Over the past few years, there has been an emerging number of new psychoactive drugs. These drugs are frequently mentioned as "legal highs", "herbal highs", "bath salts" and "research chemicals". They are mostly sold and advertised on online forums and on the dark web. The emerging new psychoactive substances are designed to mimic the effects of psychoactive groups, which are often abused drugs. Novel synthetic opioids are a new trend in this context and represent an alarming threat to public health. Given the wide number of fatalities related to these compounds reported within the last few years, it is an important task to accurately identify these compounds in biologic matrices in order to administer an effective treatment and reverse the respiratory depression caused by opioid related substances. Clinicians dealing with fentanyl intoxication cases should consider that it could, in fact, be a fentanyl analogue. For this reason, it is a helpful recommendation to include synthetic opioids in the routine toxicological screening procedures, including analysis in alternative matrices, if available, to investigate poly-drug use and possible tolerance to opioids. To address this public health problem, better international collaboration, effective legislation, effective investigation, control of suspicious "research chemicals" online forums and continuous community alertness are required. This article aims to review diverse reported fatalities associated with new synthetic opioids describing them in terms of pharmacology, metabolism, posology, available forms, as well as their toxic effects, highlighting the sample procedures and analytical techniques available for their detection and quantification in biological matrices.

Rao et al.’s mandibular canine index (MCI) is a simple odontometric method which uses the mandibular canine as the key to sex estimation. This index is defined as the ratio between the right canine mesiodistal dimension and the mandibular canine arch width. The aim of this study was to contribute to sex estimation using dental techniques by analysing the MCI efficiency, and to propose a new approach for its use. Measurements were taken from 120 plaster casts (70 females) in the 16–30 year age group. Although statistically significant sexual dimorphism was observed in both the mesiodistal dimension and the mandibular canine arch width, the MCI showed a low accuracy in sex classification (54.2% correct identifications). This accuracy was improved to 64.2% using receiver operating characteristics curve analysis. Yet, despite the better accuracy, these results reinforce the idea that the MCI may not be particularly useful in sex prediction, since it may not reflect the same degree of sexual dimorphism as its absolute measures.

The medico-legal identification is based on a set of discriminatory characteristics between individuals in their biological, social, cultural, religious, legal and economic framework. The purpose of this study was to characterize the biological variation, regarding gender and age, in a Por-tuguese population. A three-dimensional (3D) analysis of 215 mandibles (7–20 years old) from the database of the Laboratory of Forensic Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra (CE-112/2019) was performed. A total of 13 cephalometric points defined 10 linear variables and 7 angular variables, on 3D reconstructions from ConeBeam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images. Intra and inter-observer errors were analyzed by Technical Measurement Error test. A descriptive statistics was performed. To verify the influence of gender and age on the variables and to determine its predictive value, ANOVA and Logistic Regression Analysis were performed. Gender and age influence most of the linear variables, however, the same is not true for angular variables. In the analysis of all variables, the model has a reasonable level of sensitivity (67.8%) according to gender. For the age prediction, with all variables, the model presented a reasonable level of sensitivity, classifying 79.4% of the individuals. The results supported, with a high level of statistical significance, an adequate recognition of individuals highlighting the identification and criminal imputability of Portuguese individuals.

Accurate sex estimation is crucial to determine the identity of human skeletal remains effectively. Here, we developed convolutional neural network (CNN) models for sex estimation on virtual hemi-pelvic regions, including the ventral pubis (VP), dorsal pubis (DP), greater sciatic notch (GSN), pelvic inlet (PI), ischium, and acetabulum from the Han population and compared these models with two experienced forensic anthropologists using morphological methods. A Computed Tomography (CT ) dataset of 862 individuals was divided into the subgroups of training, validation, and testing, respectively. The CT -based virtual hemi-pelvises from the training and validation groups were used to calibrate sex estimation models; and then a testing dataset was used to evaluate the performance of the trained models and two human experts on the sex estimation of specific pelvic regions in terms of overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Except for the ischium and acetabulum, the CNN models trained with the VP, DP, GSN, and PI images achieved excellent results with all the prediction metrics over 0.9. All accuracies were superior to those of the two forensic anthropologists in the independent testing. Notably, the heatmap results confirmed that the trained CNN models were focused on traditional sexual anatomic traits for sex classification. This study demonstrates the potential of AI techniques based on the radiological dataset in sex estimation of virtual pelvic models. The excellent sex estimation performance obtained by the CNN models indicates that this method is valuable to proceed with in prospective forensic trials.

Ancestry assessment represents a major component of forensic anthropological analysis of recovered human remains. Interpretations of ancestry, together with other aspects of the biological profile, can help narrow the search of missing persons and contribute to eventual positive identification. Such information can prove useful to authorities involved in the identification and investigative process since many lists of missing persons have a reference to this parameter. Recent research has strengthened available methodologies involving metric, non-metric morphological as well as chemical and genetic approaches. This review addresses the new anthropological techniques that are now available, as well as the complex historical context related to ancestry evaluation.

Examination of a person who has been a victim of a physical or sexual assault may be very important for upcoming legal proceedings. In the context of a clinical forensic examination, physical findings are recorded and biological trace material is gathered and secured. Ideally, all forensic findings are documented in a detailed report combined with photographic documentation, which employs a forensic scale to depict the size of the injuries. However, the integrity of such forensic findings depends particularly on two factors. First, the examination needs to be conducted professionally to ensure that the findings are properly admissible as court evidence. Second, the examination should take place as soon as possible because the opportunity to successfully secure biological samples declines rapidly with time. Access to low-threshold clinical forensic examinations is not evenly provided in all member states of the European Union (EU); in some states, they are not available at all. As part of the JUSTeU! (Juridical standards for clinical forensic examinations of victims of violence in Europe) project, the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Clinical Forensic Imaging in Graz, Austria created (in cooperation with its international partner consortium) a questionnaire: the purpose was to collect information about support for victims of physical and/or sexual assault in obtaining a low-threshold clinical forensic examination in various countries of the EU. Our paper provides a summary of the responses and an overview of the current situation concerning provided clinical forensic services.

Introdução O processo de identificação em casos de desastres naturais e crimes é uma necessidade de todos os processos de investigação. Com a evolução tecnológica atual, novas técnicas têm sido desenvolvidas de modo a permitir uma identificação mais fácil e eficiente. Nos pacientes edêntulos, as próteses dentárias são uma das ferramentas mais valiosas, uma vez que a incorporação de alguns elementos pode permitir a identificação dos indivíduos. Materiais e Métodos Nos últimos anos, o Código QR tem sido estudado com este propósito, uma vez que apresenta vantagens em relação a outros métodos de identificação. No entanto, não existem informações sobre a opinião da população portuguesa em relação ao uso do Código QR como identificação em próteses dentárias, tal como não existem dados relativos à utilização de métodos como o Cartão de Cidadão e a Carta de Condução. Um questionário foi aplicado para responder a estas questões. Na tentativa de diminuição do tamanho do código QR, peças de titânio e cromo-cobalto foram fresadas em três tamanhos diferentes. Foram utilizados dois métodos diferentes de leitura do código QR. O menor código QR lido foi incluído numa réplica da prótese de um paciente da Clínica Dentária Universitária. Resultados A amostra mostrou-se maioritariamente a favor da utilização do Código QR como método de identificação. Apesar de não ter sido possível ler os três tamanhos diferentes fresados, dois deles foram lidos com sucesso. Guidelines foram redigidas para que outros Médicos Dentistas possam seguir o protocolo no futuro. Conclusão Apesar das limitações deste estudo, a utilização de um Código QR em próteses dentárias pode ter um papel importante, uma vez que a informação incluída pode salvar vidas e/ou identificar indivíduos. No entanto, mais estudos devem ser feitos para tornar este procedimento comum com conexão a uma base de dados única.

Introdução A análise da estrutura dentária é uma ferramenta essencial para o processo de identificação humana e, por esse motivo, a identificação em desdentados totais tornase mais difícil. Como a prótese dentária pode ser o único elemento existente capaz de permitir a identificação de desdentados totais, a sua marcação com Quick Response Codes (QR Codes), que codifiquem informação identificativa, constitui uma solução para facilitar a identificação humana. Material e Métodos Foram selecionados materiais para testar a viabilidade do processo de obtenção de peças, com avaliação de qual o processo mais vantajoso entre fresagem e corte a laser. Após o fabrico e gravação a laser de QR Codes em peças de diferentes tamanhos e materiais foi avaliada a sua legibilidade e resistência quando expostos a altas temperaturas (600°C e 1000°C) durante um período de 30 minutos e à ação de substâncias corrosivas (ácido sulfúrico e hidróxido de sódio). Resultados O menor tamanho legível foi de 7,5mm x 7,5mm. A exposição de titânio e aço inoxidável a altas temperaturas revelou o problema da oxidação destes materiais após exposições prolongadas a altas temperaturas. O titânio apresentou alta resistência à corrosão por ácido sulfúrico e resistência moderada à corrosão por hidróxido de sódio. O aço inoxidável apresentou resistência muito baixa à corrosão por ácido sulfúrico e alta resistência à corrosão por hidróxido de sódio. Conclusão Ainda que não tenha sido possível diminuir o tamanho de QR Code legível, este estudo desenvolveu um método rápido, eficiente e acessível de fabrico de peças e gravação de QR Codes e testou a sua resistência a dois procedimentos físicoquímicos. São necessários mais estudos para que este método de identificação possa ser amplamente aplicado no futuro.

This article presents a forensic case of an unusual illegal cremation of a person using a process colloquially known as the “microwave oven” practice in Brazil. The microwave process involves two actions: placing the victim in a tire stack and then setting the structure on fire using flammable substances to accelerate the progression. A similar practice, identified as “necklacing”, has also been reported in other countries such as South Africa. This report presents a case of microwave oven cremation of a body found in a rural area of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The forensic work helped determine the biological profile and identity of the victim using radiological comparisons. Although the microwave oven cremation practice is rare, it can impose challenges for investigators. Therefore, fully understanding this practice can be helpful to the academic and forensic communities.