Journal de recherche médico-légale

This paper provides an overview of the growing cybercrime problem and reviews the disadvantages of over uses of social networking sites. This paper also categories some types of cybercrimes that may cause victimization by these social networking sites. It includes few case studies showing how the personal information is stolen if someone’s profile is already registered on any social networking sites for either monetary gain or antihuman activities like money laundering and terrorist activity respectively. Certain suggestion and preventions are also mentioned in full paper.

Aim: Endomyocardial biopsies form the golden standard in diagnosing (borderline) lymphocytic myocarditis ((B)- LM) in living patients. Herein immunohistochemistry(IH) is mandatory. Diagnosing (B)-LM in autopsy hearts however is less defined. In this study we performed immunohistochemical stainings of heart slides in a cohort of consecutive adult autopsies that were evaluated subsequently with the Dallas criteria.

Methods: Sections of the myocardium of consecutive adult autopsies (n=107) performed at Symbiant, Pathology Expert Centre, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012 were revised. The two Hematoxylin/Eosin (H&E) slides of the heart with the highest number of interstitial inflammatory cells were stained for LCA (leukocyte common antigen) and activated complement (C3d). The slides were then analysed for clusters (≥1) of LCA-positive lymphocytes, with or without cardiomyocyte adhesion. C3d staining was used to visualize myocytolysis.

Results: In H&E slides only, LM was found in 2 out of 107 cases (1.9%), but no B-LM was diagnosed. Using IH and applying the Dallas criteria, LM was found in 4 cases (3.7%) and B-LM in 4 additional cases (3.7%) out of 107.

Conclusions: Combining the Dallas criteria with immunohistochemical stainings, LCA (identifying lymphocytes) and C3d (visualizing myocytolysis), improves the diagnosis of (B)-LM in autopsy hearts.

It is becoming increasingly common for mobile phone recordings to be presented as evidence in a court of law. In such situations a forensic scientist is frequently engaged to analyse suspect and offender voice samples with a view to determining the strength-of-evidence, a process called Forensic Voice Comparison (FVC). This paper investigates the extent to which an FVC analysis is negatively impacted by the network through which the speech has passed. Our investigation focuses on the GSM and CDMA networks as these are the ones in common usage currently. Our experimental findings suggest that both networks negatively impact the accuracy of an FVC analysis and that this is worse for the CDMA network. We present strategies for mitigating this impact to some extent.

Forensic entomology is the science that uses insects found on bodies to set the Post Mortem Interval (PMI) among other investigations. The present work used DNA barcode based on the use of a standardized fragment of Cytochrome C Oxidase subunit I (COI). We undertook analysis of the taxa associated with carcasses, representing 15 dipterans species. Carcasses of pigs during the decomposition process were used, using a cutoff value of 3% for intra-and interspecific differentiation proves efficient for the dipteran of forensic interest. Species identification is more accurate in well studied and reviewed groups. It was observed that specific taxonomic groups were well separated. In the larger group a molecular study, including other mitochondrial genes and nuclear genes is necessary. The greater differentiation in Lucilia eximia probably requires review studies of the group.

Digital Forensics is a branch of Forensic Science pertaining to evidential articles of digital and electronic nature, of which mobile forensics is a major stream. A proliferation of handheld cellular devices and crimes involving mobile phones in the previous years has led to an enormous demand for specialists in the field of mobile forensics. The interesting part is that any mobile phone is incomplete without a SIM card. Therefore, SIM cards are the most common type of forensic evidence to be found in cases where handheld devices are involved, a SIM card is imperative, no matter the phone belongs to the normal mobile phones category or the satellitephones that contain an iDEN (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) SIM. These cards are all around us and are now being integrated in driving licenses, debit cards, credit cards, ATM cards, Identity cards, etc. Digital Forensic Science is the skill of a forensic expert to apply the knowledge of computer sciences and the investigative measures for a legal cause requiring the analysis of digital evidences. It is the process of identifying, preserving, analyzing, and presenting digital evidence in a manner that is legally acceptable. The motive of the process is to preserve any digital evidence in its most original form while performing a planned analysis by identifying, collecting and validating the digital information for the purpose of reconstructing past events.

In forensic investigation, there are difficulties in stature and gender estimation of bodies dismembered in mass destruction and criminal mutilation. An individual’s hand or foot, when recovered and brought for forensic examination, can provide valuable information about a person’s identity. Stature provides insight into various features of a population, including nutrition, health and genetics, geographical location, environment and climatic condition. Stature estimation remains a constant challenge forforensic anthropologists because of secular changes in stature due to allometric changes in long bones, and migrations of world populations. In the forensic literature a considerable attention has been paid in regard to stature estimation from long bones. But little attention has been received on secular changes in hand and foot dimensions in a homogenous population with similar climatic adaptation over the years. The present study deals with the comparison of hand length and foot length along with stature among male and female Sikhs of the Delhi region in two different time frames i.e., 1998-2015 (16 years). Both studies were compared to see the secular changes in these parameters. The results show that in the year 2015, a negative secular trend is observed in the mean value of stature among both male and female Sikhs, thereby indicating their weakersocioeconomic, environmental and biological parameters. No marked secular changes have been observed in hand and foot dimensions over the years. This indicates that hand and foot dimensions are genetically driven as negligible differences could be observed in their mean values.

The adult human skeleton is sexed using morphological and metrical traits of big intact bones like skull, mandible, pelvis and long bones etc. The Incus is housed in the middle ear; so it remains well protected even in the mutilated bodies. Morphometry of the 120 human Incus bones from 60 cadavers have been studied with the aim to know thesexual dimorphismin north Indian population. It is observed that study of normal dimensions and indices will provide insight for the surgeons and will have surgical implications in reconstruction of ossicular chain, which may have been congenitally absent, malformed, fixed, disrupted or destroyed by trauma or disease. These are the results for guidance and future manipulation in the field of ENT and Forensic Medicine.