Handheld hyperspectral imaging as a tool for the post-mortem interval estimation of human skeletal remains.

In forensic medicine, estimating human skeletal remains' post-mortem interval (PMI) can be challenging. Following death, bones undergo a series of chemical and physical transformations due to their interactions with the surrounding environment. Post-mortem changes have been assessed using various methods, but estimating the PMI of skeletal remains could still be improved. We propose a new methodology with handheld hyperspectral imaging (HSI) system based on the first results from 104 human skeletal remains with PMIs ranging between 1 day and 2000 years. To differentiate between forensic and archaeological bone material, the Convolutional Neural Network analyzed 65.000 distinct diagnostic spectra: the classification accuracy was 0.58, 0.62, 0.73, 0.81, and 0.98 for PMIs of 0 week-2 weeks, 2 weeks-6 months, 6 months-1 year, 1 year-10 years, and >100 years, respectively. In conclusion, HSI can be used in forensic medicine to distinguish bone materials >100 years old from those <10 years old with an accuracy of 98%. The model has adequate predictive performance, and handheld HSI could serve as a novel approach to objectively and accurately determine the PMI of human skeletal remains.

Bursting of the upper jaw prosthesis and fractures of the lower jaw as indirect injury pattern caused by a headshot: a case report.

Gunshots to the human body can cause direct and indirect injuries. Direct injuries are a consequence of the projectile guiding its way through the body, creating a permanent wound channel and thereby damaging the penetrated as well as the adjacent tissue. In addition, the temporary wound cavity is responsible for indirect injuries occurring distant to the actual wound tract. This can potentially affect different types of tissue, like blood vessels, organs, or bones, that are not directly passed through by the projectile. For this case report, we describe a suicidal headshot to the temporal area where the extension of the temporary wound cavity and its subsequent collapse led to massive energy transfer to the surrounding tissue leading to breakage of the upper dental prosthesis and fractures of the lower jaw. Thereby outlining the ballistic mechanisms causing indirect injury pattern that have to be considered when examining gunshot wounds.

Skin laceration caused by a short distance shot from a pepper spray launcher: a case report.

Pepper spray launchers are more precise and wind stable compared to conventional pepper sprays and are commonly used as a self-defensive tool. With the advanced potential, they may also harbour a greater risk for injuries, especially if they are not used within the suggested safety distance. If the shooting distance is below 1.5 m, energy densities may exceed the threshold energy density for the penetration of skin leading to skin laceration. We present a case where a man is hit by the liquid jet of a JPX Jet Protector® with an estimated shooting distance of 0.3 m. The man suffered from a bleeding skin laceration, which had to be sewed in the hospital. This case report furthermore outlines the potentially dangerous effect of pepper spray launchers and thereby their role in forensic investigations.

Post-Mortem Interval of Human Skeletal Remains Estimated with Handheld NIR Spectrometry.

Estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI) of human skeletal remains is a critical issue of forensic analysis, with important limitations such as sample preparation and practicability. In this work, NIR spectroscopy (NIRONE® Sensor X; Spectral Engines, 61449, Germany) was applied to estimate the PMI of 104 human bone samples between 1 day and 2000 years. Reflectance data were repeatedly collected from eight independent spectrometers between 1950 and 1550 nm with a spectral resolution of 14 nm and a step size of 2 nm, each from the external and internal bone. An Artificial Neural Network was used to analyze the 66,560 distinct diagnostic spectra, and clearly distinguished between forensic and archaeological bone material: the classification accuracies for PMIs of 0−2 weeks, 2 weeks−6 months, 6 months−1 year, 1 year−10 years, and >100 years were 0.90, 0.94, 0.94, 0.93, and 1.00, respectively. PMI of archaeological bones could be determined with an accuracy of 100%, demonstrating the adequate predictive performance of the model. Applying a handheld NIR spectrometer to estimate the PMI of human skeletal remains is rapid and extends the repertoire of forensic analyses as a distinct, novel approach.

Simultaneous Imaging and Flow-cytometry-based Detection of Multiple Fluorescent Senescence Markers in Therapy-induced Senescent Cancer Cells.

Chemotherapeutic drugs can induce irreparable DNA damage in cancer cells, leading to apoptosis or premature senescence. Unlike apoptotic cell death, senescence is a fundamentally different machinery restraining propagation of cancer cells. Decades of scientific studies have revealed the complex pathological effects of senescent cancer cells in tumors and microenvironments that modulate cancer cells and stromal cells. New evidence suggests that senescence is a potent prognostic factor during cancer treatment, and therefore rapid and accurate detection of senescent cells in cancer samples is essential. This paper presents a method to visualize and detect therapy-induced senescence (TIS) in cancer cells. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cell lines were treated with mafosfamide (MAF) or daunorubicin (DN) and examined for the senescence marker, senescence-associated ß-galactosidase (SA-ß-gal), the DNA synthesis marker 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), and the DNA damage marker gamma-H2AX (γH2AX). Flow cytometer imaging can help generate high-resolution single-cell images in a short period of time to simultaneously visualize and quantify the three markers in cancer cells.