Christina Chang, Geraldine Monjardez, J. Tyler Davidson
{"title":"Assessment of a combined handheld Raman spectroscopy and transportable mass spectrometry approach for the analysis of seized drug mixtures","authors":"Christina Chang, Geraldine Monjardez, J. Tyler Davidson","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112512","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112512","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Growing backlogs and lengthy turnaround times for seized drug analysis are causing significant strain on the judicial system. One potential solution is to improve field screening through on-site detection methods using field-portable instrumentation to reduce the amount of evidence submissions to forensic laboratories. However, incorporating field-portable instrumentation into routine on-site detection requires empirical data to establish each instrument's capabilities, limitations, and performance characteristics. This study evaluates using handheld Raman and transportable linear ion trap mass spectrometry instrumentation under controlled laboratory conditions to identify seized drug mixtures. A Rigaku ResQ-CQL handheld Raman spectrometer, a Field Forensics HandyRam™ handheld Raman spectrometer, and a BaySpec Continuity™ linear ion trap mass spectrometer were used to analyze seized drug mixtures. The analyzed mixtures contained cocaine or methamphetamine with levamisole, procaine, caffeine, and phenacetin at 1:1, 1:4, 1:10, and 1:20 ratios. The ability to identify controlled substances using the onboard library was evaluated for the ResQ-CQL and the Continuity™ instruments. Using the ResQ-CQL, only pure compounds and several of the 1:1 ratio mixtures had more than 85 % accuracy in identifying the controlled substance. In contrast, the Continuity™ demonstrated the ability to identify the controlled substance in the 1:4 and 1:10 ratio mixtures. When the data from the ResQ-CQL and the Continuity™ were considered together, an accuracy of at least 67 % was achieved for the 1:1, 1:4, and 1:10 mixtures. 100 % accuracy was achieved when the combined method was applied to identifying controlled substances in authentic destroyed casework samples.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112512"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144167594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongjie Cao , Yonggang Ma , Suhua Zhang , Chengtao Li , Feng Chen , Ji Zhang , Ping Huang
{"title":"Automatic adult age estimation using bone mineral density of proximal femur via deep learning","authors":"Yongjie Cao , Yonggang Ma , Suhua Zhang , Chengtao Li , Feng Chen , Ji Zhang , Ping Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112511","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112511","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate adult age estimation (AAE) is critical for forensic and anthropological applications, yet traditional methods relying on bone mineral density (BMD) face significant challenges due to biological variability and methodological limitations. This study aims to develop an end-to-end Deep Learning (DL) based pipeline for automated AAE using BMD from proximal femoral CT scans. The main objectives are to construct a large-scale dataset of 5151 CT scans from real-world clinical and cadaver cohorts, fine-tune the Segment Anything Model (SAM) for accurate femoral bone segmentation, and evaluate multiple convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for precise age estimation based on segmented BMD data. Model performance was assessed through cross-validation, internal clinical testing, and external post-mortem validation. SAM achieved excellent segmentation performance with a Dice coefficient of 0.928 and an average intersection over union (mIoU) of 0.869. The CNN models achieved an average mean absolute error (MAE) of 5.20 years in cross-validation (male: 5.72; female: 4.51), which improved to 4.98 years in the independent clinical test set (male: 5.32; female: 4.56). External validation on the post-mortem dataset revealed an MAE of 6.91 years, with 6.97 for males and 6.69 for females. Ensemble learning further improved accuracy, reducing MAE to 4.78 years (male: 5.12; female: 4.35) in the internal test set, and 6.58 years (male: 6.64; female: 6.37) in the external validation set. These findings highlight the feasibility of dl-driven AAE and its potential for forensic applications, offering a fully automated framework for robust age estimation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112511"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Harm van Beek, Carlijn van den Pol, Jaap van der Weerd
{"title":"Criminalistic zoom levels: Unravelling the hierarchy of forensic traces","authors":"Harm van Beek, Carlijn van den Pol, Jaap van der Weerd","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this paper, we introduce criminalistic zoom levels that describe hierarchical relations between different types of forensic traces. Criminalistic zoom levels are recognised for digital as well as physical forensic traces and may enhance synergy by showing the relation of traces studied by various examiners. We provide a brief etymological introduction to the term <em>trace</em> and a number of definitions found in the literature. We then highlight a number of aspects that are considered relevant in the description of traces. Next, following two examples of forensic investigations in both the digital and physical realm, we explain how they can be approached similarly by using criminalistic zoom levels. We show how the concept of such zoom levels is inspired by the way digital forensic investigators reason about metadata. To complete the paper, we explain the relation to the hierarchy of propositions, we summarise the implications we see from using the notion of criminalistic zoom levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112498"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144146849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"T1 and T2 signal appearance of different age stages of intracranial hemorrhage in post-mortem MRI","authors":"Lina Schreckenbauer , Jeremias Klaus , Nicole Schwendener , Chantal Fridle , Conny Hartmann , Wolf-Dieter Zech","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112506","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112506","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>In forensic post-mortem medicine, intracranial hemorrhage is a relatively common and usually relevant finding. In recent years, the feasibility of post-mortem MRI (PMMR) for visualization of relevant intracranial findings, such as hemorrhage, has been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to investigate the PMMR T1 and T2 signal behavior of intracranial hemorrhages of different ages and the influence of post-mortem interval and degree of putrefaction on PMMR signal.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>N = 200 forensic cases with natural and traumatic intracranial hemorrhages were examined in T1 and T2 weighted PMMR of the head. Hemorrhage age was determined based on police and/or medical case information and categorized into different age stages (hyperacute: < 12 hours; acute: 12–48 hours; early subacute: 2–7 days; late subacute: 7 days–1 month; chronic: > 1 month). T1w and T2w signal behavior was recorded and correlated according to the assessed individual age stages. Multinomial logistic regression was used to analyze whether signal behavior was influenced by the postmortem interval or the degree of putrefaction as assed by the radiological alteration index (RAI).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>In all age groups, predominant signal intensities were observed on both the T1 and T2 weighted images across all different hemorrhage types. The predominant PMMR signals corresponded to the known signal patterns of living patients in clinical MRI. However, deviations from the predominant signal intensity were observed in all age groups. The T1 and T2 signal characteristics of intracranial hemorrhage were not significantly influenced in cases with high RAI respectively advanced putrefaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112506"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144125363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Murat Akbaba , Ferit Çot , Aysun Baransel ISIR , Duygu Ayabakan Çot
{"title":"Age and gender differences in leading reasons for referral to forensic medicine clinic among syrian refugees: A one-year cross-sectional study","authors":"Murat Akbaba , Ferit Çot , Aysun Baransel ISIR , Duygu Ayabakan Çot","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112497","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112497","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Syrian people are the largest refugee population globally and are mainly hosted by the Turkish government. Due to the conflict-driven displacement and their insecure immigration status, many have limited access to basic human needs and develop further mental health issues due to forced displacement. The study aims to identify reasons for forensic evaluation in specific age groups and gender among Syrian refugees.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>For this descriptive study, the demographic and case information of 781 Syrian refugees, consisting of 74.6 % males and 25.4 % females who are referred to the Forensic Medicine Clinics due to five main reasons: psychoactive drug testing, age estimation, DNA analysis, injury assessment, and forensic-psychiatric evaluation were included. The patient information is collected from the patient files. The nominal data were categorized by gender and under 4 different age groups: pediatric (age 0–14), adolescent (age 15–24), young adult (age 25–34), and adult (age 35 and older).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Drug tests were the most prevalent reason in males older than 14 years old (79.7 %), and age estimation, due to early marriages for the female refugees (53.3 %). DNA testing was the primary reason for female adults. The majority of the refugees’ injuries were untreatable with simple medical treatment (SMT) (89.2 % males, 58.8 % females). Pediatric injury assessments demonstrated head injuries (33.3 %), not treatable with SMT (100 %), and 33.3 % of those cases were life-threatening.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Identifying vulnerable individuals among the Syrian refugee population based on demographics, gender, and age will further promote more effective approaches to improve the interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112497"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144099805","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sean Taylor , Lorenzo Ressel , Paola Pregel , Emanuele Ricci
{"title":"A UK-based retrospective study of fatal non-drowning asphyxia cases in dogs and cats","authors":"Sean Taylor , Lorenzo Ressel , Paola Pregel , Emanuele Ricci","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Death by asphyxia is defined as the prolonged and fatal deprivation of oxygen and/or blood to the brain and other vital organs. Strangulation, smothering, hanging, drowning, choking, suffocation and chemical asphyxia are considered the main modalities in which asphyxiation can occur. The study of injury patterns is crucial for assisting veterinary forensic experts in identifying the cause and manner of death with a higher degree of certainty. A retrospective study of necropsy cases identified using the keywords “asphyxia”, “anoxia”, “hypoxia”, “strangulation”, “hanging”, “choking”, “smothering” and “suffocation” was performed. A total of 33 dogs and 16 cats were included in the study. In 67 % of cases, asphyxiation was suspected from the circumstances in which the victim was found. Whereas strangulation was the most significant modality of asphyxiation in dogs (25/33, 76 %), smothering or airtight confinement were more prevalent in cats (6/16, 38 %). Some findings that are highly indicative of asphyxiation in humans were rare or even absent in our study cohort, such as external skin bruising and fracture or dislocation of the hyoid apparatus. Most lesions were confined to head and neck, including bilateral scleral reddening, meningeal congestion, circumferential laryngeal reddening, selective subcutaneous congestion and bruising within the superficial muscles and subcutaneous tissues, consistently accompanied by severe pulmonary congestion and oedema. Whereas no single lesion was considered pathognomonic; the combination of several lesions highly indicated asphyxiation. A significant association between some lesions, the modality of asphyxiation and victim’s species was also noted.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112496"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144070164","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Marit Årnes , Hilde Marie Erøy Edvardsen , Line Berge Holmen , Lena Kristoffersen , Gudrun Høiseth
{"title":"Post-mortem formation of GHB: A retrospective study of forensic autopsies","authors":"Marit Årnes , Hilde Marie Erøy Edvardsen , Line Berge Holmen , Lena Kristoffersen , Gudrun Høiseth","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112492","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112492","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Aims</h3><div>The aims were to investigate the occurrence of post-mortem formation of gammahydroxybutyrate (GHB) at different GHB blood concentration levels, the urine/blood ratios seen after post-mortem formation of GHB, and how often ethanol was co-formed with GHB.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Our study includes 525 cases with GHB concentrations above 31.2 mg/L in blood and urine. The results were linked to the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry. We set a ratio below two between urine and blood GHB concentration as indicator for postmortem formation of GHB, and used data regarding official causes of death to verify the classification. Post-mortem formed ethanol was defined as positive ethanol combined with negative ethyl sulfate (EtS) results.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of all GHB positive cases, 85 % were defined as post-mortem formation, with a median urine/blood ratio of 0.52. The majority were lower concentrations, but 30 % of the cases showed GHB blood concentrations above approximately 50 mg/L (500 μmol/L). In the cases with urine/blood ratio above two, intake of GHB was suspected, and 15 % of these had GHB concentration in blood below approximately 50 mg/L. Co-formation of ethanol was seen in 27 % of cases with post-mortem formed GHB. The post-mortem interval (PMI) was significantly longer in cases with post-mortem formed GHB and ethanol.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>GHB in post-mortem cases is most commonly formed after death, and concentrations are mainly, but not exclusively, in lower levels. Co-formation of ethanol occurs in about 30 % of cases, and increasing PMI increase the frequency of post-mortem formation of GHB and ethanol.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"372 ","pages":"Article 112492"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144088707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pia Kravanja , Aja Golob , Monica Concato , Tamara Leskovar , Irena Zupanič Pajnič
{"title":"Effects of different environmental factors on preservation of DNA in petrous bones: A comparative study of two Slovenian archaeological sites","authors":"Pia Kravanja , Aja Golob , Monica Concato , Tamara Leskovar , Irena Zupanič Pajnič","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112495","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112495","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>DNA preservation is influenced by various external and internal factors that are complexly intertwined. Environmental factors are among the variables that have the most significant impact on preserving genetic material. To better understand their effects, 247 petrous bones from two geographically distinct cemeteries were compared. Molecular genetic methods were used in the study, including a complete demineralization extraction method to obtain the DNA from bone samples and real-time PCR to determine DNA quantity and quality. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate the differences in DNA yield and DNA degradation between petrous bones from the two different Slovenian archeological sites, Ljubljana - Njegoševa and Črnomelj. Results showed significantly higher DNA yield and lower degradation index in petrous bones from the Ljubljana - Njegoševa cemetery. The differences emphasize the impact of environmental factors, especially that of temperature, pH and permeability of the soil, on DNA degradation. This study provides valuable insights into understanding the complexity of DNA preservation in skeletal remains from different types of environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"371 ","pages":"Article 112495"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A.Y. Simão , P.Y. Tokuyama , G. Zampieri , V. Rocha , C. Madruga , K. Isicawa , L.S. Cidade , K.R. Almeida , N.R. da Silva , M. Barroso , M. Andraus , E. Gallardo
{"title":"Analysis of drugs of abuse and contaminants in individuals under drug surveillance programs: A study in hair samples","authors":"A.Y. Simão , P.Y. Tokuyama , G. Zampieri , V. Rocha , C. Madruga , K. Isicawa , L.S. Cidade , K.R. Almeida , N.R. da Silva , M. Barroso , M. Andraus , E. Gallardo","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112493","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2025.112493","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this study, over 900 hair samples from individuals using drugs of abuse in São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil were analysed for classical drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPS) in hair samples. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods were developed for the detection of some drugs (25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, 25E-NBOH, 2C-C, 2C-I, 3,4-MDPHP, 3-MeO-PCP, 5F-MDMB-PINACA, 5-MeO-DMT, cannabidiol, ethylone, JWH 073, ketamine, mephedrone and UR-144) and drug adulterants (levamisole, phenacetin, strychnine); other substances including cocaine, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, opioids, cannabinoids were also analysed. The methods demonstrated good selectivity, linearity with lower limits of quantification ranging from 0.02 to 0.26 ng/mg, as well as precision and accuracy meeting ISO/IEC 17025 criteria. A total of 29.8 % samples were positive for at least one drug. Cocaine and its metabolites were the most frequently detected, with benzoylecgonine (111 cases), cocaine (88 cases), and cocaethylene (37 cases), highlighting prevalent cocaine use. Cannabinoids were also common, with THC (57 cases) and CBN (48 cases) detected. The presence of adulterants such as phenacetin (76 cases), levamisole (14 cases), and strychnine (3 cases) were also identified. Additionally, 5F-MDMB-PINACA was also detected (5 cases), along with ketamine (9 cases). Findings also highlighted a prevalence of poly-drug consumption, where THC was frequently detected with cocaine (20 cases) and benzoylecgonine (26 cases). CBN also showed notable associations with cocaine (16 cases) and benzoylecgonine (22 cases). These findings provide important insights into the evolving drug landscape in Brazil and highlight the effectiveness of hair analysis as a tool for monitoring drug use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"371 ","pages":"Article 112493"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143927444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}