Autosomal and Y-STR genetic database from a population of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the postwar period.

Under the initiative of the "Direcció General de Memòria democràtica-Departament de Justícia" (Generalitat of Catalonia, Spain), a multi-disciplinar project was funded to identify the remains of people disappeared in Catalonia during and after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Samples were officially sent by Autonomous Government of Catalonia to the Laboratory of Forensic and Population Genetics at Complutense University, Madrid, Spain, to be genotyped. Our study presents a database of 343 victims genotyped for STRs comprised in GlobalFiler™ PCR Amplification Kit (Thermofisher Scientific) and a subset of 292 typed with Y-STRs from Yfiler™ Plus PCR Amplification Kit (Thermofisher Scientific).

Induction of diabetes by Tacrolimus in a phenotypic model of obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Introduction: The pathogenesis of Post-Transplant Diabetes Mellitus (PTDM) is complex and multifactorial and it resembles that of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). One risk factor specific to PTDM differentiates both entities: the use of immunosuppressive therapy. Specifically, Tacrolimus interacts with obesity and insulin resistance (IR) in accelerating the onset of PTDM.

Pathogenic truncating filamin C mutations presenting as acute myocarditis: a case series with insights from cardiac magnetic resonance and histological analysis.

Background: The exact mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of myocarditis are not always understood, but there is emerging evidence to suggest that genetic factors may play a significant role.

Case Summary: Herein, we present six cases in which clinical, biochemical, and cardiovascular magnetic resonance data were consistent with myocarditis, and genetic testing subsequently revealed pathogenic filamin C (FLNC) mutations. Three patients presented with ventricular arrhythmias, two with severe biventricular dysfunction, and two suffered sudden cardiac arrest.

Sudden death related to sexual activity: A multicenter study based on forensic autopsies (2010-2021).

Introduction And Objectives: To investigate the epidemiological characteristics, clinic-pathological findings and recent use of substances of abuse and prescribed drugs in sexual activity-related sudden death (SArSD).

Methods: Multicenter population-based study on forensic autopsies conducted in 27 provinces of Spain over 12 years (2010-2021).

Results: Out of 18046 autopsied natural deaths, 64 cases (0.

Children victims of drug abuser parents: Hair testing as a forensic tool to assess exposure-A cohort of 37 cases from Spain.

Hair testing is a useful tool to investigate suspected pediatric exposure to drugs of abuse. Newborns and young children are at high risk of exposure to drugs of abuse from parents or caregivers who consumed these substances, a fact prosecuted by Spanish authorities as child abuse. A retrospective study based on a cohort of 37 cases classified using several parameters, which involve children under 12 years old, were analyzed at the Drugs Laboratory of the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (Madrid, Spain) between 2009 and 2021.

Genetically determined cardiomyopathies at autopsy: the pivotal role of the pathologist in establishing the diagnosis and guiding family screening.

Cardiomyopathies (CMP) comprise a heterogenous group of diseases affecting primarily the myocardium, either genetic and/or acquired in origin. While many classification systems have been proposed in the clinical setting, there is no internationally agreed pathological consensus concerning the diagnostic approach to inherited CMP at autopsy. A document on autopsy diagnosis of CMP is needed because the complexity of the pathologic backgrounds requires proper insight and expertise.

Sodium bicarbonate reverts electrophysiologic cardiotoxicity of ropivacaine faster than lipid emulsions in a porcine model.

Ropivacaine has been described as a safer local anaesthetic (LA); however, serious cardiotoxic accidents have been reported. Intravenous-lipid-emulsion (ILE) therapy during LA intoxication seems to act as an antidote. Sodium bicarbonate is the standard treatment for sodium channel blocker drug toxicity.

The melatonin contained in beer can provide health benefits, due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties.

Beer is a fermented beverage with a low alcohol content originating from cereal fermentation (barley or wheat). It forms part of the diet for many people. It contains melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine).

An approximation to the identification of contexts, experiences, and profiles of victims of drug-facilitated sexual assaults.

This study advances on overcoming a bias limiting the forensic cases studies of drug-facilitated sexual assaults: a narrow study focus, restricted to assaults affecting young women in leisure contexts related to nightlife, party culture, and dating. A new working framework is applied to analyse data from cases received in the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (Madrid, Spain) over the six years between 2012 and 2017. The work throws light on non-previously described contexts, experiences, and profiles of victims, including domestic cohabitation, labour, education, healthcare, women trafficking, and the daily life of people with intellectual disabilities.

Effects of intravenous lipid emulsions on the reversal of pacing-induced ventricular arrhythmias and electrophysiological alterations in an animal model of ropivacaine toxicity.

Introduction: Ropivacaine is considered to have a wider margin of cardiovascular safety. However, several reports of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) due to ropivacaine toxicity have been documented. Intravenous lipid emulsions (ILEs) have recently been used successfully in the treatment of local anesthetic intoxication.

Prevalence study of drugs and new psychoactive substances in hair of ketamine consumers using a methanolic direct extraction prior to high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Few studies have reported the prevalence or incidence about the consumption of new psychoactive substances (NPS). The hair analysis can be useful for this purpose. At the present, ketamine is the most consumed arylcyclohexylamine associated to young consumers and polyconsumption profiles.

Identification of 2C-B in Hair by UHPLC-HRMS/MS. A Real Forensic Case.

The analysis of drugs of abuse in hair and other biological matrices of forensic interest requires great selectivity and sensitivity. This has been traditionally achieved through target analysis, using one or more analytical methods that include different preanalytical stages, and more complex procedures followed by toxicological laboratories. There is no exception with 2C-series drugs, such as 2C-B, a new psychoactive substance (NPS), which use has emerged and significantly increased, year by year, in the last decades.

Diagnostic Yield of Genetic Testing in Sudden Cardiac Death with Autopsy Findings of Uncertain Significance.

Background: Sudden death (SD) in the young usually has an underlying genetic cause. In many cases, autopsy reveals unspecific and inconclusive results, like idiopathic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), nonsignificant coronary atherosclerosis (CA), and primary myocardial fibrosis (PMF). Their pathogenicity and their relation to SD cause is unknown.

Forensic evaluation of two nucleic acid extraction systems and validation of a RT-qPCR protocol for identification of SARS-CoV-2 in post-mortem nasopharyngeal swabs.

The COVID-19 outbreak has represented a challenge for the international scientific community and particularly for forensic sciences. The lack of Coronavirus post-mortem testing led the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences (INTCF) from Spain to verify the performance and utility of a quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) clinical diagnosis protocol for SARS-CoV-2 detection (TaqPath™ COVID-19 CE-IVD RT-PCR Kit), to shed light on the cause of death (COD) in potentially COVID-19 cases in judicial autopsies. Two different RNA extraction methods were also tested (EZ1® DSP Virus Kit on the EZ1® Advanced XL robot versus MagMAX™ Viral/Pathogen Nucleic Acid Isolation Kit) regarding extraction efficiency, precision and contamination.

Stability of Cocaine Compounds in Biological Fluids During Post-Analytical Sample Storage.

The objective of this study is to evaluate in vitro stability of cocaine compounds, cocaine (COC), benzoylecgonine (BE), ecgonine methyl ester (EME) and benzoylecgonine ethyl ester (EBE), in blood and urine, during post-analysis custody. Stability was evaluated by measuring percent recovery. Parameters evaluated were time of custody (1 year), storage temperature (-20°C and 4°C), influence of preservative (only for blood samples) and pH (only for urine samples).

Profile of incidental exposures to e-cigarette liquids in Europe, 2018-2019.

Background: Following the implementation of the European Union Tobacco Product Directive (EU TPD) regulations on e-cigarette products in 2016, we assessed the current profile of e-cigarette liquid exposure incidents and their associated health outcomes.

Methods: De-identified data were received from poison centers in eight EU Member States (Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Hungary Austria, Finland, Spain and Croatia) reporting on e-cigarette liquid exposure incidents between August 2018 to December 2019. Descriptive analysis was conducted to present incident characteristics and health outcomes.

Potential of High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Drugs and Metabolites in Hair: Methoxetamine in a Real Forensic Case.

The analysis of drugs of abuse in hair and other biological matrices of forensic interest requires great selectivity and sensitivity. This is done traditionally through target analysis, with one or more analytical methods, or with different and specific preanalytical phases, and complex procedures performed by the toxicological laboratories, and there is no exception with ketamine-like compounds, such as methoxetamine, a new psychoactive substance whose use has increased in the last decades, and continues to grow quickly year by year. More validated methods of analysis are needed to detect these substances in low concentrations selectively.

Proposal for a harmonized protocol for COVID-19 screening and necropsy in forensic sciences facilities.

On 31 December 2019, health authorities in the People's Republic of China informed the World Health Organization of a then limited outbreak of interstitial viral pneumonia, identified at a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. In mid-April 2020 this outbreak of COVID-19 (as the disease has been called) has aggravated and spread worldwide, causing more than 200,000 deaths and affecting especially the United States, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Despite the severity of the outbreak, the pathological findings have not been described in detail and there are very few guidelines or protocols for conducting autopsy studies on patients who have died from COVID-19.

The first GHEP-ISFG collaborative exercise on forensic applications of massively parallel sequencing.

One of the main goals of the Spanish and Portuguese-Speaking Working Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (GHEP-ISFG) is to promote and contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of forensic genetics. The GHEP-ISFG supports several Working Commissions which develop different scientific activities. One of them, the Working Commission on "Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS): Forensic Applications", organized its first collaborative exercise on forensic applications of MPS technology in 2019.

Increasing awareness of the severity of female victimization by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault: A new viewpoint.

The victimization of women by opportunistic drug-facilitated sexual assault in leisure contexts was studied in this work by applying a novel approximation. A multifocal analytical strategy based on an intersectional gender-sensitive approach was used to analyse the evidence coming from both forensic case studies and contextual studies about sexual interrelation and drug use. The process of victimization comprises social changes affecting consumption patterns and sexual interaction, intersecting in the hegemonic recreational nightlife model.

An ecological working framework as a new model for understanding and preventing the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault.

An innovative approach towards the holistic and multidisciplinary study of the victimization of women by drug-facilitated sexual assault has been developed. This phenomenon constitutes a significant problem given the narrowing of the gender gap in drug use over the last few decades and the widespread presence of psychoactive substances worldwide. As violence against women and drug misuse intersect in this phenomenon, this intersectional nature emphasizes the need for a novel approach that enables us to go beyond the studies carried out to date.

Ultraviolet-Visible and High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Identification of Cyclopropyl-Fentanyl in the First Fatal Case in Spain.

Here we report the identification and quantitation of cyclopropyl-fentanyl in a fatality casework occurred due to a poly-drug toxicity in Spain in December 2017. The cyclopropyl-fentanyl was identified in non-biological (paraphernalia) and biological samples (whole-blood, vitreous humor and urine). Conventional techniques (GC-MS) and the UV-Vis spectral allowed differencing between the two structural isomer compounds of fentanyl (cyclopropyl and crotonyl) when the CRM was not available at the laboratory.

Sudden cardiac death in anabolic androgenic steroids abuse: case report and literature review.

Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) have several adverse effects on the cardiovascular system that may lead to a sudden cardiac death (SCD). We herein report a case involving a 24-year-old male, AAS abuser with intramuscular delivery in the 6 months before, who suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest at home's bathtub when returning from New Year's party. A forensic autopsy was performed according to the guidelines of the Association for European Cardiovascular Pathology (AECVP).