The Study of Forensically Important Insects Recovered from Human Corpses in Taiwan.

A study of entomological specimens recovered from 117 human corpses in 114 forensic cases was conducted in Taiwan between 2011 and 2018. The comparisons and discussions of the entomological data were based on the locations (indoor vs. outdoor), environments (urban vs.

Application of forensic entomology to postmortem interval determination of a burned human corpse: a homicide case report from southern Taiwan.

Determining the postmortem interval (PMI) is strongly impacted by several variables, which consequently results in inaccuracy in the estimation of PMI used in court trials. A PMI experiment was conducted in Kaohsiung County by disposing a burned pig corpse in the woods. One month later, unexpectedly and interestingly, a homicide case, very similar to this mock study, occurred at a distance of 6 km away from the experimental site.

Determination of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in indoor air as an indicator of marijuana cigarette smoking using adsorbent sampling and in-injector thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The marijuana leaves are usually mixed with tobaccos and smoked at amusement places in Taiwan. Recently, for investigation-legal purposes, the police asked if we can identify the marijuana smoke in a KTV stateroom (a private room at the entertainment spot for singing, smoking, alcohol drinking, etc.) without marijuana residues.

Mitochondrial DNA sequence alterations observed between blood and buccal cells within the same individuals having betel quid (BQ)-chewing habit.

There are hundreds of millions of betel quid (BQ) lovers widely spreading around the world. Compositions in BQ may generate reactive oxygen species, which would induce DNA damage. However, oral epithelial cells as well as blood have often been used as reference samples in comparison with the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence of hairs.

Evaluation of the DNA stability of forensic markers used in betel-quid chewers' oral swab samples and oral cancerous specimens: implications for forensic application.

Chewed betel-quid (BQ) residues are often considered vital biological evidence at crime scenes, since the human DNA extracted from the residues is actually from buccal epithelial cells and can be associated with suspects. BQ-chewing is also a risk factor for oral diseases and/or cancers. Archived medical oral-specimens can be used to identify specific individuals under adverse conditions, although STR markers are known to be unstable in various tumor tissues.

Allelic alterations at the STR markers in the buccal tissue cells of oral cancer patients and the oral epithelial cells of healthy betel quid-chewers: an evaluation of forensic applicability.

Although cancerous specimens are usually not used in forensic DNA typing, they might be forcibly employed under certain instances. On the other hand, though the oral epithelial samples have been applied to forensic identification, the great popularity of betel quid (BQ)-chewing in Taiwan, which is known to be a risk factor leading to an oral cancer, makes this application questionable. The DNA stability of nine short tandem repeat (STR) markers (the AmpFlSTR kit) was first investigated and then used to evaluate the forensic appropriateness of the oral samples of both healthy BQ-chewers and the archived clinical specimens from oral cancer patients.