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.

Estimation of ancestry from cranial measurements based on MDCT data acquired in a Japanese and Western Australian population
AbstractThe estimation of ancestry is important not only towards establishing identity but also as a required precursor to facilitating the accurate estimation of other attributes such as sex, age at death, and stature. The present study aims to analyze morphological variation in the crania of Japanese and Western Australian individuals and test predictive models based on machine learning for their potential forensic application. The Japanese and Western Australian samples comprise computed tomography (CT) scans of 230 (111 female; 119 male) and 225 adult individuals (112 female; 113 male), respectively. A total of 18 meas...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 22, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Epigenetic analyses in forensic medicine: future and challenges
AbstractThe possibility of using epigenetics in forensic investigation has gradually risen over the last few years. Epigenetic changes with their dynamic nature can either be inherited or accumulated throughout a lifetime and be reversible, prompting investigation of their use across various fields. In forensic sciences, multiple applications have been proposed, such as the discrimination of monozygotic twins, identifying the source of a biological trace left at a crime scene, age prediction, determination of body fluids and tissues, human behavior association, wound healing progression, and determination of the post-morte...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 20, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Forensic age estimation of the knee by post-mortem DR, CT, and MR imaging: a comparative study
AbstractIt is believed by many that reference data for age estimation purposes must be imaging-modality specific. A study from our department has however proven otherwise. We therefore found it interesting to investigate this further by looking at the level of agreement between different imaging modalities. The aim of this study was to investigate the level of agreement between the three radiological modalities, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and digital radiography (DR), in assessing the ossification of the epiphyses of the knee. A total of 34 deceased individuals of 10 –25 years of age, bro...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 19, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Adult age estimation from the sternum using maximum intensity projection images of CT and data mining in a Chinese population
In conclusion, the accuracy of our model for adult age estimation was among similar studies. MIP images of the sternum could be a potential age indicator. However, it should be combined with other indicators since the accuracy level is still unsatisfactory. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 19, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Morphine concentrations in fatalities after palliative treatment of acute burn injury
AbstractThe evaluation of a morphine concentration in postmortem blood is routine for a forensic toxicologist. We here report three fatal cases where we found high morphine concentrations with 7.96, 4.30, and 5.82  mg/l in femoral blood that have to be estimated as unusually high. All these individuals died due to severe burn injuries and obtained morphine in the context of their palliative care in the last hours of their lives. According to the autopsy results, the cause of death in case 1 was burn disease with burns of about 90% of the body surface area (BSA), case 2 burn trauma, and case 3 burn shock. Besides morphine,...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 17, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Why identification matters: an explorative study on six cases of family reunification
AbstractThe escalating phenomenon of migration, accompanied by a disturbing surge in associated tragedies, has persistently violated internationally protected human rights. Absence of physical evidence, namely the presence of adequately identified corpses, may impede the full enjoyment of human rights and —in some cases—the course of justice as it obstructs the initiation of legal proceedings against individuals implicated in causing such catastrophes. It also presents administrative obstacles, as death certificates are indispensable in legitimizing statuses like orphanhood and widowhood. Family reunification, particul...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 16, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Cardiac effects of 5F-Cumyl-PEGACLONE
AbstractSynthetic cannabinoids become increasingly popular as a supposedly safe and legal alternative to cannabis. In order to circumvent the German New Psychoactive Substances Law, producers of so-called herbal mixtures rapidly design new substances with structural alterations that are not covered by the law. Acting as full agonists not only at the cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2, synthetic cannabinoids might have not only desired mental but also serious physical adverse effects. However, knowledge of adverse effects of specific substances is sparse and incomplete. This also accounts for 5F-Cumyl-PEGACLONE, a synthetic cann...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 12, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Cardiogenic shock in a 28-year-old woman associated with sibutramine use
AbstractA 28-year-old woman collapsed in her home, and her companion rushed to call emergency services. Upon arrival, a physician performed CPR and endotracheal intubation, successfully restoring her voluntary heart rhythm. However, while en route to the hospital, ventricular fibrillation recurred. Despite the restoration of her voluntary rhythm through electrical defibrillation, she remained in a comatose state, which eventually led to multiple organ failures. Family members revealed that she had a 2-month history of taking diet pills. Histological examination revealed cardiomyocyte necrosis, contraction band necrosis, in...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 10, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Technical strategy for monozygotic twin discrimination by single-nucleotide variants
In this study, we sequenced the whole genome of a pair of female MZ twins when they were 27 and 33  years old to approximately 30 × coverage using peripheral blood on an Illumina NovaSeq 6000 Sequencing System. Potentially discordant SNVs supported by whole-genome sequencing were validated extensively by amplicon-based targeted deep sequencing and Sanger sequencing. In total, we found nine bona fide post-twinning SNVs, all of which were identified in the younger genomes and found in the older genomes. None of the SNVs occurred within coding exons, three of which were observed in introns, supported by whole-exome sequ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 10, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Identifying hypothermia death in a mouse model by ATR-FTIR
In this study, BAT of mice was used for the discrimination of HD using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). A modified mouse HD model conducted by Feeney DM was used in this study to obtain infrared spectra of BAT. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were used to establish discrimination models. The PLS-DA and OPLS-DA models exhibit prominent discriminative efficiency, and the accuracy of HD identification using fingerprint regions and ratios of absorption int...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 9, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Forensic pilot application of rehydrating solutions on human cadaveric skin: what are the effects on hemorrhagic infiltrates?
AbstractThe microscopic evaluation of hemorrhagic infiltrates is crucial in forensic diagnostics, but it proves challenging in corificated and mummified cadavers. In these cases, pre-treatment with rehydrating solutions is recommended, although their effects on the hemorrhagic infiltrate are not well understood. In this pilot study, we microscopically investigated the effect of two different rehydrating solutions —Sandison’s solution and fabric softener—on well-preserved human cadaveric skin samples taken from areas affected by an ecchymotic lesion, comparing them with direct fixation in formalin. Specifically, we ex...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 8, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

A new, deep learning –based method for the analysis of autopsy kidney samples used to study sex differences in glomerular density and size in a forensic population
In this study, there were no sex differences in glomerular density or size. Considering the size of the kidney samples, the use of the presented deep learning method can help to analyze large renal autopsy biopsies and opens perspectives for the histological study of other organs. (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 5, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Artificial intelligence in healthcare: why not apply the medico-legal method starting with the Collingridge dilemma?
AbstractTechnology has greatly influenced and radically changed human life, from communication to creativity and from productivity to entertainment. The authors, starting from considerations concerning the implementation of new technologies with a strong impact on people ’s everyday lives, take up Collingridge’s dilemma and relate it to the application of AI in healthcare. Collingridge’s dilemma is an ethical and epistemological problem concerning the relationship between technology and society which involves two approaches. The proactive approach and socio-te chnological experimentation taken into account in the dil...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 3, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Decision tree analysis for age estimation in living individuals: integrating cervical and dental radiographic evaluations within a South African population
AbstractAge estimation in living individuals around the age of 18  years is medico-legally important in undocumented migrant cases and in countries like South Africa where many individuals are devoid of identification documents. Establishing whether an individual is younger than 18 years largely influences the legal procedure that should be followed in dealing w ith an undocumented individual. The aim of this study was to combine dental third molar and anterior inferior apophysis ossification data for purposes of age estimation, by applying a decision tree analysis. A sample comprising of 871 black South African individu...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 2, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research

Diet and rate of decomposition of the corpse in a human surrogate
AbstractThe decomposition of an inert body seems to depend on the physiological, biological and physical characteristics of the corpse. The effect of these, especially of extra-biological mechanisms, on the rate of decomposition of the corpse does not seem to be sufficiently explored. The present work proposes to examine the influence of the type of feeding on the rate of cadaver decomposition in a human surrogate. It is based on a sample of four corpses of juvenile male pigs of the speciesSus scrofa domesticus, three of which are experimental and one is a control aged 12  weeks and having a mass between 19 and 24 kg. Th...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - January 1, 2024 Category: Medical Law Source Type: research