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P10. Homicide by sharp violence in two Scandinavian capitals
210
Journalof Clinical Forensic Medicine
I saw Dan twice after his operation and was fortunate to obtain the original X-rays from his lawyer. I have been able, from original X-rays and view of scar to right temple, which shows anterior 'fishtailing', and view of the weapon, to build up a picture of the likely angulation and force of the stabbing. The case raises the issue of divided responsibility for the care of a prisoner in police custody, problems about allocation of resources, as well as differentiating between stab and slash wounds and determining what indicators lead to a decision to request a skull X-ray.
P8. A case of scurvy S. Mimasaka 1, M. Funayama~, N. Adachi 1, M. Nata 1, M. Morita 2
1Department of Legal Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendal, Japan, 2Departmentof Legal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan Case Report: A 6-year-old girl entered an emergency room with cardiopulmonary arrest. The body was that of a poorly developed child measuring 90 cm tall and weighing 10.6kg. There were many subcutaneous haemorrhages, and the gums were swollen and bleeding. The lungs were bulky, and froth was found in the airway. Bleeding was fotmd under the periosteum of the long bones except the forearms. According to her mother's confession, her condition took a sudden turn for the worse in a bathtub. Her parents usually worked together and they left her by herself in a room at daytime. Discussion: The case showed the clinical findings of scurvy, that is, haemorrhages into the skin, the gum, and the periosteum of the long bones. We determined that she had died not from drowning, but cardiorespiratory failure due to scurvy. Scurvy is a very rare disease in Japan, and at first we suspected that bleeding was caused by intention. The case does not indicate wilful abuse; however, the death was caused by ignorance of child care, and it may represent a kind of 'neglect'. P9. Association of hypoxic conditions with mitochondrial DNA damage in cardiac tissue S. A. Mohamed, C. Meissner, M. Oehmichen
Department of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Liibeck, Liibeck, Germany The analysis of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has become increasingly important in forensic science, especially in the identification of
poorly preserved skeletal or other human remains. Besides sequencing of the D-loop region for identification purposes, detection of the amount of the 4977bp deletion of mtDNA has been the subject of various investigations on postmitotic tissues, including heart and brain tissue. In the present study we analysed cardiac tissue taken at autopsy of the anterior and posterior wall of the left ventricle and right ventricle of 50 individuals of different ages with a well-documented case history for the presence of the 4977-bp deletion of mtDNA. DNA was extracted from 100 mg cardiac tissue from the three regions using the Super-Quik SQG1Kit (Immucor, Germany). A 113-bp fragment of the undeleted mtDNA and a 123-bp fragment of the 4977-bp deleted mtDNA were co-amplified, separated on silver-stained polyacrylamide gels and quantified. In heart tissue the amount of the 4977-bp deletion was found to have increased in an age-dependent manner. The frequency of the 4977-bp deletion showed a different accumulation in the three regions of the heart in most of the cases analysed. Interestingly, persons with cardiac disease had a greater accumulation of the 4977-bp deletion in comparison with age-matched controls. This finding may be attributable to ischaemic and reperfusion events, wich are known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are known to play an important role in the oxidative damage of DNA and are thought to lead to large-scale deletions of mtDNA.
P10. Homicide by sharp violence in two Scandinavian capitals S. Rogde 1, H. P. Hougen 2, K. Poulsen2
1Institutes of Forensic Medicine, Universityof Oslo and Tromso, Norway, 2Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark We have recently studied the patterns of homicide in the two Scandinavian capitals, Oslo and Copenhagen, in a retrospective study. We found very few differences between the homicide victim populations in the two capitals in the period 1985-1994. The total number of homicides in both cities was 431.33% (n = 141) were caused by sharp violence. No children under the age of 10 were subjected to sharp violence. In the higher age groups, the proportion of victims killed by sharp violence was fairly constant. In spite of an increasing tendency to use sharp weapons during fights, neither the total number of homicides nor the number of homicides by stabbing increased during the 10-year period. Further characteristics will be presented.
Journalof Clinical Forensic Medicine
I saw Dan twice after his operation and was fortunate to obtain the original X-rays from his lawyer. I have been able, from original X-rays and view of scar to right temple, which shows anterior 'fishtailing', and view of the weapon, to build up a picture of the likely angulation and force of the stabbing. The case raises the issue of divided responsibility for the care of a prisoner in police custody, problems about allocation of resources, as well as differentiating between stab and slash wounds and determining what indicators lead to a decision to request a skull X-ray.
P8. A case of scurvy S. Mimasaka 1, M. Funayama~, N. Adachi 1, M. Nata 1, M. Morita 2
1Department of Legal Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendal, Japan, 2Departmentof Legal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan Case Report: A 6-year-old girl entered an emergency room with cardiopulmonary arrest. The body was that of a poorly developed child measuring 90 cm tall and weighing 10.6kg. There were many subcutaneous haemorrhages, and the gums were swollen and bleeding. The lungs were bulky, and froth was found in the airway. Bleeding was fotmd under the periosteum of the long bones except the forearms. According to her mother's confession, her condition took a sudden turn for the worse in a bathtub. Her parents usually worked together and they left her by herself in a room at daytime. Discussion: The case showed the clinical findings of scurvy, that is, haemorrhages into the skin, the gum, and the periosteum of the long bones. We determined that she had died not from drowning, but cardiorespiratory failure due to scurvy. Scurvy is a very rare disease in Japan, and at first we suspected that bleeding was caused by intention. The case does not indicate wilful abuse; however, the death was caused by ignorance of child care, and it may represent a kind of 'neglect'. P9. Association of hypoxic conditions with mitochondrial DNA damage in cardiac tissue S. A. Mohamed, C. Meissner, M. Oehmichen
Department of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Liibeck, Liibeck, Germany The analysis of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has become increasingly important in forensic science, especially in the identification of
poorly preserved skeletal or other human remains. Besides sequencing of the D-loop region for identification purposes, detection of the amount of the 4977bp deletion of mtDNA has been the subject of various investigations on postmitotic tissues, including heart and brain tissue. In the present study we analysed cardiac tissue taken at autopsy of the anterior and posterior wall of the left ventricle and right ventricle of 50 individuals of different ages with a well-documented case history for the presence of the 4977-bp deletion of mtDNA. DNA was extracted from 100 mg cardiac tissue from the three regions using the Super-Quik SQG1Kit (Immucor, Germany). A 113-bp fragment of the undeleted mtDNA and a 123-bp fragment of the 4977-bp deleted mtDNA were co-amplified, separated on silver-stained polyacrylamide gels and quantified. In heart tissue the amount of the 4977-bp deletion was found to have increased in an age-dependent manner. The frequency of the 4977-bp deletion showed a different accumulation in the three regions of the heart in most of the cases analysed. Interestingly, persons with cardiac disease had a greater accumulation of the 4977-bp deletion in comparison with age-matched controls. This finding may be attributable to ischaemic and reperfusion events, wich are known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are known to play an important role in the oxidative damage of DNA and are thought to lead to large-scale deletions of mtDNA.
P10. Homicide by sharp violence in two Scandinavian capitals S. Rogde 1, H. P. Hougen 2, K. Poulsen2
1Institutes of Forensic Medicine, Universityof Oslo and Tromso, Norway, 2Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark We have recently studied the patterns of homicide in the two Scandinavian capitals, Oslo and Copenhagen, in a retrospective study. We found very few differences between the homicide victim populations in the two capitals in the period 1985-1994. The total number of homicides in both cities was 431.33% (n = 141) were caused by sharp violence. No children under the age of 10 were subjected to sharp violence. In the higher age groups, the proportion of victims killed by sharp violence was fairly constant. In spite of an increasing tendency to use sharp weapons during fights, neither the total number of homicides nor the number of homicides by stabbing increased during the 10-year period. Further characteristics will be presented.