Confectionary containing alcohol and their effect on breath analyzer results: a preliminary study.

Breath analyzers are commonly used to test alcohol intoxication, most often to detect elevated systemic levels of ethanol by employees during working hours or drink-driving drivers. Many scientific studies describe the effect of inhaled ethanol vapors in the ambient air or the application of mouthwash before the breath test. This preliminary study interprets false positivity of the breath test after consumption over-the-counter confectionery.

Indeterminacy of the Diagnosis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Leading to Problems with the Validity of Data.

The validity of infant mortality data is essential in assessing health care quality and in the setting of preventive measures. This study explores different diagnostic procedures used to determine the cause of death across forensic settings and thus the issue of the reduced validity of data. All records from three forensic medical departments that conducted autopsies on children aged 12 months or younger (n = 204) who died during the years 2007-2016 in Moravia were included. Differences in diagnostic procedures were found to be statistically significant. Each department works with a different set of risk factors and places different emphasis on different types of examination. The most significant differences could be observed in sudden infant death syndrome and suffocation diagnosis frequency. The validity of statistical data on the causes of infant mortality is thus significantly reduced. Therefore, the possibilities of public health and social policy interventions toward preventing sudden and unexpected infant death are extraordinarily complicated by this lack of data validity.

The reconstruction of the pilot in command murder case in the aircraft OK ADN L410 Turbolet.

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the hijacking case of an aircraft on the Mariánské Lázně - Prague route in 1972 and the shooting of its pilot in command in light of new facts, mainly autopsy reports from both Germany and Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. These reports contained absolutely opposite findings, both in terms of the findings themselves and their resulting interpretations. Since it is still not yet known exactly what happened in the plane, a reconstruction was carried out in an identical aircraft in the Aviation Museum in Kunovice. During the reconstruction, all possible (including theoretical) situations that may have occurred in the aircraft were examined. It was found that this could not have been a premeditated intentional murder, but that the shot could only have occurred during a passenger skirmish, and one that must have resulted in a very rare situation at that. From a political-medical point of view however, there are still several questions that cannot be answered even with the best of intentions.

Hijacking of the aircraft OK ADN L410 TURBOLET on June 8, 1972 - Forensic Medical Notes.

On 8 June 1972, the Czechoslovak OK DNN aircraft carrier L410 Turbolet was delivered to the regular line Marianske Lazne - Prague to the Federal Republic of Germany. About 8 minutes after the launch from Marianske Lazne Airport, the likely head of the group of kidnappers threw the captain of the plane. During the fight with one of the passenger, the head of the group of kidnappers killed the captain of the aircraft by a shot from 7.65 mm pistol. Other members of the hijackers group attacked other passengers. After the aircraft captains death, the second pilot took command and landed at the sports club at Weiden. After the landing, the kidnappers were detained by the police. Ten kidnappers stayed in the Federal Republic of Germany. An airplane with other passengers and coffin of a shot captain landed in Prague Ruzyne the following day. On June 12, 1972, the re-autopsy of the captain of the aircraft was performed at the Central Military Hospital in Prague. Post-autopsy status was detected. In this re-autopsy, it was possible to reconstruct the fire channel only incompletely, because during the previous autopsy performed in Federal Republic of Germany was excised the shot wound left on the neck. The fire channel began with a hole in the skin 10 cm above the right breast nipple, continued to the left and slightly upward through the subcutaneous tissue, passed through the 2nd rib at the right at a distance of 4.5 cm from the sternum, continued the lower and inner sides of the right collarbone, flowing on the front the ring cartilage and the first ring of the trachea, and on the underside of the left lobes of the thyroid gland, passed on the front of the left common carotid and continued into the area of the left SCM. The exid shot hole was on the left half of the neck. The direction of the shotway canal from right side to left side was detectable only by the fragment of the 2nd rib, which was broken out to the left and inside. The cause of the captains death was a traumatic shock. The injury was caused by a short firearm of small stance. Additional factors of firing were not found on the skin, as well as no signs of gas pressure. At the request of the experts performing the autopsy, a copy of the autopsy protocol from Germany was sent to them by an autopsied doctor. Among other things, it was reported that a 6.5 cm under the lower end of the left ear was a transversely oval, 2.5 cm long and 1.2 cm wide, red-black dried place of the upper skin, from which center run out a little red blood. At the conclusion of the autopsy protocol, it was found that there was a shotgun injury at the left side of the neck and the right side of the chest. The entrance wound according to the sent copy of the autopsy protocol, lay on the left side of the neck, the bullet penetrated the neck muscles, broke the inner branch of the cervical artery, passed through the trachea, penetrated the collarbone, split the 2nd rib to the right about 2 cm next to the sternum and the right chest 10 cm above the breast the nipple stepped out of the body. The direction of the penetration of the projectile through the body therefore had the opposite orientation compared to the re- autopsy. On the basis of this finding, the expert opinion from the re-autopsy was supplemented in the sense that there is no evidence in the autopsy protocol from Germany for the conclusion of the shot on the left side of the neck. Both autopsy experts examined the space of the aircraft cabin. The inspection showed that from the left, that is to the neck, the captain of the aircraft could be hit only if the attacker held the pistol in his left hand in a completely unnatural position so that his forearm was pulled upward over the left shoulder of the captain just to the left of the cabin and a hand bent in the wrist at a steep angle down to the right. The position of the shooters hand would be more natural if the captain of the aircraft turned backward over his left shoulder and turned the hull to the left. But this would be completely useless because of the situation, as he would look into the left cabin wall. More natural would be turning right over his right shoulder. In that case, he could be hit on the right side of the chest. The shooting kidnapper committed suicide in a cell overnight from 12 to 13 January 1973. It is not possible, based on the information available, to decide exactly how the gunshot has been going on. Czech experts did not have clothing of the captain or conclusions about their examination, and the hole on the left side of the neck was cut out by the German expert and was not provided to the Czech party through the request. It may be considered strange that the autopsy in Germany was performed in this relatively serious case outside the renowned forensic medicine department.

Traumatic Decapitation of the Fetus During Birth: Criminalistic and Forensic Aspects.

Serious intrapartum fetal injuries are unfortunate events that confer severe consequences on medical personnel. Most birth traumas are noncritical and resolve for a few days. Permanent effects or fatal outcomes occur infrequently. We report an unusual case of intrapartum complete fetal decapitation. The labor was complicated by shoulder dystocia, with resultant repeated mechanical trauma to the fetal neck and, finally, decapitation. The tragic results of biological processes in human organisms do not automatically confirm medical malpractice. However, there may be grave ethical and forensic outcomes.

Reoperations after surgery for acute subdural hematoma: reasons, risk factors, and effects.

PURPOSE: To analyze the reasons and patient-related and injury-related risk factors for reoperation after surgery for acute subdural hematoma (SDH) and the effects of reoperation on treatment outcome. METHODS: Among adult patients operated on for acute SDH between 2013 and 2017, patients reoperated within 14 days after the primary surgery were identified. In all patients, parameters were identified that related to the patient (age, anticoagulation, antiplatelet, and antiepileptic treatment, and alcohol intoxication), trauma (Glasgow Coma Score, SDH thickness, midline shift, midline shift /hematoma thickness rate, other surgical lesion, primary surgery-trephination, craniotomy, or decompressive craniotomy), and Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS). The reasons for reoperation and intervals between primary surgery and reoperation were studied. RESULTS: Of 86 investigated patients, 24 patients were reoperated (27.9%), with a median interval of 2 days between primary surgery and reoperation. No significant differences in patients and injury-related factors were found between reoperated and non-reoperated patients. The rate of primary craniectomies was higher in non-reoperated patients (P = 0.066). The main indications for reoperation were recurrent /significant residual SDH (10 patients), contralateral SDH (5 patients), and expansive intracerebral hematoma or contusion (5 patients). The final median GOS was 3 in non-reoperated and 1.5 in reoperated patients, with good outcomes in 41.2% of non-reoperated and 16.7% of reoperated patients. CONCLUSIONS: Reoperation after acute SDH surgery is associated with a significantly worse prognosis. Recurrent /significant residual SDH and contralateral SDH are the most frequently found reasons for reoperation. None of the analyzed parameters were significant reoperation predictors.

Applying 3D prints to reconstructing postmortem craniofacial features damaged by devastating head injuries.

Postmortem facial identification is one of the most common techniques for establishing a deceased person's identity. In victims suffering from devastating cranial injuries, the feasibility of facial identification tasks can be compromised by damage to or disfigurement of the identifying cranial features. Although there are several reconstructive approaches, which help experts to restore the essence of person's physical appearance, thus enhancing the chances of recognition, only a few of them involve restoring the fractured cranial bones as the foundation for the reconstructed soft tissues. Here, we propose a technique based on replacement of heavily damaged hard tissues with generic prosthetics manufactured by 3D printing. Our approach does not require medical imaging technologies or other costly lab equipment. It is simple, affordable and relatively labor-efficient. The deceased's reconstructed craniofacial features can be subsequently assessed, photographed, drawn or otherwise reproduced in order to help determine his or her identity. In addition, the imagery can be displayed, published or broadcasted in media without concerns of being overly graphic.

Using drone-mounted cameras for on-site body documentation: 3D mapping and active survey.

Recent advances in unmanned aerial technology have substantially lowered the cost associated with aerial imagery. As a result, forensic practitioners are today presented with easy low-cost access to aerial photographs at remote locations. The present paper aims to explore boundaries in which the low-end drone technology can operate as professional crime scene equipment, and to test the prospects of aerial 3D modeling in the forensic context. The study was based on recent forensic cases of falls from height admitted for postmortem examinations. Three mock outdoor forensic scenes featuring a dummy, skeletal remains and artificial blood were constructed at an abandoned quarry and subsequently documented using a commercial DJI Phantom 2 drone equipped with a GoPro HERO 4 digital camera. In two of the experiments, the purpose was to conduct aerial and ground-view photography and to process the acquired images with a photogrammetry protocol (using Agisoft PhotoScan® 1.2.6) in order to generate 3D textured models. The third experiment tested the employment of drone-based video recordings in mapping scattered body parts. The results show that drone-based aerial photography is capable of producing high-quality images, which are appropriate for building accurate large-scale 3D models of a forensic scene. If, however, high-resolution top-down three-dimensional scene documentation featuring details on a corpse or other physical evidence is required, we recommend building a multi-resolution model by processing aerial and ground-view imagery separately. The video survey showed that using an overview recording for seeking out scattered body parts was efficient. In contrast, the less easy-to-spot evidence, such as bloodstains, was detected only after having been marked properly with crime scene equipment.

Nutritional Potential of Selected Insect Species Reared on the Island of Sumatra.

Inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Sumatra are faced with the problem of insufficient food supplies and the consequent risk of undernourishment and health issues. Edible insects as a traditional and readily available food source could be part of the solution. The nutritional value of insects depends on many factors, e.g., species, developmental stage, sex, diet, and climatic conditions. However, edible insects bred in Sumatra for human consumption have never before been assessed with regard to their nutritional value. Our study involved analyses of crude protein, chitin, fat and selected fatty acid contents of giant mealworm larvae (Zophobas morio), larvae of the common mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and nymphs of the field cricket (Gryllus assimilis). Crude protein content in the samples ranged from 46% to 56%. Highest (35%) and lowest (31%) amounts of fat were recorded in giant mealworm larvae and larvae of the common mealworm, respectively. Chitin amounts ranged from 6% to 13%. Based on these values, which are comparable to those known from other food insects reared in different regions of the world, the edible species bred in Sumatra could become food sources with a potential to help stave off hunger and undernourishment.

Postmortem Increase in Body Core Temperature: How Inaccurate We Can Be in Time Since Death Calculations.

Postmortem increase in body core temperature is a well-known phenomenon in forensic practice. Despite this, cases of reliably documented postmortem hyperthermia are rarely reported in the forensic literature, and it is still not clear how frequently postmortem hyperthermia occurs and in which cases we may it predict. In routine forensic practice, the standard course of body cooling is expected, and the prediction of normal body core temperature in the time of death is used for back-calculating the time of death by Henssge method. The unexpected rising in body core temperature may considerably misguide the estimation of time since death in the early postmortem period. We present a rare case of nonviolent death in the hospital with exactly recorded unusual elevation of body core temperature after death, although the body temperature shortly before the death was normal. In the presented case, the "standard" cooling of the body began up to 4 hours after death.

A concise history of forensic medicine in Czech Republic.

This paper presents the most important historical facts about all forensic medicine workplaces in the Czech Republic since the beginning till present day, including a perspective on how to establish a new one. Each of the University Forensic Medicine Institutes or district Departments is covered by at least one author. The oldest institute is in Prague and in Brno, the youngest is in Pardubice.

Forensic and clinical issues in the use of frangible projectile.

Frangible projectiles for firearms, which break apart on impact, are mainly used by law enforcement agencies for training purposes, but can also be used for police interventions. Apart from the usual absence of lead in the projectiles, the main advantage of using frangible projectiles is the reduced risk of ricochet after impact with a hard target. This article describes the design and function of frangible projectiles, and describes gunshot wounds caused by ultra-frangible projectiles which fragment after penetration of soft tissues. Shooting experiments performed by the authors confirmed that differences in the geometry and technology of frangible projectiles can significantly modify their wounding effects. Some frangible projectiles have minimal wounding effects because they remain compact after penetration of soft tissues, comparable to standard fully jacketed projectiles. However, a number of ultra-frangible projectiles disintegrate into very small fragments after impact with a soft tissue substitute. In shooting experiments, we found that the terminal behavior of selected ultra-frangible projectiles was similar in a block of ballistic gel and the soft tissues of the hind leg of a pig, except that the degree of disintegration was less in the gel.