Irish L, Rennie S R, Parkes G M B, Williams A
School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Sci Justice. 2019 Sep;59(5):503-515. doi: 10.1016/j.scijus.2019.03.007. Epub 2019 Mar 22.
Cadaver dogs are routinely used internationally by police and civilian search organisations to locate human remains on land and in water, yet little is currently known about the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are released by a cadaver underwater; how this compares to those given off by a cadaver deposited on land; and ultimately, how this affects the detection of drowned victims by dogs. The aim of this study was to identify the VOCs released by whole porcine (Sus scrofa domesticus) cadavers deposited on the surface and submerged in water using solid phase microextraction gas chromatography mass spectrometry (SPME GC-MS) to ascertain if there are notable differences in decomposition odour depending on the deposition location. For the first time in the UK, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the headspace of decomposing porcine cadavers deposited in both terrestrial and water environments have been detected and identified using SPME-GCMS, including thirteen new VOCs not previously detected from porcine cadavers. Distinct differences were found between the VOCs emitted by porcine cadavers in terrestrial and water environments. In total, seventy-four VOCs were identified from a variety of different chemical classes; carboxylic acids, alcohols, aromatics, aldehydes, ketones, hydrocarbons, esters, ethers, nitrogen compounds and sulphur compounds. Only forty-one VOCs were detected in the headspace of the submerged pigs with seventy detected in the headspace of the surface-deposited pigs. These deposition-dependent differences have important implications for the training of cadaver dogs in the UK. If dog training does not account for these depositional differences, there is potential for human remains to be missed. Whilst the specific odours that elicit a trained response from cadaver dogs remain unknown, this research means that recommendations can be made for the training of cadaver dogs to incorporate different depositions, to account for odour differences and mitigate the possibility of missed human remains operationally.
尸体搜寻犬在国际上被警方和民间搜寻组织常规用于在陆地和水中寻找人类遗骸，但目前对于水下尸体释放的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）知之甚少；与陆地上尸体释放的挥发性有机化合物相比情况如何；以及最终，这如何影响犬类对溺水受害者的探测。本研究的目的是使用固相微萃取气相色谱 - 质谱联用仪（SPME GC - MS）来识别沉积在水面和淹没在水中的完整猪（家猪）尸体释放的挥发性有机化合物，以确定根据沉积位置分解气味是否存在显著差异。在英国首次使用SPME - GCMS检测并识别了沉积在陆地和水环境中的分解猪尸体顶空中的挥发性有机化合物（VOCs），包括13种先前未从猪尸体中检测到的新VOCs。发现猪尸体在陆地和水环境中释放的挥发性有机化合物存在明显差异。总共从各种不同化学类别中识别出74种挥发性有机化合物；羧酸、醇类、芳烃、醛类、酮类、烃类、酯类、醚类、含氮化合物和含硫化合物。在淹没猪的顶空中仅检测到41种挥发性有机化合物，而在表面沉积猪的顶空中检测到70种。这些与沉积相关的差异对英国尸体搜寻犬的训练具有重要意义。如果犬类训练没有考虑到这些沉积差异，就有可能遗漏人类遗骸。虽然引发尸体搜寻犬训练反应的特定气味仍然未知，但这项研究意味着可以就尸体搜寻犬的训练提出建议，以纳入不同的沉积情况，考虑气味差异并在实际操作中降低遗漏人类遗骸的可能性。
