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Laboratory Animals Jan 2014The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectrum in response to decapitation of anaesthetized rats, in order to...
The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes in electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectrum in response to decapitation of anaesthetized rats, in order to assess the nociception or otherwise of this procedure. Ten young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were anaesthetized with halothane in oxygen and anaesthesia was maintained at a stable concentration of halothane between 1.20% and 1.25%. The rat's head and neck were placed through the opening of a small animal guillotine so that the blade of the guillotine was positioned over the atlanto-occipial joint of the rat's neck. The EEG was recorded in a five-electrode montage, bilaterally. After recording a 15 min baseline the rat was decapitated by swiftly pressing the guillotine blade and the EEG recording was continued until the signal was isoelectric on both channels. Changes in the median frequency (F50), 95% spectral edge frequency (F95) and total power of the EEG (Ptot) were used to investigate the effects of decapitation. During the first 15 s following decapitation, there were significant increases in the F50 and F95, and a decrease in the Ptot compared with baseline values. There was a clear window of time immediately following decapitation where changes in the EEG frequency spectrum were obvious; these changes in the EEG indices of nociception could be attributed as responses generated by the rat's cerebral cortex following decapitation.
Topics: Anesthesia; Anesthetics, Inhalation; Animals; Cerebral Cortex; Decapitation; Electroencephalography; Halothane; Male; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Rodent Diseases
PubMed: 24367032
DOI: 10.1177/0023677213502016 -
Lakartidningen Jun 2016
Topics: Capital Punishment; Decapitation; History, 19th Century; Humans; Physiology; Sweden
PubMed: 27328157
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine :... Oct 2015
Topics: Abortion, Incomplete; Decapitation; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Pregnancy; Prenatal Injuries; Ultrasonography, Prenatal
PubMed: 26333566
DOI: 10.7863/ultra.15.14.11069 -
Journal of Forensic Sciences Mar 2010Dismemberment of a corpse has always been viewed by society to be a more hideous crime than the homicide itself. In this study, we present a case of a 57-year-old woman...
Dismemberment of a corpse has always been viewed by society to be a more hideous crime than the homicide itself. In this study, we present a case of a 57-year-old woman who was decapitated and her right arm and both hands were dismembered. It was determined that the victim was murdered and dismembered by her 33-year-old daughter, who had been receiving treatment for schizophrenia for 15 years. On the victim's head and back there were 71 incised and stab wounds in total. They were superficial, except the five stab wounds which were connected to the right chest cavity and which incapacitated the victim. Although there is not a regulation for the act of dismembering the corpse in the Turkish Penal Code, since this type of case is rare, the crime scene and the autopsy findings were evaluated together with other pertinent data available in the literature.
Topics: Adult; Corpse Dismemberment; Decapitation; Female; Forensic Pathology; Forensic Psychiatry; Homicide; Humans; Middle Aged; Mothers; Schizophrenic Psychology; Turkey; Wounds, Stab
PubMed: 20070467
DOI: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01266.x -
Nature Communications Aug 2021The sperm head-to-tail coupling apparatus (HTCA) ensures sperm head-tail integrity while defective HTCA causes acephalic spermatozoa, rendering males infertile. Here, we...
The sperm head-to-tail coupling apparatus (HTCA) ensures sperm head-tail integrity while defective HTCA causes acephalic spermatozoa, rendering males infertile. Here, we show that CENTLEIN is indispensable for HTCA integrity and function, and that inactivation of CENTLEIN in mice leads to sperm decapitation and male sterility. We demonstrate that CENTLEIN directly interacts with both SUN5 and PMFBP1, two proteins localized in the HTCA and related with acephalic spermatozoa syndrome. We find that the absence of Centlein sets SUN5 and PMFBP1 apart, the former close to the sperm head and the latter in the decapitated tail. We show that lack of Sun5 results in CENTLEIN and PMFBP1 left in the decapitated tail, while disruption of Pmfbp1 results in SUN5 and CENTLEIN left on the detached sperm head. These results demonstrate that CENTLEIN cooperating with SUN5 and PMFBP1 participates in the HTCA assembly and integration of sperm head to the tail, indicating that impairments of CENTLEIN might be associated with acephalic spermatozoa syndrome in humans.
Topics: Animals; Cell Cycle Proteins; Cells, Cultured; Cytoskeletal Proteins; HEK293 Cells; Humans; Infertility, Male; Male; Membrane Proteins; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Mice, Knockout; Mutation; Protein Binding; Sperm Head; Sperm Tail; Spermatozoa; Teratozoospermia; Mice
PubMed: 34389728
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25227-w -
Forensic Science, Medicine, and... Mar 2017
Topics: Accidents, Occupational; Adult; Decapitation; Farmers; Humans; Male
PubMed: 28116616
DOI: 10.1007/s12024-016-9838-1 -
Forensic Science International Mar 2019Killings of human beings involving animals have rarely been described in the forensic literature. In the present case, the decapitated corpse of a woman as well as the...
Killings of human beings involving animals have rarely been described in the forensic literature. In the present case, the decapitated corpse of a woman as well as the decapitated, castrated and partially disemboweled corpse of a dog were found together. Both bodies also exhibited analogous, distributed massive sharp-force traumas. The approximately same pattern of actions as well as findings consistent with an exaggerated killing are particularly noteworthy. The perpetrator was found to be the son of the victim and had long exhibited psychological abnormalities. He was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter due to mental incapacity and was subsequently placed in a psychiatric hospital.
Topics: Animals; Decapitation; Dogs; Female; Forensic Pathology; Forensic Psychology; Homicide; Humans; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Wounds, Stab
PubMed: 30690251
DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.018 -
The American Journal of Forensic... Mar 2015Motor vehicle collisions are an important cause of blunt abdominal trauma in pregnant woman. Among the possible outcomes of blunt abdominal trauma, placental abruption,...
Motor vehicle collisions are an important cause of blunt abdominal trauma in pregnant woman. Among the possible outcomes of blunt abdominal trauma, placental abruption, direct fetal trauma, and rupture of the gravid uterus are described. An interesting case of complete fetal decapitation with uterine rupture due to a high-velocity motor vehicle collision is described. The external examination of the fetus showed a disconnection between the cervical vertebrae C3 and C4. The autopsy examination showed hematic infiltration of the epicranic soft tissues, an overlap of the parietal bones, and a subarachnoid hemorrhage in the posterior part of interparietal area. Histological analysis was carried out showing a lack of epithelium and hemorrhages in the subcutaneous tissue, a hematic infiltration between the muscular fibers of the neck and between the collagen and deep muscular fibers of the tracheal wall. Specimens collected from the placenta and from the uterus showed a hematic infiltration with hypotrophy of the placental villi, fibrosis of the mesenchymal villi with ischemic phenomena of the membrane. The convergence of circumstantial data, autopsy results, and histological data led us to conclude that the neck lesion was vital and the cause of death was attributed to the motor vehicle collision.
Topics: Accidents, Traffic; Adult; Decapitation; Female; Humans; Male; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Trimester, Third; Prenatal Injuries; Uterine Rupture
PubMed: 25470410
DOI: 10.1097/PAF.0000000000000130 -
Journal of Medical Ethics Dec 2011The 'decapitation gambit' holds that, if physical decapitation normally entails the death of the human being, then physiological decapitation, evident in cases of total...
The 'decapitation gambit' holds that, if physical decapitation normally entails the death of the human being, then physiological decapitation, evident in cases of total brain failure, entails the death of the human being. This argument has been challenged by Franklin Miller and Robert Truog, who argue that physical decapitation does not necessarily entail the death of human beings and that therefore, by analogy, artificially sustained human bodies with total brain failure are living human beings. They thus challenge the current neurological criterion for determining death and argue for a return to the traditional criterion of the irreversible loss of circulation and respiration. In this paper, I defend the decapitation gambit and total brain failure as a criterion for determining death against Miller and Truog's criticism.
Topics: Attitude to Death; Brain Death; Death; Decapitation; Ethics, Medical; Human Body; Humans; Jurisprudence; Respiration; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 21989065
DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2011-100109 -
Journal of Forensic Sciences Sep 2021Table saws are dangerous tools able to create severe injuries. In accidental injuries, the most commonly injured body parts are fingers (85.9%) while amputations occur...
Table saws are dangerous tools able to create severe injuries. In accidental injuries, the most commonly injured body parts are fingers (85.9%) while amputations occur in 10% of cases. Accidental neck or head injuries account for only 3.1% of all injuries. Table saws cause nearly half of all saw-related amputations. There are approximately 30,000 cases of table saw-related injuries in the United States annually, but only a few table saw-related suicides have been reported in the scientific literature. In regard to suicides, usually the head or the neck is targeted. Usually, only the soft tissues of the neck are injured because the blade height limits the cutting depth and the victim falls down from the table saw before complete transection. A rare case of suicide committed by a modified table saw that resulted in near decapitation is presented. Previously reported cases of suicides by table saw are also reviewed.
Topics: Decapitation; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Suicide, Completed
PubMed: 33885148
DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14732