Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte gerichtliche Medizin due to the war ended with volume 39 for the years 1948/1949. Until volume 66/1969, the journal appeared unchanged under the historical title. The 912 publications contained in the 28 volumes of these two decades cover topics from the main fields of forensic medicine, but also from related and unrelated disciplines. The topic-specific analysis of the publications shows a shift of the research focus in the German institutes since the post-war period. This is most evident in the decline in the number of publications from the fields of scientific and technical criminalistics as well as forensic psychiatry and psychology. An opposite trend with a significant increase in scientific papers was observed in alcohology, forensic genetics and traffic medicine. While the evaluated publications on most topics contain new findings that are still valid today, the use of blood group characteristics for forensic purposes came to an end as a result of the introduction of DNA analysis.The interruption of the publication of the  Deutsche Zeitschrift für die gesamte gerichtliche Medizin  was completed on 25 June 1948. With its publication, the almost 100-year-old tradition of this periodical was revived  The new name “Legal Medicine” is intended to provide a uniform name for the discipline and, of course, also for the specialised institutes’ (65/61).The decisive contribution to the Deutsche Zeitschrift was the periodical in which outstanding representatives of the Association and their life’s work were lauded. During the period under review, 23 obituaries of distinguished scholars from Germany and abroad were published, as well as 2 commemorations of milestone birthdays. Of these, the commemorative article by Victor Müller-Heß for his predecessor, ‘Fritz Strassmann, on his one hundredth birthday’ (48/177), deserves special mention. Strassmann had been deprived of all functions at the end of 1935 because of his Jewish descent  (39/378), Hermann Roer introduced this term into the forensic literature and at the same time triggered a controversy about the pathophysiology .The articles on gunshot wounds. A paper on the characteristics of the bullet entrance wound contains a collective case study of proven long-distance shots in which typical radial bursting of the skin was observed, as in a contact shot (61/48). As the mechanism of origin, it is assumed that bone splinters at the bullet entrance site are flung back from the inside to the outside. A case report on a homicide also concerns a bullet entrance wound that appeared to be the result of a contact shot (66/153). However, through numerous test shots, it could be shown that the unusual bullet entrance wound had been caused by a deformed bullet in a ricochet shot. Experimental studies on the effects of handguns have shown that, in addition to the direct impact and centrifugal effect, pressure differences can be demonstrated which have a suction effect in the direction opposite to the movement of the projectile, even when no contact shot is fired (45/414). As a result, tissue particles, debris and foreign bodies are sucked into the bullet track from the area of the exit wound (47/603). To determine the nature and extent of the backspatter of blood and tissue particles onto the shooter’s clothing or body, test shots were fired with a pistol (54/258). From the experiments, evidence as to the direction of the shot could only be derived for contact shots, while the images for near close-range shots were inconsistent. Several publications on gunshot injuries deal with the effects of small calibre weapons and captive bolt guns. In addition, a study was published on the occurrence of signs of close-range shots when using practice ammunition (56/1). As was to be expected in the post-war period, late effects of war injuries were reported in 3 publications. The majority of these are bullet and splinter injuries , while the paper on ‘deaths from air raids’ (42/282) naturally also describes other consequences of violence in addition to such injuries.Only a few publications have appeared on the major issues of investigation in electrical fatalities, the physical laws of electrical energy have to be considered in conjunction with the physiological and pathological-anatomical consequences for the human organism. This complex of problems was comprehensively presented in a critical review under the title ‘The medico-legal diagnosis of electrocution’ (47/29). The most important finding is the electric mark, the detection methods of which have been the subject of 8 publications. In addition to macroscopic examinations and examinations using a magnifier microscope (56/318), analyses with polarized light (57/431) as well as histological and histochemical techniques  were used to reliably identify a pathological skin change as an electric mark. Differences of differential diagnostic significance between electric and thermal marks have been thoroughly investigated by Ekkehardt Böhm in several experimental studies. The criteria are specific morphological characteristics  and additionally metallisations of the skin . As the case report on an electrical injury of the oral cavity (39/349) shows, changes resembling an electric mark also occur on the mucous membranes. The physiologist Hans Schaefer has described in detail the manifold consequences on the internal organs when an electric current flows through a body (47/5). Death from high-voltage current can occur as a result of exposure to technical electricity with corresponding voltage values (56/81) and also from natural causes in the event of a lightning strike .For the assessment of heat manifests itself in typical externally visible changes, but also on the internal organs. In a study on ‘corpses shrunken by heat’ (43/428), experiments have shown that the heat-induced shortening of the tendons and not of the muscles is the decisive factor in the post-mortem shrinkage processes on the corpse. Most of the publications reviewed concern thermally induced changes in the lungs. In animal experiments, serous inflammatory changes of the lung parenchyma and severe signs of decay of the elastic fibres could be observed as vital reactions after hot air inhalation of 600 ºC (45/394). In 3 papers on changes of the lungs after exposure to fire , the question was to what extent fat and soot particles in the lungs are to be regarded as an indicator of vital burning. The ‘brain damage in an acute fire-related death’ and its consequences for the dying process are extensively explained in a paper (41/129).The physical damage caused by cold. It describes experimentally produced pulmonary haemorrhages after local exposure of the open brain of the experimental animals to cold (45/236).Only one paper is available on organ changes due to starvation, the killing of infants by deprivation of food is reported (64/93).In a case report on death by radiation showed a level of strontium 90 in young people that was higher by a factor of about 10 compared with the age groups from 20 to 90 years (49/242). The detected long-lived β-emitter originated from the fallout of atomic bomb experiments, the health risks of which were still largely unexplored at that time, especially with regard to the genesis of malignant diseases. Table In 1958, a series of studies on human bones conducted in Kiel on health damage caused by forensic obstetrics covers the medico-legal problems of pregnancy and birth as well as the physical condition of new-borns. There are 4 papers on the course of pregnancy, one of which concerns the influence of electrical accidents and of lightning strikes on the development of gravidity (56/101). Seven papers deal with the determination of body length and age of human foetuses on the basis of different skeletal parts. With the exception of the first published article (40/567), all publications are by the Hungarian authors István Gyula Fazekas and Ferenc Kósa. In systematic studies, they analysed data from some flat bones (58/127), limb bones (58/142), skull base (60/48), skullcap (60/149), facial bones (61/13) and some small bones (61/29). Seven publications deal with birth trauma and postnatal injuries of new-borns, the main focus of which is the differential diagnosis of infanticide and spontaneous physical damage. Six publications have appeared on questions arising from Sect. 90 of the Code of Criminal Procedure on the opening of the corpse of a new-born child. Practically usable proof of life birth can be found in the umbilical region . The achieved status of the histological lung test around the mid-1950s is presented in a review (45/386), which was preceded by systematic studies on the development of elastic fibres in the human lung (45/381). The authors point out that microscopic examination of the lungs, in particular the morphology of the elastic fibres, can be of decisive importance in determining infanticide. Finally, a study is available on the gas content in the lungs and the gastrointestinal tract of new-borns of different levels of maturity (65/73). Radiological and autopsy examinations showed that as a result of artificial respiration with a mask, considerable amounts of air can enter the lungs, the stomach and also the intestines. There are 12 publications on practices, health hazards and proof of abortion, the majority of which date from the post-war period. In a compilation of cases on filicide by the mother (51/1), homicides of children aged between 6 weeks and 23 months are described.The speciality of medical malpractice (42/349), the medical issues and tasks of the medical expert are primarily explained. Of the individual topics, the 7 publications on the dangers of blood transfusions form the largest group. Of these, 3 papers deal with the classical problem of transfusion incidents due to incompatibility of group characteristics ; another 3 papers address various health problems caused by transfusion , and one case report concerns transfusion syphilis (43/263). Vaccinations leading to death in children are the subject of 2 publications , and 2 papers also deal with fatal complications of tracheotomy . Under the title ‘Mors in tabula’ (42/385), Wilhelm Holczabek described such deaths from the autopsy material of the Vienna Institute in the first post-war years. A case report describes a death due to bilateral pneumothorax during plexus anaesthesia (42/438). The heterogeneous group of cases involving damage caused by toxic substances includes complications following the administration of drugs and contrast media. Except for insulin (44/386), these preparations are no longer in use today.In a review of sudden deaths from an internal cause in adults were due to pathological changes in the cardiovascular system. Of these, 10 articles deal with findings in coronary heart disease, 3 with congenital heart and vascular malformations and 2 with myocarditis as the cause of death. In all deaths in a collective case study, ‘sudden cardiac failure was undoubtedly caused by the changes in the conduction system of the heart’ (63/199). Among the 8 publications on brain diseases are 2 articles on the forensic significance of epilepsy . Four publications report on rather rare diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. From the broad spectrum of other pathologies, the sudden deaths from influenza in the 1950s are worth mentioning . Compared to the adult age, only very few reports on sudden natural deaths of children appeared, with a total of 8 publications. Among these, only the diagnosis of inflammatory changes of the respiratory tract was found several times, namely in 3 cases. In 4 deceased children, various rare diseases were the cause of death. In another article, bacteriological findings were presented (56/167), which may contribute to the clarification of the pathologies in sudden deaths of children.By far the most frequently described diseases and Problems of Forensic Toxicology (56/125), Emil Weinig presented a comprehensive overview in which the situation in the mid-1960s is critically examined. The first part deals with the significance of this special field within forensic medicine; the second part discusses toxicological analysis, taking into account all the proven special methods after sampling, separation, identification and evaluation; the third part addresses in detail the influences of biological and biochemical processes on the interpretation of the measurement results; and the fourth part calls for systematic scientific research in close cooperation between the forensic pathologist and the chemist with expertise in toxicological analysis.Under the title clinical signs of poisoning. In addition to toxicokinetics, the majority of them describe primarily the symptoms of poisoning. The small group of 11 publications on inorganic poisons includes a first report on ‘6 years of experience with detoxified cooking gas’ (58/122). Among the 26 papers on organic poisons, 11 articles are about plant poisons, of which nicotine is the most frequently mentioned. In addition, a study on experimental nicotine intoxication (49/169), 2 compilations of cases from abroad  and a case collection on ‘Three murders with nicotine’ were published (55/40). On poisoning with insecticides such as parathion (E 605®), there was a review ‘on the toxicology of some new pesticides’ (40/335) and 2 animal experimental studies on gastric peristalsis in parathion intoxication .There have been 37 publications on the pathological anatomical findings in tissues and organs is part of the diagnosis of poisoning. In 28 papers, morphological findings in cases of poisoning with agents from different substance groups are presented. Several publications concern carbon monoxide causing changes in the spleen (40/392), the brain , the liver (52/258) and the heart muscle . In acute fatal nicotine poisoning, morphological changes in the kidneys, the brain and the lungs can be found (54/304). The damaging effect of nicotine on the organism is also shown by changes in the blood count (56/62) and the eyeground (61/95). The morphological findings in parathion poisoning were studied in salivary glands (45/510) and in human oocytes (58/248). In cases of poisoning with the death cap , typical histological changes of the liver are seen (50/417), which is a valuable additional finding in diagnosing the phalloidin syndrome.Irrespective of the necessary toxicological and chemical analyses, the determination of toxicological chemical analyses. Accordingly, the 61 publications on poison analysis describe procedures for various substances. From a methodological point of view, there are papers on the ‘Testfleckenmethode’ [test spot method] (41/243), the crystal precipitation method (43/252), the chromometric gas analysis , gas chromatography , thin layer chromatography , spectrophotometry (54/320) and the flame detector (63/154). In terms of the material to be investigated, the techniques for the detection of carbon monoxide dominate with 11 papers. Three articles have been published on the analysis of poisoning with phosphoric acid esters such as parathion . Noteworthy are 2 individual publications from the end of the 1960s on the problem of doping with metamphetamine (64/235) and on the use of the hypnotic drug methyprylon for knockout drops (65/44). Furthermore, it is noticeable that in addition to narcotics analysis , the detection of drugs of different groups of active substances is addressed relatively frequently in 15 publications.The broad spectrum of potentially toxic substances requires a differentiated arsenal of methods for the detection of poisoning by alcohology, a first thematic focus of 49 publications is on alcohol metabolism. In these studies, problems of all phases of the pharmacokinetics of alcohol are examined. Some special circumstances in the absorption phase are pointed out in 3 papers . Regarding distribution, there are studies on the distribution of alcohol in the blood (46/10), on the importance of body water for the distribution in the organism  and on the distribution of alcohol between water and body fat (49/235). Questions of elimination are dealt with in 3 papers, one of which concerns the enzymology of alcohol metabolism (42/555) and the other two the varying values of alcohol breakdown . The factor β60, which is significant for the expert opinion, varies depending on the physical condition of a person. Apart from malnutrition in the post-war period , β60 values deviating from the average are observed after the impact of external force  and depending on the blood alcohol concentration (44/374). The differently influenced metabolic processes inevitably affect the course of the blood alcohol curve, as shown in 6 papers. These include skull injuries (44/610), blood loss (44/615), shifts of blood and body water , ‘accident-related stress effects’ (48/4) and drinking habits (55/265). Among the 4 publications on the toxic effect of methanol is a paper on the metabolic processes involved in the development of poisoning based on pathological anatomical findings.Of the articles on The second thematic focus includes 52 publications on alcohol analysis of blood samples, body fluids and breath. Among them are articles on all routine methods of forensic alcohology. Various modifications have been described for the Widmark method . Several publications are also available on the ADH method . In the period under review, one publication on blood alcohol determination using only the gas chromatograph appeared (62/212). With regard to the sources of error of the individual methods, the analytical results of the Widmark and ADH methods were compared using different sample materials . In another comparative study, gas chromatography was included as a third method (54/150). As with the analytical methods, there have also been systematic studies on the validity of alcohol determination in various blood samples. Experiments with putrid blood have shown that both alcohol loss and new alcohol formation can occur . Studies on blood samples stored for longer periods  and on sera stored for longer periods (52/424) showed a decrease in alcohol content with increasing storage time. Blood alcohol determination on coagulated blood yielded lower alcohol concentrations compared to whole blood and blood serum . For correct determination of the blood alcohol content in the corpse, blood must be taken from a femoral vein because of the post-mortem diffusion of alcohol in the abdominal cavity . A large number of papers deal with the determination of the blood alcohol concentration in the presence of additional exogenous noxious substances, e.g. by inhalation of propellant gas (39/280) or by oral ingestion of camphor (47/289). A larger study led to fundamental findings in the evaluation of alcohol results in the cerebrospinal fluid (48/257). Apart from the fact that alcohol is neither normally detectable in cerebrospinal fluid nor formed post-mortem, the cerebrospinal fluid/blood alcohol concentration is forensically significant for the assessment of the metabolic phase of alcohol. In a report, first practical experiences with the breath alcohol tube Alcotest® are described, which were collected on several hundred test persons (48/417). The test tube provided reliable results when used as a pre-test.identification methods concern forensic osteological findings. Two microscopic comparative anatomical studies are available to distinguish human and animal bones . There are several regions on the human skeleton that allow sex estimation , age estimation  and reconstruction of body height . In a complex investigation to determine the resting time of skeletal remains, a wide range of macro- and micromorphological, chemical and physical methods were used (47/209). Among the other papers are several case reports and some studies on the suitability of various characteristics for the identification of unknown dead bodies, such as the microscopic detection of sex chromatin (46/242) and a photographic method for skull identification (48/247).The majority of publications on Table blood group science in the half century since the discovery of the AB0 groups in 1901. This increase in knowledge is reflected in the publications on test methods, occurrence and distribution as well as inheritance of the erythrocytic systems and factors. Of these, 10 studies deal with the AB0 groups, 8 with the A subgroups, 8 with the Rh system and 5 with the MN system. In the results of an experimental study, it is reported that the antigens A, B and M, N can be reliably detected using the mixed cell agglutination method on bone, muscle and kidney tissue (63/162). As a ‘new agglutinable blood cell trait’, the S trait was added (40/160), which represents an extension of the MN system. The ‘Q-blood factor’ (44/356) is interpreted by the authors as an independent trait, but according to the majority opinion, it is identical with the P-factor . Another paper contains methodological guidance on ‘securing Kell findings’ (19/59), which are rare blood group characteristics.A comprehensive review by Franz Josef Holzer (42/416) shows the rapid progress of serum groups. In the 4 papers on this system, different electrophoretic techniques are described for the depiction of the Hp groups. Three publications each appeared on the immunoglobulin system Gm, a gamma chain marker and on the Gc system, a group-specific component found in the α2-globulin region. Lipoproteins also show a genetically determined polymorphism (60/90), but the Lp system proved to be problematic in practical application.The haptoglobin types used in early forensics belong to the human erythrocytic enzyme groups, 5 relate to the polymorphism of erythrocyte acid phosphatase. The two articles first published on the enzyme system abbreviated acP were by Georg Radam and Hansjürg Strauch (60/39) as well as by Otto Prokop (61/59) from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in East Berlin. The only paper on the genetically controlled isoenzyme patterns of adenylate kinase (63/166) was also published by Radam and Strauch, in which they presented a method for determining AK types that is suitable for forensic purposes.Of the papers on trace analysis, the examination of material with suspected traces of blood still required the hierarchical sequence of steps according to the scheme: attempt to detect blood — determine species specificity — identify group characteristics. The 3 articles on the detection of blood are concerned with the acetone-chlorohaemin reaction (39/495) from the group of crystal reactions and the porphyrin test . Among the publications on the determination of species specificity, descriptions of the precipitation reaction according to Uhlenhuth, whose personal memoirs were published at the beginning of 1949, dominate (39/309). An antiglobulin test (45/527) and a micromethod for the detection of eserine-sensitive esterases (61/137) were developed as alternative techniques for the detection of human blood. Other papers are devoted to special research questions, such as the determination of the age of blood traces (40/478) and the detection of birth blood (45/62). In the publications on the individualisation of blood traces, hereditary characteristics of agglutinable erythrocyte systems as well as serum and enzyme groups are described. The status reached at the end of the period under review is summarised in a critical analysis of blood groups used in trace analysis (66/130). The papers on agglutinable traits show that in addition to the AB0 and MN systems, the factor P (41/451) and the A subgroups (45/355) can also be used in forensic trace investigations. Of the serum groups, the Gm system (53/18) has proved to be particularly suitable for blood trace investigations. Among the erythrocytic enzyme groups, the phosphoglucomutase (PGM) types (66/31) are among the preferred and proven isoenzyme patterns.In sperm traces, in addition to the crystal reactions, which are susceptible to interference, there is the detection of acid phosphatase as an enzymatic laboratory test sample . Another publication (42/605) describes methods for the detection of traces of semen, vaginal secretions and blood of genital origin. The only article found on group traits contains the results of a series of experiments on the typing of the Gma trait in human semen (52/610).For the examination of hair traces often involves the demonstration of external influences on the hair, for example heat (39/1) or cosmetics (40/553). One article has been published on the occurrence of the group substances A, B, 0 and AB in human head hair (42/395). Steffen Berg has critically discussed the range of methods and the interpretation of findings in forensic hair examination in a detailed overview (46/531).The examination of Only a few publications deal with meconium traces (56/57), saliva traces (56/221) and urine traces (58/222).parentage testing comprised the forensic assessment of fertility, but also morphological and functional hereditary traits and, increasingly, genetically determined group characteristics of erythrocytes and blood serum. Among the publications on usable blood group systems, the 16 papers on agglutinable erythrocyte characteristics form the largest group of topics. While mostly individual blood group systems and their evidential value are considered, an article by Paul Speiser illustrates the status around the mid-1950s (45/50). Using the criteria A1, A2, B, 0, A1B, A2B, M–N, S, P, K, Fy, C–c, D-dd, E-e, Lewis and secretor status, a general paternity exclusion probability of 70% was achievable. This value represents a significant achievement, as when A1, A2, B, 0 and M–N were used alone; the general paternity exclusion probability was 30% just a few years earlier. Since the 1960s, the serum groups Gm , Hp (53/186) and Gc (62/261) as well as the acP polymorphism (64/127) have been typed in cases of disputed paternity. The mathematical and statistical problems of parentage testing are the subject of 7 articles. Two of these papers compare the calculated probability based on the blood group characteristics with the genetic expert opinion. While the older publication of 1958 (47/484) holds the view that the Essen-Möller values ‘never permit a valid conclusion in isolation’, the more recent work of 1968 (63/53) argues in favour of ‘the routine application of the Essen-Möller procedure’.In the period under review, ballistics, which, in addition to problems of trace analysis, deal with methods of determining the firing distance by spectrographic analysis (56/39) and by radiographic examination (65/112). The four papers on forensic biology concern the use of luminol in forensic practice  and traces of semen on textiles . The subject of the ‘Signalementslehre’ is the methodology of describing persons, the characteristics of which also include dynamic features such as gait (43/11).In the years since the end of the war, only 11 publications from 3 subfields of scientific-technical criminalistics were found. There are 6 articles on external force. One is about a war injury with subsequent bullet embolism (39/139), and the other is about the burning of a woman’s genitals by her jealous husband (66/13). Causes and consequences of drug addiction are reported in 2 articles where cliradone (43/242) and codeine (47/246) were the abused substances. A collective case study (64/229) contains several cases of self-harm by means of artificially induced subcutaneous skin emphysema of the face, which was intended to simulate trauma or illness.Only a few articles deal with forensic findings on living persons. Two publications describe survived injuries caused by psychopathology in his essay On the change of the concept of psychopathy (51/588). In this context, the multifaceted ‘psychopathology of the arsonist’ is a special case (49/64). Other aetiological factors discussed in several articles with regard to becoming a criminal are delays in psychosexual maturation and psychiatric illnesses. Two papers on the significance of depth psychology and narcoanalysis have been published on the psychology of evidence . The use of psychotropic drugs in criminal proceedings is rejected by both lawyers and psychiatrists as a prohibited interrogation method because of its ‘inadequacy and ethical reprehensibility’.Wilhelm Hallermann considered a fundamental problem of suicidology are concerned with various factors influencing the decision to commit suicide, such as ‘foehn and suicide’ (47/271), ‘alcoholic motivation’ in suicides (55/67) and ‘suicide and pregnancy’ (56/172). The transcript of the ‘tape recording of a suicide’ by inhalation of coal gas after previous ingestion of sleeping pills (58/18) was published by Gerhard Dietz. The compilation of cases ‘Suicidal jumps from the Little Belt Bridge’ (63/223) is another example of the preference for certain building structures to commit suicide.Most of the publications on paraphilias are primarily concerned with incest relevant to criminal law, whereby this delinquency of the post-war period is analysed as a peculiarity of the time . One case report deals with the repeated sexual abuse of ‘1 to 5-month-old infants by a paedophile’ (60/163), who was assessed by an expert as a psychosexually infantile offender. Another crime is described in the report on the rape of a 10-year-old girl by a 15-year-old youth (54/231). In the 2 publications on auto-erotic accidents, similar deaths by electric current during sexual activity are reported.The publications on The present status of blood alcohol research (41/1), Berthold Mueller published a review paper on the problems of alcohol and traffic safety in 1952. In addition, 14 papers deal with individual issues of alcohol-related impaired performance in drivers and pedestrians. Other influences on road safety are described as feeling tired or falling asleep at the wheel , spontaneous (44/594) and drug-induced hypoglycaemia (64/217) and short-acting narcotics (49/187). Another study explains how the ‘change in performance in old age’ (49/100) affects the fitness to drive. According to the results of a Munich study (49/187), sudden cardiac death in connection with road traffic became increasingly important as early as the 1950s. The sequels of road traffic injuries are the subject of 11 publications explaining patterns of injury to the head, neck, chest and legs. Other publications include reviews of the necessary examination findings and investigation results to determine the position of the occupants and in particular the driver in the vehicle at the time of the accident (49/247) and to reconstruct the course of events (63/218).Under the title occupational activities and specifically on occupational diseases of workers in corundum plants (39/577) as well as of miners and other workers exposed to the risk of silicosis .In 3 of the only 5 publications, the focus is on criminal aetiology is represented by 2 publications. One article is entitled The film as a template for capital crimes (48/576), and the other paper analyses the ‘criminogenic significance of loneliness and isolation’ (51/595). The only publication on criminal phenomenology concerns ‘criminality in the brain-injured’ (43/59). Likewise, only one article (53/55) has been published on victimology, with which the authors have made a contribution to the analysis of the victim types of persons who have been killed. The criminological analyses of individual offence groups are devoted to the special features of juvenile delinquency  and the fight against drug addiction (44/14). Publications on prisons and the penal system include 2 compilations of cases of rare self-harm in prisons  and a report on criminal biology investigations in the Baden juvenile penal system (42/1).Of the subfields of criminology, The period under review begins a good 4 years after the end of the Second World War and extends over a little more than 2 decades until the turn of the year 1969/1970. The aftermath of the war led to sometimes serious social problems, which inevitably had an impact on crime and consequently provided the motivation for scientific studies on contemporary issues . On the other hand, some publications illustrate the difficulties of fighting crime under the conditions of the post-war period . Overall, the publications that appeared in the analysed period show a change in the professional profile of forensic medicine, which is characterised by a departure from both the psychological and psychiatric content and the scientific-criminalistic orientation of the discipline, with a simultaneous increased focus on morphological and even more on haemogenetic topics.The history of forensic medicine in Germany during the twentieth century is characterised by changing development trends, which have led to links with social medicine, with insurance medicine and not least with scientific and technical criminalistics. Logically, Wolfgang Schwerd argued in the explanatory memorandum to the change of the name of forensic medicine to legal medicine: ‘This name change took place in the context of comprehensive efforts to rethink the position and tasks of the discipline and — where necessary — to reform it. These considerations initially focussed on efforts to reformulate the discipline’s spectrum of tasks in teaching, research and practice in order to provide the Federal Ministry of Health, the Science Council and the West German Medical Faculty Association with a clear idea of the discipline’s concerns for their work on the reform of the study of medicine and on the new licensing regulations’ 61/65). This well-formulated intention is nothing other than part of the on-going struggle of legal medicine for its existence, since the Science Council, in its ‘Recommendations for the Reorganisation of Studies at Universities’ of 14 May 1966, had defined the concentration of the curriculum as an essential goal of a reorganisation of clinical studies and arrived at the following conclusions: ‘It is therefore recommended that teaching in the main clinical subjects be intensified, while that in the other subjects be streamlined or, as far as possible, incorporated as an integral part of teaching in the basic clinical subjects. According to this, subjects such as […] legal medicine […] should no longer be taught as special subjects in special lectures and exercises, but as part of the complex of internal medicine, surgery or other integrating subjects of clinical medicine’ 1/65. Thi.In the post-war period, it was necessary to eliminate the National Socialist injustice through changes in the law and thus to restore the basis of the rule of law for the fulfilment of the forensic and medical tasks. An example of this is the Marriage Act, enacted as Control Council Act No. 16 on 20 February 1946, from which the terms mental disorder and mental illness are explained in a publication (45/420) in accordance with Sects. 44/45 of the Marriage Act. In spite of the decades-old demand for the introduction of officially ordered autopsies in Germany  It will be necessary to explore in detail the limits of the usability of the findings, taking into account local conditions.’ Subsequent investigations (64/21) confirmed the presence of diatoms in the systemic circulation of non-drowned persons, but in lower numbers than in drowned persons. As a way out of the diagnostic dilemma, the determination of a ‘minimum number of diatoms; was demanded, which, if exceeded, would be ‘usable as an essential clue for a drowning death’.The term ‘Blaukommen der Taucher’ [barotrauma of descent — lung squeeze] (39/378), introduced by Hermann Roer, is still used today, and its explanation has also been confirmed in its basic features, despite exceptionally extensive criticism . Massive facial cyanosis occurs mainly due to compression of the diving suit when the diver descends too quickly to a greater depth, causing a strong negative pressure in the helmet (‘suction in the helmet/lung space’).In electrical fatalities, an electric mark may appear on the skin or mucous membrane as an indicative finding. Subtle diagnostic procedures are necessary to distinguish electrothermal damage from other thermal damage. In this context, a comprehensive spectrum of methods has been described, including macroscopic examinations and examinations using a magnifier microscope (56/318), analyses with polarized light (57/431) as well as histological and histochemical techniques . In several experimental studies, Ekkehardt Böhm investigated differences between electric and thermal marks that were significant for differential diagnosis. Morphological characteristics  and additional specific differences in metallisation in the skin  were found to be useful diagnostic criteria.One of the striking changes in charred corpses is the heat-induced shrinkage of the body. In a series of basic experiments 43/428) on these changes, it was found that tendons shorten by a maximum of 61.5% of their original length on average under increasing dry heat. Consequently, ‘the tendons, not the muscles, play the decisive role in the processes that lead to the fixed dislocations of the extremities’. The criminal trial of the dentist Dr. Richard Müller for the fire-related death of his wife [ on theseBeyond forensic obstetrical questions, the Hungarian authors István Gyula Fazekas and Ferenc Kósa also opened a new chapter for the identification of unknown dead bodies with their investigations on the determination of body length and age of human foetuses on the basis of various skeletal parts . In systIn sudden deaths from an internal cause, there is a dominance of cardiovascular diseases among the publications reviewed, which has been unchanged in the cause of death statistics since the beginning of the 1950s . The expCarbon monoxide intoxication was still one of the most frequent forms of poisoning during the period under review, and town gas, also known as cooking gas or coal gas, was usually the source of the poison. To counteract this situation, a detoxification plant was put into operation in Basel in 1958. The report on ‘6 years of experience with detoxified cooking gas’ 58/122) shows that no more suicides with cooking gas were recorded in the Basel Medico-Legal Institute during that period, but that fatal accidents continued to occur despite the gas conversion. Even with the conversion of the gas supply to natural gas, the risk of CO formation during incomplete combustion due to oxygen depletion in the atmospheric air remained, and there was also the risk that explosive natural gas-air mixtures might form . Most pu2 shows t60, which is significant for expert opinions, is not a constant, but varies depending on the physical conditions of a person. Deviating β60 values were found after the impact of external force  and depending on the blood alcohol concentration (44/374). With rising blood alcohol content, the determined β60 values increased and reached a mean value of 0.203‰ at blood alcohol content above 2‰. For alcohol analysis, methods for determining concentrations in blood samples and body fluids with the routinely used examination techniques were described. These publications were aimed at minimising the sources of error of the original technique of the Widmark method [The studies on alcohol metabolism cover all phases of the pharmacokinetics of ethanol. The knowledge gained about special features of absorption , distribution  and elimination  allowed the forensic assessment of alcoholic influence to be further elaborated. Several studies have shown that factor βk method , the ADHk method  and gas k method  by methok method . In a reforce 43/, 47/599 The spectrum of physical characteristics for the identification of unknown dead persons was enriched above all by osteological examination findings. The index acetabulo-ischiadicus (47/442) and the thickness of the skullcap are suitable for sex identification (54/227). In addition to pelvic bones (41/147) and femur (58/205), other skeletal parts and the teeth (51/161) can be used for age estimation. The estimation formulas for the reconstruction of body height were validated using the long limb bones (42/189) and the foot and hand length (48/378). Progress was also made in the examination techniques used to identify skulls. The original method of verifying the identity of skulls by graphic means  was follSince the discovery of the AB0 groups by Karl Landsteiner in 1901 , a numbe2-globulins have proved to be forensically useful.With the discovery of the haptoglobin polymorphism , the eraOf the erythrocytic enzyme groups, the isoenzymes of erythrocyte acid phosphatase  were thea in human sperm (52/610).In trace analysis, the acetone-chlorohemine reaction (39/495) from the group of crystal reactions and the porphyrin test  were still in use for the detection of blood. The precipitation reaction according to Uhlenhuth was the preferred method for determining species specificity (39/309). A further individualisation of blood traces had become possible because, in addition to the AB0 and MN systems, factor P (41/451) and the A subgroups (45/355) could also be successfully typed on dried blood. Of the serum groups, the Gm system (53/18) and among the erythrocytic enzyme groups the PGM characteristics (66/31) had proved to be particularly suitable for tracing purposes. The group substances A, B, 0 and AB could be detected in human head hair (42/395) and the characteristic Gm1, A2, B, 0 and M–N were used and reached a value of 70% in the mid-1950s with the blood group mosaic A1, A2, B, 0, A1B, A2B, M–N, S, P, K, Fy, C–c, D-dd, E-e, Lewis and secretor status. A further increase in the overall chance of paternity exclusion has been achieved since the 1960s, when the serum groups Hp, Gm and Gc as well as the acP polymorphism were typed in cases of disputed paternity [The rapid progress in haemogenetics was particularly evident in the assessment of parentage. In the 1920s, when the first expert opinions on blood groups in cases of disputed paternity were given solely on the basis of the AB0 system, the overall chance of paternity exclusion was 20% . After taternity .In the post-war period, research priorities in the Institutes of Forensic Medicine began to shift. As a result of this development, scientific work on problems relating to scientific-technical criminalistics took a back seat. Thus, the 113 out of 1762 publications on forensic topics in the period from 1922 to 1944 [The few publications available on forensic findings in living persons do not even rudimentarily reflect the diversity of topics in clinical legal medicine. They are all exclusive case histories describing individual cases of external violence, drug abuse and self-harm. Analytical papers on such widespread crimes like sexual violence and child abuse have not been published.The shift in the research focus of the Institutes of Forensic Medicine since the post-war period has also caused a decline in the number of publications in the fields of forensic psychiatry and psychology. From 75 publications in the years 1922 to 1944 [The publications relating to sexual medicine complement the case reports on paraphilias, especially the phenomenology of the offences of incest and paedophilia. Similarly, the publications found on autoerotic accidents supplement the case reports on the appearance of electrocution during sexual activity.The rapid increase in motorised road traffic created dangers that inevitably had an impact on the scientific problems in traffic medicine. A priority topic was research into alcohol-related performance impairments in drivers and pedestrians (41/1). In addition, endogenous and other exogenous influences on the fitness to drive were also investigated. The knowledge gained, for example on feeling tired and falling asleep at the wheel  or on the influence of pharmaceuticals on road users , was essential for the prevention of accidents. The analysis of sequelae of injuries after traffic accidents formed an essential basis for the forensic and medical assessment of accident victims. It often involved complex issues regarding the reconstruction of accidents .The film as a template for capital crimes (48/576) brings to mind the intolerably accurate reports in the mass media that prompted concrete copycat acts [From the field of criminology, especially the articles on the aetiology of crime have a current relevance that can hardly be overlooked. The one article entitled cat acts . In the


Aronia melanocarpa L. berries (AE) on the body status of manganese (Mn) and the activity of this essential element-dependent mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) during treatment with cadmium (Cd) was investigated in a rat model of low-level and moderate environmental human exposure to this xenobiotic . The exposure to Cd, dose- and duration-dependently, affected the body status of Mn  and the activity of MnSOD in the mitochondria of the liver, kidney, and brain. The administration of AE during the exposure to Cd prevented or at least partially protected the animals from the perturbation of the metabolism of Mn, as well as ameliorated changes in the activity of MnSOD and the concentration of Mn and protected from Cd accumulation in the mitochondria. In conclusion, AE may protect from disorders in the body status of Mn and influence the antioxidative capacity of cells under chronic exposure to Cd. The findings confirm the protective impact of aronia berries products against Cd toxicity.The impact of a polyphenol-rich 0.1% aqueous extract from  The homogenates were centrifuged  at 1500× g for 5 min at 4 °C. Next, the supernatants were centrifuged at 10,000× g for 15 min at 4 °C. After the centrifugation, the aliquots were discarded and the received pellets , after suspension in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH = 7.4), were divided into two portions. One of them was subjected to the assay of the activity of MnSOD, while in the second the concentrations of Mn and Cd were measured.Known weight (0.15–0.2 g) slices of the liver, left kidney, and brain  were subjected to homogenization in 50 mM potassium phosphate buffer  with the addition of butylated hydroxytoluene (10 μL of 0.5 M butylated hydroxytoluene per 1 mL of homogenate was used as an antioxidant) by the usage of a high-performance homogenizer  to prepare 10%  was added to the portions of the mitochondrial fraction of the liver, kidney, and brain assigned to the assay of MnSOD to inhibit both Cu- and Zn-dependent SOD (CuZnSOD) and extracellular SOD. These allowed the detection of only the activity of MnSOD, which was measured calorimetrically using the Superoxide Dismutase Assay Kit. The assay utilizes a tetrazolium salt for the detection of O3 and HCl (9:1 v/v) using a microwave system  according to the procedure used in the preparation of soft tissues for the assay of Mn (described in Known volumes (0.5 mL) of the mitochondrial fractions of the liver, kidney, and brain assigned to the assay of Mn and Cd were wet digested with a mixture of concentrated HNO® 700  and expressed in calculation per gram of protein. Mn was assayed strictly as reported for its analysis in the wet digests of soft tissues  was <6.5%, whereas the recovery was 97–103% .p < 0.05) differences among the six experimental groups, and then a Kruskal–Wallis post hoc test was performed for comparison between individual groups and to determine between which two groups a statistically significant (p < 0.05) difference occurred. In Tables and Figures, statistically significant differences concerning the control group, the respective group receiving Cd alone (Cd1 + AE vs. Cd1 and Cd5 + AE vs. Cd5), and the respective group exposed to the 1 mg Cd/kg diet alone or with AE (Cd5 vs. Cd1 and Cd5 + AE vs. Cd1 + AE) are marked.The data are expressed as a median, 25–75% confidence interval, and minimum and maximum value for eight rats after 3, 10, 17, and 24 months, except for seven animals in the 0.1% AE group and the 1 and 5 mg Cd/kg groups after 24 months and eight to thirty-two animals in the case of the daily intake of Mn throughout the study. Firstly, the Shapiro–Wilk test was conducted for checking the normal distribution of the data. Because the data showed no normal distribution, a nonparametric signed-rank Kruskal–Wallis test was applied to determine whether there were statistically significant (R2 (describes what percentage of one variable explains the variability of the other one), and the level of statistical significance (p). A dependence between two variables was recognized to be statistically significant at the value of the β coefficient for which p < 0.05.A linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the mutual relationships between the activity of MnSOD and the concentrations of Mn and Cd in the mitochondria of the liver, kidney, and brain. The results of this analysis are presented as a β coefficient (this parameter describes the degree of change in the dependent variable for every 1-unit of change in the independent variable), All the statistical calculations were performed using the Statistica 13.3 package .The concentration of Mn determined in our laboratory in the Labofeed H and B diets agreed with the certified values provided by the producer and reached 143.8 ± 2.9 mg/kg (mean ± SD) and 117.4 ± 3.4 mg/kg, respectively.The daily intake of Mn via the Labofeed diets, during the 3, 10, 17, and 24 months of the experiment, as well as the 5-day balance study in the last week of the 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th month, did not differ between the experimental groups at particular time points . The medThe intake of Mn with diet in all groups during the first 3 months of the experiment was higher (1.9–2.3 times) than thereafter . The intThe concentration of Mn in distilled water that was administered as the only drinking fluid in the control group and the Cd1 and Cd5 groups and was used to prepare the 0.1% AE was below the limit of detection of the AAS method (0.14 μg/L). Thus, the intake of this element via drinking fluids in these groups was assumed to be 0.The concentration of Mn determined in the 0.1% AE reached 0.396 ± 0.039 μg/L (mean ± SD). The intake of this essential element via the consumption of the 0.1% AE throughout the 24-month study ranged from 0.0135 to 0.0190 μg/24 h (0.0251–0.0608 μg/kg b.w.), regardless of whether the extract was administered alone or together with Cd , while the 10-month co-treatment with AE prevented this effect of Cd . The simultaneous administration of the extract provided partial (after 3 months) or complete (after 10 and 24 months) protection from the 5 mg Cd/kg diet-mediated alterations in these parameters  and the co-administration of AE did not influence this parameter (Mn after 3 months and a decrease after 10 and 24 months (by 13%) (Mn was decreased (by 32–51%) from the 10th month in the rats exposed to the 1 mg Cd/kg diet, while the 17- and 24-month co-administration of AE prevented this effect of Cd (Mn was decreased (by 30–53%) at all-time points and the co-administration of AE entirely protected from the impact of Cd  . The co-(by 13%) . The UEMct of Cd . In the ct of Cd .Mn and RetMn in the Cd5 group after 10 and 24 months were higher  than in the Cd1 group, while after 17 months both variables reached lower values (by 12%) at the higher treatment with this xenobiotic  than in the case of the 1 mg Cd/kg diet (Mn and RetMn after 10 months were higher (by 19%) than in the Cd1 + AE group, whereas the FEMn after 10 months was lower (by 19%) and the UEMn after 24 months was higher (by 45%) at the moderate exposure  after 3 months, while the concentration of this element in the duodenum was decreased (by 17–23%) after 3, 17, and 24 months of the study .The concentration of Mn in the stomach in the Cd1 group was decreased (by 21–24%) for up to 17 months and AE prevented this effect of Cd only after 10 months of co-administration . The modThe feeding with the diet containing 1 mg Cd/kg led to a decline (by 17–40%) in the concentration of Mn in the duodenum, except for a lack of change after 10 months . The expThe concentration of Mn in the stomach in the Cd5 group after 3 months was lower (by 9%) than in the Cd1 group, while the gastric and duodenal concentration of this element after 10 and 24 months was higher (by 23% to 2.3-fold) under the moderate exposure . The conThe administration of AE alone did not influence the concentration of Mn in the serum, soft tissues , and bone tissue at the distal epiphysis and diaphysis of the femur , apart fDepending on the level and duration of intoxication, Cd variously influenced (increased or decreased) the concentration of Mn in the serum and investigated tissues . The expIn the group of rats fed with the 5 mg Cd/kg diet alone, an increase (by 11–24%) in the concentration of Mn in the bone tissue at the femoral distal epiphysis during the first 17 months and its decrease (by 11%) after 24 months, as well as a decrease in the concentration of this element in the brain after 3 and 17 months  and its increase (by 12%) after 24 months , were noIn the animals fed with the diet containing 5 mg Cd/kg, at some time points, the concentration of Mn in the liver (24 months), kidney (17 months), brain (10 months), spleen (24 months), serum (24 months), distal femoral epiphysis (3 and 17 months), and femoral muscle (17 months) was higher (by 9–39%) than in those fed with the 1 mg Cd/kg diet, whereas this element concentration in the brain after 17 months and femoral muscle after 3 months was lower  at the moderate exposure . MoreoveThere were no changes in the total body burden of Mn and its content in particular internal organs in the group administered with AE alone, except for an increase in the content of this element in the brain after 3 months (by 10%) and an increase in the spleen after 17 months of the investigation (by 29%) .The feeding with the diet containing 1 mg Cd/kg alone influenced the content of Mn only in the spleen (an increase by 23% after 3 months) and brain (a decrease by 12% after 3 and 10 months and an increase by 20% after 24 months) . NeverthThe exposure to the 5 mg Cd/kg diet alone resulted in an increase in the content of Mn in the spleen (by 21% after 3 months), liver , and kidney (by 27% after 24 months). The brain content of Mn decreased after 3 and 17 months , while its content in the heart increased (by 22%) after 10 months and decreased (by 22%) after 24 months . The 10-The treatment with the 5 mg Cd/kg diet caused more intense alterations in the content of Mn in the investigated organs compared to the 1 mg Cd/kg diet . In the The co-administration of the extract provided complete or partial protection against Cd-mediated changes in the content of Mn in particular organs, apart from the spleen . MoreoveIn the animals co-administered with the extract and the 5 mg Cd/kg diet, the content of Mn at some time points was lower in the spleen (by 17% after 17 months), brain (by 24% after 10 months), and heart (by 18% after 24 months) compared to the Cd1 + AE group, whereas in the brain it was higher (by 22%) after 3 months . There wThe administration of AE alone had no impact on the activity of MnSOD and the concentrations of Mn and Cd in the mitochondrial fraction of the liver, kidney, and brain .Generally, the exposure to Cd led to an increase in the activity of MnSOD in the mitochondrial fraction of the liver and kidney (from 16% to 4.4-fold)  and a deThe low-level and moderate intoxication with Cd resulted in an increase in the concentration of Mn in the mitochondria of the liver (by 6–28%) and kidney (by 26–41%) at some time points, except for the Cd5 group after 3 months in which the concentration of Mn in the liver was lower (by 17%) than in the control group . The co-The concentration of Cd in the mitochondria of rats maintained on the diet containing 1 and 5 mg Cd/kg was elevated in the liver (8.5–87-fold), kidney (3.3–58-fold), and brain (by 30% to 2.2-fold) . The extThe activity of MnSOD in the mitochondria of the liver (10–24 months) and kidney (17 and 24 months) in the Cd5 group was higher (from 17% to 1.3-fold) than in the Cd1 group in the liver and was lower in the brain (by 38% after 3 months) and kidney  . Moreoveβ = 0.323, R2 = 0.104, p < 0.01 and β = 0.461, R2 = 0.212, p < 0.001, respectively) and Cd . This enzyme activity in the mitochondria of the brain also positively correlated with the concentration of Mn  but negatively with the concentration of Cd .The activity of MnSOD in the mitochondria of the liver and kidney positively correlated with the concentrations of Mn  was higher than thereafter (Labofeed B diet), its concentration in the serum and some tissues of the control animals was also somewhat higher than at the other time points. However, the content of this element in particular organs and its total body burden in the control animals were relatively stable throughout the 24-month study. Moreover, the intake of Mn at particular time points did not differ among all experimental groups, and thus the fact of the higher intake of this bioelement at the beginning of the study had no impact on the results of this experiment.The present investigation showed that Cd can disturb the homeostasis of Mn in the organism and that this effect is different depending on the level and duration of the intoxication and the type of the organ or tissue. The exposure to the 1 and 5 mg Cd/kg diet altered the turnover of Mn already at the stage of its intestinal absorption, as well as influenced its retention in the body and the excretion with faeces and urine. As a result, the concentration and/or content of Mn at various time points in most of the investigated tissues, except for its concentration in the bone tissue at the femoral diaphysis, were modified. The Cd-mediated disturbances in the concentration of Mn might stem from the competition between these metals for the same transport systems ,44. It h2+ [Recently, more attention has been paid to the involvement of metals, including both Cd and Mn, in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases ,21,45,462+  showed t2/kg b.w.) before intoxication with Cd (7 mg CdCl2/kg b.w.) significantly increased the accumulation of this toxic metal in the liver with its concomitant decrease in the kidneys and testis suggesting that this effect was a result of a greater ability of the liver to induce the biosynthesis of MT. The study by Goering and Klaassen [2+  altered the hepatic distribution of Cd  in the cell with more Cd2+ bound to MT in the cytosol. The study showed that the hepatic concentration of Mn was increased in mice co-treated with Cd and Mn compared to the ones administered with this bioelement alone [The literature data indicate that Cd may variously influence the concentration of Mn in the internal organs or have no impact on it ,29,30,482− to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and molecular oxygen [2− in the mitochondria. On the other hand, its elevation may lead to the increased production of H2O2 which, if not efficiently detoxified, may be the source of extremely reactive ·OH [The positive relationships noted between the concentration of Mn and the activity of MnSOD in the mitochondria of the liver, kidney, and brain allow for the conclusion that the Cd-induced changes in the homeostasis of Mn in the mitochondria are related to changes in the antioxidative capacity of these organelles. Oxidative stress has been recognized as the major mechanism of the damaging action of Cd and mitochondria are considered the target cellular organs for the toxic action of this xenobiotic ,50,51,52r oxygen ,12,13,14tive ·OH ,54.The most important achievement of the present work is the finding that the administration of the 0.1% AE diminished the Cd-caused disturbance of the body status of Mn and this bioelement homeostasis in the mitochondria, as well as the activity of MnSOD in these organelles in the liver, kidney, and brain in the rats intoxicated with the 1 and 5 mg Cd/kg diet. Moreover, considering the metal-chelating properties of the extract ingredients ,31,35,36A. melanocarpa [Murraya koenigii; 100 mg/kg b.w., orally) against Cd-induced  decrease in the activity of CuZnSOD and MnSOD in the cardiac tissue of rats. Elmallah et al. [Fragaria ananassa; 250 mg/kg b.w., orally) restored the activity of SOD up to the control values and enhanced the expression of MnSOD in the testis of rats intoxicated with Cd . On the other hand, the study by Merra et al. [i.p.), a polyphenol most abundantly occurring in olive oil, prevented Cd-induced  decrease in the activity of CuZnSOD but not MnSOD in the spleen and testis of mice. Taking into account our previous findings [The effect of the supplementation with AE on the investigated parameters in the rats fed with the diet containing 1 and 5 mg Cd/kg might result from the independent impact of the extract, as well as from its interactive action with Cd. The independent action of AE might be a result of the high antioxidative potential of the extract conditioned by its ingredients, among other polyphenols, vitamins, β-carotene, and trace elements such as iron, selenium, and Zn ,49,50. Fanocarpa ,56,57. Ianocarpa ,23,58,59anocarpa ,23. Mitra et al.  showed tfindings ,23, it cfindings ,35. The findings . Previoufindings . Taking findings ,31. In tfindings ,22,23. TAmong all of the achievements of the present investigation, there are also some limitations. The first is that the changes of the investigated parameters at particular time points were not studied in the same rats, but in subgroups of animals within the same experimental groups, which may explain why some effects of the exposure to Cd and/or administration of AE were observed or not at some time points. Moreover, considering that the investigation was performed on female rats, the results of this research primarily refer to females. Taking into account that females are more susceptible to Cd toxicity than males, it can be hypothesized that the toxic action of this xenobiotic on the body status of Mn and the mitochondrial activity of MnSOD will be less severe in males.A. melanocarpa protects against the destruction of the body status of Mn and the activity of MnSOD in the mitochondria due to chronic low and moderate exposure to Cd. Because it has been revealed in an animal model of human environmental exposure to Cd that even low-level lifetime treatment with this heavy metal may lead to the retention of Mn in the brain, which is a factor contributing to the development of neurodegenerative changes, this finding may throw new light on this xenobiotic neurotoxicity and the possibility of prevention from this action. The study confirms that both low and moderate treatment with this xenobiotic creates a risk of unfavourable consequences for the organism. Another valuable outcome of this investigation is showing that prolonged consumption of the chokeberry extract did not create a danger of disturbance in the homeostasis of Mn in the organism. The current study provided further evidence for the effectiveness of the extract in preventing the harmful consequences of exposure to Cd. Taking together the findings of the present investigation as well as the outcomes of our former research conducted in the same experimental model [It has been shown, for the first time, that polyphenol-rich extract from the berries of al model ,23,24,34


Journal of Clinical Medicine (JCM) . The management of salivary gland (SGs) disorders encompasses a broad array of diseases, both benign and malignant, and the great international interest in this topic has led to the publication of the second part of the Special Issue, thusly entitled “Diseases of the Salivary Glands-Part II”, which reflects the diverse nature of SG dysfunction and is focused on various topics ranging from diagnosis and therapeutic implications to the study of the molecular mechanisms underlying autoimmune and neoplastic diseases of the salivary glands.This Special Issue, “Diseases of Salivary Gland-Part II”, was born as a continuation of the volume “Diseases of the Salivary Gland”, published, with great success, in 2021 in the prestigious The first part of this Special Issue concerns research articles focused on new discoveries in the diagnostic field of SG diseases ,3,4,5,6 Given the scientific importance of the articles collected, I am thrilled to reiterate that this Special Issue aims to provide insights into SGs diseases and summarizes the current knowledge of underlying pathophysiological mechanisms, yielding surprising results.


Unfired admixed soil blocks are made up of soil plus stabilizers such as binders, fibers, or a combination of both. Soil is abundant on Earth, and it has been used to provide shelter to millions of people. The manufacturing and usage of cement and cement blocks raise several environmental and economic challenges. Due to disposal issues, agricultural and industrial waste is currently the biggest hazard to the environment and humanity in the world. Consequently, environmental degradation brought on by agricultural waste harms the ecology. As a result, researchers are attempting to develop an alternative to cement blocks, and various tests on unfired admixed soil blocks have been done. This investigation uses agricultural waste  and industrial waste  in manufacturing unfired admixed soil blocks. Under this investigation, the applicability of unfired soil blocks admixed with marble dust, paddy straw fiber, and bagasse ash was studied. The marble dust level ranged from 25% to 35%, bagasse ash content ranged from 7.5% to 12.5%, and the content of paddy straw fiber ranged from 0.8% to 1.2% by soil dry weight. Various tests were conducted on the 81 mix designs of the prepared unfired admixed soil blocks to find out the physical properties of the block followed by modeling and optimization. The findings demonstrate that the suggested method is a superior alternative to burned bricks for improving the physical properties of admixed soil blocks without firing. The addition of paddy straw fiber in conjunction with marble dust and bagasse ash results in the reduction of water absorption and linear shrinkage of the unfired admixed soil block. This study helps in providing one of the alternative solutions to the disposal problem of bagasse ash, marble dust, and paddy straw fiber and hence reducing environmental pollution.Compacted stabilized adobe blocks are construction units made by adding the right amount of water to the right kind of soil to achieve maximum density and compressing it with the right block-forming machine ,2. Hand-The soil for this investigation was collected in Gharuan, Kharar (Punjab), India. Marble dust was bought from a business in Mohali, Punjab called Ram Lakhan Marble House. 2) and lower content of calcium oxide (CaO), potassium oxide (K2O), and magnesium oxide (MgO). The specific gravity of the BA used for the study was 1.92. Bagasse ash’s particle size ranged from 0 to 100 mm, making it comparable to ordinary Portland cement.Doaba Cooperative Sugar Mills Ltd. in Nawanshahr, Punjab provided bagasse ash for this study. To test the influence of admixtures on the characteristics of soil blocks, a design mix was created, as listed in The soil was prepared according to BIS . Paddy s2) after 3 min. The difference between the two weights (D = W2 − W1), reported as a percentage of dry weight, was used to calculate water absorption (in percentage). The water absorption (in percentage) of the admixed adobe block was determined using Equation (1):The curing of the blocks was performed with the help of a jute bag. The set of blocks was cured with the help of sprinkling water and then covered with a jute bag till the next cycle of curing. This process of curing was repeated for 28 days. The final unfired admixed adobe block was in its finished form after 28 days of curing and was used for further testing of physical parameters. When measuring the physical qualities of soil blocks, the water absorption test is highly significant. According to IS 3495 (Part 2):1992,  the admi1) of admixed adobe block was measured and then kept in the oven for 24 h at 50 °C to 60 °C for drying. The sample was then removed from the oven, brought to room temperature and the final length (L2) after drying was recorded. The difference in length (C = L2 − L1) computed in percentage was used to calculate linear shrinkage. The linear shrinkage (in percentage) of the admixed adobe block was determined using Equation (2):The linear shrinkage (LS) was calculated by comparing the length before and after 24 h of drying at temperatures ranging from 50 °C to 60 °C. According to the methodology adopted by , the iniIn this section, the influence of MD and BA on the water absorption (WA) of adobe blocks admixed with PSF of various contents and lengths was studied. As shown in However, it was observed from the experimental results that water absorption showed an increment with an increase in bagasse ash at constant marble dust content. Increased SBA concentration further increases water absorption according to Greepala and Parichartpreecha  and SingThe influence of MD and BA on the water absorption of adobe block admixed with 1% and 1.2% paddy straw fiber of length 75 mm was also studied, as shown in For 100 mm and 125 mm PSF, a similar effect of MD and BD on Water absorption was observed. As shown in The influence of MD and BA on the water absorption of adobe block admixed with 1% and 1.2% paddy straw fiber of length 100 mm was also studied, as shown in As shown in The influence of MD and BA on the water absorption of adobe block admixed with 1% and 1.2% paddy straw fiber of length 125 mm was also studied, as shown in The influence of MD and BA on the linear shrinkage (LS) of adobe blocks admixed with PSF of various contents and lengths was studied. As shown in The effect of MD and BA on the linear shrinkage of adobe block admixed with 1% paddy straw fiber of length 75 mm was also studied, as shown in The results also show that as the fiber content of the upgraded soil blocks increased, the linear shrinkage of the soil blocks reduced . The incFor 100 mm and 125 mm PSF, a similar effect of MD and BD on linear shrinkage was observed. As shown in In addition, the effect of MD and BA on the linear shrinkage of adobe block admixed with 1% and 1.2% paddy straw fiber of length 100 mm was studied, as shown in As shown in In addition, the effect of MD and BA on the linear shrinkage of adobe block admixed with 1% and 1.2% paddy straw fiber of length 125 mm was studied, as shown in However, it was observed from the experimental results that linear shrinkage showed a decrement with an increase in bagasse ash at constant marble dust content. It was found that linear shrinkage showed a similar trend with 1.2% PSF content too.Minitab 17.1 software was utilized for regression analysis, and a fit regression model was used for the generation of model equations, which were further used for optimization.The association between parameters and water absorption (WA) was developed using regression analysis, and the result is shown in Equation (3), a model equation to determine WA of unfired soil block admixed with the varied proportion of PSF, MD, and BA:2 value of 99.27% was obtained through statistical analysis.The x1, x2, x3, and x4 represent the parameters, i.e., length of PSF, the proportion of PSF, SCBA, and MD, respectively. The residual plots of WA are shown in The association between parameters and LS was developed using regression analysis and its result is shown in Equation (4), a model equation to determine LS of unfired soil block admixed with the varied proportion of PSF, MD, and BA:2 value of 99.21% was obtained through statistical analysis.The x1, x2, x3, and x4 represent the parameters, i.e., length of PSF and the proportion of PSF, SCBA, and MD respectively. The residual plots of LS are shown in A search-based optimization technique called a genetic algorithm (GA) is based on the concepts of natural selection and genetics. It is frequently employed in machine learning, research, and the solution of optimization problems. In this study, the genetic algorithm (GA), an inbuilt tool in MATLAB V 17 was applied for global optimization. The values of the response factor, i.e., WA, and the parameters at optimized conditions are shown in Similarly, the values of the response factor, i.e., LS, and the parameters at optimized conditions are shown in The study’s main goal was to determine the applicability of unfired soil blocks admixed with marble dust, paddy straw fiber, and bagasse ash from the perspective of physical parameters. The design of experiments was planned and various tests were conducted on the 81 mix designs of the prepared unfired admixed soil blocks as per the standard codes to determine the physical properties of the block. Linear shrinkage and water absorption were evaluated to estimate the physical attributes. Linear regression analysis was performed on the results and the optimized values were calculated from the modeling equations using the optimization technique. The various conclusions that were drawn from the tests are discussed below.While estimating the water absorption (WA), it was found that WA rises with a rise in BA for the fixed amount of MD and PSF. However, the WA of the soil block was observed to be declining with a rise in MD up to 30% for the fixed amount of BA and PSF. Also, the WA tends to decline with a rise in the length of PSF but rises with rising in the content of PSF at a fixed amount of BA and MD.At optimized conditions, the optimum value of WA for soil block was estimated with 105 mm length and 0.8% PSF, 7.5% BA, and 30% MD, i.e., 11.3%, which is less than the critical value of 20% as per standard codes. This results in a 43.5% lower value of water absorption of the block from its critical value.The PSF content and length have a great effect on the linear shrinkage (LS) of the block, as it drastically reduced with a rise in content and length of the PSF at a fixed amount of MD and BA. The LS of the soil block was observed to be declining with a rise in BA for the fixed amount of MD and PSF.The optimization made it evident that the optimum value of LS was observed for the soil block with 125 mm length and 1.2% PSF, 12.5% BA, and 25% MD, i.e., 0.37%, which is much less than the critical value of 3%. This implies that the addition of PSF, MD, and BA reduces the LS of the block.The outcomes show that the recommended technique is exceptionally effective to enhance the physical attributes of unfired admixed soil blocks, as well as an environment-friendly solution to the fired bricks.Further research can be done on the impact of other types of natural and artificial fibers on the properties of soil blocks admixed with marble dust and bagasse ash. This could be coir, banana fiber, plastic fibers extruded from plastic bags, disposable plastic products, etc. This would greatly boost the usage of plastic trash and natural waste fibers in the building sector.Further research can be performed on the impact of other types of binders on the properties of unfired admixed soil blocks reinforced with PSF.


The SARS-CoV-2 variant Omicron is characterized, among others, by more than 30 amino acid changes occurring on the spike glycoprotein with respect to the original SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We report a comprehensive analysis of the effects of the Omicron spike amino acid changes in the interaction with human antibodies, obtained by modeling them into selected publicly available resolved 3D structures of spike–antibody complexes and investigating the effects of these mutations at structural level. We predict that the interactions of Omicron spike with human antibodies can be either negatively or positively affected by amino acid changes, with a predicted total loss of interactions only in a few complexes. Moreover, our analysis applied also to the spike-ACE2 interaction predicts that these amino acid changes may increase Omicron transmissibility. Our approach can be used to better understand SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility, detectability, and epidemiology and represents a model to be adopted also in the case of other variants. A novel SARS-CoV-2 variant B.1.1.529) was characterized and reported at the beginning of November 2021, initially in southern countries of Africa and subsequently in the rest of the world. On 26 November 2021, WHO classified variant B.1.1.529 as Variant of Concern (VOC) and named it “Omicron” [.1.529 waOmicron carries more than 30 amino acid changes (including four deletions and one insertion), occurring on the spike glycoprotein, a key player protein in favoring the entrance of the virus into human cells by interacting with the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor .Immediately after the discovery of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in late 2019, the scientific community started a giant effort to characterize the structures of the proteins expressed by the viral genome in the shortest possible time. The first structure of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, obtained by cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) at a resolution of 3.46 Å , was relThis impressive effort of the structural biology community has allowed the scientists to dissect the differences between SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and other spike proteins from known coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus). Moreover, it has been made possible to study the details of the interactions between the viral protein and the human cellular receptor and to understand the mechanism by which the viral particle is able to penetrate the cells, as well as the molecular reasons for its increased virulence. Furthermore, it has been made possible to assess the ability of antibodies developed against other coronaviruses to bind to the protein and block its recognition by ACE2 and to verify the mechanism of recognition of new antibodies  to infer their ability to protect people against reinfection.This amount of structural information can be used as a starting point to predict the effect of the mutations developed by the different variants of the virus, thanks to computational methods that can help in predicting how a mutation can affect the interaction surface between spike protein and ACE2, or between spike protein and the antibodies known to bind and interact with it. For example, a recent study based on simulations of the interactions of the Omicron spike and human ACE2 found an increased number of electrostatic interactions and a lower binding free energy for the Omicron variant as compared to the reference spike protein . It is nWe calculated the predicted impact of the amino acid replacements of the Omicron variant on the interactions present in the representative 158 PDB ensembles with spike protein and antibodies, selected as described in Methods. In total, 114 ensembles include only one antibody, 20 include two antibodies, and 1 includes three antibodies. The full list of the 158 selected ensembles is reported in The detailed results are reported in In 134 out of these 157 single antibody–spike complexes, the antibody interacts with RBD; in the other 23 interact with other spike regions. In 68 out of these 157 complexes, the net effect of the amino acid replacements is the loss of interactions between the spike protein and the antibody ; in 60 out of these 68 complexes, the antibody interacts with RBD. In 70 out of the 157 complexes, the net effect of the amino acid replacements is the gain of interactions between the spike protein and the antibody ; in 59 out of these 70 complexes, the antibody interacts with RBD. Finally, in the last 19 out of these 157 complexes, the loss and gain of interactions are numerically equal; in 15 out of these 19 complexes, the antibody interacts with RBD.Of these 157 complexes, 127 have lost at least one interaction originally present in the PDB ensemble. Among them, 97 complexes have lost 50% or more of their original interactions . Only two amino acid replacements that cause the loss of some interactions (Y145D and L212I) do not affect residues belonging to the RBD. The amino acid replacements that cause the loss of interactions in the higher numbers of complexes are Y505H (in 48 complexes), K417N (in 44 complexes), E484A and Q493R (each in 42 complexes), whereas mutations L212I and G496S cause the loss of interactions in only one complex each  are lost in a percentage variable from 10 to 100%.Amino acid replacements associated with Omicron were also able to form new interactions in 128 out of 157 spike–single antibody complexes. Among them, in 99 complexes, 50% or more of the interactions after the amino acid replacement are new (34 of which have formed only new interactions). Y145D and L212I, the only two amino acid replacements not affecting the RBD, can cause the gain of interactions in a few complexes. New interactions are formed by Q493R in 46 complexes, by N501Y in 45 complexes, by G496S in 38 complexes, and by S477N in 28 complexes . In the other 21 cases where antibodies lost all their interactions with spike, we predicted new interactions forming after the amino acid replacement. In eleven cases, the net balance was still negative, but in seven cases, the number of new interactions was higher than the number of lost interactions, with a net positive balance. In two cases, finally, the number of new interactions formed equals the number of lost interactions.The procedure adopted does not allow us to directly evaluate the effect of the insertions and of the deletions associated with the Omicron variant on the interactions between spike and the antibodies in our complexes. However, we evaluated how many times the residues of the spike affected by the deletions and the residue near the place of the insertion are involved in interactions with the antibodies in the 158 ensembles selected from PDB. Residues 70, 141, and 211 are not involved in any interaction in these ensembles; residue 69 is involved in interactions in one ensemble only, residue 142 in three, residue 143 in two, and residue 144 is involved in interactions in ten ensembles. Residue 214 is involved in interactions only in one ensemble. Thus, it might be deduced that these insertions and deletion do not cause a dramatic effect in the interaction of spikes with these antibodies.The interaction of the Omicron spike with ACE2 is object of interest in understanding how this variant can recognize its cellular receptor. Omicron spike glycoprotein shows seven amino acid replacements, not present in other variants, involving residues interacting with the ACE2 receptor. The net charge of the spike region interacting with ACE2 is increased (+3) by the amino acid changes related to the Omicron variant. As it is known that the counterpart on ACE2 is negatively charged ,12, the Our analysis suggests that the amino acid replacements occurring in the Omicron variant of spike protein may negatively affect the H-bonds that this protein can establish with the ACE2 receptor .Concerning the analysis of salt bridge interactions, the mutation involving Lys417 (K417N) prevents the unique salt bridge observed for the spike protein form used for X-ray studies, i.e., between the spike Lys417 residue and ACE2 Asp30 . HoweverThe immediate sharing of sequences has facilitated the quick characterization of the novel Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. This is an evident demonstration of how immediate sharing of biological data is fundamental to quickly react to the appearance of potential novel variants of concern and, more in general, of biothreats.Looking at the global effects of the amino acid replacements on the representative ensembles with antibodies extracted from the PDB archive, it appears an equilibrium between the loss of interactions and the gain of new interactions found in the complexes with the modeled Omicron spike mutations, with respect to those present in the former spike complexes. Therefore, we predict an overall modest impact of the Omicron variant on the spike recognition by these structurally characterized antibodies. The availability of higher resolution structures of spike–antibody ensembles will improve these predictions, as presently, only 43% of the ensembles we selected from PDB have a resolution better than 3 Å see , and manConcerning the interactions of Omicron spike variants with ACE2 receptor, our results are in good agreement with the recent predictive study  that proY145D, L212I, G339D, S371L, S373P, S375F, K417N, N440K, G446S, S477N, T478K, E484A, Q493R, G496S, Q498R, N501Y, Y505H, T547K, D614G, H655Y, N679K, P681H, N764K, D796Y, N856K, Q954H, N969K, and L981F. Twelve of these amino acid replacements (underlined) are not reported in other VOCs. Those from residue 339 to 505 are within the RBD. Ten of these mutations  involve amino acids interacting with the human ACE2 receptor. Additionally, the Omicron BA.1 variant shows four amino acid deletions: a double deletion H69-/V70-, typical of VOCs Alpha and Eta; a triple deletion G142-/V143-/Y144-, never reported in main VOCs but in other (sub)variants ; a deletion N211-, never reported in main VOCs, but in other (sub)variants ; a deletion L141-, found only in a fraction of Omicron sequences (20%), and reported in (sub)variants . Furthermore, Omicron shows an insertion (ins214EPE) that to date is the first insertion found in a VOC of SARS-CoV-2.Omicron BA.1 spike glycoprotein shows 30 amino acids replacements with respect to the reference sequence of spike protein (UniProt code: P0DTC2): A67V, T95I, Among the ensembles of spike protein with different antibodies available in PDB, we manually selected 158 representative ensembles using the following criteria: i. presence of one or more non-redundant human antibodies or of a portion of them  in the ensemble; ii. completeness of the spike protein ; iii. absence of mutations at the interfaces with antibodies (engineered spike proteins containing mutations far from interactions sites were included in our dataset); iv. RBD conformation ; v. resolution better than 4 Å. Twenty-two ensembles include two antibodies, and one ensemble includes three antibodies. The list of all selected spike–antibodies ensembles used as a starting point for this work is provided in Among the structures of spike protein in complex with ACE2, we selected two representative structures, i.e., 6LZG  and 6M0JFor each spike–antibody ensemble selected from PDB, we first analyzed the interactions at the interfaces between the residues belonging to each chain of spike and each antibody chain, using an in-house R script to automatize the calculation of all possible combinations between each spike chain and each antibody chain. The interactions at the interface were analyzed by LigPlot+/DIMPLOT  and an iFor the analysis of the Omicron variant, we modeled the missense mutations in the structure of spike protein, using a method already assessed in our previous studies about the effects of missense mutations on proteins ,25. ThusModels of spike protein complexed with ACE2 that include the amino acid replacements of the Omicron variant were obtained for both PDB complexes, i.e., 6LZG and 6M0J, by using MODELLER. For PDB complexes as well as modeled complexes, we then used again the programs LigPlot+/DIMPLOT and our in-house Perl script for spike–antibodies complexes to analyze the interactions at the interface for each antibody–spike complex.Figures of molecular models were generated by the open source PyMOL Molecular Graphics System .The impact of the Omicron variant on antibody recognition is the result of a complex balance of interactions. Our analysis suggests that, overall, this balance is affected but not dramatically perturbed by the amino acid replacements, insertions, and deletions carried out by the Omicron spike protein.This kind of analysis could be extended to other SARS-CoV-2 proteins targeted by antibodies, such as the nucleocapsid protein, which is used for most immunoassay-based detection methods. Unfortunately, to date, only a few structures of antibodies–nucleocapsid protein complexes are available in PDB. We hope that in the future, more 3D data structures of these ensembles will become available. In this way, it will be possible to better assess the detectability of available immuno-based tests and devices with respect to the emerging of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants, a challenge of high concern for policymakers . The sciOn the other hand, the developed approach also allows the evaluation of single mutations in their impact on the receptor and thus may be helpful in investigating the effects of new variants from the point of view of their transmissibility.