International Journal of Legal Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Reply to the commentary of Burkhard Madea and Elke Doberentz on our article \"An assessment of the Henssge method for forensic death time estimation in the early post-mortem interval\".","authors":"Fabian Heinrich, Benjamin Ondruschka, Sven Anders-Lohner","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03437-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03437-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143188897","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}

{"title":"A critical review of medicolegal research and information asymmetries in investigating cases of extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances.","authors":"Nicholas Dempsey, Reena Sarkar, Claudia Rivera, Richard Bassed","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03411-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03411-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medicolegal systems investigate the cause and manner of death, particularly differentiating between unintentional and intentional deaths. The examination of remains from unlawfully killed individuals is critical in exposing human rights violations. However, forensic medical investigations of these human remains can face multiple challenges, especially in contexts marked by limited resources, political influence, and sub-optimal investigative procedures. When killings are state-sanctioned or facilitated by well-resourced non-state actors, the clandestine disposal of remains can create a culture of impunity, leaving affected families and communities without recourse or resolution. This study aggregates articles in English and Spanish, examining the current state of how forensic medical research on extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances informs practice. It highlights critical gaps in the empirical literature, particularly in the reporting of the scientific findings that impact the investigation of victims of these unlawful killings. These cases' inherently non-linear and unpredictable nature, often influenced by chaotic and unstable conditions, can create disproportionate challenges for forensics practitioners. To address these gaps, this review suggests leveraging epidemiological frameworks to track data trends in these unlawful killings, supporting public health initiatives in prevention and policy. It emphasises the need for comprehensive documentation, robust databases, and adaptive forensic methodologies to navigate uncertainties and systemic limitations inherent in this complex and unpredictable domain of medicolegal death investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143079854","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}

{"title":"Socio-demographic and toxicological findings from autoptic cases in a Northern Italy community (2017-2022).","authors":"Federica Palazzoli, Tommaso Filippini, Antonino Lavenia, Simone Balduini, Alessia Attanasi, Patrizia Verri, Daniele Vandelli, Valentina Castagnetti, Anna Laura Santunione, Marco Vinceti, Rossana Cecchi","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03433-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03433-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The overall trend in the use of licit and illicit substances is increasing. However, a few data on socio-demographic and toxicological findings in post-mortem cases are available.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective study was conducted on autoptic cases evaluated in the Institute of Legal Medicine of the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia in the period 2017-2022. Positivity to toxicological compounds and their relation with sociodemographic and forensic features were evaluated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A toxicological analysis was conducted in 504 cases out of 794 autopsies, finding 330 positive cases. An association was observed between positivity and increasing age, as well as manner of death. The most frequently observed classes of substances were benzodiazepine (41.2%), followed by alcohol (35.5%) and abuse drugs (24.8%). For every class of substances in at least half of the cases two or more classes were detected. As regards prescribed drugs, approximately 40% of cases assumed 2 or more drugs, while polypharmacy occurred in 6.1%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Older age and specific causes of deaths appear to be associated with toxicological findings. In addition, co-assumption of licit and illicit substances emerged as a widespread phenomenon in our study population. Under a public health perspective, these data provide findings of relevance for preventive and therapeutic measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143079856","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}

{"title":"Integration of a high-resolution melt curve assay into a commercial quantification kit for preliminary identification of biological mixtures.","authors":"Chastyn Smith, Andrea L Williams, Hannah E Wines, Darianne C Cloudy, Jordan O Cox, Sarah J Seashols-Williams, Edward L Boone, Tracey Dawson Green","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03427-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03427-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In recent years, DNA analysis techniques have drastically increased in sensitivity, allowing for low template DNA samples to be more easily detected and used for identification. Since the problems inherent in low template DNA are exacerbated in DNA mixture samples, it would be advantageous to incorporate an assay earlier in the DNA workflow that could detect a mixture and, potentially, determine the number of contributors. Some real-time PCR instruments have high-resolution melt curve analysis (HRM) capabilities, allowing for an opportunity to integrate an HRM screening assay into a commercial DNA quantification kit. This work describes the integration of a mixture screening HRM assay using STR loci D5S818 and D18S51 into Qiagen's Investigator Quantiplex^® kit. The integrated Quantiplex^®-HRM assay was tested on two qPCR platforms: The Rotor-Gene^® Q and the QuantStudio™ 6 Flex. Data from this assay was analyzed using linear discriminant and support vector machine analyses for sample classification. When HRM curve data from the Rotor-Gene^® Q was used for classification, the integrated assay exhibited an overall accuracy of 89.39%, correctly classifying 87.5% of single source samples and 100% of mixtures. When HRM curve data from the QuantStudio™ 6 Flex was used for classification, the integrated assay exhibited an overall accuracy of 87.88%, correctly classifying 87.5% of single source samples and 90% of mixtures. The overall accuracy of the integrated Quantiplex^®-HRM assay on both instruments met our goal of ≥ 80% accuracy, demonstrating the viability of the assay to detect mixtures when integrated into a commercial quantification kit.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074436","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}

{"title":"Conventional and machine learning-based analysis of age, body weight and body height significance in knot position-related thyrohyoid and cervical spine fractures in suicidal hangings.","authors":"Aleksa Leković, Arso Vukićević, Slobodan Nikolić","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03412-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03412-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The thyrohyoid complex and cervical spine fracture distribution patterns may reflect the knot position as the force distribution by the noose to different neck regions may vary depending on it. Recently, machine learning models (MLm) were used to classify knot position through these fractures. The contribution of aging on the fracture susceptibility is better demonstrated, but data on body weight (BW) and height (BH) significance on this is more doubtful and MLm did not consider them. A retrospectively obtained autopsy data on sex, age, BW, BH and distribution of greater hyoid bone horn (GHH), superior thyroid cartilage horn (STH), and cervical spine fractures in 368 suicidal hangings were analyzed by standard statistics to determine association of the anthropometrics (age, BW, and BH) with the fracture occurrence, and by machine learning algorithms to determine if body weight and height improved MLm classification of hanging cases with typical and atypical knot positions. In the sample, unilateral GHH fracture was significantly more common in atypical hangings, while isolated STH fractures were more common in typical hangings. Age was a predictor of GHH fractures and BW of STH fractures, but BW poorly correlated with their number. BH was not a predictor of any thyrohyoid fracture. On the ROC curve analysis, the MLm that considered BW and BH did not perform statistically better than MLm that did not consider them. The study indicates that body weight and height are of no detrimental value in assessing the thyrohyoid and cervical spine fracture patterns in suicidal hangings.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143074372","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}

{"title":"Evaluation of standards for sex estimation using measurements obtained from reconstructed computed tomography images of the femur of contemporary Black South Africans.","authors":"Oriasotie M Ujaddughe, Jenny Haberfeld, Mubarak Ariyo Bidmos, Oladiran I Olateju","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03430-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03430-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Dimensions of the pelvic and skull bones are known to be sexually dimorphic in various population groups. The recovery of these bones is potentially beneficial in estimating the sex in forensic cases. Since both bones are not always available for forensic analysis, standards for sex estimation must be established for other bones of the postcranial skeleton. Previous studies have reported that postcranial skeletal elements (e.g. femur) perform like the pelvis and better than the cranium in sex estimation. Thus, this study explored the potential of CT-derived femoral measurements in sex estimation in a South African population. The sample consisted of 280 contemporary Black South Africans (50% sex ratio) whose scan reports are stored in the Radiology Department of Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. The Xiris and IntelliSpace software was used to reconstruct the images into 3D formats from which measurements were taken. Previously derived sex estimation equations of the femur were tested using data from the current study and these equations presented low average classification accuracies. Using discriminant function and logistic regression analyses, new sex estimation equations were formulated, and these new equations yielded average sex estimation classification accuracies of between 82.5 and 91.4% (by multivariable logistic regression) and 79.3-84.3% (by multivariable discriminant function). The results indicate that population-specific femoral measurements obtained by CT are more reliable than those obtained by direct osteometry and that the femur has a high sexual dimorphism with relevant forensic applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065380","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}

{"title":"Correction to: A comparison of gelatine surrogates for wound track assessment.","authors":"Cynthia Bir, Adam Menkara, Rodrigo Villalta, Michele Bodo, Sebastien Roth, Don Sherman","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03429-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03429-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143065377","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}

{"title":"Applicability of tooth cementum thickness as an age marker: systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Mirela Cristina da Silva, Paulo Henrique Viana Pinto, Ricardo Henrique Alves da Silva","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03426-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03426-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The age estimation by tooth cementum thickness is a method that has been discussed regarding its applicability. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review on the use of tooth cementum thickness as a biomarker for age estimation in adults, as well as a meta-analysis to assess the method's reliability. The search was conducted on Embase, LILACS, PubMed/MEDLINE, SciELO, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Two independent reviewers used inclusion and exclusion criteria to select and assess relevant studies. For bias risk assessment, a checklist proposed by the Joanna Briggs Institute was applied. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were considered as effect measures for the meta-analysis between tooth cementum thickness and chronological age. Heterogeneity among studies was evaluated using Cochran's <math><mrow><mspace></mspace> <mi>Q</mi></mrow> </math> test ( <math><mrow><mspace></mspace> <mi>p</mi> <mo><</mo> <mn>0.05</mn></mrow> </math> ), I²index, and Graphic Display of Heterogeneity plot. Meta-analysis robustness was assessed using Baujat plots, and publication bias was checked using DOI plots and the Luis Furuya-Kanamori index. Most selected studies showed low risk of bias. Although not all studies were included in the meta-analysis, moderate heterogeneity was found among those included. The synthesized result indicated that tooth cementum thickness has a moderate correlation with chronological age, both when the outlier study is included ( <math><mrow><mspace></mspace> <mi>r</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.59</mn> <mspace></mspace> <mo>[</mo> <mn>0.48</mn> <mo>;</mo> <mn>0.69</mn> <mo>]</mo></mrow> </math> ) and when the outlier is removed ( <math><mrow><mspace></mspace> <mi>r</mi> <mo>=</mo> <mn>0.57</mn> <mspace></mspace> <mo>[</mo> <mn>0.45</mn> <mo>;</mo> <mn>0.68</mn> <mo>]</mo></mrow> </math> ). It is concluded that tooth cementum thickness represents a potential age biomarker that can be useful in age estimation methods for adults. However, the presented results should be considered cautiously, emphasizing the need for further primary studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143052508","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}

{"title":"Strategies to overcome barriers to the statistical representation of femicide data-a technical note.","authors":"Reena Sarkar, Richard Bassed, Joan Ozanne-Smith","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03419-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03419-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Mortality data systems are upstream determinants of health, providing critical information on causes of death and population health trends and influencing health outcomes by shaping policies, research, and resource allocation. Moreover, the gender-related deaths of women and girls are significantly underrepresented or underrecognized in mortality data across many countries. This paper seeks to identify potential barriers and facilitators to improving the representation of femicide data. The primary barriers affecting data representation of femicide are related to definitions, data collection, coding, comparability, access, and systemic challenges. Key recommendations include establishing a nationwide consensus on the definition of femicide, updating training modules for medicolegal professionals, improving pathology reporting processes, ensuring quality assurance in documentation, refining coding practices, developing new analytic methods, and providing deidentified access to cases still under investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143046599","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}

{"title":"Sexual dimorphism of the humerus bones in a French sample: comparison of several statistical models including machine learning models.","authors":"Manon Blanc, Siam Knecht, Kathy Nguyen, Clément Poulain, Gérald Quatrehomme, Véronique Alunni, Luísa Nogueira","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03417-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03417-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sex estimation is an important part of skeletal analysis and forensic identification. Traditionally pelvic traits are utilized for accurate sex estimation. However, the long bones, especially humerus, have been proved to be as effective for determine the sex of the individual.The aim of this study was to compare the predictive accuracy of seven statistical modelling techniques including classical statistical methods and machine learning algorithms, to assess the sexual dimorphism of humerus on a French sample based on a metric analysis of 26 measurements. A total of 98 humeral bones (divided in two samples) were measured. Seven statistical models were compared: Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Regularized Discriminant Analysis (RDA), Penalized Logistic Regression (PLR), Flexible Discriminant Analysis (FDA), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Random Forest (RF).With cross validation, classification accuracy was greater than 90% (ranges between 92% and 98%) for all models without variable selection methods. The simplification of the models has improved the accuracy between 98% and 100% and also a reduction of the number of variables to 6 or less. Penalized logistic regression (PLR), Random Forest (RF) and Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were the best accuracy models.The measurements made at the proximal part of the humerus (WTT, CSD), at distal part (BEW, WT, MAW, THT) and of the entire bone (PLCT) stand out among the various models.The present study suggests that the humerus is an interesting alternative for sex estimation and that non-classical statistical models can provide a new approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143038433","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}