Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that exert their biological functions as negative regulators of gene expression. They are involved in the skin wound healing process with a dynamic expression pattern and can therefore potentially serve as biomarkers for skin wound age estimation. However, no reports have described any miRNAs as suitable reference genes (RGs) for miRNA quantification in wounded skin or samples with postmortem changes. Here, we aimed to identify specific miRNAs as RGs for miRNA quantification to support further studies of skin wound age estimation. Overall, nine miRNAs stably expressed in mouse skin at certain posttraumatic intervals (PTIs) were preselected by next-generation sequencing as candidate RGs. These nine miRNAs and the commonly used reference genes (comRGs: U6, GAPDH, ACTB,18S, 5S, LC-Ogdh) were quantitatively examined using qRT-PCR at different PTIs during skin wound healing in mice. The stabilities of these genes were evaluated using four independent algorithms: GeNorm, NormFinder, Bestkeeper, and comparative Delta Ct. Stability was further evaluated in mice with different postmortem intervals (PMIs). Overall, mmu-miR-26a-5p, mmu-miR-30d-5p, and mmu-miR-152-3p were identified as the most stable genes at both different PTIs and PMIs. These three miRNA RGs were additionally validated and compared with the comRGs in human samples. After assessing using one, two, or three miRNAs in combination for stability at different PTIs, PMIs, or in human samples, the set of miR-26a/30d/152 was approved as the best normalizer. In conclusion, our data suggest that the combination of miR-26a/30d/152 is recommended as the normalization strategy for miRNA qRT-PCR quantification in skin wound age estimation.

Abstract Neuropathology consultations are an essential part of medico-legal cause-of-death investigations. However, there are little data on the rates of neuropathological examinations in medico-legal autopsies. The present nationwide, retrospective, register-based study aimed to report and compare neuropathology consultation rates (i.e., the percentages of medico-legal autopsies with a neuropathology consultation) in five Finnish regions from 2016 to 2021. The dataset comprised 50 547 medico-legal autopsies with 1274 neuropathology consultations. Overall, approximately 1 in 40 autopsies (2.5%) involved a neuropathology consultation. Consultation rates were lowest in the Southern Finland region (1.4%) and highest in the Southwestern Finland and Åland region (6.5%). Throughout the study period, the consultation rates of Southwestern Finland and Åland were 1.5 to 9.4 times those of other regions (P < 0.001). In conclusion, the present nationwide Finnish study identified substantial differences in neuropathology consultation rates between regions, which may indicate regional differences in conventions and policies. However, the ‘optimal’ consultation rate remains unknown. Future studies are required to further understand the differences in autopsy practices within the Finnish context as well as in medico-legal institutions elsewhere.

Abstract Refusal of autopsy occurs for various reasons, including religious beliefs and the risk of infectious diseases such as coronavirus disease 2019. Dental autopsy involves invasive procedures, including incision and access openings in the oral cavity. Radiographic techniques can be used as an alternative to the conventional autopsy process in the field of forensic odontology, providing a non-invasive approach that does not involve tissue damage. The current study aimed to analyse the current status of the applicability of oral and maxillofacial radiology for virtual forensic odontological autopsy. A systematic review was conducted in accord with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis protocol. The literature search was conducted from December 2021–October 2022 using the Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and SAGE Journals databases. Article selection was carried out by eliminating duplication, screening titles and abstracts, and reading the entire content of the article. A thematic analysis method was used to identify themes in the collected data. A total of 15 articles were included, and several uses of oral and maxillofacial radiography in virtual autopsy and forensic odontology were identified. Four techniques were identified that can be used for virtual autopsy in forensic odontology. The use of computed tomography (CT) scanning for virtual autopsy was reported in six articles, cone beam CT was reported in five articles, magnetic resonance imaging was reported in two articles, and multidetector CT was reported in two articles. In the studies included in this review, the identified oral and maxillofacial radiograph techniques that are used as the fundamental methods of virtual autopsy in forensic odontology are CT scanning (including multidetector CT), cone beam CT, and magnetic resonance imaging. The different methods of oral and maxillofacial radiography for virtual autopsy were identified as having advantages as well as limitations in their use in forensic odontology. Most of the included studies indicated that the virtual autopsy approach cannot yet stand alone as an identification method, but provides a useful adjunct for gathering dental evidence.

Abstract There is a large volume of online crimes. The aim of this work is to reflect on virtual crimes that are apparently different but actually have commonalities. In these cases, the corporeal sphere that mediates interpersonal relationships is absent, and perceptions of the real world and emotional regulation may be altered, which poses the risk of destructive behaviours. From this standpoint, self/hetero-directed aggression is the result of a certain type of transition from the real to the virtual world, where the body either is not involved at all or is experienced in an aberrant manner. In this study, we present three cases that clearly illustrate this concept.

Abstract Due to increasingly capable algorithms and more available processing power, photogrammetry is becoming a simple, cheap and accurate alternative to 3D optical surface scanning. With adequate application, it can be a swift documentation technique for reconstructing the geometry and body surface of deceased persons in autopsies, or other forensic medical examinations. Sufficiently easy and swift 3D documentation techniques may allow 3D imaging technologies to become part of the daily routine of any forensic medical examiner or other medical personnel. This paper presents a consistent and systematic photographing methodology (as an alternative to automated or intuitive methods) for photogrammetry scanning of human remains. Although it requires manual photography, the methods presented in this paper offer a swift and easy way to capture an accurate 3D model of human remains under almost any conditions. Four different photographing procedures were tested on four subjects: ([DiMaio D, DiMaio VJM. Forensic Pathology: Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations, second ed. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press; 2001.]) a systematic circular technique with 100 photos, ([Prahlow JA. Forensic Pathology for Police, Death Investigators, Attorneys, and Forensic Scientists. New York (NY): Springer; 2010.]) a systematic circular technique with 50 photos, ([Shkrum MJ, Ramsay DA. Forensic Pathology of Trauma: Forensic Science and Medicine. Totova (NJ): Humana Press; 2006.]) a technique loosely mimicking cameras mounted on a postmortem CT device with 98 photos, and ([Urbanová P, Hejna P, Jurda M. Testing photogrammetry-based techniques for three-dimensional surface documentation in forensic pathology. Forensic Sci Int 2015;250:77–86.]) a technique mimicking cameras mounted on a postmortem CT device with 49 photos. Measurement accuracy was tested with the aid of six adhesive control points placed at approximately the same locations on each subject. Five different distances defined by these control points were measured and compared to the measurements taken by hand. 3D photogrammetry meshes created using these techniques were also compared with point clouds acquired using a 3D laser scanner. We found that a carefully composed, tested, and systematic photographing procedure significantly improved the quality of the photogrammetry models. In terms of relative difference compared to the hand measurements, both technique 1 and technique 2 produced close results, with an average relative difference of 0.160% and 0.197% and a maximum relative difference of 0.418% and 0.481% respectively, while models reconstructed from images taken using technique 3 and technique 4 seemed to be much less accurate, with an average relative difference of 0.398% and 0.391% and a maximums relative difference as high as 1.233% and 1.139% respectively. This study highlights the importance of a scientifically tested methodology for obtaining high-quality 3D models in forensic applications.

Abstract Children represent a specific group of road traffic accident (RTA) victims. Performing a personal injury assessment (PIA) for a child presents a significant challenge, especially when assessing permanent disabilities and needs. However, medico-legal recommendations for PIA in such cases are lacking. The main objective of this study was to analyse the differences between children and a young- and middle-aged adult population of RTA victims to contribute to the development of relevant guidelines. Secondary objectives were to identify and characterise specifics of children’s posttraumatic damages regarding: (a) temporary and permanent outcomes; and (b) medico-legal damage parameters in the Portuguese context. We performed a retrospective study of RTA victims by comparing two groups (n = 114 each) matched for acute injury severity (SD = 0.01): G1 (children) and G2 (young- and middle-aged adults). Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios. G1 presented a greater chance of evolving without or with less severe body, functional and situational outcomes (three-dimensional assessment methodology) and with lower permanent functional disability values than G2. Our findings suggest that childhood trauma generally has a better prognosis than trauma in young and middle-aged adults. This study generated evidence on the subject and highlighted the most significant difficulties encountered by medico-legal experts when performing PIA for children.

Abstract The objective of this study is to analyse the accuracy and applicability of the AncesTrees software with respect to a set of cranial measurements of a Brazilian sample consisting of 114 identified skulls from two osteological collections, predominantly composed of European (n = 59), African (n = 35), and admixed individuals (n = 20). Twenty-four different craniometric measurements are performed and input to AncesTrees via two algorithms, one of which is used in three configurations, with different ancestral groups integrated in the model. The software exhibits superior performance in the estimation of European individuals, reaching 73% accuracy, compared with 66% in the African individuals. Those individuals classified as admixed produce a variety of ancestral classifications, mainly European. Overall, the most accurate combination of AncesTrees is obtained using ancestralForest with only the European and African groups integrated into the algorithm, where the accuracy reaches 70%. The applicability of this software to a specific population is fragile because of the high admixing load, making it necessary to create a more representative anthropometric database of the Brazilian people.

Abstract Santander, located in the Andean region of Colombia, is one of the 32 departments of the country. Its population was shaped by intercontinental admixture between autochthonous Native Americans, European settlers, and African slaves. To establish forensic databases of haplotype frequencies, the evaluation of population substructure is crucial to capture the genetic diversity in admixed populations. Total control region mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were determined for 204 individuals born in the seven provinces across the department. The maternal Native heritage is highly preserved in Santander genetic background, with 90% of the haplotypes belonging to haplogroups inside A2, B4, C1, and D. Most native lineages are found broadly across the American continent, while some sub-branches are concentrated in Central America and north South America. Subtle European (6%) and African (4%) input was detected. In pairwise comparisons between provinces, relatively high FST values were found in some cases, although not statistically significant. Nonetheless, when provinces were grouped according to the PCA results, significant differences were detected between groups. The database on mtDNA CR haplotype frequencies established here can be further used for populational and forensic purposes.

Abstract Fire debris analysis aims to detect and identify any ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) in burnt residues collected at a fire scene. Typically, the burnt residues are analysed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and manually interpreted. The interpretation process can be laborious due to the complexity and high dimensionality of the GC–MS data. Therefore, this study aims to compare the potential of Classification and Regression Tree (CART) and Naïve Bayes (NB) algorithms in analysing the pixel-level GC–MS data of fire debris. The data comprises 14 positive (ie, fire debris with traces of gasoline) and 24 negative (ie, fire debris without traces of gasoline) samples. The differences between the positive and negative samples were first inspected based on the mean chromatograms and scores plots of the principal component analysis (PCA) technique. Then, CART and NB algorithms were independently applied to the GC–MS data. Stratified random resampling was applied to prepare three sets of 200 pairs of training and testing samples (i.e., split ratio of 7:3, 8:2 and 9:1) for estimating the prediction accuracies. Although both the positive and negative samples were hardly differentiated based on the mean chromatograms and scores plots of PCA, the respective NB and CART predictive models produced satisfactory performances with the normalised GC–MS data, ie, majority achieved prediction accuracy above 70%. NB consistently outperformed CART based on prediction accuracies of testing samples and the corresponding risk of overfitting except when evaluated using only 10% of samples. The accuracy of CART was found to be inversely proportional to the number of testing samples; meanwhile, NB demonstrated rather consistent performances across the three split ratios. In conclusion, NB seems to be excellent than CART based on the robustness against the number of testing samples and the consistent lower risk of overfitting.

Abstract The relatives of missing persons in Mexico have denounced the slowness with which a court prosecution file is created by the justice administration system. Theoretically, the search is immediate, but many cases must wait 72 h to build an investigation folder as a legal criterion. This standard has been copied from the UK and Australian police reports without adapting to the Mexican context. The analysis of disappearance reports between 2006 and 2018 shows that this timing criterion in Mexico is not supported. The analysed database (CENAPI) showed that in the 72-h range, only 34.53% of the people had been found alive or dead; figure far from 50%–80% of Europe or Australia. This fact shows that those searching officers, or the judicial bureaucracy can act as a factor that limits the search for missing persons. Additionally, there is a random pattern in the geospatial distribution of disappearance, with non-homogeneous frequencies per year. Results highlight the participation of families, the adoption of an evidence-based model, and the generation of geospatial forensic intelligence analysis to generate evidence-based public policies. The social demand of families to the government for not considering them takes relevance in forensic practice in Mexico, and the disappearance data supports this assertion.