SARS-CoV-2 antigen detection in deceased bodies: implications for infection prevention

Background & objectives: High transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 has significant implications on healthcare workers’ safety, preservation, handling, transportation and disposal of the deceased bodies. The objective of this study was to detect SARS-CoV-2 antigen in nasopharyngeal samples and its implications in handling and care of COVID-19 deceased bodies. Methods: A study was conducted at a dedicated COVID-19 centre on deceased individuals from April to December 2020. Rapid antigen test (RAT) and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was compared on all the SARS-CoV-2 positive cadavers recruited in the study. Results: A total of 115 deceased individuals were included in the study. Of these, 79 (68.7%) were male and 36 (31.3%) were female and majority were in the age group of 51-60 yr [31 (27%)]. SARS-CoV-2 antigen test was positive in 32 (27.8%) and negative in 83 (72.1%) individuals. The mean time interval between deaths to the sample collection was 13.2 h with interquartile range of eight to 20 h. Reverse transcription (RT)-PCR was used as the reference test and 24 (20.9%) cases were true positive; 93.6 per cent [95% confidence interval (CI) 88.8-98.4%] sensitivity, 45.2 per cent (95% CI 35.5-55%) specificity, 60.2 per cent (95% CI 50.6-69.8%) positive predictive value and 88.8 per cent (95% CI 82.7-95%) negative predictive value of antigen test was computed. Interpretation & conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 antigen test was positive beyond 19 h in COVID-19 deceased individuals. Antigen test was found to be highly sensitive in the deceased. Patients, suspected of having died due to COVID-19, can be screened by this method. As infectiousness of the virus in the deceased bodies cannot be directly concluded from either the antigen or RT-PCR test, yet possible transmission cannot be completely ruled out. Strict infection control measures need to be followed during the handling and clearance of COVID-19 cadavers.

Dificultades en la identificación de cadáveres y restos óseos por Odontología Forense en Costa Rica: Análisis de 165 autopsias / Difficulties in the identification of corpses and skeletal remains by Forensic Odontology in Costa Rica: Analysis of 165 autopsies

Resumen Introducción: En Costa Rica la elaboración del expediente odontológico o ficha clínica no se realiza de manera habitual en todos los pacientes como ocurre en muchos países donde es exigido por ley. La realización del expediente únicamente está normada en el Código de Ética del Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica, es decir que no realizarlo se considera una falta ético-disciplinaria con pocas repercusiones para la persona profesional; sin embargo, tiene consecuencias graves en los esfuerzos para identificar a un ser humano. Este estudio tiene como propósito describir el impacto de la ausencia o la mala calidad de datos odontológicos antemortem en los casos de identificación realizados por la Unidad de Odontología Forense del Departamento de Medicina Legal en un período de casi ocho años (2015-2022). Materiales y métodos: Se realizó una revisión detallada en la base de datos del Sistema de Medicina Legal (SIMEL) del Departamento de Medicina Legal del Organismo de Investigación Judicial de la totalidad de solicitudes de interconsulta de la Sección de Patología Forense desde enero de 2015 hasta agosto de 2022. La información recopilada fue tabulada en Excel e incluyó tanto los resultados del análisis pericial como las características de la información antemortem disponible. Resultados: El análisis de los datos permitió determinar que en un período de casi 8 años se realizaron 165 valoraciones con fines de identificación, de las cuales se identificaron positivamente 51 individuos, 9 casos presentaron información insuficiente y 105 no contaban con expediente odontológico. Conclusiones: el expediente odontológico completo es indispensable para lograr una identificación positiva, un expediente incompleto o inexistente anula la posibilidad de identificar a un ser humano. La necesidad de contar con legislación que convierta la realización y preservación de los expedientes odontológicos de forma obligatoria con fines de identificación es necesaria en Costa Rica.

Abstract Introduction: In Costa Rica the elaboration of dental records or clinical files is not performed routinely in all patients as it is required by law in many countries. The completion of the dental record is only regulated by the Code of Ethics of the Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica (Board of Dental Surgeons of Costa Rica), which means that failure to do so is considered an ethical-disciplinary offense with few consequences for the professional; however, it has serious consequences in the efforts to identify a person. This study aims to describe the impact of the absence or poor quality of antemortem data in identification cases performed by the Forensic Odontology Unit of the Department of Legal Medicine over a period of almost eight years (2015-2022). Materials and Methods: A detailed review was performed in the database of the Forensic Medicine System (SIMEL) of the Legal Medicine Department of the Judicial Investigation Organism of the totality of interconsultation requests of the Forensic Pathology Section from January 2015 to August 2022. The information collected was tabulated in Excel and included both the results of the expert analysis and the characteristics of the available antemortem information. Results: The analysis of the data made it possible to determine that in a period of almost 8 years 165 assessments were carried out for identification purposes, of which 51 individuals were identified, 9 cases presented insufficient information and 105 had no dental files. Conclusions: A complete dental record is indispensable for a positive identification; an incomplete or non-existent record nullifies the possibility of identifying a human being.

Application of CD83 and HSF5 to Identify Antemortem and Postmortem Skin Burns / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVES@#To explore the forensic application value of cluster of differentiation 83 (CD83) and heat shock transcription factor 5(HSF5) in identifying antemortem and postmortem skin burns.@*METHODS@#Through reverse transcription real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), CD83 and HSF5 mRNA levels in the skin tissues of antemortem and postmortem burned mice and human samples were detected quantitatively.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the control group and the postmortem burned group, the mRNA levels of CD83 and HSF5 in antemortem burned mice were higher. The high mRNA expressions of CD83 could be detected 96 h after death, and the mRNA expressions of HSF5 could be observed 72 h after death. Compared with undamaged skin, increased CD83 and HSF5 mRNA levels were detected in 11 out of 15 cases(P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#CD83 and HSF5 can be used in forensic practice as indicators for vital reaction in antemortem burn identification.

Expression of Autophagy-Associated Protein in Rat Muscle Tissues after Antemortem and Postmortem Injury / 法医学杂志

Objective To study the expression of the three autophagy-associated proteins, BECN1, LC3 and p62, after the injury of the skeletal muscle of rats and to explore its application in differentiation between antemortem and postmortem injury. Methods The 72 healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the undamaged control group, the antemortem injury group （0.5 h, 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, 16 h and 24 h） and postmortem injury group （0.5 h, 1 h, 2 h and 4 h）. A model of the injured right hind limb of rats was constructed. The expressions of the autophagy-associated proteins, BECN1, LC3-2/LC3-1 and p62, in the control group, the antemortem injury group and postmortem injury group were detected by Western blotting method. The data were respectively centralized and standardized and the orthogonal partial least square-discrimination analysis （OPLS-DA） identification model of antemortem and postmortem injury groups was constructed. Results The expression of BECN1, p62 protein and LC3-2/LC3-1 after the injury of the skeletal muscle of the rats showed different degrees of changes, but the differences among the 3 groups had no statistical significance. Antemortem and postmortem injury groups can be distinguished by centralizing and standardizing the expression levels of autophagy protein BECN1 and the ratio of LC3-2/LC3-1. The principal components extracted from OPLS-DA model of antemortem injury and postmortem injury had a relatively good interpretation of the model （Rx2=0.563, Ry2=0.439）, but it were less predictive （Q2=0.366）. Conclusion The expression of BECN1 and the ratio of LC3-2/LC3-1 in injured local tissue of the rat skeletal muscle can be used for the differentiation of antemortem injury group and postmortem injury group.

Utilidad de expedientes odontológicos disponibles en Costa Rica en el año 2018 para la identificación de víctimas de desastres según el protocolo de INTERPOL / Utility of dental records available in Costa Rica in 2018 for the identification of disaster victims according to the INTERPOL protocols

Resumen Introducción: La identificación por métodos odontológicos ha demostrado su efectividad desde hace mucho tiempo, pero en los últimos años ha tenido un rol determinante en la identificación de víctimas de desastres masivos y en crímenes de lesa humanidad. Uno de los factores determinantes para efectuar una identificación positiva es la calidad de la información antemortem. La presente investigación tuvo como fin establecer la calidad de la información recopilada en los expedientes odontológicos durante el año 2018 en Costa Rica con respecto a la información contemplada en los protocolos de INTERPOL. Materiales y métodos: Estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, en el que se realizó un cuestionario basado en la información solicitada en los formularios antemortem y postmortem de INTERPOL para identificación de víctimas de desastres (DVI). Se realizó una cuestionario piloto y se aplicó a 10 odontólogos, posteriormente se realizó un cuestionario final calibrado, vía electrónica a través del Colegio de Cirujanos Dentistas de Costa Rica mediante la plataforma Google Docs; los resultados fueron analizados mediante las distribuciones de frecuencia, cruce de variables, comparación de medias con base en el análisis de variancia. El nivel mínimo de confianza para las comparaciones fue del 95%. El procesamiento estadístico de los datos se realizó en la base de datos llamada SPSS versión 17.0 y en Excel. Resultados: En total fueron respondidos 573 cuestionarios de los cuales el 76% son mujeres; la distribución es independiente de la edad(p=0,161). Un 90,2% de los odontólogos generalmente elaboran un expediente clínico odontológico para sus pacientes, un 8,4% a veces no lo hace y un 1.4% no siempre lo realiza. El 69% de los entrevistados indican que la información que recopila en el expediente clínico odontológico si puede ser útil para la identificación de una persona, 19% indica que no sabe que esta información puede ser utilizada para identificación y un 12% indica que no es útil. Conclusiones: El expediente clínico odontológico es de extrema utilidad para colaborar en el proceso de identificación de víctimas mortales, sin embargo existe una gran cantidad de información no odontológica que puede ser recopilada por los odontólogos para facilitar la identificación de seres humanos.

Abstract Introduction: The identification by dental methods has proven its effectiveness for a long time, but in recent years it has played a determining role in the identification of victims of mass disasters and crimes against humanity. One of the determining factors for positive identification is the quality of antemortem information. The purpose of the present investigation was to establish the quality of the information collected in the dental records during the year 2018 in Costa Rica with respect to the information contemplated in the INTERPOL protocols. Materials and methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, in which a questionnaire was conducted based on the information requested in the INTERPOL antemortem and postmortem forms for identification of disaster victims (DVI). A pilot questionnaire was carried out and applied to 10 dentists, later a calibrated final questionnaire was done electronically through the College of Dental Surgeons of Costa Rica in the Google Docs platform; the results were analyzed by means of frequency distributions, crossing of variables, comparison of means based on analysis of variance. The minimum confidence level for the comparisons was 95%. The statistical processing of the data was done in the database called SPSS version 17.0 and in Excel. Results: A total of 573 questionnaires were answered, of which 76% are women; the distribution is independent of age (p = 0.161). 90.2% of dentists generally elaborate a dental clinical record for their patients, 8.4% sometimes do not and 1.4% do not always do it. 69% of the interviewees indicate that the information that they collect in the dental clinical file can be useful for the identification of a person, 19% indicate that they do not know that this information can be used for identification and 12% indicate that it is not Useful. Conclusions: The dental clinical file is extremely useful to collaborate in the process of identification of fatalities, however there is a large amount of non-dental information that can be collected by dentists to facilitate the identification of human beings.

Molecular approach for ante-mortem diagnosis of rabies in dogs

Background & objectives: The ante-mortem diagnosis of rabies is of great significance in establishing the status of infection in dogs, especially since they are involved in exposure to human beings. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to elucidate the most appropriate secretion/tissue for reliable diagnosis of rabies in 26 living dogs suspected to be rabid. Methods: In the present study 26 dogs suspected to have rabies were included for ante-mortem diagnosis of rabies in clinical samples of skin and saliva by molecular approach viz. heminested reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (HnRT-PCR). Skin and saliva samples were collected from 13 dogs each. Results: Of the 13 clinically suspected dogs, fluorescent antibody technique (FAT) confirmed rabies in nine cases of dogs. Of these nine true-positive dogs, eight cases could be confirmed by HnRT-PCR from skin. Of the other 13 dogs clinically suspected for rabies, FAT confirmed rabies in 10 cases. Of these 10 true-positive dogs, rabies was detected ante-mortem by HnRT-PCR from the saliva in seven dogs. Thus, rabies was detected from skin with 90 per cent sensitivity, 100 per cent specificity and 92.85 per cent accuracy. With saliva, rabies was detected with a sensitivity of 76.92 per cent, specificity of 100 per cent and accuracy of 62.50 per cent. The positive predictive values were 100 per cent for both skin and saliva samples while negative predictive values were 80 and 50 per cent, respectively. Interpretation & conclusions: Skin biopsy may be more appropriate clinical sample as compared to saliva for ante-mortem diagnosis of rabies in dogs. HnRT-PCR can be employed for molecular diagnosis of rabies from skin in live dogs.

Relationship between the Dental Characteristics and General Profiling of the Decedent: A Review.

In the fi eld of forensics, the use of dentition for identifi cation has been well established. Th e dental analysis has been employed mainly for the positive personal identifi cation of the person. Th erefore, the purpose of this review is to show the possibility of using the dental characteristics, for example, caries and dental restorations for the general profi ling of the decedent. It was found that many signifi cant relationships existed between the dental characteristics and the sex, race, age, and socioeconomic status of the person identifi ed. Th e socioeconomic status is having the least number of correlations while the age and race were seen to have the most.

Dental Pathologies in the Three Kingdoms Period Population from Imdang Site, Gyeongsan, Korea / 체질인류학회지

Dental pathology has the potential to provide insight into the interpretation of the health and life style of past population. In particular, dental pathologies are strongly correlated to subsistence pattern, diet habits and food-preparation techniques. For this reason, my studies have focused on analyses of dental diseases (e.g., caries, abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss, enamel hypoplasia, dental attrition, and periodontal diseases). The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of dental pathologies of the Imdang population dating to between A.D. 3rd and A.D. 7th centuries (Three Kingdoms Period). In this study, through a macroscopic observation of dental remains from 138 individuals of the Imdang site, the prevalence of caries, abscess and ante-mortem tooth loss was examined. The association between sex, age and the frequencies of pathology was analyzed by the Chi-square tests. The results showed that the frequency of dental pathologies was consistently low level in Imdang population. Caries prevalence in the Imdang population was higher in females (6.15%) that in males (4.89). Among dental pathologies, abscess prevalence (0.7%) was lowest in Imdang population. Meanwhile, AMTL prevalence was 10.81% in males and 3.8% in females. There is a statistically significant difference between the anterior teeth of males and females (p<0.05). This study revealed that the rate of dental caries, abscess and AMTL in the Three Kingdoms Period population was relatively low level. This study is the first report of the patterns of dental pathologies in the Three Kingdoms Period population. It is necessary to investigate more number of pathologic markers that needed for deeper understanding of the multi-faceted nature of dental pathologies of ancient populations.

Role of reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of human rabies.

Background & objectives: Traditionally, rabies diagnosis is made by demonstration of rabies viral antigen by direct immunofluorescence (DIF) and mouse inoculation test (MIT). The present study was carried out to evaluate the role of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in comparison with these conventional techniques for the diagnosis of rabies. Methods: Skin biopsies, corneal impression smears and saliva sample were collected ante-mortem and brain tissue and CSF were collected post-mortem from ten clinically suspected rabies patients. DIF, Seller staining, MIT and RT-PCR were performed on the patients’ samples for the diagnosis of rabies. The ability of RT-PCR to detect rabies virus earlier as compared to other assays was tested both for reference virus as well as clinical isolates. Results: All samples taken ante-mortem were negative for DIF test. Six of 10 post-mortem brain tissues of the clinically suspected patients were positive both by RT-PCR and MIT, of these six, five were positive by DIF test and four were positive by Seller stain. RT-PCR could detect the rabies virus earlier as compared to DIF, both from clinical isolates and fixed rabies virus. Interpretation & conclusions: The present results showed 100 per cent sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR as compared to 83.3 per cent of DIF and 66.7 per cent of Sellers stain for diagnosis of rabies. RT-PCR also detected rabies viral infection earlier as compared to conventional tests and can also be used on ante-mortem samples. Thus, the present study shows the usefulness of RT-PCR as an alternative to MIT for the confirmation of rabies diagnosis.

Newer trends in hanging death.

A total of 105 cases of deaths due to hanging were studied in a span of 5 years time. This present study throws some light on the emerging trends that Hanging is increasingly being adopted by a relatively younger age group who are mostly illiterate and of poor socio-economic status. Hanging being viewed as giving swift painless death and without much expenses and without arousing much suspicion, this mode is increasingly adopted to commit suicide. Dribbling saliva mark, which was a hallmark of Ante-mortem hanging, is increasingly seen in less number of cases. No incidence of fracture of Hyoid bone being seen in this study, due to the fact that most cases were of lower age group and also may be due to most of the victims adopting soft ligatures and low suspension points. Transverse tears in the Carotid arteries were not seen here and on subjecting to Histo-pathological study, we could detect disruption of intimal layer of Carotid artery. Effect of pressure on layers of skin were seen on Histo-pathological study showing vital reaction changes useful for labelling Ante-mortem hanging.

Antemortem diagnosis of human rabies in a veterinarian infected when handling a herbivore in Minas Gerais, Brazil / Diagnóstico ante-mortem de raiva humana em médico veterinário infectado por manipulação de herbívoro, Minas Gerais, Brasil

The Ministry of Health's National Human Rabies Control Program advocates pre-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for professionals involved with animals that are at risk of contracting rabies. We report an antemortem and postmortem diagnosis of rabies in a veterinarian who became infected when handling herbivores with rabies. The antemortem diagnosis was carried out with a saliva sample and a biopsy of hair follicles using molecular biology techniques, while the postmortem diagnosis used a brain sample and conventional techniques. The veterinarian had collected samples to diagnose rabies in suspect herbivores (bovines and caprines) that were subsequently confirmed to be positive in laboratory tests. After onset of classic rabies symptoms, saliva and hair follicles were collected and used for antemortem diagnostic tests and found to be positive by RT-PCR. Genetic sequencing showed that the infection was caused by variant 3 (Desmodus rotundus), a finding confirmed by tests on the brain sample. It is essential that professionals who are at risk of infection by the rabies virus undergo pre-exposure prophylaxis. This study also confirms that molecular biology techniques were used successfully for antemortem diagnosis and therefore not only allow therapeutic methods to be developed, but also enable the source of infection in human rabies cases to be identified accurately and quickly.

O Programa Nacional de Controle da Raiva Humana do Ministério da Saúde preconiza o esquema profilático pré-exposição (PEP) para profissionais envolvidos com animais expostos ao risco de contraírem raiva. O presente trabalho relata o diagnóstico de raiva (ante e post-mortem) em veterinário infectado por manipulação de herbívoros raivosos. O diagnóstico laboratorial ante-mortem foi efetuado a partir da saliva e biópsia de folículo piloso, utilizando técnicas de biologia molecular e o post-mortem a partir do tecido cerebral e de técnicas convencionais. O médico veterinário coletou amostras para diagnóstico de raiva em herbívoros (bovinos e caprinos) suspeitos que, posteriormente, foram confirmados positivos em laboratório. Após a apresentação dos sintomas clássicos de raiva e realizadas as provas de diagnóstico ante-mortem com saliva e folículo piloso, ambas as amostras apresentaram resultados positivos pelo nested-RT-PCR. O sequenciamento genético revelou que a infecção se deu pela variante 3 do Desmodus rotundus, resultados estes confirmados com a amostra do cérebro. É indispensável que profissionais expostos ao risco de infecção pelo vírus da raiva realizem a profilaxia pré-exposição. Ressalta-se, também, que as técnicas de biologia molecular apresentaram bons resultados para a realização de diagnóstico ante-mortem, propiciando o desenvolvimento de métodos terapêuticos, e determinando com precisão e rapidez a fonte de infecção dos casos de raiva humana.

Dental Identification of the Victims of the Cold Storage Warehouse Fire in Icheon / 대한법의학회지

The fire broke out in the cold storage warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea on January 7th, 2008 and forty workers were died from the fire. Dental identification was carried out to the 25 victims among the 40 ones. The five remains were identified through dental approaches. The public ignorance about the importance of forensic odontology and the difficulty procuring antemortem dental records from the families of the victims were kind of hardships to use the victim's previous dental information. The availability of antemortem data was 12.5%. The public realization about the importance of dental identification and building-up an appropriate co-work system between relevant organizations are required to collect antemortem data more efficiently without wasting time.

Causas de óbito em pacientes com síndrome da imunodeficiência adquirida, necropsiados na Fundação de Medicina Tropical do Amazonas / Causes of death among patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome autopsied at the Tropical Medicine Foundation of Amazonas

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar em 129 pacientes com AIDS, necropsiados na Fundação de Medicina Tropical do Amazonas de 1996 a 2003, as causas do óbito, observando o grau de concordância entre os diagnósticos necroscópicos com os diagnósticos clínicos. A doença mais freqüente que causou o óbito foi tuberculose 28 por cento, seguida de pneumonia bacteriana 17 por cento, histoplasmose 13 por cento, toxoplasmose 10 por cento, pneumocistose 8 por cento, criptococose 5 por cento, sepse bacteriana 4 por cento e 15 por cento outras causas. A concordância entre o diagnóstico clínico antemortem e a necropsia foi de 51,9 por cento. O principal órgão acometido foi o pulmão 82,2 por cento. O tempo de sobrevivência após o diagnóstico laboratorial até o óbito variou entre um mês e 120 meses. A média de sobrevivência foi 15 dias e 56 por cento morreram menos de um mês após o diagnóstico, 15 pacientes morreram na mesma data do diagnóstico. Esses resultados demonstram a importância da necropsia na causa mortis em pacientes com AIDS.

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of death among 129 AIDS patients that were autopsied at the Tropical Medicine Foundation of Amazonas between 1996 and 2003. The degree of concordance between the autopsy diagnoses and the clinical diagnoses was observed. The disease that most frequently caused death was tuberculosis (28 percent), followed by bacterial pneumonia (17 percent), histoplasmosis (13 percent), toxoplasmosis (10 percent), pneumocystosis (8 percent), cryptococcosis (5 percent), bacterial sepsis (4 percent) and other causes (15 percent). The concordance between the clinical diagnosis before death and the autopsy was 51.9 percent. The main organ involved was the lungs (82.2 percent). The length of survival from the time of the laboratory diagnosis to death ranged from one month to 120 months. The mean length of survival was 15 days and 56 percent died less than one month after the diagnosis, while 15 patients died on the same day that they were diagnosed. These results show the importance of autopsies in elucidating the causes of death among AIDS patients.

Identification of Korean victims in PMT-air airplane crash accident / 대한법의학회지

The PMT-air airplane crash accident occurred in June 25, 2007 in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. All 22 passengers and crew, including 13 Korean victims, were found dead. Human identification was done at the Cambodian-Russian Soviet friendship hospital. All of Korean victims were identified with fingerprint comparison, age estimation, comparison of belongings and examination of past medical history. In this identification process, the examination of antemortem data source with searching personal blog of internet had been proved efficient in human identification. The antemortem data collection with internet access may be useful and should be combined with classical antemortem data collection process because it is beyond spatial and time limitation.

Odontología forense: identificación odontológica de cadáveres quemados. reporte de dos casos / Forensic Dentistry: dental identification of burned human remains. Two case reports

Este artículo, demuestra los aportes que hace la odontología a las ciencias forenses, en lo referente al proceso de identificación de cadáveres y restos humanos quemados o carbonizados cuyo reconocimiento, debido a la destrucción de tejidos blandos, se dificulta por otros métodos. La aplicación de la odontología en los procesos de identificación no es nueva y su importancia es extraordinaria cuando los cadáveres quedan carbonizados y cuando por acción del fuego han desaparecido elementos que permitan la certera identificación de los restos humanos disponibles, o por las propias limitaciones que presentan otros métodos. Ante la ausencia de un registro dactilar previo o si el cadáver no tiene dedos o los tiene destruidos, la identificación mediante las huellas de los dedos de las manos por reconocimiento directo o por medios accesorios no es fiable y las técnicas analíticas (salvo el ADN -ácido desoxi ribunocleico-, llamado a resolver todos los casos pero aún de alto costo en el medio colombiano) y otras complementarias son solamente indiciarias. Además, está admitido por todos los especialistas que ®no existen dos dentaduras iguales¼ y que ®aun los dientes de gemelos idénticos presentan variaciones¼ y, adicionalmente, se conoce la resistencia de los dientes a la destrucción por el fuego, lo cual demuestra su alto valor para la correcta identificación de individuos quemados o carbonizados, se basa sobre el número de dientes presentes, procesos patológicos detectables en los mismos, restauraciones, materiales odontológicosempleados y prótesis e implantes que hacen infinito el número de combinaciones posibles. Por ello es evidente que si de un cadáver no quedan dientes, difícilmente se podrá disponer de otros datos de valor en la identificación.

This article, identifies the contribution of dentistry to the forensic science during the identification processes of burned corpses and human remains, in which result difficult because soft tissue destruction. Dentistry application within identification processes is not new and carries great relevance in those cases were corpses are burned, making other identifiable elements to disappear, or by normal limitations of other methods. When there is a not previous finger print available, or the corpse is missing its fingers, identification by straight recognition or by accessories cannot be trusted as it’s often susceptible of mistakes and the analytical techniques (except DNA, capable of solving almost any case but yet expensive for Colombian use). Furthermore,its been accepted by most specialists that they are no two identical sets of teeth even in cases of identical twins, some dental variations are present. Also, due to the resistance of teeth to fire destruction, its understood the dentistry contribution importance in burned individuals, which analysis are based on number of present teeth, dental pathological processes, dental restoration works, materials employed, prothesis and implants, which increases the possible combinations. That’s why, if they are no teeth remaining in a burned corpse, hardly will be to obtain other clues for identification.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF FIBRONECTIN DETECTION AND TIMING OF EARLY RAT'S SKIN WOUNDS / 中国法医学杂志

Immunohistochemical PAP method was used to detect the fibronectin (FN) in the rat's skin incised wounds. The results demonstrated that FN manifest itself in the wall of the wounds after 15 min injury, within 1 to 8 hrs after injury, FN accumulated numerously, forming a gradient deposition. In contrast, no FN was found in wounds formed 5 min after death. The research had eatablished a new method for differentiation timing of early wound, and for differentiation of antemortom from postmortem wounds