Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology最新文献

Forensic craniofacial reconstruction deals with recreating a person's facial features from the skull by combining anatomy archeology, anthropology and statistical approaches. When DNA analysis gives inconclusive results, the investigative leads directed towards craniofacial reconstruction. This review article sheds light on advances of CFR from manual techniques of clay and tissue depth markers historical methodologies such as the American, Manchester, and Russian methods, along with forensic photography and superimposition to AI driven methods that evaluate diverse applications in forensics. The articles from PubMed, Google scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus are incorporated in relevant sections. Results of this research reveal that 3D scanning, virtual modeling, and artificially enhanced reconstruction approaches along several applications of CFR with advanced imaging techniques, such as high-resolution CT and MRI scans, identifies gaps existing in the literatures, and further recommends prospective directions to enhance scientific contributions and real-world applications i.e. mass disaster identifications or creating lifelike depictions or historical figures for museums. Critical discussion also illustrates strength and weakness of methodologies, future perspectives that are aimed at maximizing advances in digital methods i.e. holography, forensic DNA phenotyping to achieve higher accuracy, provide ethical backbone, and garner public engagement or acceptance with CFR, thus strengthening it as an indispensable aspect to forensic and anthropological research.

This study seeks to establish a rapid, non-invasive methodology for the detection of drug abuse through the identification of common urinary drug metabolites utilizing attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was employed to detect and differentiate metabolites of heroin (6-AM), ecstasy (MDA), and cocaine (BE) in urine samples across a range of concentrations. Advanced chemometric approaches, encompassing principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were applied to construct robust discriminative models. Spectral data from both the fingerprint region and the full spectral range were analyzed to maximize analytical precision. The proposed ATR-FTIR method demonstrated remarkable sensitivity, achieving detection of drug metabolites in urine at concentrations as low as 0.02 mg/mL without necessitating sample separation or extraction steps. The OPLS-DA model exhibited superior discriminative performance, effectively distinguishing all three metabolites in both calibration and validation sets. These findings underscore the potential of integrating ATR-FTIR with chemometrics for the development of a rapid and reliable drug screening tool. This pilot investigation demonstrates that the integration of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy with chemometric analysis represents a highly promising strategy for the detection of urinary drug metabolites, circumventing the need for complex sample pretreatment procedures. This approach offers a novel, efficient, and non-invasive solution for the rapid identification of drug abuse, with substantial implications for forensic medicine and public health surveillance.

Purpose: Forensic podiatry is the application of the professional knowledge of this specialist in the legal field as an expert. Forensic podiatrists collaborate in the forensic identification of evidence that, from the foot, can help clarify what happened at a crime or crime scene. At the scene of the crime, footprints, shoe prints, and traces are evidence that are present even though they might not be immediately visible. The forensic analysis of a suspect's gait is evidence sometimes available and has as an important characteristic: it is an individualistic parameter and even a biometric factor. This gait analysis can be very relevant as evidence in the context of a crime. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the reliability of gait forensics with respect to the use of angular measurements compared to observational analysis of morphological characteristics to identify the current gold standard.

Methods: A systematic review of the scientific literature available in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Dialnet has been carried out. Nine observational studies were selected after applying the eligibility criteria.

Results: The selected studies were analytical and provided, among other information, numerical data on the reliability, reproducibility, and validity of the analysis methods in question. There is not enough conclusive scientific evidence on the reliability of the method of analysis using angular measurements, as there is controversy between authors.

Conclusion: Forensic gait analysis based on angular measurements shows reliability limitations due to intra-individual factors (mood, clothing), requiring further empirical evidence; in contrast, the observational method analyzing of unique gait characteristics emerges as the most reliable method, offering high accuracy, validity, and reproducibility when conducted by trained biomechanical experts.

An 80-year-old man who presented with hemoptysis died from ischemic heart disease and emphysema with cor pulmonale. He had a past history of ischemic heart disease with previous myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with endobronchial valve insertion and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung with lobe resection. On the day of death he had coughed up approximately one tablespoon of blood. While causes of hemoptysis usually include entities such as bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchiectasis, tumors, adjacent aneurysms, inflammatory/infective processes or septic emboli, occasionally there may be an iatrogenic etiology. The present case demonstrates a rare cause of hemoptysis associated with medical treatment - endobronchial valve insertion with surrounding granulation tissue formation and resultant hemorrhage. Hemoptysis in decedents with COPD may, therefore, be due to treatment rather than to underlying inflammatory or neoplastic lesions.

Fictitious disorder by proxy (FDP) is characterized by an adult, often a parent, alleging or fabricating symptoms in a child to induce repeated diagnostic tests or treatments. This form of abuse is particularly serious and difficult to diagnose. Worldwide, it is estimated that 0.5 to 1.2 per 100,000 children are abused in this way every year. We report the case of FDP in an 8-year-old child who presented with coagulation disorders secondary to the unknowing administration of Acenocoumarin. His parents had requested seven medical consultations over a six-month period. The parents systematically reported a coagulation pathology (factor VII deficiency), prompting further investigations and treatment. Biological tests showed deficiencies of vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors, raising suspicion of vitamin K antagonists (VKA) use. Toxicological tests revealed the presence of Acenocoumarin in the child's blood three times, at levels of 0.15 mg/L; 0.06 mg/L and 0.43 mg/L. The biological abnormalities corrected spontaneously after the child was hospitalized. A family investigation led to the diagnosis of medical child abuse in the child's older sister, who presented bleeding. The severity and recurrence of this syndrome correlated with the role that caregivers play in this type of abuse deserves our full attention to prevent and manage it as effectively as possible.

A male newborn found lifeless raised the question of whether he had lived after birth. The float sample test results of both lungs and the gastrointestinal tract were positive. Microbiological examinations detected the Fusobacterium gonidiaformans, an obligate anaerobic gas-forming germ, in the lung tissue and in the heart blood, which caused the float test results to be 'false-positive'. As far as can be seen, a comparable case has not yet been reported in forensic literature.

In experimental models of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been established as pivotal mediators in the initial phases of thrombus formation. Through the establishment of a chromatin-based scaffold, NETs provide a structural foundation that enhances platelet adhesion. Furthermore, they significantly contribute to the perpetuation of a self-amplifying cycle of venous endothelial cell injury, thereby exacerbating thrombogenesis. While extant research has predominantly concentrated on the role of NETs in the initiation of DVT, there remains a paucity of investigation into the temporal dynamics of NETs content across the sequential stages of thrombus development, including formation, elongation, organization, and recanalization. The present study elucidates the forensic application of NETs for temporal assessment of thrombus age in cases of sudden death resulting from pulmonary embolism secondary to deep vein thrombosis. This was accomplished through the establishment of a time-gradient DVT model in a rat model system. Utilizing myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody, a well-established marker of neutrophil activation, in conjunction with CitH3 histone antibody, a specific marker for neutrophil extracellular traps, we performed dual immunofluorescence co-localization studies. These investigations confirmed the integral involvement of NETs in the thrombotic process. Complementary Western blot analyses demonstrated temporal variations in NETs content within the thrombotic mass. The CitH3 levels exhibited no significant elevation during the initial 3-6 h post-ligation period, followed by a gradual increase after 24 h, reaching maximal expression on day 3. Subsequently, a progressive decline was observed, culminating in complete resolution by day 21. Quantitative analysis of positive cell counts (×1000, across five representative fields) at sequential time points revealed distinct temporal patterns. During the initial 3-hour to 1-day post-ligation period, MPO-positive cells demonstrated a significantly more rapid increase compared to CitH3-positive cells. By day 3, MPO levels commenced a decline, ultimately falling below CitH3 levels. Subsequent analysis of the CitH3/MPO ratio yielded significant forensic implications. Our findings demonstrate that a CitH3/MPO ratio approximating 1.0 corresponds to a thrombus formation time within 5 days. The degree of ratio variation among multiple samples serves as a temporal indicator: minimal variation (approaching 1.0) suggests a shorter thrombus formation interval, while ratios exceeding 2.0 or demonstrating substantial variation are indicative of thrombus formation times surpassing 7 days.

A diagnosis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is critical importance in forensic medicine, particularly because severe atherosclerosis is known to be associated with a high risk of sudden death. In South Korea, the assessment of coronary atherosclerosis during autopsy largely depends on the forensic pathologist's visual measurements, which may limit diagnostic accuracy. The objective of this study was to develop a deep learning algorithm for rapid and precise assessment of coronary atherosclerosis and to identify factors influencing the model's prediction of atherosclerosis severity. A total of 3,717 digital photographs were retrospectively extracted from a database of 1,920 forensic autopsies, with one image each selected for the left anterior descending coronary artery and the right coronary artery. The deep learning algorithm developed in this study demonstrated a high level of agreement (0.988, 95% CI: 0.985-0.990) and absolute agreement (0.986, 95% CI: 0.978-0.991) between predicted and ground truth atherosclerosis values on the test set. The model demonstrated strong overall performance on the test set, achieving a weighted F1-score of 0.904. However, the class-wise F1-scores were 0.957 for mild, 0.785 for moderate, and 0.876 for severe grades, indicating that performance was lowest for the moderate grade. Additionally, decomposition, stent implantation, and thrombi did not have a statistically significant impact on coronary atherosclerosis assessment except for calcification. Although enhancing model performance for moderate grades remains a challenge, this study's findings demonstrate the potential of artificial intelligence as a practical tool for assessing coronary atherosclerosis in autopsy photographs.

Age estimation is crucial in forensic sciences for victim identification, migration studies, and bioarchaeology. In subadults, it is based on maturational changes, while in adults, it relies on degenerative processes, reducing accuracy. Traditional methods, such as anthropological and dental approaches, are widely used, but recent advances in biochemical and molecular biology (BMB) have introduced epigenetic and biochemical analyses. Given the variability in biological aging, it is essential to evaluate and compare these methods for more precise and reproducible results. This article is a scoping review analyzing the accuracy of anthropological, dental, and BMB methods for estimating age in living individuals, cadavers, and adult skeletal remains. A scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and WOS, covering studies from 2015 to 2024. Articles applying regression models for age estimation and reporting error metrics were included, while reviews and studies without precision data were excluded. Anthropological methods analyze degenerative changes in bone structures, such as the pubic symphysis and acetabulum, with error margins of 4-25 years. Forensic dentistry uses pulp-to-tooth ratios and secondary dentin deposition, yielding mean errors of 2.5-12.5 years. BMB methods, such as DNA methylation, telomere shortening, and aspartic acid racemization, offer accuracies of ± 3 to ± 10 years but require specialized equipment. Artificial intelligence enhances reproducibility, although standardization challenges remain. Age estimation in adults, particularly those over 40, remains challenging. Validating traditional methods, integrating AI, and applying multivariate molecular models can improve accuracy. A multidisciplinary approach is essential for forensic applications.