Significance of haemorrhages in central parts of the tongue found in the medicolegal autopsy

The tongue was examined for the presence of haemorrhages in 264 medicolegal autopsy cases. The tongue was sectioned transversely and examined macroscopically and microscopically. Haemorrhages were found in marginal and/or central parts of the tongue in 104 cases. Among them, 28 cases showed haemorrhages in central parts of the tongue. Those haemorrhages in central parts of the tongue were seen only in cases of severe ‘congestive death’. The possibility must therefore be considered of a severe ‘asphyxial death’, if haemorrhages are found in central parts of the tongue during autopsy.     

Apoptotic and necrotic brain lesions in a fatal case of carbon monoxide poisoning

A 41-year-old man was accidentally exposed to carbon monoxide (CO) gas and found in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest while he took bath. After admission, he was resuscitated and underwent artificial ventilation in a comatose state and died about 19h later. Computed tomography (CT) examination disclosed bilateral low density area in the basal ganglia and the thalamus, a well-known finding in the CO intoxication. Necropsy, histological examination, DNA ladder assay gave the first line of evidence for the presence of apoptosis as well as necrosis in the human case of CO intoxication. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) positive apoptotic cells were more predominant in the CA2 area than in CA1 area. There is general co-relation between the ratio of TUNEL-positive cells and the DNA laddering on the agarose gel. Basal ganglia and thalamus, which showed bilateral low density area in CT, were revealed to be severe edema. The two types of cell death occurred in the cortex, basal ganglia, hippocampus, thalamus, and cerebellum. Hypoxia caused by CO-hemoglobin formation alone cannot explain the phenomena.     

Tissue-specific differences in mRNA quantification of glucose transporter 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor with special regard to death investigations of fatal injuries

Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been established as being responsible for cellular adaptation to oxygen deficiency in tissue ischemia and hypoxia mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor 1. We hypothesized that mRNA quantification of these factors in autopsy tissue specimens could have diagnostic significance for investigating the pathology of death, especially after injury. Various cases (total, n=119; less than 48h postmortem) were examined, including fatal blunt injury (n=71) and sharp instrument injury (n=18), as well as asphyxia (strangulation/hanging, n=12) and acute myocardial infarction/ischemia (n=18) as controls. Quantification of mRNA by TaqMan real-time RT-PCR and immunostaining were performed for GLUT1 and VEGF in lung, kidney, and skeletal muscle specimens. The postmortem interval showed no significant influence on the relative quantification of mRNA during the early postmortem period. Characteristic results were found in blunt injury cases: both GLUT1 and VEGF mRNAs decreased in the lung but increased in the skeletal muscle depending on survival time. In the kidney, subacute deaths showed higher GLUT1 mRNA levels compared with acute deaths from blunt injury, but no significant change was found for VEGF mRNA. Immunohistochemistry showed visually predominant GLUT1 immunoreactivity in the renal cortex for cases with a longer survival time, coincident with the results at the mRNA level. Tissue-specific differences in mRNA quantification of GLUT1 and VEGF shed light on tissue ischemia/hypoxia and subsequent tissue-dependent pathophysiological changes leading to death after injury.     

The determination by gas chromatography with atomic emission detection of total sulfur in fuels used as forensic evidence

In Japan, taxed diesel fuel from non-taxed fuel oil-A is illegally produced by removing coumarin, which is added as a non-taxed marker. The coumarin is removed using concentrated sulfuric acid and this produces a high viscosity and hazardous material, called "sulfuric acid pitch", as a by-product. This compound has a detrimental effect on the environment and is hazardous to humans. The actions have been associated with organized crime with the illegally gained taxes becoming financial bases. To discriminate legal and diesel oil from illegal product, the peak area ratio R(SC), the ratio of total sulfur to carbon (>C(14)), was used. R(SC) is calculated by the total areas of sulfur and carbon (>C(14)) from the gas chromatogram obtained by gas chromatography-atomic emission detection (GC-AED). Sulfur in legal diesel fuels is strictly regulated by a maximum limit, which was 50ppm (and is now 10ppm), but in the preparation of illegal diesel oil, in which coumarin is eliminated, sulfur cannot be removed. Therefore, the R(SC) of fuel oil-A and illegal fuel oil is over 15, whereas those for legal fuel oil and diesel fuel are under 2.0. Furthermore, these ratios do not change in weathering experiments. GC-AED was applied to an actual arson case and was found to be effective for the determination of total sulfur in trace amounts of accelerants detected in fire debris at the arson scene, and hence was effective for the characterization of the ignitable liquids used.     

A death due to perirenal hematoma complicating extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy

Perirenal hematoma is an occasional complication of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) which does not usually require treatment. A 79-year-old woman died 23 h after ESWL. Forensic autopsy was performed to determine whether medical treatment contributed to her death. The cause of death was hemorrhagic shock due to massive hematoma from a ruptured small vein in the perirenal adipose capsule. No injury to other organs was found and the patient had neither coagulation abnormality nor venous disease. Perirenal hematoma can easily be diagnosed with abdominal sonography, if pain or symptoms of anemia develop. Doctors must be aware of the possibilities of severe renal hematomas after ESWL.     

Determination of salvinorin A and salvinorin B in Salvia divinorum-related products circulated in Japan

Two major salvinorins, salvinorin A (SalA) and salvinorin B (SalB), in three Salvia divinorum dried leaf products and nine of its "concentrated extract" products circulated in Japan were determined. These ingredients were extracted twice with acetonitrile and decolored with graphite carbon powder. SalA and SalB were confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in product ion scan mode, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection (for SalA) and by mass spectrometry in single ion monitoring mode (for SalB). The SalA/SalB contents (mug/mg) were in the range of 3.2-5.0/0.10-0.17 in the dried leaf products and 4.1-38.9/0.26-2.42 in the "concentrated extract" products. These findings would be useful for analysis of S. divinorum-related products circulated in the drug market.     

The archive and community system for preserving traditional culture in rural areas

Rural areas in Japan are facing many problems such as aging, depopulation. Japanese traditional cultures in rural areas will be lost because of their flame keeper shortages. Rural residents and researchers take the problem seriously and are trying to archive all of them. In this study, we focused on their archiving activities and designed the web-based digital archiving system, which encourage the process of creating the virtual community that enhances the discussion and communication based on the traditional cultures. Furthermore, we researched the effects on rural community formation by their activities in rural area. In conclusion, we understood the trigger to lead rural areas to revitalize through the archiving activity.     

Centipede inflicted postmortem injury.

We here report the first case of postmortem injury caused by a centipede. An old man was found dead in his bedroom. The death was estimated to be due to intracranial hemorrhage and to have occurred two days before the police inspection. A centipede about 12 cm long emerged from a subcutaneous cavity on the victim's forearm. Obviously, the centipede had dug the cavity on the intact skin. A police inspector was bitten by the centipede, so he stepped on the centipede on the floor. The exudate from the insect was identified to be derived from the victim's blood.     

A D19S433 primer binding site mutation and the frequency in Japanese of the silent allele it causes

Short tandem repeat studies are powerful tools for parentage analysis and for identification of missing persons, victims of murder, and victims of mass fatalities when reference samples are unavailable. The primer in the Identifiler kit failed to amplify an allele at the D19S433 locus, producing a silent ("null") allele. The causal mutation is a base change (G>A) 32 nucleotides downstream from the 3' end of the AAGG repeats. The silent alleles are problematical in parentage analysis because when transmitted, they can cause a parent-child inconsistency that is unrelated to Mendelian genetics. The inconsistency is sometimes termed an "apparent opposite homozygosity" and it produces false evidence of nonparentage. Alternative primers were designed to amplify the D19S433 locus alleles and they detect the silent allele. Frequencies of the (no longer) silent allele were determined to be 0.0114 in 176 people from Shizuoka (Honshu) and 0.0128 in 156 people from Okinawa.