Background and Objectives: This study presents a retrospective analysis of 26 autopsy cases from a single centre, primarily focusing on forensic cases, with a majority of male individuals. Materials and Methods: We systematically analysed autopsy reports and cardiac tissue slides using haematoxylin-eosin stain and immunohistochemistry for CD3, CD163, and IL-6. The histological assessment evaluated key variables such as inflammation severity, necrosis, and background changes using a standardised grading system. Quantitative analysis of immunohistochemical markers was performed, calculating the percentage of positively stained cells within the inflammatory infiltrate. Results: The average age was 51.6 years, slightly skewed towards older males. The fatalities varied widely, with sudden death and drug abuse being the most common conditions linked to myocarditis findings on histological examination. A strong correlation was found between the severity of inflammation (measured by size within a myocardium section) and the scoring system based on the number of inflammatory foci per section (p ≤ 0.001). Most cases showed mild to minimal fibrosis, with some exhibiting moderate to severe fibrosis, arteriosclerosis, and myocyte hypertrophy. The presence of protein CD3 in the inflammatory infiltrate revealed a moderate inverse correlation between the CD3 values and the severity of inflammation and necrosis, and a strong inverse correlation with neutrophil levels. CD3 levels were higher in sudden death cases and lower in cases with numerous inflammatory foci, highlighting the discreet nature of lymphocytic myocarditis. Macrophage presence, assessed using CD163, showed a moderate inverse correlation with neutrophil levels and significant differences between sudden death and non-sudden death cases. Macrophage-rich inflammation was observed in cases with pneumonia/bronchopneumonia-associated lesions. IL-6 expression showed a moderate direct correlation with inflammation severity (p = 0.028), severity of necrosis (p = 0.005), and the number of inflammatory foci per section (p = 0.047). A moderate inverse correlation was found between CD3 and IL-6 expression (p = 0.005). Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for a unique immunohistochemical approach in forensic cases of myocarditis, differing from guidelines for endomyocardial biopsies due to diverse inflammatory cells. The study suggests exploring inflammatory chemokines within myocarditis foci for their significance in clinical scenarios. Specifically, IL-6, a crucial pro-inflammatory interleukin, correlated significantly with the severity of inflammation and necrosis (p < 0.05). This study provides novel and valuable insights into the histopathological and immunological markers of myocarditis in autopsy cases.

To study the degradation of lncRNAs in EPMI in rat brain tissue, this study provides a new direction for the estimation of EPMI. LncRNA high-throughput sequencing was performed on the brain tissues of hemorrhagic shock model rats at 0 h and 24 h, and the target lncRNAs were screened. Samples at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 h after death were collected, and miRNA-9 and miRNA-125b were used as reference genes. The relative expression levels of lncRNAs at each PMI were detected by RT-qPCR, and a functional model involving lncRNAs and EPMI was established. Samples were collected at 6, 9, 15, and 21 h after death for functional model verification. The expression of several lncRNAs decreased with the prolongation of EPMI, and the mathematical model established by several lncRNA indices exhibited good fit. The verification results of the multi-index joint function model are significantly better than those of the single-index function model, and the established model is more practical. There is a linear relationship between lncRNAs and EPMI, and the multi-index function model is significantly better than the single-index function model, which is important for EPMI inference in forensic pathology practice.

Avalanche fatalities are quite rare in the Czech Republic. Due to the presence of avalanche fields in the two Czech mountains, forensic pathologists at some forensic medicine departments may encounter this specific mechanism of accidental death. The authors summarize medicolegal aspects of deaths in avalanches in the territory of the Czech Republic for the twenty-three-year period between 1993-2015. Ten avalanche fatalities were recorded during study period. The studied group consisted of nine male and one female victims. The average age of the deceased was 27.9 years. Skiers or ski-alpinists died in the avalanche in five cases (50%), climbers in two cases (20%), snowboarders in one case (10%), cross-country skiers in one case (10%) and in one case it was a fatality of child playing on a snowy hill (10%). The cause of death was suffocation in four cases (40%), blunt trauma in four cases (40%), and in the remaining two cases it was the survival of trapped persons several hours after being rescued from the avalanche in the hospital; both victims subsequently died as a result of prolonged shock (20%) due to a combination of prolonged suffocation and hypothermia. The time interval from the fall of the avalanche to the rescue of the trapped person was in the range of minutes to 3 hours. The presence of alcohol or drugs was not detected in any studied case.

UNASSIGNED: The use of radiological approaches in forensic investigations is rapidly emerging as an alternative to traditional autopsies. Here, we present the experience of the Sicilian and Calabrian forensic medical departments over the past five years, highlighting the application of PMCT to support autopsies in cases involving gunshot wound victims.
UNASSIGNED: From January 2020 to March 2024, thirty cadavers who died from gunshot wounds underwent total body PMCT examinations followed by autopsies. The examinations included multi-planar and 3D reconstructions. Data collected for each subject included gender, age, mode of death, type of weapon, number of shots, body sites affected, and presence of retained bullets. A team of two radiologists and two forensic physicians evaluated the images and compared them with the autopsy findings.
UNASSIGNED: PMCT and 3D reconstruction enabled evaluation of entry wounds, fracture margins, injury sites, fragments, and anatomical trajectories. The results from PMCT were compared with autopsy findings in terms of entry wounds, wound channels, foreign bodies, organ and skeletal injuries, and causes of death. PMCT showed concordance with autopsy findings in determining the cause of death in all cases. The speed, non-invasiveness, and ability to manipulate and reconstruct data make PMCT an ideal technique for supporting forensic investigations and autopsies. PMCT is highly reliable for accurately identifying lethal wounds and determining the cause of death. It excels at tracking wound paths, distinguishing entrance and exit wounds, locating retained bullets, and detecting fragmentation and dispersion of ballistic components.

UNASSIGNED: The analysis, interpretation and storage of information is entrusted to the individual expert, who bases his judgments on the knowledge resulting from the experience. The aim of this experimental study is to analyse and introduce a new line of research applicable to forensic pathology, based on the use of artificial intelligence techniques as a possible tool for data collection and analysis.
UNASSIGNED: The sample analysed is represented by judicial autop-sies performed at the University of Catanzaro from 01/01/2020 to 31/12/2021. For each case were performed: study of medical records; autopsy; histological examinations; toxicological analysis of blood samples. Continuous variables were presented as means ± standard deviations, and categorical variables were expressed as percentages. A random forest regression model was conducted, as a machine learning approach, to estimate the importance of individual solid organ weight variables in predicting cause of death.
UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to evaluate autopsy data to aid in the description and study of forensic cases, using a machine learning approach. To date, this study appears to be the first to evaluate the weight of organs in predicting a cause of death. Artificial intelligence techniques are an optimal solution in solving forensic dilemmas. The results of this study demonstrate that routine data can be submitted using machine learning techniques in order to identify key elements of procedures that provide more information in relation to the predic-tion of cause of death.

OBJECTIVE: Despite the 1988 \'Dundee Initiative\', which maximised the use of view and grant examinations to reduce the invasive forensic autopsy rate in Tayside, the view and grant itself remains controversial. This is the first study to measure attitudes towards view and grants, applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to investigate what attitudes are held, the reasons behind them and their association with deciding the scope of postmortem examinations.
METHODS: A mixed-methods cross-sectional study examined 62 UK pathologists, coroners and procurators fiscal using an online questionnaire. Participants were asked their demographics and attitudes towards view and grants before allocating five fictitious reportable deaths to either view and grant or invasive forensic autopsy (both in ideal and real world conditions), explaining their decisions using free-text.
RESULTS: Participants held both positive and negative attitudes towards view and grants, and most were relatively strong and ambivalent. Attitudes predicted respondents\' decisions to favour view and grant or invasive forensic autopsy in all ideal world scenarios, but no real world scenarios. There were significant differences in attitudes and decisions when comparing pathologists and judicial officers, and respondents working in Coroner and Fiscal systems. Thematic analysis was conducted on free-text responses.
CONCLUSIONS: Discrepancies between attitudes, and ideal and real world choices suggest that what respondents wanted to do did not necessarily translate to what they would actually do in the scenarios tested. Applying concepts of attitudes, norms and perceived control can help to understand decision-making by death investigators, and why some jurisdictions favour more invasive procedures.

BACKGROUND: Sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), characterized by an unknown or inconclusive cause of death at autopsy together with a negative or nonlethal toxicology screening result, is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in victims younger than 35 years. The complete causality of SADS remains unclear, with drugs being a potential risk factor.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the toxicologic profiles of SADS victims, focusing on proarrhythmic drugs, drug levels, and polypharmacy.
METHODS: All deaths in Denmark of those aged 1-35 years in 2000-2019 and 36-49 years in 2007-2019 were examined through death certificates, national registries, and autopsy reports with toxicology screenings. We investigated all sudden unexpected death victims with an autopsy performed, including negative or nonlethal drug findings, where cause of death was unknown or inconclusive (SADS).
RESULTS: We identified 477 SADS victims; 313 (66%) had a positive toxicology screening result (adjudicated nonlethal), with an average of 2.8 drugs per case. More than half of the SADS victims with a positive toxicology screening result had QT-prolonging or brugadogenic drugs present. Polypharmacy was present in 66%, psychotropic polypharmacy in 37%, and QT-prolonging polypharmacy in 22%, with the most frequent overall and QT-prolonging drug combination being an antipsychotic and a psychoanaleptic drug. QT-prolonging drugs were more often present at suprapharmacologic levels than non-QT-prolonging drugs.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the SADS population had a positive toxicology screening result, with a notably large proportion having proarrhythmic drugs and polypharmacy. This highlights the need for future focus on drugs as a risk factor for SADS.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is involved in tissue remodeling and in skin wound healing. The present study focuses on the MMP-9 expression in epidermal wound healing within 1 h after injury, to test whether MMP-9 can be used to estimate the time of injury in forensic practice.A sample consisting of 5 individuals undergoing surgery was analyzed. With the consent of the patients, sections of skin were removed from the surgical wound at predefined time intervals. For each subject, 8 sections were taken, one for each time interval defined at 0 \'- 1\' - 3 \'- 5\' - 10 \'- 15\' - 30 \'- 60\' minutes. The specimens were immunostained with MMP-9, and the number of positively stained cells was examined.The number of positively stained cells showed an increasing trend as a function of time. Less than 30 positively stained cells were found in all cases within 3 min. At the post-infliction time of 5 min, the number of positively stained cells exceeded 30 in 3 out of 5 cases. The number of MMP-positive cells exceeded 40 in all cases in over 10 min.In the light of these results, the count of MMP-9 positive cells might be a useful marker in the wound-age estimation within 1 h in forensic setting. More research is required to collect more samples and to compare samples from the hyperacute phase with those from several days after injury.

UNASSIGNED: To predict body height using hand length and hand breadth in pharmacy and nursing students at Misrake Ghion College, Northeast Ethiopia.
UNASSIGNED: A cross-sectional prospective study was conducted from October 15 to January 20, 2021. The study was carried out on 316 students (160 males and 156 females). The study participants were from the Amhara ethnic groups, with the age range of 18 to 25 years. Body height, hand length, and hand breath were measured and analyzed using SPSS version 23. The strength of association was evaluated using correlation analysis. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. A paired sample t test was performed. Regression equations were derived using simple and multiple linear regression analysis.
UNASSIGNED: Hand length and hand breadth had a positive significant correlation with body height in both male and females. In both males and females, left hand length had a strong significant correlation (males r = 0.768, females r = 0.670), followed by right hand length (males r = 0.711, females r = 0.626). Regarding hand length, right hand breadth (males r = 0.671, female r = 0.438) and left hand length (males r = 0.504, females r = 0.525). There was a significant bilateral difference in hand length and hand breadth on its right and left sides (p < 0.05). Simple and multiple regression equations were formulated for each sex.
UNASSIGNED: In both males and females, body height can be estimated from hand length and breadth using simple or multiple regression equations.

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