Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine

Peer-review medical journal

Editor-in-chief

Journal founder

About

The peer-review medical journal "Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine" aimed to provide the very latest information both in research, practical and educational areas related to a wide range of fields across the forensic sciences. Fields include forensic pathology and histochemistry, chemistry, biochemistry and toxicology, biology, serology, odontology, psychiatry, anthropology, digital forensics, the physical sciences, firearms, and document examination, as well as investigations of value to public health in its broadest sense, and the important marginal area where science and medicine interact with the law. The journal publishers original researches, reviews, case reports, commentaries, letters to the editor, clinical and laboratory observations by Russian and international authors, pertinent to readers in CIS countries and around the world.                 View full aims & scope

Publication frequency

  • Quarterly, 4 issues per year
  • Continuously Ahead-of-Print (Online First)

Language

  • English
  • Russian

Distribution

  • Open Access, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).

 

Indexing

APC

  • The journal doesn't have any article processing or submission charges.

Announcements

 

The "Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine" page in Scopus

Posted: 17.12.2021

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Current Issue

Vol 7, No 3 (2021)

REVIEWS

Use of microRNA to estimate time science death: review
Halikov A.A., Kildyushov E.M., Kuznetsov K.O., Iskuzhina L.R., Rahmatullina G.R.
Abstract

Death prescription evaluation is still one of the most difficult issues in forensic medical practice. This review aimed to assess the potential use of micro ribonucleic acid (miRNA) in death prescription diagnosis. MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that are 18–24 nucleotides long and are well preserved in the eukaryotic cells. Their role is to regulate gene expression in biological processes during the post-transcriptional phase. MiRNA was proven to be effective in clinical medicine for various disease diagnoses, with its possible use in forensic medicine as a marker for death prescription assessment due to its low molecular weight, tissue-specific expression, and high resistance to external and internal environmental factors. The analysis results of scientific literature revealed that the internal characteristics of miRNA molecules and their high resistance to degradation make them suitable as biomarkers for the duration of death assessment, especially in the late postmortem period; however, further large-scale studies on cadaveric material are necessary.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):132-138
pages 132-138 views

ORIGINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Characteristics of shell fragments after hitting triplex car glass with shots from a hunting “Saiga” carbine under the 5.45×39 cartridge
Leonov S.V., Pinchuk P.V., Suhareva M.A., Shakiryanova J.P.
Abstract

Background: The article aims to assess the possibilities of innovative research methods in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion analysis (EDS) forensic medicine. The described methods were used in experimental studies of a gunshot retrograde injury. Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the particles formed during the destruction of a semi-shell shell and an obstacle (triplex car glass) when fired from a hunting Saiga carbine with 5.45×39 cartridges. Material and methods: Triplex windshields from BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars were used as barriers. The shots were fired from a hunting Saiga carbine with a 5.45×39 cartridge from a distance of 10 m. As targets, white calico with dimensions of 100×150 cm was used, while stretched on a wooden frame or fixed on a chipboard. The distance between the target and the barrier was 100 cm, which approximately corresponded to the distance from the car windshield to the driver and the passenger in the front seat. The studies were conducted using the SEM Hitachi FlexSem1000 II and the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer Bruker Quantax 80. Results: Microscopy helped identify seven types of foreign bodies on the surface of the target, which were the products of destruction of the fire projectile and the barrier: glass fragments, glass fragments, crumbly depositions of glass particles, glass fragments caked with the projectile metal, fragments of the projectile, spherical metal particles, and overlays of molten metal in the form of puddles. EDS helped determine the elemental composition of the barrier particles, fire shell, and the overlap of target particles. Conclusion. The experimental study demonstrated that the use of SEM and EDS significantly increased the effectiveness and evidence-based expert research value while solving the problems of causing damage through the barrier-the windscreen of modern cars.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):139-145
pages 139-145 views
Combined chest and abdominal trauma in pedestrians injured during car accidents
Indiaminov S.I., Pardaev S.N., Kim A.A.
Abstract

Background: Severe injury associated with road traffic injuries and falls from heights is highly global health, social, and economic problem worldwide. The main contingent of victims of concomitant injury (СI) is mostly at working age. Materials and methods: A forensic medical examination was performed in 215 corpses of persons killed in moving car collisions, wherein 173 were males and 42 females. The victims were between 14 and 75 years old. Results: Injuries of two or more parts of the body with fractures of the limb bones (55.8%) and head, chest, and abdominal CI (23.3%) prevail in pedestrians who died in car collisions. CI composed of structural damages of the chest and chest cavity organs in 85.6% of cases. Rib fractures were detected in 57.7% of cases; fractures in the midclavicular and axillary lines predominated in localization. Structural damages of the abdominal cavity organs and tissues are 71.0% of the abdominal CI in pedestrians. In addition, 80.8% of dead pedestrians showed signs of organ and tissue injuries with pronounced hemorrhages in the suspension apparatuses, walls, and parenchyma of organs. Along with hemorrhages, a violation of the anatomical integrity of organs, mainly the liver and spleen, was found in 23.2% of cases. Conclusion: The outlined nature of structural damage of the chest and chest and abdominal cavity organs establish the possibility of their formation in the third phase of car injury — the fall of the injured on the road surface. Traumatic (pleuropulmonary), hemorrhagic shock, and hemorrhagic pneumothorax were the main causes of injuries at the prehospital stage.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):146-151
pages 146-151 views
New computer technologies to determine postmortem interval by the Henssge method
Nedugov G.V.
Abstract

Background: The Henssge method is still the main thermometric method to determine postmortem interval. However, its existing software implementations are characterized by several disadvantages associated with copying simplified nomographic variants of the original mathematical models without any optimization attempts, as well as procedural imperfection in finding the roots of implicit functions. In this paper, methods are proposed for optimizing solutions to the Henssge mathematical models and determine their errors, as well as software application implementation. Aim: Optimization of the Henssge algorithm and development of a series of applications based on the obtained data, designed to determine postmortem interval. Material and methods: Methods for solving double exponential Henssge models and determining their errors based on computational mathematics and regression modeling using the least-squares method with subsequent implementation in the format of computer programs in C# language optimized. Results: The discrete nature of residual variance changes of the double exponential Henssge models intended to determine the postmortem interval according to rectal and cranioencephalic thermometry data under constant external temperature conditions is eliminated. The interval estimate determination of postmortem interval at any confidence probability is possible. The application program Warm Bodies HR was developed, which implements applied optimization methods. The application program Warm Bodies AHBG, designed to determine postmortem interval by the Henssge method in a single discrete decrease or increase conditions in the constant temperature of the external environment, including a change in the cooling conditions of the corpse, was developed. The search for the roots of implicit functions in programs is carried out using the Newton tangent method, which ensures continuous source data nature and eliminates errors associated with the need to round directly measured physical quantities. Conclusions: The developed programs are recommended for forensic medical expert practice to determine postmortem interval.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):152-158
pages 152-158 views
External study possibilities of a dead body solution about the death occurrence from psychotropic and narcotic drug poisoning
Travenko E.N., Porodenko V.A.
Abstract

Background: Poisoning with psychotropic and narcotic substances is still leads to the general structure of fatal intoxications. A decreased traditional psychotropic and narcotic drug fatal poisoning and an increased new synthetic psychoactive substances and combined consumption are recorded in the country. Aims: This study aimed to study the dynamics of drug poisoning incidence according to the annual report data in 2017–2020 in the Krasnodar territory and establish their predominant etiology. Analyze the medical literature and identify the data mostly described during the external examination that suggests narcotic drug exposure possibility of the body. Comparison of the literature and external examination results of the corpse from the Expert Conclusions (Acts of forensic medical research) to further use the signs to create a “profile” of the suspected poisoned corpse with narcotic substances. Material and methods: The study material includes the annual reports of the State Budgetary Healthcare Institution “Bureau SME” of the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory in 2017–2020, archival medical documentation — autopsy reports in cases of death from narcotic substances; domestic and foreign literary sources. Results: In the Krasnodar Territory, opiates account for a large proportion of drug deaths. Psychotropic and narcotic drug intake is often (up to 30%) combined with alcohol consumption. The study showed that forensic pathology rarely uses external signs that make up the “profile of a corpse” suspected of drug poisoning at the initial stage. The most common signs (in 50% of cases) were: injection traces, cyanotic and flushed face, conjunctival hemorrhages, and whitish-pink foam in the nose or mouth openings. Others were not given due attention. Conclusion: The research topic dictates the need for further study and problem development, accumulation, and systematization of the obtained material for subsequent use.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):159-167
pages 159-167 views

EXPERT PRACTICE

Closed craniocerebral injury formation according to an indirect mechanism: a case from expert practice
Ulyankin V.E., Kupriyanov A.Y., Zyubina E.A., Machinsky P.A.
Abstract

Background: Approximately, 50 thousand die (i.e., about 10%) out of the 600 thousand people with a head injury. Literature examples reported some cases with brain damage with membranes in closed craniocerebral trauma formed by an indirect mechanism without direct contact of blunt solid objects in the head, which is characteristic of impulse trauma. Case presentation: In our practice, an unusual case of an indirect closed craniocerebral trauma with a fatal outcome resulting from a road traffic accident was encountered. The forensic medical examination of the corpse established a traumatic brain injury that formed without direct contact with blunt solid objects in the head. Traumatic brain injury formation by an impulse mechanism is rare in forensic medical practices; therefore, each case of such an injury is of certain interest, both in practical and scientific terms.

Conclusion: The impulse mechanism of head trauma, combined with the shock mechanism in road traffic accidents, is much more common than is currently believed. The bleeding source in such cases is often the venous vessels of the cerebral hemispheres, which flow into the sagittal sinus of the dura mater.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):168-171
pages 168-171 views
Research result recording of forensic histological examination course in Russia
Bogomolov D.V., Putintsev V.A., Sundukov D.V., Romanova O.L., Smirnov A.V., Dzhuvalyakov P.G.
Abstract

Microscopy is the main research method during forensic histological examinations. Section images obtained using microscopy in the form of a mental image are stored in the memory of a forensic histologist. In addition, visual information is sketched, described, or recorded using photography and videography. Aims: This study aimed to identify recording microscopy result features in the case of forensic histological examination in Russia at present and its development prospects in the future. Research material included conclusions of an expert (specialist) of state forensic medical institutions in Russia. Methods used to study the material were as follows: comparative-historical analysis, microscopic, thanatogenetic analysis, microphotography, and histological section description. The authors analyzed two methods of recording of microscopy results in detail, which are frequently used in forensic histological examinations at present in Russia. The article reflects historical, legal, and forensic aspects, as well as some unresolved problems of recording information obtained during forensic histological research. The authors also express their opinion about the use of computer vision of histological section microscopy in the near future, as a supplement but not the opposite of biological vision.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):172-179
pages 172-179 views
Gunshot missile caliber and type estimation using superposition method by exit gunshot cranial vault fracture
Semyonov V.V., Tsiatsiuyev A.M.
Abstract

A case of missile group identification by comparative examination using the image superposition method is presented. Identification was carried out using a skeletonized body vault exit gunshot fracture. The exit gunshot buttonhole fracture shape and dimensions reflected the bullet caliber and its flank profile. The entrance injury located on the anterior arch of the first cervical vertebra and the basilar part of the occipital bone, in this case, had no identification significance.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):180-185
pages 180-185 views
Forensic medical determination of harm caused to human health in environmental crime cases
Kuznetsov S.V., Molin Y.A., Melikhov S.Y.
Abstract

The article describes one of the most urgent needs of the investigation — the development of a fundamentally new approach to the forensic medical assessment of harm to human health caused by environmental crimes. Th e special signifi cance of new approaches to establishing a causal relationship between a committed environmental off ense and harm to life and (or) health, including for distinguishing from other possible anthropogenic impacts, is shown. A practical example of expert assistance to the investigation in establishing the circumstances to be proved during the investigation of an environmental crime is given.

Russian Journal of Forensic Medicine. 2021;7(3):186-192
pages 186-192 views

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