Loading...
Journal of Forensic Medicine

Archive

    28 December 2020, Volume 36 Issue 6 Previous Issue    Next Issue
    Original Articles
    Cases Study
    Techniques and Applications
    Review
    Education and Administration

    For Selected: Toggle Thumbnails
    Original Articles
    Estimation of Early Postmortem Interval of Asphyxial Death Rats at Different Ambient Temperatures by GC-MS-Based Metabolomics
    FANG Shi-yong, DAI Xin-hua, XIAO Li, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 741-748.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.001
    Abstract ( 191 )   PDF (1721KB) ( 640 )  
    Objective To establish the orthogonal partial least square （OPLS） model for the estimation of early postmortem interval （PMI） of asphyxial death rats in four ambient temperatures based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MS） metabolomics. Methods The 96 rats were divided into four temperature groups （5 ℃, 15 ℃, 25 ℃ and 35 ℃）. Each temperature group was further divided into 3 h, 6 h, 12 h and 24 h after death, and 6 other rats were taken as the control group. The cardiac blood was collected at the set time points for the four temperature groups and 0 h after death for the control group for the metabolomics analysis by GC-MS. By OPLS analysis, the variable importance in projection （VIP）>1 and the result of Kruskal-Wallis test P<0.001 were used to screen out the differential metabolite related to PMIs in the cardiac blood of rats of different temperature groups. Then OPLS regression models of different temperature groups were established with these metabolites. At the same time, a prediction group for investigating the prediction ability of these models was set up. Results Through the analysis of OPLS, 18, 15, 24 and 30 differential metabolites （including organic acids, amino acids, sugars and lipids） were screened out from the rats in groups of 5 ℃, 15 ℃, 25 ℃ and 35 ℃, respectively. The prediction results of the four temperature group models showed that the prediction deviation of 5 ℃ model was larger than that of other groups. The prediction results of other temperature groups were satisfactory. Conclusion There are some differences in the changes of metabolites in cardiac blood of rats at different ambient temperatures. The influence of ambient temperature should be investigated in the study of PMI estimation by metabolomics, which may improve the accuracy of PMI estimation.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    COⅠ and 16S rDNA Sequence Identification of Common Necrophagous Flies in Fujian Provinc
    ZHUO Luo, MAO Jia-xiong, CHEN Jian-shan, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 749-754.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.002
    Abstract ( 243 )   PDF (761KB) ( 583 )  
    Objective To identify the species of common necrophagous flies in Fujian Province by gene fragment sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit Ⅰ （COⅠ） and 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid （16S rDNA）, and to explore the identification efficacy of these two molecular markers. Methods In total 22 common necrophagous flies were collected from the death scenes in 9 different regions in Fujian Province and DNA was extracted from the flies after morphological identification. The gene fragments of COⅠ and 16S rDNA were amplified and sequenced. All the sequences were uploaded to GeneBank and BLAST and MEGA 10.0 software were used to perform sequence alignment, homology analysis and intraspecific and interspecific genetic distance analysis. The phylogenetic trees of DNA fragment sequences of COⅠ and 16S rDNA of common necrophagous flies in Fujian Province were established by unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means （UPGMA）, respectively. Results The flies were classified into 6 species, 5 genera and 3 families by morphological identification. The results of gene sequence analysis showed that the average number of interspecific and intraspecific genetic distance of 16S rDNA ranged from 1.8% to 8.9% and 0.0% to 2.4%, respectively. The average number of interspecific and intraspecific genetic distance of COⅠ ranged from 7.2% to 13.6% and 0.0% to 6.3%, respectively. Conclusion The gene sequences of CO Ⅰ and 16S rDNA can accurately identify the species of different necrophagous flies, and 16S rDNA showed higher value in species identification of common calliphoridae necrophagous flies in Fujian Province.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Sequential Changes of Serum Biomarkers after Skeletal Muscle Contusion in Rats
    ZHAI Hao-jie, LIN Wei, TIAN Tian, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 755-761.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.003
    Abstract ( 184 )   PDF (1978KB) ( 563 )  
    Objective To screen serum biomarkers after skeletal muscle contusion in rats based on gas chromatography- mass spectrometry （GC- MS） metabolomics technology, and support vector machine （SVM） regression model was established to estimate skeletal muscle contusion time. Methods The 60 healthy SD rats were randomly divided into experimental group （n=50）, control group （n=5） and validation group （n=5）. The rats in the experimental group and the validation group were used to establish the model of skeletal muscle contusion through free fall method, the rats in experimental group were executed at 0 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, 24 h, 48 h, 96 h, 144 h and 240 h, respectively, and the rats in validation group were executed at 192 h, while the rats in the control group were executed after three days’regular feeding. The skeletal muscles were stained with hematoxylin-eosin （HE）. The serum metabolite spectrum was detected by GC- MS, and orthogonal partial least square- discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） pattern recognition method was used to discriminate the data and select biomarkers. The SVM regression model was established to estimate the contusion time. Results The 31 biomarkers were initially screened by metabolomics method and 6 biomarkers were further selected. There was no regularity in the changes of the relative content of the 6 biomarkers with the contusion time and the SVM regression model can be successfully established according to the data of 6 biomarkers and the 31 biomarkers. Compared with the injury time ［（55.344±7.485）h］ estimated from the SVM regression model based on the data of 6 biomarkers, the injury time ［（195.781±1.629）h］ estimated from the SVM regression model based on the data of 31 biomarkers was closer to the actual value. Conclusion The SVM regression model based on metabolites data can be used for the contusion time estimation of skeletal muscles.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Application of the Virtual Reality-Pattern Visual Evoked Potential in Forensic Visual Acuity Evaluation
    TANG Wei- yi, CHEN Jie- min , WANG Rong- rong , et al.
    2020, 36(6): 762-766.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.004
    Abstract ( 149 )   PDF (722KB) ( 594 )  
    Objective To explore a kind of visual evoked potential test equipment and method that is more suitable for the application of forensic clinical visual acuity evaluation. Methods Thirty-four volunteers （68 eyes） were selected, including 15 males and 19 females, aged between 20 and 40 years. Test lenses were placed before the tested eyes of volunteers to induce refractive myopia with insert method, and the diopter lenses were adjusted so that the visual acuity level of one eye of volunteers was above 0.8, and the visual acuity of the other eye was at moderate damage level （<0.3 and ≥0.1）.The tests were carried out under the binocular simultaneous asynchronous stimulation mode （hereinafter referred to as“binocular mode”） and monocular separate stimulation mode （hereinafter referred to as“monocular mode”） of virtual reality-pattern visual evoked potential （VR-PVEP）, and the amplitude of PVEP of volunteers under the two modes was compared at four spatial frequencies of 8×8, 16×16, 24×24 and 32×32. Results The differences in the amplitude of P100 wave between monocular and binocular modes at 8×8 spatial frequency had no statistical significance and the differences in amplitude of P100 wave between monocular and binocular modes at 16×16, 24×24, and 32×32 spatial frequencies had statistical significance（P<0.05）. The amplitude of the same eye in monocular mode was higher than that in binocular mode. Through correlation analysis, it was found that the amplitude of P100 wave in monocular mode was moderately correlated with amplitude of P100 wave in binocular mode. Conclusion In forensic identification practice, VR-PVEP is helpful for overcoming the disturbance of poor fixation, and to increase the reliability of PVEP evaluation results. It can greatly shorten the detection time of PVEP and improve work efficiency.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Forensic Individual Identification Based on the New Coding Method of Oral Panoramic Tomography
    LIU Meng , FAN Fei , SUN Che , et al.
    2020, 36(6): 767-771.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.005
    Abstract ( 145 )   PDF (646KB) ( 500 )  
    Objective To discuss a new coding method for individual identification based on oral panoramic tomography, analyze the diversity of different coding modules in nonhomologous images and the consistency and the matching rate of the coding indexes of different coding modules in homologous images, and evaluate the application value of the different modules and the new coding method in individual identification. Methods The oral panoramic tomography images of 1 000 patients with permanent teeth were collected retrospectively. Each patient had two images taken at different times （called the Early database and the Late database according to the chronological order）. Each image was coded according to the designed coding method. A computer program was designed to compare the diversity of different modules, and calculate the diversity and consistency of different coding modules as well as the matching rate of the coding indexes. Results The diversity of the 4 modules that reflected teeth characteristics was much higher than that of other modules in the same database. The highest diversity was noticed in the module of right mandibular teeth in samples of both databases. The coding consistencies of the 4 modules were all above 50%. Besides, 90.2% of the matching rates of indexes of homologous images were over 80%. Conclusion The 4 modules have higher application value in individual identification, especially the right mandibular teeth. The coding method has a certain value in forensic individual identification.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Metrological Analysis of the Projects in the Field of Forensic Science Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China between 2000 and 2019
    SHI Ge-fei, HE Xiao-dan
    2020, 36(6): 772-783.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.006
    Abstract ( 143 )   PDF (5069KB) ( 538 )  
    Objective To understand the trend of funding in the field of forensic science by analyzing the projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （NSFC）. Methods Based on the data of funded projects in the field of forensic science published on NSFC website in the twenty years from 2000 to 2019, the trend of project number and fund, project type, discipline type, funded institution and personnel were analyzed with metrological methods. The funding theme was analyzed through multi-methods. Results In the twenty years, NSFC funded 352 projects in the field of forensic science, including 9 project types, 47 institutions and 213 persons. General programs （184 projects）, forensic toxicology, pathology, and toxicology analysis （H2301, 188 projects）, and the Academy of Forensic Science （37 projects） had the most funded projects. NSFC funded 174.69 million yuan in the field of forensic science. The Excellent Young Scientists Fund （3.50 million yuan/project）, forensic toxicology, pathology, and toxicology analysis （H2301, 78.64 million yuan）, and Xi’an Jiaotong University （23.78 million yuan） had the most funding. The differences in the number and funding of subsidized projects between the first ten years and the last ten years had statistical significance （P<0.05）. The main targets of funding were toxicology research, evidence-related research, estimation-related research, brain injury research, et al. The field of research mainly funded from 2010 to 2019 was interdisciplinary research. Conclusion Since 2010, the number of project, funding of project, the number of institutions and persons funded by NSFC in the field of forensic science showed an increasing trend. The types of disciplines, types of projects and themes of projects are more diverse, which will promote the long-term development of basic forensic research in China.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Cases Study
    Analysis of 123 Cases of Forensic Psychiatry Testimony of Individuals Suspected of Road Traffic Offences
    WANG Shu-jian, ZHENG Yu-zi, HE Yong, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 784-790,796.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.007
    Abstract ( 167 )   PDF (799KB) ( 611 )  
    Objective To explore the characteristics of individuals with mental disorders suspected of road traffic offences and to find their differences from normal offenders, in order to regulate mental disorder patients’driving activities and prevent road traffic offences. Methods One hundred and twentythree cases of forensic psychiatry testimony of individuals suspected of road traffic offences between 2014 and 2019 from the West China Forensic Center of Sichuan Province were collected. Fisher exact probability test was used to compare the differences between offenders with mental disorders and without mental disorders in terms of demographic characteristics, criminological characteristics, psychiatric characteristics and criminal responsibilities. Results There was no statistical significance in the differences of demographic characteristics, vehicles and kinds of alcohol between the two groups （P>0.05）. The main type of road traffic related crimes committed by offenders with mental disorders was risky driving and were mainly evaluated as partial criminal responsibility, whereas most offenders without mental disorders committed crime of causing traffic casualties and all were evaluated as full criminal responsibility. There was statistical significance in the differences of the types of crime and the criminal responsibility rating between the two groups （P<0.05）. Meanwhile, patients with mental disorders were characterized by long course of disease and irregular treatment, and individuals diagnosed as having mental disorders caused by psychoactive substances accounted for a large proportion. Conclusion There are differences in the characteristics of road traffic-related crimes between mental disorder patients and normal people. It is of great practical significance for reducing road traffic offences to evaluate whether the individuals with mental disorders are fit for driving.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Techniques and Applications
    Polymorphism and Forensic Application of 11 Y-SNP in Guizhou Shui Ethnic Group
    LUO Xue, ZHANG Wen- fei, YANG Lin, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 791-796.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.008
    Abstract ( 185 )   PDF (744KB) ( 488 )  
    Objective To investigate the frequency distribution features of 11 Y-SNP of Guizhou Shui ethnic group, explore its genetic relationship with other ethnic groups and evaluate its forensic application value. Methods Multiplex amplification of the 11 Y-SNP of samples of 180 unrelated male individuals from Guizhou Shui ethnic group was performed with microsequencing technique. The frequency of haplogroup was calculated by direct counting method, and principal component analysis （PCA） of Guizhou Shui ethnic group and reference ethnic groups was performed by using Multi-variate statistical package （MVSP）. The Fst genetic distance between Guizhou Shui ethnic group and other ethnic groups was calculated with Arlequin v3.5. The phylogenetic tree was established with MEGA 4.0 software according to the Fst value. Results Six types of Y chromosome haplogroups were observed in total. Among which, the distribution frequency of O-M175 haplogroup was the highest （71.11%）, followed by C-M130（25.00%）, and D-M174 （3.89%）. O1b-M268 （31.11%） and O2a2-IMS-JST021354 （28.33%） had a relatively high distribution frequency in O haplogroup. The paternal relationship between Guizhou Shui ethnic group and Guizhou Gelao ethnic group in the same language group was the closest. Conclusion The distribution of Y- SNP haplogroup of the Shui ethnic group in Guizhou has certain specificity, which can provide basic data for forensic biogeographic inference.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Application of Two Kinds of Automatic Nucleic Acid Purifiers
    CAI Wei , YU Lei
    2020, 36(6): 797-800.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.009
    Abstract ( 137 )   PDF (534KB) ( 443 )  
    Objective To investigate the effect of automatic nucleic acid purifiers QIAsymphony SP and QIAcube in the DNA extraction of samples of trace amount or mixed with inhibitors. Methods Different kinds of purification methods using QIAsymphony SP and QIAcube were applied to extract swabs which contained 30, 100, 150 and 300 cells and other samples which contained six types of inhibitors- heme, humic acid, lard, soil, rust and grease. PCR amplification and STR typing were performed on the extracted DNA templates to compare extracting efficiency and inhibitor removal ability of four different purification methods. Results Different purification methods showed similar extraction effects, 70.83%-100.00% of loci could be detected by amplification of DNA extracted from samples with 30, 100 and 300 cells, and the six types of inhibitors could be removed well. Conclusion The two automatic nucleic acid purifiers have a good inhibitor removal effect. For swabs with only 30 cells, after DNA extraction and amplification, the locus detection rate of samples can still be high, which can meet the requirements of local DNA laboratory work, and realize the standardization construction of the laboratory.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Review
    Research Progress on Estimation of Postmortem Submersion Interval
    YUAN Hui-ya, ZHAO Rui, GAO Li-na, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 801-806.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.010
    Abstract ( 334 )   PDF (607KB) ( 733 )  
    Postmortem interval （PMI） estimation is one of the most important and difficult academic tasks in forensic sciences. Due to the influence of the corpse itself and the water environment, corpses in water have unique corruption phenomenon and laws. Based on the experience of traditional PMI studies of corpses on land, forensic practitioners across the world have proposed a variety of practical methods for estimating postmortem submersion interval （PMSI）. This paper summarizes the literatures related to PMSI in recent years, and introduces methods to infer PMSI according to the phenomenon of corpses, the development of insects, the succession pattern of aquatic organisms, and the changes of other physical and chemical indexes of corpses, in order to provide some reference for the study of PMSI of corpses in water.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Research Progress on Estimation of Postmortem Interval Using mRNA and ncRNA
    LÜ Ye-hui, WANG Zhuo-qun, CHEN Yi-jiu , et al.
    2020, 36(6): 807-819.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.011
    Abstract ( 267 )   PDF (1361KB) ( 579 )  
    Postmortem interval （PMI） estimation has always been an important and difficult issue in the field of forensic pathology. In recent years, research progress on the estimation of PMI using RNA specific variation patterns after death has been made by researchers at home and aboard. This paper summarizes the specific application methods of messenger RNA and non-coding RNA for PMI estimation based on the literatures and discusses the existing problems and development trends, in order to provide technical reference for related studies and estimation practice
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Research Status of Postmortem MSCT Angiography in Forensic Science
    WAN Lei , ZOU Dong- hua, WANG Mao-wen , et al.
    2020, 36(6): 820-827，840.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.012
    Abstract ( 213 )   PDF (887KB) ( 512 )  
    Virtual autopsy is a new technique for investigating the morphological changes of cadaveric tissues and organs by medical imaging technology. It has been widely used in the identification of causes of death. Multislice spiral computed tomography （MSCT）has become a routine inspection method in some identification institutions, although it cannot completely replace traditional autopsy, it plays a key auxiliary or substitute role in the identification of certain abnormal causes of death. Plain MSCT scan cannot visualize cadaveric vessels, but can perform cadaveric angiography to determine vascular injury or disease. This technology has entered a rapid development period in recent years, and has made a considerable progress in contrast agent, perfusion methods and imaging methods. This article summarizes several common cadaveric MSCT angiography methods, such as systemic angiography, angiography through cardiopulmonary resuscitation, targeted angiography, and angiography by cardiac puncture, and analyzes and compares the application prospects.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Research Status and Limitations of Sadomasochism
    LIANG Wan-ying, ZHANG Yu-qing
    2020, 36(6): 828-840.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.013
    Abstract ( 426 )   PDF (810KB) ( 929 )  
    Sadomasochism is the sexual interest, psychosexual deviance or sexual crimes that are sexually aroused by suffering or causing others to suffer. This study summarizes the concept, assessment and diagnosis, categories and symptoms, psychological and biological mechanisms, judicial disposition and clinical intervention strategies of sadomasochism from the perspectives of clinical medicine, law, criminology and psychology, suggests that further research should take local people with sadomasochism preference and local patients as research objects, pay attention to different types of sadomasochists, conduct bottom-up research, explore the core elements and manifestations of sadomasochism, and accurately define and classify sadomasochism, construct an effective scale, a erectile measurement sexual stimulation system and a diagnostic criteria; discuss evaluation methods combined with crime scene data; discuss the validity of masochists’consent combined with diagnosis; establish targeted criminal correction programs and a treatment and rehabilitation system to provide reference for the improvement of medical, judicial and mental health services.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Education and Administration
    Course of Revision of the Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for COVID-19 and the Forensic Contribution
    ZHANG Lu, KONG Ling-jie, ZHANG Jie, et al.
    2020, 36(6): 841-847，851.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.014
    Abstract ( 166 )   PDF (724KB) ( 506 )  
    From January 15 to March 3, 2020, seven editions of the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 have been issued successively by the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, and the guidelines’name was changed from Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia to Diagnosis and Treatment for COVID-19. It optimized and perfected the etiology, clinical manifestations and types, diagnostic procedures and specific treatment measures of the disease, so that the clinical management of the cases was more scientific. In the revision process of guidelines for diagnosis and treatment, forensic medicine experts have also made some positive suggestions on clinical diagnosis and treatment. Especially regarding the pathological changes of COVID-19, they have repeatedly called for rapid autopsy at different levels. With the support, understanding and cooperation of all parties, pathological examination of more than ten cases of the remains were carried out, which made an important contribution to the understanding of the clinical characteristics and pathological characteristics of the disease and the improvement of treatment plans.
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Discussion on Forensic Identification of the Rationality of Medical Expense
    KOU Xing-hua, LIANG Feng, MA Chang-yue
    2020, 36(6): 848-851.  DOI: 10.12116/j.issn.1004-5619.2020.06.015
    Abstract ( 427 )   PDF (505KB) ( 665 )  
    In cases on compensation for personal injury, the issue of medical expense compensation involves the vital interests of the compensation obligor, the injured party and the medical institution. The rationality of medical expenses is likely to be controversial, however, there is no unified standard and stipulation for the medical expense rationality identification in forensic clinical identification at present, therefore, in the practice of judicial expertise, expert opinions easily become confused, and the legitimate rights of the parties could be infringed, which affects the impartiality and authority of judicial expertise. This article starts with the concept of medical expense and the rationality of medical expense and the reasons for disputes over the rationality of medical expense, to put forward the basic principles that should be followed in the identification of rationality of medical expenses, for peer reference.
    Related Articles | Metrics