SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “CREMATION”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Scanning electron microscope observations of heat-treated human bone.

This report describes the heat-induced alterations in human bone tissue observed using scanning electron microscopy and microradiography. Femoral bone samples were taken from persons varying in age from 1 year to 97 years at the time of their death. The bone was heated at selected temperatures in the range 200-1600 degrees C for periods of 2, 12, 18 and 24 h. Macroscopically, changes in colour occurred, together with some shrinkage, fracturing and distortion. However, dramatic changes occurred at the ultrastructural level. These changes included the progressive combustion of the organic portion of the bone tissue up to 400 degrees C and recrystallisation of the bone mineral beginning at 600 degrees C. Recrystallisation produced a range of crystal morphologies: spherical, hexagonal, platelets, rosettes and irregular. Crystal growth occurred at temperatures > 600 degrees C. Sintering led to fusion of crystals at 1000 degrees C. This process continued up to temperatures > 1400 degrees C. At 1600 degrees C the bone mineral melted. On heating, the morphology of crystals formed, and the ultrastructural changes which occurred, were found to be related to the age of the deceased, the temperature to which the bone had been heated and the duration of heating. These results are of importance to forensic scientists, arson investigators and paleoarcheologists in their investigation of cremated human bones, particularly when only fragments of bone are available, in order to determine something of the life history of the deceased and the circumstances surrounding the death.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

A myth too tough to die: the dead of disasters cause epidemics of disease.

Myths abound in the practice of health care, death, and disease. Akin to the old adage of swallowing camels and straining gnats, the myth that mass fatalities cause epidemics of disease following natural or other disasters is alive and well. Despite the findings of observers, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and other scientists, even medical doctors and public health professionals lend support to the ancient belief and rush into mass graves or mass cremations the bodies of those victims of trauma in a disaster. Putting this myth to rest depends on use of information concerning the transmission of the organisms that cause disease, the sources of those organisms, and the hosts or suspected hosts that will be receptive to those organisms to result in disease. The information provided by recent investigators of disasters in the region of the Americas and comments from those who have reviewed the literature on the subject of the myth concerning the dead and epidemics following disasters have provided the basis for some concise guidelines for placing this myth in the archives of other traditions without foundation. Education of the public and the news media are the responsibility of those who are aware of the fallacies in this belief to bring about the demise of this myth.

Cadaver↗

PubMed2006

Implantation of an RFID-tag into human molars to reduce hard forensic identification labor. Part 2: physical properties.

Modifying and implanting existing RFID-tags into extracted human molars was described previously [P. Thevissen, G. Poelman, B. Puers, M. De Cooman, G. Willems, Implantation of RFID-tag into human molars to reduce hard forensic identification labor. Part 1. Working principle, Forensic Sci. Int. 156 (2006)]. Maximal vertical occlusal load during which the implanted RFID-tags remain active was evaluated in vitro. The temperature dependency of the implanted RFID-tags was studied on the extracted teeth to find out the maximal obtainable temperature before failure and a test with embedded thermistors to verify temperature distributions. The maximal working temperature of the implanted RFID-tags was revealed and gave indications for the set-up of measuring intra oral and intra tooth temperature during the cremation of a human body. Fatigue was induced on the implanted teeth by thermocycling. The results of this investigation showed the need of putting an extra insulating layer around the modified tags before implantation. The different in vitro tests indicated that the implanted RFID-tags can support certain oral and forensic circumstances.

Disasters↗

PubMed2006

Ancillary hospital personnel faced with organ donation and transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: To reduce the number of family organ donation refusals, it is necessary not only to act on the general public but also on the health care system. In this respect, there are data suggesting that the percentage of hospital personnel against donation is high, especially among ancillary personnel. The objective herein was to analyze the attitudes of ancillary hospital professionals toward donation of their own organs and determine factors that conditioned such attitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A random sample in a third-level hospital with a solid organ transplant program was stratified by ancillary services: administrative, porters, maintenance, cleaning, and cooking. Attitudes toward donation of one's own organs after death were evaluated using a questionnaire on psychosocial aspects validated in our area. It included various psychosocial variables that could affect such attitudes. The Student t test and chi-square test were used to evaluate the data. RESULTS: We analyzed 277 respondents of mean age 43 +/- 8 years and 96% women. The level of acceptance of organ donation was 64% (n = 178), whereas 46% were either against or undecided (n = 98). The variables which determined the attitudes were understanding of brain death (P = .004); attitude toward cadaveric manipulation, especially toward autopsy (P = .013) and cremation (P = .004); concern about mutilation after donation (P = .014); religion (P = .032); partner's attitude toward donation (P < .0001); and possibility of needing an organ in the future (P = .031). CONCLUSIONS: Ancillary hospital personnel had similar attitudes toward donation as those of the general public as observed in other studies. The attitudes were determined by many psychosocial factors. A campaign to raise awareness among professionals has become a priority, given that working in a hospital, their unfavorable attitude could have a strong negative impact on the general public.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measures to prevent emissions of PCDDS/DFs and co-planar PCBs from crematories in Japan.

In this study, PCDDs/DFs and co-planar PCBs concentrations in flue gases from 17 crematories and in fly ashes and bottom ashes (mainly bone) from several crematories were measured to grasp the present state of PCDDs/DFs emissions from crematories. The effects of several factors were discussed to prevent PCDDs/DFs emissions from crematories. Total concentration (normalized by 12% O2) of PCDDs/DFs was ranged from 4.9 to 1200 ng/m3 N, and toxic equivalent concentration was ranged from 0.064 to 24 ng TEQ/m3 N. As the results obtained in this research, the following measures to reduce PCDDs/DFs emission are recommended for existing crematories: (1) keeping the temperature at 800 degrees C in main/secondary chambers during a whole cremation, and (2) lowering the temperature in the dust collector. For newly installed crematories, following measures to prevent PCDDs/DFs emission including the measures for existing ones are recommended: (1) connecting one secondary chamber to one main chamber, (2) installing the high efficiency dust collector and reducing dust concentration to less than 0.01 g/m3 N, and (3) installing the sampling point for monitoring of PCDDs/DFs.

Air Pollution↗

PubMed2000

PCDDs/DFs emissions from crematories in Japan.

Concentrations of PCDDs and PCDFs in emission gases from 10 crematories were measured. The relationship between PCDDs/DFs and several factors such as structure, equipment and operational state of the crematory is discussed. Furthermore, emission of PCDDs/DFs from all crematories in Japan is estimated. The following results are obtained: (1) total concentration of PCDDs/DFs was 2.2-290 ng/N m3, whose TEQ concentration was 0.0099-6.5 ng TEQ/N m3; (2) total concentration of PCDFs was higher than that of PCDDs; (3) T4CDFs was the highest in the homologue pattern and 2,3,7,8-T4CDF was the highest in the isomer pattern; (4) emission of PCDDs/DFs was the largest in the first 20 min of cremation; (5) concentration of PCDDs/DFs was related to the existence of a secondary combustion chamber and a dust collector, and the ratio of the numbers of main and secondary combustion chambers; (6) total emission of PCDDs/DFs from crematories in Japan was estimated to be 8.9 g TEQ/yr.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1995

Donors' attitudes towards body donation for dissection.

We report a survey in the UK of potential whole-body donors for dissection. 218 people (age range 19-97 years) answered a postal questionnaire, giving information about themselves, their reasons for donation, attitudes towards the dead body, funeral preferences and medical giving and receiving. In addition to altruism, motives included the wish to avoid funeral ceremonies, to avoid waste, and in a few cases, to evade the expense of a funeral. 44% understood that their bodies would be used as teaching material, 42% for experiments. Whilst 69% believed in one or more supernatural phenomena, only 39% said they were religious. 69% requested cremation after dissection; 2% wanted to be buried. The notion of money incentives to promote donation was overwhelmingly rejected.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Bone mineral change during experimental heating: an X-ray scattering investigation.

The effects of heating and burning on bone mineral have previously been studied using techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) with the aim of discerning a characteristic signature of crystal change. This would enable a better understanding of alteration to bone mineral during heating, which would in turn impact on the preparation and use of natural bone hydroxyapatite as a biomaterial resource. In addition, this knowledge could prove invaluable in the investigation of burned human remains from forensic and archaeological contexts in cremation and funerary practice. Here we describe a complementary method, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), to determine more accurately the changes to bone crystallite size and shape during an experimental heating regimen. Samples were subjected to controlled heating at 500 degrees C, 700 degrees C, or 900 degrees C for 15 or 45 min. Our results show bone crystallites begin to alter in the first 15 min of heating to 500 degrees C or above. They then appear to stabilise to a temperature-specific thickness and shape with prolonged heating. While the samples heated to lower temperatures or for shorter periods produce XRD traces showing little alteration to the apatite, corresponding information obtained from SAXS shows an early, subtle change in crystal parameters.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Thermally induced entrance wound-like defect of the skull.

A case of death due to car fire is described where the carbonised skull of the cremated corpse showed an ovoid defect of the cranial bone. The question arose whether this formed fracture was caused by a gunshot. But the reconstruction of the cranial remains with detached parts of the tabula externa provided evidence that the suspicious defect was to be classified as an uncommon heat-induced post-mortem artefact.

Artifacts↗

PubMed1998

Anatomical reconstruction of fragments of burned human bones: a necessary means for forensic identification.

The aim of any forensic inquiry concerning accidental or criminal cremations is to identify the victims. This identification depends on an essential approach: a careful collection and ultrasonic cleaning of the fragments and splinters of burned bones, and reconstruction--as far as possible--of bone specimens, which implies that forensic anthropologists are well experienced in the field of burned bones.

Bone and Bones↗

PubMed2003

Medico-legal aspects of pressure sores.

Forensic pathologists are increasingly confronted with the need of expertises, which refer to neglected prevention of pressure sores in cases of suspected malpractice. In Hamburg, Germany, a monitoring system for advanced grade decubitus was established by use of routine post mortem examinations before cremation. The trend of decubitus prevalence turned out to be correlated with a local nursery-related quality improvement programme demonstrating the impact of care factors. However, forensic expertise in individual cases must balance very carefully if a fatal decubitus disease was predominantly care-related. A study on nine fatalities with advanced grade decubitus failed to show an increase of Procalcitonin (PCT) as a marker for septicemia. A suppurative osteomyelitis was found in only nine of 20 cases with grade IV decubitus. Even if there is proof for septicemia, the causality must be ensured to be truly decubitus-related.

Calcitonin↗

PubMed2025

Ancient DNA connects large-scale migration with the spread of Slavs.

The second half of the first millennium CE in Central and Eastern Europe was accompanied by fundamental cultural and political transformations. This period of change is commonly associated with the appearance of the Slavs, which is supported by textual evidence1,2 and coincides with the emergence of similar archaeological horizons3-6. However, so far there has been no consensus on whether this archaeological horizon spread by migration, Slavicisation or a combination of both. Genetic data remain sparse, especially owing to the widespread practice of cremation in the early phase of the Slavic settlement. Here we present genome-wide data from 555 ancient individuals, including 359 samples from Slavic contexts from as early as the seventh century CE. Our data demonstrate large-scale population movement from Eastern Europe during the sixth to eighth centuries, replacing more than 80% of the local gene pool in Eastern Germany, Poland and Croatia. Yet, we also show substantial regional heterogeneity as well as a lack of sex-biased admixture, indicating varying degrees of cultural assimilation of the autochthonous populations. Comparing archaeological and genetic evidence, we find that the change in ancestry in Eastern Germany coincided with a change in social organization, characterized by an intensification of inter- and intra-site genetic relatedness and patrilocality. On the European scale, it appears plausible that the changes in material culture and language between the sixth and eighth centuries were connected to these large-scale population movements.

DNA, Ancient↗

PubMed2004

Altruistic suicide in India.

Altruistic suicide has a long history in India, even being noted in the Dharmashastras, an ancient religious text. In ancient India, two forms of altruistic suicide were practiced. One was Jauhar, a kind of mass suicide by women of a community when their menfolk suffered defeat in battle; the other was Sati, a suicide of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband or after the cremation. The practice of Jauhar ended with the fall of the Muslim rule and the practice of Sati is against the law, but cases of Sati still occur. The act of Sati is now seen as suicide, not as altruistic, and there are laws against abetment and glorification. Specific ancient cases and more modern ones are presented to illustrate this type of suicide.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Factors influencing decisions about donation of the brain for research purposes.

OBJECTIVES: to find out the attitudes to brain donation for research purposes and factors involved in decision-making in elderly people. DESIGN: questionnaire administered after the decision had been made. SETTING AND SUBJECTS: 200 of the 640 people in Nottingham aged 67-100 who were assessed as part of the Medical Research Council multicentre Cognitive Function and Ageing Study of 2,518 people over 65 and were approached to consider brain donation for the neuropathology component of the study of dementia incidence. RESULTS: Most people completing the questionnaire had positive or neutral feelings about being approached. Positive influences included: personal approach, awareness of need for research and of suffering caused by dementia and a desire to help others. Many had fears about not being really dead, about post mortem examinations and feeling pain after death. Most preferred cremation and these were much more likely to donate. Two-thirds thought death was not talked about enough: 65% of those visited found talking helpful. Relatives had an important influence, usually dissuading the person from donating. CONCLUSIONS: some families who agreed to a relative's decision to donate only did so after discussing it together well in advance of death would have been unlikely to have agreed had they been approached for the first timeonly after death. There is a need to: (i) talk more about death, addressing people's fears, (ii) increase awareness of the need for autopsies and donation for research and (iii) provide more training in talking about death andautopsies.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Sir Henry Thompson BT, the first English urologist.

Sir Henry Thompson was a gifted Victorian. As a surgeon he achieved early recognition by successfully removing King Leopold of Belgium's bladder stone where two other eminent surgeons had failed. He was undoubtedly the most famous surgeon of his age, a position he was to occupy for some 30 years. As well as professional eminence he achieved success in an extraordinarily wide range of endeavours. He was an accomplished artist, exhibiting 12 times at the Royal Academy, a connoisseur and collector of china, a keen astronomer, an authority on diet and cooking and a pioneer advocate of cremation. He was interested in poultry-farming, market-gardening and photography. He published two novels sandwiched between a book on tumours of the bladder and another on the prevention of calculous disease, He was a celebrated host and his dinners--called 'Octaves'--at which he served eight courses to eight guests were legendary. To be invited meant one had 'arrived'. He was friendly with artists, scientists and men of letters--Huxley, Browning, Ray Lankester and Thackeray. At the age of 80 he bought himself a motor-car and 2 years later wrote a book on the anatomy of the motor-car engine. Sir Zachary Cope described him as a versatile Victorian, a fitting description of an extra-ordinarily gifted man. A commanding and slightly intimidating figure with little sense of humour, he achieved distinction in professional, artistic and social circles. Not only did he leave his mark on urology he left his mark on Victorian England.

England↗

PubMed1988

Disposal arrangements for fetuses lost in the second trimester.

In 1986, 28 consultant pathologists with a special paediatric or perinatal interest in the UK and Irish Republic supplied information on current disposal methods for fetuses lost in the second trimester (12-28 weeks gestation) and the facilities available to parents. In over half the hospitals surveyed no single method of disposal was employed, but most of the fetuses were incinerated. In six hospitals all fetuses were either buried or cremated; 25 hospitals had facilities for photography and 24 made special religious services available. Other facilities available in some centres included the provision of blessing cards and a 'remembrance book' and the appointment of a bereavement counsellor. In five of the local crematoria or cemeteries a special plot of land was reserved for stillbirths and younger fetuses. The relative costs of these facilities are discussed.

Female↗

PubMed2005

The genetics of the pre-Roman Iberian Peninsula: a mtDNA study of ancient Iberians.

The Iberians developed a surprisingly sophisticated culture in the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula from the 6th century BC until their conquest by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. They spoke and wrote a non-Indo-European language that still cannot be understood; their origins and relationships with other non-Indo-European peoples, like the Etruscans, are unclear, since their funerary practices were based on the cremation of bodies, and therefore anthropology has been unable to approach the study of this people. We have retrieved mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from a few of the scarce skeletal remains that have been preserved, some of them belonging to ritualistically executed individuals. The most stringent authentication criteria proposed for ancient DNA, such as independent replication, amino-acid analysis, quantitation of template molecules, multiple extractions and cloning of PCR products, have been followed to obtain reliable sequences from the mtDNA hypervariable region 1 (HVR1), as well as some haplogroup diagnostic SNPs. Phylogeographic analyses show that the haplogroup composition of the ancient Iberians was very similar to that found in modern Iberian Peninsula populations, suggesting a long-term genetic continuity since pre-Roman times. Nonetheless, there is less genetic diversity in the ancient Iberians than is found among modern populations, a fact that could reflect the small population size at the origin of the population sampled, and the heterogenic tribal structure of the Iberian society. Moreover, the Iberians were not especially closely related to the Etruscans, which points to considerable genetic heterogeneity in Pre-Roman Western Europe.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Perspectives on practicing procedures on the newly dead.

UNLABELLED: Invasive procedures are commonly practiced and taught on newly deceased patients (the newly dead) in emergency and critical care settings. Justified by the claim of necessity for professional competence to provide lifesaving care, these procedures, commonly hidden from public and professional scrutiny, are frequently performed on the newly dead without consent from family or interested parties. OBJECTIVE: To describe older adults' beliefs about practicing and teaching lifesaving procedures on the newly dead and their belief about the requirement for consent for these procedures. METHODS: An exploratory, descriptive design used a seven-item Likert-type instrument with open-ended questions to gather data from a convenience sample of 100 adults in two metropolitan cities. RESULTS: The typical respondent was 74.5 years old (mean; range of 55-95 years), female (71%), and married (44.8%) or widowed (36.5%). Most respondents were high school graduates (94%), and 63% had some level of college education. The majority of the sample was white (75%), they were predominately Protestant (40%), and 72% reported their health as good to excellent. Most study participants believed that practicing or teaching lifesaving skills on a newly dead body is acceptable (54%), and that provision for consent is necessary (80%). Planning to donate organs and preferring an autopsy were associated with agreeing that using the newly dead body for skill practice was acceptable; preferring cremation was related to believing that consent for skill practice on the newly dead was not necessary. CONCLUSIONS: The participants in this study value the use of the newly dead to practice and teach lifesaving skills, and believe that consent for this practice is necessary.

Aged↗