Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage related to methamphetamine abuse: autopsy findings and clinical correlation

A healthy 31-year-old male abstinent from drug abuse during his recent incarceration developed slurred speech, a severe headache, and left-sided hemiparesis prior to his eventual death 9.5 hours after inhalation of methamphetamine. On postmortem examination, inspection of the brain revealed bilateral subarachnoid hemorrhage, with a prominent intralobar hemorrhage centered within the right frontal cerebral hemisphere. No evidence of vasculitis, infarction, intraventricular hemorrhage, or ruptured aneurysm could be observed. While this is not the first report of a methamphetamine-related stroke, this report describes the autopsy findings of an intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to methamphetamine abuse on autopsy and compares the findings and antemortem history to previously reported methamphetamine cerebral vascular deaths.     

Allele frequencies data and statistic parameters for 16 STR loci-D19S433, D2S1338, CSF1PO, D16S539, D7S820, D21S11, D18S51, D13S317, D5S818, FGA, Penta E, TH01, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX, D3S1358-in the Rio de Janeiro population, Brazil

Allele frequencies for 16 short tandem repeats (STR) loci were determined with a sample of 230-300 unrelated individuals from the population of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The loci are the most commonly used in forensic and paternity testing, being analysed by the Identifiler (Applied Biosystems) and PowerPlex 2.1 (Promega) commercial kits. It was proved that Penta E and D18S51 are the most polymorphic loci.     

Injuries in fatal cases of falls downstairs

Downstairs falls frequently occur within domestic environments and are mainly associated with elderly and intoxicated individuals, often feature multiple injuries on various parts of the body. In most cases it is not possible to determine the cause of the fall and/or death solely by means of external examination. In this retrospective study, which covers a period of 11 years, all cases of death which included a fall downstairs in their case history, were collected from the Forensic Institutes of the Universities of Bonn and Greifswald, Germany. Falls downstairs made up to 2% (166 cases) of all postmortem examinations carried out within this period. Interestingly, almost double of the amount of such falls applied to males as to females. The primary cause of death was cranio-cerebral trauma and the vast majority of skull injuries associated with falls downstairs were found above 'the hat brim line'. Injuries were also often found on several other parts of the body at once. Nineteen of the 116 examined individuals exhibited agonal injuries. In these cases, postmortem examination revealed pre-existing disease or intoxication to be the cause of death and thus, cause of the fall. The injury pattern only allows a tendency towards vital or agonal incident as a conclusion.     

Y-STR polymorphism in Central Anatolian Region of Turkey

Eight Y-chromosome specific STR (Y-STR) loci including DYS19, DYS388, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393 were investigated in a group of males from Central Anatolian Region of Turkey. Healthy 59 males living in this region for at least three generations were included in the study. PCR analysis was carried out with Y-STR specific primers on genomic DNA obtained from peripheral blood samples and size determination of PCR products was performed by silver staining following 6% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). DYS388 was found to be the locus with lowest diversity (D) whereas DYS389II was the locus with highest diversity. The current study presented a framework of variation for the eight Y-STR loci in Central Anatolian population.     

Forensic analysis of hallucinogenic fungi: a DNA-based approach

Hallucinogenic fungi synthesize two controlled substances, psilocin and psilocybin. Possession of the fungal species that contain these compounds is a criminal offence in North America. Some related species that are morphologically similar, do not contain the controlled substances. Therefore, unambiguous identification of fungi to the species level is critical in determining if a mushroom is illegal. We investigate a phylogenetic approach for the identification of species that contain the psychoactive compounds. We analyzed 35 North American specimens representing seven different genera of hallucinogenic and non-hallucinogenic mushrooms. We amplified and sequenced the internal transcribed spacer region of the rDNA (ITS-1) and a 5' portion of the nuclear large ribosomal subunit of rRNA (nLSU rRNA or 28S). ITS-1 locus sequence data was highly variable and produced a phylogenetic resolution that was not consistent with morphological identifications. In contrast, the nLSU rRNA data clustered isolates from the same species and separated hallucinogen containing and non-hallucinogen containing isolates into distinct clades. With this information, we propose an approach that combines the specificity of PCR detection and the resolving power of phylogenetic analysis to efficiently and unambiguously identify hallucinogenic fungal specimens for legal purposes.     

Characterization and haplotype analysis of 10 novel Y-STR loci in Chinese Han population

In this study, we analyzed allelic sequences of 10 novel Y-specific STR loci, DYS454, DYS510, DYS513, DYS520, DYS542, DYS544, DYS552, DYS561, DYS587 and DYS593, surveyed the distribution of haplotypes in a Chinese Han population. Extracted DNA was amplified with PCR, followed by a horizontal non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with discontinuous buffer system. Purified alleles were sequenced on DNA sequencer (ABI Model 377) to verify the number of motif repeats. The number of alleles observed at each locus ranged from 3 to 8, yielding 102 haplotypes in 103 unrelated males samples. The allele diversity values for each locus ranged from 0.2099 (DYS544) to 0.7523 (DYS552). The haplotype diversity using all these loci was 0.9998. Our study revealed that they were valuable Y-specific markers for forensic applications.     

A novel microsatellite (STR) marker for forensic identification of big cats in India

India is the home to five of the eight majestic big cats of the world. The three major big cats namely, lion, tiger, and leopard are listed in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Apart from the severe loss of the habitat, these are continuously facing the danger of extinction mainly due to poaching and hunting for their body parts, which are being greatly valued by apothecaries marketing traditional Chinese medicines. With the advent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA-based markers have emerged as major tools in the arena of wildlife forensics. Microsatellites (short tandem repeats, STRs) are markers of choice because of their polymorphic and co-dominant nature. These strictly follow the Mendelian inheritance and are highly reproducible. We have identified a new microsatellite (STR) locus Ple 46, which shows amplification in a species-specific manner (size of STR) in all the members of the family felidae studied here. This PCR-based, non-invasive method opens a new avenue to forensic identification of big cats.