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Myiasis refers to the infestation of living humans and vertebrates with fly larvae that feed on necrotic or vital tissue of the host. Since the invasion of new fly species in Europe is currently being observed, which live obligatorily parasitically or are close relatives of such species, the aim of this study is to obtain a global overview of the distribution of myiasis-causing fly species in times of climate change and to assess the possible consequences for Western Europe. A systematic literature search was conducted using Pubmed/Medline for the years 1997 to 2017 and a total of 464 international case reports from 79 countries were evaluated. The described cases were caused by 41 different species. In 99.4% of the cases, it was a colonization by just one species, a maximum of three species were detected in a human. Casuistics from Western Europe mostly describe myiasis as a "holiday souvenir" from tropical regions. Reports of autochthonous cases are rare in comparison to other regions. With regard to rising temperatures and the invasion of new fly species, a noticeable increase in the number of cases in Western Europe is to be assumed, which could be an increasing problem in the clinical area and in care, which is why thorough monitoring for professional identification and treatment seems important in the future.

The bluebottle blow fly Calliphora vicina is a common species distributed throughout Europe that can play an important role as forensic evidence in crime investigations. Developmental rates of C. vicina from distinct populations from Germany and England were compared under different temperature regimes to explore the use of growth data from different geographical regions for local case work. Wing morphometrics and molecular analysis between these populations were also studied as indicators for biological differences. One colony each of German and English C. vicina were cultured at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt, Germany. Three different temperature regimes were applied, two constant (16°C & 25°C) and one variable (17-26°C, room temperature = RT). At seven time points (600, 850, 1200, 1450, 1800, 2050, and 2400 accumulated degree hours), larval lengths were measured; additionally, the durations of the post feeding stage and intrapuparial metamorphosis were recorded. For the morphometric and molecular study, 184 females and 133 males from each C. vicina population (Germany n = 3, England n = 4) were sampled. Right wings were measured based on 19 landmarks and analyzed using canonical variates analysis and discriminant function analysis. DNA was isolated from three legs per specimen (n = 61) using 5% chelex. A 784 bp long fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was sequenced; sequences were aligned and phylogenetically analyzed. Similar larval growth rates of C. vicina were found from different geographic populations at different temperatures during the major part of development. Nevertheless, because minor differences were found a wider range of temperatures and sampling more time points should be analyzed to obtain more information relevant for forensic case work. Wing shape variation showed a difference between the German and English populations (P<0.0001). However, separation between the seven German and English populations at the smaller geographic scale remained ambiguous. Molecular phylogenetic analysis by maximum likelihood method could not unambiguously separate the different geographic populations at a national (Germany vs England) or local level., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Cases of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young and apparently healthy individuals represent a devastating event in affected families. Hereditary arrhythmia syndromes, which include primary electrical heart disorders as well as cardiomyopathies, are known to contribute to a significant number of these sudden death cases. We performed postmortem genetic analyses in young sudden death cases (aged <45years) by means of a defined gene panel using massive parallel sequencing (MPS). The data were evaluated bioinformatically and detected sequence variants were assessed using common databases and applying in silico prediction tools. In this study, we identified variants with likely pathogenic effect in 6 of 9 sudden unexpected death (SUD) cases. Due to the detection of numerous unknown and unclassified variants, interpretation of the results proved to be challenging. However, by means of an appropriate evaluation of the findings, MPS represents an important tool to support the forensic investigation and implies great progress for relatives of young SCD victims facilitating adequate risk stratification and genetic counseling., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The earliest mention of a stowaway in the wheel well of an airplane dates back to 1947: A 30-year-old man chose this mode of travel for a trip from Lisbon to Brazil and survived (Véronneau et al., 1996). In a retrospective study, we evaluated cases with lethal outcome of stowaways in airplane wheel wells by focusing on forensic autopsy results, in particular, in regard to hypothermia, hypoxia, and injuries. In addition, the flight routes, flight altitudes, and flight durations were analyzed. Using the forensik ® program, a search of all the autopsies performed between 1994-2017 at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, was conducted, using the key words "airplane," "flights," and "wheel well." All of the thus retrieved autopsy reports, medicolegal expert reports, and police investigation reports were then evaluated. Five cases were included in our study. The decedents were all men, aged between 14 and 26 years. Four of the decedents had been discovered at the Frankfurt Main airport within airplane wheel wells; the fifth man had been discovered in a woods underlying one of the flight approach paths to the airport. Two stowaways had died of hypoxic asphyxiation, possibly in conjunction with hypothermia as a contributing factor. One stowaway died of the polytrauma he sustained when he was crushed by retracting landing gear. For a further stowaway, the cause of death could not be macroscopically determined at autopsy. In one case, only an external postmortem examination had been performed, without autopsy. Analysis of the flight routes, altitudes, and durations showed that the flights had been international flights, the flight altitudes had varied between 7000m (∼23,000ft) und 11,000m (∼36,000ft), and the flight duration had been between 4 and 9.5h. At high altitudes, the ambient conditions in wheel wells, which are not pressurized, are rarely survived by stowaways, with hypoxic asphyxiation likely posing greater peril than hypothermia. Further dangers are that of being crushed by retracting landing gear after takeoff, or of falling out of a wheel well, from a great height, when the landing gear is deployed. When it appears conceivable that a stowaway may have fallen from an aircraft wheel well during landing or takeoff, an autopsy and discovery scene investigation are essential to reconstructing the course of events., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Blow flies are important tools in forensic entomology, as they feed and develop on human bodies. This fact can be used to estimate the minimum post mortem interval (PMI min ), by classifying the age of the immature stages found on corpses. The capacity to also be able to classify the age of adult flies, or even empty puparia, could increase the timeframe for a PMI min . However, the association of older developmental stages, such as adult flies or their empty cases, with a human cadaver may be challenged, as such specimens could stem from another food source. Analyzing the stable carbon (δ 13 C) and nitrogen (δ 15 N) isotopes in such specimens could be helpful here, as the isotope signatures reflect those of the food sources. We compared the δ 15 N and δ 13 C signatures of tissue from humans and 12 additional species by elemental analyzer-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS). We did the same for adult flies and empty puparia of the blow fly Lucilia sericata, which were derived from juvenile stages developed on tissues from the mentioned species. The isotope signatures for the adult flies and their empty puparia linearly mirrored the isotope signatures for the respective tissues on which they developed as larvae. Results such as these are useful to indicate the flies' nutritional history, but they do not provide the same kind of evidence that a DNA analysis would. As individual dietary habits, global distribution and environmental effects can influence isotope ratios, we strongly recommend to analyzing entomological traces and muscle tissues of potential donors or for other food sources.

When a morphologically separated skull and mandible are found in the same case context, the possibility of a match arises. Two criteria with which to determine a match are the rough articulation between the mandibular condyles and cranial base itself and, most importantly, the fit of the teeth. However, when there has been intravital or postmortem tooth loss, this important criterion is not available. To date, only Reichs (1989) has investigated further compatibility criteria to solve the question of putative commingling in a case where a mandible seemed to originate from a female, while all other bones originated from a male individual. In a different reported case (Preißler et al. 2017), a mandible seemed too big for a skull; DNA analysis, however, confirmed that both originated from the same female individual. To investigate the metric relationship between mandible and skull we measured the postmortem CT data records of 223 corpses (virtual skulls) in OsiriX © MD for the following linear parameters: bicondylar breadth (KDB), biradicular breadth (AUB), and bizygomatic breadth (ZYB). The indices KDB/ZYB and KDB/AUB were developed and used to define ranges for matches and mismatches. Furthermore, the intra-observer reliability for the method was assessed. An intraclass correlation coefficient of >0.99 for every parameter showed that the used measurements are highly reliable. The 2.5-97.5 percentile for the KDB/AUB index lay between 0.91 and 1.05, while the range for the KDB/ZYB index was between 0.87 and 1.00. Within these ranges, it is possible to roughly assess whether or not a mandible and skull might be compatible, even if this can only be verified by forensic DNA analysis. If an index value lies outside these ranges, it can be assumed that skull and mandible do not match. Future studies should include more samples from a broader population spectrum so that these metric relationships can be used for different populations., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Determining the age of juvenile blow flies is one of the key tasks of forensic entomology when providing evidence for the minimum post mortem interval. While the age determination of blow fly larvae is well established using morphological parameters, the current study focuses on molecular methods for estimating the age of blow flies during the metamorphosis in the pupal stage, which lasts about half the total juvenile development. It has already been demonstrated in several studies that the intraspecific variance in expression of so far used genes in blow flies is often too high to assign a certain expression level to a distinct age, leading to an inaccurate prediction. To overcome this problem, we previously identified new markers, which show a very sharp age dependent expression course during pupal development of the forensically-important blow fly Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy 1830 (Diptera: Calliphoridae) by analyzing massive parallel sequencing (MPS) generated transcriptome data. We initially designed and validated two quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays for each of 15 defined pupal ages representing a daily progress during the total pupal development if grown at 17 °C. We also investigated whether the performance of these assays is affected by the ambient temperature, when rearing pupae of C. vicina at three different constant temperatures-namely 17 °C, 20 °C and 25 °C. A temperature dependency of the performance could not be observed, except for one marker. Hence, for each of the defined development landmarks, we can present gene expression profiles of one to two markers defining the mentioned progress in development., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Sequence variants in the ion channel genes KCNH2 and SCN5A may cause the cardiac disorder long QT syndrome (LQTS). This disorder is associated with incomplete penetrance and variable expression in KCNH2- or SCN5A-mutation carriers. Common genetic variants, if associated with a mutation, may affect the severity of this cardiac disorder. This study identified rare mutations in the cardiac ion channel genes KCNH2 and SCN5A in a SCD case, as well as in a LQTS-affected family with a history of SCD. Moreover, common variants were found to occur together within the same genes. These findings support the concept that common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding cardiac ion channels can directly modulate the functional effect of mutations and therefore enhance or weaken the risk of cardiac events.

In forensic entomology, many studies analyze fly activity and succession on dead bodies by using pig cadavers and a variety of small baited traps. Data on real human bodies are very rare. To address this shortcoming, we analyzed the fly fauna of 51 human bodies in Germany. Sex, age, place of discovery, and presumed time of death were noted. Larvae were sampled during autopsy according to body region or tissue. For every infested region, the total number of fly larvae were estimated and classified into categories of 1-10, 11-50, and 50+. All samples were identified to the species level. Besides a descriptive analysis of their occurrence patterns, a categorical PCA was performed, and multispecies generalized linear models and a latent variable model were run. Our results highlight the most forensically important blow flies on human bodies in Central Europe (Lucilia sericata, L. ampullacea, Phormia regina, Calliphora vicina); prove, for the first time, the general transferability of species lists based on succession studies on pig cadavers; recommend a certain set of species, such as the so-far neglected L. ampullacea, for future developmental studies; and reveal competitive occurrence of up to six species on the same body as a potential factor of influence. Assignment to a certain body region was often possible and our data clearly indicate certain tissues, e.g. brain, as of high interest for future developmental studies. Focusing on real scenario settings helps direct research to forensically relevant questions and appraises the plausibility of vital laboratory studies.

We describe the case of a man who was found with severe hypothermia and advanced myiasis involving five species of blow flies, which eventually led to a transtibial amputation of the man's right leg. A case of such a heavy and species-rich infestation with fly larvae in an urban environment is extraordinary and has, to our knowledge, never been described so far. Best practice in cases such as this one demands accurate species identification not only to ensure appropriate treatment and pest management but also, from a forensic point of view, to explore the possibility of third-party responsibility. The cooperation between physicians and forensic entomologists is highlighted.

Although myocarditis is caused by viral infections in about 50% of cases in European countries, various other causative agents are known. We report the case of a 51-year-old man who died several months after being diagnosed with asthma by his general practitioner. This diagnosis had been confirmed by a pulmonologist approximately 6 weeks before the man's death. To rule out the possibility of medical malpractice the prosecuting authority ordered a forensic autopsy. At autopsy macroscopic indicators for perimyocarditis and pneumonia were found. Microbiological and histological examination of tissue samples confirmed a diagnosis of Churg-Strauss syndrome, also known as Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (EGPA). The cause of death was determined to be cardiac involvement in Churg-Strauss syndrome. The presence of this disease also accounted for the man's recent medical history. There were no findings to indicate that a medical error had been made. The reported case illustrates why accessory histological and microbiological examinations should always be performed when macroscopic findings at autopsy suggest myocarditis. Determining the etiology of myocarditis is a necessary step to prevent overlooking rare diseases with inflammatory myocardial involvement, especially in the clarification of alleged medical malpractice.

In temperature based death time estimation the construction of a death time interval using the conventional Nomogram method (NM) is not permissible for bodies in which rectal temperature (T r ) has reached or closely approximated equilibrium with ambient temperature (T a ). We provide a logic approach to compute a minimum time since death with high probability. We also provide a simple graphical solution to be used at the crime scene for preliminary estimation. Special attention is advised in regards to cases with T a >23°C as well as borderline cases. Proof by induction, application to test cases and one example of use are presented., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The corpse of a 71-year-old woman was found on the floor of her smoke-filled room. The source of the fire was the mattress of a double bed on which newspapers had apparently been set aflame. The woman's history in conjunction with the finding situation suggested an act of suicide. No signs of soot inhalation or soot swallowing were found at autopsy. Other vital signs were absent. Severe cardiac disease was the most notable pre-existing medical condition. Although the concentration of COHb in heart blood was low (3%), the concentration of cyanide was found to be 4.3mg/l in heart blood and 1.9mg/l in lung tissue. Cyanide was not found in the stomach contents. The BAC (blood alcohol concentration) was zero. Several prescribed drugs could also be demonstrated. The cause of death was deemed to be cyanide poisoning, possibly in conjunction with the pre-existing cardiac disease. The reported case illustrates that a lethal amount of cyanide can be inhaled during a fire even if there is no inhalation or swallowing of soot and no significant increase in the COHb level. In such cases, the demonstration of cyanide assumes significance as a vital sign indicating that the victim was alive when the fire started., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Although sexual activity can cause moderate stress, it can cause natural death in individuals with pre-existing illness. The aim of this study was to identify additional pre-existing health problems, sexual practices, and potential circumstances that may trigger fatal events., Methods: This medicolegal postmortem, retrospective, and prospective study is based on data of autopsies performed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the University hospital, Goethe-University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany., Outcomes: Identification of pre-existing health problems, sexual practices, and potential circumstances than could trigger fatal events., Results: From 1972 to 2016 (45 years) approximately 38,000 medicolegal autopsies were performed, of which 99 cases of natural death were connected to sexual activities (0.26%). Except for eight women, men represented most cases. The women's mean age was 45 years (median = 45) and the men's mean age was 57.2 years (median = 57). Causes of death were coronary heart disease (n = 28), myocardial infarction (n = 21) and reinfarction (n = 17), cerebral hemorrhage (n = 12), rupture of aortic aneurysms (n = 8), cardiomyopathy (n = 8), acute heart failure (n = 2), sudden cardiac arrest (n = 1), myocarditis (n = 1), and a combination of post myocardial infarction and cocaine intoxication (n = 1). Most cases showed increased heart weights and body mass indices. Death occurred mainly during the summer and spring and in the home of the deceased. If sexual partners were identified, 34 men died during or after sexual contact with a female prostitute, two cases at least two female prostitutes. Nine men died during or after sexual intercourse with their wife, in seven cases the sexual partner was a mistress, and in four cases the life partner. Five men died during homosexual contacts. Based on the situation 30 men were found in, death occurred during masturbation. Of the women, five died during intercourse with the life partner, two died during intercourse with a lover or friend, and in one case no information was provided., Clinical Translation: Natural deaths connected with sexual activity appear to be associated with male sex and pre-existing cardiovascular disorders. Most cases recorded occurred with mistresses, prostitutes, or during masturbation. If death occurs, the spouse or life partner might need psychological support., Strength and Limitations: To our knowledge, the present study contains the largest collection of postmortem data on natural deaths connected with sexual activities. However, the cases presented were of forensic interest; a larger number of undetected cases especially in the marital or stable relationship sector must be assumed., Conclusion: Patients should be informed about the circumstances that could trigger the "love death." Lange L, Zedler B, Verhoff MA, Parzeller M. Love Death-A Retrospective and Prospective Follow-Up Mortality Study Over 45 Years. J Sex Med 2017;14:1226-1231., (Copyright © 2017 International Society for Sexual Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Age estimation of insects like blow flies plays an important role in forensic entomology and can answer questions in regard to time of death. So far the focus is on the immature stages of these insects, but recently the adult fly became a target of interest. It has been established that the profile of specific cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) changes in a consistent pattern as adult insects age; thus, their analysis could be a promising tool for the age estimation of adult insects. We investigated the CHC n-pentacosane (nC25) on the legs of the adult blow flies Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The flies were kept at room temperature (17°C±2°C) and 12:12 L:D from Day 1 to Day 20 post-emergence. For each of five flies per species, the amount of nC25 on all legs was determined daily. The amounts of nC25 on C. vicina increased linearly (R 2 =0.949). No significant difference between sexes could be detected. While L. sericata showed the same linear increase in general, we found significant (p<0.001) differences in the amount of nC25 between males and females. Although the amounts of nC25 increased linearly for both sexes (males: R 2 =0.948; females: R 2 =0.920), female L. sericata produced more nC25 than males. An equation for the prediction of fly age is constructed from these data. Although the influence of various environmental factors, e.g., fluctuating temperatures, still needs to be tested, nC25 seems to be a promising tool for the age estimation of adult flies., (Copyright © 2017 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The lifestyle product 'Eezup!' appeared on the German market and promised to normalize energy metabolism. Among vitamins (B 1 , B 2 , B 6 , C, E and zinc), rice protein and fructose the addition of alcohol dehydrogenase and catalase enzymes is a novel approach. The product was advertised as capable of boosting the rate of alcohol elimination., Methods: Seventeen subjects (11 men, 6 women, 19-58 years old), participated in a two-way crossover drinking study. Unfiltered wheat beer (4.4g% alcohol content) was drank within one hour to reach blood alcohol concentrations of 1‰ (1g/kg whole blood). On one day "Eezup!" was taken according to the manufacturer's instructions before and after drinking which was substituted for a placebo on the second test day. Blood samples were taken during 9h and ethanol and congener alcohols were determined. A comparison of C max , t max , area under the curve (AUC) for ethanol and congener alcohols, and the hourly elimination rate of ethanol (β 60 ) was performed to investigate an effect of Eezup!., Results: Ethanol concentrations (Cmax) were in the range of 0,63-1,00‰ (median 0,85‰) and 0.62-1.22‰ (median 0.84‰) in the placebo and "Eezup!" condition, respectively, and not statistically different. Also t max (1-2.5h) and AUCs did not differ. The ethanol elimination rates were 0.16‰/h (0.14-0.19‰/h) and 0.17‰/h (0.14-0.22 ‰/h) in the placebo and "Eezup!" condition without significant difference. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the congener alcohols (1-propanol, isobutanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol) as well as of methanol did also not differ., Conclusions: The results of the present study failed to show any effect of the sobering product "Eezup!" on the amount of ethanol and congener alcohols absorbed (C max , t max, AUC) and on the ethanol elimination rate (β 60 )., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A routine question encountered in medicolegal practice is whether the death of a patient in proximity to a surgical procedure is due to medical malpractice. The case of a 62-year-old man who died two weeks after undergoing a VATS sleeve resection of the upper right lung lobe in conjunction with radical lymphadenectomy, a routine surgical procedure, is reported. To address the issue of medical malpractice, a forensic autopsy was ordered by the investigative authority. During the autopsy, the lungs were removed as a whole and fixed in formalin and were later dissected in cooperation with a thoracic surgeon. In the course of this dissection, a bronchovascular fistula, which had led to the occlusion of the bronchial system with clotted blood, was discovered. Bronchovascular fistulas are a rare complication of bronchial sleeve resections. Because this surgical complication is essentially always fatal, it is highly pertinent to medicolegal practice. The presented case report also lists other important complications associated with bronchial anastomosis and elucidates a pragmatic approach to obtaining an expert clinical assessment of possible medical malpractice after operations through the example of a dissection performed in cooperation with a thoracic surgeon., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In forensic entomology, the methods of sampling, killing, and storing entomological samples can affect larval age estimation, and, hence, the estimation of the minimum post-mortem interval. In the existing manuals, there is a certain amount of heterogeneity regarding methods and the recommendations for best practice in forensic entomology are insufficiently validated. This study evaluated three different length-measurement methods for larval stages and examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on the larval length of two forensically important blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina. The three different measuring methods were a) a ruler with a 0.1mm scale, b) a geometrical micrometer, and c) a computer-aided stereomicroscope. They were used to measure the length of L 1 -L 3 C. vicina larvae and detect no significant differences. This supports the view that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reliable results in forensic entomology. Newly hatched larvae of L. sericata and C. vicina were killed with hot water (HW) and divided into two equal subsamples. Lengths of all larvae were measured immediately after killing, then every 24h until day 4, and once more after 7days of storage in ≥70%-ethanol. L. sericata larvae only showed significant changes in length in the HW group stored at room temperature. After 4 and 7days of storage, these 24-h- and 72-h-old larvae showed a significant decrease in length compared with those in a fridge at 6°C. This decrease can, however, be considered a negligible natural variation without forensically relevant consequences for larval age estimation of L. sericata samples. For C. vicina, an increase in length was observed over time. This was significant only for younger larvae (24-48h old) stored in 70%-ethanol. This variance in length can lead to a wrong estimation of age; however, only for larvae stored in 70%-ethanol, not for those stored in 96%-ethanol., Novelty Statement: We examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on two forensically important blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina. For the latter species we additionally were evaluating three different length measurement methods. The results of both experiments suggest that it is possible to kill and store fly larvae directly in (not hot) ≥70%-ethanol. This simplifies the sampling and storing of fly evidence at the crime scene. We also compared the influence of three different measuring methods for estimating the length of L1-L3 C. vicina larvae by using a) a ruler with a 0,1mm scaling, b) a geometrical micrometer and c) a computer-aided stereomicroscope. No significant differences were detected, supporting the view, that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reliable results. This study helps to simplify the sampling and evaluation of entomological evidence and to backup or questioning existing guidelines and best practice recommendations., (Copyright © 2016 The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Over the last decades, studies on juvenile development of forensically important Diptera were performed by using non-human tissues (e.g., beef liver) as a nutrition medium. Such developmental data are used as a reference in determining the age of juvenile necrophagous insects sampled from a human body and thereby to estimate the minimum postmortem interval (PMI min ). Despite the acceptance of these studies in the forensic community, some might ask whether such data appropriately reflect the growth of blow flies on human tissue. We, therefore, studied larval growth rates and development times of Calliphora vicina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on human muscle tissue as well as on pork loin, pork liver, and minced pork at 25 °C. Larval growth rates were significantly (p < 0.001) slower on pork loin and pork liver compared to human muscle tissue. Nonetheless, the time at which the examined developmental landmarks "post-feeding larvae," "pupae," and "adult fly" were reached was similar for all tissues, with significant delays in first fly eclosion only for specimens reared on pork loin (p = 0.027) and pork liver (p = 0.036). Our results highlight the fact that not all porcine tissues are similarly suitable for producing sound growth data for necrophagous Diptera. At present, we recommend the use of minced pork as a non-human nutrition medium, since our results show no developmental differences on this diet compared to human tissue.

Age estimation of adult flies could extend the possible window of time for calculating the minimal postmortem interval (PMI min ) by means of entomological methods. Currently, this is done by estimating the time required by necrophagous Diptera to reach certain juvenile developmental landmarks, and the method only works until the end of metamorphosis and emergence of the adult fly. Particularly at indoor crime scenes, being able to estimate the age of trapped adult flies would be an important tool with which to extend the calculable PMI beyond the developmental period. Recently, several promising age-dependent morphological and physiological characteristics of adult insects have been investigated in medical and forensic entomology, but the results are still preliminary and restricted to a few species. We examined adults of the forensically relevant blow fly species Calliphora vicina and investigated the fluorescence levels of pteridine, a group of metabolites that accumulates in the eyes during aging. From Day 1 to Day 25 post-emergence, flies were kept at three different temperature regimes (20°C, 25°C, and fluctuating temperatures in the context of a field study) and 12:12 L:D. From Day 1 until Day 7, the fluorescence of pteridine was determined on a daily basis, and thereafter, every three days. The achieved fly age was multiplied with the relevant temperature and converted into accumulated degree-days (ADD). The fluorescence level of pteridine increased linear with increasing ADD (females: R 2 =0.777; males: R 2 =0.802). The difference between sexes was significant (p<0.001). Neither head weight nor temperature had an effect on pteridine fluorescence. Because the variation in pteridine fluorescence increased with increasing ADD, it seems favorable to combine several aging methods for more precise results. In context, we emphasize that different body parts of the same specimen can be used to analyze cuticular hydrocarbons (legs), pteridine fluorescence (head/eyes), and gonotrophic stage (female abdomen)., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The Frankfurt model is described to exemplify the teaching and training concepts implemented at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt am Main up to 2015. The Frankfurt model describes a comprehensive, networked teaching system aiming at an interdisciplinary training. Interdisciplinarity is a domain of forensic medicine as a broadly diversified subject related to various scientific disciplines. The importance of the medicolegal triad (research, teaching, services) rooted in the university setting, on which the success of this interdisciplinary teaching and training concept is based, is illustrated. Sufficient funding is required to maintain this medicolegal triad, and the consequences of potential reductions due to fiscal reasons are outlined.

When human bones are found it is important to establish whether they belong to one or more individuals. Osteological examinations assessing morphological characteristics provide an important tool, in particular for a first appraisal. In the reported case, an isolated, toothless mandible that had been found in a river appeared to be too large to match a skull found in the same context. Moreover, shortly before and after the mandible had been found, two headless corpses had been recovered from the same river. The initial conclusion was, therefore, that the mandible and the skull belonged to different individuals. Forensic DNA-testing confirmed, however, that the mandible, the skull, and one of the bodies were from the same individual, who could later be identified through DNA comparison with two biological children. So far, current knowledge has only been that mandibles may erroneously be considered too small by morphological assessment to be compatible with a found skull, as reported in a paper by Reichs (1989). The reported case establishes that the opposite phenomenon may also occur. The findings show that more extensive studies investigating the correlation between mandible and cranial base in a moden population seem to be necessary.

After the discovery of skeletonized human remains, the estimation of stature is an important element of the so-called "biological profile". Typically, long bone lengths are used in regression formulas. If long bones are not available, predictions of stature cannot be made. Human skulls are often the subject of forensic osteological examination, sometimes even detached. Therefore, it seems reasonable to search for skull measurements that have a sufficiently good correlation to stature. The aim of the study presented was to measure odonto-stomatological parameters using post-mortem CT data to check whether the esti- mation of stature was possible on this basis. Three classic tooth dimensions (MD, BL, ZL), two diagonal tooth dimensions (MBDL, DBML) first described by Lund and Mörnstad in 1999, two tooth dimensions defined for the first time in this study (MKDO, DKMO), the mesiodistal index (MDS) and also the palatal arch dimensions (arch length, arch width, molar length and dental length) - each at maxilla and mandible - were digitally measured on a total of 799 teeth of 48 virtual 3-D-reconstructed skulls (33 males and 15 females). For most of the aforementioned measurements no statistically significant relation to stature was found. There were positive correlations by Pearson at a significance level of 99 % (2-sided) at three measurements: ZL 15, MKDO 14 and MKDO 15. Positive correlations by Pearson at a significance level of 95 % (2-sided) could be determined for eight measurements, but an applicable regression formula could not be calculated for any of the parameters. Despite a statistical correlation of a few teeth parameters with body length, they must be considered unsuitable for estimating stature.

Approximately during the 30th week of pregnancy, a woman gave birth to a still-born child in a hospital. After first citing an extraneous cause for the premature still-birth, the woman later admitted to having self-induced the abortion by injecting the antiseptic Rivanol ® (active agent: ethacridine lactate) through her abdominal wall into the amniotic cavity. The investigating authorities ordered an autopsy of the fetus along with additional toxicological investigations. To the naked eye, no obvious cause of death was apparent. The main autopsy findings were four skin defects (puncture/stabbing wounds) on the ball of the fetus's left thumb, with slight bleeding around the punctures and into the underlying fatty tissue, and a yellowish discoloration of the fetus's body surface, especially of the umbilical cord and fingernails. On basis of the results, the child would have been viable. Femoral vein blood and urine from the fetus were analyzed for ethacridine, as were an amniotic fluid sample and maternal blood and urine samples, which had been collected as evidence. The concentration of ethacridine in the amniotic fluid was 16mg/l. In the postmortem fetal blood and urine samples, the concentrations were 0.36mg/l and 0.34mg/l, respectively, while concentrations of 0.091mg/l and 0.42mg/l, respectively, were found in the serum and urine samples from the mother. In many countries, foremost in China, ethacridine lactate, to which both mother and child are exposed, is widely used as safe abortion method. Although the ethacridine concentrations found in blood and urine samples of the mother in our case are consistent with published values, we believe to be the first to report postmortem ethacridine concentrations in a fetus. While exposure to ethacridine is not toxicologically relevant for the mother, it is fatal for the fetus because it causes the placental decidua capsularis to separate from the decidua parietalis or decidua placentalis, respectively. Prostaglandins that are then produced induce labor. In medicolegal contexts, the proof for an abortion through the administration of ethacridine lactate lies in the typical yellow discoloration of the fetus in conjunction with the toxicological demonstration of the substance in fetal body fluids, and if possible also in maternal body fluids., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.)

The assessment of ossification of the medial clavicular epiphysis plays a decisive role in the forensic age estimation of living subjects. Primarily for reasons of minimizing the radiation exposure currently associated with such evaluations, non-ionizing methods would be an advance.This study pursued the question whether full union of the medial clavicular epiphysis, visualized by high-frequency sonography, is a reliable criterion for age-threshold determinations. The ossification stage of the medial clavicular epiphysis of 215 female and 195 male volunteers, aged between 14 and 26 years, was evaluated in bilateral sonograms. Stage 4, defined as complete fusion by Schulz et al. (Int J Legal Med 122:163-167, 2008), was observed on at least one body side in 48 of 334 individuals younger than 21 years (14.4 %) and in 32 of 264 individuals younger than 18 years (12.1 %).With the high-frequency ultrasound used in this study, even the smallest convexities of the medial clavicular ending can be visualized. This may have led to overestimation of the ossification stage. It is not clear whether any observed roundings in the sonograms should actually be interpreted in terms of stages 3 and 4 as defined by Schulz. Also, due to the low penetration depth of high-frequency ultrasound waves, epiphyseal plate residues and ossification centers may have remained undetected. Reliable differentiation of the stages 1-4 with high-frequency sonography is thus difficult, and the results suggest that this method is not a radiation-free alternative to computed tomography, the current gold standard for determining age thresholds.

Even when human skeletal remains are found in contexts indicative of body disposal after homicide, none of the bones may manifest injuries. When skeletons are incomplete, there are two possibilities, the injured bones are missing or none were injured. This leads to the question how frequently bones are injured during homicide, where the injuries tend to be placed, and whether the frequency of injury is related to the type of homicide. To answer these questions, the postmortem reports from all autopsies performed for homicide victims at the Institute of Legal Medicine at the University Hospital in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, between 1994 and 2014, were retrospectively evaluated for bony injuries discovered during autopsy. In 90 cases, a preliminary postmortem computed tomography (pmCT) examination had been performed. The cases were categorized into the following five groups by type of fatal trauma: blunt force, sharp force, gunshot injury, strangulation, or other. In total, the postmortem reports for 897 homicides (527 male, 370 female) were evaluated. The number of victims per trauma category were sharp force, 309; blunt force, 179; gunshot injury, 242; strangulation, 92; and other, 75. Bony injuries had been reported in 70.9 % of the homicides. The "gunshot" category contained the highest proportion of victims with bony injuries (92.6 %). With 80.4 %, the second-highest proportion of victims with bony injuries was in the "blunt force" category, followed by 66.3 % of victims in the "sharp force" group. In contrast, with 53.3 %, the second-lowest proportion of victims with bony injuries was in the "strangulation" category, which contained a preponderance of female victims, followed by 17.3 % of victims with bony injuries in the "other" category. Bony injuries thus occurred in the majority of homicides. Forensic osteological analysis should, therefore, always be performed on badly decomposed human remains. Where necessary, the additional use of visualization techniques, in particular, pmCT, or maceration may be considered. The absence of bony injuries does not rule out homicide; e.g., in strangulations, bony injuries are manifest in only half the victims, even when the skeleton is intact. The relevant structures are also easily lost to decomposition, scavenging, or scattering.

In assessing abstinence from drug or alcohol abuse, hair analysis plays an important role. Cosmetic hair treatment influences the content of deposited drugs which is not always detectable during analysis. Since oxidation of melanin leads to an increase in fluorescence, a microscopic method was developed to distinguish natural from cosmetically treated hair. For validation, natural hair samples were treated with different types of cosmetics and inspected by fluorescence microscopy. Hair samples from 20 volunteers with documented cosmetic treatment and as a proof of concept 100 hair samples from forensic cases were analyzed by this method. Apart from autofluorescence with excitation at 365 nm, no obvious fluorescence was observed in untreated hair samples. Tinting and a natural plant product had no influence on fluorescence, but dyeing procedures including oxidation led to a marked increase in fluorescence. Proof of cosmetic treatment was achieved in hair samples from the 20 volunteers. In 100 forensic cases, 13 samples were characterized as oxidatively treated, which was in accordance with the respective disclosure except for one case where treatment was not admitted. This fluorescence microscopic procedure proved to be fast, easy, and reliable to identify oxidatively treated hair samples, which must be considered especially in evaluating cases of negative drug results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., (Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Skin signs in acute necrotizing pancreatitis (e. g., Cullen's and Grey-Turner's sign) have been described in clinical medicine. The aim of the present study was to evaluate if, and how often, skin signs were noted in autopsy-confirmed cases of necrotizing pancreatitis. In a first step, the literature was extensively reviewed to establish which skin signs have so far been described in acute pancreatitis cases. As a second step, the reports of 16,000 autopsies performed at the Institutes of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt am Main and Giessen, Germany, were retrospectively evaluated. Twenty cases with necrotizing pancreatitis were found. In almost all of these, necrotizing pancreatitis was - either solely or in combination with other factors - the cause of death. In three cases, discolorations of the skin were found that were considered to be skin signs due to their location. At least in the evaluated medicolegal autopsy pool, skin signs in necrotizing pancreatitis thus appear to be a rare occurrence. Nevertheless, in cases of unexpected death, particularly of individuals with a history of alcohol abuse, necrotizing pancreatitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hematomas possibly attributed to trauma.

The determination of the minimum post-mortem interval (PMImin) based on the age estimation of necrophagous blowflies is an established forensic technique. Blow fly larvae are able to continue their development to the adult insect on buried corpses. However, it is not clear which factors influence their viability under these circumstances or to what extent. This was investigated in the present paper for Calliphora vicina, one of the most common blowflies in Germany. In respect to forensic casework, an explicit question was if reference values obtained by rearing blowfly larvae under laboratory conditions could be applied to individuals growing in a shallow grave. Under variable ambient temperature conditions, hatched flies exhibited a slightly lower length of the wing veins (0.2 mm) and of the tibia (0.1 mm) than the larvae which had been buried. The period of development, expressed as accumulated degree days (ADD), was 399.8 in buried larvae and 406.1 in larvae not covered with soil as control. Under constant temperature conditions no significant differences in the body length of the larvae and the average time of development (20.3 respectively 20.4 days) was observed. The results of the present study thus suggest that the data published on the development of C. vicina larvae can be used to calculate the PMI of a corpse found in a shallow grave of not more than 20 cm depth.

In recent decades, forensic entomology has become a useful tool in criminal investigations all over the world. Species-specific identification of flies plays an important role in this field and is obligatory for accurate calculation of the post-mortem interval. However, not all important colonizers of a corpse can be identified by common morphological keys. Due to similar morphology and the lack of keys for some taxa, especially for immature stages, DNA barcoding has become more popular during the last recent years. This development is particularly important for countries like Thailand, in which forensic entomology is a newly developing research area and which faces several challenges such as a high biodiversity of fly species. The most commonly used barcoding region in forensic entomology, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (coI) gene, as well as a 1000-bp-long region of the 28S nuclear rRNA gene, was used to analyze and establish the molecular barcodes of 13 different species of flies of forensic relevance in northern Thailand.

$Human skulls frequently represent the only skeletal remains of an unidentified corpse available for forensic osteological examination. Skulls are very useful in reliably determining sex and also yield fairly good clues to an individual's age and ancestry. To date, however, a sufficiently accurate correlation between skull measurements and stature could not be found. In contrast, the results of a study by Rao et al. (2009) seemed to be promising, by finding a good correlation between the length of the coronal and sagittal sutures and stature in a male Indian population. In an attempt to verify the transferability of their results to a Central European population, the authors measured the length of the sagittal and coronal sutures with a tape measure along with body height in the course of 117 autopsies performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Giessen during 2009 and 2010. The age of the individuals measured ranged from 15 to 96 years (mean value 52.8, median 51 years). Of these individuals, 82 were male and 35 were female. The length of the sagittal suture with respect to body length yielded a correlation coefficient of only r = 0.045 (p = 0.617) in the regression analysis. Similar results were found for the coronal suture: In this case the correlation coefficient was r = 0.015. With an assumed maximum permissible probability of error of α = 0.05, none of the performed regression analyses were found to be statistically significant. As expected, our results suggest that neither the length of the sagittal nor the length of the coronal suture is suitable for a forensic estimation of stature for Central European individuals.

Differentiation between accessory sutures and fractures in the skull of an infant can be difficult. Apart from the regular sutures there is a multitude of variations that may be mistaken for a fracture line. Such variations include for instance the intraparietal suture between the two ossification centers of the parietal bone or the mendosal suture between the supraoccipital and interparietal bone of the occipital squama. The presented case refers to an approximately 20-month-old female child. During autopsy, a discontinuity in the right paramedian posterior cranial fossa parallel to the internal occipital crest with connection to the foramen magnum was observed. The macroscopic findings suggested a fracture line because of its course. However, neither a hemorrhage in the soft tissue nor callus formation was discernible. The discontinuity was preserved with the adjacent parts of the occipital bone for further histological examination. In the report of a cranial CT, which was carried out five days before the child's death, an accessory suture paramedially in the right posterior cranial fossa was described. When the clinical CT records were re-evaluated, a similar discontinuity at the corresponding position on the other side was detected, though of noticeably shorter length. Additionally, the preserved occipital bone fragment including the discontinuity was histologically processed. In the radiological literature, precise (radiological) criteria for differential diagnosis are indicated. A zigzag pattern with sclerotic borders and a bilateral and fairly symmetric occurrence indicate a suture, whereas a sharp lucency with non-sclerotic edges and a unilateral occurrence indicate a fracture. Taking all the findings into account, the depicted discontinuity was regarded as an accessory suture. This case demonstrates that differentiation between a fracture and an accessory suture may be difficult in the autopsy of a child and underlines the importance of a postmortem CT examination.

Forensic photographs not only need to be unaltered and authentic and capture context-relevant images, along with certain minimum requirements for image sharpness and information density, but color accuracy also plays an important role, for instance, in the assessment of injuries or taphonomic stages, or in the identification and evaluation of traces from photos. The perception of color not only varies subjectively from person to person, but as a discrete property of an image, color in digital photos is also to a considerable extent influenced by technical factors such as lighting, acquisition settings, camera, and output medium (print, monitor). For these reasons, consistent color accuracy has so far been limited in digital photography. Because images usually contain a wealth of color information, especially for complex or composite colors or shades of color, and the wavelength-dependent sensitivity to factors such as light and shadow may vary between cameras, the usefulness of issuing general recommendations for camera capture settings is limited. Our results indicate that true image colors can best and most realistically be captured with the SpyderCheckr technical calibration tool for digital cameras tested in this study. Apart from aspects such as the simplicity and quickness of the calibration procedure, a further advantage of the tool is that the results are independent of the camera used and can also be used for the color management of output devices such as monitors and printers. The SpyderCheckr color-code patches allow true colors to be captured more realistically than with a manual white balance tool or an automatic flash. We therefore recommend that the use of a color management tool should be considered for the acquisition of all images that demand high true color accuracy (in particular in the setting of injury documentation).

Background: In the practice of legal medicine in Germany, the assessment of brain death is of minor importance and attracts little attention. However, since several years, international criticism on the concept of brain death has culminated. By reviewing literature and the results of a questionnaire distributed among the participants of the 93rd Annual Congress of the Germany Society of Legal Medicine, the state of knowledge and the current views on brain death were evaluated., Materials and Methods: Literature search of recent publications regarding brain death was performed (PubMed database, references of legal medicine, Report of the President's Council on Bioethics, USA 2008). A questionnaire was developed and distributed among the participants of the Congress., Results: The assumption that individual and brain death are synonymous is criticized. Internationally, there are trends to harmonize the very different clinical criteria to assess brain death. The diagnostic advantage of novel techniques such as CT angiography is controversially discussed. It becomes apparent that procedures which record the blood flow and perfusion of the brain will be applied more in the future. Regrettably, these developments are not described in the literature of legal medicine. Moreover, among German forensic scientists, different views concerning brain death exist. The majority favors its equivalent treatment with individual death. The thanatological background can be improved concerning certain aspects of brain death as well as its legal implications., Conclusion: Teaching and research in legal medicine should include the subject brain death. Expertise in forensic science may contribute to the interdisciplinary discussion on brain death. The transfer of actual knowledge, also on disputed ethical aspects of thanatology, to physicians of all disciplines is of great importance.

Species identification plays an important role in forensic entomology and is mandatory for an accurate calculation of the minimum post-mortem interval. Many important Diptera and Coleoptera taxa of the cadaver community can already be identified by common barcoding approaches, i.e., by sequencing a 658bp region in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (coI) gene. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of reference barcodes for species, in particular, that can be found on cadavers at later decomposition stages. Flies of the family Piophilidae illustrate this gap of knowledge perfectly. Due to the fact that a reliable morphological identification key for the immature stages of this flies is still missing and the immature stages of many piophilids cannot be assigned to a certain species, there is need for additional tools to identify forensically relevant taxa. We collected adult piophilid specimens at 10 locations in five European countries: Spain (n=3 locations), Germany (n=3), Portugal (n=2), Poland (n=1) and Switzerland (n=1). Apart from the coI barcoding region, we additionally analyzed a 398bp long region of the nuclear elongation factor 1 alpha (ef1a) and subsequently established the molecular identifier for nine piophilid species. In addition, we present the molecular phylogeny of the examined taxa., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The term "kidney shrinkage", which is used in both pathological anatomy and clinical contexts, is not uniformly defined. In medicolegal practice, it is particularly important whether or not a cause of death can be inferred from this diagnosis. If this were the case, a shrunken kidney determined in a forensic autopsy would obtain the same significance as a competing cause of death. International medical journals and German-language textbooks were searched for definitions of the various terms used to denote this condition, and the definitions were reassessed. The term "kidney shrinkage" was found to have historical roots and has further evolved since the 19th century. Although the first use of the term could not be determined with certainty, Bright (1789-1858) appears to be one of the first to use it in describing kidney disease. Definitions given in modern textbooks are based on kidney function, size, or macromorphology. However, these definitions lack uniformity and are often unsubstantiated. Because of its evocative power, the use of the historically coined term "kidney shrinkage" appears justified, at least as part of the medicolegal practitioner's jargon, to describe kidneys that have an uneven surface, decreased renal parenchyma, and a weight of less than 80 g, even if the term does not allow deductions about the degree of renal insufficiency and, thus, the significance of kidney shrinkage as the cause of death. The evaluation of such aspects requires histological analysis or referral to the results of clinical chemistry analyses that may have been performed while the individual was still alive.

Due to the high ambient temperature, sauna deaths show a few confounding particularities, such as an accelerated onset of the postmortem changes, that can make correct assessment of the manner of death difficult and severely constrain the accuracy of post- mortem interval estimates. This retrospective study, performed at the medicolegal institutes in Hesse, Germany, reviewed all autopsy reports from the years 1994-2014 for sauna-related deaths. 9 relevant cases were found involving one woman and eight men aged between 52 and 80 years (mean and median value: 67 years). Of the individuals who had died of a natural cause, four were found to have had coronary heart disease, which, in the setting of heart hypertrophy and exposure to high temperatures, ultimately led to cardiac failure. In three other cases, a non-natural cause of death had been diagnosed; however, all were attributable to accidents. In two of these, blood alcohol concentrations (BAC) of over two per mil were found. In our opinion, the manner of death should be classified as undetermined in sauna-related fatalities. Such cases require a court-ordered autopsy to reliably identify the actual cause of death.

To investigate which fungi can be found during forensic autopsies, a PubMed literature review was done in regard to fungal growth on decomposed human bodies. Unfortunately, the existing data is limited and not all fungi were identified to the species level. We, therefore, collected skin samples with macroscopically visible fungal growth from 23 autopsy cases in Germany and identified the fungi to the species level by molecular methods. The identified species included Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans, which pose an allergenic risk, especially to persons with underlying lung diseases. Because safety standards are lacking, we recommend the use of respiratory protection during exhumations and forensic autopsies, when fungal growth is noted. With regard to the future, a database was set up which could possibly be used as a forensic tool to determine the time of death.

In medicolegal practice, evidence of trauma or damage on human skeletons or single bones raises the question whether this was inflicted in an antemortem, perimortem, or postmortem time frame. Trauma that occurred around the time of death, i. e., perimortem trauma, is of special forensic interest, as it can yield clues about the manner and cause of death. Perimortem traumas thus need to be carefully distinguished both from antemortem injuries that were evidently survived (these can still be useful for identification purposes) and from postmortem damage, as may occur during retrieval of remains. This study offers an up-to-date review of the specialist literature, e. g. textbooks and pubmed-listed publications, identifying differentiation criteria for ante- and perimortem traumas and postmortem damage. The results that are useful for practice in actual medicolegal casework are presented, and an overview of all macroscopically visible criteria (including simple magnifications, i. e., magnifying glass) that can be used to distinguish between ante- and perimortem traumas on the one side, and postmortem damage on the other is given. The difficulty of distinguishing antemortem trauma and postmortem damage from perimortem trauma rises sharply the closer in time they were inflicted to the time of the death event. Additional postmortem changes due to exposure of the bones to the surrounding deposition conditions may also occur after the relevant postmortem damage or antemortem trauma was inflicted and further complicate the problem. In this context, the "perimortem interval" and the "Fracture Freshness Index" (FFI) are discussed as means to classify the time frame of traumas.

The analysis of insect evidence is often used in death investigations as the development of necrophagous insect species can be used to determine a minimum post-mortem interval (PMImin). Usually, the PMImin estimations are based on the age estimation of larvae developed on the corpse. So far, age estimation mostly relies on length or weight measurement of the larvae. These measurements are then compared to species-specific reference growth data obtained from laboratory studies. However, length and weight do not always represent the best developmental markers to provide accurate and precise age estimates for PMImin calculation, especially for post-feeding third-instar larvae which decrease in size. Therefore, more growth markers are required to improve age estimation not only for post-feeding larvae but also for all larval stages. As the analysis of temporally regulated genes proved suitable for age prediction in blow fly pupae, we examined the gene expression patterns of six genes (15&#95;2, 2014192, EcdR, AR, hsp90 and actin) during larval development of Calliphora vicina at three constant temperatures and analysed the effect of a combination of morphological and molecular age markers on statistical models of development. EcdR, AR and 15&#95;2 showed reliable tendencies to classify the post-feeding stage more precisely, and inclusion of gene expression data in models of development improved the statistical fit of the model. Nevertheless, for depicting the first larval stages and for quantifying the onset of the post-feeding stage more accurately, results of this preliminary study should be supported by searching for more informative genes.

Developmental data of necrophagous blow fly species can be used to estimate a minimum postmortem interval (PMImin) in death investigations by estimating the age of larvae sampled from the cadaver. The most important parameter used in this age estimation is the increase in larval length during growth. Larval length can be compared to species-specific reference data to get an age estimate for the larval specimen. The exploration of this type of data and the use of an appropriate statistical method are the major challenges in evaluating forensic entomological data sets. In Europe, Calliphora vicina is one of the most dominant species with forensic entomological relevance. Despite its frequency and importance, there are currently no published developmental studies for German populations of this blow fly that can be referenced for larval age estimations. This is regrettable because the geographical origin of different populations may lead to phenotypic plasticity in the same species and population-specific growth patterns that differ from published data sets. To address this shortcoming, the objective of the present research was to generate growth data for C. vicina which can be used for age estimation in German casework. We present, for the first time, local developmental data for the larval stages of German C. vicina, reared at three constant temperatures (15, 20 and 25°C) and compare the results with published studies on C. vicina development from elsewhere. To analyse the development we chose a quantile mixed effects model because of its robustness and insensitivity towards outliers. Quantile regression was developed as an extension of the linear model to estimate rates of change in all parts of the distribution of a response variable and to discover more useful predictive relationships between variables. By applying a linear quantile mixed effect model, we estimated the 0.1 and 0.9 quantile functions of the larval age for each temperature. Graphically, these quantile functions act like reference bands and therefore, plots for larval stages 1-3 can be used to estimate the age of a larva. Nevertheless, the post-feeding stage still remains difficult to describe with linear models and need to be further investigated. A comparison of the results from this present study with the currently applied methods for age estimation of C. vicina still demonstrates the importance of collecting growth rates for local blow fly populations and of standardising experimental designs and statistical analyses., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Determining a post-mortem interval using the weight or length of blow fly larvae to calculate the insect's age is well established. However, to date, there are only a handful studies dealing with age estimation of blow fly pupae, in which weight or length cannot be used as a relevant parameter. The analysis of genetic markers, which indicate a certain developmental stage, can extend the period for a successful post-mortem interval determination. In order to break new ground in the field of age determination of forensic relevant blow flies, we performed a de novo transcriptome analysis of Calliphora vicina pupae at 15 different developmental stages. Obtained data serve as base to establish molecular age determination techniques. We used a new, deeper, and more cost-effective digital gene expression profiling method called MACE (Massive Analysis of cDNA Ends). We generated 15 libraries out of 15 developmental stages, with 3-8 million reads per library. In total, 53,539 distinct transcripts were detected, and 7548 were annotated to known insect genes. The analysis provides high-resolution gene expression profiles of all covered transcripts, which were used to identify differentially expressed genetic markers as candidates for a molecular age estimation of C. vicina pupae. Moreover, the analysis allows insights into gene activity of pupal development and the relationship between different genes interesting for insect development in general., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

If the order of a judge to take a blood sample can only be obtained with a marked delay after the incident, evidence proving that a suspect had been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs of abuse may be lost. The evaluation of blood analysis results from the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt/Main from the years 2012-2014 shows that in 1.6 to 11.6% of positive cases, the drug concentrations were near the legal limits (20.2% of alcohol-positive and 7.5% of illicit drugs-positive samples). A loss of evidence can thus be expected in a large number of cases when the time between the police check of a driver and the collection of a blood sample increases. Blood concentrations of alcohol and drugs of abuse, especially tetrahydrocannabinol, cocaine, methamphetamine, and morphine, may already have dropped significantly after a delay of only half an hour. These delays are typically due to the time elapsing until the order to take a blood sample has been obtained from a judge and a medical doctor becomes available and arrives at the police station to draw a blood sample. The recommendation of medicolegal experts is to keep the time between police check of a suspect and blood sampling as short as possible. In routine cases, a realistic maximum of one hour should not be exceeded.

The skull presents a variety of morphological traits suitable for sex discrimination due to the degree of their development. The vertical frontal inclination has been established. as another marker of sex discrimination, as a steep forehead is considered as a female and a receding frontal inclination as a male attribute. In the literature, there are many different ways to define the morphognostic term "frontal inclination" and "forehead profile" respectively. As part of the project "Digital Forensic Osteology" definitions of the frontal inclination commonly found in the literature have been tested with regard to their applicability to virtual skulls based on post-mortem CT data. The actual angle measurements were carried out automatically using software developed by the authors of this article. For the investigations, profile images of skulls generated from volume-rendered CT data were used in which anthropometric measuring points had been set manually. With the help of discriminant analysis it was tested whether sex discrimination on virtual skulls based on defined variables can be carried out with sufficient sensitivity. The measurement accuracy of the defined variables on the volume-rendered images turned out to be good. No significant sex differences regarding the tested variables were found. Using all the four selected variables the sensitivity for female skulls was only about 66%, whereas for male skulls it was not much higher than the rate of coincidence (53%). The results of this pilot study suggest that apart from extending the sample size the inclusion of additional variables based on strict consideration of validity and reliability criteria should be critically tested.

A 26-year-old man, who was on probation, was found dead in his home by his mother. Insulin vials and 2 insulin pens, which the man's stepfather (an insulin-dependent diabetic) had been missing for over a week, were found next to the deceased. The circumstances suggested suicide by an injected insulin overdose. At the time of the autopsy, the corpse showed already marked signs of autolysis. Clinical chemical tests confirmed the injection of insulin, but indicated hyperglycemia at the time of death. Toxicological analyses revealed that the man had consumed amphetamine, cannabinoids, and tramadol in the recent past. Histological examination finally revealed extensive bronchopneumonia as the cause of death. The most plausible explanation for the results of the autopsy and the additional examinations was an injection of insulin as a failed attempt of self-treatment. It is conceivable that the man had discovered by a rapid test that he was a diabetic, but had decided not to go to a doctor to avoid disclosure of parole violation due to continued drug abuse. He may have misinterpreted the symptoms caused by his worsening bronchitis and the developing bronchopneumonia as symptoms of a diabetic metabolic status and may have felt compelled to treat himself with insulin.

The increased number of adolescents and young adults with unknown or inaccurately given date of birth is a current issue in justice and legal medicine. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which third molar calcification stages assessed on panoramic X-rays could be useful as additional criteria for forensic age estimation in living individuals, focusing on the legally important ages 17 and 18. In a retrospective multi-center study, the developmental stage of each individual's third molar was analyzed using Demirjian's scale in 2360 cases. Additionally, sex, age and ancestry were assessed. Individuals with the lowest calcification stage of all present molars in stage H were ≥18 years with a likelihood of ≥99.05% in the female (n=388), and ≥99.24% in the male (n=482) population. The lowest calcification stage of all present third molars proved to be useful as an additional reliable criterion for the determination of an age ≥18 years., (Copyright © 2014 Forensic Science Society. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We describe a cheap and efficient method for filling the vascular space of ex vivo tissue samples with a radiopaque material that can be used in computed tomography imaging. The filling material consists of curd, water, and a radiological contrast agent. Viscosity ranges and the degree of attenuation of X-rays of the filling material can be easily adjusted to the requirements of a specific application. The method is non-destructive and without negative effects on subsequent histological examinations., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)