Preliminary test with chlorindazone DS for zinc in Sintox residue

So-called exit bags are voluminous, transparent plastic bags, each with a collar to go round the neck, and a Velcro fastening. In conjunction with the consumption of sleeping pills, the bags are recommended as an aid to commit suicide by organizations in favour of "humane death". It is reported on four such suicides by elderly people between 79 and 87 years of age. In two of these cases, there was assistance in committing suicide, one corresponding to a suicide protocol from the Swiss organization for euthanasia, EXIT. In two cases, detailed instructions for committing suicide were found. The morphological findings were not very specific in any of the cases. If the plastic bags are removed by a third party, this type of suicide may remain undetected even after performance of an autopsy. Exit bags tend to be used by older people with either real or feared life-threatening illnesses, in suicides which have usually been planned for some time. From the criminological point of view, the possible active participation of other persons in pulling the covering over the head can often not be proved. Assisting a suicide, in the sense of giving instructions on how to accomplish it, is not punishable in German law.     

Immunohistochemical study of basic fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor expression for age determination of cutaneous wounds

The authors investigated the expression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) during skin wound healing using immunohistochemical techniques. After a full-thickness incision was made on the dorsal skin, mice were killed 0.5, 1, 3, 8, 24, 72, 144, or 240 hours after incision, and the wound was excised. To evaluate the influences of postmortem degeneration, cutaneous wound excision was performed 1 to 5 days after the mice were killed. The excised wounds were stained by the conventional streptoavidin-biotinylated peroxidase complex method, using specific antibodies, and the ratio of the number of positive cells to total cells was determined. Expression of bFGF was detected in the nuclei of epidermal cells and fibroblasts in the early 0.5- to 1-hour phases and the late 24- to 144-hour phases. Expression of VEGF was detected in the cytoplasm of epidermal cells in the 24- to 144-hour phases. Immunoreactivity of both cytokines was detected 1 day post mortem and was especially well preserved in the fibroblasts. Time-dependent expression of both factors suggested that they would be useful markers for the determination of wound age. However, bFGF should be superior to VEGF because of its earlier expression and because of its more persistent expression in dermal fibroblasts with increasing postmortem interval.     

Environmental gas displacement: three accidental deaths in the workplace

The authors describe three accidental deaths resulting from occupational hazards involving environmental gas alterations. One involved the displacement of oxygen caused by leakage of liquid nitrogen during the installation of a magnetic resonance imaging system. Two involved elevated environmental carbon dioxide concentrations: dry ice sublimation in a walk-in refrigerator in a research laboratory, and activation of a carbon dioxide fire alarm-extinguisher system by a woman locked in a bank vault. The autopsy findings, scene investigations, and certifications of these deaths, as related to the mechanisms of death, are discussed.