Science & Justice最新文献

{"title":"Ivory or Bone? discrimination using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and chemometrics","authors":"Chandra Prakash Sharma ,&nbsp;Dimple Bhatia ,&nbsp;Rajinder Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101261","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Elephant ivory is one of the most priced items/products in the illegal wildlife trade. Its increased demand and the dwindling population of elephants have led to a heavy influx of many natural and artificial elephant ivory substitutes in the illegal wildlife market. Identification of genuine elephant ivory and distinguishing it from substitutes is mandatory for<!--> <!-->subsequent legal proceedings and successful implementation of the related laws. In this study, 30 Asian elephant (<em>Elephas maximus</em>) ivory and 29 cattle (<em>Bubalus bubalis</em>) bone samples were evaluated using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics. ATR-FTIR spectra of ivory and bone samples in the mid-IR range were visually compared and subjected to advanced chemometric analysis. The developed PCA model differentiated the ivory and cattle bone samples, with 98.30 % accuracy. PLS-DA model successfully differentiated ivory and bone samples into discrete classes with a calibration R square value of 0.99. A PLSDA-V model was also developed utilizing X-variables with a VIP score &gt; 1 that distinguished ivory and bone samples into discrete classes. It was observed that the PLS-DA model outperformed the PLSDA-V model in terms of high accuracy and low error rates. Subsequently, the PLS-DA model was employed solely for external validation and blind tests. Furthermore, resin-based fake ivory samples were also differentiated from genuine ivory samples through visual comparison of their ATR-FTIR spectra. The findings of the study showed that ATR-FTIR spectroscopy could identify and differentiate ivory and bone samples, even when they are in powdered form and have lost their morphological characteristics in a quick, precise, non-destructive manner.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 4","pages":"Article 101261"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873242","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":"Enhancing forensic shoeprint analysis: Application of the Shoe-MS algorithm to challenging evidence","authors":"Moonsoo Jang ,&nbsp;Alicia Carriquiry ,&nbsp;Soyoung Park","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101255","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101255","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantitative assessment of pattern evidence is a challenging task, particularly in the context of forensic investigations where the accurate identification of sources and classification of items in evidence are critical. Emerging deep learning approaches can become useful tools for examiners responsible for pattern recognition and analysis. This paper explores the Shoe-MS algorithm, a deep learning-based framework specifically designed for forensic footwear analysis where the input consists of two paired images, and the output is an estimated similarity score that takes on a value between zero and one. We implement Shoe-MS on two different databases that permit assessing the algorithm’s performance for source identification and for the classification of degraded images. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Shoe-MS algorithm achieves high performance across both tasks, highlighting its potential for forensic footwear analysis. No algorithm can substitute examiners, but Shoe-MS produces reliable similarity scores and can help examiners make probabilistic, reproducible, and repeatable assessments. Initial findings suggest that Shoe-MS can be a valuable tool for examiners evaluating pattern evidence, especially when crime scene images are not of the highest quality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 4","pages":"Article 101255"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873241","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":"Investigating handheld near-infrared spectroscopy for forensic body fluid analysis","authors":"Álvaro Varela Morillas,&nbsp;Nunzianda Frascione","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic casework and crime scene examination will often involve the identification and analysis of biological evidence found on a wide variety of surfaces. One type of biological evidence most commonly encountered at the crime scene is body fluids, such as blood, semen and saliva. During an investigation, it is crucial to confirm the nature of a stain, determine if it is a body fluid and identify which specific body fluid it is. Common chemical tests for the identification of body fluid stains, like Kastle-Meyer or Phadebas test, are presumptive in nature, meaning that they present limited specificity and a certain risk of cross-reactivity. Due to their drawbacks, current literature focuses on developing confirmatory tests that target fluid-specific biomarkers or chemical signatures. The study presented explores the capability of a handheld commercial near-infrared spectrometer for the identification of body fluid stains, as well as obtaining relevant information concerning the donor source of the evidence, such as their biological sex. For this purpose, samples of blood, semen and saliva from healthy human male and female volunteers were gathered, deposited on glass substrates, and analysed at different points in time up to 4 weeks. The spectral data collected was used to build a training library from which chemometric models were designed for the discrimination of body fluids and the identification of the biological sex of the individual source of the evidence. Once suitable models were designed, these were tested against new samples of blood, semen, and saliva, along with samples of household products—fake blood, toothpaste, apple juice— known to appear similar to a body fluid stain or produce false positive results with routine presumptive tests. Although additional data gathering and modelling are still required for the identification of other body fluids, as well as the biological sex of the donor, the results in this study further confirm the capability of this technique to identify blood stains with a low incidence of false positives, presenting itself as an alternative to current presumptive tests that is fast, affordable, and non-destructive.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 4","pages":"Article 101259"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143878532","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":"Long-term qualitative analysis of clothing degradation associated with surface-decomposition in Cape Town, South Africa","authors":"Adeyemi Daniel Adetimehin ,&nbsp;Maximilian Jan Spies ,&nbsp;Devin Alexander Finaughty ,&nbsp;Victoria Elaine Gibbon","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effect of clothing on the decomposition process of human and non-human animal bodies has received considerable attention. Yet, little attention has been given to the effect of decomposing bodies on the integrity of carrion-associated clothing globally, with no data from Africa. We conducted a long-term (over three years) micro- and macroscopic qualitative analysis of the degradation of synthetic, natural, and mixed-fiber clothing associated with surface-decomposing porcine bodies in Cape Town, South Africa. Five porcine bodies dressed in seasonally appropriate clothing were surface deployed and allowed to decompose over multiple seasons in the thicketed Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, an environment of forensic interest in Cape Town. Microscopically, the yarns of synthetic (acrylic pullover jerseys), natural (cotton T-shirts), and mixed-fiber (denim jeans) clothing were distorted and degraded within two to six months, one to three months, and one and a half to two years, respectively. Macroscopically, synthetic, and mixed-fiber clothing showed no visible damage after three years and ten months. Conversely, damage in the form of multiple small holes was noticeable on the natural fiber clothing within two to seven months, with complete disintegration of the clothing evident within two and a half years or less. This study is the first to elucidate the degradation of clothing associated with surface-decomposing bodies in Africa. Our findings reveal that the yarns of synthetic, natural, and mixed-fiber clothing associated with surface-decomposing bodies will degrade over time in different ways and can be used as indicators of the minimum time-since-death of clothed deceased individuals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101258"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143868149","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":"Accurate forensic identification of asphyxial deaths: Differentiating strangulation and drowning using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy","authors":"Hao Wu ,&nbsp;Ruina Liu ,&nbsp;Gongji Wang ,&nbsp;Chen Shen ,&nbsp;Xinggong Liang ,&nbsp;Run Chen ,&nbsp;Mingyan Deng ,&nbsp;Shuo Wu ,&nbsp;Kai Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhenyuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Asphyxial death is a leading cause of violent death, strangulation is more frequently seen in murder and domestic abuse cases, while drowning is one of the most common causes of accidental death. Therefore, studies on these two causes of death are beneficial to ensuring the administration of justice and increasing detection rate of criminal cases. This study investigated the viability of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a method for distinguishing between strangulation and drowning in autolysis and putrefaction cadavers of forensic cases. Utilizing C57BL/6 mice death models, lung tissue samples were analyzed post-mortem using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, alongside traditional histological methods such as Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) staining. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLSDA) were employed to enhance the spectral data interpretation, demonstrating high accuracy in distinguishing between the two causes of death. The PLSDA model showed a 100 % accuracy in external validations for strangulation and drowning cause of death identification, highlighting the potential of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy combined with machine learning algorithms in forensic applications. The results revealed distinct biochemical signatures for strangulation and drowning, with significant changes observed in the spectral peaks associated with Amide band, protein secondary structures and nucleic acids. The integration of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy provides a non-destructive, rapid, and reliable method for forensic investigators, especially when traditional autopsy results are inconclusive due to autolysis and putrefaction. The study emphasizes how crucial it is to combine ATR-FTIR spectroscopic with histopathological examination and chemometrics to increase the precision and dependability of forensic investigations and support the administration of justice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101257"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143845115","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 silver mirror chemical delamination on dusted fingermarks","authors":"R.J. Accioly ,&nbsp;E.G. Silva ,&nbsp;K.C. Mariotti ,&nbsp;C. Fridman","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Airborne substances are common contaminants and often interfere on fingermarks compositions and their development procedures. This study analyzed the efficiency of silver mirror delamination technique to develop fingerprints deposited on mirrors submitted to an airflow. The silver mirror delamination consists of subjecting the mirror into a chemical treatment in order to obtain a transparent substrate and improve the conditions for recording fingerprints with simple photography equipment. The fingerprint images were evaluated with LCMetric software and ACE-V methodology. The results showed that fingerprints suffered severe degradation by dust deposition and mirror delamination assessment was unable to recover the vast majority of fingerprints. However, there were fingermarks that achieved “good” quality score in LCMetric software evaluation and were considered with comparison value by human evaluation (ACE-V), making the mirror delamination procedure suitable as a prior and contactless technique among the attempts to recover the contaminated fingermarks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101256"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838297","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":"A fast, low-cost, and nondestructive method using digital images to detect crossing pen ink lines in documents with old and recent writing","authors":"Bruna Ramos de Souza Gomes,&nbsp;Jandyson Machado Santos","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In forensic document examination, the analysis of pen ink is crucial for detecting fraud, particularly by evaluating crossing ink lines. In this study, a fast, simple, non-destructive method was developed for detecting crossing lines of blue pen inks in documents with old and recent writing, using smartphone-based digital images. Digital images of three different regions of interest (ROI) in the areas with pen writing were acquired for twenty-six real documents containing blue pen inks, dated between the years 1994 and 2023. The ROIs were defined as follows: I – Document Pen Ink (DPI), II – Intersection Pen Ink (IPI), and III – Overlay Pen Ink (OPI), representing different areas of the original and crossed pen ink lines. ColorGrab® free smartphone software was used to capture and process the values of the Red (R), Green (G), Blue (B), Hue (H), Saturation (S), and Value (V) channels for the digital images of the pen inks for each ROI. The R, G, B, and V channels provided the best analytical responses for identifying crossing lines in the OPI regions of the documents, enabling distinction of the regions after data normalization and principal component analysis (PCA). Application of k-means cluster analysis showed that the method was able to effectively distinguish between older and more recent writing at the crossing pen ink lines. The development of this nondestructive method offers a promising way to identify pen ink line crossing in old documents that may have been tampered with by the introduction of more recent writing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101254"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143808260","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":"CORRECTION: Letter to the editor regarding the article “The final destination: Incorporating ‘Death by GPS’ into forensic and legal sciences” by Posey, B.M. (2023)","authors":"Brianne M. Posey","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101249","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101249"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143739771","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 the potential of serum cortisol level and expression of StAR gene as biomarkers to establish the nature of sexual act","authors":"Hirak Ranjan Dash ,&nbsp;Vinita Gupta ,&nbsp;Palak Chaubey","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic investigation of sexual assault cases possesses huge challenges viz., limited sample quantity, attributing the partner, and identifying the nature of the sexual act. Though forensic DNA evidence might correctly identify an accused, its biggest limitation is to overcome the consent defense which holds significant legal implications. Routinely, the examination of anogenital injury establishes the nature of a sexual act. However, it suffers major limitations as the prevalence of anogenital injury has also been observed commonly after a consensual sexual act. The present study compared the perceived stress, serum cortisol level, and the expression level of the <em>StAR</em> gene in 20 survivors of sexual assault and 20 consensual sexual partners. The average perceived stress scale was observed to be 32.1 ± 1.3 and 17.6 ± 0.5 in sexual assault survivors and consensual partners, respectively. The serum cortisol level showed a 1.183 to 3.176 fold increase in the survivors of sexual assault compared to the partners of the consensual sexual act. Compared to the consensual partners, sexual assault survivors showed a 19.508 to 144.664 fold increase in the expression of the <em>StAR</em> gene in blood. Besides, a significant positive correlation was observed among the PSS, cortisol level, and expression level of the <em>StAR</em> gene (R² = 0.878) (P &lt; 0.001). Thus, in addition to the external injury examination, other biochemical and molecular examinations such as PSS, serum cortisol level, and expression of <em>StAR</em> gene have shown the potential to establish the nature of a sexual act.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101250"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143680024","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 isotopic and elemental patterns of uranium ore as tools for its provenance determination: A systematic review","authors":"Lazaro H. Meza ,&nbsp;Mohamed S. Mazunga ,&nbsp;John W. Kondoro ,&nbsp;Iyabo T. Usman ,&nbsp;Titus A. Msagati ,&nbsp;Farai F. Mlambo ,&nbsp;Innocent J. Lugendo ,&nbsp;Mwingereza J. Kumwenda","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101252","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101252","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This systematic review explores the potential of isotopic and elemental analysis of uranium ore as tools for provenance determination. This capability is vital for effective criminal investigations involving illicit trafficking, environmental contamination, terrorism and nuclear proliferation. A comprehensive literature review was conducted across multiple databases, focusing on studies that utilized isotopic and elemental analysis techniques for uranium origin assessment. The included studies were critically evaluated for methodological rigor. The review found that both isotopic and elemental analysis provides valuable insights into the provenance of uranium ore. Isotopic analysis, in particular, has been established as a powerful tool for tracking the origin of uranium ore. It has potential applications in forensic investigations, nuclear security and safeguards. However, the full potential of elemental patterns remains underutilized. Integrating both techniques could enhance the discriminatory power of provenance assessments. Key challenges, such as limitations in existing databases, analytical techniques and sample contaminations, hinder the definitive determination of uranium origin. To address these challenges, the review emphasizes the need for collaboration between researchers and law enforcement agencies. This collaboration should focus on expanding geochemical databases, developing standardized methodologies, and fostering interdisciplinary cooperation. By overcoming these limitations, the forensic community can significantly improve its ability to investigate uranium-related crimes, contributing to national security, safeguards and environmental protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 3","pages":"Article 101252"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143706541","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}