of the observations in this field made by H. Gross (1913) and W. Kubitschek (1917). What is today regarded as the most probable interpretation of the element of that vignette, referred to as the lighthouse is the thesis that what is referred to here, is the Constantine’s Column, on whose top there is the statue of the founder of the Second Rome. If we assume the second half of the 4th century as the time when Tabula Peutingeriana was created, then the Constantinople vignette would be the oldest graphic presentation of that column. However, the graphics of the vignette is far from the descriptions of Constantine’s column in the Byzantine sources. That might result from a simple mistake made by the later copiers, or it can also be the effect of their conscious modifications of the most important vignettes on the map. For the Constantinople vignette, compared to the vignettes of Rome and Antioch, seems to contain a certain symbolic code, which allows for dating the copy of map stored today in Vienna. It seems that the original map could have been created, as it seems, in the 2nd half of the 4th century, as it is traditionally assumed. Probably it had been graphically retouched quite substantially (at least as far as the vignettes of Rome and Constantinople are concerned, joined in a strict mutual relationship) in the Carolingian period, and, more exactly, in the 1st half of the 9th century, and then, for the second time, the map underwent modifications aimed at updating its contents in the 13th century.

In Vino Veritas? Drunkenness and Deceit in Micah and Isaiah: A Conversation with Richard J. Bautch

When viewed in light of the expression, In Vino Veritas, the notion of drunkenness and deceit in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the prophetic books of Micah and Isaiah, raises certain questions. First, is the phenomenon of In Vino Veritas present in Micah and Isaiah? Second, did Micah and Isaiah have in mind issues of unethical behaviour and social injustice in the allusions to drunkenness and deceit? This article examines the translation of Micah 2:11 to ascertain whether a reading that associates drunkenness and deceit with In Vino Veritas can be considered anachronistic. It also attempts to identify the addressees of Micah 2 in order to locate the text in its historical context. It argues that when read in relation to verses 6-11 and verses 1-5, Micah 2:11 expresses concern about unethical behaviour and social injustice. Unlike in the Micah text however, the probable interpretation of In Vino Veritas in the Old Babylonian sources could apply to Isaiah 28:7 mainly because Isaiah denounced prophets who prophesied under the influence of alcohol.

Verification of Over-Speed and Burst Margin Limits in Aero Engine Disc along with Low Cycle Fatigue Life

Aero engine rotor burst evaluation is one of the most important problems to be taken care off, whenever it comes to designing a turbo machinery disc. The consequences of a failure can be intense, since the disc fragments into multiple pieces and they are hurled away in all the possible direction at high speeds. Due to high thermo-mechanical loading conditions the disc is subjected to varying degrees of temperature from bore to rim. However, the centrifugal force dominates in the disc which ranges from 80%-90% and the rest can be treated as thermal and gas loads. The challenge lies at designing a disc for off-design conditions with their varying loads and duty cycles. In present work evaluation of safety limits and low-cycle fatigue (LCF) life estimation of an aero engine disc through classical methods and blending the terminologies with simulation engineering to arrive at a probable interpretation of number of duty cycles is carried out. The methodology compares the fatigue parameters involved in evaluation of disc life at off-design condition through sensitivity analysis. The design tool closely connects the flight certification FAA and EASA the regulating agencies for safety in air transportation vehicles. The off-design speed regulations through API and MIL handbook for material specification are considered to carry out design of experiments using finite element analysis approach

Characterization ofAIIIBVsuperlattices by means of synchrotron diffraction topography and high-resolution X-ray diffraction

New possibilities are presented for the characterization ofAIIIBVmixed superlattice compounds by the complementary use of synchrotron diffraction topography and rocking curves. In particular, using a synchrotron white beam and the section diffraction pattern of a 5 µm slit taken at a 10 cm film-to-crystal distance, it was possible to reproduce a set of stripes corresponding to interference fringes. These are analogous to the interference maxima revealed in high-resolution rocking curves, but are created by the changes in orientation of the planes inclined to the surface which are induced by unrelaxed strain. The section diffraction topographic method enabled examination of the sample homogeneity along the narrow intersecting beam. This was important in the case of the present sample containing a twin lamella in the InP substrate wafer. Both the section and projection Bragg case topographic methods enabled the crystallographic identification of the twin lamella. Another characteristic feature indicated in the section topography was the bending of the stripes corresponding to the superlattice peaks close to the boundaries of the twin lamella. The most probable interpretation of this phenomenon is an increase in the thickness of the deposited layers close to the lamella, together with possible changes in the chemical composition, leading to a decrease in the mean lattice parameter in the superlattice.

Górnołużyccy villici w pierwszej połowie XIII wieku: włodarze, sołtysi czy wójtowie?

Upper Lusatian villici: stewards, town iudices or territorial advocati? The text deals with the problem of the proper interpretation of the institution of villicus, mentioned in Upper Lusatia in the 1st half of the 13th century. The article discusses all the hitherto attempts to identify the actual nature of the Upper Lusatian villici and proposes some new interpretations. The close relations of those villici with chartered towns (namely: Zgorzelec/Görlitz and Ostritz) and the virtual lack of royal estates around them makes it possible to state that they were not, as most scholars have claimed, royal stewards taking care of estates administered directly by the Bohemian kings (in Upper Lusatia such goods probably barely existed at all). Therefore, the most probable interpretation of the villici seems to be the one presented in 1923 by J. Bauermann, who identifi ed them with the sculteti hereditarii of particular towns.