Vol 7, No 3 (2021)

Death prescription evaluation is still one of the most difficult issues in forensic medical practice. This review aimed to assess the potential use of micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) in death prescription diagnosis. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that are 18–24 nucleotides long and are well preserved in the eukaryotic cells. Their role is to regulate gene expression in biological processes during the post-transcriptional phase. MiRNA was proven to be effective in clinical medicine for various disease diagnoses, with its possible use in forensic medicine as a marker for death prescription assessment due to its low molecular weight, tissue-specific expression, and high resistance to external and internal environmental factors. The analysis results of scientific literature revealed that the internal characteristics of miRNA molecules and their high resistance to degradation make them suitable as biomarkers for the duration of death assessment, especially in the late postmortem period; however, further large-scale studies on cadaveric material are necessary.

Background: The article aims to assess the possibilities of innovative research methods in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion analysis (EDS) forensic medicine. The described methods were used in experimental studies of a gunshot retrograde injury. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the particles formed during the destruction of a semi-shell shell and an obstacle (triplex car glass) when fired from a hunting Saiga carbine with 5.45×39 cartridges. Material and methods: Triplex windshields from BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars were used as barriers. The shots were fired from a hunting Saiga carbine with a 5.45×39 cartridge from a distance of 10 m. As targets, white calico with dimensions of 100×150 cm was used, while stretched on a wooden frame or fixed on a chipboard. The distance between the target and the barrier was 100 cm, which approximately corresponded to the distance from the car windshield to the driver and the passenger in the front seat. The studies were conducted using the SEM Hitachi FlexSem1000 II and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer Bruker Quantax 80. Results: Microscopy helped identify seven types of foreign bodies on the surface of the target, which were the products of destruction of the fire projectile and the barrier: glass fragments, glass fragments, crumbly depositions of glass particles, glass fragments caked with the projectile metal, fragments of the projectile, spherical metal particles, and overlays of molten metal in the form of puddles. EDS helped determine the elemental composition of the barrier particles, fire shell, and the overlap of target particles. Conclusion. The experimental study demonstrated that the use of SEM and EDS significantly increased the effectiveness and evidence-based expert research value while solving the problems of causing damage through the barrier-the windscreen of modern cars.

Background: The Henssge method is still the main thermometric method to determine postmortem interval. However, its existing software implementations are characterized by several disadvantages associated with copying simplified nomographic variants of the original mathematical models without any optimization attempts, as well as procedural imperfection in finding the roots of implicit functions. In this paper, methods are proposed for optimizing solutions to the Henssge mathematical models and determine their errors, as well as software application implementation. Aim: Optimization of the Henssge algorithm and development of a series of applications based on the obtained data, designed to determine postmortem interval. Material and methods: Methods for solving double exponential Henssge models and determining their errors based on computational mathematics and regression modeling using the least-squares method with subsequent implementation in the format of computer programs in C# language optimized. Results: The discrete nature of residual variance changes of the double exponential Henssge models intended to determine the postmortem interval according to rectal and cranioencephalic thermometry data under constant external temperature conditions is eliminated. The interval estimate determination of postmortem interval at any confidence probability is possible. The application program Warm Bodies HR was developed, which implements applied optimization methods. The application program Warm Bodies AHBG, designed to determine postmortem interval by the Henssge method in a single discrete decrease or increase conditions in the constant temperature of the external environment, including a change in the cooling conditions of the corpse, was developed. The search for the roots of implicit functions in programs is carried out using the Newton tangent method, which ensures continuous source data nature and eliminates errors associated with the need to round directly measured physical quantities. Conclusions: The developed programs are recommended for forensic medical expert practice to determine postmortem interval.

Background: Approximately, 50 thousand die (i.e., about 10%) out of the 600 thousand people with a head injury. Literature examples reported some cases with brain damage with membranes in closed craniocerebral trauma formed by an indirect mechanism without direct contact of blunt solid objects in the head, which is characteristic of impulse trauma. Case presentation: In our practice, an unusual case of an indirect closed craniocerebral trauma with a fatal outcome resulting from a road traffic accident was encountered. The forensic medical examination of the corpse established a traumatic brain injury that formed without direct contact with blunt solid objects in the head. Traumatic brain injury formation by an impulse mechanism is rare in forensic medical practices; therefore, each case of such an injury is of certain interest, both in practical and scientific terms.

Conclusion: The impulse mechanism of head trauma, combined with the shock mechanism in road traffic accidents, is much more common than is currently believed. The bleeding source in such cases is often the venous vessels of the cerebral hemispheres, which flow into the sagittal sinus of the dura mater.

A case of missile group identification by comparative examination using the image superposition method is presented. Identification was carried out using a skeletonized body vault exit gunshot fracture. The exit gunshot buttonhole fracture shape and dimensions reflected the bullet caliber and its flank profile. The entrance injury located on the anterior arch of the first cervical vertebra and the basilar part of the occipital bone, in this case, had no identification significance.