Experiences with a compound method for estimating the time since death.

The temperature-based nomogram method for estimation of the time period since death was used at the scene of death as the primary method within a compound method in 72 consecutive cases. The situation and cooling conditions inspected and evaluated by the forensic pathologist at the scene are described as far as necessary to enable handling of the method. A comparison of the estimated period since death with the period determined by the police investigations demonstrates the reliability of the method. There were no contradictions in any of the 60 cases between the period of death estimated by this method and that determined by the police investigations. The criminal investigations were effectively supported in the earliest stages in 11 cases despite the fact that the period estimated was of considerable duration.     

Zur forensischen Anwendung des Polymorphismus des Gerinnungsfaktors XIII B

Zusammenfassung Die Gen-Frequenzen des Polymorphismus des Gerinnungsfaktors XIIIB wurden in einer Bevölkerungsstichprobe von Ost-Westfalen bestimmt (n=417). Zusätzlich wurde der Erbgang der Allele in 60 Familien untersucht. — Die Bestimmungen wurden nach Behandlung der Serumproben mit Neuraminidase durchgeführt, ferner durch die Methode der Immunofixation auf Agarosegelen. Alle 6 Phänotypen wurden in unserer Bevölkerungsstichprobe beobachtet. Die Genfrequenzen waren: FXIIIB¹=0.71, FXIIIB²=0,11, FXIIIB³=0,18. — Die Familiendaten bestätigen die Hypothese des autosomalen Erbgangs dreier Allelen und widersprechen dem Zwei-Allelen-Modell von Kera et al. [5].     

Rectal temperature-based death time estimation in infants

In determining the time of death in infants based on rectal temperature, the same methods used in adults are generally used. However, whether the methods for adults are suitable for infants is unclear. In this study, we examined the following 3 methods in 20 infant death cases: computer simulation of rectal temperature based on the infinite cylinder model (Ohno’s method), computer-based double exponential approximation based on Marshall and Hoare’s double exponential model with Henssge’s parameter determination (Henssge’s method), and computer-based collinear approximation based on extrapolation of the rectal temperature curve (collinear approximation). The interval between the last time the infant was seen alive and the time that he/she was found dead was defined as the death time interval and compared with the estimated time of death. In Ohno’s method, 7 cases were within the death time interval, and the average deviation in the other 12 cases was approximately 80 min. The results of both Henssge’s method and collinear approximation were apparently inferior to the results of Ohno’s method. The corrective factor was set within the range of 0.7–1.3 in Henssge’s method, and a modified program was newly developed to make it possible to change the corrective factors. Modification A, in which the upper limit of the corrective factor range was set as the maximum value in each body weight, produced the best results: 8 cases were within the death time interval, and the average deviation in the other 12 cases was approximately 80 min. There was a possibility that the influence of thermal isolation on the actual infants was stronger than that previously shown by Henssge. We conclude that Ohno’s method and Modification A are useful for death time estimation in infants. However, it is important to accept the estimated time of death with certain latitude considering other circumstances.     

Calibration and parameter variation using a finite element model for death time estimation: The influence of the substrate

The most established method for temperature based death time estimation is based on an empirical double exponential model. New physically based approaches using numerical simulation techniques are subject of current research. A major advantage of such models is the possibility to incorporate non-standard boundary conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the substrate on the cooling rate of a body in the early postmortem phase. A finite element model was used for parameter variation in terms of different substrate materials. Simulation results showed a considerable influence of substrate material on the postmortem cooling rate of a body. From a thermodynamical point of view, comparability between measurements on a steel trolley and real cooling scenarios with common substrates like normal floors, asphalt or soil remains questionable. It could be shown that not only the type of substrate but also its composition can have a considerable influence on the postmortem body cooling rate.     

Studies on time of death estimation in the early post mortem period – Application of a method based on eyeball temperature measurement to human bodies

This paper presents a verification of the thermodynamic model allowing an estimation of the time of death (TOD) by calculating the post mortem interval (PMI) based on a single eyeball temperature measurement at the death scene. The study was performed on 30 cases with known PMI, ranging from 1 h 35 min to 5 h 15 min, using pin probes connected to a high precision electronic thermometer (Dostmann-electronic). The measured eye temperatures ranged from 20.2 to 33.1 °C. Rectal temperature was measured at the same time and ranged from 32.8 to 37.4 °C. Ambient temperatures which ranged from ?1 to 24 °C, environmental conditions (still air to light wind) and the amount of hair on the head were also recorded every time. PMI was calculated using a formula based on Newton’s law of cooling, previously derived and successfully tested in comprehensive studies on pigs and a few human cases. Thanks to both the significantly faster post mortem decrease of eye temperature and a residual or nonexistent plateau effect in the eye, as well as practically no influence of body mass, TOD in the human death cases could be estimated with good accuracy. The highest TOD estimation error during the post mortem intervals up to around 5 h was 1 h 16 min, 1 h 14 min and 1 h 03 min, respectively in three cases among 30, while for the remaining 27 cases it was not more than 47 min. The mean error for all 30 cases was ±31 min. All that indicates that the proposed method is of quite good precision in the early post mortem period, with an accuracy of ±1 h for a 95% confidence interval. On the basis of the presented method, TOD can be also calculated at the death scene with the use of a proposed portable electronic device (TOD-meter).     

The role of intestinal bacterial heat production in confounding postmortem temperature measurements

Summary To assess the influence of anaerobic bacterial heat production in human stools as a confounding factor in postmortem rectal temperature measurements, in vitro experiments were carried out with human stools incubated at 37°C for 6h and at decreasing temperatures simulating a postmortem body cooling. Although a statistical significant heat production was observed, it was not relevant enough to explain a postmortem temperature plateau or a substantial rise in the postmortem body temperature. The experiments suggest that stools merely reflect the environmental thermal changes rather than producing bias and confounding by a bacterial heat production.     

Estimation of time of death by quantification of melatonin in corpses

A method for the estimation of time of death (TOD), was evaluated by measuring the melatonin (MT) content of pineal bodies (PBs), sera and urine samples from 85 cadavers. A total of 44 cadavers were investigated in Sapporo (geographical coordinates N 43° 4, E 141° 21) and 41 in Tokyo (N 35° 39, E 139° 44). MT contents were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in 75 PBs, 27 sera and 14 urine samples. Exponential differences of pineal MT content were recognized between peaks in nighttime and nadirs in daytime, ranging from 0.099 to 63.2 ng/PB. Circadian rhythms were also observed for the concentrations of MT in serum (11–205 pg/ml), and in urine (7.5–137.5 pg/ml). Consequently, criteria for the TOD estimation are proposed as follows. 1) Pineal MT contents — (1) 0–0.2 ng/PB: TOD 1100–1700 hours, (2) 0.2–0.3 ng/PB: TOD 0700–2000 hours, (3) 0.3–1 ng/PB: inconclusive, (4) 1–4 ng/PB: TOD 1600–1000 hours, (5) 4–8 ng/PB: TOD 2000–0800 hours, (6) over 8 ng/PB: TOD 2000–0500 hours, 2) Serum MT concentration — (1) 0–100 pg/ml: inconclusive, (2) over 100 pg/ml: TOD 2200–0100 hours, and 3) Urinary MT concentration — (1) 0–35 pg/ml: inconclusive, (2) over 35 pg/ml: TOD 1800–0600 hours. The range of the estimation can be limited by a combination of these 3 criteria. The present method can be combined with other methods for estimating the TOD to decrease the range.     

Photometric measurement of color changes in livor mortis as a function of pressure and time

Summary Until now, blanching of livor mortis in estimating time of death has generally been assessed based on subjective impressions, i.e. on whether blanching is visible after the application of pressure. We have developed a measuring system that uses digital processing to objectify the relationship between the pressure applied and blanching of postmortem lividity. The pressure is electronically registered by a strain gauge. At predefined levels (10, 20, 30, up to 100N) the software triggers a color measurement by a commerically available tristimulus colorimeter. All parameters are measured in a single procedure and routed to the computer through a data interface. The pressure-induced color changes in the livor mortis are evaluated according to the L*, a*, b* system (CIE-LAB according to DIN 5033, DIN 6174), which closely approximates the physiology of sight. An additional color spacing formula (AE) allows analysis of color changes irrespective of the basic skin tone. Initial measurements on cadavers showed that application of increasing pressure produced regular courses of color changes in livor mortis.     

Two-tailed delimitation of the time of death by immunohistochemical detection of somatostatin and GFAP

Delimitating the time of death becomes increasingly difficult and inaccurate, the further back it lays in time. To contribute to available techniques, pancreas and brain tissue from 500 corpses, whose time of death lay within 1 day and 23 days ±1 day, were immunohistochemically stained with anti-somatostatin and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) antibodies. Somatostatin and GFAP are recognized as antigen by the employed antibodies. This does not occur when proteolytic processes after death disturb the tertiary structure, altering its antigen properties. In our cases, stainability of somatostatin in the pancreas was always given within 2 days after death. Hence, given a negative immunoreaction, death can be assumed to have occurred a minimum of 3 days before formaldehyde fixation, which stops the proteolysis. A negative immunoreaction occurred consistently after 11 days, indicating that if a positive reaction is obtained in a specimen, the death of the respective person must have occurred amaximum of 10 days before fixation. GFAP was always stainable in the frontal cortex within 3 days after death, which means that in the case of a negative immunoreaction, death can be assumed to have occurred a minimum of 4 days before fixation. A negative immunoreaction occurred consistently after 14 days, indicating that if a positive reaction is obtained in a specimen the death of the respective person must have occurred a maximum of 13 days before fixation. The presented methods provide further improvements of the possibilities of delimitating the time of death, whereby the combination of both methods allows a two-tailed delimitation.     

Experimental studies on the kinetics of early postmortem decay of the lymphocyte membrane

Summary Tests on human and animal cadavers were carried out to investigate the early postmortem decay of the lymphocyte membrane.HLA-typing of cool-kept human cadavers can be performed within the first 36 h after death. Hereby, a possibility is obtained to determine HLA-ABC antigens of a deceased for hemogenetic or cornea transplantation purposes. The data obtained from animal experiments give evidence that the decay of the lymphocyte membrane follows a function of the Verhult's type. Using this function, it is possible to estimate the rate constant as a function of temperature.Partially presented to the German Society of Forensic Medicine at a meeting in Heidelberg, and to the Working Group for Histocompatibility Testing at a meeting in Freiburg, both in 1980     

The extent of aspartic acid racemization in dentin: a possible method for a more accurate determination of age at death?

Summary In the current study the objective was to find to what extent a reliable determination of age at death is made possible by establishing the degree of aspartic acid racemization in the dentin of teeth. The results of the investigation of 46 teeth are in agreement with the values found by other authors. The method presented makes a reproducible and accurate estimation of age possible. We intend to elaborate and improve this promising method for determination of age at death. The relevant points are presented here.     

Determination of calcium and magnesium in postmortem human vitreous humor as a test to ascertain the cause and time of death

Summary The concentrations of magnesium and total calcium human vitreous humors obtained postmortem was tested. In the groups of heart disease and asphyxia a correlation between the postmortem interval and calcium or magnesium concentrations was found. There was no correlation between postmortem interval and calcium respectively magnesium in the other causes of death. It seems possible that the analysis of vitreous humor may be useful in both diagnosis and determination of postmortem interval in the cases of heart death and asphyxia.     

基于表面增强拉曼散射的血清指纹谱检测方法研究

目的：对基于表面增强拉曼光谱检测血清指纹谱的试验条件进行优化。方法以正常人血清为例,银胶溶液为活性基底,分别检测不同血清用量（2．5～500μl）、不同孵育时间（10～30 min）、不同孵育温度（4℃、室温、37℃）及不同血清处理方法（萃取、去蛋白）的增强拉曼信号。结果及结论血清用量不宜超过50μl,与增强基底材料的比例1∶1到5∶1均适宜;孵育时间在10～30 min均可;孵育温度为4℃、室温、37℃均可;血清直接与增强基底混合信号效果极强,进行萃取和去蛋白处理后,拉曼信号会减弱。     

The effect of ethanol and cold-adaptation on the survival of guinea pigs in severe cold

Summary An acute ethanol dose of 2g/kg shortened the survival time at –20°C of guinea pigs both adapted to the cold and those reared in the warm, but no significant difference was observed between the adapted and non-adapted groups. Long-term ethanol treatment of 2g/kg/day for 4 weeks, lengthened the survival time of the guinea pigs reared at room temperature, but did not affect the survival of the cold-adapted animals. The acute dose of 2g/kg shortened the survival time of the guinea pigs which had received the 4-week ethanol treatment and had been reared in the warm, but did not have the same effect on the cold-adapted animals. The improved survival rate at severe exposure acquired by adaptation to the cold was abolished by chronic alcohol administration.This work was supported by a grant from the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies     

掌握再生生命定律 争做一代医学大师

在今天召开的中国中西医结合学会第四届烧伤专业委员会全体委员大会上,我们将对过去烧伤创疡再生医疗技术发展历程进行总结,在总结的过程中,大家要展开思路.烧伤创疡事业的发展带来了世界性的整个医学科学体系的革命,现在没有任何人能够阻挡,因为烧伤创疡再生医疗技术的应用效果领先于任何临床技术.     

Fat‐water separation with alternating repetition time balanced SSFP

Balanced SSFP achieves high SNR efficiency, but suffers from bright fat signal. In this work, a multiple‐acquisition fat‐water separation technique using alternating repetition time (ATR) balanced SSFP is proposed. The SSFP profile can be modified using alternating repetition times and appropriate phase cycling to yield two spectra where fat and water are in‐phase and out‐of‐phase, respectively. The signal homogeneity and the broad width of the created in‐phase and out‐of‐phase profiles lead to signal cancellation over a broad stop‐band. The stop‐band suppression is achieved for a wide range of flip angles and tissue parameters. This property, coupled with the inherent flexibility of ATR SSFP in repetition time selection, makes the method a good candidate for fat‐suppressed SSFP imaging. The proposed method can be tailored to achieve a smaller residual stop‐band signal or a decreased sensitivity to field inhomogeneity depending on application‐specific needs. Magn Reson Med 60:479–484, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Adult Moyamoya disease: 320-Multidetector row CT for evaluation of revascularization in STA–MCA bypasses surgery

Purpose

To evaluate the utility of 320-multidetector row whole-brain computed tomography perfusion (WBCTP) and whole-head subtracted dynamic angiography (WHSDCTA) for assessing the revascularization of blood flow after superficial temporal artery (STA) to middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass surgery in adults with Moyamoya disease (MD) in the short and long term.

Patients and methods

320-multidetector row WBCTP and WHSDCTA were applied in 20 patients with MD before and after surgery (for an average of 3 days and 3 months). The bypass arteries were investigated using WHSDCTA and compared with DSA. The regions of interests (ROIs) in the surgical and mirror sides of the cerebral cortex were drawn on a Vitrea Workstation. Cerebral blood volume (CBV), time to peak (TTP), cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), and delay time were recorded. Preoperative and postoperative perfusion parameters in the MCA distribution were compared using the paired t-test.

Results

WHSDCTA could clearly demonstrate 24 bypass arteries in 26 arteries for 20 patients, results which were in accordance with the results of digital subtraction angiography (DSA). When comparing preoperative values to those within 3 days after surgery, only TTP and delay time were significantly different (P < 0.05). Values of CBV, TTP, CBF, delay time, and MTT 3 months after surgery were significantly different (P < 0.05) from those of preoperative perfusion.

Conclusion

These data suggest that 320-multidetector row WBCTP and WHSDCTA can be used to evaluate the revascularization of blood flow after STA–MCA bypass surgery in patients with MD in the short and long term.