Journal of Forensic Research

Diseases of cardiovascular origin such as cardiomiopathies and canalopatías are the main causes of sudden cardiac death and in some cases are difficult to diagnose during autoposy. We present an in silico analysis using bioinformatic tools, for the analysis of possibly pathogenic variants in genes associated with sudden cardiac death. Algorithms were used to predict pathogenicity, predicting the impact of SNPs on proteins, genomic specificity and protein-protein interaction. We found that variants in the KCNH2, ANK3, TTN, CAV3 and DSP genes cause structural alterations, molecular, cellular and interstitial changes in the heart that can trigger sudden death.

In forensic medicine, there has been a marked rise in demand for age estimation in recent years with the growing global migration trend. Forensic age estimation should be based on clinical examinations, hand radiography, as well as orthopantomography and clavicle CT scan if wrist bone fusion is in a late maturation stage. Orthopantomography is based on the mandibular third molar mineralization stage according to the Demirjian method. This study was carried out to validate the efficacity of CT scan with the Demirjian method to determine whether a single CT scan would be sufficient for mandible and clavicle examination. This exhaustive monocentric study included 201 living individuals up to 25 years old who had undergone orthopantomography and CT scan less than 2 months apart between 2007 and 2020. We compared mandibular third molar development stages that had been attributed via the two techniques. A concordance calculation to assess the findings of the two techniques revealed almost perfect agreement with a weighted kappa of 0.86 for the 128 left mandibular third molars and 0.88 for the 126 right mandibular third molars analyzed. Calculations of agreement in the CT findings also showed almost perfect agreement for intra-observer variability with a kappa of 0.97 and 1.0, and close agreement for inter-observer variability with kappas of 0.86 and 0.73. CT scan was found to be accurate for mandibular third molar development staging, with almost perfect agreement with regard to the Demirjian method using orthopantomography. CT scan could therefore be an effective alternative to orthopantomography.

Alternative-light sources (ALS) are widely used in both forensic laboratories and crime scenes for semen detection. This non-specific strategy is effective despite a few limitations, leading to both false negative and false positive results. To detect semen stains, specific acid-phosphatase (AP) tests can also be implemented in a controlled laboratory environment. However, they are not appropriate for direct crime scene investigations. A newly commercialized product could overcome all those limitations: Sperm Tracker (STK) Spray®, an AP-spray test for non-textile items.

In this study, we assessed its specificity, sensitivity, and compared its effectiveness with those of two well-known ALS on a wide range of materials, focusing on 32 different surfaces that can be commonly encountered on crime scenes. We found STK spray® easy to use, with a rapid fluorescent signal appearing in the presence of semen. It is specific, detects pure semen spots down to 1 μL and semen dilutions down to 1/20. Results showed that the fluorescent signal may be blocked by feces or blood but not by any of the other body fluids we tested. Comparison with ALS showed encouraging results, particularly on diluted semen stains for which ALS were less sensitive. This new reagent does not interfere with the Christmas tree spermatozoa staining method or with the process leading to DNA profiling.

In conclusion, the present study showed convincing results regarding the new STK spray® reagent and its further direct use on real crime scenes.

Introduction: Due to globalization and changes in the health care delivery system, there has been a gradual change in the attitude of the medical community as well as the lay public toward greater acceptance of euthanasia as an option for terminally ill and dying patients. Physicians in developing countries come across situations where such issues are raised with increasing frequency. As euthanasia has gained world?wide prominence, the objectives of our study therefore were to explore the attitude of physicians and patients toward euthanasia and related issues. Concomitantly, we wanted to ascertain the frequency of requests for assistance in active euthanasia.

Materials and methods: Questionnaire based survey among terminally ill patients, their caregivers, treating physicians.

Study objectives: 1. To study the knowledge of the legal regulation of painless death and euthanasia among terminally ill patients, their caregivers, treating physicians.

2. To study the national legal regulation of euthanasia in Mongolia.

Results: Of the 120 terminally ill patients surveyed, 75% said euthanasia should be legalized, 98.9% were in favor of euthanasia, 87.5% of them were fed up with economic problems, and 91.7% were tired of medical care. According to the results of palliative care physicians, 45.8% supported euthanasia, 23% concluded that it was a way to reduce pain and suffering, and 56.2% did not know the legal regulation of euthanasia. However, 29.2% of euthanasia requests came from patients, 37.5% from caregivers, and 4.1% from children. 89.5% of doctors believed that there is a need for the legal regulation of euthanasia for patients in the terminal stage of the disease. Among patients no significant differences were observed for age, religion, or underlying health status.

Conclusion: In the terminal stage of the disease, the patient has a deep economic and emotional crisis, which affects the psychology of the doctor and the caregivers and makes them think about euthanasia. However, there is insufficient legal regulation of euthanasia in Mongolia, and there is a lack of knowledge on how to solve it.

In the present climate in the field of scientific science where nonstop progressions in innovation and logical methodologies are the standard, the requirement for criminological professionals with more particular and subject-explicit information is basic. An up-to-date survey regarding the preferred educational requirements for entry-level applicants by senior practitioners, directors of crime laboratories, and managers was carried out. In order to prepare the next generation of forensic scientists while maintaining a solid foundation in the natural sciences at the undergraduate level, the results highlighted a preference for specialized coursework within specific disciplines. Experts, paying little heed to train, are looking for candidates with openness to cutting edge educational plan content notwithstanding refined proficient abilities and decisive reasoning capacities. According to the current accreditation guidelines, the needs of employers of crime laboratories have changed, shifting from a general, broad-based criminalistics curriculum to a focused, subject-matter-rich curriculum with additional management and professional content.

Human violence is a complex act that involves harming oneself, others, or objects physically or verbally. It takes on many forms and can be protective, planned (e.g., predatory), or impulsive (non-premeditated). In contrast to deliberate and impulsive aggressiveness, which are seen as unhealthy, defensive aggression falls within the normal range of human behaviour. However, a convergent pattern of data consistently connects impulsive, but not deliberate, aggression to biological, environmental, pharmacological, and psychological treatment response characteristics.

Varieties of writing instruments are available in the market. The history and development of writing instruments, impact printers, non-impact printers, scanners and auto-pens are very interesting subjects to create new challenges for document scientists. The available literature suggests that the mechanical typewriter could be the first writing machine and digital printers are the latest machines that are still used for typing and printing processes. There is a paucity of works of literature on machine writing as questioned documents. A new innovative, imitational software based digital writing machine i.e., the ‘Drawing CNC machine with XY Plotter’ is introduced into the market which can be utilized to imitate writings, signatures as well as drawings which mimic natural patterns of human handwriting. Such an imitational digital writing machine is capable of creating customized written samples by imitating pen movement, good line quality of letter formations, rhythmic connecting strokes, pen pressure and a combination of letter formations. Identifying the difference between machines generated writing and human handwriting is biggest task for questioned document scientists in the present digital era. The research on such writing machines is very useful for the questioned document scientists, law enforcement agencies, police administrations, vigilance and surveillance departments, banks etc.