Forensic analysis of 7 infant homicide cases in Suzhou / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To discuss and summarize the major characteristics, autopsy examination, and scene investigation in infant homicide cases.@*METHODS@#From 2008 to 2013 in Suzhou, the information of seven detected infant homicide cases were collected and analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The criminal suspects were victims' mothers with young ages and pregnancies were premarital. Infant homicide cases occurred at the same location of the delivery. The infants died of mechanical asphyxia in the majority of the cases. Most bodies were naked and their umbilical cords were not cut by iatrogenic method and didn't connect with the bodies.@*CONCLUSION@#The standardization of forensic investigation can improve the analysis and detection of infant homicide cases.

Retrospective forensic analysis of 483 solved homicide cases in Suzhou city / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To summarize the solved homicide cases taking place in Suzhou city and to find out the characteristics and commonness of them in order to analyze the key points of investigation at the scene.@*METHODS@#The data of 483 solved homicide cases occurring from January 2006 to March 2010 in the city were analyzed.@*RESULTS@#Most cases involved 1 victim and 1 suspect, with young male adults dominated. Most of them were non-local residents. The majority of suspects were intentional by passion due to quarrel and dispute. The most common weapons were sharp instruments generally carried by the suspects. Mechanical asphyxia and mechanical injury were the two most common causes of death in these cases.@*CONCLUSION@#The social characteristics of suspects, criminal motivation, injury instruments, distribution of injuries, cause of death, and manner of death in Suzhou showed similar general characteristics as the experience for detecting homicide cases in the future.

Expression of beta-amyloid precursor protein in diffuse axonal injury of rats / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore an method for diffuse axonal injury (DAI) diagnosis and injury time estimation, the changes of beta-APP immunoreactivity and to observe the morphology of axonal in different parts of brain after experimental DAI injury.@*METHODS@#The animal models of DAI was established according to the Marmarou's method. Immunohistochemistry and Gless staining were performed to observe the changes of beta-APP expression and the morphology of axon with the time elapsed after the DAI injury.@*RESULTS@#In the brain injury group, the morphologic changes of axon in brain stem were showed as twisted, broken and swellen at 0.5 h, and the myelin sheaths broken could be observed, the retraction ball was found at 12 h. Those morphology changes further progressed at 12h, reached to peack up to 1 d, then repaired at 3 d, and recovered at 10 d; Meanwhile the analysis of beta-APP immunoreactivity was also showed a time-dependent difference as fellows: beta-APP expression begin at 3h, increased its immunoreactivity at 12h, reached to maximize at 1 d, decreased after 3 d, returned to basal level at 10 d.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The results suggest that beta-APP immunohistochemistry combine with Gless staining be sensitive methods for DAI diagnosis, they could discover the time-dependent changes of the axonal morphology.The changes beta-APP are quite regular and could be used for timing DAI injury.