Homicide by unusual‐edged weapons: Forensic considerations of two cases

Homicide by stab wound is common worldwide. However, the use of unusual edged weapons is rarely reported in the forensic literature. Here, we report two cases of homicide involving a Japanese sword, or katana, and a sickle. Both of these weapons can create either stab or incised wounds with some particularities. In our cases, characteristics of the external wounds, internal injuries, and the depth of penetration raised the possibility of an unusual weapon. Meticulous forensic examination of these injuries (morphological characteristics, depth of penetration, trajectories, and cut marks in the bone) may allow the forensic expert to determine the type of weapon used.     

Identification of furosemide in hair in a post‐mortem case by UHPLC‐MS/MS with guidance on interpretation

Testing for drugs in hair raises several difficulties. Among them is the interpretation of the final concentration(s). In a post‐mortem case, analyses revealed the presence of furosemide (12 ng/mL) in femoral blood, although it was not part of the victim's treatment. The prosecutor requested our laboratory to undertake an additional analysis in hair to obtain information about the use of furosemide. A specific method was therefore developed and validated to identify and quantify furosemide in hair by UHPLC‐MS/MS. After decontamination of 30 mg of hair, incubation in acidic condition, extraction with ethyl acetate, the samples were analyzed by UHPLC‐MS/MS. Furosemide was found in the victim's hair at 225 pg/mg. However, it was not possible to interpret this concentration due to the absence of data in the literature. Therefore, the authors performed a controlled study in two parts. In order to establish the basis of interpretation, several volunteers were tested (four after a single 20 mg administration and twenty‐four under daily treatment). The first part indicated that a single dose is not detectable in hair using our method. The second part demonstrated concentrations ranging from 5 to 1110 pg/mg with no correlation between dosage and hair concentrations. The decedent's hair result was interpreted as repeated exposures. In the case of furosemide analysis, hair can provide information about its presence but cannot give information about dosage or frequency of use.     

A simple identification method of saliva by detecting Streptococcus salivarius using loop-mediated isothermal amplification

We previously reported that detection of Streptococcus salivarius is feasible for proving the presence of saliva in a forensic sample. Here, a simple and rapid method for the detection of S. salivarius in forensic samples was developed that uses loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). The LAMP primer set was designed using S. salivarius-specific sequences of glucosyltransferase K. To simplify the procedure, the sample was prepared by boiling and mutanolysin treatment only, and the entire analytical process was completed within 2.5 h. The cut-off value was set at 0.1 absorbance units, measured at 660 nm, upon termination of the reaction. S. salivarius was identified in all saliva samples, but was not detected in other body fluids or on the skin surface. Using this method, S. salivarius was successfully detected in various mock forensic samples. We therefore suggest that this approach is useful for the identification of saliva in forensic practice.     

Acute intoxication caused by overdose of flunitrazepam and triazolam: high concentration of metabolites detected at autopsy examination

ABSTRACT: A 52-year-old woman was found dead on the floor of the living room on the first floor of a house, which belonged to the man with whom she shared the house. On visiting the site, her clothes were found to be undisturbed. Packages of flunitrazepam (Silece, 2 mg/tablet) and triazolam (Halcion, 0.25 mg/tablet) were found strewn around the victim. Toxicological analysis was performed, and the concentrations of flunitrazepam, triazolam, and their metabolites in the victim's blood and urine were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array and mass spectrometry. A high blood concentration of 7-aminoflunitrazepam was detected (1,270 ng/g), and further metabolites such as 7-acetamidoflunitrazepam, 7-acetamidodesmethylflunitrazepam, and 7-aminodesmethylflunitrazepam were detected in the blood and urine samples. In addition, 4-hydroxytriazolam and α-hydroxytriazolam were detected in her urine at a concentration of 950 and 12,100 ng/mL, respectively.On the basis of the autopsy findings and toxicology results of high concentrations of both flunitrazepam and triazolam derivatives, the cause of death was determined to be acute intoxication from flunitrazepam and triazolam.     

Indonesia: Recent events and future challenges

The Asian financial crisis of 1997 and ensuing collapse of the 32-year dictatorship of Soeharto led Indonesia into chaos. Professor Takashi Shiraishi of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, outlines the events within Indonesia since the October 1999 presidential elections and examines some of the major issues that confront the government under President Abdurrahman Wahid. Given the enormity of political challenges, economic crisis, ethnic and religious conflicts and separatist movements, Professor Shiraishi argues that the prospects for recovery and development in Indonesia in the near future are not good.     

Indonesian politics: Current situation,future outlook

Where is Indonesia heading? How has Indonesia's experience since May 1998 changed Indonesian politics, and what developments can be expected in the future? Can the Habibie administration put Indonesia back on the development track? Professor Takashi Shiraishi of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, argues that since the collapse of the Soeharto regime there has been a dispersal of authority—political, social, and regional. Divisive issues that are at the very root of politics in Indonesia have once again come to the fore, and only if a broad national agreement can be formed will the government be able to prevent the current structural crisis from developing into a much more serious nation‐wide crisis.     

Anti-Russian and Anti-Soviet Subversion: The Caucasian–Japanese Nexus, 1904–1945

This article examines the little known history of political collaboration between Caucasian national groups and Japan directed against the Soviet Union in the 1930s. The collaboration, begun at the time of the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, resumed in the 1920s and continued through World War II. The Caucasian groups (Haidar Bammat's ‘Caucasus Group’ in particular) and Japan worked together to pursue their common goal of dismembering the Soviet Union. Their anti-Soviet subversion was real yet achieved few results in the face of extraordinary Soviet security. Nevertheless, Stalin took no chances and terrorised anyone suspected of any possible link to the subversive activity.     

Molecular analysis of the human esterase D gene ESD(*)Q0(yonago) responsible for incompatibility in a Japanese paternity case

In a Japanese paternity test, an alleged father was excluded only by reverse homozygosity of esterase D (ESD) phenotypes (mother, ESD 1; child, ESD 1; alleged father, ESD 2) out of 43 classical and DNA markers investigated. To solve the aberrant inheritance of the ESD phenotypes observed between them, fragments for all eight coding exons amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were subjected to DNA analysis. The child and alleged father shared a null allele, originating from ESD(*)1. It was characterized by having TGA for the stop codon instead of TCA for serine at codon 63. Thus, the sharing of a rare null gene, ESD(*)Q0(yonago), increased the probability of paternity.     

Wischnevsky's gastric lesions in accidental hypothermia.

We examine the pathogenesis of Wischnevsky's lesions. These gastric lesions were found in 15 of 17 deaths due to accidental hypothermia. Deaths occurred at various minimum temperatures (-2.4-20.4 degrees C); gastric lesions did not always reflect exposure temperatures. However, all victims exposed to temperatures greater than 10 degrees C had severe lesions. At temperatures less than 5 degrees C, on the other hand, severe gastric lesions were seen in victims younger (43.2 years old) than those with mild lesions (61.0 years old). These findings suggest that gastric lesions develop by exposure to temperatures at which the body's response to cold stress continues, or as result of a strong response to short-term stress. Histopathologic examination demonstrated a characteristic finding of cystic dilatation of the capillaries, presumably due to massive reperfusion after functional collapse of the microcirculation in the gastric mucosa.