Science & Justice最新文献

The forensic limits of hair drug testing: a critical assessment of drug intake and hair concentration relationships 头发药物测试的法医限度：药物摄入和头发浓度关系的关键评估

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-04-27 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101444

Daniel Preece, Abigail Jones

{"title":"The forensic limits of hair drug testing: a critical assessment of drug intake and hair concentration relationships","authors":"Daniel Preece, Abigail Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hair analysis is widely used in forensic toxicology to establish drug exposure, offering a long detection window and non-invasive sampling. This review provides a critical assessment of whether a dose-concentration relationship between drug intake and concentrations measured in hair exists and if such a relationship would be suitable for forensic purposes. A systematic search as conducted to identify controlled studies that were published across illicit substances and pharmaceuticals. The results reveal substantial variability in reported correlations. While some pharmaceuticals (e.g., clozapine, methadone) show moderate associations, most illicit drugs, including heroin, codeine, amphetamine, cannabis, and GHB, show weak or inconsistent relationships. Overlapping concentration ranges between low and high doses, combined with confounding factors such as melanin content, sweat contamination, cosmetic treatments, and methodological inconsistencies, undermine the reliability of dose estimations. Although controlled administration studies provide more robust data, ethical constraints limit their scope. Current evidence indicates that hair analysis can confirm exposure but cannot accurately quantify dose or distinguish intentional ingestion from passive contact. Future research should focus on standardizing analytical protocols, correcting for melanin content, and exploring pharmaceuticals with predictable dosing patterns. Overall, hair should be regarded as a qualitative indicator of exposure rather than a quantitative measure of drug intake.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 3","pages":"Article 101444"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147849748","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}

引用次数: 0

A comprehensive assessment of forensic entomology applications on human remains: A systematic review from 1989 to 2025 法医昆虫学在人类遗骸上应用的综合评估：1989年至2025年的系统回顾

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-05-03 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101447

Deshaka Jayakody , Nayana Gunathilaka , Nirmala Perera

{"title":"A comprehensive assessment of forensic entomology applications on human remains: A systematic review from 1989 to 2025","authors":"Deshaka Jayakody , Nayana Gunathilaka , Nirmala Perera","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101447","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101447","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic entomology, the study of insects in legal investigations, is most commonly applied to estimate the post-mortem interval (PMI). While animal models have historically supported research in this field, their relevance to human forensic scenarios remains limited. A systematic review was conducted to assess the current state of forensic entomology research involving human cadavers. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was performed using Lens.org and PubMed databases to identify peer-reviewed articles published between 1989 and 2025. Inclusion criteria targeted English-language articles explicitly addressing forensic entomology and human remains. A total of 88 eligible articles were identified. A systematic analysis was performed using VOSviewer (v1.6.20), focusing on keyword co-occurrence mapping, clustering, and density visualization to identify dominant research themes and potential knowledge gaps. Four major research themes were identified: (1) Insect developmental biology for post-mortem interval estimation, (2) Taxonomic and ecological investigations of forensically relevant insects (3) Molecular approaches to insect identification in forensic contexts and (4) Insect succession dynamics during decomposition. The density mapping indicated that research depth in the field of forensic entomology related to human cadavers is limited. Entomofaunal studies revealed a need for broader geographic representation. Notably, entomotoxicology did not emerge as a major cluster, highlighting it as a significantly underexplored area in human cadaver studies. Foundational research exists on PMI estimation and insect development, yet gaps in diversity and methods persist. Entomotoxicology and regional species variation remain underexplored; addressing these will enhance the accuracy and applicability of forensic entomology in human death investigations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 3","pages":"Article 101447"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147849747","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}

引用次数: 0

Chemical profiling of counterfeit perfumes: insights within a forensic intelligence approach 假冒香水的化学特征分析：法医情报方法中的见解

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-04-30 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101445

Pier-Louis Dumont , Caroline Mireault , Maxime Bérubé

引用次数: 0

Forensic soil comparison for traffic accidents caused by soil clods on roadway 道路土块造成交通事故的法证土比较

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2026-05-04 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101446

Yonghui Shi , Zifei Qiu , Xiaodong Song , Jinling Yang , Rong Zeng , Yunpeng Hong , Haozhe Zhang , Ganlin Zhang

{"title":"Forensic soil comparison for traffic accidents caused by soil clods on roadway","authors":"Yonghui Shi , Zifei Qiu , Xiaodong Song , Jinling Yang , Rong Zeng , Yunpeng Hong , Haozhe Zhang , Ganlin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101446","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101446","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil, as a prevalent form of trace evidence at crime scenes, demonstrates considerable forensic value through its transferability and geospatial distinctiveness. Tracing the geographical origin of soil from crime scenes can provide crucial evidence support for court trials and case investigations. This study investigated the forensic utility of soil evidence in traffic accident liability determination using a representative case occurring in the <em>peri</em>-urban areas of Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, China. In this case, large clods of dry and hard soil were scattered on the roadway, causing an electric tricycle to overturn, which resulted in the driver’s death. Given the absence of surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts, we conducted similarity analysis using soil morphological characteristics, pH, particle size parameters, and elemental composition. Multivariate similarity assessment among accident site soils (sample ID: 0-1, 0-2) and reference samples from the suspect vehicle (1-5, 1-6, 3-4, 3-7), parking spot (4-3), and last cultivated farmland before the incident (5-2, 5-3, 5-6) revealed consistent patterns. Notably, sample 1-5 exhibits the highest degree of similarity with the accident site soil. These findings provide useful empirical support for liability determination and fair adjudication in traffic accidents.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 3","pages":"Article 101446"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147849746","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}

引用次数: 0

Using open-source software and interdisciplinary teaching to increase digital forensics accessibility, and inclusivity, with sustainable development and learning in higher education 利用开源软件和跨学科教学，提高数字取证的可及性和包容性，促进高等教育的可持续发展和学习

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-13 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101398

Ian C Whittaker , Joshua Thomson , Megan Dilley-Salter , Robyn Adams , Edward A Breeds , Maria Chiara Roffin , Laurence Shaw , Rachel S Bolton-King

{"title":"Using open-source software and interdisciplinary teaching to increase digital forensics accessibility, and inclusivity, with sustainable development and learning in higher education","authors":"Ian C Whittaker , Joshua Thomson , Megan Dilley-Salter , Robyn Adams , Edward A Breeds , Maria Chiara Roffin , Laurence Shaw , Rachel S Bolton-King","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101398","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101398","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Ensuring rigorous forensic image processing means not only adhering to the relevant industry standards but also a solid foundation of teaching the principles behind the skills. This study examines six years of a level 5 undergraduate “Forensic Image Processing” module and focuses on using open-source software and interdisciplinary teaching to provide a competence based active learning environment, to improve professional development. A discussion of the importance of understanding how an image is processed is included, especially when applying automated processes. The results of this approach show a benefit of education for cultural diversity. Within the module the computing workshops have a negligible award gap, while the exam shows a 6% gap in favour of ethnic minority students. The major factor affecting student outcomes in the module is the year it was delivered partly with online learning via remote workshops with a drop of average attainment for all students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 2","pages":"Article 101398"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146023548","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}

引用次数: 0

Mock crime scene challenge as a collaborative tool for student learning 模拟犯罪现场挑战作为学生学习的协作工具

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-15 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101396

Dhruvi Panchal, Nirmala Krishnamurthy

引用次数: 0

Non-destructive detection of soot-obscured latent fingermarks using robotic optical coherence tomography 利用机器人光学相干断层成像无损检测煤烟遮蔽的潜在手印

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-13 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101397

Kangkang Liu , Bin He , Changyu Chen , Zhenwen Sun , Xiaojun Li , Guimin Cheng , Zhigang Li , Yaping Luo , Ning Zhang

{"title":"Non-destructive detection of soot-obscured latent fingermarks using robotic optical coherence tomography","authors":"Kangkang Liu , Bin He , Changyu Chen , Zhenwen Sun , Xiaojun Li , Guimin Cheng , Zhigang Li , Yaping Luo , Ning Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101397","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101397","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fires frequently obliterate or contaminate physical evidence, complicating scene reconstruction. Latent fingermarks can survive combustion but are often masked by soot, making conventional powdering or chemical enhancement both ineffective and potentially destructive to ridge detail and DNA. This study evaluates optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a rapid, non-contact alternative for visualizing soot-covered fingermarks on substrates commonly encountered at fire scenes, including stainless-steel door handles and window glass. A spectral-domain OCT probe was mounted on a six-axis robotic arm, enabling automated raster scanning over irregular items. Natural fingermarks were deposited on three stainless-steel door handles with different surface curvatures and on tempered window glass, then exposed to open flame for five minutes to produce uniform soot layers. Volumetric OCT data were rendered into <em>en face</em> projections in under one minute (∼37 s for the acquisition of OCT data, ∼20 s for the analysis) per specimen. On flat or gently curved steel surfaces, OCT resolved Level-1 and Level-2 ridge detail through soot; pronounced curvature reduced contrast but still yielded identifiable minutiae. Glass produced the highest-quality images, revealing sweat pores (Level 3). Because the technique is non-destructive and contact-free, both the soot layer and underlying residue remained intact, permitting subsequent DNA profiling and accelerant analysis. The results demonstrate that robotic-OCT can serve as a first-line screening tool at post-fire scenes, enhancing the recovery of comparison-quality fingermarks while preserving downstream evidential value.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 2","pages":"Article 101397"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145978831","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}

引用次数: 0

Chronological age and crime: A review of how Swedish Courts evaluate age evidence 实足年龄与犯罪：瑞典法院如何评估年龄证据的综述

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-14 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2026.101410

Moa Lidén , Marie Allen

引用次数: 0

Encapsulation of degraded DNA in alginate hydrogels: Rheological characterization and applicability to forensic science 海藻酸盐水凝胶中降解DNA的包封：流变学表征及其在法医学上的适用性

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2025-12-26 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101378

Colin I. Elliott , Theresa Stotesbury

{"title":"Encapsulation of degraded DNA in alginate hydrogels: Rheological characterization and applicability to forensic science","authors":"Colin I. Elliott , Theresa Stotesbury","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101378","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101378","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic biomaterials are on the rise, with efforts focused on developing realistic tissue and blood mimetics. The incorporation of small and degraded DNA into these materials enhances their realism and functionality, which has implications for research and training across forensic science. It is therefore important to understand the physicochemical and conformational changes that DNA undergoes during <em>ex vivo</em> degradation. Large fragments of highly concentrated genomic and phage DNA in solution have been characterized using rheology; however, this amount and size of DNA are atypical in DNA extracted from forensic evidence. In this work, we investigated how the addition of synthetic DNA oligos and genomic DNA extracted from bloodstains deposited for up to 19 months influenced the rheological properties of polymer systems intended for forensic biomaterial synthesis. We used FTIR spectroscopy to probe interactions between DNA and the encapsulating matrix and automated gel electrophoresis to record DNA quality/quantity metrics, both of which supported our rheological findings. Encapsulating DNA within an alginate-based, ionically crosslinked hydrogel produced the greatest differentiation in rheological profiles among DNA with varying physical properties. The distinct conformations and sizes of encapsulated DNA oligos exhibited significantly different responses during strain amplitude sweeps (p < 0.05). We also observed moderate correlations between the rheological responses of DNA extracts and the time since deposition of corresponding bloodstains (<em>r</em> = −0.57 to <em>r</em> = 0.62). This indicates that dilute, polydisperse and degraded genomic DNA extracts can modulate the rheological properties of the encapsulating hydrogel, highlighting the need to consider the type of DNA included in forensic biomaterials. Our results demonstrate the potential for rheology to serve as a complementary technique when analyzing encapsulated dilute DNA oligos and degraded DNA.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"66 2","pages":"Article 101378"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145845534","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}

引用次数: 0

BM1: Events Guide BM1：事件指南

IF 2 4区医学

Science & Justice Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-04-01 DOI: 10.1016/S1355-0306(26)00025-0

引用次数: 0