Science & Justice最新文献

{"title":"Predicting image quality of forensic footwear impressions","authors":"En-Tni Lin,&nbsp;Jacqueline A. Speir","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ability of a footwear examiner to confidently discern features of importance in a forensic examination is directly related to impression quality. As a result, quality directly impacts the strength an examiner can ascribe to any opinion of source attribution. Despite the importance of image quality during both the analysis and comparison phases of an examination, there is limited research on the estimation, variation, and prediction of footwear impression quality. In response, this study aims to develop a methodology for evaluating footwear impression quality by regressing image features against subjective judgments of quality. Using a dataset of more than 450 impressions evaluated by more than 40 participants, estimates of intra- and inter-rater consistency were computed. After identifying reliable raters, matrix completion was performed, thereby permitting data imputation. This was based on an approximate 90:10 split between training and testing data, ultimately resulting in 6,000 quality predictions, which exhibited a mean agreement with ground truth <span><math><mrow><mo>&gt;</mo></mrow></math></span> 95%. Each image in the dataset was then reduced to a 10-dimensional feature vector describing image attributes such as complexity, contrast, sharpness, and noise. These features were used to train multiple ordinal and multinomial regression models aimed at predicting image quality. Model comparison resulted in an overall optimal accuracy of approximately 75% when comparing predicted/modeled quality against the ground truth of subjective rater opinions. The resulting semi-automated, reference-free and numerical prediction tool exhibits reasonable success for impression quality prediction when presented with the types of challenging and domain-specific images often encountered in forensic footwear comparisons. The outcomes and challenges associated with this investigation provide a foundation upon which future studies of quality can be modified and built, with the downstream goal of an increased understanding of how quality impacts weight of evidence.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 6","pages":"Pages 614-624"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142423034","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":"Vaginal drainage of semen in underwear: A forensic study","authors":"S. Jones ,&nbsp;M. Logan ,&nbsp;G. Davidson ,&nbsp;C. Murphy ,&nbsp;P. Strahorn","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The UK and Ireland Association of Forensic Science Providers’ (AFSP) Body Fluid Forum (BFF) conducted this research to investigate the occurrence of seminal fluid draining from the vagina onto underwear worn after penile-vaginal sexual intercourse with internal ejaculation. This study shows the differing effects of the female being either supine or upright and active on possible patterns of seminal staining on underwear, and the effect of time since intercourse on the deposition of seminal fluid on underwear in a limited study. Here, we demonstrate that post vaginal intercourse different distributions of semen staining can be observed on underwear.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 6","pages":"Pages 605-613"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142315314","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 efficacy of Diamond™ nucleic acid dye-stained cell counting techniques for forensic application","authors":"Mariya Goray ,&nbsp;Mike Hartog ,&nbsp;Heidi Monkman","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Touch DNA is one of the most common types of biological material collected during criminal investigations. Diamond™ Nucleic Acid Dye (DD) has been shown to aid in touch sample visualisation and target sampling. It has also been used as a method of shedder categorisation that is cheaper and quicker than DNA methods. However, the DD method routinely involves manual cell counting, which can result in intra and inter-person variability similar to other manual techniques used in forensic science, for example, fingerprint identification. Additionally, DD based shedder categorisation involves counting cells in a portion of the touch deposit to extrapolate an individual’s shedder status, and the sampling effect of such estimations is currently unknown.</p><p>The present study tested different data analysis aspects of the DD method, including counting variability within and between people, shedder classification differences based on different counting methods (entire thumbprint, sub-section of a print with most cells, sub-section of a print deemed most representative of the entire thumbprint, and random sections), the use of ImageJ software to semi-automate counting and the use and extension of the DD method for investigating DNA Transfer, Persistence, Prevalence and Recovery (DNA-TPPR).</p><p>The results of this study show that there are meaningful differences observed during counting processes both between and within people. These differences tended to increase as the factor of time, or the duration of counting, rather than the complexity of cell deposits being assessed. Investment in cell counting software that eliminates personal factors, such as boredom fatigue, can remedy most of these issues, however, will require optimisation, such as fibre recognition. Shedder testing was shown to be affected by the choice of sampling and categorisation methods, and suggested that using an entire finger or larger section size can provide increased precision. Finally, inverted worn gloves stained with DD may provide an acceptable alternative for hands in DNA-TPPR investigations, providing an interesting alternative for future research.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 6","pages":"Pages 585-598"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030624000959/pdfft?md5=29cd3a1553d4cb4c8d9c9f4f295a9575&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030624000959-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142167389","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":"The effects of fingerprinting agents on the stable isotope ratios of polyethylene films","authors":"Joe Meikle ,&nbsp;Kylie Jones ,&nbsp;Sarah L. Cresswell ,&nbsp;Carney Matheson ,&nbsp;James F. Carter","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Traditional forensic chemical comparisons of polymeric materials are often affected by fingerprinting agents that enhance and visualise finger-marks. This can inhibit detailed analysis used to provide an association or discrimination between two samples. In this study, we have demonstrated that the method for polymer comparisons using isotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis is not affected by fingerprinting matter on the surface in contrast to other forensic instrumental tests. A selection of resealable bags was analysed for carbon and hydrogen isotope ratio values of bags that had been subject to various fingerprinting agents and compared to values of untreated bags. The results showed no significant difference between samples that had been fingerprinted from those that were untreated.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 6","pages":"Pages 599-604"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142172023","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":"UK National Fingerprint Collaborative Exercise 2022-23","authors":"A. Exall,&nbsp;G. Harris,&nbsp;L. Hussey,&nbsp;H. Bandey,&nbsp;S. Vassell","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.09.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In 2022–2023 the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) designed and conducted a two-part fingerprint Collaborative Exercise (CE). The CE focussed on fingermarks contaminated in blood as they provide a complex scenario for forensic units and it involved both fingermark visualisation and comparison elements. Participants were requested to treat the exercise as a major crime submission following internal protocols and were invited to provide comments relating to how the marks were deposited (if appropriate). Overall, forensic units performed well within both parts of the exercise. The exercise highlighted the importance of conducting sequential fingermark visualisation techniques, utilising additional lighting techniques and maintaining detailed notes throughout the fingerprint examination process. The outputs from the CE provided opportunities for forensic units to learn from one another, raise the level of understanding of blood contaminated fingermarks and identify areas of improvement which can be incorporated into internal processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 6","pages":"Pages 665-676"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142531795","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":"BM1: Events Guide","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00088-1","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00088-1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 5","pages":"Page I"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030624000881/pdfft?md5=123d19ffc5e8a6afbfda41f44cc9e446&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030624000881-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142173911","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":"Letter to the editor: “Edwards curve digital signature algorithm for video integrity verification on blockchain framework”","authors":"Linju Lawrence ,&nbsp;R. Shreelekshmi","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.08.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.08.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Video integrity is a crucial aspect of forensic science that guarantees the reliability and validity of visual evidence used in court proceedings. In an era where digital alteration tools are readily available, ensuring that video recordings remain unmodified is essential to upholding the integrity of the legal system. Our technique offers a new, simple way to check the integrity of video data. Our approach makes use of the BLAKE2b hash function, the blockchain, and the Edwards Curve Digital Signature Algorithm. Video segments are pre-recorded video clips for which signatures are generated and kept in chronological blocks. To provide an additional degree of protection, the signature from the prior block is kept in the present block. These signatures are validated at the moment of validation. According to experimental data, our method performs faster and more securely than state-of-the-art approaches. With negligible extra storage requirements, our approach can detect every kind of counterfeit on any video file, by anybody, at any time. Our security analysis further demonstrates that our approach is resistant to a wide range of attacks, such as side channel, collision, key substitution, and chosen message assaults.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 5","pages":"Pages 583-584"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142173910","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 impact of accelerant facilitated fire on blood detection and the efficacy of subsequent soot removal methods","authors":"Anna Kozbor,&nbsp;Katie Davidson,&nbsp;Felicity Carlysle-Davies","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.08.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2024.08.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Previous literature has established that recovering heat damaged body fluids is possible, however with little investigation into the effect of accelerants used in initiating arson fires. This study therefore aimed to determine whether presumptive blood detection was affected by heat damage resulting from accelerant facilitated fires. Another objective was to examine various techniques for removing soot, which is a noted barrier to blood detection. The study focused on blood deposited on household flooring materials, one porous and one nonporous surface: carpet and tile respectively. Samples were burned with butane, petrol, and kerosene then presumptively tested using the Kastle Meyer colourimetric blood detection test. Testing was then repeated following soot removal by either wiping, scraping, or using liquid latex. The “strength” of positive detections was evaluated using a scale based on reaction speed and colour intensity. Results demonstrated that accelerants weakened detection strength, although nearly all samples tested positive overall, and the impact of each accelerant on both surface types was largely similar. It was also discovered that soot removal improved the strength of blood detection results in approximately 69% of carpet and 47% of tile samples, with wiping being the superior method on both surface types. Consequently, introducing this investigative step may be critical to maximizing blood evidence recovery in arson casework. These findings indicate the worth in recovering severely burned items, particularly for evidence as crucial as blood.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 5","pages":"Pages 572-580"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030624000819/pdfft?md5=ebba83f29d9387acf93df532fdf59f3f&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030624000819-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142149211","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":"BM2: Council Information","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00089-3","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00089-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 5","pages":"Page II"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1355030624000893/pdfft?md5=4d80ad3f372abfadd026e9b2008f291c&pid=1-s2.0-S1355030624000893-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142173912","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":"Prelim 3: Contents","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00087-X","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1355-0306(24)00087-X","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"64 5","pages":"Page iii"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135503062400087X/pdfft?md5=996cab701c6de334cb1661469d6fb2e5&pid=1-s2.0-S135503062400087X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142172019","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}