Abstract Aim of the study This study aimed to establish the incidence, number and location of CPR-related skeletal chest injuries (SCI) and to investigate the influence of age, gender, changes in ...resuscitation guidelines and technique of resuscitation. Methods We analysed SCI in 2148 patients who had undergone resuscitation for non-traumatic cardiac arrest, as shown by autopsies performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Ljubljana in the period 2004–2013. Results External cardiac massage caused SCI in 86% of males and in 91% of females; sternum fractures occurred in 59% of males and 79% of females, rib fractures in 77% of males and 85% of females and sternocostal separations in 33% of males and 12% of females. The average number of all SCI per person was thus almost the same in males and females: 10.95 vs. 10.96. The percentage of patients injured and the number of SCI increased with age. Changes in resuscitation guidelines were also identified as a factor contributing to the incidence and number of SCI. No adverse effect of the use of LUCAS was found. Conclusion It is generally considered that at least 1/3 of resuscitated patients sustain rib fractures and at least 1/5 sustains sternum fractures. However, our study showed that these injuries are much more frequent and that increased compression rate and depth cause more SCI. Since in the period 2011–2013 accompanying severe injuries occurred in only 1.85% of cases, the resuscitation technique has not yet jeopardised patient's safety, but further close monitoring is needed.
Abstract Background Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mediates neural plasticity, mood, different behaviours, and stress response. A functional BDNF polymorphism (BDNF Val66Met) was reported ...to influence the effects of stressful life events or childhood adversity on depression and suicidal behaviour in various psychopathologies. The study evaluated the association between BDNF Val66Met variants and suicide, committed with violent or non-violent methods, in victims with or without stressful childhood experience. Methods BDNF Val66Met polymorphism was genotyped on 560 DNA samples from 359 suicide victims and 201 control subjects collected on autopsy from unrelated Caucasian subjects and subdivided according to gender, method of suicide, and influence of childhood adversity. Results A similar frequency of BDNF Val66Met variants was found between all included suicide victims and the control groups, and also between the male groups. The frequency of the combined Met/Met and Met/Val genotypes and the homozygous Val/Val genotype was significantly different between the female suicide victims and female controls, between the female suicide victims who used violent suicide methods and female controls, and between all included suicide victims with or without stressful life events. The combined Met/Met and Met/Val genotypes contributed to this significance. Limitation A small group of suicide victims with available data on childhood adversity was studied. Conclusions The combined Met/Met and Met/Val genotypes of the BDNF Val66Met variant could be the risk factor for violent suicide in female subjects and for suicide in victims exposed to childhood trauma. These results confirm a major role of BDNF in increased vulnerability to suicide.
Highlights • DNA analysis from skeletal remains is crucial for missing person identification. • STR profiling is only suitable if ante-mortem samples or relatives are available. • If unavailable, ...appearance DNA prediction can provide leads to find relatives. • The HIrisPlex system allows eye and hair colour prediction from DNA. • We find HIrisPlex suitable for analysing remains of World War II victims.
Epidemija covida-19 je po dostopnih podatkih podobno kot epidemije nalezljivih bolezni pred njo povzročala tudi posledice na duševnem zdravju prebivalstva. Posebej so bile ogrožene ranljive skupine ...prebivalstva, kot so ljudje z duševnimi motnjami, migranti in neposredno izpostavljeni stresnim okoliščinam v času epidemije. Dolgotrajna osamitev ali karantena lahko poveča simptome anksioznosti, depresije in samomorilnost. Primeri, ki jih predstavljamo, so povezani, čeprav jih gotovo ni enostavno povzročila zdravstvena kriza med epidemijo covida-19. Zato je torej treba v času krize covida-19 in po njej, kot tudi v času drugih naravnih katastrof, oblikovati smernice za delo na področju duševnega zdravja najbolj ranljivih in izpostavljenih skupin, predvsem na področju preprečenja samomorilnosti. Gre za krizno ukrepanje, ki zahteva široko mobilizacijo služb in strokovnjakov.
Autoerotic death has been defined as a solitary accidental death that occurs during an individual’s sexual activity in which some type of device mechanism used to increase pleasure fails or ...malfunctions, which in turn causes unintended death. We present two cases of accidental autoerotic death due to suffocation by hanging in two males aged 25 years and 59 years. Both victims were using homemade sexual devices and wearing unusual outfits, with erotic magazines found on the scene. In one case, the incaprettamento-like position of the corpse was likened to the ritual strangulation homicide typical of the Italian Mafia. Between 1997 and 2020 there were an average of 0.9 deaths per year recorded due to accidental asphyxia without suicidal intention in Slovenia, representing approximately 0.46 deaths per 1 million of the general population. Making a definite estimate for the exact mortality number due to autoerotic death is challenging, because there is no operational definition provided by the “International Classification of Diseases 10” (ICD10). From a forensic point of view, it is necessary to differentiate accidental autoerotic death from covert murder and natural death. Close cooperation between the police examiner and forensic pathologist is essential in performing an autopsy. To the best of our knowledge, no cases of autoerotic asphyxia have been published in the Slovenian forensic literature so far.
This paper describes molecular genetic identification of one third of the skeletal remains of 88 victims of postwar (June 1945) killings found in the Konfin I mass grave in Slovenia. Living relatives ...were traced for 36 victims. We analyzed 84 right femurs and compared their genetic profiles to the genetic material of living relatives. We cleaned the bones, removed surface contamination, and ground the bones into powder. Prior to DNA isolation using Biorobot EZ1 (Qiagen), the powder was decalcified. The nuclear DNA of the samples was quantified using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. We extracted 0.8 to 100 ng DNA/g of bone powder from 82 bones. Autosomal genetic profiles and Y-chromosome haplotypes were obtained from 98% of the bones, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes from 95% of the bones for the HVI region and from 98% of the bones for the HVII region. Genetic profiles of the nuclear and mtDNA were determined for reference persons. For traceability in the event of contamination, we created an elimination database including genetic profiles of the nuclear and mtDNA of all persons that had been in contact with the skeletal remains. When comparing genetic profiles, we matched 28 of the 84 bones analyzed with living relatives (brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, nephews, or cousins). The statistical analyses showed a high confidence of correct identification for all 28 victims in the Konfin I mass grave (posterior probability ranged from 99.9% to more than 99.999999%).
Rapidly mutating Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (RM Y-STRs) were identified to improve differentiation of unrelated males and also to enable separating closely and distantly related males in ...human identity testing in forensic and other applications. RM-Yplex assay was developed as a single multiplex that is capable of simultaneously amplifying all currently known RM Y-STRs, and reproducibility and sensitivity testing were performed on reference samples. Additional analyses are necessary to test its suitability for analysing compromised forensic samples. For this purpose, we applied the RM-Yplex assay to approximately 70-year-old skeletons that were used as a model for poorly preserved, challenging forensic samples. We analysed 57 male skeletal remains (bones and teeth) from 55 skeletons excavated from the Second World War (WWII) mass graves in Slovenia. The RM-Yplex typing was successful in all 57 samples; there were 56% full profiles obtained, and in partial profiles, up to 7 locus drop-outs were observed and they appeared correlated with low DNA quantities and degradation of DNA obtained from WWII bone and tooth samples. The longest loci, DYS403S1b, DYS547, DYS627 and DYS526b, were the most often dropped-out RM Y-STRs. In spite of high frequency of drop-out events, the RM-Yplex typing was successful in all WWII samples, showing the possibility of successful amplification of at least half of the RM Y-STRs even from the most compromised samples analysed.
Abstract The aim of the study was to perform the genetic identification of a human cranium from a Second World War gravesite in Slovenia and find out if it belonged to the mother of a woman used as a ...family reference. Both genetic and anthropological examinations were carried out. The genetic examination was performed on 2 M and petrous bone. Prior to DNA isolation 0.5 g of tooth and bone powder was decalcified. The DNA was purified in a Biorobot EZ1 (Qiagen) device. The nuclear DNA of the samples was quantified and short tandem repeat (STR) typing performed using two different autosomal and Y-STR kits. Up to 22.4 ng DNA/g of powder was obtained from samples analyzed. We managed to obtain nuclear DNA for successful STR typing from the left second molar and from the petrous bone. Full autosomal genetic profile including amelogenin locus revealed the male origin of the cranium that was further confirmed by the analyses of Y-STRs. The same conclusions were adopted after the anthropological analysis which identified the cranium as that of a very young Caucasoid male. The male origin of the cranium rejected the possibility of motherhood for the compared daughter. For traceability in the event of contamination, we created an elimination database including genetic profiles of the nuclear and Y-STRs of all persons that had been in contact with the analyzed cranium and no match was found.
Highlights • The PowerQuant kit was tested as a predictor of autosomal STR typing success. • Quantity and quality of DNA was examined on ancient and WWII bone samples. • Bone extracts with no ...PowerQuant quantitation results did not produce any profile. • STR profiles were generated from bones with simultaneously detected short and long targets. • The PowerQuant kit can be used as a predictor of autosomal STR typing success.
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