Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology最新文献

{"title":"Kinetic energy evolution and injury assessment of high-speed tear jets.","authors":"Guang-Ming Yang, Hai-Peng Li, Zheng Wang, Yong-Sheng Zhao","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00969-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00969-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High-speed tear liquid ejectors, as novel less-lethal weapons, demonstrate significant potential in public security, counter-terrorism, and riot control applications. However, critical gaps persist in understanding their kinetic energy dissipation dynamics and associated injury risks, particularly when using traditional specific kinetic energy methods. Therefore, this study establishes an integrated experimental framework combining transient trajectory acquisition systems, ballistic gelatin targets, and dynamic impact force measurements. Key findings reveal that as the launch distance varies from 10 cm, 30 cm to 100 cm, and 200 cm, the trajectory transitions from a coherent stream to dispersed filaments with unstable energy density evolution. Initially, the jet velocity rises from 93.3 m/s to 101.1 m/s, then decreases to 91.7 m/s and 80.8 m/s. Additionally, the penetration depth in the ballistic gelatin decreases progressively with launch distance, measuring 91 mm, 80 mm, 38 mm, to 0 mm respectively, and the depths of penetration at 10 and 30 cm are similar to those of a 4.5 mm steel ball at 180 m/s. The transient impact force follows a similar pattern with velocity, first increasing and then decreasing, to 464 N, 518 N, 95 N, and 48 N respectively, underscoring potential injury risks within 100 cm ranges. This work establishes a framework for evaluating high-speed jet injuries and informs safety protocols for less-lethal weapon deployment.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1091-1100"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143425211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Death due to positional asphyxia related to underlying seizure disorder.","authors":"Garlen Yu, Joseph A Prahlow","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00973-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00973-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Positional asphyxia occurs when a victim fails to remove themself from a compromising position, leading to the restriction of respiration with subsequent death. Many cases involve an inverted body position with or without abnormal kinking of the neck. Victims are typically unable to recover from dangerous situations due to impaired consciousness. Furthermore, positional asphyxia is often accidental, stemming from conditions such as intoxication and varying neurologic disorders. We report a unique case of a death of a college student due to positional asphyxia related to an underlying seizure disorder to highlight the significant dangers that individuals face with seizure disorders, including sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP).</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1526-1530"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143572488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From microbial data to forensic insights: systematic review of machine learning models for PMI estimation.","authors":"Abdulkreem Abdullah Al-Juhani, Arwa Mohammad Gaber, Rodan Mahmoud Desoky, Abdulaziz A Binshalhoub, Mohammed Jamaan Alzahrani, Mofareh Shubban Alraythi, Saleh Showail, Amjad Aoussi Aseeri","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-01002-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-01002-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Estimating post-mortem interval (PMI) is crucial for forensic timelines, yet traditional methods are prone to errors from witness testimony and biological markers sensitive to environmental factors. New molecular and microbial techniques, such as DNA degradation patterns and bacterial community analysis, have shown promise by improving PMI estimation accuracy and reliability over traditional methods. Machine learning further enhances PMI estimation by leveraging complex microbial data. This review addresses the gap by systematically analyzing how microbiome-based PMI predictions compare across organs, environments, and machine learning techniques.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrieved relevant articles up to September 2024 from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE, and Cochrane Library. Data were extracted from eligible studies by two independent reviewers. This included the number and species of subjects, tissue sample used, PMI range in the study, machine learning algorithms, and model performance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We gathered 1252 records from five databases after excluding 750 duplicates. After screening titles and abstracts, 43 records were assessed for eligibility, resulting in 28 included articles. Our ranking of machine learning models for PMI estimation identified the top five based on error metrics and explained variance. Wang (2024) achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 6.93 h with a random forests (RF) model. Liu (2020) followed with an MAE of 14.483 h using a neural network. Cui (2022) used soil samples for PMI predictions up to 36 days, reaching an MAE of 1.27 days. Yang (2023) employed an RF model using soil samples, achieving an MAE of 1.567 days in summer and an MAE of 2.001 days in winter. Belk (2018) an RF model on spring soil samples with 16S rRNA data, attaining an MAE of 48 accumulated day degrees (ADD) (~ 3-5 days) across a PMI range of 142 days.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Machine learning models, particularly RF, have demonstrated effectiveness in PMI estimation when combined with 16S rRNA and soil samples. However, improving model performance requires standardized parameters and validation across diverse forensic environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1447-1476"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144009125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cardiovascular-related death in infancy and childhood: a clinicopathological study of two referral institutions in England.","authors":"Burkhard Madea, Elke Doberentz","doi":"10.1007/s12024-024-00881-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-024-00881-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1574"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142079851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Next generation sequencing: a possible answer to sudden unexplained deaths in a young South African cohort?","authors":"Barbara Stroh van Deventer, Lorraine du Toit-Prinsloo, Chantal van Niekerk","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00944-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00944-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a major public health concern. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including South Africa, there is a lack of reliable statistics on the incidence of SCD, even though there has been a fourfold increase in noncommunicable diseases (NCD), particularly cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Sudden cardiac death contributes to an estimated 50% of all cardiovascular deaths, which highlights South Africa's need for research into better detection, treatment and prevention. This study aimed to identify an inherited cardiac arrhythmogenic disorder, linked to variants in cardiomyopathy- and arrhythmia-related genes, as a potential contributing factor to sudden cardiac deaths. DNA was extracted from blood samples collected at autopsy of 51 sudden unexpected death (SUD) cases, and subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS) of 49 genes linked to inherited cardiac arrhythmogenic disorders. Variants were annotated and interpretated for clinical significance using the Galaxy bioinformatic platform. In total, 175 different missense variants were identified in the study population (n = 51). Of these, 92.5% (162/175) were known, documented variants, and the remaining 7.4% (13/175) were considered novel. Of the known variants, 78.4% (127/162) were of benign/likely benign significance, 20.4% (33/162) were variants of unknown significance (VUS), and 1.2% (2/162) was pathogenic. The 13 novel variants were analysed using online prediction software, with 92.3% (12/13) predicted to be likely benign and 7.7% (1/13) grouped into the VUS category. Post-mortem genetic testing provided evidence of a genetic arrhythmic/cardiac conduction disorder as the probable pathogenic basis for approximately 4% (2/51) of sudden unexpected death (SUD) cases.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1081-1090"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491335/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143122516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fifty shades of green and blue: autopsy findings after administration of xenobiotics.","authors":"J Baumgarten, I Greb, F Holz, C Nieß, S Petzel-Witt, Christoph G Birngruber","doi":"10.1007/s12024-024-00903-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-024-00903-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Unusual findings during an autopsy may come from peculiarities in the position, shape, size, weight, consistency, smell or color of organs. The following study was triggered by an autopsy case in which an unusual blue-green discoloration of organs, which changed during the autopsy, was noticed. A review of the local autopsy database, selected cases including the antemortem clinical documentation and the literature has been performed to clarify the etiology of these conspicuous discolorations and to evaluate their diagnostic value. The study showed that certain xenobiotics may lead to such discoloration. After systemic administration of methylene blue, darkening blue-green discoloration of organs, especially the brain and heart, can be observed. In addition, the systemic administration of toluidine blue also appears to be capable of causing such discoloration. Beyond that, drugs (like Rohypnol^®) or other foreign substances (like detergents) containing warning colors, i.e. indigocarmin (E132) or Brilliant Blue FCF (E133) may cause discolorations of the upper gastrointestinal tract or the urinary bladder respectively. A blue-green, possibly darkening discoloration of organs during autopsy may point towards an antemortem administration of certain xenobiotics. The affected organs give an indication of the possible route of application and the type of substance. A differentiated interpretation of the etiology of such conspicuous discolorations at autopsy should only be made considering the (medical) history and, if necessary, complementary (toxicological) examinations.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1060-1068"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491358/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142544726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pars basilaris size to estimate fetal and young infant age using forensic post mortem CT imaging.","authors":"Wolf Schweitzer, Inga Siebke, Mattias Kettner, Stephan Bolliger, Carlo Tappero, Garyfalia Ampanozi","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-01039-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-01039-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Accurate determination of fetal or neonatal age is vital in forensic and medicolegal death investigations. The pars basilaris of the occipital bone, one of the earliest and densest ossification centers, is less susceptible to taphonomic alteration than other measurements, and exhibits predictable growth patterns. Utilizing post mortem computed tomography (PMCT), measurements of the pars basilaris - specifically its maximum length (ML) and maximum width (MW) - can be applied to validated regression models to estimate age. We retrospectively reviewed all fetal and stillbirth/neonate PMCT cases from our institution over the past eight years and identified nine cases with known or previously estimated ages. ML and MW of the pars basilaris were measured in thin maximum intensity projection reconstructions. Age predictions and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using published regression equations based separately on ML and MW. We also derived a combined model to yield a single age estimate with its corresponding confidence interval. In all nine cases, the predicted age intervals included the known or previously estimated age. The results indicate that pars basilaris biometry reliably estimates age using PMCT. Cases involving maternal conditions-such as diabetes, preeclampsia, and alcohol exposure-showed deviations from average pars basilaris growth but remained within statistical confidence limits. Pars basilaris biometry via standard PMCT protocols provides a straightforward method to approach fetal and early infant age estimation in forensic contexts. Although maternal and pathological factors can influence bone size, the combined ML/MW model is accurate within its 95% confidence bounds. Further research should validate these findings across diverse populations and investigate integration with additional growth markers.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1047-1059"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491387/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144505298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sudden cardiac death in a young athlete due to anomalous origin of both coronaries from a common ostium.","authors":"Stefania Zerbo, Giuseppe Davide Albano, Ginevra Malta, Alberto Alongi, Emiliano Maresi, Antonina Argo","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00979-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00979-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people is a tragic event and a worldwide public health issue. SCD is the most common cause of death in young athletes and is related to acquired/congenital cardiac disorders, such as cardiomyopathies, congenital coronary anomalies and ion channelopathies. We report the case of a 14-year-old male non professional athlete who was apparently healthy but suddenly died during a football game. His clinical history was negative for any significant medical illness. At autopsy, a congenital anomalous origin of both the right and left coronary arteries from a single aortic ostium above the aortic cusp was observed with a concomitant hypertophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) The toxicological analysis was negative for common drugs of abuse. The death was attributed to SCD due to hyperkinetic ventricular arrhythmia secondary to myocardial ischemia in a subject with an anomalous origin of both coronary arteries and underlying hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This report highlights a rare congenital anomalous origin of the coronary arteries associated with a high risk of SCD, particularly in young athletes.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1540-1545"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491382/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143771748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantitative wound ballistic analysis of gelatin head phantoms by computed tomography using the total crack length method.","authors":"Vasiliki Chatzaraki, Dominic Gascho, Michael J Thali, Beat P Kneubuehl, Carlo Tappero, Stephan A Bolliger","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00995-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00995-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gelatin-based phantoms are appropriate simulants of human soft tissue and can be used for ballistic experiments. Computed tomography (CT) is useful for quantitative wound ballistics analysis and has been applied to gelatin blocks. This study aimed to create total crack length (TCL) profiles along the penetration depth in head phantoms after ballistic experiments with different types of ammunition at varying distances using CT data. Sixteen commercially available gelatin-based head phantoms were subjected to ballistic testing with six different types of ammunition. Nine were contact shots, while seven were fired from a 15-meter distance. Following the experiments, CT scans of the phantoms were performed. The TCL, a secondary effect of the temporary cavity, was measured based on the CT data. All phantoms exhibited perforation shots. The CT data enabled measurements along the penetration depth for each phantom. Metal artifacts caused by small projectile fragments along the path did not interfere with the measurements. The resulting TCL curves for the different ammunition types demonstrated distinct differences. TCL measurements in gelatin-based head phantoms are feasible and provide values proportional to the transferred energy at a given penetration depth for different ammunition types and shooting distances.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1248-1255"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143668721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The significance of humorous tattoos.","authors":"Roger W Byard","doi":"10.1007/s12024-025-00941-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s12024-025-00941-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tattooing refers to the process of creating indelible designs and texts in the human skin by introducing a variety of dyes. It has found for millennia in a range of societies. The purpose of tattooing has ranged from marking individuals of significant social standing such as chieftains in Polynesia, to those who are regarded as outcasts such as prostitutes and criminals in Europe. In recent years tattooing has gained considerable popularity in the West including tattoos that have merely had a humorous content, either as an image or text. These types of tattoos often utilize natural body features such as the umbilicus, natal cleft, genitalia, breasts or scars, and may contain simple but explicit messages or suggest possible underlying mental disturbance. While the significance of these types of tattoos and the profile of individuals who have them is at present unknown further study could identify sociological and forensic features specific to this subgroup.</p>","PeriodicalId":12449,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"1531-1534"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12491102/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143003160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}