Computer-assisted skull identification system using video superimposition

This system consists of two main units, namely a video superimposition system and a computer-assisted skull identification system. The video superimposition system is comprised of the following five parts: a skull-positioning box having a monochrome CCD camera, a photo-stand having a color CCD camera, a video image mixing device, a TV monitor and a videotape recorder. The computer-assisted skull identification system is composed of a host computer including our original application software, a film recorder and a color printer. After the determination of the orientation and size of the skull to those of the facial photograph using the video superimposition system, the skull and facial photograph images are digitized and stored within the computer, and then both digitized images are superimposed on the monitor. For the assessment of anatomical consistency between the digitized skull and face, the distance between the landmarks and the thickness of soft tissue of the anthropometrical points are semi-automatically measured on the monitor. The wipe images facilitates the comparison of positional relationships between the digitized skull and face. The software includes the polynomial functions and Fourier harmonic analysis for evaluating the match of the outline such as the forehead and mandibular line in both the digitized images.     

Postmortem formation of carbon monoxide

Since carbon monoxide (CO) production after death was suggested in a drowned body, CO and carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) levels in blood and body cavity fluids of cadavers which were not exposed to fire and CO have been analyzed. CO released from the tissues was determined by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and the total concentration of hemoglobin (Hb) was measured as cyanmethemoglobin (CNmHb). The HbCO level was calculated by the ratio of CO content and CO-binding capacity. CO levels (ml/100 g at STP) of the seven cases in which blood and body cavity fluids could be collected ranged from 0.13 to 0.87 in blood and 0.02 to 0.80 in body cavity fluids. HbCO levels in blood and body cavity fluids were from 0.3 to 6.0% and from 2.3 to 44.1%, respectively. In a typical case showing postmortem formation of CO, the CO levels in body cavity fluids were higher than that in blood. It is suggested that CO in a putrefied body is due to CO in blood prior to death and the CO formed by the decomposition of Hb, myoglobin and other substances during putrefaction. The significance of HbCO levels in body cavity fluids of cases with marked postmortem decomposition seems difficult to interpret without the value of HbCO in blood.     

Discrepancy between estimated and actual time elapsed after death of a severed head.

A severed head which had been wrapped in seven plastic bags and set in concrete in an airtight insulated plastic box was found approximately 22 months after the occurrence of death. Ammonium magnesium phosphate had formed and on the basis of this and other observed postmortem changes, time elapsed after death was estimated to be from 2 weeks to 6 months. The absence of oxygen is thought to have contributed significantly to the great discrepancy between estimated and actual time elapsed after death.     

Toxicological study on intravenous thiopental anesthesia--interrelation between rate of injection and distribution of thiopental

A simple, rapid and accurate method to extract and clean thiopental in biological materials rich in fat was developed by using a separation column packed with Extrelut and Florisil. A Quantitative determination of thiopental by means of a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame photometric sulfur detector was attempted. The calibration curve was linear over the range of 5-200 micrograms/ml. Extraction of replicate tissues involving 3 micrograms of thiopental resulted in a recovery of the 99.7-101.8% range and a coefficient of deviation of the 0.3-1.9% range. Replicate extraction of five tissues from rats treated with thiopental resulted in a coefficient of deviation of below 6%. In rats given 40 mg/kg of thiopental and sacrificed after 5 min, the thiopental levels in fat were found to be higher after a slow intravenous injection than after a quick injection. The same tendency, however, was not observed in other tissues. It seems that the rate of intravenous thiopental injections might be estimated by comparison with thiopental levels in fat tissues.     

Production of carbon monoxide in cadavers

Carbon monoxide (CO), total hemoglobin (Hb) and carboxyhemoglobin (HbCO) in the blood and reddish discolored body cavity fluids of cadavers which had not been exposed to fire and CO were analyzed. In 13 cadavers found on land, the maximum saturation of HbCO in the blood was 3.6%, and was 10.1% in the body cavity fluids. There was only one case in which the HbCO saturations in the body cavity fluids were more than 10%. In seven drowned bodies found in fresh water, the highest HbCO saturation in the blood was 6.1%, and was 44.1% in the body cavity fluids. There were three cases in which the HbCO saturations in the body cavity fluids were more than 10%. In 12 drowned bodies found in sea water, the HbCO saturations in the blood were not more than 6.2%, and the maximum saturation of HbCO in the body cavity fluids was 83.7%. There were eight cases in which the HbCO saturations in the body cavity fluids were more than 10%. The results seem to indicate that the interpretation of HbCO saturation in the blood would not be affected significantly by the postmortem formation of CO, and that body cavity fluids should not be used for CO determination.     

Quantitative analysis of tropane alkaloids in biological materials by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method for quantitation of tropane alkaloids in biological materials has been developed using an Extrelut column with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Biological materials (serum and urine) were mixed with a borate buffer and then applied to an Extrelut column. The adsorbed tropane alkaloids were eluted with dichloromethane before a GC-MS analysis. Atropine-d(3) was used as an internal standard. The extracted tropane alkaloids were converted to trimethylsilyl derivatives prior to GC analysis, to improve the instability of tropane alkaloids from heating and the property of them for a GC column. The recoveries of the compounds, which had been spiked to biological materials, were more than 80%. The GC separation of the derivatives from endogenous impurities was generally satisfactory with the use of a semi-polar capillary column. Tropane alkaloids showed excellent linearity in the range of 10-5000 ng/ml and the limit of detection was 5.0 ng/ml for biological materials. The present method is simple and more rapid than those previously reported, and was applied to a poisoning case. It is useful for the routine analysis of tropane alkaloids in cases of suspected tropane alkaloids poisoning.     

Highly sensitive analysis of methamphetamine and amphetamine in human whole blood using headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A simple and highly sensitive method for analysis of derivatized methamphetamine (MA) and amphetamine (AM) in whole blood was developed using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry electron impact ionization selected ion monitoring (GC-MS-EI-SIM). A whole blood sample, deuterated-MA (d(5)-MA), as an internal standard (IS), tri-n-propylamine and pentafluorobenzyl bromide were placed in a vial. The vial was heated and stirred at 90 degrees C for 30min. Then the extraction fiber of the SPME was exposed at 90 degrees C for 30min in the headspace of the vial while being stirred. The derivatives adsorbed on the fiber were desorbed by exposing the fiber in the injection port of a GC-MS. The calibration curves showed linearity in the range of 0.5-1000ng/g for both MA and AM. The time for analysis was about 80min per sample. In addition, this proposed method was applied to two autopsy cases where MA ingestion was suspected. In one case, MA and AM concentrations in the mixed left and right heart blood were 165 and 36.9ng/g, respectively. In the other case, MA and AM concentrations were 1.79 and 0.119 microg/g in the left heart blood, and 1.27 and 0.074 microg/g in the right heart blood, respectively.     

Articles found in the possession of a methamphetamine abuser

A plastic syringe containing bloody fluid, 2 ampules of 20% glucose, an ampule containing diphenhydramine hydrochloride and calcium bromide, powder in a plastic bag and powder wrapped in paper were among the articles found in the possession of a 42-year-old male methamphetamine abuser, who had been taken to a mental hospital owing to his hallucinations.Examination of the patient revealed several recent needle punctures on the left forearm. The concentration of methamphetamine and its metabolite, amphetamine, in blood collected 1 day following the last intake was 76 nmol/100 g. Analysis of the powder and of the contents of the syringe revealed methamphetamine hydrochloride at a concentration of 99.0–99.5% and 7.4%, respectively. Neither glucose nor diphenhydramine were detected in the contents of the syringe.It would seem that the patient abused methamphetamine hydrochloride by intravenous injection after dissolving it in city water or distilled water.     

Three cases of sudden death due to butane or propane gas inhalation: analysis of tissues for gas components

We report three cases of sudden death due to inhalation of portable cooking stove fuel (case 1), cigarette lighter fuel (case 2), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (case 3). Specimens of blood, urine, stomach contents, brain, heart, lung, liver, kidney, and fat were collected and analyzed for propylene, propane, isobutane, and n-butane by headspace gas chromatography. n-Butane was the major substance among the volatiles found in the tissues of cases 1 and 2, and propane was the major substance in case 3. A combination of the autopsy findings and the gas analysis results revealed that the cause of death was ventricular fibrillation induced by hard muscle exercise after gas inhalation in cases 1 and 2, and that the cause of death in case 3 might be hypoxia. It is possible that the victim in case 3 was under anesthetic toxicity of accumulated isobutane which is a minor component of liquefied petroleum gas.