Papers by Valentina Bugelli
Biology
Estimating time since death can be challenging for forensic experts, and is one of the most chall... more Estimating time since death can be challenging for forensic experts, and is one of the most challenging activities concerning the forensic world. Various methods have been assessed to calculate the postmortem interval on dead bodies in different stages of decomposition and are currently widely used. Nowadays, the only well-recognized dating technique is carbon-14 radioisotope measurement, whereas other methods have been tested throughout the years involving different disciplines with different and sometimes not univocal results. Today, there is no precise and secure method to precisely determine time since death, and late postmortem interval estimation remains one of the most debated topics in forensic pathology. Many proposed methods have shown promising results, and it is desirable that with further studies some of them might become acknowledged techniques to resolve such a difficult and important challenge. The present review aims at presenting studies about the different techniq...
Best Practice in Forensic Entomology - The sampling and storage of living blow fly larvae
Forensic entomology (FE) is one of the most important tools for estimating the time since death b... more Forensic entomology (FE) is one of the most important tools for estimating the time since death by analyzing the species composition and age of the necrophagous fauna on the dead body. Sampling, transferring and killing/storing of this insect evidence is a very important task in forensic entomology because different methods can influence survival and further rearing of the living samples in the laboratory or bias the morphological examination of the dead specimens. The majority of “Best Practices” and “Guidelines” in forensic entomology recommend that fly larvae, the most important group in FE, should kept under controlled or at least known conditions, most suitable at 2-6°C. They suggest in addition that larvae should be stored in vials with an air-permeable lid and that these vials should be equipped with coarse sawdust or paper for taking e.g. excretion liquids. Living samples should be then transport to an expert within 24 hours. While keeping the latter window of time is a real...
L'apporto dell'entomologia alle scienze forensi: aspetti generali ed esperienza casistica
L'entomologia forense comprende tutti gli aspetti applicativi dello studio degli insetti che ... more L'entomologia forense comprende tutti gli aspetti applicativi dello studio degli insetti che siano in qualche modo correlati a questioni di carattere legale. Dopo una breve introduzione a carattere storico-esplicativo della materia in esame e degli aspetti più strettamente medico-legali, si procede alla discussione e all'approfondimento dell'esperienza casistica sviscerando le varie applicazioni e implicazioni dell'entomologia forense concludendo con la relativa discussione final
Literature describe relatively few studies about accidental death in autoerotic maneuvers. Author... more Literature describe relatively few studies about accidental death in autoerotic maneuvers. Authors report three new cases on this topic that involved adult male individuals. The purpose of the paper is to increase the knowledge and the classification of the phenomenon and give a contribution for the forensic medicine and psychiatric implications. The dynamics of the investigation of the scene, the autopsy finding and the examination of the medical history are particularly important for forensic professionals that must classify the event as a suicide, homicide or as an accidental event. The Authors describe the phenomenon also from the epidemiological point of view that shows a high prevalence of men, even if in Italy there are not official estimates. Last but not least the Authors and take in consideration and discussed about the existence in the subject of a para-physiological habitude or a real type of pathology as paraphiliac disorders (masochism, fetishism, travestic fetishism).
Intrafamily traumatic experiences in childhood and cyberbullying victimization on adolescent people in italy: Data from a multicentric study performed by self-report questionnaire
Scared to Death
JACC: Case Reports, 2020
Myocardial infarction with nonobstructed coronary arteries (MINOCA) can be triggered by intense e... more Myocardial infarction with nonobstructed coronary arteries (MINOCA) can be triggered by intense emotions. We report 5 cases of emotional stress–related death where forensic examination attributed myocardial infarction to a coronary spasm, with the ultimate cause of death being arrhythmias in 4 cases and cardiac rupture in the fifth. (Level of Difficulty: Beginner.)
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2021
Originally, the article was published with inverted names of the authors. Family names was captur... more Originally, the article was published with inverted names of the authors. Family names was captured first before the given names. This is now correctly presented above. The original article has been corrected.
Diagnostics, 2021
The estimation of the minimum time since death is one of the main applications of forensic entomo... more The estimation of the minimum time since death is one of the main applications of forensic entomology. This can be done by calculating the age of the immature stage of necrophagous flies developing on the corpse, which is confined to approximately 2–4 weeks, depending on temperature and species of the first colonizing wave of flies. Adding the age of the adult flies developed on the dead body could extend this time frame up to several weeks when the body is in a building or closed premise. However, the techniques for accurately estimating the age of adult flies are still in their beginning stages or not sufficiently validated. Here we review the current state of the art of analysing the aging of flies by evaluating the ovarian development, the amount of pteridine in the eyes, the degree of wing damage, the modification of their cuticular hydrocarbon patterns, and the increasing number of growth layers in the cuticula. New approaches, including the use of age specific molecular profi...
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2019
Sampling and storing insect evidence alive are important tasks in forensic entomology as it can i... more Sampling and storing insect evidence alive are important tasks in forensic entomology as it can impact survival and growth rates. To investigate the effect of cooling and storing of insect evidence before its arrival in the laboratory, samples of all three larval stages of the blow fly species Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina were analyzed. A first group was stored at room temperature and a second one in a refrigerator (~5°C) for 16 h, all without air, supply of food, and sawdust. Afterwards, they were kept at 6-8°C in a Styrofoam box for 8 h, simulating a transport situation. Mortality rate (MR) was calculated and 25% of the surviving larvae were killed and measured to check for interim growth. The remaining alive specimens were reared at 25°C until adult's eclosion for estimating a possible storage impact on survival during later development. The results were then compared with a control which was not temporarily stored and chilled but left feeding in boxes with an air-permeable lid on food substrate at 25°C. A 24-h temporary storage stopped the larval growth in comparison with the control especially in early larval stages in both species. A high MR of up to 100% for third instar (L3) larvae stored both at room temperature and in a cold environment without air supply was found. Oxygen supply can reduce significantly the MR at least for L3 larvae of L. sericata. Findings provide scientific evidence for the recommendation to store larval samples at cold temperatures with both oxygen and food supply. The high MR for samples of the last larval stage clearly shows the need for a fast delivery after sampling and a more sophisticated storage procedure like, e.g., providing air supply. Storing live samples at room temperature without air access should be avoided.
A case of death for recurrence of Giant Condylomata Acuminata Buschke-Lowestein's tumor
Effects of Different Killing and Storage Methods on Larval Length of the blow fly Lucilia Sericata
The Relevance of a Multidisciplinary Approach in the Identification of Skeletal Remains: A Case Report
Four cases of sodium nitrite suicidal ingestion: A new trend and a relevant Forensic Pathology and Toxicology challenge
Legal Medicine
Advances in Entomotoxicology
Forensic Entomology, 2019
The Journal of forensic odonto-stomatology, 2019
Burned bodies raise relevant issues for forensic patologist and odontologist both for the identif... more Burned bodies raise relevant issues for forensic patologist and odontologist both for the identification and the cause of death and possible vital burning.. The tongue protrusion is regularly investigated for the death caused by strangulation or hanging, whilst seems to be overlooked in case of charred remains as the significance of this sign is still discussed. Different mechanims are hypothized in literature to explain the toungue protrusion both for vital and non-vital burning. This paper retrospectively evaluates some cases of carbonized corpses examined at the Forensic Pathology service of the University of Florence. The tongue protrusion shows a high occurrence both in vital (100%) and non-vital fires (66%). The involvement of a forensic odontologist in the cadaver examination result to be limited to one third of the cases. In two non-vital cases the tongue was described as protruded and clenched between the dental arches. The rigor of the genioglossus induced by the heat coul...
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Papers by Valentina Bugelli