Codeine is a common analgesic drug that is a pro-drug of morphine. It also has a high risk of abuse as a recreational drug because of its extensive distribution as an OTC drug. Therefore, sensitive and selective screening methods for codeine are crucial in forensic analytical chemistry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFor human identification, the quality and quantity of DNA must be sufficient for amplification and analysis. When DNA extraction from bone tissues and teeth is required, the optimal skeletal elements should be selected as samples for DNA extraction because DNA yield differs among elements. Recently, some studies have reported that a high quantity of high-quality DNA can be extracted from the small cancellous bones of the hands and feet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we analyzed DNA samples from 213 Japanese father son pairs with 25 Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) (DYS576, DYS389I, DYS635, DYS389II, DYS627, DYS460, DYS458, DYS19, YGATAH4, DYS448, DYS391, DYS456, DYS390, DYS438, DYS392, DYS518, DYS570, DYS437, DYS385, DYS449, DYS393, DYS439, DYS481, DYF387S1, and DYS533) markers using the Yfiler™ Plus PCR amplification kit. We calculated Y-STR mutation rates for each locus to evaluate the efficacy of the 25 Y-STR markers for paternity testing and forensic identification using samples from male relatives. Six rapidly mutating Y-STR markers (DYS576, DYS627, DYS518, DYS570, DYS449 and DYF387S1), previously reported to have high mutation rates (>1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWild-type ATTR amyloidosis (ATTR-wt) is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid in the heart, leading to fatal heart failure and arrhythmia. In this study, we investigated the amyloid deposits in the heart from 556 forensic autopsy cases over 60 years of age. The prevalence of ATTR-wt was 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA simple, sensitive, and rapid extraction method based on high-frequency (H-F) heating was developed for drug analysis in human nails. A human nail was placed in a glass tube with an extraction solvent (methanol and 0.1% formic acid; 7:3, /), and a ferromagnetic alloy (pyrofoil) was wrapped in a spiral around the glass tube.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA microextraction technique based on ultrasonic emulsification and demulsification was developed for detecting pesticides at trace levels in environmental water samples. In this ultrasound-assisted microextraction (UAME), chloroform was emulsified with an aqueous sample solution containing trace fenitrothion (MEP) by ultrasonic irradiation (48 kHz) for 5 min. The emulsion was then demulsified by ultrasonic irradiation (2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report on two cases involving hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) imaging by computed tomography (CT) scans performed shortly after death. One case involved a 9-month-old infant who died of heat stroke, while the other was a 28-year-old man who died of myocarditis. Although both of these two cases were remarkable distension of the gastrointestinal tract with gas, the autopsies were unable to uncover any clinical cause for HPVG, such as necrotic bowel, ulcerative colitis, intra-abdominal abscess, bowel obstruction, or gastric ulcer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnimal scavenging is one of the most significant causes of postmortem injuries. A large variety of scavenging animals have been reported on in previous papers. Although postmortem injuries attributable to birds are well known in the case of "aerial burial," the custom in Tibet, few cases of bird scavenging have been reported.
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