Complex chemical and toxicological analysis of prosidol

Methods for measuring a Russian narcotic analgesic prosidol are suggested: thin-layer chromatography, microcrystalloscopy, gaseous chromatography with ionization flame detector, gas chromatography with mass selective detector, ultraviolet spectroscopy, high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector, proton nuclear magnetic resonance used in chemical toxicological analysis, pharmacological analysis, and investigation of material evidence pieces.     

Forensic chemical testing of cadaveric material for acetonitrile

Gas chromatographic conditions for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of acetonitrile in biological material were determined, including those for reactive gas chromatography. Absolute and relative time of acetonitrile and concomitant substances retention in three columns of different polarity was determined. Study of the time of acetonitrile retention in biological material showed that acetonitrile concentration in the blood virtually did not change in cadaveric material stored in a hermetically closed flask for 2 weeks at 20 +/- 3 degrees C, while its concentration in the stomach decreased by 10-15%. Distribution of acetonitrile in human viscera in lethal poisoning was studied; the agent was evenly distributed in the gastric wall, intestine, liver, and kidney, while its concentrations in the lung and brain were 2-3 times higher. Forensic chemical expert analyses of the blood, urine, and viscera from corpses of humans dead from lethal acetonitrile poisoning showed that lethal concentration in the blood was 28.3-57.0 mg and in the urine 23.2-40.6 mg/100 ml.     

Evaluation of the severity of harm to health by gastrointestinal injury caused by blunt trauma

A total of 226 forensic medical conclusions in traumas of the gastrointestinal tract with blunt objects, 111 of these with lethal outcomes, are analyzed. The types of injuries, clinical course, medical care, complications, flaws in medical care and their consequences, and pathomorphology of the injury were analyzed. Criteria of harm inflicted to health are determined and a table of qualifying signs is suggested for cases with blunt injuries of the gastrointestinal system, with consideration for the type of injury.     

Determination of heavy metals in some human organs, tissue, and fluids under normal conditions

A table has been created, presenting normal levels of heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni, Zn, Sn, Tl, Ag) in human biological media. In contrast to other handbooks, the authors use the normal values derived on the basis of their own investigations at the spectral laboratory of Bureau of Forensic Medical Expert Evaluations, Public Health Committee of Moscow and published reports. Comparative analysis was carried out for each element in human organs, tissues, and urine, which will facilitate expert work. Every laboratory engaged in expert evaluations and analysis in cases with suspected poisoning with heavy metal salts is to have reference values of these elements' concentrations in human organs and tissues obtained in this very laboratory on available equipment with consideration for specific features of its biogeochemical region.     

Hypophyseal damage in persons with cerebrocranial injuries and who died in the hospital

The pituitary was examined in patients with craniocerebral injuries who died in hospital in various periods after treatment. Control group consisted of victims died at the site of accident. The results indicate the significance of examining the pituitary in craniocerebral injuries for the diagnosis of thanatogenesis, particularly in patients died in hospital. Causes of traumatic changes in the organ were determined, highly incident in the practice of forensic medical experts: directly during injury, as a result of skull bone fractures; during development of dislocation syndrome and in disorders of blood and lymph circulation in the brain matter; resultant from augmenting traumatic edema of the brain.     

Detecting Deception in Children's Testimony: Factfinders' Abilities to Reach the Truth in Open Court and Closed-Circuit Trials

This study examined the influence of closed-circuit television (CCTV) on jurors' abilities to detect deception in children's testimony. Children ages 7–9 individually played games and made a video movie with a male confederate. In the guilty condition, stickers were placed on exposed body parts (i.e., the child's arm, toes, and bellybutton). In the not-guilty and deception conditions, stickers were placed on the child's clothing rather than on bare skin. Approximately 3 weeks later, mock jurors recruited from the community viewed child participants testify either in a traditional courtroom setting or via one-way CCTV. The mock jurors responded to questions about the child witness and the defendant as well as deliberated to reach a verdict. Children in the deception condition were asked to testify as if the stickers had been placed on exposed body parts rather than on their clothing. Predeliberation, jurors were less likely to convict when a child testified in the deception condition as opposed to the guilty condition. These differences disappeared following deliberation. There was no support for the notion that jurors reach the truth better when children testify in open court versus via CCTV. Implications for jurors' abilities to reach the truth are discussed.