Abstract Purpose In chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) disasters and hazardous material (HazMat) incidents, where dangerous agents are present, decontamination is essential for reducing risks to responders and other personnel. Such events may involve not only numerous living casualties but also contaminated decedents whose remains require decontamination before safe handling. However, decontamination may potentially affect the quality of post-mortem samples required for victim identification. This study aimed to evaluate the potential effects of wet decontamination on human skin and subsequent fingerprint recovery in vitro. Methods Eight wet decontamination methods were evaluated using 22 human skin specimens. Fingerprints were collected before and after decontamination using two recovery methods: powder-based lifting (dusting-lifting) and optical fingerprint scanning. Following decontamination, fingerprint quality was assessed and histological examination was performed to identify potential tissue damage. The tested methods included bleach at three concentrations (1%, 5%, and 10%), including assessment of delayed effects, an alcohol-based disinfectant, a complex industrial surface disinfectant, chloramine B, and chlorine dioxide. Results Of the eight decontamination methods evaluated, only bleach and chlorine dioxide produced a slight reduction in fingerprint quality, when scanner fingerprint recovery was utilized. Nevertheless, the resulting fingerprints remained suitable for identification with powder-based lifting, and no substantial tissue damage was observed. Conclusion The wet decontamination methods investigated in this study did not substantially compromise skin integrity or fingerprint recovery. These findings support their potential use in CBRN and HazMat incidents to enhance responder safety while preserving the forensic identification potential of contaminated human remains.
Sex estimation is a fundamental pillar of human identification in forensic anthropology and odontology. When skeletal remains are fragmented, incinerated, or severely decomposed, teeth serve as highly resistant and sexually dimorphic biological indicators capable of preserving stable morphometric dimensions. Although odontometric standards have been described globally, population-specific data tailored to South American mestizo populations remain limited. This study evaluated sexual dimorphism in the mesiodistal (MD) and vestibulopalatal (VP) crown diameters of permanent maxillary anterior teeth in a Peruvian mestizo population. An observational, descriptive, prospective, and cross-sectional study was conducted on 108 dental stone casts (54 males, 54 females; age range 18–25 years) from Peruvian mestizo subjects. Coronal MD and VP diameters were recorded using a high-precision digital caliper (Mitutoyo, 0.002 mm) based on standardized measurement protocols. Data were analyzed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests (p < 0.05), and Garn’s formula was applied to calculate the percentage of sexual dimorphism. Males exhibited consistently larger crown dimensions than females across all evaluated maxillary anterior teeth. In the MD diameter, statistically significant differences were observed in teeth 1.3 (p = 0.020), 1.1 (p = 0.008), and 2.1 (p = 0.030), with tooth 1.1 showing the highest MD dimorphism (4.4
Abstract Background Recreational drug use has been associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD), but the pathological cardiac findings reported at autopsy vary among different substances. This systematic review aims to highlight the pathological findings of the most common recreational drugs associated with SCD. We conducted the initial literature search from March to April 2025. We conducted an updated search in September 2026 in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to identify newly published eligible studies. Eligible studies included case reports, case series, and retrospective case series published in English that reported relevant pathological cardiac findings in recreational drug-related SCD. Studies without relevant autopsy findings or without a cardiac cause of death were excluded. Results Eighteen studies met the eligibility criteria, involving alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, novel opioids, nicotine, cannabis, and anabolic steroids. Cardiac enlargement was the most frequently reported pathological finding, followed by myocardial fibrosis. Myocardial infarction (MI) appeared in chronic cocaine and amphetamine users, with more prolonged effects in amphetamine users. Coronary artery disease was documented among cocaine and marijuana users, which can be differentiated by history and associated findings. At the same time, dilated cardiomyopathy was identified in studies involving alcohol, methamphetamine, and novel opioids. Conclusion In cases of recreational drug-related SCD, a complete forensic examination using police records, medical reports, histological examination, and toxicological analysis is important to reach the diagnosis. The reviewed evidence indicates that cardiac pathology may provide important supportive findings for postmortem interpretation.
Abstract Background Palatal rugae are distinct anatomical ridges on the anterior part of the palate that exhibit individual-specific morphological patterns, making them valuable markers for personal identification and forensic analysis. With advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning methods have emerged as effective tools for extracting discriminative features from medical and biometric images. This study investigates the potential of transfer learning-based convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for biological sex classification using palatal rugae images captured through a smartphone camera. Results All pretrained models successfully learned discriminative biological sex -related features from palatal rugae images. Among them, Residual network 50 (ResNet50) and Visual Geometry Group 16 (VGG16) achieved the highest classification accuracy with optimal precision and recall, while EfficientNet-B0 and Dense Network 121 (DenseNet) demonstrated comparable but slightly lower performance. The Receiver Operating Curve (ROC curve) exhibited high Area under the Curve (AUC) values, confirming the strong separability between male and female classes. Conclusion The findings confirm that smartphone-based imaging combined with transfer learning offers a promising, low-cost, and non-invasive approach for biological sex identification using palatal rugae patterns, as an adjunct tool for forensic odontology. Among the evaluated models, ResNet50 showed the most robust performance. Future work will focus on expanding the dataset and incorporating explainable Artificial Intelligence methods to support clinical and forensic applicability.
Abstract Distinguishing antemortem from postmortem thermal injury remains one of the most challenging tasks in forensic pathology, particularly in cases involving rapid death, extensive charring, or advanced tissue degradation. Classical macroscopic and histological findings provide essential information but often lack sensitivity or specificity when considered in isolation. This review critically examines current evidence on burn vitality markers, with a primary focus on histological and immunohistochemical findings supported by human forensic studies, while contextualizing molecular and microRNA-based (miRNA-based) approaches as largely experimental and translational. Established indicators in forensic casework include erythrodiapedesis, fibrin deposition, inflammatory cell infiltration, and glycophorin-confirmed hemorrhage, together with selected immunohistochemical markers such as HSP70 (Heat Shock Protein 70) and aquaporin-3 (AQP3), which provide supportive evidence of tissue viability. In contrast, molecular biomarkers, such as cytokine gene expression, oxidative stress products, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) release, and miRNA signatures, offer mechanistic insight into early cellular responses to thermal injury but currently lack sufficient forensic validation in human autopsy-based studies to support routine medico-legal interpretation. The available evidence indicates that histological and selected immunohistochemical findings constitute the most reliable basis for burn vitality assessment, whereas molecular approaches should be interpreted cautiously as adjunctive and investigational. Diagnostic conclusions therefore rely on the integration of multiple independent findings, evaluated in relation to survival time, tissue preservation, and postmortem artifacts. Overall, this review emphasizes that burn vitality determination requires a cautious, multimodal, and context-driven approach, grounded in validated forensic evidence and supported, where appropriate, by complementary experimental data. Further progress in this field will depend on the systematic validation of emerging markers in human forensic autopsy cohorts.
