A comparative study of ethchlorvynol levels in blood versus bone marrow

Bone marrow may be utilized as an alternative biological sample in cases where uncontaminated blood samples are not available for analyses. Bone marrow/blood ratios of ethchlorvynol as a function of time and dosage level were determined in 40 rabbits. A modified quantitative analysis that produced accurate and reproducible results was employed for the determination of ethchlorvynol levels. Further, ten blood and bone marrow samples containing ethchlorvynol were chosen to study the effects of storage for a period of 24 hours. Studies of blood and bone marrow ethchlorvynol levels with time showed no linear relationship. Bone marrow/blood ratios as a function of dose resulted in close mean averages with a wide range of values. Significant losses in both blood and bone marrow ethchlorvynol levels were evidenced in most of the samples subjected to the 24-hour storage study.     

Plasma versus bone marrow flurazepam concentration in rabbits

Methods for the quantitation of flurazepam in plasma and bone marrow were developed for the purpose of determining the relationship between flurazepam concentrations in both tissues.Albino New Zealand rabbits, given flurazepam in doses of 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg, were sacrificed either one or three hours after drug administration. Flurazepam concentrations in plasma and bone marrow were determined utilizing a gas-liquid chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. The average plasma/bone marrow flurazepam ratios were 0.033 ± 0.012 and 0.024 ± 0.012 for rabbits sacrificed one hour and three hours after dosing, respectively. This study showed that a range of plasma flurazepam levels can be estimated from known bone marrow concentrations. The overall mean plasma/bone marrow ratio for all rabbits used in this study was 0.029 ± 0.012 with a range of 0.010 to 0.055.     

Blood versus bone marrow pentobarbital concentrations

Postmortem pentobarbital levels in rabbit heart blood and bone marrow were determined and compared. The average ratio of femur marrow/blood pentobarbital concentrations in 24 rabbits was 1.06 +/- 0.05. The average percent difference between actual plasma pentobarbital concentrations and calculated plasma pentobarbital concentrations was 5.82 +/- 1.96. Concentrations were determined by gas chromatography of extracted, derivatized pentobarbital.     

Blood versus bone marrow isopropanol concentrations in rabbits

The use of bone marrow to determine the blood isopropanol concentrations becomes important when a blood specimen is contaminated or unavailable. The blood/marrow isopropanol ratios were determined in rabbits autopsied 0, 4, and 24 h after sacrifice. The lipid content of the individual marrow specimens was shown to have a significant influence on the range of ratios. When the determined marrow isopropanol concentrations were corrected for lipid content, a better correlation between blood and marrow concentrations was obtained. The ratio (1.45 ± 0.17) was not altered significantly by postmortem time or temperature.Although acetone was not exogenously administered to the rabbits, but rather was endogenously produced from isopropanol metabolism, the relationship between blood and marrow acetone concentrations was somewhat linear. However, the range of observed and corrected blood/marrow acetone ratios was altered significantly by storage temperature, and delays between death and analysis. Thus, under the experimental conditions of this study, marrow isopropanol concentrations may be used to predict blood isopropanol concentrations, whereas marrow acetone concentrations can not.     

Blood versus bone marrow methanol concentrations in rabbits

Postmortem methanol levels in bone marrow and heart blood were determined in rabbits. The average ratio of heart blood concentration to observed bone marrow concentration in 36 rabbits was 2.6 ± 0.6 with a range of 1.5 to 4.2. Correcting for the lipid content of the bone marrow decreased the average ratio, reduced the ratio range and improved the correlation. The heart blood to corrected bone marrow ratio was 1.6 ± 0.3 with a range of 1.2 to 2.9. Direct injection gas chromatographic techniques were employed to quantitate methanol concentrations.     

Comparative study of ethanol levels in blood versus bone marrow,vitreous humor,bile and urine

Post-mortem ethanol levels in blood were compared to corresponding levels in rib bone marrow, vitreous humor, urine and bile. In forensic toxicology, a good correlation between blood and a tissue or body fluid is needed to estimate a blood alcohol concentration when blood is unavailable or contaminated. In this study, direct injection and headspace gas-chromatographic techniques were employed to quantitate the ethanol concentrations. Comparable findings by these two techniques showed a reproducibility of results. When the determined bone marrow ethanol levels were corrected for the lipid fraction, a consistent correlation could be established between ethanol levels in blood and bone marrow. The relationship (linearity and ratio range) between ethanol levels in blood and corrected levels in bone marrow was better than that between blood and vitreous humor, bile or urine. This study showed that blood ethanol levels can be predicted by extrapolating the corrected rib bone marrow ethanol level.     

A storage study of ethanol in rabbit and human bone marrow

The study reports the effect of storage on ethanol concentrations in bone marrow.     

Psychodiagnostic testing of sex offenders: a comparative study

Two groups of offenders, one charged with sex crimes as well as with crimes of larceny, and the other charged with sex crimes only, are compared with respect to their demographic characteristics and their intelligence and diagnostic classification as determined via psychological testing.     

Determining the human origin of fragments of burnt bone: a comparative study of histological, immunological and DNA techniques.

In situations where badly burnt fragments of bone are found, identification of their human or non-human origin may be impossible by gross morphology alone and other techniques have to be employed. In order to determine whether histological methods were redundant and should be superseded by biomolecular analyses, small fragments of artificially burnt bone (human and non-human) were examined by quantitative and standard light microscopy, and the findings compared with newer biomolecular analyses based on identifying specific human albumin by ELISA and amplifying human mitochondrial DNA by PCR. For quantitative microscopy, reference data were first created using burnt bones from 15 human and 20 common domestic and farm animals. Measured osteon and Haversian canal parameters were analysed using multivariate statistical methods. Highly significant differences were found between values for human and non-human bone, and a canonical discriminant function equation was derived, giving a predicted correct classification of 79%. For the main study, samples of cortical bone were taken from three fresh cadavers, six human skeletons and ten freshly slaughtered animals and burnt by exposure to temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 degrees C; charred fragments of human cortical bone from two forensic cases were also tested. Quantitative microscopy and canonical discriminant function gave the correct origin of every sample. Standard microscopy falsely assigned burnt bone from one human skeleton and one forensic case to a non-human source, but otherwise gave correct results. Human albumin was identified in five individuals, including one of the forensic cases, but mitochondrial DNA could not be amplified from any of the human bone. No false positive test results were seen with either biomolecular method; and human albumin and mitochondrial DNA were correctly identified in all unburnt control specimens. It was concluded that histological methods were not redundant and that quantitative microscopy provided an accurate and consistent means of determining the human or non-human origin of burnt bone and was more reliable than standard microscopy or the newer immunological and DNA techniques tested here.     

A time course study on STR profiles derived from human bone, muscle, and bone marrow.

The use of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to define deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) types at several loci was investigated. PCR was used to amplify nine short tandem repeat (STR) loci along with the amelogenin locus on the X and Y chromosomes using the AmpF/STR Profiler Plus PCR amplification kit (Perkin Elmer). Rib bones were collected from 12 individuals. Five cm portions were buried at a depth of approximately 30 cm and 5 cm portions were left on the surface of the ground. Samples were exposed to the environment for periods of time ranging from two weeks to 17 months. Dried blood standards were prepared for use as reference standards for each rib sample. Bone, muscle, and bone marrow were collected from each sample. DNA from each tissue type was extracted. Complete profile results were obtained from the surface bone samples out to an exposure time of 17 months. None of the muscle or bone marrow samples produced complete profile results beyond eight weeks. All DNA typing results from complete or incomplete profiles were consistent with DNA typing results of the corresponding blood standard. Results suggest that using the AmpF/STR Profiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit is a valid way to establish the DNA profile of tissue types from human remains.     

Determination of opiates in postmortem bone and bone marrow.

Bone and bone marrow of a fatally poisoned heroin addict were analyzed by FPIA and GC-FID, immediately after death. A piece of the bone from the above case was buried for 1 year and analyzed by the same procedure. Morphine was detected in all specimens at concentrations of 195, 340 and 155 ng/g for bone marrow, bone and buried bone, respectively. A loss of 54.4% of morphine concentration was observed during 1-year burial. Such findings have potential forensic value in cases of skeletonized remains.     

Identifying chop marks on cremated bone: a preliminary study

The purpose of this analysis is to evaluate the effects of burning on hacking trauma inflicted with a cleaver and to assess the diagnostic potential of cleaver marks exposed to fire. Thirty pig forelimbs (radius and ulna) and 30 beef ribs were each subjected to five blows with a cleaver and five cuts with a knife prior to burning in an outdoor fire. Bones were deliberately agitated to ensure maximum cremation and induce fragmentation. Results indicate that hacking weakens bone, making fire-induced fragmentation more likely at the sites of trauma. Chop marks were easily identified on burned bone, their characteristics largely unaffected by cremation.     

Iliac cancellous bone in drug addicts: a histomorphometric study

Histomorphometry was used to determine structural bone changes in drug addicts. Iliac crest bone biopsies were obtained at autopsy from 28 subjects (21 male, 7 female, aged 18 to 45 years) who had a history of drug abuse and had died due to overdose of illicit drugs. For histomorphometry, undecalcified sections were investigated using the Merz grid. The following histomorphometric indices were measured and calculated: BV/TV, BS/BV, Tb.Th, Tb.N, Tb.Sp, OV/TV, OS/BS, Ob.S/BS, O.Th, ES/BS, Oc.S/BS, and N.Oc/T.A. In 28 controls (24 male, 4 female, aged 17 to 47 years) trabecular bone specimens were investigated in the same way. The parameters in drug addicts did not show any correlation to age, body weight, height or sex differences. Trabecular bone volume and trabecular thickness were slightly but not significantly increased (BV/TV: 23.37 +/- 5.77% (mean, SD), controls 22.23 +/- 5.08%, p = 0.434; Tb.Th: 172.67 +/- 36.83 mcm, controls 169.73 +/- 36.13 mcm, p = 0.764). Only the eroded surface was significantly different to the controls (ES/BS: 8.16 +/- 2.04%, controls 6.96 +/- 2.17%, p = 0.038). We conclude that the incidence of metabolic bone disease in drug addicts is low.