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@ARTICLE{Fiedler:279162,
      author       = {Fiedler, S. and Berns, A. E. and Schwark, L. and Woelk, A.
                      T. and Graw, M.},
      title        = {{T}he chemistry of death – {A}dipocere degradation in
                      modern graveyards},
      journal      = {Forensic science international},
      volume       = {257},
      issn         = {0379-0738},
      address      = {Amsterdam [u.a.]},
      publisher    = {Elsevier Science},
      reportid     = {FZJ-2015-07233},
      pages        = {320 - 328},
      year         = {2015},
      abstract     = {The formation of adipocere slows further decomposition and
                      preserves corpses for decades or even centuries. This
                      resistance to degradation is a serious problem, especially
                      with regard to the reuse of graves after regular resting
                      times.We present results from an exhumation series in modern
                      graveyards where coffins from water-saturated earth graves
                      contained adipocere embedded in black humic material after
                      resting times of about 30 years. Based on the assumption
                      that this humic material resulted from in situ degradation
                      of adipocere, its presence contradicts the commonly held
                      opinion that adipocere decomposition only occurs under
                      aerobic conditions.To test our hypothesis, we collected
                      black humic material, adipocere as well as soil samples
                      above and below coffins from representative graves (n = 7).
                      A comprehensive chemical analysis of the samples
                      substantiated our in situ degradation theory. Element
                      compositions and fatty acid mass spectra confirmed that the
                      humic black material originated from the corpses. A van
                      Krevelen diagram classified the excavated adipocere material
                      as lipid, whereas the black humic material was closer to the
                      carbohydrate region. Mass fragmentograms of the humic
                      material revealed the presence of large amounts of saturated
                      vs. unsaturated nC16 and nC18 fatty acids, which is typical
                      for adipocere. In addition, the soil samples exhibited a
                      lipid signature deriving primarily from plant waxes and root
                      components (C20single bondC32). Solid-state 13C NMR spectra
                      of adipocere displayed well-resolved signals of saturated
                      aliphatic chains and a signal that corresponded to
                      carboxylic acid groups. The NMR spectra of the black humic
                      material revealed signals characteristic of long aliphatic
                      chains. The intensities varied in relation to the state of
                      degradation of the sample, as did the signals of oxidized
                      aliphatic chains, acetals and ketals, aromatic structures,
                      esters and amids. The analyses confirmed that the black
                      humic material was indeed derived from adipocere, so the
                      assumption is that the components detected must have
                      developed from aliphatic fatty acids via a number of
                      oxidation and condensation processes.We therefore propose
                      the existence of chemical pathway(s) for the degradation of
                      adipocere under poikiloaerobic conditions. Possible
                      (biogeo)chemical reaction chains include (1) the
                      autoxidation of fatty acids enhanced by haemoglobin,
                      methaemoglobin and haemin, (2) the use of alternative
                      electron acceptors, which leads to the formation of H2S that
                      then reacts abiotically with iron (from haemoglobin),
                      rendering iron sulphide, and (3) the Maillard reaction.
                      These findings are another step forward in understanding the
                      chemistry of buried corpses.},
      cin          = {IBG-3},
      ddc          = {340},
      cid          = {I:(DE-Juel1)IBG-3-20101118},
      pnm          = {255 - Terrestrial Systems: From Observation to Prediction
                      (POF3-255)},
      pid          = {G:(DE-HGF)POF3-255},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)16},
      UT           = {WOS:000368011500050},
      pubmed       = {pmid:26461030},
      doi          = {10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.09.010},
      url          = {https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/279162},
}