Dead Person Research Articles

Autopsy of an unknown dead person to find out cause of death- A massive cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

Introduction: Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is one of the lethal and most debilitating type of stroke affecting more than 1 million people globally every year. Most common cause of ICH is hypertension and responsible for about 70% of all ICH. Case report: Sealed dead body of 45 years old unknown male brought for autopsy to find out the cause of death. Patient was admitted to district hospital with unconscious state. Status of vital at time of admission was 210/110. Autopsy finding: No external injury was present on the body. No internal injury or abnormality seen on opening neck, chest and abdomen.Facial bone intact. No abnormality detected at scalp, cranial bone and meninges. External surface of brain was normal and intact. Brain was soft and congested. On sectioning of cerebral hemisphere huge hematoma of size 6.0×4.5 cm was present in deep left cerebral hemisphere. Conclusion: Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for ICH. ICH is a medical emergency with high chances of morbidity as well as mortality. Advancement in early diagnosis and neurocritical care have improved and increased the survival.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HOSPITALIZATION PERIOD IN PATIENTS WHO DIED AS A RESULT OF COVID-19 WITH ACUTE CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS

The aim. To identify adverse risk factors in hospitalized patients with fatal consequences of the coronavirus disease-2019 and its acute cardiovascular complications. Materials and methods. A retrospective study was conducted of 66 people in the study group with acute respiratory failure and cardiovascular complications due to COVID-19. The comparison group was 48 people who died of acute cardiovascular events without SARS-CoV-2 infection or other bacterial or viral diseases. The criteria for inclusion in the study group were the presence of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection by the polymerase chain reaction method, the presence of acute cardiovascular complications during COVID-19, and patients hospitalized during its treatment. Inclusion criteria for the comparison group were hospitalized patients with acute cardiovascular diseases that led to death without SARS-CoV-2 infection. The exclusion criteria for both groups were: age before 18 years old; absence of informed consent of the authorized person of dead person or the decision of the authorized person to withdraw from the study at any of the stages; the presence of other co-infections that could have a cumulative negative effect on the state of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems (flu virus, hepatitis virus, human immunodeficiency virus, pathogens that led to symptoms of acute intestinal infections). Age and gender distribution, comorbidities, length of hospitalization, and laboratory markers were evaluated in both cohorts. Cardiovascular complications were confirmed by the results of ultrasound examinations, computed tomography angiography and comparison with postmortem morphological findings in autopsy reports for the analysis of the current study,. The results. There were 48 men (72.7%) and 18 women (27.3%) in the study group of 66 patients who developed cardiovascular complications at the background of COVID-19, and in the comparison group – 39 men (81.3%) and 9 women (18.7%), which indicates acceptable comparability of the groups among themselves due to sex (p=0.374) and age (p=0.338). In particular, the age median for men in the study group was 65 years (IQR - 21 years), with minimum and maximum age values ​​– 36 and 83 years, respectively; the median age for women in the study group was also 65 years (IQR – 12.5 years), with the lower and upper age limits in the group being 41 and 78 years. The age median for men in the comparison group was 62 years (IQR 15 years), with a lower and upper age range of 54 and 81 years. The age median for women in the comparison group was 68 years (IQR – 16.5 years), with the lower and upper age values ​​in the group being 55 and 79 years. Men and women of the comparison group did not statistically differ from each other in terms of age (р=0.412). A significant difference was found between the length of hospitalization in both cohorts (р˂0.00001) – the median length of stay in hospital for the study group was 15 days, and for the comparison group – 10 days. It was established that malignant diseases were an additional concomitant factor of mortality in the group of patients with COVID-19 (р=0.043). The percentage ratio of neutrophils (p=0.048) and lymphocytes (p=0.031) in patients of the study group significantly differed. Conclusions. Unfavorable risk factors in patients with fatal consequences of Coronavirus disease-2019 and acute cardiovascular complications were concomitant oncological pathology, a long period of hospitalization, and changes in the percentage ratio of neutrophils and lymphocytes.

INDIVIDUALS FACING DEATH: THE EVIDENCE OF VERSE EPITAPHS

Verse epitaphs are our main and very abundant source for responses to individual deaths. We can almost never know exactly whose attitudes or values they express, but we can assume that they embody attitudes and values that it was acceptable to express publicly. Many at all dates seek merely to commemorate the dead person or convey grief, but, from about 400 bce onwards, others adopt a position on the fate of the dead person, though often hedged with a cautious ‘if’. Very many possibilities emerge: they range from a plain denial that anything survives death, via claims that the dead person is now (e.g.) in the aither/in the home of the blessed/on Olympos/with the heroes, to, very rarely, declarations that s/he is now actually a god. Strangely enough, support for such claims is never sought in the fact of the dead person being an initiate in a cult that promised advantage in the afterlife. In all this we see not so much individual choices as the range of options available for individuals to believe in. But we must also suspect that belief in the more optimistic options can seldom have been as firm as in a society where such options were authoritatively endorsed and alternatives not publicly countenanced.

Evaluation and Comparison of the Accuracy of Nolla and Demirjian Methods for Age Estimation in a sample of Egyptian Children Using Panoramic Radiographs (A Retrospective Study)

Abstract Background Age estimation is an important procedure in forensic field. It is very crucial for the identification of both living and dead persons. For living it is performed in circumstances where the birth certificate is not available or the records are suspicious. This could be of value in civil conflicts e.g. marriage, employment, military recruitment, inheritance and adoption. Also it is important in criminal cases involving rape, kidnapping and illegal immigration, as well as for medical cases as pediatric endocrinopathy and orthodontic malocclusion. Age estimation of cadavers is performed in criminal cases, as well as for identification of mutilated victims of mass disasters, such as fires, crashes, accidents, feticides, homicides and infanticides. Aim Estimation the age of a sample of Egyptian children through using both Nolla and Demirjain methods, Comparison of these ages with their chronological ages and then assessing the accuracy of these methods in age estimation. Methods A retrospective study was performed on panoramic radiographs of 180 subjects aged less than 6–16 years. The mean dental age (DA) according to the Demirjian and Nolla methods were compared to the mean chronological age (CA). Results The mean CA of the study sample was 9.90±2.71 and 9.40±3.23 years for females and males, respectively. Using the Demirjian method, the mean estimated DA was 9.38±2.09 years for females and 9.77±3.01 years for males. For Nolla method, the mean estimated DA was 8.48±1.79 and 9.07±2.77 years for females and males, respectively. The mean differences between the CA and DA according to the Demirjian were -0.52 and 0.37 years for females and males, respectively. For Nolla method the mean differences were -1.42 and -0.33. Conclusions Nolla method was found to be a more accurate method for estimating DA in Egyptian population. The predictive ability of Nolla method by linear regression analysis was 98%.

Death euphemisms on tombstones: A case of the Vhavenḓa’s metaphorical conceptualisation of death

Direct reference to death has long been taboo in Tshivenḓa culture, and it is sanctioned by social, psychological and religious constraints. Like in other African societies, explicit reference to death is considered a taboo by the Vhavenḓa. This is because the Vhavenḓa view death as a transition from the land of the living to the land of the dead, which ultimately foregrounds their belief that a dead person transforms into an ancestor who has the power to care, protect, bless and even curse the living. Consequently, the subject of death and reference to it is treated as sacred among the Vhavenḓa. For this reason, the Vhavenḓa utilise euphemisms when discussing death. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study explored whether death-related conceptual metaphors on tombstones in Tshivenḓa lessen pain and the impact of death on those affected using the framework of the conceptual metaphor theory (CMT). A corpus of 160 epitaphs from the Khubvi Cemetery in Thulamela Local Municipality served as the source of the study’s data. The study’s findings showed that gravestone conceptualisations of death imply a favourable value judgment of human mortality and help those who are still alive cope with the loss and pain associated with death. The study lays the groundwork for further research into why conceptual metaphors of death emphasise the negative features of death, while language use emphasises the positive aspects.

Discounted monetary value of human lives lost during the mass demonstrations in Khartoum State, Sudan, 2022

BACKGROUND: Sudan is rich in natural resources and diverse climate but faces significant food insecurity. The country’s challenges stem from prolonged civil wars and economic decline after South Sudan’s secession, leading to political instability and uprisings. The human cost has been devastating, with millions killed or affected by violence, displacement, and infrastructure destruction. OBJECTIVE: This paper aimed to estimate the total discounted value of 112 human lives lost during peaceful demonstrations in Khartoum State in 2022. METHODS: Data collected by the Doctors’ Committee from Oct 2021 to Oct 2023 was used. The Human Capital approach (HCA) estimated the total discounted value of human lives lost using a 3% discount rate and the national life expectancy in 2022 as 65.86. Sensitivity analysis tested the robustness of the results. The model was re-estimated using 5% and 10% discount rates and global and Sub-Saharan life expectancies. RESULTS: Human lives lost had a total discounted value of $1,871,745 and an average value of $136,816 per life. Recalculating the total discounted value of human lives lost (TDVHL) using higher rates, 5% and 10%, reduced the values by $499,516 (26.7%) and $1,094,609 (58.5%), respectively. Using Sub-Saharan life expectancy reduced the TDVHL by $105,821 (5.7%), while the global life expectancy increased it by $130,992 (7.0%). About 82% of the TDVHL was shared by dead persons aged 15-29. The average value per dead person decreased with age. The average for the 14-19 age group was almost four times that of the 55-59 group. CONCLUSION: The study reveals the high economic cost of premature deaths from mass demonstrations in Khartoum State, stressing the need for policies protecting young people and promoting stability to drive economic growth and sustainable development KEYWORDS: Human Capital Approach, Life expectancy, Dead persons, Mass demonstrations, Sensitivity analysis, Total discounted value of human lives lost

Granhammar Man: axed down and thrown into the sea in Late Bronze Age Uppland, Sweden

Abstract In 1953 a human skeleton and a set of tools made from antler, bone, bronze, stone and wood was found embedded in marine clay under a former inlet of Lake Mälaren at Granhammar in Västra Ryd parish, Uppland province, Sweden. Andreas Oldeberg and Nils-Gustaf Gejvall published the find in 1959, and for half a century it did not see continued study. This paper reports on a comprehensive series of re-studies and laboratory analyses of the skeleton and the artefact finds. Among the results are an unambiguous date by multiple methods in the late 800s cal BC, i. e. late Period V in Montelius’ chronology. Inferences are made about the individual’s geographical origin, diet and main occupation. Comparisons are made with the victims of mass violence from Tollense Valley in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In a time and place where almost every dead person was cremated and no human remains were buried under anything but the strictest ritualised circumstances, Granhammar Man offers something unique and valuable. He was killed in combat far from home and sank to the sea floor with his leather-working equipment.

Investigating occupational accidents based on the Human Factors Analysis and System Classification (HFACS) method: a case study in an industrial and mining company

Background and aims: Human errors are a significant issue in various work environments, including industry and mining. This study aims to investigate occupational accidents in a large industrial-mining company based on the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) method. Materials and methods: The study conducted a retrospective longitudinal analysis of 253 mining industrial accidents from 2011-2019 using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). Descriptive statistics, such as frequency and percentage of subgroups at each level, were calculated using the HFACS method and SPSS software. Results: The type of accident that occurred was related to throwing/collision or contact with a foreign object, which resulted in a total of 232 injured people and one dead person. Statistical analysis showed no significant link between the accident type and the educational levels of those involved, as indicated by a P-value greater than 0.05.Still, it showed a significant relationship with three other demographic variables: age, marital status, and work experience (P-Value˂0.05). The highest frequency and percentage of the causes of accidents were also due to organizational effects and unsafe practices. Discussion and conclusion:. The study found that the frequency of human errors in the levels of unsafe supervision and unsafe practices significantly contributed to the occurrence of occupational accidents in the company. Analyzing accidents and understanding the relationship between causal factors at the four levels of the HFACS method is vital for implementing effective strategies to reduce accidents.

Delineating Dalit trauma: (re)contextualizing cultural trauma, survivor’s guilt and partial privilege in post millennial Dalit women’s memoirs

ABSTRACT Shilpa Raj’s memoir The Elephant Chaser’s Daughter (2017) and Yashica Dutt’s Coming Out as a Dalit: A Memoir (2019) map a specific kind of individual trauma, along with the cultural trauma that is found in other Dalit life writings. Both the narratives begin with the death of another Dalit individual whom the memoirists consider as a sibling/comrade who lacked the partial ‘privilege’ they enjoyed and the narratives can be read as negotiating this survivor’s guilt. Hence, these life writings are part elegies and part literature of protest. They are also part of biographies, for while the writer’s life story is one centre, these writings also have another centre – the real/imagined life of the dead person. As the writers compare and contrast their different destinies, we argue that these narratives (1) lay bare the complexities and limits of Dalit emancipation in modern India where the caste question has been seemingly resolved (2) call for an extension of the intersectional framework to analyse the concept of ‘partial privilege’ in Dalit life-writing.

Choburak-I – a necropolis of the Rouran period in the Northern Altai

The article presents the results of studying materials obtained during excavations of the Bulan-Koby necropolis identified as part of the large multi-temporal archaeological complex Choburak-I. This site, located in Chemal district of the Altai Republic, is being studied by an expedition from Altai State University. The burial ground included 12 mounds, which contained undisturbed burials of seven men, three women, a teenager and a child. The key features of the ritual practice identified during the excavations include a small stone mound with an oval stonework-crepidoma; shallow graves; single human inhumation; the head of the dead person pointing northwest; accompanying burial of a horse, laid “at the feet” and on top of the deceased. Representative grave goods was found in the burials, including weapons, items of human equipment, tools and household products, ornaments, as well as horse harness. An analysis of these finds makes it possible to determine the time of construction of the Choburak-I necropolis as the middle – second half of the 4th century AD, which is confirmed by the results of radiocarbon dating. An assumption was made about the short period of the burial ground functioning (no more than 30 years). It was established that this complex belongs to the Dialian tradition of ritual practice of the Bulan-Koby population, the bearers of which constituted the elite of the Northern Altai nomads in the Rouran period.

Скопцы и скопчество в романе Ф. М. Достоевского «Идиот»

The paper examines the role of the “skopchestvo” theme in F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “Idiot”. The aim of the study is to identify the meaning of references to the “skoptsy’s” neighborship in Rogozhin’s house. The study is original in that it is the first to consider the “skopchestvo” theme using an interdisciplinary approach, that is, based on research directly devoted to the phenomenon of skopchestvo. As a result of the study, it was found that the novel’s comparison of Rogozhin’s house with a cemetery in the light of the “skopchestvo” theme takes on a new meaning: it can be understood not only as an association with the Rogozhsky cemetery – a famous Old Believer center, but also with a cemetery in the literal sense, since castrations also occurred where the skoptsy settled, often ending in the death of the adherents. In this same regard, one should also understand the fear expressed by Nastasya Filippovna that a dead person was “hidden” in Rogozhin’s house by his father not as a mystical, but a completely rationally explainable fear. Also, the role of the copy of the painting “The Dead Christ in the Tomb” in Rogozhin’s house receives a new explanation: an anti-schismatic and anti-sectarian theme is clearly introduced into the novel. A “copy” of ritual actions among schismatics, observance of traditions without liturgical communication with the church and without enlightenment also turn out to be “dead”: there is no Christ, Christ is dead in the schism, which replaced faith with ritual, and even more so, there is no Christ in skopchestvo, where, manipulating religious feelings, they maim people.

The face of Eurydice

AbstractEurydice could not come back to this world because Orpheus looked back at her. Persephone had forbidden this, but Orpheus disobeyed. Is there a logic for such a rule? A relief in the Archaeological Museum in Naples shows Orpheus looking at his wife after having removed a veil from her face, and the face of dead persons was a sensible element in ancient funerary art. We find two forms of hiding their face: by veiling it or by depicting the person but not the face, by leaving it unwrought. Euripides and several Roman sarcophagi depict Alcestis with her head veiled after her return to the house of her husband. On the other hand, some funerary busts from the necropolis of Cyrene show deceased women with their face flat and many sarcophagi of the Roman period are completely sculptured except the face of the buried person. The current explanation based on an untimely death cannot explain the large number of such cases; it would have been absurd to wait for the death of the customer before carving his or her portrait. There was a religious rule forbidding the vision of the face of dead persons, but it is impossible to ascertain what kind of people abided by this law and what religious stream forbade this.

Retrospective analysis of pattern of injuries and cause of death in unclaimed dead bodies brought to Mortuary of Private Medical Institute

Introduction: Establishment of identity is required both in living and dead bodies and in both civil and criminal cases. Unclaimed body is defined as dead person who had no next of kin or no relative or no authorized representative willing to make final disposition of the remains.Aims and objective: The aim of this study was to determine the pattern and distribution of injuries and to find out the cause of the death in unclaimed bodies.Material and methods: In this retrospective study all the autopsies of unclaimed body from September 2018 to August 2022 were included.Results: A total 75 unclaimed body were brought to mortuary for autopsy. Out of 75 cases, 65 (87%) were male and 10 (13 %) were female. Majority of unclaimed bodies in this study belonged to age group 40-50. Contusion on the body was most common type of external injury. Lower limb was most common body part for external injuries. Skull was most common site for fracture. Temporal and temporoparietal were most common cranial bone fractured. Mandible was most common facial bone fractured. Liver laceration was most common internal organ injured in unclaimed bodies. Subarachnoid haemorrhage was most common intracranial haemorrhage. Most common cause of death in the present study was haemorrhage and shock due to antemortem injury.Conclusions: Identification of unclaimed dead body need to be increased by police workforce. Bodies which are unclaimed should be brought to mortuary just after prompt investigation so that autopsy should be started before decomposition which may interfere with autopsy finding and even in identification of the unclaimed body. Colour photography, DNA sampling, finger printing and maintaining dental records should be done for every unclaimedbody.

Legal Frameworks Upholding Deceased Individuals' Rights and Enabling the Use of Cadavers in Anatomy Education and Research: A Systematic Review.

The study of human cadavers is essential for teaching, advanced training, and research in medical and anatomical sciences. Medical institutions around the globe presently face a scarcity of cadaver supplies. For the majority of countries, unclaimed bodies are still the primary source of cadavers despite guidelines issued by the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists, which discourage the use of unclaimed bodies.This self-funded study aims to conduct a review of the existing national and international laws safeguarding the several rights of a deceased person. The study also reviewed the existing anatomy acts (and related acts) across various countries that facilitate cadaver supply for anatomy education and research. According to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, an online search for publications in four medical databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar) was conducted from 1950 till 2022. A research review protocol was registered in PROSPERO prospectively (registration ID: CRD42023469534)using the Mesh terms like cadaver, anatomy education, dead person and rights, body donation program, unclaimed bodies, and anatomy acts. After the application of the eligibility criteria, 149 publications were shortlisted. After reviewing all the shortlisted articles, laws, and guidelines, using the data extraction checklist prepared by both authors, five international laws, three supreme court case decisions, two high court case decisions, four Indian penal Code Sections, and 22 anatomy acts were selected. Articles from other medical databases could not be reviewed, which wasthe limitation of this study. The anatomy/human tissue/tissue transplantation acts and advisories from regulatory bodies of individual African, Middle-Eastern, and European countries could not be retrieved. The review findings will emphasize the distinctions between India's anatomy acts and those of other developed nations, thereby broadening our perspective as we propose a model anatomy act for uniform implementation across the country to streamline the procurement of cadavers.

R425 first year student nurses ‘experience of encounters with death of a patient during clinical placement

BackgroundIn the course of caring, nurses often experience the death of patients, and this experience has an effect on the nurse. Every nurse responds to this experience in a different way, and it can be either a negative emotional response, or a positive emotional response. As part of their curriculum, R425 first-year student nurses are placed in clinical facilities to acquire competency in nursing skills, and here they may be exposed to patients dying. R425 is a South African Nursing Council regulation relating to the approval of and the minimum requirements for the education and training of a nurse (General, Psychiatric, and Community) and Midwife, leading to registration. End-of-life care can be rewarding, yet emotionally and psychologically challenging. Little is known about R425 first-year student nurses’ experiences of patients dying while being cared for by nurses on clinical placement. The study, therefore, explored and describes R425 first-year student nurses’ experiences of the death of a patient during clinical placement.MethodA qualitative exploratory descriptive and contextual research design was adopted, and a purposive, nonprobability sampling approach applied. Data were collected through unstructured individual interviews with 15 R425 first-year student nurses. Data were analysed using content analysis.ResultsFour themes emerged, namely, knowledge, psychological trauma, low self-esteem, and nutritional disorders, and subthemes were identified. Results reveal both negative and positive responses to encountering the death of patients, with more negative responses, and fewer positive responses.ConclusionResults show that first-year student nurses struggle to cope with the death of a patient, mainly because they lack knowledge and the skills required to provide end-of-life nursing. It is the requirement for student nurses to be competent in a skill, ‘last office’, which involves laying out of a dead person. Such skill can be deferred in the first year of study, and can only be introduced at a later stage, either in third year or fourth year of study, when students are better equipped with knowledge and skills relating to dealing with death. There is a need to review the curriculum of R425 first-year student nurses, so that outcomes such as death and dying can be introduced in the third or fourth year of study.

Comparative Analysis of the Treatment of the Alcestis-Stuff by Euripides and by Wilder

This is the starting point of the following analysis: Life and death belong indissolubly together, but nobody of us knows what is waiting for us when we will have died. According to Christian religion the dead shall resurrect again and start immediately into an eternal life full of happiness in an unknown atmosphere without any sorrows and any problems to overcome. The ancient writers, that lived before Jesus Christ, had at hand an underworld as the realm of that god that is responsible for death. In very rare and exceptional cases a very deserved dead is given the allowance to enter again into his former earthen life. This procedure of bringing a dead person back to life might be a kind of deal between deities and mankind in this way that another person had to die and then to live in the underworld instead of the doomed person. This stuff is a subject-matter of legends, fairy tales and finally of classical drama. The heroes of the drama are Admetus and Alcestis – a royal couple; Admetus is doomed to death and his wife Alcestis wants to die instead of her husband. This treatise is written by an author who is as well a lawyer as a philologist. The treatise uses modern methods of literary comparison, that the author did learn at the examples of ancient texts and modern texts at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Saarland (Germany). The comparison between the Euripides-version and the Wilder-version is not an end in itself, the comparison aims to show the given literary differences based on the history of the development of the Alcestis-stuff in the light of the fact that the ancient text is the source for the modern text. Thus it becomes once more clear that the texts of old Greek authors do live on in a figurative sense until modern times. Wilder himself is a modern American author who consciously sought connection to antiquity, also because he did go through very intensive university courses in archaeology. This connection to ancient Greek literature, of course, makes modern American literature very attractive for European readers and for readers from other areas of the world.

Identification of the Culprit in the Investigation of Traffic Offences in Cases of the Driver’s Death

The author examines investigative situations in cases of the death of key traffic accident participants — drivers of vehicles, as well as the procedure followed by the law enforcement bodies during the preliminary investigation. Problems arising during the pre-investigation reviews are identified, and recommendations for ensuring a comprehensive investigation and completing its key tasks are given. The author shows why it is necessary to install dashboard cameras on vehicles and to adopt this requirement at the legislative level. Special attention is paid to the traffic accidents when not only the driver, but also other participants receive grave injuries, as the key requirement here is to prove that the dead person was really driving the vehicle. The non-rehabilitating legal decisions regarding the guilty dead drivers that are made by the investigators meet objections from close relatives, and as a result criminal cases are directed to court to be considered in a general procedure.

상해보험에서 인과관계와 증명책임

The ruling deals with a case in which a dead person is diagnosed with spinal disorders and dementia at a hospital after a fall, and the airway is blocked during a meal. He usually suffered from myocardial infarction. In this case, it became an issue that the evaluation of impairment of various hospitals conducted to judge the causal relation between the accident and the result of the disability and death of the insured in the casualty insurance contract joined by the plaintiff. In order to judge the disability caused by the disaster, the court of first instance designated one hospital and applied for a fact inquiry. The causal relation between the fall accident and the disability of the deceased was denied because of the result of the fact inquiry of the hospital and the dead person’s previous symptoms. The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court accepted the judgment of the Court of First Instance. However, it is difficult to understand the judgment of the court that there is no causal relation between the fall accident and the disability without various evidence collection procedures. On the other hand, the first court and the appellate court ruled that there is a direct connection between the suffocation and death of the dead man, while the Supreme Court denied it and ordered the reversal. The opinions of the hospital and the National Forensic Service, which judged the cause of death of the deceased, were contradictory. In addition, the results of the fact-finding of two hospitals conducted during the proceedings were also contradictory. Nevertheless, the decision to conclude that the cause of death was suffocation in the lower court trial is not convincing. In this way, despite the fact that the results of fact-finding of various hospitals in relation to the disability and death of the deceased are incompatible with each other, it is beyond the limit of free evaluation of evidence that the court ruled without observing the empirical or logical laws and ignoring the evidence trial. Therefore, I am in favor of the Supreme Court's order of reversal on the death caused by the disaster of the lower court, but I am opposed to the acceptation of the lower court's decision on the claim for disability.

THE UNITY OF COMMUNITY IN CEMETERY: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE ISLAMIC BURIAL RITUALS IN ACEH, INDONESIA

Our study portrays burial rituals practiced by Aceh Province, Indonesia, as this ethnic group has distinctive traditions for burying deceased members of society due to the intertwining of cultures and religions in Aceh. The intertwining of the Islamic tenet with the local cultures has constructed the burial rituals in Aceh differently from any Islamic community in Indonesia. To discover the ritual’s distinction as this study’s focus, we explored three aspects of the rituals: processes, meanings, and implications. We integrated a qualitative approach through an ethnographic study by observing three burial rituals and interviewing 45 informants across the province. As a result, the processes covered initial meetings, grave cleansing, ceremonious announcement, feast, and pilgrimage. Regarding the ritual’s meanings, we revealed that the Acehnese people practiced the burial rituals to expect God’s blessing and forgiveness for the deceased, represent gratitude and homage toward the left family, affirm the local customs, and consolidate kinship relations. A for the implication, the series of rituals in burying a dead person in Aceh serves as a way to establish a vertical relationship from people to God, along with a horizontal relationship, from person to person, which contains local wisdom representing the identity of Aceh. The urgency of burial rituals reflects communities’ harmony and adherence to cultural and religious beliefs regardless of any condition.

The Role of an Endodontist in Victim Identification: A Narrative Review on Forensic Endodontics.

This narrative review highlights the role of endodontists and the significance of various dental tools in forensic dentistry. An online search was conducted in peer-reviewed journals, including MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, to retrieve studies regarding "the role of an endodontist in victim identification using different tools". The searches used controlled vocabulary and free-text terms. Articles written in English and published from 1923 to 2023 were selected. An essential stage in forensic dentistry is dental identification of the dead person and is regarded as an initial step for both judicial and humanitarian purposes if fingerprint records are missing or the remains have undergone significant changes. Endodontists should be aware of all available dental tools that aid in identification. The four fundamental tools for identification are dental radiographs, hard and soft dental structures, and dental materials. Dental radiographs provide a substantial nondestructive record for estimating age and sex. Moreover, maxillofacial hard and soft structures provide important tools for individual identification as they are considered the strongest structures in the human body and can withstand severe chemical and temperature changes. In addition, endodontic and restorative materials can be identified under different conditions and serve as excellent forensic identification measures.