Are cranial peri-mortem fractures identifiable in cremated remains? A study on 38 known cases

Accurate identification and analysis of signs of trauma on human bone is one of the mainstays of forensic pathology. However, when a forensic pathologist has to deal with charred remains, the task become extremely difficult, because tissues are subjected to severe morphological alterations and their assessment can be critically distorted. We analyzed 38 individuals with peri-mortem skull fractures due to falls from height (17 cases), traffic accidents (16 cases), gunshots wounds (5 cases), of which we had the demographic and clinical data and the autopsy report with the description and photographic records of the fracture lines. After autopsy, the bodies were cremated in gas furnaces and the analysis of cremated cranial remains was conducted in order to verify if it was possible to reconstruct the original peri-mortem fractures and verify differences between known peri-mortem and post-mortem fractures. After 90 min and exposure to temperatures up to 1280 °C, in less than a third of cases (11–29%) the original peri-mortem fracture pattern could be found and reconstructed. The edges and the surface of the fractures can preserve their proper morphology, or they can be affected by post-mortem heat-induced fractures and deformations. Interestingly whenever peri-mortem fracture margins showed the evidence of yellow/brownish colouration, a matte appearance was observed, much different from post-mortem fractures, which may provide further food for thought for the identification of peri-mortem fractures after the cremation process

An Italian single-centre retrospective analysis of 1106 consecutive cases of child and adolescent abuse : key elements of effective practices

Background: Child and adolescent maltreatment refer to several forms of abuse and neglect, with negative and harmful consequences on children's and adolescents' physical and psychological health. Methods: This study aims to provide a wide perspective on child and adolescents maltreatment from a large, public, anti-violence centre located in a university hospital (SVSeD, Sexual and Domestic Violence Service) and to suggest models of tailored therapeutic interventions and proposals for effective clinical practice. Results: The sample study was obtained by analyzing 1106 medical records of victims aged 0 to 17 referring to SVSeD for all types of abuse. Our findings confirm that almost in one third (28,2%) of the cases children and adolescents are victims of multiple different types of violence. In our experience, sexual violence plays a leading role (66% of cases), being the most frequent type of child and adolescent abuse. Conclusions: This study confirms that child and adolescent abuse could manifest in many different ways, which are often not so easily detected, as the violence usually occurs inside the family. Institutional educational programs should be implemented to increase the health practitioners' skills and competence for detecting and reporting children and adolescents who are victims of abuse

Sexual violence against adolescent girls: the need for shared multidisciplinary prevention strategies

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Sexual Violence Against Adolescent Girls: Labeling It to Avoid Normalization

Violence against women is a pervasive complex phenomenon that destroys women's feelings of love, trust, and self-esteem. In this commentary, we specifically focus on sexual violence against adolescent girls, whose impact is particularly harmful since it may lead to impaired mental health, social functioning, and neurodevelopment. Between 12% and 25% of adolescent girls throughout the world experience sexual violence, very often perpetrated by a family member or a friend. Moreover, for an alarming proportion of girls, the first sexual experience is coerced. In this article, we review the multiple negative effects of sexual violence against adolescent girls. We also report data derived from our practice in a public Italian referral Centre for Sexual and Domestic Violence (SVSeD) and address the importance of a multidisciplinary clinical approach with adolescent victims of sexual violence

Nanocomposite Sprayed Films with Photo-Thermal Properties for Remote Bacteria Eradication

Currently there is a strong demand for novel protective materials with efficient antibacterial properties. Nanocomposite materials loaded with photo-thermally active nanoparticles can offer promising opportunities due to the local increase of temperature upon near-infrared (NIR) light exposure capable of eradicating bacteria. In this work, we fabricated antibacterial films obtained by spraying on glass slides aqueous solutions of polymers, containing highly photo-thermally active gold nanostars (GNS) or Prussian Blue (PB) nanoparticles. Under NIR light irradiation with low intensities (0.35 W/cm2) these films demonstrated a pronounced photo-thermal effect: ΔTmax up to 26.4 °C for the GNS-containing films and ΔTmax up to 45.8 °C for the PB-containing films. In the latter case, such a local temperature increase demonstrated a remarkable effect on a Gram-negative strain (P. aeruginosa) killing (84% of dead bacteria), and a promising effect on a Gram-positive strain (S. aureus) eradication (69% of dead bacteria). The fabricated films are promising prototypes for further development of lightweight surfaces with efficient antibacterial action that can be remotely activated on demand