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- Exploring chemical traces of sharp force trauma in burned bone through SEM-EDS : a pilot studyPublication . Cunha, Ana Filipa; Quintas, Alexandre; Matos, António Pedro Alves de; Antunes-Ferreira, NathalieSharp force trauma (SFT) is a leading cause of homicide-related deaths, frequently involving kitchen knives as weapons. Offenders may attempt to eliminate forensic evidence by burning a corpse, complicating medicolegal investigation. While scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) has successfully detected metallic traces from sharp objects in skin and fresh bone, its efficacy in burned bone is currently unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of SEM-EDS to detect metallic residues transferred from sharp tools to bone that was subsequently burned, thereby contributing to the development of an identification procedure in forensic investigation. Ten knife strikes were inflicted on fleshed porcine ribs, which were then burned in an electric muffle furnace at 700 °C for two hours. Sharp lesions were analyzed using SEM-EDS to identify transferred chemical elements. Traces of iron and chromium were detected in seven lesions, with silicon identified in two samples. These elements, absent from the control samples, provided robust evidence of transfer from the blade to the bone. The residues appeared as bright spots with either undefined shapes or well-defined particles, located along the lesion edges. This study is the first to confirm the identification of metallic traces from SFT in bone subsequently exposed to heat using SEM-EDS. Despite thermal exposure, residues persist and remain detectable. SEM-EDS analysis is thus a non-destructive, valuable technique for distinguishing heat-induced bone damage from SFT. Further research with a larger sample and a broader range of implements is needed to validate and extend these findings for forensic applications.
- Epidemiology and treatment of respiratory nematode infections in western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)Publication . Baptista, Catarina Jota; Gama, Inês; Serena, Julia; Heneberg, Petr; Cásero, María; Carvalho, Luís Madeira deRespiratory nematodes are common in rescued western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), but their epidemiology and treatment in rehabilitation settings remain poorly defined. We investigated respiratory nematode infections in 78 fecal samples of 30 hedgehogs admitted to a wildlife rehabilitation center in southern Portugal and in putative gastropod intermediate hosts. Outcomes after subcutaneous levamisole (10–20 mg/kg) and ivermectin (3 mg/kg) treatments, monitored by the Baermann technique, were compared. Respiratory nematode infections were highly prevalent in rescued hedgehogs and may be sustained within rehabilitation facilities by infected gastropod intermediate hosts. At the animal level, Crenosoma striatum was detected in 63% of hedgehogs and Capillaria spp. in 7% of hedgehogs, including a mixed infection in one hedgehog. The Baermann technique was the most sensitive method for detecting C. striatum. Samples from outdoor enclosures were more often positive for C. striatum than those from indoor enclosures (55% vs. 29%). All the examined gastropods (10/10) were positive for C. striatum larvae, supporting active transmission within the rehabilitation center. Outcomes were better with levamisole than with ivermectin, although persistence and relapses were frequent. Neither treatment resulted in consistent clearance. These findings support the need for integrated parasite management and standardized treatment protocols in wildlife rehabilitation centers.
- GrandQC adaptation as an artificial intelligence tool for quantitative artifact detection in hematoxylin and eosin whole-slide images : simulation of quality control biopsies dayPublication . Borrecho, Gonçalo; Nina, Pedro; Santos, Ricardo; Ferreira, Inês; Salgueiro, Pedro; Madeira, Catarina; Rato, Luís; Oliveira, Rui CaetanoIntroduction: Digital pathology continues to transform the daily routine of pathology, in terms of the increasingly automated laboratory and in the diagnostic paradigm through the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support diagnosis—computational pathology. The reliability and performance of these tools depend on the whole-slide image (WSI) quality being guaranteed a priori. Pre-analytical quality control step that underpins this guarantee, and artifact detection remains largely qualitative and is frequently overlooked in routine digital pathology. This operational feasibility study evaluated whether an adaptation of GrandQC, an open-source AI tool, enables automated, quantitative artifact assessment of a complete single-day biopsy workload from a high-throughput digital pathology laboratory, analyzed retrospectively. Material and methods: A random biopsies day of 2025 at Centro de Anatomia Patológica Germano de Sousa (CAPGS) was selected as a sample to test the performance of GrandQC on the WSI generated (n = 544) in order to simulate the daily workflow. A script was created to quantify the pixels corresponding to the type of artifact automatically, creating an Excel file for registering and statistical analysis. Results: Analysis took a median of 24 s per WSI, detecting a median of 1.46% of tissue area with some type of artifact. Dark Spots and blurring areas were the most representative detected artifacts. Conclusion: GrandQC is a valuable tool in the quantitative quality control of biopsies tissue, allowing quick evaluation, signaling types of artifacts, and identifying cases that need to be reviewed before being handed over to the pathologist allowing the recognition of opportunities to improve laboratory histology quality and precision medicine.