Suicide by hypothermia with intentional partial undressing

Most cases of fatal hypothermia are accidental, often in connection with alcoholisation, homelessness, age-related confusedness and others. The phenomenon of paradoxical undressing may be observed. A paradoxical feeling of warmth in the advanced condition of hypothermia leads to the behaviour of undressing, partly or completely. Suicides with intentional hypothermia are rare. Fatal hypothermia often appears as a concomitant mechanism, e. g. in drug poisoning. The case report describes the fatality of a young woman dying from suicidal hypothermia. She was found partly undressed. This was part of her scheduled plan and not a consequence of paradoxical undressing.     

Increased adrenaline to noradrenaline ratio is a superior indicator of antemortem hypothermia compared with separate catecholamine concentrations

The significance of urinary catecholamines and small gastric mucosal bleedings, Wischnewsky's spots, in postmortem diagnosis of hypothermia deaths was evaluated. Autopsy cases (n=358) were divided into hypothermia, suspected hypothermia, and control groups. The catecholamine levels did not correlate with the length of the postmortem period. The adrenaline to noradrenaline ratio was most effective in detecting hypothermia (68.9% sensitivity, 78.1% specificity). The median adrenaline concentrations were significantly higher in hypothermia than in control groups. The control group containing mostly sudden cardiac deaths with no cold exposure had a noradrenaline level comparable to the hypothermia groups. The sensitivity and specificity of determining Wischnewsky's spots in hypothermia deaths were 63.9% and 88.3%, respectively. The adrenaline to noradrenaline ratio is more suitable in proving antemortem cold stress than either of these independently, and its diagnostic value is comparable to that of Wischnewsky's spots.     

Personality and Turnout: Results from the Finnish Longitudinal Studies

Scholars in the field of electoral participation have for long been aware that turnout is strongly connected to sociopsychological variables such as religiosity, party identification, political interest and sense of political efficacy. The impact of personality characteristics has remained largely unexplored until recently. Based on the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (JYLS, original N = 369), this article analyses the links between individuals' personality traits and their propensity to vote at ages 36, 42 and 50. The personality traits are measured by using the five‐factor model of personality consisting of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. The results show both extraversion and agreeableness to be positively associated with electoral participation, but the findings are not consistent at all ages. Finally, the analysis suggests that the effect of extraversion varies depending on the level of education. Whereas well‐educated people are more prone to be habitual voters regardless of their level of extraversion, among less‐educated respondents it has a more sizeable effect.     

Viability of Human Articular Chondrocytes Harvested Postmortem: Changes with Time and Temperature of In Vitro Culture Conditions

Different studies of long‐term chondrocytes viability have shown a gradual reduction as a function of time and ambient temperature. The aim of our in vitro study was to establish chondrocyte postmortem viability curves for 4°C, 11°C, 23°C, 35°C during 63 days after the donors' death. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from the knees of 16 male donors (20–47 years), stored in preservation media that was not changed, and analyzed in 3‐day intervals using a confocal laser scanning microscope. A significant influence of time on viability was found from Day 9 (p = 0.0029) and onwards (p < 0.0001). The lowest overall chondrocyte viability was at 35°C, followed by 4°C (p < 0.0001). The conditions used in this in vitro analysis suggest that similar viabilities may occur while in situ in the decedent. Further studies of chondrocyte viability from individuals with known postmortem intervals may show premise to help evaluate time since death in the late postmortem interval.     

The Optimal Combination of Cartilage Source and Apparatus for Long‐Term In Vitro Chondrocyte Viability Analysis

Abstract: Most studies of long‐term chondrocytes survival were for tissue banks. They showed a gradual reduction in the viable chondrocytes percentage as a function of time and ambient temperature, but the samples were harvested under optimal conditions. The aim of our study was to determine the most reliable combination of cartilage source and assay for the in vitro postmortem chondrocyte viability analysis in the conditions that imitate a dead body. Osteochondral cylinders were procured from femoral condyles and talar trochleas of three male donors and stored in the cell culture media at 4 ± 2°C and 23 ± 2°C. The samples were analyzed by a cell viability analyzer and a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) initially 24–36 h after death and then in 4‐week intervals. The results reconfirmed the significant influence of time (p = 0.0002), but not of the temperature (p = 0.237). The largest reproducibility was presented for the knee joint and the CLSM.     

Population data at two short tandem repeat loci D2S1338 and D19S433 in the sample of multinational Bosnia and Herzegovina residents

POPULATION: We have analyzed the distribution of allele frequencies at two short tandem repeats loci (D2S1338 and D19S433) in a multinational sample of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) residents. A total of 110 unrelated male and female individuals (Caucasians) from different regions of B&H were sampled for the analysis. We ensured that the sample reflected approximate proportional participation of the three main ethnic groups in the population of B&H (Bosniacs-Muslim [45%], Serbs [34%], Croats [21%]).     

mtDNA investigations after differential lysis

In order to gain information regarding the ethnic origin of an unknown offender in a murder case it was necessary to sequence the HV1 and 2 regions of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). The only evidentiary material that could be linked to the suspect was DNA, extracted from spermatozoa after differential lysis. The observed mtDNA sequences were identical to the sequences of the victim. Therefore, we had to check if this was a coincidence or the result of a technical limitation of the testing procedure. Subsequently, we performed a systematic study. In cases with complete separation of sperm and female cells it wasn't possible to obtain a mtDNA sequence for the sperm fraction. This phenomena is based on the loss of the sperm's flagellum and mid-piece during the first lysis step and a concomitant loss of the sperm's mitochondria. In our murder case, a minor carry-over of female cells to the sperm fraction was responsible for the sequencing result.