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28 August 2013, Volume 29 Issue 4 Previous Issue    Next Issue

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Relationship between Corneal Thickness and Postmortem Interval in Rabbit LI XIAO-NA, ZHENG JI-LONG, HU ZHONG-GUO, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 241-243.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.001 Abstract ( 1632 )   Objective To explore the relationship between corneal thickness and postmortem interval （PMI） in rabbit. Methods The rabbit model was established by air embolism. The rabbit cornea was sampled at 6-hour-interval from 0 to 72 h postmortem. After routine HE staining, the whole cornea image was collected by the optical microscope. Three markers were observed including corneal epithelial thickness （x1）, corneal stromal thickness （x2） and whole corneal thickness （x3） using Motic Images Plus 2.0 image analysis software and the data were statistically analyzed to establish the regression function with PMI （y）. Results Within 72 h postmortem, rabbit corneal stromal thickness and whole corneal thickness increased at 12 h postmortem and reached the peak at 54 h postmortem. The two markers showed positive correlation with PMI. The regression functions of the two markers were y= -0.070 2 x22+11.398 x2+1 634 （R2=0.712 2, P＜0.05) and y= -0.074 9 x32+12.036 x3+1 819.4 （R2=0.675 0, P＜0.05), respectively. Conclusion The two markers of corneal stromal thickness and the whole corneal thickness showed the strong linear correlation with PMI. The correlation of the corneal stromal thickness is better than the whole corneal thickness. The two markers can be used to estimate PMI. Related Articles | Metrics

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Bone Development Trend in the Knee Joint of Tibetan Teenagers in Aba Prefecture of Sichuan Province DING SHI-RONG, YING CHONG-LIANG, WAN LEI, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 244-247,251.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.002 Abstract ( 1535 )   Objective To discuss bone development trend in the knee joint of Tibetan teenagers in Sichuan province and to effectively update the database for estimating the living age of Tibetan teenagers in terms of bone age of the knee joint. Methods Radiographs including epiphysis of distal femur, proximal tibia and proximal fibula were taken from 483 Tibetan male and female teenagers aged from 14 to 19 years old in Aba prefecture of Sichuan province in order to observe epiphyseal growth situation. The descriptive data of the epiphyseal closure ages of these teenagers’ knee joints were statistically analyzed by SPSS 16.0 software. Results The distal femur epiphyseal closure occurred earliest, while the proximal fibula epiphyseal closure occurred latest. The epiphyseal growth of knee joints of females occurred about one year earlier than that of males. Conclusion The forensic information and data related to Tibetan teenagers’ bone age identification should be updated regularly. These results provide potential value for the practice of forensic medicine, anthropology and clinical medicine. Related Articles | Metrics

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Characteristics of Computed Dynamic Posturography of Patients with Peripheral Vertigo ZHOU XIAO-RONG, YANG XIAO-PING, FAN LI-HUA 2013, 29(4): 252-255.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.004 Abstract ( 1541 )   Objective To quantify the posture control ability of patients with peripheral vertigo by computed dynamic posturography （CDP）. Methods Ninety-one subjects diagnosed with peripheral vertigo by caloric test were divided into unilateral vestibular dysfunction group （unilateral group） and bilateral vestibular disorder dysfunction group （bilateral group）. CDP tests including sensory organization test （SOT） and motor control test （MCT） were performed on all subjects. The CDP results were compared with the normal data by t-test. Results In unilateral group, there was no statistically significant difference in SOT compared with normal data （P>0.05）. In bilateral group, the composite equilibrium score was lower than the normal data, especially during the moving of the platform and the changes of visual stimulation （P<0.05）. In MCT test, the latencies of both groups showed no statistically significant difference compared with normal data （P>0.05）. Conclusion During the non-acute period of peripheral vertigo, patients could maintain static equilibrium. Compared with normal people, dynamic equilibrium function is normal in patients with unilateral vestibular dysfunction, but declined in patients with bilateral vestibular dysfunction. Related Articles | Metrics

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Age Estimation Using Content of sjTREC in Human Peripheral Blood QU DONG-YANG, DENG SHU-JIAO, GE YUN-YING, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 256-258,272.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.005 Abstract ( 1569 )   Objective To determine and verify the correlation formula of age estimation using the content of signal joint T-cell receptor excision DNA circle （sjTREC） in human peripheral blood and to discuss its application value in forensic biological practice. Methods The samples of peripheral blood stains were collected from 30 healthy unrelated individuals whose ages were known. The DNAs were extracted from the samples stored at room temperature after 4 weeks. The content of sjTREC was measured by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR technique, and the TATA box binding protein （TBP） was selected as reference genes. The age of each sample was predicted with the formula which was Age=-7.181 5 Y-42.458±9.42 （Y=dCtTBP-sjTREC）, and the result was compared with the real age of each individual to determine the accuracy of the formula. Results sjTREC and TBP gene were detectable in all 30 samples of peripheral blood. The contents of sjTREC in human peripheral blood showed a decreasing tendency with aging. The accuracy rate for the age estimation by this method was 76.67%. Conclusion The method for the age estimation with the content of sjTREC was simple, fast, sensitive, and good species specific with important potential application prospect. Related Articles | Metrics

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Determination of the Biological Attribute of Evidence at the Scene Using Reverse Transcription PCR and Real-time Fluorescent Quantitative PCR XU YAN, ZHANG CHEN, XU QING-WEN, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 259-262.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.006 Abstract ( 1603 )   Objective To explore the feasibility of biological method to identify the biological attribute of samples at crime scene. Methods Thirty samples of ten blood stains, ten saliva stains and ten semen stains were selected, and all the samples were processed by the routine method and biomolecular method, respectively. Both RNA and DNA were isolated using DNA-RNA co-extraction technology and the mRNA was converted into cDNA using reverse transcription PCR （RT-PCR）. Three pairs of specific primers were designed for blood stain, saliva stain and semen stain based on the different target genes in three specific tissues and the primers were amplified using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The differences in these biological samples were evaluated by melting temperature （Tm） values and the size of the amplification fragment. Results The Tm values of blood stain, saliva stain and semen stain were （84.5±0.2） ℃, （76.9±0.3） ℃ and （88.5±0.2） ℃, respectively. The length of PCR fragments of them was 177 bp, 134 bp and 294 bp, respectively. Conclusion Compared with the routine method, RT-PCR with real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR is highly specific, sensitive and reliable to identify the biological attribute of evidence, and can be potentially applied to determine evidence attribute in forensic practice. Related Articles | Metrics

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Difference between the Cognitive and Control Ability and the Responsibility in Forensic Psychiatry Evaluation LI XUE-WU, GAO BEI-LING, HU FENG, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 263-267.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.007 Abstract ( 1640 )   Objective To analyze the difference between the cognitive and control ability and the responsibility in forensic psychiatry evaluation. Methods To compare the results of the responsibility evaluation from 2001.1 to 2006.10 （the first period） with that of the cognitive and control ability evaluation from 2006.11 to 2010.10 （the second period）. The admissibility opinions on court judgment and evaluation were investigated by return visit. The legal professions’ opinions on forensic psychiatric issues from the police office, the procuratorate, the court, and the judiciary were investigated. Results There was no significant difference of the criminal types between two periods （P>0.05）. There was significant difference of the diagnostic types between two periods （P<0.05）. The proportion of normal range and part loss of the cognitive and control ability in the second period were higher than that in the first period, but the proportion of complete loss of the cognitive and control ability in the second period was lower than that in the first period （P<0.05）. Among the legal professions, 70.5% of them thought that “the evaluation of cognitive and control ability” was different from “the evaluation of criminal responsibility” and 94.9% of them thought that “to confirm the influence of the forensic psychiatric evaluation of mental disorder on the crime behavior” or “to assess of cognitive and control ability” met requirements of normative judicial expertise. Conclusion The evaluation of cognitive and control ability is more aligned with legal requirements and behavioral norms of own subject than the evaluation of responsibility. Related Articles | Metrics

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Determination of Cinobufagin and Resibufogenin in Liver Tissue by HPLC-MS/MS WANG WEI, LIU MING-DONG, YAN YOU-YI, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 268-272.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.008 Abstract ( 1559 )   Objective To develop a sensitive and accurate assay for detecting cinobufagin and resibufogenin in liver tissue using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （HPLC-MS/MS）. Methods The homogenization of liver tissue with internal standard dexamethasone was extracted with dichloromethane. The extracts with methanol were purified through ProElut C18 solid phase extraction and tested in positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring of HPLC-MS/MS. Results The good linear relationship of cinobufagin and resibufogenin in liver tissue were 1-204 ng/g and 1-206 ng/g, respectively. The minimal detection threshold （S/N≥3） of this method was 0.3 ng/g for both cinobufagin and resibufogenin. The matrix effect was 96.5%-126.7%. The extraction recovery coefficient was 70.0%-82.3%. The precision of intra-day and inter-day was less than 10%. Conclusion This method is sensitive and reliable, and can be used in forensic toxicological analysis. Related Articles | Metrics

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Sudden Death Caused by Aortic Dissection: 63 Cases of Forensic Pathological Analysis HUANG LEI, LIU SHUANG-GAO, HUANG CUI, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 273-275.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.009 Abstract ( 1488 )   Objective To explore the cause of death, clinical manifestations and forensic pathological features of death cases caused by aortic dissection. Methods Sixty-three cases of aortic dissection were selected from forensic medical center, Sun Yat-sen University from 2001 to 2011 and retrospectively analyzed. Results The patients were mostly young and middle-aged male, aged from 30 to 49 years old. The DeBakey type Ⅱ was the most common pathological type and the main cause of death was pericardial tamponade. The most common symptom was abdominal pain. However, the location of aorta dissection did not always correlate with the location of pain. Some cases showed no obvious clinical symptoms. The rupture was usually located in ascending aorta with atherosclerosis and pathological changes of hypertension. Conclusion It is significant for diagnosis and evaluation the cause of death of aortic dissection by knowing the clinical symptoms and forensic pathological features. Related Articles | Metrics

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Disability Appraisal for Common Peroneal Nerve Injury in Traffic Accidents： 8 Cases Analysis QI LI-QUN, WANG LI-XIN 2013, 29(4): 276-277.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.010 Abstract ( 2085 )   Objective To investigate the characteristics of forensic clinical identification on common peroneal nerve injury in traffic accident. Methods Eight cases of common peroneal nerve injury in traffic accidents were analyzed, including general condition of the wounded, the way of injury, the imaging results, the EMG results, and the degree of injury, etc. Results In 8 cases, 2 cases of complete common peroneal nerve injury were determined to grade 9 （disability degree） and 6 cases of partial common peroneal nerve injury were determined to grade 10 （disability degree）. Conclusion By comparison, the disability degree of complete common peroneal nerve injury is higher than that of partial common peroneal nerve injury. The forensic clinical identification of common peroneal nerve should be made with synthetical consideration of medical history, symptoms, and auxiliary examinations. Related Articles | Metrics

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Characteristics of Recidivism in Patients with Mental Disorders: 156 Cases Analysis LIU JIAN-MEI1, Lü PAN, HU JUN-MEI 2013, 29(4): 278-281.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.011 Abstract ( 1586 )   Objective To analyze the characteristics of recidivism in patients with mental disorders, including criminology, clinic and guardianship, in order to provide references for preventing recidivism. Methods Using the self-designed questionnaire, 156 psychotic patients who had repeated crimes were appraised by West China Forensic Science Center of Sichuan University from 2007 to 2011 and the data were collected and analyzed. Results In the majority of these cases, patients were male, 26-45 years old, junior high school or below diploma, unmarried, and farmers or jobless. Each patient broke law 3.26 times on average. The main crimes were intentional injury （34.6%） and murder （15.7%）. Within 5 years after diagnosis with mental disorder, 56.4% of the patients committed first crime. Within 1 year after the first time breaking the law, 55.8% of them repeated crimes. The diagnoses of schizophrenia （63.5%） were in the majority. The assessment results were mostly irresponsibility （61.5%）. Among the patients, 44.9% of them didn’t receive treatment while 34.6% of them were out of supervision. After the first crime, 66.1% of them didn’t receive criminal prosecution while only 7.1% of them went through the appraisement of forensic psychiatry. Conclusion Most of the patients had low education and low income. Meanwhile, low outpatient rate and pool supervision occurred in this special crowd. A good system for care and treatment of these mental patients should be built to prevent them from recidivism. Related Articles | Metrics

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Genetic Polymorphisms of 16 STR Loci in Tibetan Mastiff XIONG XIN, ZHANG XIAO-FENG, MU LI-WEI, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 282-285.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.012 Abstract ( 1400 )   Objective To explore the genetic polymorphisms of 16 STR loci from 449 Tibetan Mastiffs in order to set up gene polymorphism database of Tibetan Mastiff. Methods The PCR amplification was performed using the 16 STR loci fluorescent multiple amplification kit for dog. The amplified products were detected and statistically analyzed. Results In the 16 STR loci from 449 Tibetan Mastiffs, CDP was 0.999 999 999 999 999 and CEP was 0.999 997 795. Except FH2010 （10 alleles）, PEZ21 （12 alleles）, and PEZ05 （13 alleles）, the other STR loci had more than 15 alleles. In the 16 STR loci, H was >0.5 and PIC was >0.7. Conclusion The 16 STR loci have high polymorphism to be suitable for individual identification and paternity testing of Tibetan Mastiff. The data obtained through this study can be used to establish DNA polymorphism database of Tibetan Mastiff. Related Articles | Metrics

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Multifocal Visual Electrophysiology in Visual Function Evaluation PENG SHU-YA, CHEN JIE-MIN, LIU RUI-JUE, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 286-289,294.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.013 Abstract ( 1324 )   Multifocal visual electrophysiology, consisting of multifocal electroretinography （mfERG） and multifocal visual evoked potential （mfVEP）, can objectively evaluate retina function and retina-cortical conduction pathway status by stimulating many local retinal regions and obtaining each local response simultaneously. Having many advantages such as short testing time and high sensitivity, it has been widely used in clinical ophthalmology, especially in the diagnosis of retinal disease and glaucoma. It is a new objective technique in clinical forensic medicine involving visual function evaluation of ocular trauma in particular. This article summarizes the way of stimulation, the position of electrodes, the way of analysis, the visual function evaluation of mfERG and mfVEP, and discussed the value of multifocal visual electrophysiology in forensic medicine. Related Articles | Metrics

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Reflection of Estimating Postmortem Interval in Forensic Entomology and the Daubert Standard XIE DAN, PENG YU-LONG, GUO YA-DONG, ET AL. 2013, 29(4): 290-294.  DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5619.2013.04.014 Abstract ( 1558 )   Estimating postmortem interval （PMI） is always the emphasis and difficulty in forensic practice. Forensic entomology plays a significant indispensable role. Recently, the theories and technologies of forensic entomology are increasingly rich. But many problems remain in the research and practice. With proposing the Daubert standard, the reliability and accuracy of estimation PMI by forensic entomology need more demands. This review summarizes the application of the Daubert standard in several aspects of ecology, quantitative genetics, population genetics, molecular biology, and microbiology in the practice of forensic entomology. It builds a bridge for basic research and forensic practice to provide higher accuracy for estimating postmortem interval by forensic entomology. Related Articles | Metrics