Internal validation of the GA118-24B Genetic Analyzer, a stable capillary electrophoresis system for forensic DNA identification.

The GA118-24B Genetic Analyzer (hereafter, "GA118-24B") is an independently developed capillary electrophoresis instrument. In the present research, we designed a series of validation experiments to test its performance at detecting DNA fragments compared to the Applied Biosystems 3500 Genetic Analyzer (hereafter, "3500"). Three commercially available autosomal short tandem repeat multiplex kits were used in this validation. The results showed that GA118-24B had acceptable spectral calibration for three kits. The results of accuracy and concordance studies were also satisfactory. GA118-24B showed excellent precision, with a standard deviation of less than 0.1 bp. Sensitivity and mixture studies indicated that GA118-24B could detect low-template DNA and complex mixtures as well as the results generated by 3500 in parallel experiments. Based on the experimental results, we set specific analytical and stochastic thresholds. Besides, GA118-24B showed superiority than 3500 within certain size ranges in the resolution study. Instead of conventional commercial multiplex kits, GA118-24B performed stably on a self-developed eight-dye multiplex system, which were not performed on 3500 Genetic Analyzer. We compared our validation results with those of previous research and found our results to be convincing. Overall, we conclude that GA118-24B is a stable and reliable genetic analyzer for forensic DNA identification.

Retrospective evaluation of neonates with fatal congenital lung malformation: A single center 15-year forensic autopsy experience.

Congenital lung malformation (CLM) is a leading cause of infant mortality. Clinical methods for diagnosing CLM mainly rely on computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, and Doppler. However, forensic identification of the cause of death in neonates is challenging. Unequivocal classification criteria for CLM are missing as its forensic identification is ambiguous. Therefore, we aimed to analyze neonatal death cases at our center to assist in identifying those with congenital lung malformation. This retrospective study identified and classified the causes of deaths of neonates autopsied between January 2008 and April 2023. All cases born alive and died within 28 days with a clear time of death were selected, and forensic experts reviewed their records. The manner, cause of death, and other characteristics were noted and discussed. This retrospective study reveals a steady increase in autopsy cases from 2008 to 2015, attributed to improved parental consent, heightened awareness of autopsy importance, and enhanced medical resources. However, a subsequent decline post-2015 is observed, potentially influenced by advancements in medical technology and prenatal examination protocols. The top causes of neonatal mortality include respiratory diseases, asphyxia, congenital dysplasia, and fetal distress. Congenital lung malformations, particularly bronchopulmonary malformations, constitute a significant portion of congenital anomalies. This study underscores the importance of standardized autopsies and histopathological examinations in diagnosing and understanding CLM. Future research should focus on expanding case collections and elucidating the genetic basis of CLM to improve forensic management and outcomes.

A preliminary exploration for co-detecting RNA virus and STR type on capillary electrophoresis in forensic practice.

RNA virus infection such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection shows severe respiratory symptoms on human and could be an obvious individual characteristic for investigations in forensic science. As for biological samples suspected to contain RNA virus in forensic casework, it requires respective detection of viral RNA and human DNA: reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and DNA type (short tandem repeat [STR] analysis). Capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been shown to be a versatile technique and used for a variety of applications, so we preliminarily explored the co-detection of RNA virus and STR type on CE by developing a system of co-detecting SARS-CoV-2 and STR type under ensuring both the efficiency of forensic DNA analysis and safety of the laboratory. This study investigated the development and validation of the system, including N and ORF1ab primer designs, polymerase chain reaction amplification, allelic ladder, CE detection, thermal cycling parameters, concordance, sensitivity, species specificity, precision, and contrived and real SARS-CoV-2 sample studies. Final results showed the system could simultaneously detect SARS-CoV-2 and STR type, further indicating that CE has possibilities in the multi-detection of RNA viruses/STR type to help to prompt individual characteristics (viral infection) and narrow the scope of investigation in forensic science.

Analysis of the risk of traumatic brain injury and evaluation neurogranin and myelin basic protein as potential biomarkers of traumatic brain injury in postmortem examination.

In forensic pathology, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a frequently encountered cause of death. Unfortunately, the statistic autopsy data, risk investigation about injury patterns, and circumstances of TBI are still sparse. Estimates of survival time post-TBI and postmortem diagnosis of TBI are especially important implications in forensic medicine. Neurogranin (Ng) and myelin basic protein (MBP) represent potential biomarkers of TBI. The present study analyzed retrospectively the forensic autopsy records of TBI cases at a university center of medico-legal investigation from 2008 to 2020. Immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to investigate the expression changes of Ng and MBP in the cortical brain injury adjacent tissues and serum, respectively, from cases of TBI at autopsy with different survival times post-TBI. The results show that the major mechanism of death of TBI is assault, and accident was the major manner of death. Ng and MBP are mainly expressed in the cortical nerve cells and the myelin sheath, respectively. The serum levels of Ng and MBP in each TBI group were higher compared with those in the controls. The brain cortical levels of Ng and MBP decreased at first and then steadily increased with extended survival time post-TBI. The immunopositive ratios and serum concentration of Ng and MBP have shown significant differences among control group and all TBI group (p < 0.001). Collectively, the immunohistochemical analyses of Ng and MBP in human brain tissues may be useful to determine the survival time after TBI, and Ng and MBP level in the human blood specimens could be considered as a postmortem diagnostic tools of TBI in forensic practice.

Considering the flanking region variants of nonbinary SNP and phenotype-informative SNP to constitute 30 microhaplotype loci for increasing the discriminative ability of forensic applications.

The flanking region variants of nonbinary SNPs and phenotype-informative SNPs (piSNPs) have been observed, which may greatly improve the discriminative ability after constituting microhaplotype. In this study, 30 microhaplotype loci based on the nonbinary SNPs and piSNPs (shown to be related to phenotypes such as hair and eye color) were selected. Genotyping were conducted on 100 unrelated northern Han Chinese, and the 26 populations from the 1000 Genome Project were also included for comparison of populations differentiation. The simulated study was conducted for evaluating the efficiency of kinship testing. These 30 microhaplotype loci we selected had good polymorphism, with a mean effective number of alleles (Ae) of 3.46. The average Ae increase was 1.27 compared with the target SNPs. The populations from the five regions worldwide could also be distinguished using these loci. The results of kinship testing showed that these microhaplotype loci had the similar ability as 15 STR loci of AmpFlSTRR IdentifilerR PCR Amplification Kit to identify the biological parent and a stronger ability to exclude the nonbiological parents. So, these 30 microhaplotype loci may be multifunctional for forensic application, including the ability of personal identification and kinship testing equivalent to 15 STR loci, and the power of ancestry inference for distinguishing the main intercontinental population. Moreover, our selected phenotypic microhaplotype loci may theoretically have phenotype prediction capabilities. But the phenotype prediction efficiency of these phenotypic microhaplotype loci may be worse than that of piSNPs and the detailed prediction accuracy of different populations needs to be further studied.

Development and validation of novel 8-dye short tandem repeat multiplex system for forensic applications.

DNA profiling of short tandem repeats (STRs) is the primary method for genotyping forensic samples. However, degraded DNA and trace samples are still major problems for commercial 5- or 6-dye STR kits. In order to improve the performance of this method, we developed a novel 8-dye STR multiplex system containing 18 autosomal loci (D3S1358, D1S1656, TPOX, D16S539, vWA, D6S1043, D2S1338, CSF1PO, D19S433, D7S820, FGA, D8S1179, D5S818, D13S317, TH01, D21S11, D12S391, and PentaD) and the sex-determining locus Amelogenin, with all fragments smaller than 330 bases. Validation was carried out as recommended by the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods. The results showed that complete profiles were obtainable when the input DNA was as low as 0.0625 ng. Full profiles were obtained even in the presence of inhibitors such as humic acid (< 300 ng/µl), hematin (< 100 µM), and indigo (0.01%). The 8-dye STR multiplex system also showed good performance in the detection degraded DNA samples. These results indicate that the 8-dye STR multiplex system is suitable for human DNA genotyping, including for difficult forensic materials.

Dynamic transcriptome profiling exploring cold tolerance in forensically important blow fly, Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

BACKGROUND: Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a forensically important fly, which has been widely applied to practical legal investigations. Unlike other necrophagous flies, A. grahami exhibits cold tolerance which helps to maintain its activity during low-temperature months, when other species are usually not active. Hence, A. grahami is considered an important forensic insect especially in cold seasons. In this study, we aim to explore the molecular mechanisms of cold tolerance of A. grahami through transcriptome. RESULTS: We collected eggs and larvae (first-instar, second-instar and third-instar) at three different temperatures (4 °C, 12 °C and 20 °C) and performed RNA-seq analyses. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with the cold-tolerance were screened out. The Venn analysis of DEGs from egg to third-instar larvae at three different temperatures showed there were 9 common genes. Candidate biological processes and genes were identified which refer to growth, and development of different temperatures, especially the chitin and cuticle metabolic process. The series-clusters showed crucial and unique trends when the temperature changed. Moreover, by comparing the results of growth and developmental transcriptomes from different temperatures, we found that DEGs belonging to the family of larval cuticle proteins (LCP), pupal cuticle protein (CUP), and heat shock proteins (HSP) have certain differences. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified functional genes and showed differences in the expression pattern of diverse temperatures. The DEGs series-clusters with increasing or decreasing trends were analyzed which may play an important role in cold-tolerance. Moreover, the findings in LCP, CUP and HSP showed more possible modulations in a cold environment. This work will provide valuable information for the future investigation of the molecular mechanism of cold tolerance in A. grahami.

Accuracy of the Demirjian and Willems methods of dental age estimation for children from central southern China.

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of the Demirjian method and the Demirjian method as revised by Willems for age estimation based on orthopantomograms from central southern Chinese Han population aged 8-16 years. Discrepancies between chronological and estimated ages were statistically evaluated by analyzing 1249 orthopantomograms from 603 girls and 646 boys. Using the Demirjian method, the mean age estimates underestimated chronological age by 0.03 years (p = 0.48) for girls and overestimated it by 0.03 years (p = 0.59) for boys; these differences with respect to chronological age were not statistically significant. In contrast, the Willems method underestimated chronological age by 0.54 years (p < 0.01) for girls and 0.44 years (p < 0.01) for boys; these differences with respect to chronological age were statistically significant. Compared to the Demirjian method, the overall mean absolute error generated using the Willems method was slightly higher (0.85 and 0.86 years, respectively). Since the Demirjian method was more accurate, we highly recommend that it should be applied when estimating dental age in the Chinese Han population. Further modifications of these two methods for populations from other regions and additional studies of other age groups are warranted.

Bacteria-targeting BSA-stabilized SiC nanoparticles as a fluorescent nanoprobe for forensic identification of saliva.

Forensic saliva identification represents an increasingly useful auxiliary means of crime investigations, particularly in sex crimes. Salivary bacteria detection techniques have been shown to be viable methods for identifying the presence of saliva. A one-pot method is described for the fabrication of bovine serum albumin-stabilized SiC nanoparticles (SiC@BSA NPs). The SiC@BSA NPs were conjugated to antibacterial peptide GH12 to allow for fluorometric detection and imaging of bacteria in saliva. More specifically, the nanoprobe, with fluorescence excitation/emission maxima at 320/410 nm, was used to detect the oral bacteria S. salivarius levels. The detection limit is 25 cfu·mL-1, and the assay can be performed within 40 min. The nanoprobe was also used to detect bacteria in forensic body fluids including blood, urine, and semen. In all cases, positive results were obtained with (mixed) samples containing saliva, while other saliva samples without saliva showed negative results. Fluorescent images of S. salivarius cells were obtained by implementing a high-content image analysis system. These results suggest that this new nanoprobe can be applied to screen for forensic saliva stains. Graphical abstractSchematic representation of the preparation of SiC@BSA-GH12 nanoprobe for fluorometric detection and imaging of S. salivarius in saliva.

Developing a new nonbinary SNP fluorescent multiplex detection system for forensic application in China.

Nonbinary single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are potential forensic genetic markers because their discrimination power is greater than that of normal binary SNPs, and that they can detect highly degraded samples. We previously developed a nonbinary SNP multiplex typing assay. In this study, we selected additional 20 nonbinary SNPs from the NCBI SNP database and verified them through pyrosequencing. These 20 nonbinary SNPs were analyzed using the fluorescent-labeled SNaPshot multiplex SNP typing method. The allele frequencies and genetic parameters of these 20 nonbinary SNPs were determined among 314 unrelated individuals from Han populations from China. The total power of discrimination was 0.9999999999994, and the cumulative probability of exclusion was 0.9986. Moreover, the result of the combination of this 20 nonbinary SNP assay with the 20 nonbinary SNP assay we previously developed demonstrated that the cumulative probability of exclusion of the 40 nonbinary SNPs was 0.999991 and that no significant linkage disequilibrium was observed in all 40 nonbinary SNPs. Thus, we concluded that this new system consisting of new 20 nonbinary SNPs could provide highly informative polymorphic data which would be further used in forensic application and would serve as a potentially valuable supplement to forensic DNA analysis.

Rapid and sensitive detection of ketamine in blood using novel fluorescence genosensor.

In recent years, drug abuse has been considered as a most challenging social problem that aroused public attention. Ketamine has increased in unregulated use as a 'recreational drug' in teenagers. However, there is no suitable and maneuverable detection method for ketamine in situ at the moment. Fluorescence sensor technique, with predominant recognition and simple operation, is a good potential application in drug detection. Here, we first reported a highly sensitive and selective fluorescence genosensor for rapid detection of ketamine based on DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (DNA-AgNCs) probes, in which the DNA sequence could specially recognize ketamine with high affinity. Parameters affecting detection efficiency were investigated and optimized. Under optimum conditions, the as-prepared genosensor can allow for the determination of ketamine in the concentration range of 0.0001-20 µg/mL with two linear equations: one is y = 2.84x-7.139 (R2 = 0.987) for 0.0001-0.1 µg/mL, and the other is y = 1.87x-0.091 (R2 = 0.962) for 0.1-20 µg/mL, and the estimated detection limit of ketamine is 0.06 ng/mL. Moreover, the feasibility of this proposed method was also demonstrated by analyzing forensic blood samples. Compared with official gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), this fluorescence genosensor is simple, rapid, and accurate for quantitative determination of ketamine in blood for pharmaceutical and forensic analysis. Overall, it is the first report on a fluorescence genosensor for detecting ketamine directly in blood. This research may provide a new insight for the analyst to band fluorescence genosensor technology together with drug monitoring in the battle against drug abuse and forensic examination. Graphical abstract High selectively detection of ketamine using a novel fluorescence genosensor based on DNA-AgNCs probe.

Genetic polymorphisms of 26 Y-STR loci in the Mongolian minority from Horqin district, China.

To study the population data of Y chromosome STR (Y-STRs) of the Mongolian minority population residing in the Horqin district, we analyzed haplotypes of 26 Y-STRs (DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS481, DYS533, DYS549, DYS570, DYS576, DYS635, DYS643, DYS388, DYS449, DYS460, and YGATAH4) in 298 unrelated Chinese Mongolian individuals using the commercially available Goldeneye® DNA ID 26Y system. We also investigated blood stains, saliva spots, semen spots, hair follicles, fingernails, and sweat latent fingerprints from ten healthy males for testing the efficiency of direct amplification of this new Y-STRs system. The calculated average gene diversity values of the Mongolian population ranged from 0.3024 to 0.9510 for the DYS389I and DYS385a/b loci, respectively. The discriminatory capacity was 92.95 % with 277 observed haplotypes using 23 Y-STR loci (DYS19, DYS385a/b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS481, DYS533, DYS549, DYS570, DYS576, DYS635, DYS643, and YGATAH4). By adding three more Y-STRs (DYS388, DYS449, and DYS460) to the 26Y system, the discriminatory capacity was increased to 94.63 % with a total of 282 observed haplotypes. Population relationships were calculated and compared with seven populations available from the Y chromosome haplotype reference database and data from ten Asian populations published previously. The Mongolian minority population residing in Horqin district is significantly different from other populations. Our results indicated that these 26 Y-STRs were highly genetically polymorphic in the Mongolian group and this contributes greatly to existing Chinese ethnic genetic information. As a result of direct amplification, we have obtained full profile from all blood stains, saliva spots, hair follicles, and fingernails; six semen spots; and one sweat latent fingerprint. It revealed that the 26 Y-STR system was a valuable tool for male sex analysis in forensic field and the kit was highly adaptive to direct amplification of various samples including blood stain, saliva spot, hair follicle, and fingernail.

Bacterial Succession on Rat Carcasses and Applications for PMI Estimation.

UNLABELLED: Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the bacterial succession on rat carcasses and to evaluate the use of bacterial succession for postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. METHODS: Adult female SD rat remains were placed in carton boxes. The bacterial colonization of circumocular skin, mouth and vagina was collected to be identified using culture-dependent biochemical methods. The changes in community composition were regularly documented. RESULTS: The bacterial succession in three habitats showed that Staphylococcus and Neisseria were predominated in early PMI, especially Staphylococcus aureus and Neisseria lactamica in 6 hours after death. Lactobacillus casei developed on the 3-4 days regularly, and kept stable at a certain level in late PMI. CONCLUSION: The involvement of normal and putrefactive bacteria in three body habitats of rat remains can be used for PMI estimation.

Identification of forensically important sarcophagid flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in China based on COI and period gene.

Unequivocal identification of insect specimens is an essential requirement in forensic entomology. With the development of molecular identification, spate of discussions about the feature of the DNA fragments have been raised. Relying solely on single DNA fragment for delimiting closely related species is supposed to be dangerous. Aiming at obtaining more reliable markers that might be universally used, we explore the utility of 700-bp COI fragment and 678-bp period gene fragment in the identification of Sarcophagidae (Diptera). Thirty-six sarcophagid fly specimens were collected from 19 locations in 11 Chinese provinces. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequenced segments showed that all sarcophagid specimens were properly assigned into nine species with relatively strong supporting values, which indicated the possibility of separation congeneric species with COI and period gene fragments. The difference between intraspecific threshold and interspecific divergence confirmed that the combination of nuclear and mitochondrial genes for species identification is much more accurate. The results of this research will be instrumental for implementation of the Chinese Sarcophagidae database.

[Diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism with blood samples by liquid-based cytology technique].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the diagnosis of amniotic fluid embolism with blood samples by liquid-based cytology technique and to study the validity of method. METHODS: The blood samples were collected from patients who suffered from amniotic fluid embolism. The components of amniotic fluid in blood samples were examined with blood smear by two direct smear methods (supernatant smear, sediment smear) and two liquid-based cytology methods (automatic smear, manual smear). The positive detection rate of each method was calculated. RESULTS: The positive detection rates of two liquid-based cytology methods (84.6% and 92.3%, respectively) were much higher than those of two direct methods (53.8% and 61.5%, respectively). CONCLUSION: The liquid-based cytology technique could improve the positive detection rate of amniotic fluid embolism.

Tuberculous abdominal aortic aneurysm with alimentary tract hemorrhage: a case report with medico-legal implications.

An autopsy case of sudden death induced by alimentary tract hemorrhage was presented, which was caused by the unexpected rupture of clinically unrecognized tuberculous abdominal aortic aneurysm (TAAA). The initial diagnosis was made of the syndrome of coronary heart disease and hypertensive disease. The detailed autopsy showed that the alimentary tract hemorrhage was caused by a sudden rupture of the mass after posture changing was ascertained as the cause of death. The diagnosis of TAAA was determined by the autopsy findings. Analysis for the medical dispute of TAAA was described, and the difficulty of the diagnosis and medico-legal implications were also discussed.

Genetic polymorphism of nine non-CODIS STR loci in Hunan Province-based Chinese Han population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the allelic frequency distribution and genetic parameters of nine non-CODIS DNA index systems of the short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D2S1772, D6S1043, D7S3048, D8S1132, D11S2368, D12S391, D13S325, D18S1364, and GATA198B05). METHODS: A total of 353 blood samples were collected, extracted, amplified, and analyzed from unrelated healthy individuals of Han nationality in Hunan Province, China. RESULTS: One hundred and fourteen alleles were observed in the population with corresponding allelic frequencies ranged from 0.001 0 to 0.323 0. For all the nine non-CODIS STR loci, the observed genotypic data showed no significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The Ho, He, PIC, DP, and PE of the studied non-CODIS STR loci ranged from 0.1080 to 0.1950, 0.8050 to 0.8920, 0.7700 to 0.8600, 0.9250 to 0.9660 and 0.6070 to 0.7800, respectively. CONCLUSION: Nine non-CODIS STR loci have high degrees of polymorphisms, which may be useful in individual forensic identification and parentage testing in forensic practice.

The gut bacterial composition across life stages of Sarcophaga peregrina (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and the effects of amikacin on their development.

Insects and microorganisms, ubiquitous organisms in the natural world, have developed intricate relationships throughout their evolutionary histories. However, most studies have concentrated on specific time points or life stages, but some limited studies have investigated the dynamics of microbial diversity within insects across life stages. Here, 16S rDNA sequencing technology was used to investigate the gut bacterial community across the life stages of Sarcophaga peregrina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). The results revealed that the gut bacterial diversity of S. peregrina varied with life stage and showed similarity in the nearby life stages. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla in S. peregrina. Genera such as Providencia, Ignatzschineria, and Myroides are implicated in potentially pivotal roles during the developmental processes of this flesh fly. Furthermore, the effects of amikacin on the growth and development of S. peregrina were not statistically significant. However, we did observe significant changes at the protein level, which suggests a close association between protein-level alterations and growth and development. Additionally, we speculate that S. peregrina regulates its nutritional status during nonfeeding stages to meet the demands of eclosion. This study represents the first comprehensive examination of the intestinal bacterial composition across various life stages of S. peregrina. Our findings deepen our understanding of the gut microbiota in this flesh fly and lay the groundwork for further exploration into the intricate interactions between microorganisms and insects.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Sarcophaga angarosinica (Diptera: Sarcophagidae).

Sarcophaga (Liosarcophaga) angarosinica (Rohdendorf, 1937) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) is a species of both medical and ecological significance. In this study, the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of S. angarosinica was sequenced and characterized. The mitogenome has a total length of 15,215 bp, including 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and an adenine and thymine-rich region. This mitogenome comprises 39.5% adenine, 9.4% guanine, 14.4% cytosine, and 36.8% thymine. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that S. angarosinica is closely related to Sarcophaga similis. This study enriches the genetic data on S. angarosinica and will contribute to establishing the phylogenetic relationships among flesh flies.

Age Determination of Chrysomya megacephala Pupae through Reflectance and Machine Learning Analysis.

Estimating the age of pupa during the development time of the blow fly Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is of forensic significance as it assists in determining the time of colonization (TOC), which could help to determine the postmortem interval (PMI). However, establishing an objective, accurate, and efficient method for pupa age inference is still a leading matter of concern among forensic entomologists. In this study, we utilized hyperspectral imaging (HSI) technology to analyze the reflectance changes of pupa development under different temperatures (15 °C, 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C). The spectrograms showed a downtrend under all temperatures. We used PCA to reduce the dimensionality of the spectral data, and then machine learning models (RF, SVR-RBF, SVR-POLY, XGBR, and Lasso) were built. RF, SVR with RBF kernel, and XGBR could show promise in accurate developmental time estimation using accumulated degree days. Among these, the XGBR model consistently exhibited the most minor errors, ranging between 3.9156 and 7.3951 (MAE). This study has identified the value of further refinement of HSI in forensic applications involving entomological specimens, and identified the considerable potential of HSI in forensic practice.