SignificanceMueller-matrix polarimetry is a powerful method allowing for the visualization of malformations in biological tissues and quantitative evaluation of alterations associated with the progression of various diseases. This approach, in fact, is limited in observation of spatial localization and scale-selective changes in the poly-crystalline compound of tissue samples.AimWe aimed to improve the Mueller-matrix polarimetry approach by implementing the wavelet decomposition accompanied with the polarization-singular processing for express differential diagnosis of local changes in the poly-crystalline structure of tissue samples with various pathology.ApproachMueller-matrix maps obtained experimentally in transmitted mode are processed utilizing a combination of a topological singular polarization approach and scale-selective wavelet analysis for quantitative assessment of the adenoma and carcinoma histological sections of the prostate tissues.ResultsA relationship between the characteristic values of the Mueller-matrix elements and singular states of linear and circular polarization is established within the framework of the phase anisotropy phenomenological model in terms of linear birefringence. A robust method for expedited (up to ∼15 min) polarimetric-based differential diagnosis of local variations in the poly-crystalline structure of tissue samples containing various pathology abnormalities is introduced.ConclusionsThe benign and malignant states of the prostate tissue are identified and assessed quantitatively with a superior accuracy provided by the developed Mueller-matrix polarimetry approach.

INTRODUCTION: Investigation of the rheological properties of the erythrocytes is one of the crucial issues in the pathogenesis of most diseases of internal organs. Changes in the morphological structure of the red blood cell membrane serve as an early diagnostic criterion of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 and anaemia, thus a search for modern methods of investigation which can be used for early detection of erythrocytes membrane disorders is of great importance. Methods of laser polarimetry of the erythrocytes suspension smear are crucial in this area. OBJECTIVES: Investigation of the possible structural changes of the erythrocytes membranes in patients with coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 and anaemia of different degrees of severity. METHODS: For the objective assessment of the structural state of erythrocytes membrane laser polarimetry of the red cell suspension smear was applied. Set of the statistical points of the 1^st-4^th grades was calculated and their effectiveness in the early pre-clinical detection of the erythrocytes membrane disorder was established. RESULTS: Images of the erythrocytes suspension samples, registered in the co-axial and crossed planes of the polarizer and analyser transmissions, regardless of the investigated group, are coordinating heterogeneous. However, obvious signs of the changes of the images structure depending on the presence and type of pathology are not visually detected. As the basis of an objective approach, a statistical analysis with histograms of the coordinate distributions of the random variables and a statistical calculation of the statistical points of the 1^st-4^th grades should be used. All statistical points, which describe the coordinate distributions of the various parameters of the Stokes vector, have individual sets of values and may be used for the differential diagnosis of the coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus type 2 and anaemia. CONCLUSIONS: Interconnections between the values of the sets of the statistical points of the 1^st-4^th grades, which characterized coordinate distributions of the intensity, azimuth and ellipticity of the polarization of the erythrocytes suspension laser images of the elderly and senile patients with comorbidity were established by means of laser polarimetry. The most sensitive were asymmetry and kurtosis, which can be used for early detection of the erythrocytes membrane disorder when routine methods of its visualization and estimation still are not able to be applied.

Post-mortem interval estimation is one of the most important issues in forensic practice. Optical diagnostic methods of biological tissue structure assessment are perspective in this area. The objects of investigation are polycrystalline films of cerebrospinal fluid, taken from 64 corpses with accurately known times of death and 15 healthy volunteers. The method of two-dimensional stokes-polarimetric mapping of distributions of a complex degree of mutual polarization with spatial-frequency filtration of microscopic images of cerebrospinal fluid films in the time monitoring of post-mortem changes in optical manifestations of polycrystalline networks has been tested in order to estimate the post-mortem interval. The most sensitive post-mortem changes in the optical manifestations of polycrystalline cerebrospinal fluid networks are revealed - statistical moments of the third and fourth orders that characterize the asymmetry and the excess (severity of the peak) of the distributions of values of the complex degree of mutual polarization of large-scale components of cerebrospinal fluid polycrystalline films microscopic images. An interval of 48 hours with the accuracy of the post-mortem interval estimation in ± 30 minutes were established by the method of two-dimensional mapping of distributions of the values of a complex degree of mutual polarization of large-scale component of cerebrospinal fluid films microscopic images.

Currently, the system of responding to cases of violence in Ukraine is not perfect, but international experience has practices that can significantly facilitate the process of working with victims of sexual or gender-based violence, in particular in wartime. One of these areas is forensic nursing. Purpose of the study: to consider the possibilities and features of the conditions for certification of forensic nurses in Ukraine based on literary sources and the existing training program for this specialty in the United States of America. Materials and methods: a selection of literary sources and the “Final Report on the Assessment of Needs in Forensic Nursing in Ukraine” of the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN) were used as materials. Research methods: analytical, descriptive, bibliographic. Research results and their discussion. Forensic nurses-experts in sexual violence are the main providers of assistance to victims who have suffered from violence and harassment in the United States. They typically work closely with physicians, law enforcement, lawyers, and other providers of best practices to ensure that standards of medical and legal care are met. Training is multidisciplinary, involving forensic specialists, human rights organizations, a police service involved in providing forensic care to victims, and includes the study of many disciplines. Nurses trained in forensic medicine are able to provide a wider range of services to victims of violence: from the use of nursing skills such as: communication, questioning, empathy - to conducting biomedical investigations, coordinating an interdisciplinary team, examining and interpreting trauma, examining for sexual violence, assessing complex circumstances, and more. Conclusions: Educational training for forensic nurses involves a multidisciplinary approach. It can be carried out in the form of undergraduate and graduate programs, advanced training courses and doctoral degrees in this field. According to the experience of the United States of America in this area, the most acceptable model for obtaining the profession of forensic nurse is postgraduate education after obtaining a certificate in the specialty "Nursing".

The paper proposes the use of multifractal analysis by algorithmic implementation of coordinate reconstructed distributions of linear birefringence magnitude and obtaining a spectrum of fractal dimensions of dehydrated polycrystalline blood films. The results of the diagnostic application of laser Jones matrix theziography methods of multifractal structure of polycrystalline networks of dehydrated films of blood for differential diagnostics of inflammatory and pathological conditions – "norm – sepsis" are presented. For dehydrated blood films, histograms and maps of the amplitude distributions of wavelet coefficients of theziograms of optical anisotropy and multifractal spectra of theziograms of optical anisotropy of polycrystalline supramolecular networks are given. Tables of the values of the central statistical moments of the 1st – 4th orders, which the Jones matrix characterize, wavelet and multifractal parameters of theziograms of phase anisotropy of dehydrated blood films, are systematized, and the set of statistical parameters more sensitive to changes in the polycrystalline structure of biological samples – diagnostic markers – is determined. Within the framework of statistical analysis of multifractal spectra and wavelet maps, it was determined that the algorithmically reconstructed birefringence theziogram allows identifying the most sensitive markers to changes in the anisotropic optical structure of blood caused by septic manifestations.

One of the important issues of forensic practice is the estimation of the volume of bleeding. Optical diagnostic methods of histological sections of tissue and liquids are perspective in this area. Material and methods. The objects of investigation are native histological sections of rectus abdominal muscle, taken from 48 corpses with acute blood loss and 10 – control group with acute coronary death. Results. The method of statistical analysis of the first-fourth Stokes vector parameters value distributions of microscopic images of histological sections of tissue with fibrillar structure (rectus abdominal muscle, skin, brain) of corpses with varying degrees of blood loss in order to estimate the bleeding volume was tested. The most sensitive statistical moments of the third and fourth orders that characterize the asymmetry and the kurtosis of change the level of blood loss of the deceased - V = 0 mm3 ÷ 1000 mm3 were revealed