Article
Medicine, Legal
S. Gleich, O. Peschel, M. Graw, B. Schaeffer
Summary: The German Federal Constitutional Court acknowledged the right to self-determined dying and the lack of specific framework conditions for assisted suicide. This study analyzed data on assisted suicide in a major German city, revealing that a small number of doctors perform assisted suicide and attending physicians only provide the service in exceptional cases. Prompt nationwide legal regulations are needed to implement suicide assistance and introduce mandatory reporting.
Article
Medicine, Legal
Deepu Mathew, Devendra Jadav, Prudvi Munisankar, Vikas P. Meshram, Ruchi Kumawat, Poonam Elhence
Summary: This article reports an accidental death due to electrocution in a highly unusual circumstance, attributing it to the negligent driving of the truck driver and the loose high-voltage wire without proper maintenance.
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Law
David Archard, Emma Cave, Joe Brierley
Summary: This article discusses the importance of determining a child's best interests in cases where healthcare professionals and parents cannot agree on treatment. Some activists and academics argue for a higher threshold of 'significant harm', while the authors defend the established best interests standard. They address ethical, legal, and clinical perspectives and emphasize the moral and practical significance of this matter.
MEDICAL LAW REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Law
Rose Barua
MEDICAL LAW REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Xiangyan Zhang, Jiao Xiao, Fengqin Yang, Hongke Qu, Chengxin Ye, Sile Chen, Yadong Guo
Summary: This study aims to develop a rapid, sensitive, and non-destructive auxiliary approach for postmortem diagnosis of SCD by combining spectral features of blood samples and pathological changes, and constructing an SCD postmortem diagnosis model using artificial intelligence algorithms. Results showed that the SVM algorithm based on spectral biomarkers demonstrated the highest accuracy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Zeena Gadsby, Jeremy Martin, Melissa Thompson, Benjamin Ondruschka, Ugo Da Broi, Rexson Tse
Summary: Peer reviewing post-mortem reports, photographs, and histology is essential in forensic pathology, and comparing dimensions measured from photographs with recorded measurements is sometimes necessary. However, limited studies validate the accuracy of measurements from photographs in forensic pathology. This study found that cardiac dimensions measured from a standard post-mortem photograph had low overall accuracy compared to gross measurements. These results suggest that measurements from post-mortem photographs have limited utility in assessing cardiac dimensions.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Yu-Chi Lee, Fan Li
Summary: This study proposes a novel method for sex estimation using multidimensional foot measurements. The findings indicate the importance of variables such as foot length, ball girth, instep girth, ball of foot length, and outside ball of foot length in sex estimation.
AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Carl N. Stephan, Jodi M. Caple, Susan S. D'Alonzo Jaques, John E. Byrd
Summary: Standard plain film medical radiographs are commonly used for identifying individuals in large-scale fatality events, with chest radiographs being more complex to analyze compared to radiographs of other body regions. This study highlights the additional skills required for interpreting chest radiographs and provides a real-world case example to demonstrate their importance.
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Ines Tascon, Cynthia Cote, Beatrice Garneau, Brigitte Desharnais, Veronique Gosselin, Pascal Mireault
Summary: This study investigates the postmortem behavior of THC and its metabolites, finding higher concentrations of THC in postmortem blood compared to antemortem blood, and significantly different profiles for THC to THCCOOH ratios. The study supports the hypothesis of postmortem redistribution (PMR) for THC towards peripheral blood and for THCCOOH towards central blood. However, no evidence of PMR was found for 11-OH-THC.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Clotilde Bricot
Summary: DNA is now widely regarded as indisputable evidence, especially in criminal matters, by individuals on the ground and civil society as a whole. However, despite its high value in certain cases, DNA evidence cannot be considered infallible and has several limitations, particularly concerning fundamental freedoms.
Article
Medicine, Legal
Melisa Masuda-Herrera, Hannah T. Rosen, Anders Burild, Thomas Broschard, Tyler Bell, Jessica Graham, Troy Griffin, Jedd Hillegass, Penny Leavitt, Brian Huta, Patricia Parris, Uma Bruen, Maureen Cruz, Joel Bercu
Summary: Health-based exposure limits (HBELs) for leachables from polymeric components that interact with the drug substance can be challenging to derive due to limited availability of chemical-specific toxicology data. However, a read-across methodology specific to extractables and leachables (E&Ls) has been developed based on survey data and methodologies used in other industries. This methodology includes a conservative framework to estimate oral bioavailability and extrapolate from oral to parenteral routes of administration, providing a consistent and health protective framework for deriving HBELs.
REGULATORY TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Daniel L. M. Dupouy, Matthew S. Bolton, Timothy P. Berry, Jennifer Raymond, Georgina E. Meakin
Summary: This study aimed to provide a basis for the development and comparison of saw marks on dissected bones. By comparing fresh and processed porcine bones, cut using different tools, and analyzing various characteristics of the saw marks, this study offers a foundation for toolmark examiners to evaluate the type of saw used.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Sean M. Hays, Christopher R. Kirman
Summary: This article summarizes the absorption and metabolism of DEET in the human body and evaluates the risk of DEET exposure. Measurement of DEET and its metabolite DBA in urine can be used to monitor the level of DEET exposure and provide guidance for public health officials and regulatory agencies in interpreting DEET biomonitoring data.
REGULATORY TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Shubham Yadav, Vijay Tripathi, Vaibhav Saran
Summary: Characterization of human saliva through Next-Generation Sequencing has revealed the influence of habits, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and vegan diet, on the microbial composition and diversity of the salivary microbiome.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Lyle D. Burgoon, Harvey J. Clewell, Tony Cox, Wolfgang Dekant, Linda D. Dell, James A. Deyo, Michael L. Dourson, Bernard K. Gadagbui, Philip Goodrum, Laura C. Green, K. Vijayavel, Travis R. Kline, Tamara House-Knight, Michael I. Luster, Therese Manning, Paul Nathanail, Frank Pagone, Katie Richardson, Tiago Severo-Peixe, Anurag Sharma, James S. Smith, Nitin Verma, Jackie Wright
Summary: Many government agencies and expert groups have estimated a safe dose of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) to protect human health, but the values of these safe doses vary widely. The Steering Committee of the Alliance for Risk Assessment conducted a study to understand and narrow these disparities, and determined that PFOA dose-rates of 10-70 ng/kg-day are protective of human health.
REGULATORY TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Ako Sasao, Kosei Yonemitsu, Yuki Ohtsu, Hiroshi Tsutsumi, Shota Furukawa, Yoko Nishitani
Summary: Analysis of volatile hydrocarbons in blood from fire-related deaths can provide valuable information about smoke inhalation and the use of accelerants. This study used headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to quantify volatile hydrocarbons in post-mortem heart blood from 121 fire victims. The results showed concentration relationships that could be used to distinguish between different fire types.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Review
Medicine, Legal
Lara Indra, Sandra Losch, David Errickson, Devin Finaughty
Summary: Vertebrate scavengers play a significant role in forensic investigations, but there is a lack of standardized research methods for studying their impact. This study conducted a literature review and identified inconsistencies in study designs. It also highlighted the need for attention to certain research questions and variables. The authors recommend the development of guidelines to standardize future research in this field.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Makenzie Kuehn, Kevin Bates, J. Tyler Davidson, Geraldine Monjardez
Summary: The detection of intact explosives in the field is a unique challenge, and handheld Raman instruments have become popular for their speed, reliability, and portability. However, there is limited research on the detection capabilities of these instruments for explosive compounds. This study evaluated the detection capabilities of two handheld Raman spectrometers and investigated interference from glass and plastic containers. The results showed reproducible spectra for all analytes across both instruments, with the Rigaku ResQ-CQL displaying better resolution.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Camarie S. Perry, Alexander D. Blanchette, Stephanie N. Vivanco, Ann H. Verwiel, Deborah M. Proctor
Summary: Manganese is an essential element but can also be neurotoxic at high doses, causing respiratory, reproductive, and developmental effects. While health-based criteria exist for chronic inhalation exposure, guidelines for short-term environmental exposure are needed. A 24-hour guideline of 5 μg/m3 is recommended to protect against respiratory effects and neurotoxicity, including for infants and children.
REGULATORY TOXICOLOGY AND PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Legal
Martin Baiker-S Orensen, Ivo Alberink, Laura B. Granell, Leen van der Ham, Erwin J. A. T. Mattijssen, Erich D. Smith, Johannes Soons, Peter Vergeer, Xiaoyu A. Zheng
Summary: This study presents an automated approach for evaluating the strength of evidence in firearm toolmark comparison results. It derives comparison scores for different types of marks typically found on fired cartridge cases and interprets them using reference distributions. The study explores different alternatives for setting up a score-based likelihood ratio system and compares them using qualitative and quantitative criteria. The study also assesses the feasibility of combining likelihood ratios of different mark types into one, and demonstrates the optimal modeling approaches for different types of similarity scores.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
