Carboxyhaemoglobin and methaemoglobin findings in burnt bodies

The often observed absence of carboxyhaemoglobin in burnt (charred) bodies is rediscussed in the light of two new cases in which the inhalation of very hot gases obviously led to reflex breathing and circulation arrest. (Macro and microscopic evaluations of the upper respiratory tract can give significant information as to whether a person was still alive at the time of the fire outbreak.) In the cadaver blood of people who survived a given period after a fire, high methaemoglobin values (up to 37%) were found. This was caused by the inhalation of nitrogen oxides that were produced by burning plastic.     

Immunocytochemical examinations of biological traces on expanding bullets (QD-PEP)

When a crime victim has been injured with several different objects, it is of central importance for the forensic investigation to be able to show which object caused which injury, especially if one of the injuries was lethal. In cases of bullet penetration wounds it is often not possible to find such evidence. However, immunocytochemical investigations can accurately match a victim's injury to a particular bullet path through the body. In cases where expanding bullets have been used and the heart or liver has been struck by a projectile, it can be shown that the cells remaining on the bullet stem from those particular organs. In this case the specific cytological evidence was established by means of marking heart- and liver-specific tissue proteins with appropriate antibodies (cardiac troponin I and HepPar 1) followed by disclosure with an appropriate chromogen. Thus, in principle, cells can be used as evidence after being extracted from the projectiles by either damp cotton-wool swabs or adhesive trace evidence tape. Because of the specificity of the used immunocytochemical antibodies, finding evidence of an antigen on a particular projectile proves that it was the object that injured the organs.     

Studies of the chronological course of wisdom tooth eruption in a Japanese population

The importance of forensic age estimation in living subjects has grown over the last few years. In dental age estimation, tooth eruption is a parameter of developmental morphology that can be analyzed by either clinical examination or by evaluation of dental X-rays. In the present study, we determined the stage of wisdom tooth eruption in 549 male and 751 female Japanese subjects aged 14-26 years based on radiological evidence from 1300 conventional orthopantomograms. The results presented here provide useful data on the age of alveolar, gingival, and complete emergence of the third molars in the occlusal plane that can be utilized for forensic estimation of the minimum and most probable ages of investigated persons.     

The Differential Empowering Effects of Europeanization on the Autonomy of National Agencies

This article examines the influence of Europeanization on the relationship between ministries and agencies at the national level. The core argument is that the differentiated nature of the international environment (with policy development often transferred to the international level and policy implementation left at the national level) transforms national agencies into policy‐developing actors that shape policies without being directly influenced by their national political principals. The increasingly common involvement of national agencies in European policymaking processes thereby increases these agencies' policy‐development autonomy but does not change their role in policy implementation. We examine this argument by testing an innovative hypothesis—the differentiation hypothesis—on a combined data set of German and Dutch national agencies. Our empirical findings support the hypothesis in both countries, suggesting that similar effects can be expected in other contexts in which semiautonomous agencies are involved in transnational policymaking.     

Cannabinoid intake by passive smoking

The presence of cannabinoids in the urine can be produced by passive inhalation of hashish resp. marihuana smoke. The height depends on the intensity of exposure. Under extreme conditions concentrations between 40 to 50 ng/ml of cannabinoids had been found in the urine. In regard to the maximum variation-coefficient of the immunoassay methods, which is about 30%, we think it is useful to define a threshold value of 65 ng/ml of cannabinoids to distinguish between active and passive inhalation.