Archiwum Medycyny Sadowej i Kryminologii最新文献

Car accident victims commonly report cervical spine distortion as their injury. Problems with proving this kind of injury, including its effects, come to light in insurance claims adjustment, and if the tortfeasor driver or the insurer refuses to pay compensation or general damages, such problems should be resolved in court. This paper discusses legal issues involved in proving whiplash-associated disorders under the law as it stood before 7 November 2019 and after the rules of civil procedure were amended.

Introduction: In medicolegal practice, rare cases associated with suicidal, criminal or accidental overdose of insulin are both analytically and forensically challenging. The determination of insulin in post-mortem blood has limited diagnostic value, mainly on account of post-mortem chemical degradation processes (particularly hemolysis), and hence is not useful in medicolegal practice.

Aim of the study: The aims of the study were: 1) to assess the usefulness of the immunoradiometric method, used in clinical practice, for post-mortem measurement of insulin concentration in the intraocular fluid, 2) to preliminarily evaluate the usefulness of the obtained results for toxicological and medicolegal assessment, and 3) to verify on the basis of our own material the validity of the cited literature data on the effect of hemolysis on the result of insulin level determination in post-mortem blood.

Material and methods: The study material consisted of 93 samples of intraocular fluid collected during consecutive medicolegal autopsies performed in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Toxicology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice. In addition, 10 samples of peripheral blood taken from living people (5 women and 5 men) for clinical and diagnostic purposes were analyzed. Insulin(e) IRMA KIT from IMMUNOTECH was used for the analyses.

Results: In 86 (92.5%) samples, the insulin concentration was below the analytical sensitivity of the method (less than 0.5 μIU/ml), while in 7 cases it was in the range of 1.42-24.42 μIU/ml.

Conclusions: Determination of the insulin level in the intraocular fluid by the immunoradiometric method provides an opportunity for objective verification of poisoning, however this claim requires further research.

Self-strangulation should be cautiously determined following a comprehensive death investigation because the circumstance of strangulation is usually homicide. The deceased was a 33-year-old male who suffered from depression and was found missing from a psychiatric unit while on treatment. The deceased was found the following day in the doctors' car park of the unit. The deceased was in a prone position with a strip of material from the sarong he was wearing round his neck and features of strangulation. Scene investigation and autopsy with the history of psychiatric disease confirmed self-strangulation. The rarity of self-strangulation, especially in a hospital, and the ligature material used being a strip of material from the sarong he was wearing inspired us to report this case.

Aim of the study: Genetic tests play a crucial role in the crime investigation process and often provide the strongest evidence for case resolution. Although the majority of genetic analyses in the field of criminalistics focus on the human DNA, genetic identification of animals is becoming an increasingly common procedure. Domestic animals, which live around people, may be silent witnesses and even victims of criminal activity. Their typically limited value as evidence in such cases could radically change thanks to the possibility of using animal biological material present at the crime scene. In addition to forensic medicine, genetic identification methods of this type may also become a valuable tool in many other areas of life. Recently, there has been an increase in public interest in verifying the pedigree of animals, investigating poaching and illegal shooting of animals, e.g. protected wildcats and lynx, as well as illegal trade in animals. The main aims of the studies reported in this paper were to assess the degree of polymorphism of the analyzed STR markers in feline genetic material, and to perform a preliminary evaluation of their suitability for developing an original feline genetic identification test.

Material and methods: The studies involved an analysis of genetic material samples obtained from a population consisting of 123 unrelated cats representing various domestic cat breeds, living in the Lower Silesia region. The material collected from individual cats in the form of blood drops or buccal swabs was subjected to an analysis of five STR markers forming a single multiplex assay (FCA742, FCA744, F124, FCA732, FCA749).

Results: The results obtained for each marker separately were analyzed statistically and, using the 2 test, the concordance of the study population with the Hardy-Weinberg principle was evaluated.

Conclusions: The findings demonstrate a significant potential of the analyzed markers for the development of genetic identification tests.

Aim of the study: Forensic botany demands tools to verify the value of plant-origin evidence brought into the process of criminal investigation. Molecular biology provides techniques for comparing material from the crime scene with other biological material of evidence. In this paper, we propose a set of seven markers based on Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) loci for DNA profiling of Quercus spp. STR markers of the highest observed heterozygosity were selected, according to available literature. Oaks were chosen due to their wide dissemination in the northern hemisphere. They served as an object of study to develop a method for obtaining comparable genetic profiles of plant evidence material.

Material and methods: In the study, we verified the specificity of primers towards selected species of oaks. Twenty-three species, including most of those previously studied, were investigated for the presence of selected loci. After DNA extraction, STR sequences were amplified using multiplex PCR, and amplification products were then analysed with capillary electrophoresis. The frequency of genotypes was tested with the χ² test.

Results: Out of 23 investigated species of oak, full genetic profiles were obtained for 13 species.

Conclusions: An incomplete genetic profile may result from DNA degradation or lower homology in primer binding sites. Full profiles were successfully obtained for most of the species tested; however, deficient profiles were yielded in species for which a full profile was expected. This may be due to the loss in DNA quality caused by ageing processes of plant material and inappropriate storage conditions or method of preservation.

Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a method for the determination of the synthetic cannabinoid AB-CHMINACA in blood, followed by its verification in forensic toxicological practice.

Material and methods: The case of a 41-year-old man admitted to hospital because of scheduled cardiac surgery was discussed. The man died after 12 hours of hospitalization. Based on collected evidence, AB-CHMINACA poisoning was suspected. The identification and determination of AB-CHMINACA in the man's blood was performed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI-MS-MS), after prior solid phase extraction.

Results: The concentration of AB-CHMINACA determined in the man's blood sample was 0.5 ng/ml.

Conclusions: In the interpretation of the case, it was concluded that AB-CHMINACA had no direct effect on the patient's death, the cause of which was ascertained as chronic heart failure secondary to aortic valve disease, decompensated by pneumonia. However, an indirect impact of side effects resulting from the use of synthetic cannabinoids cannot be ruled out. They might have exacerbated the man's disease process leading to sudden cardiac arrest caused by asystole.

Incorrect declaration of death is not a frequent situation in medico-legal reports, and such cases are usually of great interest. In this study the authors present a case of improper declaration of death by a physician, despite the absence of early definitive signs of death and without a full medical examination. However, the investigation of the case was dropped, and the conduct of the physician was not assessed by experts.

The paper illustrates a difficult case of personal identification of the remains of two construction workers, severely charred and calcined because of very high temperatures caused by an explosion of a high pressure gas pipeline. In both cases, genetic and odontological examinations were conducted for the purpose of victim identification. Genetic tests made it possible to identify the remains of one of the casualties. In the other case, however, identification was impossible on account of complete destruction of the victim's genetic material, which is typical of long-term exposure to extremely high temperatures (similar to cremation). Ultimately, the remains were identified on the basis of odontological examinations following the retrieval of the victim's ante-mortem dental records. The presented case shows that dental examinations can be an alternative to genetic tests and dactyloscopy. Unfortunately, the value of forensic odontology is Poland is still underestimated. The paper also addresses the issue of retrieval of ante-mortem dental records in Poland.