Forensic Science International: Reports最新文献

{"title":"Casting light in the shadows: Exploring the influence of biological sex and age-at-death on heat-induced shrinkage in experimentally burned patellae","authors":"Beatriz Mouga Almeida ,&nbsp;Filipa Cortesão Silva ,&nbsp;Ana Luisa Santos","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Burned human remains have been studied by both forensic anthropologists and bioarchaeologists to understand how fire impacts and alters bone in different scenarios. Heat-induced changes can occur including differences in colour and shrinkage, where the extent of the latter varies in different studies. The current study aimed to bring information regarding this topic and to observe how the individual’s biological sex and age at death impact shrinkage. The variability of shrinkage was analysed, relating to temperature and duration of burning. The sample comprised of the patellae of 32 individuals (18 [56.3 %] females and 14 [43.8 %] males) with age at death between 60 and 93 (age grouped in decades) from the sub-collection of experimentally burned skeletons, part of the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (ISC/XXI). The right patellae were subjected to experimental burning at different temperatures and durations using an electric muffle furnace. Both the right and left patellae had three measurements taken, maximum height, maximum thickness and maximum width, with a digital calliper. The shrinkage percentage was higher in males and among the younger individuals (60–79 years old of both sexes). The values of standard deviation were high which indicates high variability. Shrinkage occurred at every temperature with bigger values observed in the patellae that had been subjected to temperatures over 800ºC. However, three patellae showed an increase in size at temperature under 800ºC. These findings align with previous studies where a non-linear correlation between shrinkage and exposure duration was found. It is essential to underscore that the percentage of shrinkage exhibits substantial variability even under identical temperature and duration conditions, highlighting the critical significance of meticulous experimental design and thorough analysis.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100380"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266591072400029X/pdfft?md5=315d56d18c86f305abe677313038601e&pid=1-s2.0-S266591072400029X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141715271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of indirect heroin biomarkers in biological samples of heroin users","authors":"Chrysoula Karakasi ,&nbsp;Panagiota Nikolaou ,&nbsp;Georgia Petropoulou ,&nbsp;Sotirios Athanaselis ,&nbsp;Emmanouil Sakelliadis ,&nbsp;Artemisia Dona ,&nbsp;Ioannis Papoutsis","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100383","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100383","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Heroin use is responsible for many drug-related deaths, so the determination of its biomarkers, except for 6-acetylmorphine, in biological samples, is of particular concern in toxicological laboratories worldwide, for a better investigation of these cases. Th use of 6-acetylmorphine as a heroin biomarker has some limitations due to its rapid bioconversion to morphine within a few hours, especially in blood samples. The need for new indirect biomarkers, like the ones that come from the processing of opium during the clandestine production of heroin, becomes imperative. A GC/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of meconin, thebaine, papaverine, acetylcodeine and noscapine, along with morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine, in different biological samples of heroin users. For all analytes and all individual biological samples, the LOD and LOQ were 2.00 and 5.00 ng/mL, respectively, the calibration curves were linear (R²≥0.991) from 5.00 to 500.0 ng/mL, and absolute recoveries were higher than 91.9 %. The method was applied during the toxicological investigation of 34 forensic cases after positive immunoassay screening for opiates. The results indicate that meconin is the most frequently detected indirect biomarker of heroin use, as it was found in 91.2 % of all cases, whilst in 23.5 % of them no 6-acetylmorphine was detected. Papaverine was found in 67.6 % of all cases and is considered to be the second most important indirect biomarker of heroin use. The establishment of detecting meconin and papaverine in biological materials in parallel with the detection of morphine, codeine and 6-acetylmorphine can contribute to more conclusive results concerning heroin use in forensic cases.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100383"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266591072400032X/pdfft?md5=0770bf5cb029709b3436a4965bf61ca4&pid=1-s2.0-S266591072400032X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141961444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-mortem identification of decomposed and skeletonized human remains in Malawi","authors":"Thom Kaledzera","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100376","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100376","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100376"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000252/pdfft?md5=3f39a9994675693d9a50c1dd4dca93c4&pid=1-s2.0-S2665910724000252-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141433782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Amino acid sensitive latent fingermark detection formulations based upon improvised carrier solvents for resource-limited environments: A proof-of-concept study","authors":"Emma C. Jones ,&nbsp;Jordan F.L. Hooper ,&nbsp;Jemmy T. Bouzin ,&nbsp;Renee Wilson ,&nbsp;Simon W. Lewis","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100388","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100388","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>HFE-7100 and petroleum ether (bp 40–60 °C) are routine carrier solvents used in amino acid sensitive fingermark reagents such as 1,2-indanedione/zinc chloride (IND-Zn) and ninhydrin. However, limited resource jurisdictions face major challenges in sourcing laboratory-grade reagents due to budgetary and geographical restrictions. Common hydrocarbon solvents, available from hardware stores and similar outlets, may offer a more readily available and inexpensive alternative for such jurisdictions. This study assessed the range of improvised carrier solvents for their suitability in the IND-Zn formulation and found that eight different hydrocarbon solvents were able to develop fingermarks when substituted into the formulation. The formulation based on shellite solvent outperformed all other improvised formulations tested, providing high-quality fingermarks and similar sensitivity to a petroleum ether (bp 40–60 °C) based formulation across six porous substrates using six donors. A similar approach was applied to ninhydrin, where it was discovered that formulations using kerosene, white spirits and shellite as carrier solvents performed comparably to a formulation based on petroleum ether (bp 40–60 °C). By chemically characterising each solvent using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, this study also provided a greater understanding of how the chemical composition of a carrier solvent impacts the efficacy of the resulting IND-Zn formulation, emphasising that hydrocarbon solvents should contain short-chain alkanes and minimal aromatic content to give a more volatile formulation. Additionally, the identity of the solvent was found to cause slight differences in the colour and luminescence intensity of ink diffusion on porous substrates. These results indicate that improvised hydrocarbon solvents are suitable alternatives to common carrier solvents with their operational use offering major benefits for limited resource jurisdictions by reducing costs and supply chain risks. A thorough risk assessment must be conducted by each jurisdiction that intends to use this method as health and safety considerations are concerns with these improvised solvents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100388"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142323033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Improving DNA recovery and sample throughput using the PrepFiler™ Automated Forensic DNA Extraction Kit on two customised Tecan Fluent® 1080 Automated Workstations","authors":"Nicholas J. O’Rourke,&nbsp;Nicholas S. Steele,&nbsp;Jasmine W. Tay,&nbsp;Colby M. Hymus,&nbsp;Nicholas S. Mountford,&nbsp;Tania M. Neave,&nbsp;Marie S. Rye","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100384","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100384","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>One of the primary goals of forensic laboratories performing DNA recovery and profiling is obtaining a high-quality DNA extract from crime scene samples. This is largely dependent on the sensitivity and reliability of the DNA extraction chemistry utilised, as well as the liquid handling and contamination minimisation techniques employed. Automation of DNA extraction methods on large liquid handling platforms allows high-throughput laboratories to apply sensitive chemistries to reliably process a large number of samples, while minimising manual processes and cross-contamination.</p><p>This study describes the first known implementation of the PrepFiler™ Automated Forensic DNA Extraction Kit on a Tecan Fluent® Gx 1080 Automation Workstation. Two Workstations were customised with the addition of novel “Safe Pipetting Modules” to eliminate sample crossover between wells, which is important in a forensic biology setting to reduce inadvertent DNA transfer. A comparison of DNA extraction efficiency between an optimised PrepFiler™ method and the DNA IQ™ System performed on a Perkin Elmer Janus® Integrator platform showed the optimised PrepFiler™ method consistently extracted a higher yield of DNA from a range of blood inputs, as well as blood and buccal swabs. The PrepFiler™ chemistry also more efficiently removed humic acid and haematin, reducing subsequent PCR inhibition. The subsequent implementation of the optimised PrepFiler™ method onto the Tecan Fluent® Gx workstations showed a further increase in sensitivity, with no evidence of DNA cross-contamination observed. However, the optimised PrepFiler™ method encountered difficulties extracting DNA from fabric substrates, with the PrepFiler <em>Express</em>™ chemistry extracting higher yields on the cartridge-based AutoMate <em>Express</em>™ System.</p><p>Overall, this study demonstrated the Tecan Fluent® Gx 1080 Automation Workstation is a sensitive, reliable and robust method for DNA extraction using the PrepFiler™ Automated Forensic DNA Extraction Kit, and the addition of the novel Safe Pipetting Module makes this platform an attractive option for forensic biology laboratories where minimising inadvertent DNA transfer is of paramount importance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100384"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000331/pdfft?md5=46110917741b3c773b417e3b9393aed2&pid=1-s2.0-S2665910724000331-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141964051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sex estimation and sexual dimorphism analysis through hand anthropometry: Insights from a cross-sectional study","authors":"M.O. Suleiman ,&nbsp;B. Danborno ,&nbsp;S.A. Musa ,&nbsp;J.A. Timbuak ,&nbsp;A.O. Yusuf ,&nbsp;H.O. Suleiman","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100374","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100374","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>One crucial aspect of a forensic procedure is sex estimation during individual identification. Hand and its remains are usually among the common body parts found in scenes of mass disasters during forensic investigations. Hand outlines are also important in several biomedical fields such as prosthetics, plastic surgery, and ergonomics. This cross-sectional study was done to investigate sexual dimorphism and discriminate sex using hand and hand print dimensions of 283 male and 317 female subjects who were randomly selected. Bare hand measurement and bilateral hand prints were obtained using Vernier caliper, inked pad, and A4 plain paper. Data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 23.0 IBM. Sexual dimorphism in all the hand dimensions and prints of both hands were observed. The binary logistic regression model showed that in the left hand, bare left-hand breadth (BLHB) was the single best variable to discriminate sex with a percentage accuracy of 69.5 %. Bare right-hand breadth (BRHB) was the best predictor in the right hand with a percentage accuracy of 71.8 %. The predicted probabilities of the binary logistic model (BLR) for the variables that contributed best to the prediction were analyzed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. It was observed that the BLHB and BRHB had the highest area under the curve (above 0.5) in the hand and print variables respectively. Sexual dimorphism and sex determination were established in this study using hand dimensions and prints. The BLHB and BRHB were the best sex determinants in this study. Although the accuracies of sex estimation from both hands in this study are low, it does confirm and support previous reports of handbreadth being the best variable for sex estimation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100374"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000239/pdfft?md5=98c8203a29e3b78c9b70d626376f9f8a&pid=1-s2.0-S2665910724000239-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141390684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Management and disposal of human remains acquired for medical education – A forensic perspective","authors":"Neelkamal Battu ,&nbsp;Rutuja Kanekar ,&nbsp;Siddharth Sawardekar ,&nbsp;Girish Tasgaonkar,&nbsp;Vikrant Waghmare","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100389","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100389","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In medical schools, the foundational subject of human anatomy usually requires the medical students to procure a set of human bones, either real or artificial, for comprehensive understanding of the human body. The proper maintenance and disposal of these human remains is the responsibility of the students and the institutions possessing the remains. Improper disposal of human remains can have far-reaching implications, including ethical, legal, public health, environmental, social, and psychological consequences. We present a case of a human skull used for medical studies found dumped in a garbage, leading to unnecessary investigation by the law authorities. The case brings to light the need for including ethical disposal of academic human skeletons at the beginning of the medical curriculum. The authors also discuss in detail the various legal provisions and cultural practices of disposal of human remains in the Indian scenario.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100389"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142532120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic archaeology and illegal familial repatriation and burial of a fallen WW1 soldier, Nièvre, central-east France","authors":"Marine MEUCCI DULY ,&nbsp;Caroline Costedoat ,&nbsp;Julien Fargettas ,&nbsp;Emeline Verna","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100397","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100397","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The context of past conflicts, especially World War I or World War II, is treated differently in various countries. In France, the discovery of military human remains falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Collaborations between the Ministry and national Universities allow for interdisciplinary studies that meet international scientific standards. This case report highlights the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to achieve the identification of skeletonized individuals. An abandoned grave vault in a small town of Nièvre, central-east France, uncovered three skeletons associated with <em>militaria</em>. Initially, the remains were believed to belong to three Senegalese Riflemen executed nearby in 1940, but some of the evidence appeared contradictory. The aim of this study is to determine whether these three skeletons were the three Senegalese Riflemen or other individuals. Through an interdisciplinary approach, combining the position of the bodies in the vault, anthropological analysis of the human remains, and archival research, it was determined that the three bodies belonged to the same family. The remains were those of an illegally repatriated body of a soldier from the battlefields of WW1, together with his parents. It is suggested that they illegally repatriated him from the battlefield/cemetery and then buried him in the family vault, and later, when the parents passed away, they were also buried alongside him. This case illustrates the profound violence of the First World War and the many family losses.</div></div><div><h3>Simple summary</h3><div>The identities of three skeletons discovered buried together in a graveyard were investigated due to the presence of <em>militaria artefacts associated with one of them, revealing a rare case of illegal World War I fallen soldier familial repatriation.</em></div></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"10 ","pages":"Article 100397"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143151043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bloodstain pattern dynamics in microgravity: Observations of a pilot study in the next frontier of forensic science","authors":"Zack Kowalske ,&nbsp;George Pantalos ,&nbsp;Abdulrahman Oleiwi ,&nbsp;Graham Williams","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100358","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100358","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>As humanity advances into a space-faring species, the risk of injury by multiple means and intentions will follow. Expanding understanding of how forensic science adapts to extraterrestrial environments is a novel and inevitable expansion into the next forensic frontier. This study considers the unique challenges of bloodstain pattern analysis in microgravity environments. Specifically, observation in novel experimentation aboard a parabolic flight research airplane which yielded fluid dynamic behaviors in a microgravity environment that provides practical understanding of Earth-based and off-world bloodstain applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100358"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000070/pdfft?md5=ddae45d16afe2357a151986ef8ca4071&pid=1-s2.0-S2665910724000070-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139718633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diaphragm histology in SIDS and other sudden unexplained deaths","authors":"Dov Jordan Gebien","doi":"10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2024.100372","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This is a Letter to the Editor in response to Kariks J. Diaphragmatic muscle fibre necrosis in SIDS. Forensic Sci Int. 1989 Dec;43(3):281–91. doi: 10.1016/0379-0738(89)90156-4. PMID: 2613142.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":36331,"journal":{"name":"Forensic Science International: Reports","volume":"9 ","pages":"Article 100372"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665910724000215/pdfft?md5=e2e6f80238e204ac0bc9c39f8114d8c0&pid=1-s2.0-S2665910724000215-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141289182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}