Calculation of percent shrinkage in human fetal diaphyseal lengths from fresh bone to carbonized and calcined bone using Petersohn and K?hler's data.

Calculation of age from fetal and newborn remains may be problematic, and when these remains are altered by maceration, decomposition or burning, age may be more difficult to discern. When soft tissue indicators are transformed, then two techniques exist for accurate age determination; dental development, which may prove difficult given the degree of tissue alteration; and appearance, size and fusion of ossification centers, including diaphyseal length, which may yield inaccurate ages if shrinkage is not accounted for. This study is undertaken to facilitate age calculation by systematically re-evaluating diaphyseal shrinkage and determine shrinkage rates from wet to carbonized states and wet to calcined states using Petersohn and K?hler's data, originally published in German and then published in Fazekas and Kósa (1978:362-369). Average shrinkage, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values are calculated for each diaphysis and then for all diaphyses between 4-10 lunar months (LM) and for newborns. Associated values for carbonized diaphyses are: 4 LM--32.50% +/- 12.12%; 5 LM--14.04% +/- 4.44%; 6 LM--6.78% +/- 1.06%; 7 LM--4.18% +/- 0.31%; 8 LM--3.47% +/- 0.42%; 9 LM--3.05% +/- 0.18%; 10 LM--2.46% +/- 0.67%; and in newborns 2.16% +/- 0.29%. Similar values for calcined diaphyses are: 4 LM--40.11% +/- 17.51%; 5 LM--18.29% +/- 4.42%; 6 LM--9.84% +/- 1.27%; 7 LM--9.82% +/- 0.51%; 8 LM--9.42% +/- 0.72%; 9 LM--9.45% +/- 0.33%; 10 LM--8.94% +/- 0.37%; and in newborns 8.96% +/- 0.49%. These findings suggest that percent shrinkage due to carbonization and calcination is greatest in the earliest age groups, decreasing substantially with advancing age. The rates of shrinkage, however, vary by the burning process utilized and age group studied. These general findings are similar to those of Petersohn and K?hler, yet specific values for percent shrinkage vary greatly from values cited in this analysis. These data provide a means to assess the degree of shrinkage that occurs for each diaphysis for each given age group.     

Lethal child abuse (through the use of physical force) in the German Democratic Republic during the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study

No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child abuse (by active force) in the area of the former German Democratic Republic. In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in the entire area of the former German Democratic Republic. RESULTS: The study center received information on 39 cases of lethal child abuse which correspond to approximately 7 cases per year. However, a low percentage of undetected crimes which cannot be determined more precisely has to be taken into consideration. Almost 40% of the victims were younger than 1 year, 73% of the victims showed indications of repeated ill-treatment. The effects caused by using direct blunt forces, against the head in particular, were by far the most frequent causes of death. The male contact person (the victim's father, brother or stepfather as well as the life companion of the child's mother in particular) killed the child in most of the cases. As far as it is known, 37% of the male/female offenders suffered from chronic alcoholism; 32% of the male/female offenders were under the influence of alcohol when the crime happened. 83% of the male/female offenders who were found guilty made a confession shortly after the crime had happened or during the interrogations. Almost all the male/female offenders were sentenced to prison (the duration of the imprisonment varied between one year and for life). Due to the considerably lower section rate compared to the one in the German Democratic Republic, it is to fear that each second fatal child abuse is not detected in the new federal states.     

Examples for use of the STR systems in stain assessment with special reference to Y chromosome systems

The authors describe 3 cases where Y-chromosomal systems were used for typing the biological traces. In the first case, a murder, for the major amount of cell material found on a dish towel (and analysed two years after the crime) female persons were excluded for the system amelogenin and Y-chromosomal systems. A brother of the victim could not be excluded for autosomal STR-systems. Upon confrontation with the results of the DNA-analysis (among other things), this brother confessed the murder of his sister some days later. He was found guilty by the court. In the second case described, a rape of two girls, many traces were analysed parallely with Y-chromosomal and autosomal PCR-systems. The objects where male DNA matching the suspect were found (a paper tissue, a sweat shirt and the knickers of the girls), also showed small amounts of alleles matching with the suspect for autosomal systems, while the major part in these systems was from the girls. The suspect was sentenced to many years imprisonment. In the third case, a possible rape of a young woman, a stained microscope slide of a vaginal swab had to be examined. Microscopically a few sperm heads could be seen in a surplus of leucocytes. The male proportion could be analysed only in the Y-chromosomal systems, not in the autosomal ones. For the frequency calculation of the Y-chromosomal allele combination the haplotype data bank of the Institute for Legal Medicine of the Humboldt university in Berlin was indispensable.     

Fatal child abuse (caused by physical violence) in Germany during 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study]

No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child abuse (by active force) in the area of Federal Republic of Germany prior to reunification (the former West Germany). In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in nearly the entire area of Federal Republic of Germany. RESULTS: The study center received information on 58 cases of lethal child abuse. Extrapolated to all institutes of legal medicine, this corresponds to 62 cases in all of West Germany in the period studied. An approximately equal number of unreported cases should be added to this figure. Including unreported cases, at least 20 cases of lethal child abuse occurred per year; thus only one in every two cases ever came to light. Almost two thirds of the victims were younger than one year old. At autopsy 59% exhibited signs of repeated abuse at autopsy. By far the most common cause of death was direct impact from a blunt object, usually to the head. Mostly, the male person to whom the victim relates most closely (father, stepfather, partner of the mother) has killed the child. Twenty-one of the 74 persons charged saw the charges against them dropped or were acquitted due to lack of evidence; 51 received sentences ranging from one year probation to life. In the remaining two cases the outcome of the trial was unknown. Signs of abuse were readily apparent at autopsy in almost all cases. The high number of unreported cases underscores the need to educate medical students and practicing physicians to be on the look-out for signs of abuse and argues for an increase in the rate of autopsy.     

Iliac cancellous bone in drug addicts: a histomorphometric study

Histomorphometry was used to determine structural bone changes in drug addicts. Iliac crest bone biopsies were obtained at autopsy from 28 subjects (21 male, 7 female, aged 18 to 45 years) who had a history of drug abuse and had died due to overdose of illicit drugs. For histomorphometry, undecalcified sections were investigated using the Merz grid. The following histomorphometric indices were measured and calculated: BV/TV, BS/BV, Tb.Th, Tb.N, Tb.Sp, OV/TV, OS/BS, Ob.S/BS, O.Th, ES/BS, Oc.S/BS, and N.Oc/T.A. In 28 controls (24 male, 4 female, aged 17 to 47 years) trabecular bone specimens were investigated in the same way. The parameters in drug addicts did not show any correlation to age, body weight, height or sex differences. Trabecular bone volume and trabecular thickness were slightly but not significantly increased (BV/TV: 23.37 +/- 5.77% (mean, SD), controls 22.23 +/- 5.08%, p = 0.434; Tb.Th: 172.67 +/- 36.83 mcm, controls 169.73 +/- 36.13 mcm, p = 0.764). Only the eroded surface was significantly different to the controls (ES/BS: 8.16 +/- 2.04%, controls 6.96 +/- 2.17%, p = 0.038). We conclude that the incidence of metabolic bone disease in drug addicts is low.     

Application of solid-phase microextraction to the profiling of an illicit drug: manufacturing impurities in illicit 4-methoxyamphetamine

This article describes the application of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) to the recovery of manufacturing by-products and impurities from an illicit drug seizure. The preparation chosen for examination using this technique contained 4-methoxyamphetamine, an hallucinogenic amphetamine that has been encountered frequently in South Australia. Compounds found in the PMA preparation included 4-methoxyphenol, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanone, 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanol, 4-methoxyphenyl-propene, and (tentatively) 4-methyl-5-(4'-methoxyphenyl) pyrimidine. The presence of these compounds suggests that the active drug was prepared from 4-methoxybenzaldehyde via 4-methoxyphenyl-2-propanone using a Leuckardt reductive amination. In this instance, SPME was found to be a simple, rapid, and non-destructive recovery technique that gave results complementary to those provided by conventional liquid-liquid extraction. There is an indication that SPME might find application in profiling of illicit drugs.     

Population data on the thirteen CODIS core short tandem repeat loci in African Americans, U.S. Caucasians, Hispanics, Bahamians, Jamaicans, and Trinidadians

Allele distributions for 13 tetrameric short tandem repeat (STR) loci, CSF1PO, FGA, TH01, TPOX, VWA, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, D13S317, D16S539, D18S51, and D21S11, were determined in African American, United States Caucasian, Hispanic, Bahamian, Jamaican, and Trinidadian sample populations. There was little evidence for departures from Hardy-Weinberg expectations (HWE) in any of the populations. Based on the exact test, the loci that departed significantly from HWE are: D21S11 (p = 0.010, Bahamians); CSF1PO (p = 0.014, Trinidadians); TPOX (p = 0.011, Jamaicans and p = 0.035, U.S. Caucasians); and D16S539 (p = 0.043, Bahamians). After employing the Bonferroni correction for the number of loci analyzed (i.e., 13 loci per database), these observations are not likely to be significant. There is little evidence for association of alleles between the loci in these databases. The allelic frequency data are similar to other comparable data within the same major population group.