International journal of legal medicine
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In current forensic practice, fatal injuries from black powder guns are rare events. In contact and close-range shots, the intensity of GSR deposition (soot, powder particles) is much greater than that in shots with smokeless powder ammunition. The same applies to any burning effects from the combustion gases. ⋯ The skin around the entrance site (root of the nose) was densely covered with blackish soot and powder particles, whereas the eyebrows and eyelashes showed singeing of the hairs. The flattened bullet and the wad had got stuck under the scalp of the occipital region. In both cases, there was a disproportionally large zone of tissue destruction in the initial parts of the wound tracks.
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Incineration or extensive burning of the body, causing changes in the content and distribution of fluids, fixation and shrinking processes of tissues, can alter the typical macroscopic and microscopic characteristics of firearm wounds, hampering or at least complicating the reconstruction of gunshot fatalities. The present study aims at evaluating the potential role of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) for detecting and quantifying gunshot residue (GSR) particles in experimentally produced intermediate-range gunshot wounds severely damaged by fire. Eighteen experimental shootings were performed on 18 sections of human calves surgically amputated for medical reasons at three different firing distances (5, 15 and 30 cm). ⋯ The GSR deposits of the firearm lesions inflicted at very close distance (5 cm) were mainly constituted of huge particles (diameter >150 μm) with an irregular shape and well-delineated edges; at greater distances (15 and 30 cm), agglomerates of tiny radiopaque particles scattered in the epidermis and dermis layers were evident. Statistical analysis demonstrated that also in charred firearm wounds the amount of GSR roughly correlates with the distance from which the gun was fired. The obtained results suggest that micro-CT analysis can be a valid screening tool for identifying entrance gunshot wounds and for differentiating firearm wounds from sharp-force injuries in bodies severely damaged by fire.
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The aims of this study were twofold. The first was to investigate the diagnostic performance of two biochemical markers, procalcitonin (PCT) and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), considering each individually and then combined, for the postmortem diagnosis of sepsis. We also tested the usefulness of pericardial fluid for postmortem LBP determination. ⋯ Similarly, normal PCT and LBP values in postmortem serum were identified only in non-septic cases. Pericardial fluid LBP levels do not correlate with the presence of underlying septic states. No relationship was observed between postmortem serum and pericardial fluid LBP levels in either septic or non-septic groups, or between pericardial fluid PCT and LBP levels.
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Postmortem computed tomography can easily demonstrate gas collections after diving accidents. Thus, it is often used to support the diagnosis of air embolism secondary to barotrauma. However, many other phenomenons (putrefaction, resuscitation maneuvers, and postmortem tissue offgassing) can also cause postmortem gas effusions and lead to a wrong diagnosis of barotrauma. ⋯ In fatal scuba diving accidents, offgassing appears early (starting from the first hour after death) in the venous system then spreads to the arterial system after about 3 h. The presence of intra-arterial gas is therefore not specific to barotrauma. To affirm a death by barotrauma followed by a gas embolism, a postmortem scanner should be conducted very early. Subcutaneous emphysema should not be mistaken as diagnostic criteria of barotrauma because it can be caused by the resuscitation maneuvers.
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Comparative Study
Molecular pathology of natriuretic peptides in the myocardium with special regard to fatal intoxication, hypothermia, and hyperthermia.
The present study investigated the molecular pathology of atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP and BNP) in the myocardium to evaluate terminal cardiac function in routine forensic casework with particular regard to fatal drug intoxication (n = 18; sedative-hypnotics, n = 10; methamphetamine, n = 8), hypothermia (cold exposure, n = 13), and hyperthermia (heatstroke, n = 10), compared with that in acute ischemic heart disease (AIHD, n = 35) and congestive heart disease (CHD, n = 11) as controls (total n = 87; within 48 h postmortem). Quantitative analyses of myocardial ANP and BNP messenger RNA demonstrated that their expressions in bilateral atrial and ventricular walls were high in methamphetamine intoxication and hypothermia, comparable to those in AIHD and CHD, but were low in sedative-hypnotic intoxication and hyperthermia. In pericardial fluid, both ANP and BNP levels were increased in hypothermia, while CHD cases had an elevated BNP level, and ANP level showed a tendency to increase in hyperthermia; however, immunohistochemistry showed no evident differences in myocardial ANP and BNP among the causes of death. These findings suggest terminal high cardiac strain in methamphetamine intoxication, decreased cardiac strain in sedative-hypnotic intoxication and hyperthermia (heatstroke), and persistent congestion in hypothermia (cold exposure).