forensic medicin

The escalating rates of rape and sexual assault cases underscore the essential need to analyze associative evidence of sexual assault to ensure justice. The condom, when used during the act of sexual assault/rape, leaves behind traces of lubricant that could be instrumental in establishing the link between the victim and perpetrator. This leading evidence is crucial especially when the traditional DNA analysis is challenging owing to the lack of biological evidence. The present study employs the use of ATR FTIR spectroscopy coupled with the chemometric, to discern the chemical discrimination of condom lubricants...

In the United States, medical examiners and coroners (MECs) fill critical roles within our public health and public safety systems. These professionals are primarily charged with determining the cause and manner of death as they investigate deaths and respond to associated scenes and mass fatalities and can also help identify trends in public health crises through medicolegal death investigations. Despite their instrumental role, they are organized in disparate systems with varying governing structures, functions, staffing, caseload, budget, and access to resources...

Cameriere developed a method on orthopantomograms (OPG) to assess adult age of 18 years based on the relationship between age and the third molar maturity index I3M. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Cameriere's method could be applied to computed-tomography scans (CT-scans) from a population of French juveniles and young adults and compare the results obtained from OPG of the same individuals. Our sample comprised 200 examinations that had been performed at the radiological department of a French University hospital between 2007 and 2020...

BACKGROUND: Juvenile antisocial behavior can have long-lasting and devastating effects for juveniles themselves, victims, and society. Evidence-based treatment is vital. Forensic Outpatient Systemic Therapy (Forensische Ambulante Systeem Therapie; FAST) is a promising treatment for juveniles showing severe antisocial behavior including aggression, (domestic) violence, and delinquent behavior. FAST has a flexible intensity and length, addresses individual and systemic risk and protective factors, and is responsive to the abilities of the client (system), intervention characteristics all considered crucial for effective treatment...

The study investigated the relationship between the histological compositions of the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves, and age. All 85 fresh human hearts were obtained with an age range between 20 and 90 years. The central area of the valves was conducted to analyze the density of collagen and elastic fibers by using an image analysis program. Neural network function in MATLAB was used for classification data and accuracy test of the age predictive model. Overall, a gradual increase in the density of collagen and elastic fibers was demonstrated with age in all valve types...

PURPOSE: The preserved head of King Henri IV of France (life 1553-1610, reign 1589-1610) has survived to the present day thanks to high-quality embalming and favorable conservation conditions. The aim of this study was to examine Henry IV's upper resonant cavities and mastoids using an original and innovative forensic three-dimensional segmentation method. METHODS: The paranasal sinuses and mastoid cells of King Henri IV of France were studied by cross-referencing available biographical information with clinical and flexible endoscopic examination and computed tomography (CT-scan) imaging...

Pregnancy is a period which is especially sensitive to physical violence and its aftermath. Subjecting a pregnant woman to violence can have negative effects on both the mother as well as the child. In Poland, there are programs, such as the Blue Card, aimed at protection against violence, however the phenomenon is underestimated. Documentation covering forensic examinations carried out at the request of the police or privately at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Poznan in the years 2015-2020 was analyzed...

The ability to determine bullet trajectories after a shooting incident can allow investigators to reconstruct the locations of individuals and the sequence of events that took place. By using trajectory rods, investigators can be provided with an immediate visual estimate as to what the path of the projectile may have been. In certain instances, the use of the probing method with trajectory rods is not appropriate due to their being a single, thin target material, or no secondary bullet impact site. In these cases, other methods such as the lead-in or the ellipse method may be useful...

The European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) is the body established in 1992 to represent practitioners forensic & legal medicine and is composed of delegates of the countries of the European Union (EU) and from other countries which form part of Europe to a current total of 34 member countries. The aims of this study were to determine the current status of undergraduate forensic & legal medicine teaching in the curriculum of medical studies in ECLM countries and to use the results of this study to determine whether it would be appropriate to develop new guidelines and standards for harmonising the content of undergraduate forensic medicine training across ECLM member countries...

This study presents a novel conservative technique to increase oral opening and overcome rigor mortis during medicolegal autopsy (MLA). The method proposes a myotomy of the temporalis and masseter muscles, taking advantage of the incisions of the cranial opening procedures, to achieve a significant oral opening (≥ 30 mm) in fresh cadavers with established rigor mortis without altering facial aesthetics. The study was performed on 48 individuals aged between 18 and 66 years (20 males and 28 females) who were autopsied at the Instituto Nacional de Patología Forense Dr...

Management of severe pediatric trauma remains challenging. Injury patterns vary according to patient age and trauma mechanism. This study analyzes trauma mechanisms in deceased pediatric patients. Fatal pediatric trauma cases aged 0-18 years who underwent forensic autopsy in the Federal State of Berlin, Germany, between 2008 until 2018 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Autopsy protocols were analyzed regarding demographic characteristics, trauma mechanisms, injury patterns, resuscitation measures, survival times as well as place, and cause of death...

BACKGROUND: Culture is an essential component that governs all aspects of human behavior. Superstition is an irrational belief observed in almost all cultures. It is linked to one or more factors like supernatural powers, good luck, bad omen, fiction, illegitimate activity, absurd narration, folk tales, or practice without any rational basis. METHODS: A cross-sectional social experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of cultural appropriation as a tool to enhance medical knowledge acquisition and attitudinal development in medical education...

To date South African forensic anthropologists are only able to successfully apply a metric approach to estimate population affinity when constructing a biological profile from skeletal remains. While a non-metric, or macromorphoscopic approach exists, limited research has been conducted to explore its use in a South African population. This study aimed to explore 17 cranial macromorphoscopic traits to develop improved methodology for the estimation of population affinity among black, white and coloured South Africans and for the method to be compliant with standards of best practice...

The decomposition of animal remains is a multifaceted process, involving ecological, biological, and chemical interactions. While the complexity is acknowledged through concepts like the necrobiome, it's unclear if this complexity is reflected in research. Appreciation of the complexity of decomposition is crucial for identifying sources of variation in estimations of time since death in medico-legal science, as well as building broader ecological knowledge of the decomposition process. To gain insights into the extent of multidisciplinary research in the field of decomposition science, we conducted an examination of peer-reviewed literature on four key drivers of variation: volatile organic compounds, microbes, drugs/toxins, and insects...

PURPOSE: The skeletal survey X-ray series is the current 'gold standard' when investigating suspected physical abuse (SPA) of children, in addition to a non-contrast computed tomography (CT) brain scan. This systematic literature review synthesised findings of published research to determine if low dose computed tomography (LDCT) could detect subtle fractures and therefore replace the skeletal survey X-ray series in the investigation of SPA in children aged under 3 years. METHODS: Five electronic databases and grey literature were systematically searched from their inception to 28 April 2022...

Recognizing when an injury is concerning for abuse is of utmost importance, as failure to do so places the child at a significant risk for further inflicted injury. Misinterpreting accidental injury as abuse can also have dire consequences for a child and their caregivers. The provider must be aware of characteristics of cutaneous injuries, including burns, that are concerning for abuse. Understanding these characteristics and putting them into clinical practice is necessary to protect children from additional abuse and protect families from wrongful accusations...

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BACKGROUND: To strengthen the nation's use of forensic science and advance professional practice, forensic practitioners and scientists in the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) develop standards in forensic science. The Forensic Nursing Subcommittee was created by OSAC in 2021 to develop standards that improve patient outcomes through delivery of consistent practice guidelines, evidence-based techniques for preservation of evidence, and accurate representation of practice and examination findings...

BACKGROUND: Significant barriers to forensic nurse workforce development exist, affecting patient care access. Retention of forensic nurses is a persistent problem, and turnover of forensic nurses can be attributed to many factors related to professional quality of life, including compassion satisfaction (CS), burnout (BO), and secondary traumatic stress (STS). PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the effect of an educational session on the topic of professional quality of life and strategies for mitigating the impact of stressors within the forensic nurse role on Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 and Turnover Intention Scale-6...

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a type of death that occurs suddenly and without any apparent explanation, affecting infants between 28 days of life and up to a year. Recognition of this entity includes performing an autopsy to determine if there is another explanation for the event and performing both an external and internal examination of the different tissues to search for possible histopathological findings. Despite the relative success of awareness campaigns and the implementation of prevention measures, SIDS still represents one of the leading causes of death among infants worldwide...