International Journal of Legal Medicine This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Temperature-specific spectral shift of luminescing thermally altered human remains
AbstractHuman bone has shown to have luminescent properties that remain throughout the phases of cremation, with the exception of fully carbonized bone, when excited with a narrow band light source. During this research, an alternate light source (420 –470nm, peak at 445nm) was used to visualize and investigate latent details relevant for forensic investigations of human remains recovered at fire scenes. As fire is a destructive force, it induces a vast variety of physical and chemical alterations to all components of the bone, making the subse quent analysis and interpretation of burned human remains challenging. A spec...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 13, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Correction to: Post ‑mortem changes of the vascular system—a thanatological study using multidetector computed tomography
(Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 10, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Dental age assessment: scoring systems and models from the past until the present —how is it presented in the court?
ConclusionsSince it was not possible to determine the most reliable method for age estimation, a combined application of different age estimation methodologies is recommended to be use in the courts with relevant statistical data such as effect size. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 8, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Knife wound or nosebleed —where does the blood at the crime scene come from?
AbstractSecretion analysis is a useful tool in forensic genetics, since it establishes the (cellular) origin of the DNA prior in addition to the identification of the DNA donor. This information can be crucial for the construction of the crime sequence or verification of statements of people involved in the crime. For some secretions, rapid/pretests already exist (blood, semen, urine, and saliva) or can be determined via published methylation analyses or expression analyses (blood, saliva vaginal secretions, menstrual blood, and semen). To discriminate nasal secretion/blood from other secretions (like oral mucosa/saliva, b...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 6, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

A new method for sex estimation based on femoral cross-sectional geometry measurements and its validation using recent and ancient populations
This study aimed to develop new methods for sex estimation based on femoral cross-sectional geometry (CSG) variables and to test their applicability in recent and ancient assemblages. The sample was divided into a study group (living individuals,N = 124) for creating sex prediction equations and two test groups: living individuals (N = 31) and prehistoric individuals (N = 34). The prehistoric sample was divided into three subgroups according to subsistence strategy (hunter-gatherers, early farmers that also hunted, and farmers and herders). Femoral CSG variables (size, strength, and shape) were measured from CT...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 6, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Evaluation of distal tibial epiphysis and calcaneal epiphysis according to the Vieth method in 3.0  T magnetic resonance images: a pilot study
In this study, the MR images of the ankles of patients aged between 8 and 25 years, obtained with a 3.0 T MR scanner, were evaluated retrospectively according to the staging method defined by Vieth et al. In the study, the ankle MR images of 201 cases (83 females and 118 males) with sagittal T1-weighted turbo spin echo and T2-weighted short tau inversion recovery sequences were evaluated independently by two observers. According to the results of our study, the intra- and inter-observer agreements are at a very good l evel for both the distal tibial and calcaneal epiphyses. All the cases detected as stages 2, 3, and 4 in...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 5, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Preliminary study on genetic factors related to Demirjian ’s tooth age estimation method based on genome-wide association analysis
In conclusion, we found that individual genotypes can affect tooth age estimation, and based on different phenotypic analysis models, we have identified some novel SNP sites related to tooth age inference and Demirjian’s tooth development stage. These studies pr ovide a reference for subsequent phenotypic selection based on tooth age inference analysis, and the results could possibly be used in the future to make forensic age estimation more accurate. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 3, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Development and application of a multiplex PCR system for forensic salivary identification
In conclusion, the salivary identification system has good sensitivity, specificity, stability, and accuracy, which can be a new effective tool for saliva identification. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 2, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Improving kinship probability in analysis of ancient skeletons using identity SNPs and MPS technology
AbstractIn forensic kinship analysis and human identification cases, analysis of STRs is the gold standard. When badly preserved ancient DNA is used for kinship analysis, short identity SNPs are more promising for successful amplification. In this work, kinship analysis was performed on two skeletons from the Early Middle Ages. The surface contaminants of petrous bones were removed by chemical cleaning and UV irradiation; DNA was isolated through full demineralization and purified in an EZ1 Advanced XL machine. The PowerQuant kit was used to analyze DNA yield and degradation, and on average, 17 ng DNA/g of petrous bone was...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 2, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Skeletal and dental age estimation via postmortem computed tomography in Polish subadults group
This article is a retrospective analysis of postmortem computed tomography scans of ossification stages of the anterior and posterior intra-occipital sutures, the anterior arch of the atlas, and the neurocentral junction of the axis. We also analyzed the development of secondary ossification centers in the proximal humeral, femoral, and tibial epiphyses, and the distal femoral and tibial epiphyses. Additionally, the development of primary ossification centers in the wrist and metacarpals, and maxillary and mandibular deciduous tooth maturation. A total of 58 cadavers (35 males, 23 females), whose age ranged from 3rd month ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 1, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Automated localization of the medial clavicular epiphyseal cartilages using an object detection network: a step towards deep learning-based forensic age assessment
ConclusionsWe demonstrated a robust automated approach for annotating the medial clavicular epiphyseal cartilages. This enables training and testing of deep neural networks for age assessment. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Use of third molar eruption based on Gambier ’s criteria in assessing dental age
AbstractThe biological aspects of determining the dental age of subadults represent an important interdisciplinary scientific link with applications in criminal law and in forensic anthropology and dentistry. In criminal procedural law, it is necessary to determine the exact age of an undocumented person in view of the application of the provisions on juvenile offenders and minor victims. Chronological age can be estimated from the development of the third molars, as these are the only teeth that develop at the age of 18. The aim of this study was to verify the applicability of the Gambier method based on the eruption of t...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Forensic age estimation in males by MRI based on the medial epiphysis of the clavicle
In conclusion, we confirmed the value of clavicular MRI in the age estimation process. The transition analysis model is a good approach to circumvent the problems of age mimicry and samples that are not fully equilibrated. Given the moderate agreement between raters, a consensus reading is recommended. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Sex assessment using the radius bone in a French sample when applying various statistical models
AbstractSex estimation of skeletal remains is one of the most important tasks in forensic anthropology. The radius bone is useful to develop standard guidelines for sex estimation across various populations and is an alternative when coxal or femoral bones are not available.The aim of the present study was to assess the sexual dimorphism from radius measurements in a French sample and compare the predictive accuracy of several modelling techniques, using both classical statistical methods and machine learning algorithms.A total of 78 left radii (36 males and 42 females) were used in this study. Sixteen measurements were ma...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Respiratory viruses in medicolegal autopsies during the winter season 2021/2022: observations after reduction of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic restrictions
AbstractIn the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, measures were taken to protect the population from infection. These were almost completely lifted in several countries in the spring of 2022. To obtain an overview of the spectrum of respiratory viruses encountered in autoptical routine case work, and their infectivity, all autopsy cases at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt/M. with flu-like symptoms (among others) were examined for at least 16 different viruses via multiplex PCR and cell culture. Out of 24 cases, 10 were virus-positive in PCR: specifically, 8 cases with severe acute respirato...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 18, 2023 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research