Signs of injury in bone findings--analysis and evaluation

Recent bone finds examined under forensic aspects as well as historic skeletons (mainly dating from the Middle Ages) with a known history as to the cause of death and the place where they were found were studied to develop basic criteria for the assessment of the cause and time of origin of bony defects. With regard to the time of origin it was found that the closer an injury occurs before or after death, the harder it is to distinguish from a perimortal injury. A schematic pattern was worked out for the kind of origin classifying the injuries as to "type of force", "mechanism", "weapon/object" and "effect to the bone", which helps in the forensic assessment of the causes of injuries found on bones.     

Cutaneous current marks due to a stun gun injury

Histological changes of the skin following electrical injury with a stun gun have rarely been described. We report the case of a 61-year-old man who died after having been tortured with a stun gun during a robbery. At autopsy two reddish, dot-like lesions where found on the chest and histological examination revealed electric current-related changes. Only a few reports concerning micromorphological cutaneous changes following stun gun injury have been reported; therefore further investigations concerning the frequency and type of histological findings due to stun gun injuries will be necessary in order to provide sufficient characteristic data for a conclusive interpretation.     

Typing of eight short tandem repeat (STR) loci in a Saudi Arabian population

Allele frequency data for eight short tandem repeat (STR) loci, HUMF13A01, HUMFESFPS, HUMF13B, HUMLPL, HUMCSF1PO, HUMTPOX, HUMTHO1 and HUMvWA, were obtained for unrelated individuals in a Saudi Arabian population. All loci, except F13B (P = 0.037) and LPL (P = 0.035), meet Hardy-Weinberg expectations, based on the exact test. The most informative locus is HUMvWA (PD = 0.936) and the least discriminating is the HUMTPOX locus (PD = 0.820). There was only one observation of a departure from expectation from pairwise locus comparisons. These data can be used for estimating the frequency of STR profiles in a Saudi Arabian population.     

Supercritical fluid chromatography in forensic science: a critical appraisal

The application of supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) in forensic science is reviewed. The applications centre on the analysis of explosives and of drugs of abuse. The systems employed are discussed in the context of comparison with gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography methods which are traditionally used for such analyses. The advantages and disadvantages of SFC over these methods are discussed. Recommendations are made for the developments which are required in SFC technology if it is to find greater application in forensic science.     

A serological and histological study of the Egyptian mummy 'Iset Iri Hetes' from the Ptolemaic period III-I B.C

Serological and histological examinations of the muscles of the calf of an Egyptian mummy dated between the third and first centuries B.C. were performed. Human protein was identified, the ABO phenotype was determined as type B, and morphological disruption of the cells was observed.