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      Retraction of a peer reviewed article suggests ongoing problems with Australian forensic science

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          Abstract

          We describe events arising from the case of Joby Rowe, convicted of the homicide of his three month old daughter, and explore what they illustrate about systemic problems in the forensic science community in Australia. A peer reviewed journal article that scrutinized the forensic evidence presented in the Rowe case was retracted by a forensic science journal for reasons unrelated to quality or accuracy, under pressure from forensic medical experts criticized in the article. Details of the retraction obtained through freedom of information mechanisms reveal improper pressure and subversion of publishing processes in order to avoid scrutiny. The retraction was supported by the editorial board and two Australian forensic science societies, which is indicative of serious deficiencies in the leadership of forensic science in Australia. We propose paths forward including blind peer review, publication of expert reports, and a criminal cases review authority, that would help stimulate a culture that encourages scrutiny, and relies on evidence-based rather than eminence-based knowledge.

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          Most cited references24

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          Anatomy and development of the meninges: implications for subdural collections and CSF circulation.

          Joseph T Eastman, Waney Squier, Wendy J. Mack (2009)
          The dura is traditionally viewed as a supportive fibrous covering of the brain containing the dural venous sinuses but otherwise devoid of vessels and lacking any specific function. However, review of the embryology and anatomy reveals the dura to be a complex, vascularized and innervated structure, not a simple fibrous covering. The dura contains an inner vascular plexus that is larger in the infant than in the adult, and this plexus likely plays a role in CSF absorption. This role could be particularly important in the infant whose arachnoid granulations are not completely developed. Although subdural hemorrhage is frequently traumatic, there are nontraumatic conditions associated with subdural hemorrhage, and the inner dural plexus is a likely source of bleeding in these nontraumatic circumstances. This review outlines the development and age-specific vascularity of the dura and offers an alternative perspective on the role of the dura in homeostasis of the central nervous system.
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            Dural haemorrhage in non-traumatic infant deaths: does it explain the bleeding in 'shaken baby syndrome'?

            Timothy Geddes, Peter Adams, I Scheimberg … (2003)
            A histological review of dura mater taken from a post-mortem series of 50 paediatric cases aged up to 5 months revealed fresh bleeding in the dura in 36/50, the bleeding ranging from small perivascular haemorrhages to extensive haemorrhage which had ruptured onto the surface of the dura. Severe hypoxia had been documented clinically in 27 of the 36 cases (75%). In a similar review of three infants presenting with classical 'shaken baby syndrome', intradural haemorrhage was also found, in addition to subdural bleeding, and we believe that our findings may have relevance to the pathogenesis of some infantile subdural haemorrhage. Recent work has shown that, in a proportion of infants with fatal head injury, there is little traumatic brain damage and that the significant finding is craniocervical injury, which causes respiratory abnormalities, severe global hypoxia and brain swelling, with raised intracranial pressure. We propose that, in such infants, a combination of severe hypoxia, brain swelling and raised central venous pressure causes blood to leak from intracranial veins into the subdural space, and that the cause of the subdural bleeding in some cases of infant head injury is therefore not traumatic rupture of bridging veins, but a phenomenon of immaturity. Hypoxia with brain swelling would also account for retinal haemorrhages, and so provide a unified hypothesis for the clinical and neuropathological findings in cases of infant head injury, without impact or considerable force being necessary.
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              Evidence of occurrence of intradural and subdural hemorrhage in the perinatal and neonatal period in the context of hypoxic Ischemic encephalopathy: an observational study from two referral institutions in the United Kingdom.

              Marta Cohen, Irene Scheimberg (2008)
              The occurrence of subdural hemorrhage (SDH) on the convexities of the cerebral hemispheres is not an unusual finding in the setting of intrauterine, perinatal, or neonatal deaths, the hemorrhage usually presenting either as a thin film over the occipital poles or as a small infratentorial bleed. Working in 2 referral centers with over 30,000 deliveries per year, we routinely examine the dura macroscopically and histologically in nonmacerated fetuses over 24 weeks in gestation and in neonates. This paper describes our experience of intradural hemorrhage (IDH) and SDH associated with hypoxia. Our series comprises 25 fetuses and 30 neonates with obvious macroscopic intradural hemorrhage and hypoxia of varying degrees of severity diagnosed by systematic examination of the brain. Fetal gestational age ranged from 26-41/40 weeks (all no more than 24 hours from intrauterine death), while the 30 neonates lived for between 1 hour and 19 days. Simultaneously with IDH, frank SDH was seen in 2 of 3 of all cases (16 fetuses and 20 neonates). Intradural hemorrhage was more prominent in the posterior falx and tentorium, most likely because of the existence of 2 venous plexus at these sites. Our findings demonstrate that SDH and cerebral hypoxia are common associations of IDH and that SDH (often seen as a thin film ofhemorrhage) almost always occurs in association with diffuse falcine IDH. Diffuse IDH with SDH are more frequently associated with severe or moderate hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), while mild or early HIE is more common with focal IDH without SDH.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Chris Brook
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Forensic Sci Int Synerg
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Forensic Sci Int Synerg
                Title: Forensic Science International: Synergy
                Publisher: Elsevier
                ISSN (Electronic): 2589-871X
                Publication date PMC-release: 30 October 2021
                Publication date Collection: 2021
                Publication date (Electronic): 30 October 2021
                Volume: 3
                Electronic Location Identifier: 100208
                Affiliations
                [a ]Universidad de La Laguna, Av. Del Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez, ES-38206, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
                [b ]Centre for Healthcare Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77, Stockholm, Sweden
                [c ]Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Forensic Medicine, Umeå University, SE-907 12, Umeå, Sweden
                [d ]School of BioSciences and School of Mathematics & Statistics, University of Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia
                Author notes
                [∗ ]Corresponding author. chbrook@ 123456ull.edu.es
                Article
                Publisher Item ID: S2589-871X(21)00078-4 Publisher ID: 100208
                DOI: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100208
                PMC ID: 8585618
                SO-VID: b735f650-0716-4170-8795-729d783fa653
                Copyright © © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
                License:

                This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

                History
                Date received : 20 September 2021
                Date revision received : 21 October 2021
                Date accepted : 25 October 2021
                Categories
                Subject: Perspectives and Opinion

                Keywords: shaken baby syndrome,abusive head trauma,forensic science,scientific publishing
                Data availability:
                Keywords: shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, forensic science, scientific publishing

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