An assessment of the usefulness of routine histological examination in hanging deaths

A retrospective study was carried out on 100 randomly selected medico-legal autopsies of victims who had committed suicide by hanging. All cases had undergone full police and coronial investigation. Complete external and internal examinations had been carried out including routine histological examination of organs. The age range of victims was 15-94 years (average, 41.7 years) with a male-to-female ratio of 7:1. External and internal injuries were consistent with the reported events. Diagnoses based purely on histology included hepatic steatosis (n = 16), asthma (n = 3), lymphocytic thyroiditis (n = 2), and pulmonary and cardiac sarcoidosis (n = 1). A large cell carcinoma of the lung and a rectal adenocarcinoma were confirmed. Histological evaluation was, however, of limited usefulness in contributing to the medico-legal evaluation of cases, with careful scene, external and internal examinations providing the most relevant information. The results of histological examination of tissues were all incidental to the cause, mechanism, and manner of death.     

Immunofluorescence detection of drugs in postmortem tissues: a new technique with potential for assessment of drug influence in cause of death

This report describes a new technique, immunofluorescence, for the detection and possible characterization of drug content in postmortem tissues. By using antisera generated against a drug-protein conjugate, the stabilization of tissue-sequestered drug is accomplished by incubation of fresh frozen sections of tissue with dilute solutions of rabbit anti-drug antibodies. Secondary incubation with a fluorescence-labeled anti-rabbit immunoglobulin labels these points of sequestration. Tissue sections so stained are examined by fluorescence microscopy. In studies with rats given graded doses of morphine sulfate, there were discernible differences in tissue binding of morphine in brain sections from animals treated "therapeutically," fatally, and chronically. Extension of these studies to human autopsy material is anticipated and potential problems are discussed. This technique offers the forensic toxicologist the potential for evaluating the drug content of tissues in situ.     

An improved method for the histological preparation of single hairs and dust samples--morphological and immunological examination

An improved method of the serological and morphological investigation of human hair is reported. The hair was firmly fixed onto a microscopic slide with cellophane tape and observed microscopically to confirm the cuticula images and the presence of the medulla. A piece of the hair containing the medulla was dissected, embedded in paraffin, and a cross section of this hair was prepared. By treating the sample with immunohistochemistry (biotin-antibiotin ABC technique), the blood type of the hair was confirmed definitively. Dust containing shaved beard can be examined in the same way.     

The method for expert assessment as a tool for the improvement of the methodological basis of the activities of a bureau of forensic medical expertise

An important aspect of the problem of iatrogenic poisoning is the lack of comprehensive relevant information. Many experts employed at the bureaus of forensic medical expertise believe that this problem can be resolved only based on a multifaceted approach. The results of questionnaire studies and cause-and-effect analysis allowed the following recommendations to be proposed for addressing the problem under consideration: making a minimal list of equipments necessary to maintain activities of forensic medical departments, updating the list of toxic substances to be studied in the laboratories of bureaus of forensic medical expertise, modification of the reporting form No 42 to be filled by such bureaus. The optimal approach is thought to be the equipment of all bureaus in compliance with the universal requirements, introduction of standard methods and technologies for the analysis of the materials included in the list of toxic substances to be determined.     

Forensic applications of sodium rhodizonate and hydrochloric acid: a new histological technique for detection of gunshot residues

Demonstration of the presence of lead residues deriving from gunshot in skin and underlying tissues is essential for the correct forensic analysis of numerous legal cases. Optical microscopy remains the fastest, cheapest diagnostic technique, even though its sensitivity and specificity are poor because of the scarce quantity of histological tissue that can be examined and possible environmental lead pollution. To confirm the presence of lead from gunshot residues, we applied to histological sections of human skin a technique proposed by Owens and George in 1991 for macroscopic detection of lead on the clothing of shooting victims, involving a reaction with sodium rhodizonate and subsequent confirmation by color change on application of HCl. Our results demonstrate the technical possibility of using this macroscopic technique even on histological samples and support the need for further studies on a larger series of cases correlated with the type of ammunition and firing distance.     

Haemostatic plugs as a histological vital reaction in the skin wounds of guinea pigs.

Applying a histological staining method (Carstairs' modification of picro-Mallory staining), haemostatic plugs could be demonstrated at points of vascular lesion in one-minute vital, or older, skin wounds of the guinea-pig on the average in 33% if the specimen was taken immediately after the reaction period, and in about 10% of wounds examined if the specimen was taken five days after death. No haemostatic plugs could be observed in postmortally inflicted skin wounds.     

Evaluation of an objective assessment technique for the detection of malingered memory deficits

Clinicians generally operate under the implicit assumption that their clients are being honest and putting forth their best effort on assessment procedures. However, clients may realize substantial secondary gains by appearing impaired. The present study evaluates an objective assessment procedure for the detection of malingered memory deficits. Results demonstrate that college students instructed to malinger memory impairment show different patterns of responding and can be clearly differentiated from students performing their best and from actual memory-impaired patients. Applying one of two scores derived from this test to a sample of 20 students instructed to malinger, 20 control subjects, and 20 memory impaired subjects performing their best resulted in a 100% hit rate for normal controls and memory-impaired subjects, and a 65% hit rate for experimental malingerers.This study was presented in a somewhat different form at the 10th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology; November, 1990; Reno. The test evaluated in this study is available to researchers upon request to the second author.     

Reinforced self-affirmation as a method for reducing the eyewitness misinformation effect

The misinformation effect occurs when an eyewitness includes information in their account that is incongruent with the event they witnessed, and stems from being exposed to incorrect external sources. Yet little research has been undertaken on techniques that could protect eyewitnesses from the influence of misinformation, despite the dangerous consequences of distorted testimony. In this article, a method of enhancing self-confidence, called reinforced self-affirmation (RSA), was proven to reduce the misinformation effect in five experiments. First, participants watched or heard an original event take place. They were then exposed to post-event material containing false information about that event, and finally they were given a memory test about the original material. The RSA, which took place either before the post-event material or before the final test, consisted of self-affirmation (recalling the greatest achievements in life) and external positive feedback (simulated ‘good’ results in a memory test or fake favourable results on personality tests). A meta-analysis of all five experiments revealed that the overall effect of RSA on reducing the misinformation was significant (effect size of 0.94), suggesting that this technique has the potential to be developed for practical use to make eyewitnesses less vulnerable to misinformation.     

An integrated technique for the analysis of skin bite marks

The high number of murder, rape, and child abuse cases in South Africa has led to increased numbers of bite mark cases being heard in high courts. Objective analysis to match perpetrators to bite marks at crime scenes must be able to withstand vigorous cross-examination to be of value in conviction of perpetrators. An analysis technique is described in four stages, namely determination of the mark to be a human bite mark, pattern association analysis, metric analysis and comparison with the population data, and illustrated by a real case study. New and accepted techniques are combined to determine the likelihood ratio of guilt expressed as one of a range of conclusions described in the paper. Each stage of the analysis adds to the confirmation (or rejection) of concordance between the dental features present on the victim and the dentition of the suspect. The results illustrate identification to a high degree of certainty.     

The measure of wife abuse: Steps toward the development of a comprehensive assessment technique

The lack of an adequate assessment tool for wife abuse has hindered empirical research. The Measure of Wife Abuse (MWA) was developed to improve on previously developed instruments, mainly by using empirical methods of construction, which has enabled the MWA to assess a broader range of wife abuse behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine the factor structure of the MWA items, and to assess its reliability and validity. Confirmatory multiple group factor analyses of the MWA responses of 164 abused women yielded four factors: Physical, Sexual, Psychological, and Verbal Abuse. The MWA was found to possess adequate levels of both reliability, estimated from its internal consistency, and concurrent validity, with the Conflict Tactics Scales as the criterion measure.     

脑红蛋白在大鼠体内的分布

目的探讨脑红蛋白(Ngb)在大鼠体内不同部位的分布特征。方法用免疫组织化学SP法观测Ngb在成年大鼠体内的分布和定位。结果Ngb蛋白在成年大鼠中枢神经系统、周围神经系统和新陈代谢旺盛的生殖内分泌器官广泛分布,其中心脏神经节、有髓神经纤维轴突及睾丸间质细胞Ngb蛋白阳性为首次发现。结论Ngb在大鼠体内分布与组织的氧利用以及器官功能有关。     

Evidence in support of self-declaration as a sampling method for the formation of sub-population DNA databases

Well constructed sub-population databases are fundamental to the application of DNA-based forensic statistics. The size of such databases can affect the ability to examine adequately statistical or population genetic features, and the integrity of both the DNA profile and associated ethnicity information is also of importance. Use of short tandem repeat (STR) DNA profiling technology and the thoughtful construction of the governing legislation has seen large databases of DNA profiles collated for the four major sub-populations of New Zealand. Examination of the data illustrates the suitability of self-declaration as a means of categorizing samples on the basis of ethnicity.     

Immunohistochemical staining as a potential method for the identification of vaginal epithelial cells in forensic casework

There is currently no accurate method to identify vaginal epithelial cells uniquely. This study aimed to use a cell extraction procedure compatible with routine forensic sampling methods, and to investigate the expression of cytokeratin (CK), estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha), and phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) in order to distinguish between skin, buccal, vaginal, and external penile epithelial cells. Seminal fluid samples were also examined. Epithelial cell samples were fixed in formalin, embedded in agarose, and processed using histological methods. Antigen-antibody reactions were detected using the DAKO Envision+ detection system. CK was present in all cells from all five sources confirming the origin of cells as epithelial. Both ERalpha and PDE5 positively labeled vaginal, buccal, and skin epithelial cells. Although an antigen unique to vaginal epithelial cells was not identified, we have described a cell extraction procedure for use in the immunohistochemical detection of a wide range of antigens, an approach compatible with forensic diagnostics.     

An ELISA method for the identification of salivary amylase

An ELISA method for the detection of salivary amylase in dried stains using a monoclonal anti-human salivary amylase antibody was developed. Studies demonstrated the assay to be sensitive down to 0.0002 Sigma units and showed a linear response between absorbance and salivary amylase activity between 0.002 and 0.2 units. The assay showed no cross reactivity with either commercially purchased human pancreatic or bacterial amylase. Sample studies utilizing swabs from several human body fluids showed that 100% of all saliva containing swabs (sixteen of sixteen) and 13% of non-saliva human body fluid swabs (eight of sixty-three) showed a net absorbance with the method. Of these eight non-saliva swabs yielding a net absorbance, none exceeded a salivary amylase activity of 0.003 units. In contrast, only three of the sixteen saliva-containing swabs (swabs produced from saliva diluted 1:5, 1:6, and 1:10, respectively) showed an activity below 0.2 units. Of these swabs, the 1:100 dilution showed the lowest activity (0.048). This value is still more than ten times that of the non-saliva containing swab with the highest activity.     

Forensic medical diagnostics of chronic alcoholic intoxication based on histological changes in the soft tissues of oral cavity and salivary glands

Histological studies of oral cavity mucosa and salivary glands in subjects with chronic alcoholic intoxication revealed changes at the surface of the tongue and in the glandular tissues. Specific features of chronic alcoholic intoxication include acinar and ductal hyperplasia, reduction of the adipose tissue mass in salivary gland stroma, predominance of T-lymphocytes in hard palate minor salivary glands and B-lymphocytes in the stroma of labial minor salivary gland, the absence of plasma cells in the stroma of hard palate minor salivary glands and labial mucosa. Leukoplakia, dysplasia, and hyperplasia of the basal epithelial layer of oral cavity mucosa are considered to be the signs of long-term (over 12 months) alcohol consumption.     

Evaluation of gastrointestinal cancer tissues as a source of genetic information for forensic investigations by using STRs

Malignant tissue samples may sometimes be the only source of biological material for forensic investigations, including identification of individuals or paternity testing. However, in use of such samples, uncertainties due to microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) often associated with neoplasias may be encountered. In this study, we have analysed the applicability of autosomal tetranucleotide short tandem repeat (STR) markers, which are routinely used in forensic analysis, to gain genetic information. MSI and LOH were analysed in 41 surgically removed gastrointestinal cancer specimens and the adjascent non-cancerous tissue marginals. The cancer specimens showed great variability in their genetic phenotypes due to MSI or LOH, with only 32% being microsatellite-stable. Of the 15 autosomal STR loci analysed, only TH01 had no MSI-type alteration in these samples. The loci most frequently affected by MSI were D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51 and D19S433 (MSI in 15-17% of cases). LOH-type alterations were observed at all of the loci, including the amelogenin locus used for sex determination. The highest LOH frequency was found at locus D18S51 (27%). The genetic alterations at the marker loci may indicate false homozygosity or heterozygosity, and false gender may result from erroneous deduction of DNA profiles. Therefore, typing of autosomal STRs from malignant tissues in forensic settings warrants careful interpretation of MSI and LOH results together with microscopic analysis of a tissue specimen. Results by two commercially available and widely used forensic DNA profiling kits used here were comparable.