International Journal of Legal Medicine最新文献

Variance in intraindividual stability of vitreous humor for thanatochemistry.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-08 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03482-6

Antonia Kaehler, Piotr Kuta, Thomas Renné, Jack Garland, Rexson Tse, Stefanie Iwersen-Bergmann, Antonia Fitzek, Benjamin Ondruschka

{"title":"Variance in intraindividual stability of vitreous humor for thanatochemistry.","authors":"Antonia Kaehler, Piotr Kuta, Thomas Renné, Jack Garland, Rexson Tse, Stefanie Iwersen-Bergmann, Antonia Fitzek, Benjamin Ondruschka","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03482-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03482-6","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: This study investigates the intraindividual variability and ex-vivo stability of vitreous humor (VH) analytes for forensic thanatochemistry. VH, an anatomically isolated and robust postmortem fluid, provides valuable insights into the postmortem interval (PMI) and potential antemortem medical conditions.Materials and methods: A total of 207 VH samples were collected from 36 cases and divided into three cohorts: serial sampling across three days postmortem, intraindividual variability assessment using triplicates, and ex-vivo stability evaluation through freeze-thaw cycles.Results: Linear relationships between PMI and potassium, calcium, creatinine, and lactate were identified, but their non-linear trends limited PMI estimation accuracy. Sodium, chloride, and glucose demonstrated variations linked to cardiovascular and infectious conditions, while elevated urea and creatinine correlated with renal or multi-organ failure. The study highlighted the importance of interpreting these biochemical markers in conjunction with clinical and environmental factors to improve reliability.Discussion: Ex-vivo stability testing revealed relevant variations in VH levels, emphasizing the need for standardized pre-analytical handling. Overall, while VH analytes offer promising forensic applications, their use for PMI estimation and medical diagnoses requires cautious interpretation within a multidisciplinary context.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143811399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Evaluation of the ForenSeq® Kintelligence Kit and the FORensic Capture Enrichment Panel for Unidentified and Missing Persons Casework.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03492-4

Jessica L Watson, Kelly Grisedale, Dennis McNevin, Jodie Ward

{"title":"Evaluation of the ForenSeq® Kintelligence Kit and the FORensic Capture Enrichment Panel for Unidentified and Missing Persons Casework.","authors":"Jessica L Watson, Kelly Grisedale, Dennis McNevin, Jodie Ward","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03492-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03492-4","url":null,"abstract":"Targeted amplicon sequencing (TAS) employs massively parallel sequencing technology to generate profiles comprised of several thousand single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to assist in identifying an individual and generating investigative leads. By targeting a range of SNP classes, profiles are able to be analysed to infer biological sex, externally visible characteristics, biogeographical ancestry, paternal lineage and relationships to other individuals. Such leads can be beneficial for human remains identification where antemortem data is not available for comparison. This study evaluated the performance and requirements of two in-house TAS pipelines: the ForenSeq® Kintelligence Kit and the FORensic Capture Enrichment (FORCE) panel. Both TAS pipelines demonstrated suitability for a range of samples typically encountered in missing persons cases, including buccal, bone, tooth and nail samples. There was a high degree of concordance between the TAS genotypes and the majority of the genetic intelligence produced was consistent with the self-declared information provided by DNA donors. This study highlights the requirements for each pipeline to be considered by forensic laboratories seeking to establish a forensic genomics capability for unidentified and missing persons casework.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Fracture patterns in diaphyseal gunshot trauma: role of the bullet's impact point and angle.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03488-0

Nathalie Schwab, Doreen Jost, Xavier Jordana, Jordi Monreal, Xavier Garrido, Pedro Brillas, Ignasi Galtés

{"title":"Fracture patterns in diaphyseal gunshot trauma: role of the bullet's impact point and angle.","authors":"Nathalie Schwab, Doreen Jost, Xavier Jordana, Jordi Monreal, Xavier Garrido, Pedro Brillas, Ignasi Galtés","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03488-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03488-0","url":null,"abstract":"Skeletal trauma assessment is an important task of forensic anthropologists and pathologists. This applies in particular to badly preserved bodies where the soft tissue cannot provide forensic evidence. Yet, the interpretation of ballistic long bone trauma can be difficult due to little conclusive data. Thus, this study explored the variability of diaphyseal fracture patterns dependent on the bullet's angle and point of impact. 20 femurs from body donors were embedded in Clear Ballistics Gel® and divided into 4 experimental groups: 70° angled shot on the centre of the anterior shaft aspect; perpendicular shot on the centre of the lateral shaft aspect; perpendicular shot on the centre of the posterior shaft aspect; grazing shot from posterior on the margin of the medial shaft aspect. In each case, a 9-mm Luger full metal jacket projectile was shot at a distance of 2 m and an impact speed of 360 m/s. All fractures were examined macroscopically. For the trauma comparison, a fifth group (perpendicular shot on the centre of the anterior shaft aspect), previously analysed in an earlier study, was included. Although the groups revealed similar fracture characteristics, the results suggest the bullet's impact angle and location influence the fracture pattern. The most dissimilar fracture pattern was reproduced in the grazing shots, where only one defect hole was seen, instead of an entry and exit hole like in the other groups. The findings highlight the variability of ballistic fracture patterns in long bones and may serve as guidelines during the skeletal trauma assessment.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Immunohistochemical insights into hyperthermia-related deaths: a systematic review.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03485-3

Luca Tomassini, Giulia Ricchezze, Cristiana Gambelunghe, Massimo Lancia, Virginia Goracci, Francesco De Micco, Piergiorgio Fedeli, Mariano Cingolani, Roberto Scendoni

{"title":"Immunohistochemical insights into hyperthermia-related deaths: a systematic review.","authors":"Luca Tomassini, Giulia Ricchezze, Cristiana Gambelunghe, Massimo Lancia, Virginia Goracci, Francesco De Micco, Piergiorgio Fedeli, Mariano Cingolani, Roberto Scendoni","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03485-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03485-3","url":null,"abstract":"The diagnosis of hyperthermia-related death presents a significant challenge in the field of forensic medicine due to the lack of pathognomonic signs and the complexity of the variables involved. This systematic review analyzes research on the role of immunohistochemistry (IHC) in postmortem diagnosis of hyperthermia, considering studies related to environmental hyperthermia, fire-related fatalities, and substance-induced hyperthermia. A total of 36 studies were included, selected according to PRISMA guidelines and critically evaluated using JBI tools. The results highlighted significant methodological heterogeneity, with differences in the tissues studied, the immunohistochemical markers used, and the analytical techniques employed. Some markers showed diagnostic potential in cases of fire exposure, but in deaths due to environmental or substance-induced hyperthermia, the markers examined were neither specific nor reliable. Common methodological weaknesses included small sample sizes, biases, and insufficient statistical analysis, which influenced the interpretation of the results. Considering these issues, IHC cannot be considered a valid diagnostic technique for hyperthermia-related deaths. Future studies with greater methodological rigor, validation of specific markers, and standardization of procedures are necessary.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795204","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Acknowledging our reviewers: a heartfelt thank you.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03486-2

Andreas Schmeling, Tony Fracasso

引用次数: 0

Skull CT metadata for automatic bone age assessment by using three-dimensional deep learning framework.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03469-3

Meng Liu, Shuai Luo, Ting Lu, Ye Xue, Xian-E Tang, Wenchi Ke, Zi-Qi Cheng, Yushan Lin, Yuchi Zhou, Hu Chen, Zhenhua Deng

{"title":"Skull CT metadata for automatic bone age assessment by using three-dimensional deep learning framework.","authors":"Meng Liu, Shuai Luo, Ting Lu, Ye Xue, Xian-E Tang, Wenchi Ke, Zi-Qi Cheng, Yushan Lin, Yuchi Zhou, Hu Chen, Zhenhua Deng","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03469-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03469-3","url":null,"abstract":"Bone age assessment (BAA) means challenging tasks in forensic science especially in some extreme situations like only skulls found. This study aimed to develop an accurate three-dimensional deep learning (DL) framework at skull CT metadata for BAA and try to explore new skull markers. In this study, retrospective data of 385,175 Skull CT slices from 1,085 patients ranging from 16.32 to 90.56 years were obtained. The cohort was randomly split into a training set (90%, N = 976) and a test set (10%, N = 109). Additional 101 patients were collected from another center as an external validation set. Evaluations and comparisons with other state-of-the-art DL models and traditional machine learning (ML) models based on hand-crafted methods were hierarchically performed. The mean absolute error (MAE) was the primary parameter. A total of 1186 patients (mean age ± SD: 54.72 ± 14.91, 603 males & 583 females) were evaluated. Our method achieved the best MAE on the training set, test set and external validation set were 6.51, 5.70, and 8.86 years in males, while in females, the best MAE were 6.10, 7.84, and 10.56 years, respectively. In the test set, the MAE of other 2D or 3D models and ML methods based on manual features were ranged from 10.12 to 14.12. The model results showed a tendency of larger errors in the elderly group. The results suggested the proposed three-dimensional DL framework performed better than existing DL and manual methods. Furthermore, our framework explored new skeletal markers for BAA and could serve as a backbone for extracting features from three-dimensional skull CT metadata in a professional manner.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Age estimation in children: insights from a new Bosnian-Herzegovinian formula.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-07 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03478-2

Emina Dervišević, Aida Selmanagić, Kenan Šehić

{"title":"Age estimation in children: insights from a new Bosnian-Herzegovinian formula.","authors":"Emina Dervišević, Aida Selmanagić, Kenan Šehić","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03478-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03478-2","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, the use of precise age assessment methods on living individuals has become increasingly important in the forensic field. The aim of this study was to develop, for the first time, a Bosnian and Herzegovinian-specific formula based on our local dataset, utilizing the LASSO model to uncover and leverage the unique characteristics of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian population. This research is undertaken to address the need for a Bosnia-Herzegovina-specific equation capable of accurately predicting a child's age using local data. The dataset covering the details of 205 Bosnian boys and girls, spanning from 7 to 13 years, to maintain representativeness and reduce potential age-related biases. Three distinct models were considered, each inspired by existing approaches but adapted to the specifics of the local dataset. The first model, based on the Belgrade equation, incorporated predictors x3, x7, and N0. The second model extended the European equation by including N0, x5, s, and the interaction term s⋅N0. The third model adopted a linear regression framework with Lasso regularization, which used all available predictors (x1, x2, x3, x4, x5, x6, x7, s, N0, s⋅N0). It would be recommended that in the future the BH equation that has the form of the European one that specifically uses the x5 tooth with gender, sum and product be used. A linear model with fewer parameters is generally preferred, as the results between Lasso and such models are ultimately negligible. In this study, we explored the use of Lasso model as a method to identify which teeth contribute most to dental age estimation within a linear modeling framework. By comparing Lasso's performance to the customized European formula for the Bosnian-Herzegovinian population, we found that the results were similar, and in some cases, Lasso even performed slightly better. Given that the European formula relies on fewer features, it presents a practical and efficient alternative as a final model for Bosnian-Herzegovinian dental age estimation.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Postmortem morphology of honeybee stings induced fatal anaphylaxis.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-03 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03483-5

Katerina Grusova, Tomas Vojtisek, Rexson Tse, Tomas Kalinka

引用次数: 0

Identification of menstrual blood and vaginal fluid using a 4-plex MSRE-PCR system applicable to alleged sexual assault cases.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-03 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03471-9

Chia-Tzu Hsu, Li-Chin Tsai, Kuo-Lan Liu, Yu-Chih Lin, Nu-En Huang, James Chun-I Lee, Adrian Linacre, Hsing-Mei Hsieh

{"title":"Identification of menstrual blood and vaginal fluid using a 4-plex MSRE-PCR system applicable to alleged sexual assault cases.","authors":"Chia-Tzu Hsu, Li-Chin Tsai, Kuo-Lan Liu, Yu-Chih Lin, Nu-En Huang, James Chun-I Lee, Adrian Linacre, Hsing-Mei Hsieh","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03471-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03471-9","url":null,"abstract":"Menstrual blood and vaginal fluid are frequently encountered in conjunction with semen in alleged sexual assault cases. There are few tests with high specificity for these two body fluids and here we report on a 4-plex MSRE-PCR system for the detection of menstrual blood and vaginal fluid. The assay uses four markers in a multiplex PCR: a positive control (PC), digestive control (DC), menstrual blood-specific (MB) marker and vaginal fluid-specific (VF) marker. Menstrual blood and vaginal fluid samples were identified by the MB and VF markers as expected. Additionally, the results using samples from saliva, semen and blood were also correctly identified, with an absence of both the MB and VF markers as expected, even though MB and VF signals can occur within a few non-target body fluids (urine, nasal fluid and skin). It was found that the methylation levels at the markers for both menstrual blood and vaginal fluid have differences between individuals. The methylation level of the marker for menstrual blood was affected by the day during the menstruation cycle, which also affected the sensitivity of the test. DNA required for correct identification of menstrual blood increased from 1 ng at day 1 to 1.5 ng for day 5. The sensitivity of the assay using samples from vaginal fluid was at least 0.5 ng of DNA for confident identification. Menstrual blood samples deposited on seven types of materials frequently encountered in forensic investigations were all correctly assigned. Also, samples of simulated mixed menstrual blood and vaginal fluid were tested and the results were all concordant as expected. These data help to verify the applicability of the 4-plex MSRE-PCR system in forensic casework.","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772329","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Post-mortem urine dipstick analysis for hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis: observer agreement and diagnostic value.

IF 2.2 3区医学

International Journal of Legal Medicine Pub Date : 2025-04-03 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-025-03477-3

Joanna M Glengarry, Ben Thompson, Maria Pricone, Melanie S Archer, Hans H de Boer

{"title":"Post-mortem urine dipstick analysis for hyperglycemia and ketoacidosis: observer agreement and diagnostic value.","authors":"Joanna M Glengarry, Ben Thompson, Maria Pricone, Melanie S Archer, Hans H de Boer","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03477-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03477-3","url":null,"abstract":"The post-mortem diagnosis of hyperglycemia and/or ketoacidosis is challenging and usually requires costly ancillary testing of vitreous humor or serum samples. A screening tool that would help to determine whether ancillary testing is needed is therefore desirable. The aim of this study was to add to the literature testing the validity and diagnostic utility of post-mortem dipstick urinalysis. More specifically, we determined inter-observer agreement of visual dipstick assessment, the correlation between glucose and ketone urine dipstick scores and formal laboratory testing results, and the diagnostic value of specific dipstick scores expressed with likelihood ratios. Results demonstrate almost perfect interobserver agreement for 108 glucose dipstick scores (Fleiss' kappa 0.914) but only moderate interobserver agreement for 96 ketones dipstick scores (Fleiss' kappa 0.467). Dipstick glucose scores correlated strongly with vitreous humor glucose levels (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient of 0.841, n = 107). Correlation between ketone dipstick scores and serum levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and blood acetone was also positive but much weaker (0.317, n = 91; and 0.411, n = 92, respectively). The diagnostic value of specific dipstick scores was determined by calculating likelihood ratios for substantial hyperglycemia (vitreous humor glucose > 10 mmol/L), substantial ketoacidosis (serum BHB > 2.50 mmol/L) and elevated blood acetone (> 20 mg/L). Our results suggest substantial screening potential of dipstick urinalysis for glucose, especially when scores are at the lower and higher end of the spectrum. Overall, dipstick analysis results for ketones must be interpreted with great caution. A sub analysis of the data showed that a serum BHB above 2.50 mmol/L was only seen in 1.8% of cases without demonstrable acetone (> 20 mg/L).","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0