Target screening and confirmation of 35 licit and illicit drugs and metabolites in hair by LC-MSMS

A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) target screening in 50mg hair was developed and fully validated for 35 analytes (Δ9-tetrahidrocannabinol (THC), morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, codeine, methadone, fentanyl, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide, ketamine, scopolamine, alprazolam, bromazepam, clonazepam, diazepam, flunitrazepam, 7-aminoflunitrazepam, lorazepam, lormetazepam, nordiazepam, oxazepam, tetrazepam, triazolam, zolpidem, zopiclone, amitriptyline, citalopram, clomipramine, fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine). Hair decontamination was performed with dichloromethane, and incubation in 2 mL of acetonitrile at 50°C overnight. Extraction procedure was performed in 2 steps, first liquid-liquid extraction, hexane:ethyl acetate (55:45, v:v) at pH 9, followed by solid-phase extraction (Strata-X cartridges). Chromatographic separation was performed in AtlantisT3 (2.1 mm × 100 mm, 3 μm) column, acetonitrile and ammonium formate pH 3 as mobile phase, and 32 min total run time. One transition per analyte was monitored in MRM mode. To confirm a positive result, a second injection monitoring 2 transitions was performed. The method was specific (no endogenous interferences, n=9); LOD was 0.2-50 pg/mg and LOQ 0.5-100 pg/mg; linearity ranged from 0.5-100 to 2000-20,000 pg/mg; imprecision <15%; analytical recovery 85-115%; extraction efficiency 4.1-85.6%; and process efficiency 2.5-207.7%; 27 analytes showed ion suppression (up to -86.2%), 4 ion enhancement (up to 647.1%), and 4 no matrix effect; compounds showed good stability 24-48 h in autosampler. The method was applied to 17 forensic cases. In conclusion, a sensitive and specific target screening of 35 analytes in 50mg hair, including drugs of abuse (THC, cocaine, opiates, amphetamines) and medicines (benzodiazepines, antidepressants) was developed and validated, achieving lower cut-offs than Society of Hair Testing recommendations.     

Seasonal structure and dynamics of sarcosaprophagous fauna on pig carrion in a rural area of Cordoba (Argentina): their importance in forensic science

Four experiments, one in each season, were carried out during 2004 in a rural area of Córdoba, central Argentina. Two pigs (Sus scrofa L.), weighing approximately 8 kg each, were used in each of the four experiments. The animals were killed by a sharp blow to the head and immediately placed in an appropriate arthropod trap. One pig was placed in the shade and the other under direct sunlight. This research was conducted to determine the seasonal structure and dynamics of arthropods that constitute the sarcosaprophagous community in a given area of the central region of Argentina. The decomposition process was divided into five stages: fresh, bloated, decay, advanced decay and dry. The duration of each stage varied in different seasons, showing that the temperature and humidity are the most important variables that influence this process. A total of 51,500 adults and 36,909 immature were collected. More than 80% of the specimens collected belong to Insecta, and within this, Diptera were the most abundant order. The flies were mainly represented by adults and immature of the following species: Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) (Calliphoridae), Musca domestica Linnaeus (Muscidae) and Fannia femoralis (Stein) (Fanniidae). Coleoptera were mainly represented by adults and immature of the species Creophilus maxillosus (Linnaeus) (Staphylinidae) and Dermestes maculatus (Geer) (Dermestidae). More than 50% of hymenopteran fauna collected belong to Formicidae. The trophic levels associated with the decomposition of the remains included five categories: necrophagous, parasites and predators of the necrophagous species, omnivores, opportunists and adventives. During faunal succession a strong dominance of the necrophagous species of the family Calliphoridae and Muscidae was observed, mainly during the early stages of decay process in all seasons.     

Severe necrosis of oesophageal and gastric mucosa in fatal methanol poisoning

Methanol is a potent neurotoxic substance that causes severe metabolic acidosis and serious neurological disorders. Most of the cases are accidental exposures to drinking beverages contaminated with methanol. There are few articles reporting pure methanol intoxication; however, it is well known that small quantities of pure methanol causes blindness and death, the minimum lethal dose being 50-100 ml.A case report is presented of a 67-year-old woman, who committed suicide by ingestion of 500 ml of absolute methanol. Despite symptomatic and supportive intensive care, the woman died 23 h after hospital admission due to metabolic acidosis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. A complete medico-legal autopsy was performed. Grossly, there was complete detachment of the oesophagus mucosa and brownish discolouration of the gastric mucosa. Histological findings showed diffuse haemorrhagic necrosis of the stomach mucosa and intense acute inflammatory infiltration of the lamina propria. To our knowledge, this is the first autopsy report of such severe digestive injuries. A discussion and review of the recent literature on the subject are given.     

Identification process in mass graves from the Spanish Civil War II

The identification process of a mass grave from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) is presented. The presumed location of the grave, as well as the presumed number and identities of the persons buried in the grave were obtained exclusively from witnesses' and relatives' testimonies. In agreement with the testimonies, the grave was located at the indicated location and five skeletons were exhumed. Also in agreement with the testimonies, the osteological and DNA study led investigators to propose the identification of two kin groups, a father and his son and a pair of brothers. But the genetic study did not support the identification of a fifth man presumed to have been buried in the grave. The differences and similarities between this case and another case reported earlier are discussed.     

Permanent teeth development in a Spanish sample. Application to dental age estimation

The purpose of this study is to clarify the chronology of different stages of dental development, according to Demirjian, in a sample of Spanish children, which will enable us to build a database that will be used as a reference in regard to the dental development of individuals of our socio-geographic environment. In the same studied sample, a calculation of the dental age according to Demirjian was carried out. This study was conducted in a final sample consisting of 1010 orthopantograms, corresponding to Spanish children (485 boys and 525 girls) ages 2-16. Comparing the age of onset of the different stages among the children, evidence was found that girls had an earlier general development than boys. These differences were only statistically significant in teeth and concrete stages. The canine teeth revealed greater gender dimorphism, with significant differences in all stages compared with the upper canines. The method proposed by Demirjian for dental age calculation resulted in a significant overestimation of dental age in relation to the chronological age in boys (average of 0.87 years) and girls (average of 0.55 years). Data from this study may be used as reference for dental maturity, as well as a standard for estimating age in Spanish children.     

Predicting discharge in forensic psychiatry: the legal and psychosocial factors associated with long and short stays in forensic psychiatric hospitals

In Germany, both the number of patients treated in forensic psychiatric hospitals and the average inpatient treatment period have been increasing for over thirty years. Biographical and clinical factors, e.g., the number of prior offences, type of offence, and psychiatric diagnosis, count among the factors that influence the treatment duration and the likelihood of discharge. The aims of the current study were threefold: (1) to provide an estimate of the German forensic psychiatric patient population with a low likelihood of discharge, (2) to replicate a set of personal variables that predict a relatively high, as opposed to a low, likelihood of discharge from forensic psychiatric hospitals, and (3) to describe a group of other factors that are likely to add to the existing body of knowledge. Based on a sample of 899 patients, we applied a battery of primarily biographical and other personal variables to two subgroups of patients. The first subgroup of patients had been treated in a forensic psychiatric hospital according to section 63 of the German legal code for at least ten years (long-stay patients, n=137), whereas the second subgroup had been released after a maximum treatment period of four years (short-stay patients, n=67). The resulting logistic regression model had a high goodness of fit, with more than 85% of the patients correctly classified into the groups. In accordance with earlier studies, we found a series of personal variables, including age at first admission and type of offence, to be predictive of a short or long-stay. Other findings, such as the high number of immigrants among the short-stay patients and the significance of a patient's work time before admission to a forensic psychiatric hospital, are more clearly represented than has been observed in previous research.     

The Influence of the Relationship and Motivation on Inequity Aversion in Dogs

One crucial element for the evolution of cooperation may be the sensitivity to others?? efforts and pay-offs in comparison with one??s own costs and gains. If an individual responds to a disadvantageous reward distribution, then it would likely increase its relative fitness compared with those who do not (Brosnan & de Waal, Nature 428:140, 2004). Recent experimental research indicates that sensitivity toward unequal reward distribution is not a uniquely human trait; non-human primates react to inequity if they witness a conspecific that obtains a more attractive reward for the same effort. However, primates are not the only species that cooperate and thus would benefit from inequity aversion. Canids also frequently cooperate with group members (e.g., wolves, wild dogs, etc.) or humans (domestic dogs), allowing for the possibility that they also are sensitive to the reward distribution. We report the findings of two studies of dogs?? responses to inequity and the social factors that mediate such responses. In the first study, we investigated whether domestic dogs showed a response to the inequity of rewards received for the same action in pairs of familiar dogs. We found that dogs showed significant behavioral differences when tested without food rewards when in the presence of a rewarded partner compared to the baseline and asocial control situations. This indicated that the presence of a rewarded partner matters (Range, Horn, Virányi, & Huber, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 106(1):340?C345, 2009). In contrast to primates, dogs did not react to differences in the quality of food or effort. In the second study, we analyzed whether individual (motivational or personality) characteristics determined the response of each subject to unequal reward distributions or whether the subject??s responses depended on the specific relationship they had with its partner. We found that individual motivation and the quality of the relationship influenced the dogs?? performance in test conditions, but that these factors varied across the control and reward inequity conditions. Overall, our results suggest that inequity aversion in dogs is conditional on their and their partner??s rewards. Whether inequity aversion is based on the same mechanisms in both humans and non-human primates is still unclear.     

Serum biochemical markers in drowning: diagnostic efficacy of Strontium and other trace elements

The aim of our study was to analyse several serum biochemical markers in order to evaluate the discriminant capacity of trace elements individually and jointly in drowning (seawater drowning and freshwater drowning) and their correlation with age, sex, postmortem interval, time in water and concentrations of the trace elements in the drowning medium. Sixty-seven cases of drowning (53 seawater drownings (SWD); 14 freshwater drownings (FWD) and 73 control cases (other asphyxias, n=44, and other causes of death, n=29) were selected according to the scene, cause and circumstances of death, together with autopsy findings. Serum strontium (Sr), magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), urea, creatinine (Cr) and cardiac Troponine T (cTn-T) were measured in the left ventricle (Lv), right ventricle (Rv) and peripheral blood. Lv-Rv differences for each marker and Sr, Mg, Na, Cl, Ca and Fe concentrations in the drowning medium were determinated. Mean concentrations of Sr, Cl and Mg in both ventricles and peripheral serum and Lv-Rv differences and Ca Lv and Na Rv were significantly higher in cases of drowning than for other causes of death. In SWD, Sr, Mg, Ca, Na and Cl were significantly higher in Lv than in Rv as a result of aspirating water. In contrast, haemodilution is evident from the significantly higher levels of Fe and urea in Rv than in Lv in cases of SWD, and from the higher Mg and Cr levels in Rv in FWD. In the case of SWD, serum levels of Sr are confirmed as the best parameter for diagnosis, although other trace elements may also be useful, such as the serum concentrations of Mg and Cl. In the case of FWD, the joint determination of Sr and other biochemical markers, especially Fe, may increase correct diagnosis.     

Are there population differences in minutiae frequencies? A comparative study of two Argentinian population samples and one Spanish sample

In recent years, both scientific and judicial sources have highlighted the need for more knowledge about minutiae variability, in order to improve their statistical application to fingerprint identification. In line with this trend toward improving our knowledge of this subject, the aim of the present study was to calculate the frequency with which 20 types of minutiae appeared in 2780 fingerprint impressions obtained from 278 individuals from two Argentinian population samples (100 individuals from Ramal and 178 from Puna-Quebrada). The different types of minutiae were located, identified, and quantified visually in two areas on the fingerprint, the inside and outside of a circle, the radius of which cut fifteen ridges perpendicularly, starting from the center cut of the axes defining the sectors. The non-equiprobability found in both population samples for the different minutiae types studied demonstrated that the evidential weight provided by these characteristics is not the same when applied in identification processes, whether used quantitatively (numerical standard) or qualitatively (holistic method). The results obtained for both populations were compared statistically with those published previously for a Spanish population sample, which had been collected using the same methodology. This comparison has enabled us to demonstrate, for the first time, the existence of significant differences between populations in minutiae frequencies, independently from the main pattern type.     

Spain

European Journal of Political Research -