Sudden Death Caused by Rupture of Spontaneous Ductus Arteriosus Aneurysm in an Adult

A 55-year-old man complained of sudden onset of severe neck pain. This was followed by prompt loss of consciousness and death. Autopsy revealed rupture of a saccular aneurysm, which was considered to have resulted from enlargement of the remaining ductal tissue, and was located on the medial aspect of the uppermost portion of the descending aorta. Dense blood extravasation was noted in the posterior mediastinum and extending to the strap muscles of the neck and larynx. Histological examination of the rupture site revealed disappearance of the medial elastic fibers and thickened intima covered with dense fibrous tissue. Spontaneous ductus arteriosus aneurysm in adults is a rare finding, but widespread use of imaging technologies has revealed that it develops more frequently than previously recognized. Fatal complications may occur even when the aneurysm is relatively small. Therefore, pathologists should be aware of this aneurysm as a potential cause of sudden death.     

Y-chromosomal STR haplotype in the Japanese population.

Allele and haplotype frequencies of seven Y-chromosome STR loci from samples of 108 unrelated Japanese males living in Aichi Prefecture.     

Estimation of caloric deficit in a fatal case of starvation resulting from child neglect

We report the case of a 3-year-20-day-old girl who died of starvation as a result of severe neglect. Her body weight had been 12 kg 70 days before her death, but was only 5 kg at the time of autopsy. From information supplied by her parents to police, we calculated her daily caloric intake and estimated the factors for physical activity. The daily recommended dietary allowance for the victim was calculated from 700 kcal/ day x the appropriate factor for physical activity. In the absence of enough food, body fat (7.2 kcal/g body fat) and protein (4 kcal/g protein) would have been used to compensate until death. The calculated body weight at the time of death was around 5 kg. The statements of the parents therefore appear to be true.     

Identification and phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis C virus in forensic blood samples obtained from injecting drug users

Injecting drug users (IDUs) are a high-risk group for contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. In Japan, data on the prevalence of those blood-borne viruses among IDUs are very limited. Blood samples were obtained from 12 cadavers of IDUs sent to Nagoya City University for the purpose of judicious autopsy and two alive IDUs with hepatitis C referred to a local hospital at the same period. The viruses were detected by polymerase chain reaction and phylogenetic analysis was performed. Two (16.6%) of the 12 autopsy cases were positive for HCV, but no case was positive for either HBV or HIV. Phylogenetic analysis of the two HCV isolates revealed that one was classified into genotype 1b and another was genotype 2b. Furthermore, nucleotide sequences of two isolates recovered from IDUs with hepatitis C were identical, that indicated the transmission of HCV between them, and those HCV were phylogenetically classified into genotype 2a. The prevalence of HCV infection among IDUs in Japan, despite the case of judicious autopsy, seems to be high, but HIV infection seems to be rare. The transmission of HCV between IDUs was demonstrated, and this indicates that phylogenetic analysis would applicable to also forensic analysis. HCV isolates identified in this study did not phylogenetically segregate, thus multiple transmission route of HCV among IDUs seems be exist in Japan.     

Mitochondrial sequence haplotype in the Japanese population

Sequence polymorphysms of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region, hypervariable regions I and II, from 50 unrelated Japanese were determined by PCR amplification and cycle sequencing.     

Y-STR haplotype data and allele frequency of the DXS10011 locus in a Japanese population sample

The distribution of allele frequency of X-chromosomal STR, DXS10011, from 99 unrelated Japanese, 72 male and 27 female, were determined by PCR amplification and PAGE. At the same time, haplotype frequencies of five Y-chromosomal STR loci, DYS19, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390 and DYS393 from male samples were determined.     

Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats haplotyping from vaginal swabs using a chelating resin-based DNA extraction method and a dual-round polymerase chain reaction

Reported are 2 autopsy cases in which Y-chromosomal microsatellite short tandem repeats DYS19, DYS389I and II, DYS390, and DYS393 could be haplotyped with vaginal swabs by using a Chelex 100-based DNA extraction method and dual-round polymerase chain reaction. The extraction of DNA from vaginal swabs by using this method was as efficient or more efficient than using proteinase K and phenol-chloroform extraction or the alkaline lysis methods. Y-chromosomal microsatellite short tandem repeats haplotyping based on the dual-round polymerase chain reaction method provided genotypes from all the loci determined. Although amplification of Y-chromosomal microsatellite short tandem repeats loci is not directly involved in the existence of spermatozoa, it is considerably advantageous for male individualization from body fluid mixture stains in criminal cases.     

Preface to Yoshimi Shun'ya's Voice Capitalism

Abstract

This article is a translation of the preface to Voice Capitalism by influential sociologist Yoshimi Shun'ya. The chapter ties together a wealth of discourse on the meaning of sound to society and to the individual, and its evolving role as a means of expression and connection to our environments. Yoshimi walks us through Nagai Kafū's reverence for tangible sound, R. Murray Schafer's schizophonic soundscapes, Marshal McLuhan's essays on the impact of the advent of sound recordings and electronic voices, Glenn Gould's theories on the blurring borders between musical performer and audience – amongst numerous other topics and writers.     

An application of a quantitative analytical system for the grading of pulmonary fat embolisms

The severity of pulmonary fat embolism in 5 autopsied cases has been measured using a quantitative image analytical system. With reference to the mean size of the fat emboli, the cases were divided into 2 groupings regardless of the number of the emboli. The mean sizes of the emboli in 3 cases of the first group were significantly larger (about 490-600 microns 2) than those found in the 2 cases of the other group (about 220 and 235 microns 2). An investigation into the localization of fat emboli revealed that more were lodging in the small arteries and arterioles in the first group than in the second. Our results have indicated that a reliable grading of pulmonary fat embolism can not be established without a quantitative image analysis of the size and localization of the fat emboli, and that this quantitative analytical method is useful in achieving this reliable grading.     

An autopsy case of poisoning by massive absorption of cresol a short time before death

A 65-year-old male patient who was hospitalized with schizophrenia died about 15 min later after ingestion of a large volume of saponated cresol solution in a mental hospital. Fatal levels of free p- and m-cresol in the heart blood were detected at 458.8 and 957.3 microg/ml, respectively, which far exceeded the fatal levels determined previously. The levels in the heart muscle, liver and spleen tissues were also extremely high, and there was 250 ml of cresol-odor-emitting fluid in the stomach. The levels of glucuronic-acid-conjugated p- and m-cresols in the heart blood were 38.2 and 85.6 microg/ml, respectively. Although the high levels of cresols in the heart blood may be due to diffusion from the stomach contents, it is surmised that the essential levels of free and conjugated forms in blood were at least 99 and 240 microg/ml, respectively, considering the results of postmortem examinations and some case reports. It was concluded that about 340 microg/ml of the total cresols was absorbed in a very short period following oral ingestion of saponated cresol solution in this case.