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Biomedical subjects

A Luna

Publications and source records attributed to A Luna.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Application of automatic image analysis (IBAS system) to age calculation. Efficiency in the analysis of several teeth from a single subject.

In a previous paper (M. López-Nicolás et al., Forensic Sci. Int., 45 (1990) 143-150) we obtained a model of multiple regression to estimate age using computerized image analysis (IBAS) to study teeth. This method should provide more precise measurements of the parameters involved and to test this hypothesis we have carried out a blind study using more than one tooth from the same individual in order to check the diagnostic accuracy of the method. Our results show that individual variability introduced serious errors in tooth age estimation using computerized image analysis. However the study of more than one tooth per individual improves the accuracy of age estimation. Specific cases should therefore be interpreted cautiously, as a degree of variability can be expected using the parameters defined in this method.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Attitudes of medical practitioners towards alcohol and alcohol consumption.

Doctors frequently come into contact with problems arising from alcohol abuse and such direct exposure would be expected to make them highly aware of such circumstances. A total of 224 medical practitioners (173 men and 51 women) were studied. The questionnaire contained 124 items pertaining to socioprofessional and demographic information, opinions and attitudes. In our study 5.91% of those doctors questioned did not consider alcohol a drug. When faced with an alcoholic in the family or in the home, 45.53% said they would seek medical help for the person involved, while 40.17% responded that they would prefer to go to an alcoholics' or ex-alcoholics' association. The number of years in practice was related, together with age, to variables of attitude. Older practitioners with longer practices were less knowledgeable about alcoholism and ascribed less importance to an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1990

Age estimation by IBAS image analysis of teeth.

The study of teeth to estimate age in a cadaver or in remains has become widely accepted in legal medicine, especially since the appearance of Gustafson's work in 1950. However, many studies published since that time have questioned the accuracy of these determinations. Computerized image analysis (IBAS) provides much more precise measurements of the parameters involved in these studies. An IBAS I (Kontron) image analysis system was used to study 19 different morphological parameters in midsagittal sections of a total of 173 upper and lower central incisors from as many live subjects. The data thus obtained provide useful information for determining the subject's age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Attorneys' attitudes towards alcohol and drug use: a prospective study (1983-1988).

Legal professionals come into close contact with problems arising from the consumption of alcoholic beverages and other abused drugs. The present study was designed to analyse the possible changes in attitude towards this situation, and specifically to analyse how social change has affected the legal profession. A group of lawyers practising and residing in Granada, Spain was studied. A questionnaire was used to gather data about habits of alcohol consumption and attitudes toward consumption-related problems. The data was analysed statistically with the BMDP. Cultural factors and age seem to act as moderating influence regarding attitudes toward the consumption of alcohol.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1990

Violence in the family setting. Analysis of mistreatment of minors and women.

We studied the incidence of physical and psychological abuse in the family setting. Our analysis included the incidence of all types of aggression which required medical attention in the city of Murcia (Spain) between February and June 1988. After a detailed study of the type of lesions together with the personal and socio-familial circumstances, the rate of abuse of minors was 25.16/100,000 inhabitants per year.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Biochemical and morphological markers in the post mortem diagnosis of ischemic heart distress.

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effectiveness of different biochemical markers used clinically or proposed for the post mortem diagnosis of myocardial infarction in medico-legal practice. We analyzed seven biochemical parameters (CK, CK-MB, LDH, myoglobin, myosin, cathepsin D and total proteins) in pericardial fluid, vitreous humor and femoral vein serum from 34 cadavers. The results were compared with data from macro- and microscopic studies. Our results suggest that biochemical markers are applicable in cases in which the lack of morphological data makes diagnosis uncertain, and are helpful in ruling out myocardial infarction. The sample material of choice for biochemical tests is the pericardial fluid, and the most informative markers are myoglobin, myosin, CK-MB and cathepsin D.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1989

Study of postmortem blood circulation.

The objective of this work was to study the postmortem redistribution of blood volumes and its influence of the distribution of substances of different molecular weight (194.2 and 150,000 Da). Lipiodol Ultrafluide, Omnitrast, or a radioisotopic mixture of aminohippuric acid and human IgG were injected into the left ventricle of a total of 20 rabbits divided into three groups. Our results demonstrate the importance of related factors, including left ventricular postmortem contraction, the arterial vascular bed, diffusion processes connected to the physicochemical characteristics of the substances, and the anatomical distribution of the vessels. Postmortem diffusion of aminohippuric acid to the urine was observed.

Angiography↗
PubMed1989

Usefulness of different myocardial sampling zones for the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

The diagnosis of myocardial infarction requires the use of a group of tests that are very efficient, quick and inexpensive. Another important consideration is the choice of myocardial sampling zones, especially in cases of differential diagnosis between a cardiac injury secondary to a trauma or violent asphyxia and others, secondary to myocardial infarction. The aim of this work was to choose, through discriminant analysis, the most useful zones of cardiac tissue for the quantification of free fatty acids and free carnitine and for the performance of the K/Na quotient, as biochemical parameters for the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial infarction. According to the discriminant analysis performed, seven zones of cardiac tissue are necessary to achieve a differential diagnosis among "myocardial infarction," "other natural deaths," and "violent deaths" with a 71.9% efficacy. Greater diagnostic efficacy was found (78.1%) for differentiating between "natural deaths" and "violent deaths."

Carnitine↗
PubMed1989

Incised wound margins caused by steel blades. Scanning electron microscopy to determine wound direction.

The aim of this paper has been to check the diagnostic ability of Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) to determine wound direction. We have studied incised wound margins caused by steel blades in human skin samples from cadavers by S.E.M. It was found that a lateral accessory tail existed in 65% of the entrance edges. This finding was recorded in all the cases when wound direction was perpendicular to Lancer's lines of the skin area in which the wound was located. No similar finding in the exit tails was noticed. The depth and length of the wound margins was less accurate an index of the wound direction than a lateral accessory tail. We think that this finding could be useful in determining the entrance margin in incised wounds.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Diagnosis of pregnancy in bloodstains. Study of progesterone and luteinizing hormone levels.

The objective of this work is to establish the diagnostic efficiency of the determination of progesterone and luteinizing hormone in bloodstains on an absorbent surface. In a stain consisting of woman's blood, the establishment of pregnancy or birth may be significant in cases of criminal abortion or infanticide, or to determine the probable date of the events. A total of 61 women between the ages of 16 and 47 years were studied (mean age 29.54 years; S.D. 7.82). Subjects were distributed in three groups: pregnant women, women in labour and non-pregnant women. We found statistically significant differences in progesterone and LH levels between the non-pregnant group and pregnant women in labour in 24 and 48-h bloodstains. We found no statistically significant differences between progesterone and LH levels in pregnant women in 24, 48 and 72-h stains and at 6 and 7 days. We can conclude that progesterone and LH measurements in bloodstains at least 1 week old and probably much older can be very useful in establishing the diagnosis of pregnancy up until and including the time of birth.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Attitudes of medical personnel (doctors and nurses) toward informing the terminal patient.

The right to be informed, an indispensable condition of informed consent for a given therapeutic intervention, results in numerous practical problems in extreme situations. The purpose of this study was to analyze the relevant attitudes of medical practitioners and nursing staff. A total of 108 doctors and 102 nurses ranging in age from 22 to 63 years (mean 29, 67; SD 8, 73) was randomly selected from personnel currently in practice in Murcia (Spain) and asked to respond to a 72 item questionnaire developed by the authors. The results underline the need to approach the doctor-patient relationship from standpoint more closely attuned to the real circumstances of medical practice.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1989

Alcohol and drug use by rapists and their victims.

Rape is the expression of a model of sexual behaviour in which violence, whether physical or mental, reaches its height, and in which alcohol and other psychoactive substances as factors associated with the crime play a large part. The purpose of this study was to use discriminant analysis to establish those variables which would allow us to establish, within the sphere of such crimes, the consumption of alcohol and other substances, either singly or in combination, by the aggressor and/or in combination, by the aggressor and/or the victim. A total of 86 cases of rape heard before the provincial court of Murcia (Spain) between 1980 and 1986 were analyzed. The data was analyzed with the BMDP statistics package. Alcohol consumption by aggressors was significantly associated with evening and night hours and injury to the victim.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Behavior at school and social maladjustment.

School maladjustment is one of the first symptoms to appear in response to alterations in the child's development and maturation. The aim of this paper is to study school maladjustment in minors confined in juvenile court center and its associations with sociofamiliar, psychobiographical, and social maladjustment variables among others, given the fact that school is one of the earliest agents of socialization. The results point to the influence of family conflict on the subject's behavior in association with the anxiety trait and extroversion. We believe that an accurate diagnosis of school maladjustment is essential as it is in this setting where the treatment of social maladjustment can be initiated with a minimum of delay.

Adolescent↗