An unusual blunt force trauma pattern and mechanism to the cranial vault: Investigation of an atypical infant homicide

This case report presents an unusual fracture pattern in the cranium of a four-month-old infant indicative of child abuse. Upon postmortem examination, the infant presented with numerous bilateral linear cranial fractures running perpendicular to the sagittal suture with depressed and curvilinear fractures apparent on the supra-auricular surfaces of the cranium. Histological evidence indicates multiple traumatic events to the cranium. In addition, the stair-step pattern of a parietal fracture may represent multiple contiguous fractures from repeated loading of the head at different times with variation of the focal points of compressive force. Additionally, the left humerus, left radius, and left ulna have healing metaphyseal fractures, and the left ulna also has an antemortem diaphyseal fracture which resulted in the distal metaphysis being rotated 45 degrees medially. Integration of autopsy, anthropological, and neuropathological reports for this case suggest multiple inflicted injury episodes with a repeated atypical mechanism(s) to the cranial vault of the infant. During investigative interviews, the caretaker admitted to squeezing the infant's head and neck on multiple occasions to quiet the child. This reported abusive mechanism is consistent with the pattern of symmetric cranial fractures and soft tissue injuries indicating asphyxiation. This case report provides forensic investigators with a potential trauma mechanism to explore in cases when a similar pattern of cranial trauma is observed and highlights the need for greater research on fracture propagation and fracture healing in the infant cranium.     

Postmortem genetic testing in sudden unexplained death: A public health laboratory experience

Sudden unexplained death in the young poses a diagnostically challenging situation for practicing autopsy pathologists, especially in the absence of anatomic and toxicological findings. Postmortem genetic testing may identify pathogenic variants in the deceased of such cases, including those associated with arrhythmogenic channelopathies and cardiomyopathies. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) is a state-run public health laboratory which performs postmortem genetic testing at no cost to Wisconsin medical examiners and coroners. The current study examines sequencing data from 18 deceased patients (ages 2 months to 49 years, 5 females) submitted to WSLH, from 2016 to 2021. Panel-based analysis was performed on 10 cases, and whole exome sequencing was performed on the most recent 8 cases. Genetic variants were identified in 14 of 18 decedents (77.8%), including 7 with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (38.9%). Whole exome sequencing was more likely to yield a positive result, more variants per decedent, and a larger number of variants of uncertain significance. While panel-based testing may offer definitive pathogenic variants in some cases, less frequent variants may be excluded. Whole exome testing may identify rare variants missed by panels, but increased yield of variants of uncertain significance may be difficult to interpret. Postmortem genetic testing in young decedents of sudden unexplained death can provide invaluable information to autopsy pathologists to establish accurate cause and manner of death and to decedent's relatives to allow appropriate management. A public health laboratory model may be a financially advisable alternative to commercial laboratories for medical examiner's/coroner's offices.     

Closed Distribution Networks and E-commerce: Antitrust Issues

Closed distribution networks (ie exclusive or selective distribution networks) have to integrate the development of the internet, particularly in sectors such as fine fragrances or new cars sales. Producers (ie Chanel or Volkswagen) cannot ignore that their products are potentially available on the web. Considering the relationships between producers and their off-line dealers, the question is to know if these dealers could be authorized to resell the products on their own website. In each sector, producers have to adapt their distribution contracts for e-commerce. In a previous paper (published in the Journal of Information, Law and Technology , 2000, No 2) we conclude that electronic points of sales must respect criteria used for physical points of sales, but with some adaptations. The major issue for producers is to build legally secured contracts in order to manage both off-line and on-line distribution networks. But the adaptation of traditional distribution contracts cannot ignore the antitrust framework, especially in the European context, since the new Block Exemption Regulation No 2790/99 on Vertical Restraints has been published. Producers' strategies within the European Union must take into account potential competition restraints implied by their contract policy. When drafting their contracts for e-commerce opportunities, producers have to deal with the legal standing of their networks within the European antitrust law. In this paper, our purpose is to analyze implications of the on-line distribution strategy that could be drawn up by a producer from the European competition law viewpoint. We determine opportunities and constraints presented by the Guidelines from a producer's point of view, and we examine whether European competition law does offer any interesting 'room for manoeuvre' for producers who develop closed distribution networks. We also identify what kind of elements could lead to a withdrawal of the benefit of the Block Exemption Regulation No 2790/99; we show that this withdrawal could arise from a market share evaluation, or from the disproportion between competition restraints (stemming from the distribution contract clauses) and the necessity of an economic progress within the European Commission (EC).     

Multimodal biometrics for identity documents (MBioID)

The MBioID initiative has been set up to address the following germane question: What and how biometric technologies could be deployed in identity documents in the foreseeable future? This research effort proposes to look at current and future practices and systems of establishing and using biometric identity documents (IDs) and evaluate their effectiveness in large-scale developments. The first objective of the MBioID project is to present a review document establishing the current state-of-the-art related to the use of multimodal biometrics in an IDs application. This research report gives the main definitions, properties and the framework of use related to biometrics, an overview of the main standards developed in the biometric industry and standardisation organisations to ensure interoperability, as well as some of the legal framework and the issues associated to biometrics such as privacy and personal data protection. The state-of-the-art in terms of technological development is also summarised for a range of single biometric modalities (2D and 3D face, fingerprint, iris, on-line signature and speech), chosen according to ICAO recommendations and availabilities, and for various multimodal approaches. This paper gives a summary of the main elements of that report. The second objective of the MBioID project is to propose relevant acquisition and evaluation protocols for a large-scale deployment of biometric IDs. Combined with the protocols, a multimodal database will be acquired in a realistic way, in order to be as close as possible to a real biometric IDs deployment. In this paper, the issues and solutions related to the acquisition setup are briefly presented.     

Fatal occupational inhalation of hydrogen sulfide

A young man aged 22 years, a sewer worker by profession, died after massive inhalation of hydrogen sulfide while at work. He was rescued by the emergency services and admitted to the critical care department, where he died due to massive myocardial necrosis less than 24 h after admission. In this case, where the causes of the accident were not clearly established, autopsy and anatomopathologic examination made it possible to confirm the causal lesions which resulted in death and to question the initial version of the circumstances of the accident. Medicolegal investigation was valuable in determining possible liabilities and repercussions on coverage as an industrial accident by the national health insurance system.     

Informing the judgments of fingerprint analysts using quality metric and statistical assessment tools

The aim of this research was to evaluate how fingerprint analysts would incorporate information from newly developed tools into their decision making processes. Specifically, we assessed effects using the following: (1) a quality tool to aid in the assessment of the clarity of the friction ridge details, (2) a statistical tool to provide likelihood ratios representing the strength of the corresponding features between compared fingerprints, and (3) consensus information from a group of trained fingerprint experts. The measured variables for the effect on examiner performance were the accuracy and reproducibility of the conclusions against the ground truth (including the impact on error rates) and the analyst accuracy and variation for feature selection and comparison. The results showed that participants using the consensus information from other fingerprint experts demonstrated more consistency and accuracy in minutiae selection. They also demonstrated higher accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in the decisions reported. The quality tool also affected minutiae selection (which, in turn, had limited influence on the reported decisions); the statistical tool did not appear to influence the reported decisions.     

Computation of likelihood ratios in fingerprint identification for configurations of three minutiae

Recent challenges to fingerprint evidence have brought forward the need for peer-reviewed scientific publications to support the evidential value assessment of fingerprint. This paper proposes some research directions to gather statistical knowledge of the within-source and between-sources variability of configurations of three minutiae on fingermarks and fingerprints. This paper proposes the use of the likelihood ratio (LR) approach to assess the value of fingerprint evidence. The model explores the statistical contribution of configurations of three minutiae using Tippett plots and related measures to assess the quality of the system. Features vectors used for statistical analysis have been obtained following a preprocessing step based on Gabor filtering and image processing to extract minutia position, type, and direction. Spatial relationships have been coded using Delaunay triangulation. The metric, used to assess similarity between two feature vectors is based on an Euclidean distance measure. The within-source variability has been estimated using a sample of 216 fingerprints from four fingers (two donors). Between-sources variability takes advantage of a database of 818 ulnar loops from randomly selected males. The results show that the data-driven approach adopted here is robust. The magnitude of LRs obtained under the prosecution and defense propositions stresses upon the major evidential contribution that small portions of fingermark, containing three minutiae, can provide regardless of its position on the general pattern.     

Comparison of ethanol concentrations in right cardiac blood, left cardiac blood and peripheral blood in a series of 30 cases

The aim of this study was to compare ethanol concentrations in right cardiac blood, left cardiac blood and peripheral blood. Samples were taken from a series of 30 medicolegal autopsies. Ethanol was measured by headspace GC-FID. In each case, the degree of putrefaction, chest or abdominal injury, and/or regurgitation of gastric contents into the airways were noted. Our results show that there exists in certain cases a marked increase in ethanol concentration in left cardiac blood compared with right cardiac blood and peripheral blood. In these cases, we observed (i) a high concentration of ethanol in the gastric contents and (ii) regurgitation of gastric contents into the airways. The authors discuss the post-mortem redistribution mechanisms which could explain these results and stress the value of sampling right cardiac blood at autopsy.     

Interpreting small quantities of DNA: the hierarchy of propositions and the use of Bayesian networks

The dramatic increase in the sensitivity of DNA profiling systems that has occurred over recent years has led to the need to address a wider range of interpretational problems in forensic science. The issues surrounding questions of the kind "whose DNA is this?" have been the subject of considerable controversy but now it is clear that the emphasis is shifting to questions of the kind "how did this DNA get here?" Such issues are discussed in this paper and new insights are provided by two particular recent developments. First, the notion of the "hierarchy of propositions" that has arisen from a project called Case Assessment and Interpretation (CAI) that has been running in the British Forensic Science Service (FSS). Second, a technique for drawing inferences in the face of many interacting considerations, known as "Bayesian networks"--or "Bayes' nets" for short--that has been the subject of an earlier paper in this journal (1). The discussion is carried out by means of case studies, based on actual cases. It is clear that, whereas the inference in relation to the source of the DNA in a crime sample might be overwhelmingly strong, the inference in relation to the propositions that a jury must consider relating to the identity of the actual offender may be much more tentative.     

Detection of methamphetamine in mouse femurs exposed to high temperature

Bone samples are valuable for examining the cause of death and circumstance leading up to death when body fluids are not available for forensic toxicological analysis. Examined were heat-induced changes in methamphetamine and amphetamine concentrations in femurs removed from methamphetamine-injected mice to determine if the burned bones could be used for toxicology testing. The femurs were heated at 100°C, 300°C, or 500°C for 10 or 30 min. The tissue structure of the heated femurs was preserved at 100°C for 30 min but was destructed at higher temperatures. Methamphetamine and amphetamine were detected in femurs heated at 100°C for 10 min, 100°C for 30 min, and 300°C for 10 min (with methamphetamine and amphetamine concentrations ranging from 0.36 to 35 μg/g and 0.54 to 47 μg/g, respectively). Methamphetamine and amphetamine were detectable when heated above their decomposition temperature as a result of limited heat transfer do to protection provide by the femoral muscle. Thus, the bone could be a useful analytical sample in cases of burn-related deaths, where it is difficult to collect body fluids.