Diester diterpenoid alkaloids (DDAs) are the main active ingredients of herbaceous perennial plants Aconitum. DDAs possess cardiotoxic and neurotoxic properties. Although most deaths caused by DDA poisoning are accidental, a few instances of suicide and homicide have been reported. Presented is a case of an acute aconitine (AC) poisoning following the ingestion of approximately 50 mL of homemade medicinal liquor. We described the clinical manifestations after poisoning and detailed postmortem changes, and detected the concentrations of AC and hypaconitine (HA) by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The decedent experienced a burning sensation in the gastrointestinal tract after poisoning, followed by flushing and paralysis of the face and limbs, and severe cardiac arrhythmia. An autopsy revealed cyanosis of the lips and nail beds; conjunctival hemorrhage in both eyes; pulmonary edema; tissue hemorrhage and congestion in multiple organs; and inflammatory cell infiltration in the stomach, duodenum, pancreas, and cardiac muscle. The concentrations of AC and HA were as follows: cardiac blood, 38.4 ng/mL and 7.1 ng/mL; pericardial fluid, 7.3 ng/mL and 41 ng/mL; urine, 28.1 ng/mL and 574 ng/mL; bile, 38.5 ng/mL and 108 ng/mL; gastric contents, 0.06 mg and 0.56 mg; liver tissue, 10.7 ng/g and 109.6 ng/g; and medicinal liquor, 0.568 mg/mL and 0.664 mg/mL, respectively. The clinical manifestations, anatomy findings, and quantitative data on the concentrations of AC and HA in body fluids and tissues will aid forensic investigations of deaths caused by acute AC poisoning.

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.

In the process of murder investigation, it is of great significance to find the discarded and buried human remains accurately. The main methods of searching for human remains include human visual search, aerial detection, geophysical technology, remote imaging technology and canine olfactory search technique. Canine olfactory search for human remains is a recognized time-effective and non-invasive search method, making dogs the most valuable search tool in forensic investigation. By systematically reviewing and summarizing relevant literature, and based on the theory of volatile organic compound produced by the decomposition of human remains, this paper explores the basic principle of the canine olfactory search technique for human remains. This paper also reviews the application of training canine search technique for human remains in forensic investigation by using human blood, tissue, cadaver putrefying fluid and odor substitutes as sniffing sources. The application prospect of canine olfactory search for human remains was prospected from the perspectives of detection of volatile organic compound during cadaver decay, development of odor substitutes and adsorption devices, and technology tactics used in canine training and use, to provide references for the relevant research of canine olfactory search for human remains in China.
命案侦查过程中，准确找到被丢弃、掩埋的人体遗骸至关重要。寻找人体遗骸的方法主要有人类的视觉搜索、空中探测、地球物理技术、远程成像技术以及犬类嗅觉搜索技术等。犬类嗅觉搜索人体遗骸技术是一种公认的具有时效性的非侵入性搜索方法，是法医调查中最有价值的搜索工具。本文通过系统查阅和总结相关文献资料，以人体遗骸分解产生的挥发性有机化合物为理论基础，探寻犬类嗅觉搜索人体遗骸技术的基本原理，对以人类血迹、人体组织、尸体腐败液、气味替代物作为嗅源训练犬类搜索人体遗骸技术在法医调查中的使用进行综述，从尸体腐败过程中挥发性有机化合物的检测、气味替代物和吸附装置的研发、犬类训练与使用的技战法等角度展望犬类嗅觉搜索人体遗骸技术的应用前景，以期为我国犬类嗅觉搜索人体遗骸技术的相关研究提供参考。.

OBJECTIVE: To screen biomarkers for forensic identification of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) by non-targeted metabolomic studies on changes of urine metabolites in rats with AMI.
METHODS: The rat models of the sham surgery group, AMI group and hyperlipidemia + acute myocardial infarction (HAMI) group were established. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to analyze the changes of urine metabolic spectrometry in AMI rats. Principal component analysis, partial least squares-discriminant analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis were used to screen differential metabolites. The MetaboAnalyst database was used to analyze the metabolic pathway enrichment and access the predictive ability of differential metabolites.
RESULTS: A total of 40 and 61 differential metabolites associated with AMI and HAMI were screened, respectively. Among them, 22 metabolites were common in both rat models. These small metabolites were mainly concentrated in the niacin and nicotinamide metabolic pathways. Within the 95% confidence interval, the area under the curve (AUC) values of receiver operator characteristic curve for N8-acetylspermidine, 3-methylhistamine, and thymine were greater than 0.95.
CONCLUSIONS: N8-acetylspermidine, 3-methylhistamine, and thymine can be used as potential biomarkers for AMI diagnosis, and abnormal metabolism in niacin and nicotinamide may be the main causes of AMI. This study can provide reference for the mechanism and causes of AMI identification.
目的: 通过非靶向代谢组学研究急性心肌梗死（acute myocardial infarction，AMI）大鼠尿液代谢产物的变化，筛选出可用于AMI法医学鉴定的生物标志物。方法: 建立假手术组、AMI组和高脂血症+AMI组（hyperlipidemia + acute myocardial infarction，HAMI）大鼠模型。运用超高效液相色谱-质谱法（ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry，UPLC-MS）分析AMI大鼠尿液代谢谱的变化。通过主成分分析、偏最小二乘判别分析、正交偏最小二乘判别分析等筛选差异代谢物。使用MetaboAnalyst数据库进行代谢通路富集分析并评估差异代谢物的预测能力。结果: 分别筛选出40种和61种与AMI相关和HAMI相关的差异代谢物。其中22种为共同代谢物，这些小分子代谢物主要集中在烟酸和烟酰胺代谢途径中。在95%可信区间内N8-乙酰亚精胺、3-甲基组胺和胸腺嘧啶的受试者操作特征曲线的曲线下面积（area under the curve，AUC）值大于0.95。结论: N8-乙酰亚精胺、3-甲基组胺和胸腺嘧啶可作为诊断AMI的潜在生物标志物，烟酸和烟酰胺代谢的异常可能是AMI的主要原因。本研究可为AMI的作用机制和死因鉴定提供参考。.

Accurately identifying and differentiating the types of injuries in decomposed corpses is a major challenge in forensic identification. Forensic investigations involving decomposed cadavers pose challenges in determining the cause of death. Traditional methods often lack conclusive evidence. However, the implementation of advanced analytical techniques, such as comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOF/MS), shows promise in overcoming these limitations, but the potential in this area remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to bridge this gap by exploring the potential of GC × GC-TOF/MS in the analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) changes within decaying ante- and post-mortem injuries.The research emphasizes the forensic significance of VOCs changes in decomposed cadavers. We used GC × GC-TOF/MS analysis to identify the specific volatile compounds in putrefied corpse tissue samples from mice. The GC × GC-TOF/MS analysis results showed that under winter conditions, PC1 explained 57.16% of the variance, and PC2 explained 25.23% of the variance; while under summer conditions, PC1 explained 71.89% of the variance, and PC2 explained 24.49% of the variance. This demonstrates the potential of GC × GC-TOF/MS in identifying specific VOCs present in tissue samples that can serve as potential biomarkers for distinguishing between antemortem and postmortem injury. GC × GC-TOF/MS analysis revealed distinct VOC patterns in both conditions. Comprehensive use of GC × GC-TOF/MS analysis enhances accuracy in identifying and characterizing ante- and post-mortem injuries in decomposed cadavers. This study can significantly contribute to the field of forensic medicine and improve the accuracy of forensic investigations.

Sudden unexplained death (SUD) is not uncommon in forensic pathology. Yet, diagnosis of SUD remains challenging due to lack of specific biomarkers. This study aimed to screen differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and validate their usefulness as diagnostic biomarkers for SUD cases. We designed a three-phase investigation, where in the discovery phase, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) heart specimens were screened through label-free proteomic analysis of cases dying from SUD, mechanical injury and carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication. A total of 26 proteins were identified to be DEPs for the SUD cases after rigorous criterion. Bioinformatics and Adaboost-recursive feature elimination (RFE) analysis further revealed that three of the 26 proteins (MYH6, COX5B and TNNT2) were potential discriminative biomarkers. In the training phase, MYH6 and COX5B were verified to be true DEPs in cardiac tissues from 29 independent SUD cases as compared with a serial of control cases (n = 42). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis illustrated that combination of MYH6 and COX5B achieved optimal diagnostic sensitivity (89.7 %) and specificity (84.4 %), with area under the curve (AUC) being 0.91. A diagnostic software based on the logistic regression formula derived from the training phase was then constructed. In the validation phase, the diagnostic software was applied to eight authentic SUD cases, seven (87.5 %) of which were accurately recognized. Our study provides a valid strategy towards practical diagnosis of SUD by integrating cardiac MYH6 and COX5B as dual diagnostic biomarkers.

Insulin, as the only hypoglycemic hormone in the body, plays a key role in blood sugar control. However, excessive insulin intake can lead to insulin poisoning and even death, which often occurs in clinical and forensic work. At present, some researches on insulin poisoning have been carried out at home and abroad, however, it seems that the mechanism and forensic characteristics of insulin poisoning are not clear and complete. Therefore, in this paper, we reviewed the potential mechanism of insulin poisoning, the methods of insulin detection and the forensic identification of poisoning cases, aiming at providing services for the forensic identification of insulin poisoning.

OBJECTIVE: To identify mtDNA and OGG1 as potential biomarker candidates for mechanical asphyxia.
METHODS: The human tissues are divided into experimental group (hanging and strangulation) and control groups (hemorrhagic shock, brain injury group, and poisoning group). Detected the expression of OGG1 and integrity of mtDNA in cardiac tissue of each group. We used over-OGG1 vector and siRNA-OGG1 transfecting H9C2 cell line to observe the function of OGG1 in hypoxic cells.
RESULTS: 1. mtDNA integrity decreased in the mechanical asphyxia group, OGG1 expression increased in mechanical asphyxia groups. They can be biomarkers for mechanical asphyxia. 2. OGG1 increased first and decreased in hypoxia-induced H9C2 cells. OGG1 upregulated the TFAM, NRF1, and Bcl2 in hypoxia-induced H9C2. OGG1 downregulated cleaved-Caspase3 in hypoxia-induced H9C2 cells. 3. In the normoxia condition, NAC maintained mtDNA integrity and decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential and amount of ATP.
CONCLUSIONS: mtDNA integrity and OGG1 expression can be biomarkers for mechanical asphyxia. OGG1 can maintain mtDNA integrity and maintain the stability of the mitochondrial membrane.

OBJECTIVE: To detect the expression changes of interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) during the development of deep vein thrombosis in mice, and to explore the application value of them in thrombus age estimation.
METHODS: The mice in the experimental group were subjected to ligation of inferior vena cava. The mice were sacrificed by excessive anesthesia at 1 d, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d, 14 d and 21 d after ligation, respectively. The inferior vena cava segment with thrombosis was extracted below the ligation point. The mice in the control group were not ligated, and the inferior vena cava segment at the same position as the experimental group was extracted. The expression changes of IL-10 and TGF-β1 were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC), Western blotting and real-time qPCR.
RESULTS: IHC results revealed that IL-10 was mainly expressed in monocytes in thrombosis and TGF-β1 was mainly expressed in monocytes and fibroblast-like cells in thrombosis. Western blotting and real-time qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of IL-10 and TGF-β1 in each experimental group were higher than those in the control group. The mRNA and protein levels of IL-10 reached the peak at 7 d and 10 d after ligation, respectively. The mRNA expression level at 7 d after ligation was 4.72±0.15 times that of the control group, and the protein expression level at 10 d after ligation was 7.15±0.28 times that of the control group. The mRNA and protein levels of TGF-β1 reached the peak at 10 d and 14 d after ligation, respectively. The mRNA expression level at 10 d after ligation was 2.58±0.14 times that of the control group, and the protein expression level at 14 d after ligation was 4.34±0.19 times that of the control group.
CONCLUSIONS: The expressions of IL-10 and TGF-β1 during the evolution of deep vein thrombosis present time-dependent sequential changes, and the expression levels of IL-10 and TGF-β1 can provide a reference basis for thrombus age estimation.
目的: 检测小鼠深静脉血栓发展过程中白细胞介素-10（interleukin-10，IL-10）和转化生长因子-β1（transforming growth factor-β1，TGF-β1）的表达变化，探讨其在血栓形成时间推断中的应用价值。方法: 对实验组小鼠建立下腔静脉结扎模型，分别于术后1 d、3 d、5 d、7 d、10 d、14 d、21 d过量麻醉处死小鼠，在结扎点的下方提取形成血栓的下腔静脉段。对照组小鼠不进行结扎，提取与实验组相同部位的正常下腔静脉段作为对照样本。应用免疫组织化学染色、蛋白质印迹法和real-time qPCR检测IL-10和TGF-β1在血栓形成期间的表达变化。结果: 免疫组织化学染色结果显示，IL-10主要表达于血栓中的单核细胞，TGF-β1主要表达于血栓中的单核细胞和成纤维样细胞。蛋白质印迹法以及real-time qPCR检测结果显示，各实验组IL-10和TGF-β1的表达水平均高于对照组。IL-10的mRNA及蛋白水平分别于术后7 d和10 d达到峰值，术后7 d的mRNA表达量是对照组的（4.72±0.15）倍，术后10 d的蛋白表达量是对照组的（7.15±0.28）倍。TGF-β1的mRNA及蛋白水平分别于术后10 d和14 d达到峰值，术后10 d的mRNA表达量是对照组的（2.58±0.14）倍，术后14 d的蛋白表达量是对照组的（4.34±0.19）倍。结论: 深静脉血栓演变期间IL-10和TGF-β1呈现时序性表达变化，IL-10和TGF-β1的表达水平可以为血栓形成时间推断提供参考依据。.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the biomarkers and potential mechanisms of chronic restraint stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia ApoE-/- mice.
METHODS: The hyperlipidemia combined with the chronic stress model was established by restraining the ApoE-/- mice. Proteomics and bioinformatics techniques were used to describe the characteristic molecular changes and related regulatory mechanisms of chronic stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia mice and to explore potential diagnostic biomarkers.
RESULTS: Proteomic analysis showed that there were 43 significantly up-regulated and 58 significantly down-regulated differentially expressed proteins in hyperlipidemia combined with the restraint stress group compared with the hyperlipidemia group. Among them, GBP2, TAOK3, TFR1 and UCP1 were biomarkers with great diagnostic potential. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated that ferroptosis was a significant pathway that accelerated the myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia combined with restraint stress-induced model. The mmu_circ_0001567/miR-7a/Tfr-1 and mmu_circ_0001042/miR-7a/Tfr-1 might be important circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks related to ferroptosis in this model.
CONCLUSIONS: Chronic restraint stress may aggravate myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia mice via ferroptosis. Four potential biomarkers are selected for myocardial injury diagnosis, providing a new direction for sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by hyperlipidemia combined with the restraint stress.
目的: 采用蛋白质组学技术筛选慢性束缚应激致高脂血症小鼠心肌损伤的标志物及其潜在机制。方法: 通过束缚ApoE-/-小鼠建立高脂血症合并慢性应激模型，运用蛋白质组学与生物信息学等技术描绘慢性应激对高脂血症小鼠心肌损伤的特征性分子改变及相关调控机制，并从中探索潜在的诊断标志物。结果: 蛋白质组学分析结果显示，与高脂血症组相比，高脂血症合并束缚应激组小鼠共有43个显著上调与58个显著下调的差异表达蛋白质。其中，GBP2、TAOK3、TFR1、UCP1是极具诊断潜力的分子标志物。KEGG通路富集分析结果表明，铁死亡是加剧高脂血症合并束缚应激模型心肌损伤的重要机制通路。mmu_circ_0001567/miR-7a/Tfr-1和mmu_circ_0001042/miR-7a/Tfr-1可能是该模型中与铁死亡相关的重要circRNA-miRNA-mRNA调控网络。结论: 慢性束缚应激可能通过铁死亡加剧高脂血症小鼠的心肌损伤，本研究筛选出4个具有潜在应用价值的心肌损伤分子诊断标志物，为高脂血症合并应激致心脏性猝死的研究提供了新的方向。.