SOARES, A.T.C. Perfil antropológico das ossadas analisadas no Centro de Medicina Legal (CEMEL) da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto USP. 2007. 169 p. Dissertação (Mestrado) Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, 2007. A Antropologia Forense é uma área do conhecimento que aplica os métodos da antropologia física e arqueologia para coleta e análise de evidências legais, buscando estabelecer a identidade de um ser. O Centro de Medicina Legal (CEMEL) da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto da Universidade de São Paulo (FMRP-USP) possui um Laboratório de Antropologia Forense, criado em 2005 durante o desenvolvimento de um projeto em parceria com a University of Sheffield (UK) e financiado pelo British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. Durante esse projeto, um protocolo para análise de ossadas foi implementado dentro de uma estrutura científica atualizada para aplicação em contextos de importância social. Após dois anos de funcionamento, constatou-se que muitas das ossadas encaminhadas ao CEMEL estavam incompletas, tornando a realização de um perfil biológico difícil e postergando a sua identificação devido à ausência de informações e literatura nacional recente sobre Antropologia Forense. Assim, 42 ossadas humanas examinadas no CEMEL desde sua inauguração em 1999 foram analisadas e revisadas. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria dos casos era de indivíduos do sexo masculino, de ancestralidade caucasiana, com idade entre 32,71 e 46,29 anos, estatura entre 1,64 e 1,73m, destros, sem achados patológicos, com elementos odontológicos informativos, mas sem roupas ou outros pertences. Observou-se que 61,90% das ossadas possuíam menos de 50% dos ossos, com média de 79,64±52,40 ossos por caso. Os ossos mais encaminhados foram occipital, parietal esquerdo, temporal esquerdo, parietal direito, temporal direito, fêmur direito e vértebras torácicas de um a 12. Os ossos menos encaminhados foram hióide, piramidal esquerdo, falange distal superior um direita, falanges distais superiores dois a cinco direitas e falanges médias superiores dois a cinco esquerdas. Os dentes mais encaminhados foram o 2º molar superior direito e o 1º molar superior direito, enquanto que os dentes menos encaminhados foram o incisivo central superior direito, os incisivos centrais inferiores direito e esquerdo. Roupas e outros pertences estavam presentes em 20 casos, totalizando 66 itens. Trinta e um casos têm potencial para identificação somente através de técnicas de Antropologia Forense. Para os demais 11 casos provavelmente será necessário utilizar DNA para identificação. Diante dos resultados observados, discute-se a necessidade de melhorias na capacitação técnica e infra-estrutura, assim como a forma de coleta e o transporte, de forma a aumentar o número de elementos ósseos coletados e, conseqüentemente, de informações úteis para identificação. Dois crânios apresentaram evidência de craniotomia realizada durante necropsia e um apresentou resíduos de vela, o que sugere que podem ter sido retirados indevidamente do local de sepultamento, ou até mesmo vendidos, além da sua utilização em rituais religiosos. Conclui-se que campanhas de conscientização e melhorias na fiscalização dos cemitérios podem reduzir os casos de roubos e comércio de elementos ósseos. / SOARES, A.T.C. Anthropological profile of the skeletons analyzed at the Medico Legal Centre (CEMEL) of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto USP. 2007. 169 p. Dissertation (Masters Degree) Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto, 2007. Forensic Anthropology is an area of knowledge that applies the methods of physical anthropology and archeology to the collection and analysis of legal evidence, including the search for individual identity. The Medico Legal Centre (CEMEL) of the Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto of University of São Paulo (FMRP-USP) has a Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, created in 2005 during a development project in partnership with the University of Sheffield (UK) and financed by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Global Opportunities Fund. During this project, a protocol for skeletal analysis was implemented within an upgraded scientific infrastructure for application in a socially important context. After two years of work, it was noticed that many skeletons forwarded to CEMEL were incomplete, making completion of a biological profile difficult and postponing identification due to the lack of information and recent national literature about Forensic Anthropology. Therefore, 42 human skeletons examined at CEMEL since its inauguration in 1999 were analyzed and reviewed. The results showed most cases to be of male individuals, of Caucasian ethnic origin, aged between 32.71 and 46.29 y.o., of height between 1.64 and 1.73 m, right handed, without any pathological findings, with informative odontological findings, but with no clothes or other belongings. It was observed that 61.90% of the skeletons were less than 50% complete, with a mean of 79.64±52.40 bones per case. The most frequently found bones were the occipital, left parietal, left temporal, right parietal, right temporal, right femur and one to 12 thoracic vertebrae. The least frequent bones were the hyoid, left triquetral, 1st right superior distal phalanx, two to five right superior distal phalanges and two to five left superior intermediate phalanges. The most frequently found teeth were the right superior 2nd molar and right superior 1st molar, while the least frequent teeth were the right superior central incisor, and right and left inferior central incisors. Clothes or other belongings were present in 20 cases, totaling 66 items. Thirty one cases have potential to be identified only via forensic anthropological analysis. For the remaining 11 cases it will be probably necessary to use DNA for identification. In view of these observations the necessity for improvements in technical qualifications and infrastructure are discussed, as well as recovery and transport, in order to maximize the number of skeletal elements recovered andas a consequenceof information useful in identification. Two skulls presented evidence of a craniotomy conducted during autopsy and one of candle residue, suggesting that it may have been taken improperly from the place of burial, or even sold, for its use in religious rituals. It is concluded that public awareness campaigns and better inspection of cemeteries may reduce cases of robbery and trade in skeletal remains.

1. Hintergrund Das Schädel-Hirn-Trauma (SHT) stellt eine der häufigsten Todesursachen und Begleitverletzungen bei nichtnatürlichen Todesfällen dar und ist damit Gegenstand der Routine-Untersuchungen in der Rechtsmedizin. Eine Abschätzung der Überlebenszeit (ÜLZ, d.h. der Zeitraum zwischen der Verletzungsentstehung und dem Todeseintritt) ist für die Chronologie eines Tatablaufs und Überprüfung von Zeugenaussagen / Alibiangaben von großer Bedeutung. Primär werden hierfür postmortal pathomorphologische und klassische histologische Befunde herangezogen. Immunhistochemische Untersuchungen haben bisher kaum Eingang in die Überlebenszeitdiagnostik gefunden, könnten aber zur Konkretisierung der bisher gängigen Methoden beitragen. Häufig untersuchte Proteine im Gehirn sind das S100-Protein (S100) und die Neuronenspezifische Enolase (NSE). Die Spiegel beider Marker werden im klinischen Alltag vielfach zur Abschätzung der Schwere und der Prognose eines SHT im Blut und Liquor gemessen. Immunhistochemisch wurden beide Proteine bisher vor allem auf deren allgemeines Vorhandensein und Verteilung im Zusammenhang mit SHT untersucht. Nur eine Studie beschäftigte sich bisher mit einer möglichen zeitlichen Dynamik. 2. Fragestellungen Folgende Fragen sollten durch vorliegende Arbeit beantwortet werden:  Existiert eine Korrelation zwischen dem Anteil positiv auf S100 gefärbter Gliazellen (Astroglia und Oligodendroglia) und der Überlebenszeit?  Ist eine Korrelation zwischen dem Anteil positiv auf NSE gefärbter Neuronen und der Überlebenszeit möglich?  Welche lokalisationsspezifische Veränderungen in den untersuchten Hirnregionen (Umgebung der Kontusion, Hippocampus, Kleinhirn) in Bezug auf die Überlebenszeit existieren?  Gibt es signifikante Unterschiede zwischen Fall- und Kontrollgruppe? 3. Material und Methoden Für diese Untersuchung wurden Hirngewebeproben aus 57 gerichtlich angeordneten Sektionen verwendet. Davon wiesen 47 ein tödliches SHT und ÜLZ zwischen wenigen Sekunden und 34 Tagen auf. Zehn Fälle mit kardiovaskulären Todesursachen wurden als Kontrolle herangezogen. Die Überlebenszeiten der Fälle mit tödlichem SHT wurden in Übereinstimmung mit bisherigen Studien in folgende Kategorien eingeteilt: Akuter Todeseintritt nach SHT (ÜLZ bis 2 Stunden), subakuter Todeseintritt nach SHT (ÜLZ 2 Stunden bis 4 Tage) und verzögerter Todeseintritt nach SHT (ÜLZ über 4 Tage). Die zur Untersuchung gelangten Proben wurden spätestens 6 Tage nach dem Versterben der Personen entnommen (Mittelwert 2,7 Tage). In allen Fällen wurde die Umgebung der Kontusion, bei 35 dieser Fälle der Hippocampus und bei 31 der Fälle auch das Kleinhirn untersucht. Die verschiedenen Regionen wurden jeweils gesondert für Rinde und Mark bzw. im Hippocampus für Stratum pyramidale und radiatum beurteilt. Die immunhistochemische Färbung auf S100 und NSE wurde mit der indirekten Dextran-Polymer-Methode (DakoCytomation), die Gegenfärbung mit Hämatoxylin nach Mayer durchgeführt. Verwendet wurden ein polyklonaler S100-Kaninchen-Antikörper sowie ein monoklonaler NSE-Maus-Antikörper (beide DakoCytomation). Für die semiquantitative Evaluation wurden gefärbte und ungefärbte Neuronen, Oligodendrozyten sowie Astrozyten in jeweils 20 High Power Fields gezählt. So konnte für jede Region und Zellart ein Prozentsatz positiver Zellen ermittelt werden. Für die statistische Auswertung wurde SPSS Statistics (Version 21, 2012 IBM) und OpenOffice Calc (Version 3.4.1, 2012 Apache Software Foundation) verwendet, es kamen der Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon-Test (nicht-parametrisch), die Spearman-Korrelation und die Benjamini-Hochberg-Prozedur zum Einsatz. Eine Zustimmung zu dem der Promotionsschrift zugrunde liegendem Forschungsvorhaben wurde durch die Ethik-Kommission der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig erteilt (Nr. 117-12-23012012). 4. Ergebnisse Äußere Einflüsse. Es konnte keine Korrelation zwischen dem Anteil positiver Zellen und der Leichenliegezeit (rs= -0.27 bis 0.15, p = 0.1 bis 0.96) oder dem Geschlecht (p = 0.07 bis 0.98) festgestellt werden. Aufgrund des häufigeren Auftretens verzögerter Todeseintritte bei älteren Personen (rs = 0,33, p < 0.05) konnte keine sinnvolle Korrelation zwischen Alter und Zellpositivität durchgeführt werden. Zellzahlen insgesamt. Zur Qualitätssicherung und zur Vergleichbarkeit mit anderen Studien, wurden die Zellzahlen insgesamt erfasst. Hierbei wurden keine signifikanten Unterschiede in den unterschiedlichen ÜLZ-Kategorien festgestellt. Die Zellzahlen in den SHT-Fällen waren hingegen signifikant niedriger als in den Kontrollfällen. Unterschiede in den Kategorien der Überlebenszeit. Die Anteile S100-positiver Oligodendrozyten waren in Kontusionsumgebung signifikant niedriger in der Gruppe mit subakutem Todeseintritt als in der Gruppe mit akutem Todeseintritt (p < 0,05) sowie der Kontrollgruppe (p < 0,05). Im Hippocampus waren die Anteile S100-positiv gefärbter Oligodendrozyten in der Gruppe der akuten sowie subakuten Todeseintritte niedriger als in der Kontrollgruppe (jeweils p < 0,05). Im Vergleich mit der Kontrollgruppe waren die Anteile NSE-positiver Neuronen sowohl im Hippocampus als auch in der Kontusionsumgebung in der Gruppe der akuten Todeseintritte (jeweils p < 0,05) höher. Die Anteile NSE-positiver Neuronen im Hippocampus sanken in der Gruppe der subakuten im Vergleich zur Gruppe der akuten Todeseintritte ab (p < 0,05). Astrozyten zeigten bei dieser Studie keine signifikanten Unterschiede in ihrem Färbeverhalten in Bezug auf die ÜLZ. Überraschenderweise zeigten sich in den Gruppen mit subakutem und verzögertem Todeseintritt auch S100-positive Neuronen im Hippocampus und der Kontusionsumgebung. Diese Beobachtung konnte in der Akutphase nach Traumatisierung und in der Kontrollgruppe nicht gemacht werden. Im Hippocampus war eher eine diffuse neuroplasmatische, in der Kontusionsumgebung eine eher juxtanukleäre Färbung zu finden. In beiden Regionen war die Verteilung der S100-positiven Neuronen unsystematisch oft in räumlicher Nähe zu S100-positiven Gliazellen zu finden.

This thesis is concerned with computerised forensic 3-D facial reconstruction as a means of identification and involves the restoration of the face on the skull in an attempt to achieve a close likeness of the individual when alive. The reconstruction process begins with the biological identification of the skeletal remains, (age, sex, ancestry and build). Facial reconstruction is then carried out and essentially works by building the “face” up from the skull using soft tissue thicknesses at specific locations from existing data. However, it is used as a last resort on skeletonised, badly decomposed or mutilated corpses, when no other information is available; even then it is only accepted as corroborative evidence in court. It is performed in the hope that it may stimulate recognition, and consequently narrow the field of identification, allowing other tests to be carried out, such as radiographic and/or dental comparisons, DNA analysis or other means, to establish positive identification. The advantages of the computerised method over the manual clay reconstruction are speed, rapid editing capability, production of images that can be stored and reconstructions repeated at any time if required. Furthermore, in many cases, the original skull instead of a cast or model may be used for reconstruction because the 3-D computerised procedure is rapid and non invasive. However, the most significant advantage of this technique with regard to the aims and objectives of the thesis is that a number of alternative reconstructions may be produced sequentially for the same skull by using different facial templates from the database that meet the anthropological/biological criteria of the skull. The issues addressed by the study and therefore its main aims are: a) evaluation and b) improvement of the reliability of facial reconstruction using 3-D computer graphics. The methodology involved initially digitizing a skull using a low-power laser scanner and a video camera interfaced to a computer. From a database of previously scanned faces, ten facial templates were selected that matched the anthropological criteria of each of the skulls, i.e. age, sex, ancestry and build. Landmarks with their corresponding soft tissue thicknesses were then located and placed on the skull and the equivalent ones on the face. The 3-D computer graphics then reconstructed the face by morphing (warping) the facial template over the skull by matching the corresponding landmarks on the skull and face with the appropriate soft tissue thicknesses at those landmark locations. The soft tissue thicknesses used at their specific landmark locations also matched the anthropological criteria of the skulls, since soft tissue depths are dependent on age, sex, ancestry and build. One of the major problems with any reconstruction which affect its reliability for identification is the uncertainty of the shape of some of the individual characteristics of soft tissue structures such as shape of lips, ears and nose/nasal tip since there is not direct information on the skull regarding the shape of some of these features. In addition, with the laser scanning system, the faces within the database all have closed eyes, because of the potential laser hazard to the eyes. Thus it is necessary to add “opened” eyes, head and facial hair (where appropriate) to give a realistic appearance to the face. The software provides the facility to export a 2-D view in a TIFF or JPEG format from the 3-D reconstructed image. The file can then be imported into a police identi-kit system such as E-FIT™, which allows the addition of features. In this study five skulls of known individuals were used for reconstruction in the manner explained. Ten facial templates which fulfilled the anthropological criteria (age, sex, ancestry and build) for each skull were used for the rebuilding process, thus totalling fifty reconstructions. The study employed a psychological resemblance test (experiment 1) where 20 different assessors, were asked to select in each case study, the best three matches of the ten reconstructions with the ante-mortem photograph of the individual during life. The results from these tests were correlated with a mathematical shape analysis assessment using Procrustes Analysis in which, the skull was compared in turn with each of the ten facial templates of each case study (experiment 2).The ranking of the assessors’ reconstruction choice was correlated with the ranking of the Procrustes Analysis by using Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation. The results indicate that although not statistically significant, it would seem however, that in some of the case studies, the mathematical approach using Procrustes Analysis does seems to capture some perceptual similarity in human observers. Experiment 3, similar to experiment 1, was a further psychological resemblance test, which involved implementing E-Fit features on four of the ten reconstructed images per case study. Assessors were asked to select the closest E-Fit image match with the ante-mortem photograph. Again, results indicated that, although not statistically significant, adding E-Fit feature to the images appears to improve perceptual similarity in human observers, provided, the limitations of adding these characteristics are addressed. Furthermore, there also appears to be good agreement in most of the case studies between the two psychological resemblance tests using the two different sets of assessors in experiment 1 and 3 (reconstruction choice and E-Fit choice, respectively). Further work involving anthropometric comparisons and using two methods of assessment (landmark line matching between images and proportion indices) was also carried out (experiment 4). It was found that matching landmark lines between images appeared to be only of limited value due to the images not being aligned at exactly the same viewpoint and magnification. It should be appreciated that because the thesis was based on recognition and was not an anthropometric study, precise alignment of viewpoints was not a requirement. Hence using the same data from the study, although images were in the frontal view, they were not aligned to the accuracy acceptable for an anthropometric study as there was no requirement to so. It would appear that, although there was some correspondence between the discrepant distances and the first and second ranked reconstructions, no firm conclusions could be drawn from this technique and therefore does not assist in understanding the way observers made their choices. Further tests would need to be carried out (beyond the scope of the thesis) to reach any firm conclusions. Undoubtedly, given the complex nature of the recognition process, it would have been desirable to use reconstructions of persons known to the assessors rather than asking them to assess unfamiliar persons, since it is well established that familiar faces are easier to recognize than those that are unfamiliar to observers. It should be appreciated however, that, although the study was designed in this way for practical and ethical reasons, it nevertheless does not truly reflect the real operational forensic scenario. Furthermore, recognition/matching is a much more complex process and even a reconstructed face which may be generally morphologically similar to the person in life may not capture perceptual similarity in human observers, especially in an unfamiliar scenario. It is not certain that identification will always occur even when the facial reconstruction bears good resemblance to the target individual.

Hollow-fibre liquid-phase microextraction (HF-LPME) was introduced in 1999 as a miniaturised version of liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) in order to reduce the consumption of organic solvents and offer an environmentally-friendly approach to extraction procedures. Since then, several studies have been published in the field of forensic and clinical toxicology applying the technique to a broad range of analytes; however more studies are necessary regarding its applicability to bioanalyses. The principle of HF-LPME is the extraction of analytes across a thin supported liquid membrane within the walls of a hollow fibre from a donor phase (DP) into an acceptor phase (AP). It is an extraction technique that encompasses several parameters that require optimisation for an efficient method; this is most effectively achieved by utilising a design of experiment (DoE) approach rather than the conventional one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach. The main aim of this work is to further investigate the applicability of HF-LPME to the fields of forensic and clinical toxicology by developing and validating methods to extract various drugs from different biological matrices. Complex matrices, such as whole blood, are commonly used in forensic toxicology. Considering that not many studies have been performed on the application of HF-LPME to whole blood (only 10 up to the present day), this is an aspect that requires further investigation. For this, a fast, accurate and precise 3-phase HF-LPME method followed by LC-MS/MS analysis was developed and validated to simultaneously quantify 5 NBOMe drugs in human whole blood. NBOMe drugs are a group of substances part of the so-called “novel psychoactive substances” (NPS); drugs that have been emerging with increasing frequency over the last few years. NBOMes are associated to deaths as the causa mortis, and due to their high potency, these drugs are normally abused in micrograms. For that reason, the HF-LPME method developed had to present high sensitivity (LOD of pg/mL). The aim of the second part of this project was to challenge HF-LPME further by developing and validating methods to assess the potential application of HF-LPME in multi-drug analyses. Urine was selected as biological matrix, and the group of chosen analytes were 14 anti-hypertensive drugs and their metabolites with very different physical-chemical properties. HF-LPME has never been applied to such a broad spectrum of substances in previous bioanalytical studies. These drugs were divided into two groups (acidic and basic/neutral), and a total of four extraction methods (two for each group of analytes) were developed and optimised using chemometrics (DoE) then analysed by LC-MS/MS. Two of these methods were liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) methods that were developed and validated to be used as reference to which the two HF-LPME methods were compared. The LLE methods were sensitive, accurate, precise, and valid for application to real case samples. The HF-LPME methods presented some limitations due to the lack of isotopically-labelled analogues of each specific analyte as internal standards (IS); for non-exhaustive methods the use of these IS should be adopted as standard practise. Real urine samples from genuine patients were extracted using all 4 methods followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. By applying the methods to real case samples, it was possible to define that the HF-LPME methods were suitable for qualitative screening of urine to determine the level of compliance of patients under anti-hypertensive pharmacotherapy. However, for quantification of the drugs applying HF-LPME, further development is required to incorporate the use of isotopically labelled analogues. This study proved that HF-LPME is a potential asset not only for forensic but also for clinical toxicology. It can be a very powerful tool which, mainly due to its green-chemistry approach and pre-concentration capabilities, which allows direct injection into the analytical instrument, could potentially become a more used technique in the future. However, the analyst should be careful when developing HF-LPME methods, to bear in mind its limitations so that methods that are fit-for-purpose can be developed.

Deliberate firesetting causes a significant cost to society in terms of human life and economic loss. However, compared to other areas of offending, firesetting is one area that has received relatively little attention by academics and practitioners in both the psychiatric and psychological literature. Even though a significant proportion of existing research has been conducted with psychiatric populations little is understood about firesetting by mentally disordered offenders, particularly in terms of their characteristics, risk factors, offence process, and treatment. The purpose of this thesis was to extend current knowledge of mentally disordered firesetters by exploring the offence process, treatment needs, and effectiveness of treatment with this population. Four exploratory studies were conducted to address this. Study one examined the characteristics of male and female mentally disordered firesetters in comparison to non-firesetting mentally disordered offenders and also the ability of these characteristics to predict offence status (firesetter or non-firesetter) and repeat firesetting. Studies two and three examined the offence process and the pathways mentally disordered firesetters follow to offending. Finally, study four evaluated the effectiveness of the first standardised treatment programme for male and female mentally disordered firesetters. The studies in this thesis highlighted the importance of fire interest in distinguishing between firesetters and non-firesetters and also for the predicting of repeat firesetting. Further, the development of fire-related risk factors appeared to be important for influencing the offence process for a sub-group of mentally disordered firesetters. The role of mental health in the offence process was also highlighted as being important. Finally, evidence was found to support the need for specialist interventions examining fire related factors with mentally disordered firesetters. The results of all four studies are discussed in terms of the assessment and treatment of mentally disordered firesetters and the clinical implications and utility of the findings are considered.

Human organs are the most valuable gifts of life. Until today, through organ transplantation, thousands of lives have been saved and many more blessed with hope and happiness through a better quality of living. However, rapid developments in transplant technology will be meaningless if supply of the needed organs remains scarce and organ transplantation procedures cannot take place accordingly. This global problem of organ shortage is also faced by Malaysia. Despite campaigns and initiatives introduced by the Malaysian authorities, the problem remains unresolved and the situation is worsening. Malaysia is reported to have less than one donor for every one thousand of the population (Lela Yasmin Mansor, 2007). However, statistics from the National Transplant Registry Malaysia confirm a steady increase in the number of registered potential donors each year. This suggests that certain factors must be preventing potential donors from becoming actual donors. Therefore, this study will not only discuss the current scenario of the organ shortage problem in Malaysia, highlighting its underlying factors, but will also scrutinise legal and social factors causing actual donations to remain relatively small, despite the promising number of potential donors registering each year. The study will suggest practical solutions to help solve organ shortages in Malaysia, particularly by utilising brain-dead patients from serious road traffic accidents as a potential source of cadaveric organs. Clarification on the Islamic perspective concerning organ donation is also included, as Islam is the main religion professed in Malaysia.

Orientador: Monica da Costa Serra / Resumo: Na sociedade, a identificação humana é indispensável tanto por razões legais como humanitárias. Porém, existem situações em que corpos encontrados não são passíveis de reconhecimento ou quando não há suspeição, impossibilitando a identificação. Nesses casos, análises antropológicas são de extrema importância, pois permitem estabelecer o perfil biológico do sujeito. Assim, realiza-se a Reconstrução Facial Forense (RFF) para possibilitar o reconhecimento e levar a uma possível identificação. A RFF, para ser realizada, precisa dos valores das espessuras de tecidos moles faciais (ETMF) em diversos pontos craniométricos. Essas medidas servem como guia para se estabelecer um limiar do contorno da face e podem ser influenciadas por diferentes fatores como sexo, ancestralidade, idade e índice de massa corporal (IMC). Não há na literatura tabelas de ETMFs de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros, para auxiliarem na RFF. O objetivo desse trabalho foi realizar a mensuração da espessura de tecidos moles de crianças e adolescentes brasileiros, a partir de dados de imagens de Tomografias Computadorizadas de Feixe Cônico (TCFC) de indivíduos vivos, considerando-se as variáveis sexo, idade, cor da pele e índice de massa corporal. Neste estudo, foram mensurados os 21 pontos craniométricos pré- determinados por meio do software Osírix Lite, de imagens de TCFC da região de cabeça e pescoço de 103 não adultos brasileiros (39 crianças e 64 adolescentes), obtidas junto aos arquivos de imagens de uma... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In society, human identification is indispensable both for legal and humanitarian reasons. However, there are situations in which bodies found are not recognizable or when there is no suspicion, making identification impossible. In these cases, anthropological analyzes are extremely important, since they allow to establish the biological profile of the subject. Thus, Forensic Facial Reconstruction (FFR) is performed to enable recognition and lead to a possible identification. The RFF, to be performed, needs the values of facial soft tissue thicknesses (FSTT) at several craniometric points. These measures serve as a guide to establish a threshold of the face contour and can be influenced by different factors such as sex, ancestry, age and body mass index (BMI). There are no tables in the literature of FSTTs of Brazilian children and adolescents, to assist in FFR. The objective of this study was to measure the thickness of soft tissues of Brazilian children and adolescents, based on data from Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images of living individuals, considering the variables gender, age, skin color and body mass index. In this study, 21 pre-determined craniometric points were measured using the Osírix Lite software, from head and neck CBCT images of 103 non-Brazilian adults (39 children and 64 adolescents), obtained from the image files of a Clinic of Radiology and Dental Documentation located in the city of Araraquara - SP. According to the obtained results, there wer... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:23:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-09-24Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:08:43Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 martins_e_me_botib.pdf: 1790014 bytes, checksum: cdc5465b2f9f498ba901cb3a27acf6e6 (MD5) / Há muito, a criminalística vem buscando soluções para superar um dos maiores desafios no atendimento de locais de crime, qual seja a determinação do intervalo de tempo entre o fato penal ocorrido e o início dos trabalhos de investigação policial. Não somente o intervalo pósmorte (IPM) representa um desses desafios, mas também o tempo decorrido em casos de maus tratos a crianças, idosos ou animais, além dos casos em que a determinação da causa da morte torna-se imprescindível no curso da investigação policial. Assim tornou-se a Entomologia Forense um parâmetro importante na busca por soluções capazes de nortear os trabalhos de apuração de diversos tipos de delito, recorrendo-se a informações sobre a idade do inseto, quando leva em conta sua biologia, bem como o comportamento de toda fauna presente em um corpo, tendo em conta o processo de sucessão ecológica. Para tanto, o conhecimento da fauna existente em diferentes áreas do país é primordial, de modo que a Entomologia Forense possa ser usada como um método corrente junto às técnicas periciais já existentes, além de aumentar a confiabilidade acerca dos laudos emitidos atualmente. Assim, neste estudo, objetivou-se analisar de maneira sistemática, usando como modelo animal carcaças de suínos domésticos (Sus scrofa L.) de aproximadamente 15 Kg, expostas em ambiente rural da região nordeste do Estado de São Paulo, Alta Mogiana, por meio de armadilhas apropriadas. Um dos animais foi morto por disparo de arma de fogo, enquanto o outro, por overdose de cocaína via intramuscular. Nossos resultados mostram que não houve diferença significativa na abundância e diversidade das espécies devido à intoxicação, porém as carcaças de porcos mortas por cocaína foram consumidas primeiro que as mortas por disparo de arma de fogo. Outra observação importante foi em relação ao primeiro registro... / The Forensic Science has been researching solutions to overcome one of the greatest challenges in the crime scene, which is determining the time interval between the criminal act occurred and the beginning of the investigation, ie, the post mortem interval (PMI). Among other challenges, is possible estimate the time since a child, aged people were neglected, beside the facts that the determination of the cause of death becomes vital in the course of police investigation. Thus became the entomology an important parameter in the search for solutions that can guide the work for various types of offence, using information about the insect age, when it takes in consideration their biology, as well as the behavior of the fauna present on the body, considering the ecological succession process. Thus, the knowledge of the existing fauna in different areas of the country is necessary for that the forensic entomology can be used as a common method within the forensic scope, as well as increasing the reliability of reports about currently issued. This study aimed at analyze, using as an animal model domestic pig (Sus scrofa L.) of approximately 15 kg, exposed in a rural environment of the Northeast from São Paulo State, Mogiana, by appropriate traps. One of the animal was killed by firearm, while another, by cocaine overdose intramuscularly. Our results showed that there was no significant difference on abundance and species diversity due to intoxication, but the carcasses killed by overdose were consumed by insects before that those killed by shooting. Another important observation regarding to the firt record of breeding of Ornidia obesa (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the carcasses in an attempt to gather enough data to support the possible inclusion of this syrphid fly in the ecological category of necrophagic insects... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The forensic toxicologist faces challenges in the detection of drugs and poisons in biological samples due to transformations which occur both during life and after death. For example, changes can result from drug metabolism during life or from the use of formalin solution for post mortem embalming purposes. The former requires the identification of drug metabolites and the latter the identification of chemical reaction products in order to know which substances had been administered. The work described in this thesis was aimed at providing ways of tackling these challenges and was divided into two parts. Part 1 investigated the use of in vitro drug metabolism by human liver microsomes (HLM) to obtain information on drug metabolites and Part 2 investigated the chemical reactions of drugs and a carbamate pesticide with formalin solution and formalin-blood. The initial aim of part I was to develop an in vitro metabolism method using HLM, based on a literature review of previous studies of this type. MDMA was chosen as a model compound to develop the HLM method because its metabolism was known and standards of its metabolites were commercially available. In addition, a sensitive and selective method was developed for the identification and quantitation of hydrophilic phase I drug metabolites using LC/MS/MS with a conventional reverse-phase (C18) column. In order to obtain suitable retention factors for polar drug metabolites on this column, acetyl derivatives were evaluated for converting the metabolites to more lipophilic compounds and an optimal separation system was developed. Acetate derivatives were found to be stable in the HPLC mobile phase and to provide good chromatographic separation of the target analytes. In vitro metabolism of MDMA and, subsequently, of other drugs involved incubation of 4 µg drug substance in pH 7.4 buffer with an NADPH generating system (NGS) at 37oC for 90 min with addition of more NGS after 30 min. The reaction was stopped at 90 min by the addition of acetonitrile before extraction of the metabolites. Acetate derivatives of MDMA metabolites were identified by LC/MS/MS using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Three phase I metabolites (both major and minor metabolites) of MDMA were detected in HLM samples. 3,4-dihydroxy-methamphetamine and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymethamphetamine were found to be major metabolites of MDMA whereas 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine was found to be a minor metabolite. Subsequently, ten MDMA positive urines were analysed to compare the metabolite patterns with those produced by HLM. An LC/MS method for MDMA and its metabolites in urine samples was developed and validated. The method demonstrated good linearity, accuracy and precision and insignificant matrix effects, with limits of quantitation of 0.025 µg/ml. Moreover, derivatives of MDMA and its metabolites were quantified in all 10 positive human urine samples. The urine metabolite pattern was found to be similar to that from HLM. The second aim of Part 1 was to use the HLM system to study the metabolism of some new psychoactive substances, whose misuse worldwide has necessitated the development of analytical methods for these drugs in biological specimens. Methylone and butylone were selected as representative cathinones and para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) was chosen as a representative ring-substituted amphetamine, because of the involvement of these drugs in recent drug-related deaths, because of a relative lack of information on their metabolism, and because reference standards of their metabolites were not commercially available. An LC/MS/MS method for the analysis of methylone, butylone, PMA and their metabolites was developed. Three phase I metabolites of methylone and butylone were detected in HLM samples. Ketone reduction to β-OH metabolites and demethylenation to dihydroxy-metabolites were found to be major phase I metabolic pathways of butylone and methylone whereas N-demethylation to nor-methylone and nor-butylone were found to be minor pathways. Also, demethylation to para-hydroxyamphetamine was found to be a major phase I metabolic pathway of PMA whereas β-hydroxylation to β-OH-PMA was found to be a minor pathway. Formaldehyde is used for embalming, to reduce decomposition and preserve cadavers, especially in tropical countries such as Thailand. Drugs present in the body can be exposed to formaldehyde resulting in decreasing concentrations of the original compounds and production of new substances. The aim of part II of the study was to evaluate the in vitro reactions of formaldehyde with selected drug groups including amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA), benzodiazepines (alprazolam and diazepam), opiates (morphine, hydromorphone, codeine and hydrocodone) and with a carbamate insecticide (carbosulfan). The study would identify degradation products to serve as markers for the parent compounds when these were no longer detectable. Drugs standards were spiked in 10% formalin solution and 10% formalin blood. Water and whole blood without formalin were used for controls. Samples were analysed by LC/MS/MS at different times from the start, over periods of up to 30 days. Amphetamine, methamphetamine and MDMA were found to rapidly convert to methamphetamine, DMA and MDDMA respectively, in both formalin solution and formalin blood, confirming the Eschweiler-Clarke reaction between amine-containing compounds and formaldehyde. Alprazolam was found to be unstable whereas diazepam was found to be stable in both formalin solution and water. Both were found to hydrolyse in formalin solution and to give open-ring alprazolam and open-ring diazepam. Other alprazolam conversion products attached to paraformaldehyde were detected in both formalin solution and formalin blood. Morphine and codeine were found to be more stable than hydromorphone and hydrocodone in formalin solution. Conversion products of hydromorphone and hydrocodone attached to paraformaldehyde were tentatively identified in formalin solution. Moreover, hydrocodone and hydromorphone rapidly decreased within 24 h in formalin blood and could not be detected after 7 days. Carbosulfan was found to be unstable in formalin solution and was rapidly hydrolysed within 24 h, whereas in water it was stable up to 48 h. Carbofuran was the major degradation product, plus smaller amounts of other products, 3-ketocarbofuran and 3-hydrocarbofuran. By contrast, carbosulfan slowly hydrolysed in formalin-blood and was still detected after 15 days. It was concluded that HLM provide a useful tool for human drug metabolism studies when ethical considerations preclude their controlled administration to humans. The use of chemical derivatisation for hydrophilic compounds such as polar drug metabolites for analysis by LC/MS/MS with a conventional C18 column is effective and inexpensive, and suitable for routine use in the identification and quantitation of drugs and their metabolites. The detection of parent drugs and their metabolites or conversion and decomposition products is potentially very useful for the interpretation of cases in forensic toxicology, especially when the original compounds cannot be observed.

L'arme blanche apparaît comme un des instruments le plus fréquemment rencontré en matière judiciaire. Or, selon le principe de transfert de traces de Locart, une arme entrant en contact avec un corps laisse une signature lésionnelle. L'analyse des lésions osseuses engendrées devient alors cruciale afin de rechercher tout indice permettant de remonter à l'agent vulnérant utilisé pour commettre le crime voire à l'identité de l'auteur. Ces travaux de thèse se sont attachés à répondre à cette problématique à travers un nouvel outil d'analyse non délabrant pour l'os, le macroscope à épifluorescence. A travers des études expérimentales et de validation basées majoritairement sur du matériel osseux humain, nous avons pu déterminer des modèles lésionnels sommant les différentes caractéristiques de chaque instrument et apporter des éléments d'orientation permettant de reconstituer le mécanisme de production de la lésion. L'orientation des écailles, des fissures et la compression osseuse du sillon apparaissent comme des éléments fondamentaux permettant de reconstituer la manière dont le coup a été porté dans l'espace ainsi que les positions de l'assaillant et de la victime. Il a été également possible de mettre en évidence des signatures diagnostiques individuelles qui, sous couvert de comparatifs lésionnels, relie de manière exclusive une lésion à un agent vulnérant. Néanmoins, face à la demande croissante de fiabilité et de niveau de preuve, il est devenu nécessaire pour les experts d'apporter une estimation de la validité et du taux d'erreur de leurs observations et conclusions. C'est pourquoi nous avons conduit une étude de validation, réalisée sur les instruments tranchants. Elle a permis d'estimer la valeur du diagnostic lésionnel anthropologique dans le cadre de telles expertises. Nous avons montré que les valeurs prédictives positives et négatives étaient élevées, mais étroitement corrélées au degré d'expérience de l'observateur. Un œil expérimenté s'avère indispensable pour aboutir à une expertise fiable. Enfin, ces différents travaux ont été mis en pratique dans des cas concrets à la fois médico-légaux actuels et archéologiques. Ces applications nous ont permis de confirmer la validité de ce type nouveau d'analyse microscopique avec comme perspective principale l'intégration progressive de cet outil dans des expertises tant contemporaines qu'archéologiques. / Sharp force trauma generated by knives is one of the most common forms of armed violence encountered in judicial procedures. According to Locart's principle of "transfer of traces", a weapon can leave a lesion imprint on the bone. That's why cut mark analyses are important as they allow identification of the weapon class or even the perpetrator of the crime. This thesis addresses this problem by using a new tool that does not alter the bone, i.e. the epifluorescence macroscope. Through experimental and validation processes using mainly human bones, we have been able to identify lesion models exemplifying the characteristics per weapon class, allowing us to model kerfs for each weapon. By the means of fluorescence and comparative analysis, our study also demonstrates that it is possible to highlight special characteristics identifying the unique blade responsible for the imprints observed on a bone. Moreover, we demonstrate for the first time microscopic criteria of directionality, using fluorescence excitation. Orientation of cracks, flakes, and lateral pushing back especially help determine the trajectory of the blow as well as the positions of the aggressor and victim. Nevertheless, scientific evidence is admissible if it is based on a scientific technique accepted as reliable within the scientific community and with judges. The admissibility of expert testimony under this new standard requires an estimation of the validity of the data and proof reliability (the rate of error in observations and conclusions). Our validation study demonstrated a high level of negative and positive predictive value of such diagnoses, but showed that this is closely linked to the observer's level of experience. A highly-experienced regard is essential for a reliable expertise. Thanks to these studies, we have had the opportunity to examine forensic and archaeological cases. These applications have confirmed that this technique could provide a useful preliminary tool for nondestructive examination in dismemberment cases, whether on ancient or contemporary bones.