Forensic science international
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Pregabalin (PRG) and gabapentin (GBP) are used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and epilepsy, and PRG also in generalized anxiety disorder. There is increasing evidence that PRG possesses considerable abuse potential. PRG may have a higher addiction potential than GBP due to its rapid absorption and faster onset of action. ⋯ In the PRG abuser group, 91.4% of cases showed concomitant opioid use, while in the rest of these cases neither alcohol nor opioids were detected, but other central nervous system acting drugs were found in each abuser case. In the GBP abuser group, 87.5% of cases showed concomitant opioid use. PRG abuse with high doses is increasingly common and can be fatal when combined with opioids.
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A commercially available laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument was evaluated for the determination of elemental composition of twenty Australian window glass samples, consisting of 14 laminated samples and 6 non-laminated samples (or not otherwise specified) collected from broken windows at crime scenes. In this study, the LIBS figures of merit were assessed in terms of accuracy, limits of detection and precision using three standard reference materials (NIST 610, 612, and 1831). ⋯ The results show that the elemental analysis of glass by LIBS provides a discrimination power greater than 97% (>98% when combined with refractive index data), which was comparable to the discrimination powers obtained by LA-ICP-MS and μXRF. These results indicate that LIBS is a feasible alternative to the more expensive LA-ICP-MS and μXRF options for the routine forensic analysis of window glass samples.
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Postmortem CT (PMCT) is useful to investigate air/gas distribution and content in body cavities and viscera. The present study investigated the procedure to estimate total lung air/gas content and aeration ratio as possible indices of terminal respiratory function, using three-dimensional (3-D) PMCT data analysis of forensic autopsy cases without putrefactive gas formation (within 3 days postmortem, n=75), and analyzed the volumetric data with regard to the cause of death. ⋯ Air/gas content of the lung as detected using HU interval between -2000 and -400 ('effective' lung aeration areas) and between -2000 and -191 (total lung aeration areas) as well as the ratios to total lung volume ('effective' and total lung aeration ratios, respectively) was higher in mechanical asphyxiation, drowning, fatal burns and hypothermia (cold exposure) than in SCD, and was intermediate in other cases. 'Effective' and total lung aeration ratios may be useful for comparisons between specific causes of death to discriminate between hypothermia (cold exposure) and drug intoxication, and between SCD and other causes of death, respectively. These findings provide interesting insights into potential efficacy of PMCT data analyses of lung volume and CT density as well as lung air/gas content and aeration ratio with regard to the cause of death, as possible indicators of terminal respiratory function, as part of virtual autopsy of the viscera in situ.