{"title":"Evaluation of composition C-4 odor signature on a novel sorption training aid substrate","authors":"Juliet DeNapoli BSA, Paola A. Prada-Tiedemann PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70053","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70053","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The need for reliable non-detonable training aid systems within explosive canine detection applications is imperative for optimal operational performance. This study utilized Getxent polymer technology for the creation of Composition C-4 training aid material. The objectives of this research were to (1) evaluate target volatile odor concentration emitted from tubes following mass (1 g, 10 g, and 20 g) and impregnation time (24 h, 72 h, and 1 week) variations and (2) monitor training aid shelf-life over a period of up to 4 months. Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) coupled with Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) was a viable way to measure target C-4 odorants (2-ethyl 1-hexanol (2E1H), cyclohexanone, 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMNB)) from Getxent tubes. On average, the Getxent tubes absorbed 8% mass of total target VOCs within bulk C-4 headspace. The 20 g, 72-h impregnated Getxent tubes yielded detection of all three targeted odor volatiles while concurrently depicting the highest average mass amount of 2E1H and cyclohexanone. A shelf-life study over a four-month period depicted that DMNB yielded higher mass amounts across all impregnation and bulk mass variations while 2E1H and cyclohexanone had lower mass amounts, losing detection levels of 2E1H after a period of 3 months. The study demonstrated the capability of the Getxent tubes in the impregnation of C-4 explosive target odor volatiles, exhibiting differences in odor mass amounts and shelf-life across the distinctive odor volatiles monitored.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1348-1358"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144015406","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay screening kits for the detection of nitazene analogs","authors":"Amanda L. Pacana MSFS, Britni N. Skillman PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70052","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70052","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nitazene analogs are a highly potent class of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) that were first identified in forensic casework in the United States in 2019. While enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) remains a prevalent screening tool in forensic toxicology laboratories, no nitazene-specific ELISA kits are commercially available, supporting the use of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) methods as a more adaptable alternative for screening. However, even with the growth in popularity of HRMS techniques, it is important to understand the cross-reactivity of novel substances, such as nitazenes, with routinely used ELISA kits. Cross-reactivity is particularly important for forensic toxicology casework since it can impact the reliability of screening results, potentially leading to non-detection of novel substances or false-positive identifications in the presence of non-target analytes. This study tested the cross-reactivity of seven nitazene analogs (4′-OH nitazene, 5-methyl etodesnitazene, isotonitazene, metodesnitazene, N-piperidinyl etonitazene, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene, and protonitazene) in whole blood using 13 commercial ELISA kits from three manufacturers. Various drug/class kits were selected based on reported or potential co-positivity with nitazenes (opiates, opioids, fentanyl) or by structural similarities (LSD, zolpidem). Across tested concentrations for the seven selected analytes, none of the tested kits produced a signal sufficient for a positive result, confirming that their presence at these levels does not compromise the screening specificity of the target analytes. However, these findings highlight the need for laboratories to adopt mass spectral-based screening methods like HRMS or advocate for the development of nitazene-specific ELISA kits for effective nitazene analog screening.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1609-1614"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144036039","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nicholas Scurich PhD, Thomas D. Albright PhD, Peter Stout PhD, Donna Eudaley BS, Maddisen Neuman MA, Callan Hundl BS
{"title":"The Hawthorne effect in studies of firearm and toolmark examiners","authors":"Nicholas Scurich PhD, Thomas D. Albright PhD, Peter Stout PhD, Donna Eudaley BS, Maddisen Neuman MA, Callan Hundl BS","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70047","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70047","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Hawthorne effect refers to the tendency of individuals to behave differently when they know they are being studied. In the forensic science domain, concerns have been raised about the “strategic examiner,” where the forensic examiner uses different decision thresholds depending on whether in a test situation or working on an actual case. The blind testing conducted by the Houston Forensic Science Center (“HFSC”) in firearms examination presents a unique opportunity to test the hypothesis that the rate of inconclusive calls differs for discovered vs. undiscovered blind tests of firearm examination. Over 5 years, 529 test item comparisons were filtered into casework at the HFSC. The inconclusive rate for discovered items was 56.4%, while the inconclusive rate for undiscovered test items was 39.3%. Thus, the percentage of inconclusive calls was 43.5% higher among discovered test items than among undiscovered test items. This pattern of results held for bullet comparisons (83% vs. 59%) and cartridge case comparisons (29% vs. 20%) and for both same-source and different-source bullet and cartridge case comparisons. These findings corroborate concerns that examiners behave differently when they know they are being tested and demonstrate the necessity of blind testing if the research goal is to evaluate the performance of forensic examiners conducting casework.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1329-1337"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1556-4029.70047","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144045415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identifying factors that help improve existing decomposition-based PMI estimation methods","authors":"Anna-Maria Nau PhD, Phillip Ditto BA, Dawnie Wolfe Steadman PhD, Audris Mockus PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70046","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70046","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Accurately assessing the postmortem interval (PMI) remains a challenging task in forensic science. Existing regression models use the decomposition score to predict the PMI or accumulated degree days (ADD) but are often imprecise and rely on small sample sizes. This study explores if we can construct more accurate outdoor PMI estimation models using (a) a larger sample, (b) more sophisticated statistical models, and (c) additional predictors derived from demographic and environmental factors. Using a sample of 213 human subjects from a human decomposition photographic dataset collected at the [removed for double-blind review], we evaluated existing outdoor PMI and ADD formulae developed by Gelderman et al. [Int J Legal Med, 2018, 132, 863] and also developed more sophisticated models that incorporate additional predictors. Models using the total decomposition score (TDS), demographic factors (age, sex, and BMI), and weather-related factors (season and humidity history) reduced PMI and ADD prediction errors by over 50%. The best PMI model, incorporating TDS, demographic, and weather predictors, achieved an adjusted <i>R</i>-squared of 0.42 and an RMSE of 0.76. It had a 15% lower RMSE than the TDS-only model to predict PMI and a 54% lower RMSE than the pre-existing PMI formula. Similarly, the best ADD model, using the same predictors, achieved an adjusted <i>R</i>-squared of 0.54 and an RMSE of 0.73. It had a 10% lower RMSE than the TDS-only model to predict the ADD and a 55% lower RMSE than the pre-existing ADD formula. These results demonstrate that significant improvements in accuracy can be achieved using readily available predictors.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1249-1260"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144061374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mehmet Doğan MD, Muhammed Emin Boylu MD, İlker Taşdemir MD, Sefa Saygılı MD
{"title":"Exploring female sexual offending with the concepts of hypersexuality and atypical psychotic disorder","authors":"Mehmet Doğan MD, Muhammed Emin Boylu MD, İlker Taşdemir MD, Sefa Saygılı MD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70045","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70045","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sexual offending is often perceived as predominantly a male behavior. However, due to growing public interest in female criminality, research on female offenders is increasing. Sexual offending can be influenced by various factors, such as hypersexual disorder (HSD), or may be associated with psychiatric conditions like borderline personality disorder (BPD). In this case, a 46-year-old woman was charged with a sexual offense for engaging in sexual intercourse with four underage male adolescents. She had a medical history of mood disorder and alcohol abuse. During her psychiatric evaluation in our unit, it was observed that she exhibited poor self-care, appeared older than her age, had an inappropriate affect, and impoverished thought content. She was subsequently diagnosed with “atypical psychosis” and deemed not criminally responsible by the decision of the committee by majority vote. This case highlights that sexual abuse against children is much rarer among women compared to men. As the number of studies on this topic increases, our understanding will improve, providing guidance for preventing recidivism, and aiding in the treatment and appropriate reintegration of women who perpetrate sexual offenses into society.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1629-1634"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144045375","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ricochet of 9-mm luger bullets off plywood, medium-density fiberboard, and melamine board: An empirical investigation in aid of shooting reconstruction","authors":"Chamuddika Gamage BA, Bandula Nishshanka PhD, Chris Shepherd PhD, Randika Ariyarathna MCS, Gayan Aravinda Abeygunawardane PhD, Aruni Wijayath LLM, Ridmi Maddumage BSc","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70032","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70032","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ricochet is the glancing rebound of fired bullets from surfaces and is regularly reported during shooting incidents worldwide. Although existing scientific literature presents many ricochet-related empirical works in aid of shooting incident reconstructions, studies focusing on commonly used bullets ricocheting off modern target surfaces found in contemporary urban environments are still limited and continuously in demand. This empirical-based ricochet study presents exciting findings about the ricochet behavior of 9-mm luger bullets with the three most popular engineered wood types present in modern society: plywood, melamine, and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). To evaluate the ricochet behavior and impact evidence, two different mounted firearms, each discharging 9-mm luger bullets, were used to fire at engineered wood targets held at low angles to the impacting bullets. This study reports the first documented observation of a strong statistical relationship between the angles of incidence and ricochet during 9-mm luger bullet ricochet on plywood, melamine, and MDF. Evidence is also provided of a relationship between a bullet's angle of incidence and its corresponding ricochet marks on tested wood targets, not previously highlighted in wood-based bullet ricochet studies, and the critical angles reported for these engineered wood types ranged between 14 and 18 degrees. Additionally, the first observation of “wood spalling” during a ricochet event is presented, offering important insight into the process of bullets ricocheting off layered structures and being of great forensic significance for future scene reconstructions.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1433-1449"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143813000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The October 7 forensic DNA identification operation: Lessons learned from the management of the largest mass causality event in Israel","authors":"Tanya Ram MSc, Merav Amiel MSc, Michal Shenfeld PhD, Nurit Bublil PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70037","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>On October 7, 2023, the Hamas terrorist organization launched a surprise, violent attack on Israel, resulting in the largest mass casualty event in the country's history. A total of 1438 Israelis were murdered, and 255 individuals were taken hostage. Additionally, over 1600 perpetrators who infiltrated Israel were killed during defensive operations. The scale of the massacre, number of victims, severity of body damage, and sheer volume of remains posed an unprecedented forensic challenge. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Police, and the National Center for Forensic Medicine led a multi-agency effort to identify the deceased. With thousands of remains from both victims and perpetrators intermingled, DNA played a pivotal role in the identification process. Between October and December 2023, forensic teams analyzed 4500 tissue samples, 630 bone samples, and 2600 reference samples, with all genetic profiles uploaded to the national DNA database for matching. The efficiency of this forensic operation is reflected in the 96% identification rate achieved within 3 weeks. However, the condition of the remains significantly impacted the complexity of the process, as severely burned and fragmented samples required multiple rounds of sampling and repeated DNA extractions to obtain viable genetic profiles. This article presents key lessons learned from managing DNA identification in the aftermath of October 7. It highlights the unique challenges faced and outlines strategies for effectively navigating mass casualty events. Our experience offers guidance for forensic agencies worldwide, aiming to enhance and refine DNA identification processes for handling complex Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) operations.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":"1584-1592"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143805147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"AI as a decision support tool in forensic image analysis: A pilot study on integrating large language models into crime scene investigation workflows","authors":"Shai Farber PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70035","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70035","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study evaluates the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (ChatGPT-4, Claude, and Gemini) in forensic image analysis of crime scenes, marking a significant step toward developing bespoke AI models for forensic applications. The research involved independent analysis of 30 crime scene images by the AI tools, with the resulting reports rigorously assessed by 10 forensic experts. Findings reveal promising potential for AI as a decision support tool in forensic science, serving as a rapid initial screening mechanism to assist human experts in their comprehensive analysis. The results emphasize that current AI tools function optimally as assistive technologies, enhancing rather than replacing expert forensic analysis, particularly in scenarios involving multiple evidence points or high-volume caseloads. The AI tools demonstrated high accuracy in observations but faced challenges in evidence identification, with performance varying across different crime scene types—excelling in homicide scenarios (average score of 7.8) but encountering difficulties in arson scenes (average score of 7.1). This study's findings could significantly impact investigative procedures, forensic training, and the development of AI tools in law enforcement, while emphasizing the importance of establishing robust ethical guidelines for the integration of AI in criminal justice systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 3","pages":"932-943"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1556-4029.70035","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143789478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Correction to: Forensic investigation of a shawl linked to the “Jack the Ripper” murders","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70041","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70041","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Louhelainen J, Miller D. Forensic investigation of a shawl linked to the “Jack the Ripper” murders. <i>J Forensic Sci</i> 2020;65(1):295–303. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14038</p><p>The published article did not originally include a Funding Statement. The funding information for the research included in this article is as follows:</p><p>\u0000 <b>FUNDING INFORMATION</b>\u0000 </p><p>This work was supported through annual institutionally allocated funding to both authors.</p><p>We apologize for this error.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1556-4029.70041","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143789479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Arslan Akram PhD, Muhammad Arfan Jaffar PhD, Javed Rashid PhD, Salah Mahmoud Boulaaras PhD, Muhammad Faheem PhD
{"title":"CMV2U-Net: A U-shaped network with edge-weighted features for detecting and localizing image splicing","authors":"Arslan Akram PhD, Muhammad Arfan Jaffar PhD, Javed Rashid PhD, Salah Mahmoud Boulaaras PhD, Muhammad Faheem PhD","doi":"10.1111/1556-4029.70033","DOIUrl":"10.1111/1556-4029.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The practice of cutting and pasting portions of one image into another, known as “image splicing,” is commonplace in the field of image manipulation. Image splicing detection using deep learning has been a hot research topic for the past few years. However, there are two problems with the way deep learning is currently implemented: first, it is not good enough for feature fusion, and second, it uses only simple models for feature extraction and encoding, which makes the models vulnerable to overfitting. To tackle these problems, this research proposes CMV2U-Net, an edge-weighted U-shaped network-based image splicing forgery localization approach. An initial step is the development of a feature extraction module that can process two streams of input images simultaneously, allowing for the simultaneous extraction of semantically connected and semantically agnostic features. One characteristic is that a hierarchical fusion approach has been devised to prevent data loss in shallow features that are either semantically related or semantically irrelevant. This approach implements a channel attention mechanism to monitor manipulation trajectories involving multiple levels. Extensive trials on numerous public datasets prove that CMV2U-Net provides high AUC and <i>F</i><sub>1</sub> in localizing tampered regions, outperforming state-of-the-art techniques. Noise, Gaussian blur, and JPEG compression are post-processing threats that CMV2U-Net has successfully resisted.</p>","PeriodicalId":15743,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic sciences","volume":"70 3","pages":"1026-1043"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143775274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}