The purpose of this study was to identify the current practices within the medicolegal death investigation system, as well as the experience of bereaved parents due to sudden unexpected child death with regard to viewing, memorial keepsakes, and communication during the death investigation. Convenience samples of 197 professionals and 156 bereaved parents participated. Respondents were asked to participate in an online survey. Results show that the majority of professional respondents (96.5%) allow the next of kin (NOK) to view his/her child before transport to the morgue while holding the infant/child was somewhat less commonplace (68.9%). The majority of professional respondents (70.4%) would also permit memorial keepsakes to be made. Additional factors are explored that both hinder and promote these common family requests. Furthermore, professional practices and NOK experiences in regard to communicating preliminary and final cause of death information to the NOK were highly variable. This article provides a snapshot at the current death investigative practices in the United States, as well as how these practices are received by NOK along with their recommendations for change. These results may be used to further inform future guidelines to improve comprehensive and efficient death investigations that support the emotional needs of the newly bereaved.
To investigate the regulation of epithelial differentiation, normal human epidermal keratinocytes were cultured floating on the surface of culture medium without attachment to a solid substrate. Keratinocytes spread out on the surface of the medium, proliferated and differentiated either into several flat lacy sheets 1 to 3 cells thick (on medium containing 0.15 mM calcium) or formed one single aggregate of cells from 5 to 15 cells in thickness on medium containing 1.15 mM calcium. The cell aggregates demonstrated a pattern of ordered epithelial differentiation. Levels of progressive differentiation resembling the structure of normal human epidermis were identified by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. Differentiation proceeded from cells at the air side toward cells at the medium side with basal appearing cells on the air side and keratinocytes expressing filaggrin and involucrin on the side toward the medium. These results demonstrate that organized epithelial differentiation can occur in the absence of extracellular matrix. In contrast with other air-liquid interface cultures, epithelial differentiation in the absence of extracellular matrix progresses from air towards medium.
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