International Journal of Legal MedicineThis is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader, such as GoogleReader, or to display this data on your own website or blog. Subscribe to this data using MyMedWorm.Subscribe to this data using GoogleReader.Subscribe to this data using Bloglines.Subscribe to this data using MyYahoo.

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344 records returned

Development of SNP-based human identification systemEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, we demonstrated that SNP markers are very useful for sex determination and human identification, even in a very homogeneous population. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0389-9Authors Jae-Jung Kim, University of Ulsan College of Medicine Asan Institute for Life Sciences 388-1 Pungnap-2-Dong, Songpa-Gu Seoul 138-736 KoreaBok-Ghee Han, National Institute of Health Center for Genome Science Seoul KoreaHae-In Lee, University of Ulsan College of Medicine Asan Institute for Life Sciences 388-1 Pungnap-2-Dong, Songpa-Gu Seoul 138-736 KoreaHan-Wook Yoo, University of U...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 18, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic hair analysis to identify animal species on a case of pet animal abuseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract As part of an investigation of a case of pet animal abuse, we attempted to identify small mammalian species by morphological analysis and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing of the cytochrome b gene using guard hairs as an analytical material. Guard hair samples from several species were measured for length, width, medulla formation, and cuticle scale pattern under a light microscope or scanning electron microscope. These samples were also analyzed for SNPs in the cytochrome b gene using a multiplex single-base primer extension reaction. Morphological analysis of cuticle scale pattern and med...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 18, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Chronological age estimation of third molar mineralization of Han in southern ChinaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract In order to study the chronology of age of third molar mineralization of Han in southern China, Demirjian staging method was used to determine the stage of four third molars (18, 28, 38, 48) mineralization in 3,100 Han in southern China aged 4.1–26.9 years based on radiological evidence from digital orthopantomograms. The mean age of the 3,100 patients was 15.96 ± 4.73 years, including 1,200 male (mean age, 15.32 ± 4.62) and 1,900 female (mean age, 16.35 ± 4.76). Results show that there was no significant difference in mineralization between 18 and 28 and 38 and 48 of male...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 11, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Haplotype-assisted characterization of germline mutations at short tandem repeat lociEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, 98 families with 101 mutations were analyzed in depth in which a mutation had been observed at one of the four loci D3S1358, FGA, ACTBP2, and VWA. To determine the origin (male/female) of the mutation, five to seven polymorphic flanking markers were selected for each locus concerned and used to construct family-specific haplotypes. Additionally, all alleles of the STR system concerned were sequenced. With this duplicate approach, it was possible to identify the mutated structure and/or mutation event in the vast majority of cases. The ratio of one-step to two-step mutations was 100:1. The ratio of patern...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 11, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Amniotic fluid aspiration in cases of SIDSEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study shows that AFA is not a rare event. Even moderate to severe AFA does not necessary cause death. A correlation between AFA and SIDS could not be shown. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0384-1Authors Tony Fracasso, Universitätsklinikum Münster Institut für Rechtsmedizin Roentgenstr. 23 48149 Muenster GermanyBernd Karger, Universitätsklinikum Münster Institut für Rechtsmedizin Roentgenstr. 23 48149 Muenster GermanyMechtild Vennemann, Universitätsklinikum Münster Institut für Rechtsmedizin Roentgenstr. 23 48149 Muenster GermanyThomas Bajanowski, Universität...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 10, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Immunohistochemical identification of prevalent right ventricular ischemia causing right heart failure in cases of pulmonary fat embolismEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Pulmonary fat embolism is a life-threatening event that may result to potentially determining right ventricular failure. Even if the pathophysiology of this phenomenon has been widely investigated, no immunohistochemical demonstration of right ventricular failure following pulmonary fat embolism has been reported till now. We performed an immunohistochemical investigation with the markers fibronectin and C5b-9 in 21 cases of polytrauma with bone fractures (study group—nine females and 12 males; mean age 64.6 years) compared to a control group of 21 forensic cases with various causes of death ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - November 5, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

False homozygosities at CSF1PO loci revealed by discrepancies between two kits in Chinese populationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract During the course of paternity test, three samples in two cases were apparently homozygous at the CSF1PO locus using AmpFlSTRs Identifiler PCR Amplification kits, but using the PowerPlexs 16 kit, the three individuals were found to be heterozygous. This puzzling problem was solved by using multiple analytical approaches, including the use of different primer pairs and the characterization of the mutation causing the ‘‘null allele.’’ Dropout was caused by a single mutation event in the presumptive binding site of the forward primer. While the frequency of these silent alleles remains low (0.5...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - October 30, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Dental age estimation in Spanish and Venezuelan children. Comparison of Demirjian and Chaillet’s scoresEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Orthopantomographs taken from 308 Spanish Caucasian and 200 Venezuelan Amerindian children, aged between 2 and 18 years, were analysed following the Demirjian’s method. The aims of this study were to test the applicability of the Demirjian’s method to two different sample populations, and to develop age prediction models for both populations using the original French Canadian scores described by Demirjian (1976) and the new multi-ethnic dental scores proposed by Chaillet et al. (2005) when the ethnic origin is unknown. Results showed that despite the good correlation between dental and chro...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - October 27, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

A novel and an effective analytical approach for the LC-MS determination of ethyl glucuronide and ethyl sulfate in urineEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract An alternative liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method based on no discharge (ND) atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was developed for the simultaneous determination of ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS) in urine in negative ion conditions. Abundant [M-H]− species of EtG and EtS were obtained, allowing to reach limits of quantification (0.1 µg/ml for both analytes), accuracy, and precision comparable to those proposed in the literature. Additionally, the LC-ND–APCI-MS method proved to be reliable, requiring little maintenance even when high throug...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - October 27, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic application of intrarenal aquaporin-2 expression for differential diagnosis between freshwater and saltwater drowningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, the expressions of AQP1, 2, and 4 were immunohistochemically examined in kidney samples to evaluate their forensic applicability to differentiate between freshwater drowning (FWD) and saltwater drowning (SWD). Kidney samples were obtained from 51 drowning cases (23 FWD and 28 SWD) and 19 non-drowning cases. AQP1 was expressed in the proximal tubules and glomeruli, and AQP4 was localized in the collecting ducts. However, there were no significant differences in AQP1 and AQP4 expressions among FWD, SWD, and control groups. Immunohistochemically, AQP2 was predominantly expressed in the apical plasma membra...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - October 15, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Postmortem biochemistry and immunohistochemistry of chromogranin A as a stress marker with special regard to fatal hypothermia and hyperthermiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Chromoganin A (CgA) is widely distributed in the secretory granules of endocrine and neuroendocrine cells and cosecreted with hormones such as catecholamines. The present study investigated postmortem serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of CgA in comparison with those of catecholamines, and also cellular CgA immunopositivity in the hypothalamus, adenohypophysis and adrenal medulla to assess forensic pathological significance. Serial medicolegal autopsy cases (n = 298, within 3 days postmortem) were used. Serum and CSF CgA levels were independent of the gender or age of subjects or po...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - September 17, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic and phylogeographic characterization of mtDNA lineages from northern Thailand (Chiang Mai)Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The immigration of diverse ethnic groups over the past centuries from surrounding countries into Thailand left footprints in the genetic composition of Thai mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages. The entire mtDNA control region (1,122 bp) was typed in 190 unrelated male volunteers from the northern Thailand province of Chiang Mai following highest quality standards. For a more precise haplogroup classification, selected single nucleotide polymorphisms from the mtDNA coding region were genotyped. We found several new, so far undescribed mtDNA lineages. Quasi-median networks were constructed for vis...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - September 3, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Establishing a minimum postmortem interval of human remains in an advanced state of skeletonization using the growth rate of bryophytes and plant rootsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This report illustrates a novel use of bryophytes in a forensic setting. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Case ReportDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0372-5Authors H. F. V. Cardoso, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Medicina Legal Porto PortugalA. Santos, Universidade do Porto Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Medicina Legal Porto PortugalR. Dias, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal—Delegação do Norte Porto PortugalC. Garcia, Universidade de Lisboa Museu Nacional de História Natural—Jardim Botânico & Centro de Biologia Ambiental Lisboa PortugalM. Pinto, Universidade de Lisboa Museu Nacion...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 28, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

In memoriam of Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Otto Prokop, MDEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory ObituaryDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0333-zAuthors Gunther Geserick, University Medicine of Berlin Institute of Legal Medicine of the Charité Berlin GermanyMichael Tsokos, University Medicine of Berlin Institute of Legal Medicine of the Charité Berlin Germany Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 28, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Reduced-volume and low-volume typing of Y-chromosomal SNPs to obtain Finnish Y-chromosomal compound haplotypesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Single-nucleotide extension is a widespread method for typing Y-chromosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms. In our study, we validated a multiplex minisequencing assay in a reduced-volume and in a low-volume approach. A four-plex assay was performed in a 6-µL multiplex reaction in 96-well microtiter reaction plates, which can be directly used for capillary electrophoresis. In a second approach, a six-plex assay was performed on a chemically structured glass slide. Both techniques have proven to be highly sensitive as well as time- and cost-saving, which makes them a valuable option not only for fo...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 27, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Determining falling patterns by estimation of horizontal distance and heightEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Whether by accident or foul play virtually thousands of fall-related fatalities occur each year. While a number of past studies addressed the relationship between falls, injury, and death, only a small fraction sought to establish an objective index geared specifically towards determining the cause of a particular fall. The primary objective in the present study was to determine the range of attainable horizontal distances in various forms of active and passive falling patterns. The secondary objective involved the capturing of physical motions at the point of impact via 3D motion analyses in order ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 23, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

SNPSTR rs59186128_D7S820 polymorphism distribution in European Caucasoid, Hispanic, and Afro-American populationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study is set out (1) to determine the frequencies of SNP rs59186128 in populations with various geographical origins and (2) to estimate the possible contribution of rs59186128 to the allele discrimination of locus D7S820. To that end, individuals from European Caucasoid, Hispanic, and Afro-American populations are studied using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography, which enables locus rs59186128 to be quickly and highly cost-effectively screened. Moreover, a method is established for determining the haplotypes of SNPSTR rs59186128_D7820. The results show that SNP rs59186128 has a T allele frequency of ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 20, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

A hypervariable STR polymorphism in the complement factor I (CFI) gene: Asian-specific allelesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
In this study, a short tandem repeat (STR) polymorphism in intron 7 of the human complement factor I (CFI) gene was studied in 637 DNA samples obtained from African, German, Thai, and Japanese populations and German and Japanese families. A total of 41 alleles were observed and classified into two groups, L and H, based on size differences. Group H, which consisted of 16 alleles, was observed only in Thai and Japanese populations at frequencies of 0.162 and 0.116, respectively, and was strongly associated with c.1217A in exon 11 (CFI*Ah). The heterozygosity values ranged from 0.89 in German to 0.93 in Thai populations....
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 19, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

The digital atlas of skeletal maturity by Gilsanz and Ratib: a suitable alternative for age estimation of living individuals in criminal proceedings?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract As a collection of radiographic standards of the normal hand development with a homogenous degree of maturity of all skeletal elements, the digital atlas of skeletal maturity by Gilsanz and Ratib combines the possibilities of digital imaging with the principle of a conventional atlas method. The present paper analyses the forensic applicability of skeletal age assessment according to Gilsanz and Ratib to age estimation in criminal proceedings. For this, the hand X-rays of 180 children and adolescents aged 10–18 years old were examined retrospectively. For the entire age range, the minima and ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 17, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Ultrasound-accelerated formalin fixation improves the preservation of nucleic acids extraction in histological sectionsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The aim of the present study was to examine an ultrasound-accelerated fixation technique that reduces the exposure time of the tissue to formaldehyde with respect to the analysis of nucleic acids. We extracted and analysed DNA and RNA from three series of autopsy specimens from five routine cases. Two series were shortly fixed in 4% buffered formalin (15 and 30 min, respectively) whilst being irradiated with high-frequency, high-intensity ultrasound. The last series (control) was routinely fixed in 4% buffered formalin for 24–48 h without irradiation. Although sufficient amounts of DNA o...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 14, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Amerindian mitochondrial DNA haplogroups predominate in the population of Argentina: towards a first nationwide forensic mitochondrial DNA sequence databaseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The study presents South American mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data from selected north (N = 98), central (N = 193) and south (N = 47) Argentinean populations. Sequence analysis of the complete mtDNA control region (CR, 16024–576) resulted in 288 unique haplotypes ignoring C-insertions around positions 16193, 309, and 573; the additional analysis of coding region single nucleotide polymorphisms enabled a fine classification of the described lineages. The Amerindian haplogroups were most frequent in the north and south representing more than 60% of the sequences. A slightly different situat...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 12, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Comparison of urine results concerning co-consumption of illicit heroin and other drugs in heroin and methadone maintenance programsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Urine samples of patients from a heroin maintenance program (HMP) and a methadone maintenance program (MMP) were chromatographically analyzed 1 month before and 6 and 12 months into treatment for the presence of classical markers of heroin use as well as for the presence of markers for illicit heroin abuse. Furthermore, the samples were immunochemically tested for cannabinoids, cocaine metabolites, amphetamine, methylendioxyamphetamines and benzodiazepines. A co-consumption of illicit heroin (HER) in the HMP was determined to be 50% but was significantly lower compared to the MMP with a co...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 11, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Psychomotor developmental delay and epilepsy in an offspring of father–daughter incest: quantification of the causality probabilityEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Letter to the EditorDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0364-5Authors Leo P. ten Kate, VU University Medical Center Department of Clinical Genetics and Institute for Health and Care Research (EMGO+) Amsterdam The Netherlands Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 11, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Comments on sex determination from buccal mucosa scrapesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Letter to the EditorDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0365-4Authors Balwant Rai, Village-Bhangu Distt-Sirsa Haryana India Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - August 11, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Experimental simulation of reentry shots using a skin-gelatine composite modelEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract A bullet that has passed in and out of one body segment may continue its way into another part of the body causing a second entrance (“reentry”) wound, which is often said to have an atypical and sometimes confusing appearance. To analyze this problem in a systematical approach, 9-mm Parabellum full metal-jacketed projectiles were fired at skin-gelatine composite models simulating the consecutive passage of a bullet through two parts of a body. When there was a distance between the two segments, the primary exit and the reentry skin wounds did not show any distinctive features differing from usu...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 27, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Unassisted smothering in a pillowEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report the case of a 33-year-old man admitted to a psychiatric hospital because of paranoid schizophrenia. The man was found dead lying in his bed with the face pressed against a pillow and with elevated buttocks. The autopsy did not reveal a cause of death. The histological findings displayed the signs of the haemorrhagic–dysoric syndrome with acute emphysema; these findings are pathognomonic of obstructive asphyxia. The adverse effects of the neuroleptics demonstrated by the toxicological findings may have accelerated the loss of consciousness and facilitated the unusual position of the body. On the basis of th...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 23, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Homogeneity in mitochondrial DNA control region sequences in Swedish subpopulationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract In order to promote mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing in Sweden we have typed 296 Swedish males, which will serve as a Swedish mtDNA frequency database. The tested males were taken from seven geographically different regions representing the contemporary Swedish population. The complete mtDNA control region was typed and the Swedish population was shown to have high haplotype diversity with a random match probability of 0.5%. Almost 47% of the tested samples belonged to haplogroup H and further haplogroup comparison with worldwide populations clustered the Swedish mtDNA data together with other Euro...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 10, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

EditorialEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory EditorialDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0360-9 Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - July 6, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Microbial DNA fingerprinting of human fingerprints: dynamic colonization of fingertip microflora challenges human host inferences for forensic purposesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Human fingertip microflora is transferred to touched objects and may provide forensically relevant information on individual hosts, such as on geographic origins, if endogenous microbial skin species/strains would be retrievable from physical fingerprints and would carry geographically restricted DNA diversity. We tested the suitability of physical fingerprints for revealing human host information, with geographic inference as example, via microbial DNA fingerprinting. We showed that the transient exogenous fingertip microflora is frequently different from the resident endogenous bacteria of the sam...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 24, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Population stratification in Argentina strongly influences likelihood ratio estimates in paternity testing as revealed by a simulation-based approachEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study also indicates that the use of Fst to correct for the effect of population stratification on PI might be inappropriate because it cannot account for the particularities of single paternity cases. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0359-2Authors Ulises Toscanini, PRICAI-FUNDACIÓN FAVALORO Av. Belgrano 1782-1er Subsuelo, (1093) Capital Federal-Buenos Aires ArgentinaAntonio Salas, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Unidade de Xenética, Instituto de Medicina Legal and Departamento de Anatomía Patolóxica y Ciencias Forenses, Facultade de Medicina Galicia SpainManu...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 20, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Evaluation of DXS9902, DXS7132, DXS6809, DXS7133, and DXS7423 in humans and chimpanzees: sequence variation, repeat structure, and nomenclatureEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Sequencing data obtained in this study provide information on the short tandem repeat allele structures of DXS9902, DXS7132, DXS6809, DXS7133, and DXS7423. Data were obtained from the three human major population groups, namely Africans, Caucasians, and Asians as well as from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). DXS7133 was found to be the most stable locus and DXS6809 seemed to have evolved from a simple array of CTAT units but currently reveals a highly complex and compound structure within and between humans and chimpanzees. DXS9902 results support a TAGA allele nomenclature, which increases in one rep...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 18, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

MtDNA control region sequence polymorphisms and phylogenetic analysis of Malay population living in or around Kuala Lumpur in MalaysiaEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Control region polymorphisms in the mitochondrial DNA of 124 unrelated individuals from the Malay population living in or around Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia were investigated and phylogenetic haplogroup lineages were determined. The intergenic COII/tRNALys 9-bp deletion, 3010 and 5178 mutations, and several coding region polymorphisms were examined to discriminate some phylogenetic haplogroups. Sequence comparison of the control regions led to the identification of 117 mitochondrial haplotypes, in which 103 types were observed in only one individual and the other nine types were shared by more than two...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 17, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Population studies of 16 bovine STR loci for forensic purposesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract As a consequence of the close integration of cattle into the food chain of humans, forensically relevant cases involving cattle (Bos taurus) DNA analysis are common. However, scientific publications reporting the information content of the commonly used bovine short tandem repeat (STR) loci remains scarce. Population studies were performed for 16 polymorphic STR loci (BM1818, BM1824, BM2113, CSRM60, CSSM66, ETH3, ETH10, ETH225, HAUT27, ILSTS006, INRA023, SPS115, TGLA53, TGLA122, TGLA126, and TGLA227) including 4,162 randomly selected cattle representing 20 distinct breeds. The power of parental excl...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 9, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic botany: species identification of botanical trace evidence using a multigene barcoding approachEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstact Forensic botany can provide significant supporting evidence during criminal investigations. However, it is still an underutilized field of investigation with its most common application limited to identifying specific as well as suspected illegal plants. The ubiquitous presence of plant species can be useful in forensics, but the absence of an accurate identification system remains the major obstacle to the present inability to routinely and correctly identify trace botanical evidence. Many plant materials cannot be identified and differentiated to the species level by traditional morphological chara...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - June 7, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic aspects of post-mortem histological detection of amniotic fluid embolismEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
The objective of this study was to determine how long after the onset of clinical symptoms the elements of amniotic fluid may be detectable in the pulmonary circulation. An autopsy, as well as a histological and toxicological examination of 29 women, who died intrapartum or post-partum were performed. AFE was diagnosed in seven women (25%). The maximum survival time of the women with AFE and also the detection interval of AF in the pulmonary vasculature was 36 h. In the lungs of the women who did not die of AFE, amniotic fluid components were not found. Thus, there is no evidence for a physiologic occurrence of A...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 16, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Subtyping of Y-chromosomal haplogroup E-M78 (E1b1b1a) by SNP assay and its forensic applicationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The continual discovery of new single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has led to an increased resolution of the Y chromosome phylogeny. Some of these Y-SNPs have shown to be restricted to small geographical regions and therefore may prove useful in the forensic field as tools for the prediction of population of origin of unknown casework samples. Here, we describe a system for the molecular dissection of haplogroup E-M78 (E1b1b1a), consisting of multiplex polymerase chain reaction and minisequencing of M78 and nine population-informative Y-SNPs (M148, M224, V12, V13, V19, V22, V27, V32, V65) in a si...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 9, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Pigment phenotype and biogeographical ancestry from ancient skeletal remains: inferences from multiplexed autosomal SNP analysisEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract In the present study, a multiplexed genotyping assay for ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within six pigmentation candidate genes was developed on modern biological samples and applied to DNA retrieved from 25 archeological human remains from southern central Siberia dating from the Bronze and Iron Ages. SNP genotyping was successful for the majority of ancient samples and revealed that most probably had typical European pigment features, i.e., blue or green eye color, light hair color and skin type, and were likely of European individual ancestry. To our knowledge, this study repo...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 5, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Statistical methods to assess the reliability of measurements in the procedures for forensic age estimationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract In forensic science, anthropology, and archaeology, several techniques have been developed to estimate chronological age in both children and adults, using the relationship between age and morphological changes in the structure of teeth. Before implementing a statistical model to describe age as a function of the measured morphological variables, the reliability of the measurements of these variables must be evaluated using suitable statistical methods. This paper introduces some commonly used statistical methods for assessing the reliability of procedures for age estimation in the forensic field. T...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - May 2, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Violence against children: further evidence suggesting a relationship between burns, scalds, and the additional injuriesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Up to 22 % of all child maltreatment cases involve non-accidental burns or scalds. In the time period of 2000 until 2007, 20 children with non-accidental burns and scalds in conjunction with other mechanisms of injury were examined at children’s hospitals in Hamburg and at the Institute of Legal Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, by experts in forensic medicine. The fact that these children presented with additional injuries due to blunt and sharp force and sometimes had signs of neglect emphasize the urgent need for a multidisciplinary cooperation between pediatricians and for...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 28, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Effectiveness of Bang and Ramm’s formulae in age assessment of Indians from dentin translucency lengthEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Age assessment may be a crucial step in postmortem profiling leading to confirmative identification. Among the traditional dental parameters used for estimating age, root dentin translucency is considered to be least affected by external stimuli and most suitable for the purpose. Using this variable, Bang and Ramm in 1970 developed an elaborate method and formulae for predicting age in Norwegians, and its efficacy has been examined in Indians. A total of 100 tooth sections 250-µm thick were obtained from as many subjects, scanned on a flat-bed scanner and the translucency length measured using a co...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 16, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Fatal and severe codeine intoxication in 3-year-old twins—interpretation of drug and metabolite concentrationsEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract This work presents two cases of codeine intoxication in 3-year-old monozygotic twin brothers while treated with a codeine slow-release formulation. One child had to be admitted to the hospital, whereas the other one died at home after aspiration of gastric content. The concentrations of codeine and major metabolites including morphine and corresponding glucuronide conjugates were measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in serum, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and brain tissue, respectively. A genetic polymorphism study was carried out in order to determine the ability of the childr...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 7, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

International journal of legal medicine’s manuscript submission and peer-review system goes electronic!Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory EditorialDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0345-8Authors Bernd Brinkmann, Münster GermanyHeidi Pfeiffer, Münster Germany Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 Journal Volume Volume 123 Journal Issue Volume 123, Number 3 / May, 2009 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 5, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

International journal of legal medicine ’s manuscript submission and peer-review system goes electronic!Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Content Type Journal ArticleCategory EditorialDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0345-8Authors Bernd Brinkmann, Münster GermanyHeidi Pfeiffer, Münster Germany Journal International Journal of Legal MedicineOnline ISSN 1437-1596Print ISSN 0937-9827 (Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine)
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 5, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Forensic application of ESEM and XRF-EDS techniques to a fatal case of sodium phosphate enema intoxicationEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We present the case of an 83-year-old man who died of fecal and chemical peritonitis secondary to an iatrogenic colon perforation (produced performing a Fleet® enema through the patient’s iliac colostomy) with peritoneal absorption of sodium phosphate. Environmental scanning electron microscopy coupled with an X-ray fluorescence energy dispersive spectrometry discovered multiple bright crystals formed of calcium, phosphorus, and oxygen in the brain, heart, lung, and kidney sections of the victim. The absence of these kinds of precipitates in two control samples chronically treated with Fleet enemas led us to assume ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - April 5, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Determining time of death: temperature-dependent postmortem changes in calcineurin A, MARCKS, CaMKII, and protein phosphatase 2A in mouseEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study focused on the temperature-dependent postmortem degradation of calcineurin A (CnA), calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (MARCKs), and protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) in mice. The results show that MARCKS, CaMKII, and the use of lung tissue do not appear to warrant further study for the determination of PMI in humans. In skeletal muscle, CnA underwent a rapid temperature-dependent cleavage (60 → 57 kDa) over the first 48 h of postmortem interval. At 21°C, this transformation was completed within 24 h. In contrast, PP2A increased within th...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 27, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Comprehensive mutation analysis of 17 Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat polymorphisms included in the AmpF l STR® Yfiler® PCR amplification kitEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) polymorphisms included in the AmpFlSTR® Yfiler® polymerase chain reaction amplification kit have become widely used for forensic and evolutionary applications where a reliable knowledge on mutation properties is necessary for correct data interpretation. Therefore, we investigated the 17 Yfiler Y-STRs in 1,730–1,764 DNA-confirmed father–son pairs per locus and found 84 sequence-confirmed mutations among the 29,792 meiotic transfers covered. Of the 84 mutations, 83 (98.8%) were single-repeat changes and one (1.2%) was a double-repeat change (ratio, ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 26, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

An electronic body-tracking dog?Email this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
This study examined whether electronic sensors can be used to find bodies under outdoor conditions. The carcasses of two coneys were buried in soil at different depths. Over a period of 4 weeks, regular measurements were taken from the buried carcasses and from the control material. In addition, a “fingerprint” of the scent patterns was taken, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analyses were performed. Our findings indicate that it may be possible and viable to construct an “electronic body-tracking dog”. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00414-009-0338-7Authors ...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 26, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Suspension fluorescence in situ hybridization (S-FISH) combined with automatic detection and laser microdissection for STR profiling of male cells in male/female mixturesEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract Laser microdissection is a valuable tool for isolating specific cells from mixtures, such as male cells in a mixture with female cells, e.g., in cases of sexual assault. These cells can be stained with Y-chromosome-specific probes. We developed an automatic screening method to detect male cells after fluorescence in situ hybridization in suspension (S-FISH). To simulate forensic casework, the method was tested on female saliva after cataglottis (a kiss involving tongue-to-tongue contact) and on licking traces (swabs of dried male saliva on female skin) even after drying. After isolation of the detec...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 25, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Geometric morphometric methods for three-dimensional virtual reconstruction of a fragmented cranium: the case of Angelo PolizianoEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
Abstract The process of forensic identification of missing individuals is frequently reliant on the superimposition of cranial remains onto an individual's picture and/or facial reconstruction. In the latter, the integrity of the skull or a cranium is an important factor in successful identification. Here, we recommend the usage of computerized virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometrics for the purposes of individual reconstruction and identification in forensics. We apply these methods to reconstruct a complete cranium from facial remains that allegedly belong to the famous Italian humanist of the f...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 18, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals

Fatal mycotic aneurysm caused by Pseudallescheria boydii after near drowningEmail this article to a colleague. Save this article to My Clippings. Discuss or comment on this article.
We report a case of multiple aneurysms caused by this hyalohyphomycete, occurred after near drowning. The car driven by a 53-year-old woman plunged into a canal in The Netherlands. After a 20-min-long submersion, the woman was rescued. At hospital, a severe aspiration of muddy water and a mycotic pneumonia were diagnosed. Despite the immediate prescription of a long-term antimycotic therapy and the initial good response, the patient died 4 months later. The autopsy showed a mycotic aneurysm of the abdominal aorta and multiple ruptured mycotic aneurysms of the circle of Willis with fatal subarachnoid bleeding. C...
Source: International Journal of Legal Medicine - March 18, 2009 Category: Medical Law Tags: International Journal of Legal Medicine Source Type: journals