Gastric Contents and Time Since Death

AbstractOnce the body dies, the indigenous microbes of the host begin to break down the body from the inside and play a key role thereafter. This study aimed to investigate the probable shift in the composition of the rectal microbiota at different time intervals up to 15 days after death and to explore bacterial taxa important for estimating the time since death. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria and Firmicutes showed major shifts when checked at 11 different intervals and emerged at most of the postmortem intervals. At the species level, Enterococcus faecalis and Proteus mirabilis showed a downward and upward trend, respectively, after day 5 postmortem. The phylum-, family-, genus-, and species-taxon richness decreased initially and then increased considerably. The turning point occurred on day 9, when the genus, rather than the phylum, family, or species, provided the most information for estimating the time since death. We constructed a prediction model using genus-level data from high-throughput sequencing, and seven bacterial taxa, namely, Enterococcus, Proteus, Lactobacillus, unidentified Clostridiales, Vagococcus, unidentified Corynebacteriaceae, and unidentified Enterobacteriaceae, were included in this model. The abovementioned bacteria showed potential for estimating the shortest time since death.

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Post-mortem ocular changes and time since death: Scoping review and future perspective

Legal Medicine ◽

10.1016/j.legalmed.2021.101862 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 50 ◽

pp. 101862

Author(s):

Fabio De-Giorgio ◽

Simone Grassi ◽

Ernesto d'Aloja ◽

Vincenzo L. Pascali

Keyword(s):

Scoping Review ◽

Future Perspective ◽

Time Since Death ◽

Post Mortem ◽

Ocular Changes

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Application of Innovative TGA/Chemometric Approach for Forensic Purposes: The Estimation of the Time since Death in Contaminated Specimens

Diagnostics ◽

10.3390/diagnostics11010121 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 121

Author(s):

Roberta Risoluti ◽

Giuseppina Gullifa ◽

Vittorio Fineschi ◽

Paola Frati ◽

Stefano Materazzi

Keyword(s):

Multidisciplinary Approach ◽

Vitreous Humor ◽

Classification Model ◽

Forensic Sciences ◽

Time Since Death ◽

Time Of Death ◽

Novel Approach ◽

Chemometric Approach ◽

Postmortem Examinations

Chronothanatology has always been a challenge in forensic sciences. Therefore, the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for the characterization of matrices (organs, tissues, or fluids) that respond linearly to the postmortem interval (PMI) is emerging increasingly. The vitreous humor is particularly suitable for studies aimed at assessing time-related modifications because it is topographically isolated and well-protected. In this work, a novel approach based on thermogravimetry and chemometrics was used to estimate the time since death in the vitreous humor and to collect a databank of samples derived from postmortem examinations after medico–legal evaluation. In this study, contaminated and uncontaminated specimens with tissue fragments were included in order to develop a classification model to predict time of death based on partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) that was as robust as possible. Results demonstrate the possibility to correctly predict the PMI even in contaminated samples, with an accuracy not lower than 70%. In addition, the correlation coefficient of the measured versus predicted outcomes was found to be 0.9978, confirming the ability of the model to extend its feasibility even to such situations involving contaminated vitreous humor.

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