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University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation COMPARING DECOMPOSITION: INTERSPECIES VARIATION WITHIN POSTMORTEM INTERVAL ESTIMATION USING TOTAL BODY SCORE AND ACCUMULATED DEGREE DAYS By HALEY L. RUSSO A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2020 © 2020 Haley L. Russo ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank my mother, father, sister, brother-in-law, and great aunt who have endlessly supported my unique academic pursuits. They provided me with the best education possible and my professional success would not be where it is without their encouragement, so for that I am particularly grateful. Furthermore, I owe special thanks to Dr. Lerah Sutton, a mentor, friend, and committee member, for her continued support through my academic studies and research endeavors. Through her guidance, I found passion and love for the field of forensic science. I am additionally grateful to my other committee members, Drs. Jason Byrd, Bruce Goldberger, and Adam Stern for their guidance and assistance throughout my research project and writing of my thesis. Finally, I am thankful for my friend and co-worker Kate Laventure. Over the years we have worked side-by-side and accomplished many goals together. She was invaluable to my studies and research efforts, so it is to her that I offer my deepest and sincerest thanks. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 3 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 6 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 7 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 Project Summary .................................................................................................... 10 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 13 Overview .......................................................................................................... 13 Postmortem Changes and Time Since Death Determination ........................... 15 Autolysis and putrefaction .......................................................................... 16 Vitreous humor ........................................................................................... 17 Rigor mortis ................................................................................................ 20 Livor mortis ................................................................................................ 21 Postmortem muscle excitability .................................................................. 24 Temperature-Based Methods ........................................................................... 26 Algor mortis ................................................................................................ 27 Accumulated degree days ......................................................................... 29 Artifacts of Decomposition ................................................................................ 30 General stages ........................................................................................... 31 Progressive method index using total body score ...................................... 34 Human and Canine Comparative Research ..................................................... 37 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................ 39 3 RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 43 Overall .................................................................................................................... 43 Trial One ................................................................................................................. 43 Trial Two ................................................................................................................. 45 Example Calculation ............................................................................................... 47 4 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 49 Exploratory Correlations ......................................................................................... 49 Limitations and Application Considerations ............................................................ 53 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 55 4 APPENDIX A TABLES .................................................................................................................. 57 B FIGURES ................................................................................................................ 60 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 83 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 89 5 LIST OF TABLES Table page A-1 Mean, standard deviation, and standard error of accumulated degree day calculations for all sites expressed in degrees Celsius. ...................................... 57 A-2 Total number of calendar days for each trial with the maximum total body score observed and the calendar months in which the trials occurred. .............. 58 A-3 Total precipitation observed for each trial and precipitation levels at midpoint expressed in inches. ........................................................................................... 58 A-4 Equations representing the exponential relationships between total body score and accumulated degree days and the R2 values representing the quality of fit of the equations to the data ............................................................. 59 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page B-1 Cage designed to inhibit scavenger activity and interference with specimens ... 60 B-2 Series of photographs taken each day at research site. ..................................... 61 B-3 Total body score chart. ....................................................................................... 62 B-4 Examples of stages of decomposition exemplified in the same pig throughout trial two ............................................................................................................... 63 B-5 Examples of stages of decomposition exemplified in the same dog throughout trial two ............................................................................................. 65 B-6 Overall charts showing relationship between total body score and accumulated degree days for trial 1 .................................................................... 67 B-7 Overall charts showing relationship between total body score and accumulated degree days for trial 2 .................................................................... 77 7 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science COMPARING DECOMPOSITION: INTERSPECIES VARIATION WITHIN POSTMORTEM INTERVAL ESTIMATION USING TOTAL BODY SCORE AND ACCUMULATED DEGREE DAYS By Haley L. Russo August 2020 Chair: Jason Byrd Major: Medical Sciences Postmortem interval (PMI) is one of the most sought questions in a death investigation. However, it can be difficult to achieve due to the numerous variables that affect the process of decomposition. Additionally, there is little known about the interspecies variation when establishing the time since death. This study seeks to recognize the differences in PMI estimation between humans, using pigs as proxies, and dogs by establishing independent species and combined species PMI equations. This study uses total body score (TBS) to quantify the stages of decomposition by independently assessing the head, torso, limbs/extremities of each pig and dog. Accumulated degree days (ADD) are then acquired to associate TBS with the number of thermal units it takes to reach a stage of decomposition in a 24-hour period. Throughout two trials, a TBS was assigned daily to each specimen. Ambient site temperatures and certified weather station temperatures were collected throughout the trials. Both the site and certified temperatures were used to calculate the ADD and were plotted against the TBS of the pigs altogether, dogs altogether, and all specimens combined. Each trial was assessed separately to account for temperature and 8 precipitation differences. The decomposition processes of the pigs and dogs were fundamentally different throughout each trial. As a result, this study shows that it is best to independently assess humans and dogs using species-specific PMI equations rather than a universal PMI equation for both species. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Project Summary In the field of forensic science, the analysis of decomposition is essential for death investigations. It is a vital component to understanding aspects of a crime as the postmortem interval – or time since death – estimation can assist law enforcement with creating a timeline of events as
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