rat-model-of-closed-head-mild-traumatic-injury-and-its-validation

Rat Model of Closed-Head Mild Traumatic Injury and its Validation

Animal models are crucial for advancing our understanding of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and guiding clinical research. To achieve meaningful ...

School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University

In order to determine the major species of sarcosaphagous flies and their regular activity on carcass in Hohhot district.

[The study of the major sarcosaphagous flies in Hohhot].

To solve the problems of identification of Sarcosaphagous flies and their larvae, pupas and eggs.

[Forensic applications of the sequencing of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene for sarcosaphagous flies (Diptera) in Huhhot and Dunhuang district].

To deduce the region that the geographical species of Lucilia sericata come from and determine the scene of crime (SOC) based on the gene analysis of mtDNA CO II.

[Relationship between CO II gene of mtDNA of Lucilia sericata and latitude interval].

In this research, we investigated the allele frequencies and forensic parameters of 21 non-, CODIS short tandem repeat (STR) loci (D6S474, D12ATA63, D22S1045, D10S1248, D1S1677, D11S4463, D1S1627, D3S4529, D2S441, D6S1017, D4S2408, D19S433, D17S1301, D1GATA113, D18S853, D20S482, D14S1434, D9S1122, D2S1776, D10S1435 and D5S2500) among 523 unrelated, Chinese Mongolians in the city of Tongliao, Horqin district, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Genetic polymorphism of 21 non-CODIS STR loci in the Chinese Mongolian ethnic minority.

Genetic polymorphic investigation of 21 autosomal short tandem repeat loci in the Chinese Li ethnic group.

Microorganisms play vital roles in the natural decomposition of carcasses in aquatic systems. Using high-throughput sequencing techniques, we evaluated the composition and succession of microbial communities throughout the decomposition of rat carcasses in freshwater. A total of 4,428,781 high-quality 16S rRNA gene sequences and 2144 operational taxonomic units were obtained. Further analysis revealed that the microbial composition differed significantly between the epinecrotic (rat skins) and the epilithic (rocks) samples. During the carcass decomposition process, Proteobacteria became the dominant phylum in the epinecrotic, epilithic, and environmental (water) samples, followed by Firmicutes in the epinecrotic samples and Bacteroidetes in the epilithic and water samples. Microbial communities were influenced by numerous environmental factors, such as dissolved oxygen content and conductivity. Our study provides new insight about postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) estimation in aquatic environments.

Potential use of high-throughput sequencing of bacterial communities for postmortem submersion interval estimation.

The necrobiome is the postmortem community that includes bacteria, fungi, arthropods, and other cadaver-associated organisms. It has been suggested as biological evidence for forensic investigation. Fungi form distinctive mildew spots in colonizing decomposing bodies, converting them into moldy cadavers. However, the postmortem fungal community consists of more than these visible species. Characterizing the succession pattern of the fungal community during decomposition is valuable not only for understanding the ecosystem composition of the cadaver decomposition islands but also for contributing to forensic investigations. In the present study, the fungal composition of pig cadavers and succession patterns during decomposition were investigated with high-throughput sequencing. The succession patterns were easier to discern in outdoor cadavers, compared with those that were placed indoors. The metabarcoding approach revealed trends linking particular fungal taxa with specific postmortem intervals (PMIs). Dominant species increased notably in cadavers and soil. Furthermore, the succession of the soil community was driven by the cadaver decomposition. Significant mycoflora differences were observed between environmental and cadaveric soil. The results obtained suggested that postputrefaction mycoflora have considerable potential for PMI estimation, particularly in cases that involve heavily decomposed bodies. In addition, the diversity of fungal communities revealed by the metabarcoding approach allowed us to discriminate the sites of cadaver decomposition, implying that postputrefaction mycoflora may be helpful in identifying the environment in which a cadaver has been placed, or the original location from which a cadaver has been moved. Our results provide an important step towards developing fungal evidence for use in forensic science and add to the growing body of work on postmortem microbial communities.

Fungal succession during mammalian cadaver decomposition and potential forensic implications.

Forensic saliva identification represents an increasingly useful auxiliary means of crime investigations, particularly in sex crimes. Salivary bacteria detection techniques have been shown to be viable methods for identifying the presence of saliva. A one-pot method is described for the fabrication of bovine serum albumin-stabilized SiC nanoparticles (SiC@BSA NPs). The SiC@BSA NPs were conjugated to antibacterial peptide GH12 to allow for fluorometric detection and imaging of bacteria in saliva. More specifically, the nanoprobe, with fluorescence excitation/emission maxima at 320/410 nm, was used to detect the oral bacteria S. salivarius levels. The detection limit is 25 cfu·mL, and the assay can be performed within 40 min. The nanoprobe was also used to detect bacteria in forensic body fluids including blood, urine, and semen. In all cases, positive results were obtained with (mixed) samples containing saliva, while other saliva samples without saliva showed negative results. Fluorescent images of S. salivarius cells were obtained by implementing a high-content image analysis system. These results suggest that this new nanoprobe can be applied to screen for forensic saliva stains. Graphical abstractSchematic representation of the preparation of SiC@BSA-GH12 nanoprobe for fluorometric detection and imaging of S. salivarius in saliva.

Bacteria-targeting BSA-stabilized SiC nanoparticles as a fluorescent nanoprobe for forensic identification of saliva.

Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a forensically important fly, which has been widely applied to practical legal investigations. Unlike other necrophagous flies, A. grahami exhibits cold tolerance which helps to maintain its activity during low-temperature months, when other species are usually not active. Hence, A. grahami is considered an important forensic insect especially in cold seasons. In this study, we aim to explore the molecular mechanisms of cold tolerance of A. grahami through transcriptome.

Dynamic transcriptome profiling exploring cold tolerance in forensically important blow fly, Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Nowadays, cultivating experts in clinical forensic medicine (CFM) has become a universal problem worldwide. In most English-speaking countries, CFM is traditionally designed as an introduction and incorporation into medical undergraduate training whereas in China it is an essential sub-specialty of forensic science. The scope, missions, and tasks of this discipline vary widely by virtue of the diversity of countries and legal environment, leading to the difference in pedagogical model, even in professional qualities and abilities. Accordingly, it is imperative to uniform and standardize the training model of undergraduate of forensic major. In this article, we describe a redesigned pedagogical model of CFM implemented by the Faculty of Forensic Medicine, which is characterized by: (a) initiating students into comprehension of CFM and raising their awareness of the professional responsibilities; (b) developing students intellectual curiosity of legal and medical issues and educating in advanced techniques of CFM; (c) cultivating students ability of expression and communication in professional terms and providing with educational resources to enhance their professional qualities; and (d) improving teachers ability of imparting knowledge and promoting the development and optimization of teaching evaluation system. In terms of forensic practical and scientific research, plentiful prominent achievements have been currently acquired resulted from this redesigned pedagogical model, which demonstrates its superiority in undergraduate education.

Educating for practice: A new redesigned pedagogical model of clinical forensic medicine.

Burkina Faso (BF) is a landlocked Sahelian country located in the middle of West Africa. Sixty-three local languages are spoken in BF. Despite this high diversity, the BF population remains poorly investigated, and updated forensic parameters with a large number of Y chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are still missing. Herein, 447 DNA samples were typed for a cocktail of 29 Y-STR loci. None of these 447 individuals in total shared a common haplotype. The overall Y-STR haplotypes were successfully uploaded online on the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) with the accession numbers YA004690 and YA004691. The main haplotype diversity was 0.9999999965, which is much higher than that obtained with 12 Y-STRs in a previous study. Haploid Match Probability for the whole dataset was 0.002237. The phylogenetic analysis of 24 ethnic groups of BF shows that the ethnic group named BISSA is closer to Gur speakers than Mande speakers, where they belong. In addition, genetic structure analysis of 49 African subpopulations sheds light on the fact that geographic proximity turns out to be one of the best predictors of genetic affinity between populations.

Population data and genetic structure analysis based on 29 Y-STR loci among the ethnolinguistic groups in Burkina Faso.

In forensic pathology, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a frequently encountered cause of death. Unfortunately, the statistic autopsy data, risk investigation about injury patterns, and circumstances of TBI are still sparse. Estimates of survival time post-TBI and postmortem diagnosis of TBI are especially important implications in forensic medicine. Neurogranin (Ng) and myelin basic protein (MBP) represent potential biomarkers of TBI. The present study analyzed retrospectively the forensic autopsy records of TBI cases at a university center of medico-legal investigation from 2008 to 2020. Immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to investigate the expression changes of Ng and MBP in the cortical brain injury adjacent tissues and serum, respectively, from cases of TBI at autopsy with different survival times post-TBI. The results show that the major mechanism of death of TBI is assault, and accident was the major manner of death. Ng and MBP are mainly expressed in the cortical nerve cells and the myelin sheath, respectively. The serum levels of Ng and MBP in each TBI group were higher compared with those in the controls. The brain cortical levels of Ng and MBP decreased at first and then steadily increased with extended survival time post-TBI. The immunopositive ratios and serum concentration of Ng and MBP have shown significant differences among control group and all TBI group (p < 0.001). Collectively, the immunohistochemical analyses of Ng and MBP in human brain tissues may be useful to determine the survival time after TBI, and Ng and MBP level in the human blood specimens could be considered as a postmortem diagnostic tools of TBI in forensic practice.

Analysis of the risk of traumatic brain injury and evaluation neurogranin and myelin basic protein as potential biomarkers of traumatic brain injury in postmortem examination.

Reliable diagnostic methods for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are lacking, and many researchers continue to search for objective biomarkers that can both define and detect mTBI. Although much research has been conducted in this field, there have not been many bibliometric studies. In this study, we aim to analyze the development over the last two decades in scientific output relating to the diagnosis of mTBI. To do this, we extracted documents from Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase and performed descriptive analysis (number of publications, primary journals, authors, and countries/regions), trend topics analysis, and citation analysis for papers across the globe, with a particular focus on molecular markers. One thousand twenty-three publications spanning 390 journals were identified on Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase for the period from 2000 to 2022. The number of publications increased every year (from 2 in 2000 to 137 in 2022). Of all the publications we analyzed, 58.7% had authors from the USA. Our analysis shows that molecular markers are the most studied markers in the field of mTBI diagnostics, accounting for 28.4% of all publications, and that the number of studies focused on this specific aspect has increased sharply in the past 5 years, indicating that molecular markers may become a research trend in the future.

Article	Year
[The study of the major sarcosaphagous flies in Hohhot]. Fa yi xue za zhi\| PubMed ID: 15495802	2004
[Forensic applications of the sequencing of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene for sarcosaphagous flies (Diptera) in Huhhot and Dunhuang district]. Fa yi xue za zhi\| PubMed ID: 15931747	2005
[Relationship between CO II gene of mtDNA of Lucilia sericata and latitude interval]. Fa yi xue za zhi\| PubMed ID: 17285856	2006
Genetic polymorphism of 21 non-CODIS STR loci in the Chinese Mongolian ethnic minority. Forensic science international. Genetics\| PubMed ID: 24041912	2014
Genetic polymorphic investigation of 21 autosomal short tandem repeat loci in the Chinese Li ethnic group. Forensic science international. Genetics\| PubMed ID: 27435049	2016
Potential use of high-throughput sequencing of bacterial communities for postmortem submersion interval estimation. Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology]\| PubMed ID: 31364013	2019
Fungal succession during mammalian cadaver decomposition and potential forensic implications. Scientific reports\| PubMed ID: 31501472	2019
Bacteria-targeting BSA-stabilized SiC nanoparticles as a fluorescent nanoprobe for forensic identification of saliva. Mikrochimica acta\| PubMed ID: 31707552	2019
Dynamic transcriptome profiling exploring cold tolerance in forensically important blow fly, Aldrichina grahami (Diptera: Calliphoridae). BMC genomics\| PubMed ID: 31996132	2020
Educating for practice: A new redesigned pedagogical model of clinical forensic medicine. Journal of forensic and legal medicine\| PubMed ID: 33129196	2020
Population data and genetic structure analysis based on 29 Y-STR loci among the ethnolinguistic groups in Burkina Faso. International journal of legal medicine\| PubMed ID: 33677620	2021
Analysis of the risk of traumatic brain injury and evaluation neurogranin and myelin basic protein as potential biomarkers of traumatic brain injury in postmortem examination. Forensic science, medicine, and pathology\| PubMed ID: 35201602	2022
Research on the Potential Biomarkers of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: a Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Molecular neurobiology\| PubMed ID: 37103686	2023

Jifeng Cai

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