Neuroblastoma (NBL) and medulloblastoma (MB) are aggressive pediatric cancers which can benefit from therapies targeting gangliosides. Therefore, we compared the ganglioside profile of 9 MB and 14 NBL samples by thin layer chromatography and mass spectrometry. NBL had the highest expression of GD2 (median 0.54 nmol GD2/mg protein), and also expressed complex gangliosides. GD2-low samples expressed GD1a and were more differentiated. MB mainly expressed GD2 (median 0.032 nmol GD2/mg protein) or GM3. Four sonic hedgehog-activated (SHH) as well as one group 4 and one group 3 MBs were GD2-positive. Two group 3 MB samples were GD2-negative but GM3-positive. N-glycolyl neuraminic acid-containing GM3 was neither detected in NBL nor MB by mass spectrometry. Furthermore, a GD2-phenotype predicting two-gene signature (ST8SIA1 and B4GALNT1) was applied to RNA-Seq datasets, including 86 MBs and validated by qRT-PCR. The signature values were decreased in group 3 and wingless-activated (WNT) compared to SHH and group 4 MBs. These results suggest that while NBL is GD2-positive, only some MB patients can benefit from a GD2-directed therapy. The expression of genes involved in the ganglioside synthesis may allow the identification of GD2-positive MBs. Finally, the ganglioside profile may reflect the differentiation status in NBL and could help to define MB subtypes.

The identification of teeth in 3D medical images can be a first step for victim identification from scant remains, for comparison of ante- and postmortem images or for other forensic investigations. We evaluate the performance of a tooth detection approach on mandibles with missing parts or pathologies based on statistical shape models. The proposed approach relies on a shape model that has been built from the full lower jaw, including the mandible and teeth. The model is fitted to the target, resulting in a reconstruction, in addition to a label map that indicates the presence or absence of teeth. We evaluate the accuracy of the proposed solution on a dataset consisting of 76 target mandibles, all extracted from CT images and exhibiting various cases of missing teeth or other cases, such as roots, implants, first dentition, and gap closure. We show an accuracy of approximately 90% on the front teeth (including incisors and canines in our study) that decreases for the molars due to high false-positive rates at the wisdom teeth level. Despite the drop in performance, the proposed approach can be used to obtain an estimate of the tooth count without wisdom teeth, tooth identification, reconstruction of the existing teeth to automate measurements taken as part of routine forensic procedures, or prediction of the missing teeth shape. In comparison to other approaches, our solution relies solely on shape information. This means it can be applied to cases obtained from either medical images or 3D scans because it does not depend on the imaging modality intensities. Another novelty is that the proposed solution avoids heuristics for the separation of teeth or for fitting individual tooth models. The solution is therefore not target-specific and can be directly applied to detect missing parts in other target organs using a shape model of the new target.

Purpose: To assess (I) whether, in autopsy-proven lethal intoxications with opiates/opioids, a dilatation of the common bile duct (CBD) is still visible in postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and (II) if a dilatation of the CBD might also be measurable for other substance groups (e.g., stimulants, hypnotics, antipsychotics, etc.). Methods: We retrospectively measured the CBD using PMCT in cases with lethal intoxication (n = 125) and as a control group in cases with a negative toxicological analysis (n = 88). Intoxicating substances were classified into the subgroups (opiates, opioids, stimulants, hypnotics, antipsychotics, gasses, and others). Significance between the study and control groups was tested with the Mann–Whitney U test, and correlations were examined by using crosstables. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between the CBD diameters in the intoxication group overall, when compared to the CBD diameter in the control group (p < 0.001). For both subgroups of “opiates” and “opioids”, there was a strong statistically significant difference between the CBD diameter (being wider) in those groups compared to the control group (both p = 0.001). For the three subgroups “hypnotics”, “stimulants”, and “psychotropic drugs”, there was no statistically significant difference between the CBD diameters in the intoxication subgroups when compared with the control group. The other subgroups were too small for statistical analysis. Conclusion: A dilated common bile duct in postmortem computed tomography might be used as an indication for a lethal opioid or opiate intoxication only in regard to the specific case circumstances or together with other indicative findings in a postmortem investigation.

When the time since death must be calculated forensic pathologists often consider a calculation based on the Henssge nomogram. This calculation requires an estimated body weight. Previous research has indicated that healthcare workers generally inaccurately guessed patients' body weights. In recent years, weight estimation methods based on anthropometric parameters, such as mid-arm or waist circumference, have been shown to improve estimation accuracy. This study aimed to examine whether anthropometric weight estimation methods could improve weight estimation accuracy compared to visual estimation in forensic pathology. In 199 cases from a Swiss population, we measured the actual body weight, mid-arm circumference, waist circumference, and body height before autopsy. Additionally, two forensic pathologists visually estimated the body weight. We found mid-arm circumferences to correlate the strongest with actual body weight (Pearson 'sr 0.87, 95 % CI 0.83-0.90). However, all mid-arm circumference-based estimation methods performed worse than those previously described. A statistical bias between -12.3 % and -14.5 % indicated a systematic weight underestimation. Combined two-physician visual estimation performed significantly better than anthropometric measurements in our population but showed no difference from anthropometric estimation methods previously described in the literature. Further research is needed on novel body weight estimation methods that are currently not applicable for the global population.