Science & Justice最新文献

{"title":"Letter to the editor: “A preliminary survey of ethnic diversity and experience of discrimination in forensic science in the UK”","authors":"Karl Ebejer","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101340","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101340","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101340"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145267993","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":"Age estimation of the pubic symphysis from 3D printed proxies","authors":"Rhys Williams ,&nbsp;Phoebe Baker","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101353","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101353","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>3D imaging has seen widespread application in forensic science due to the ability to view, share and inspect forensic evidence without accessibility issues. The ability to reproduce objects through 3D scanning and printing has been of particular interest for education, research and the repatriation efforts of human remains. However, whilst 3D technology shows excellent precision in metric comparisons of original and reproduced objects, standard methods of assessing bone may be unsuitable for applying on 3D printed replicas and need to be explored in greater detail.</div><div>A selection of archaeological and cast pubic symphyses were 3D scanned and printed. Participants (<em>n</em> = 34, average experience = 5.24 years) assigned a Suchey-Brooks age estimation phase to each symphysis to allow comparisons of assigned scores between the original and printed proxy. Samples were assigned a correct age phase with 48.3 – 55.0 % accuracy (<em>r</em> = 0.67 – 0.82, κ = 0.70 – 0.81), and were assigned an age phase matching their real bone counterpart with 60.1 % frequency (<em>r</em> = 0.78, κ = 0.81). Accuracy and confidence generally increased with experience level. These findings reflect the accuracies reported by other research for the Suchey-Brooks method and the potential for miscategorising landmarks and features. Overall, this study found that 3D printed proxies were a suitable alternative for studying real bone, but caution is required when assessing subtle features and topography of printed proxies. There also exists a need for standardised protocols when examining 3D printed human remains to ensure consistent decision-making processes and reduced cognitive biases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101353"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466203","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":"Sequential application of Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry after vacuum metal deposition on glass, polyethylene terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride","authors":"Deborah Charlton ,&nbsp;Aaron Dove ,&nbsp;Steve Hinder ,&nbsp;Catia Costa ,&nbsp;Andreas Ruediger ,&nbsp;John F. Watts ,&nbsp;Melanie J. Bailey","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101351","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101351","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In forensic laboratories, a common and versatile process to develop fingerprints is vacuum metal deposition (VMD). In some instances, however, it creates the phenomenon of ‘empty prints’, where the only development on the surface is outside of the fingerprint area, yielding no ridge detail. Previous work has shown that Time of Flight-Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) can enhance fingerprint recovery after ninhydrin, black powder suspension or cyanoacrylate stained with basic yellow 40 (standard processes used by forensic laboratories) on paper, stainless steel and polyethylene surfaces. ToF-SIMS has not yet been compared in sequence with VMD on non-porous surfaces. In particular, it has not been assessed to see if ridge detail can be enhanced following VMD development.</div><div>This study aims to further inform forensic practitioners of when and how to incorporate ToF-SIMS into the fingermark development workflow. The main focus of the study is to assess the suitability of ToF-SIMS to enhance fingerprints deposited on two surfaces commonly problematic for VMD: polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In this work, a fingerprint expert compared the friction ridge detail developed by VMD to the ridge detail after ToF-SIMS enhancement. Fingerprints were deposited on glass, PET and PVC, developed with VMD and then enhanced with ToF-SIMS. This work demonstrates that ToF-SIMS is compatible with VMD in sequential processing. Overall, in &gt;83 % of samples, the ridge detail produced by ToF SIMS was at least equivalent to VMD. Importantly, ToF-SIMS was able to visualise ridge detail on all samples where VMD gave ‘empty prints’ or no visible development, which was on 75 % of all PVC samples. ToF-SIMS also overcame some background interferences (such as ink) that affected optical imaging of fingerprints following VMD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101351"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145466198","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":"Firearm projectile collection techniques: A comparative study on the retention of textile fibers adhered during projectile perforation of denim fabric","authors":"Carlos Antonio Vicentin Junior ,&nbsp;Raíssa Bastos Vieira ,&nbsp;Pércio Almeida Fistarol Filho ,&nbsp;Lehi Sudy dos Santos ,&nbsp;Melina Calmon Silva ,&nbsp;Michele Avila dos Santos ,&nbsp;Carlos Eduardo Palhares Machado","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101338","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101338","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Trace evidence plays a critical role in forensic reconstructions, especially when involving microscopic materials transferred during projectile impacts. This study investigated the adherence of blue jeans fibers to 9 mm caliber projectiles, evaluating six projectile collection methods—PVC tube filled with cotton, PVC tube filled with cotton waste, water tank, ballistic vest plates (Kevlar®), combination of cardboard and ballistic plates, and motorcycle tire combined with ballistic plates—and comparing two ammunition types: hollow-point (HP) and full metal jacket (FMJ). Digital microscopy enabled high-resolution, non-destructive analysis of fiber adherence. HP projectiles retained blue jeans fibers in 94.4 % of cases, significantly more than FMJ projectiles (22.2 %), with a highly significant association. Fiber presence was most frequently observed at the projectile tip and within the HP cavity. Barriers using cotton provided optimal conditions for fiber preservation and minimal visual contamination, whereas water tanks caused fragmentation in HP projectiles and the other materials resulted in considerable deformation and visual contamination, hindering analysis. These findings confirm the superior capacity of HP projectiles to retain microtraces and establish cotton-filled PVC tubes as an effective method for ballistic evidence recovery. Therefore, the use of hollow-point projectiles combined with the cotton-filled PVC tube collection technique is recommended for ballistic tests involving textile microtrace analysis. The study also emphasizes that the absence of visible fibers should not be interpreted as a lack of fabric interaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101338"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145106998","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":"Artificial intelligence-assisted estimation of postmortem intervals in bacterially infected cadavers using pathological imaging across variable temperature conditions","authors":"Xinggong Liang ,&nbsp;Gongji Wang ,&nbsp;Han Wang ,&nbsp;Zhengyang Zhu ,&nbsp;Wanqing Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuqian Li ,&nbsp;Jianliang Luo ,&nbsp;Shuo Wu ,&nbsp;Run Chen ,&nbsp;Mingyan Deng ,&nbsp;Hao Wu ,&nbsp;Chen Shen ,&nbsp;Gengwang Hu ,&nbsp;Kai Zhang ,&nbsp;Qinru Sun ,&nbsp;Zhenyuan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is crucial in forensic investigations but remains challenging due to environmental, individual, and cause-of-death variables. Traditional methods relying on postmortem changes (e.g., livor mortis, rigor mortis) are subjective and limited, especially for late PMI. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and computational pathology, particularly whole-slide imaging (WSI), enable data-driven PMI estimation by analyzing digital pathology images with high precision and reproducibility. Building on previous successes in using AI to estimate PMI in uninfected conditions, this study extends the method to bacterially infected mouse cadavers (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) under varying temperatures (25 °C, 37 °C, and 4 °C). The results demonstrate the model’s robustness in diverse scenarios, achieving micro- and macro-area under the curve values (AUCs) of at least 0.873 (patch-level) and 0.717 (WSI-level) in training and testing sets, and no less than 0.948 (patch-level) in external validation. By leveraging easily prepared pathological sections and AI algorithms, this approach offers a practical, objective, and scalable solution for PMI estimation, enhancing forensic workflows. The integration of computational pathology with forensic science establishes a new technical benchmark for PMI estimation in both infected and uninfected cases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101344"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145362881","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":"BM1: Events Guide","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(25)00148-0","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1355-0306(25)00148-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101364"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623857","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":"Prelim 3: Contents","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/S1355-0306(25)00147-9","DOIUrl":"10.1016/S1355-0306(25)00147-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101363"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623860","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":"Competing explanations in Bayesian networks — The small town murder problem revisited","authors":"Arvid Sjölander ,&nbsp;Gustav Lindkvist","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101337","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101337","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of probability theory and statistical reasoning in legal contexts is controversial, with several well-known thought experiments highlighting perceived paradoxes. One example is the small town murder problem, recently discussed by de Zoete et al., who argued that the perceived paradoxes arise from a failure to properly distinguish between hypotheses and evidence, and can be resolved using Bayesian networks. While we agree with their general conclusions, we contend that their analysis of the small town murder problem overlooks a central issue and underutilizes the full potential of Bayesian modeling. In this note, we propose an alternative analysis of the problem, drawing on well-known results on conditioning on a common effect of two factors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101337"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145221544","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":"PedaLEGOgy – Using LEGO® crime scenes as an inclusive way to ‘build’ student learning, engagement and educational experience in forensic science","authors":"Louise Dawnay ,&nbsp;Helen Tidy ,&nbsp;Katherine Brown ,&nbsp;Lorna Dawson ,&nbsp;Iain Macaulay ,&nbsp;Nick Dawnay","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101347","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101347","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Since Francis Glessner Lee created the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death in the 1940 s, the use of miniature crime scene representations has become an accepted and reliable method of allowing students and practitioners to explore, interact, and learn from representations of crime scenes without risk of contamination. Although Lee’s dioramas are still utilised in teaching and training within the forensic sciences these realistic models are expensive and time consuming to create. This research explores an alternative approach to creating miniature crime scenes through the use of Lego® in a workshop developed primarily for undergraduate students. The workshop was developed to align with the Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences CSI Component Standard Matrix and can be easily altered, augmented and re-set to generate new crime scenes to explore different case contexts. The workshop compared two activities: 1) a 30-minute Lego® model activity, and 2) a 30-minute paper-based (non-Lego®) descriptive activity. Questionnaire data collected from 76 students explored demographics, prior experience of Lego® and their engagement in each of the two activities (Lego® verses descriptive). Both activities included the same prompts to discuss CSI team roles, methods for recovery and documentation of different evidence types, and to highlight which evidence items should be prioritised. Questionnaire responses were captured following each activity for a series of seven-point Likert scale questions. While student responses to both activities were generally positive, significantly higher engagement was demonstrated for all measurements when an explorable Lego® model was used compared with descriptive methods. Students commented that the Lego® model activity was fun, interesting and engaging, and made them feel more prepared for their physical crime scene examination assessment work. It was also noted that the Lego® crime scene was inclusive across cohort, sex and disability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101347"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145416627","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":"Correspondence: Authors response to correspondence by the Association of Forensic Science Providers (AFSP), Body Fluid Forum (BFF)","authors":"Nick Dawnay,&nbsp;Kayleigh Sheppard","doi":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scijus.2025.101318","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":49565,"journal":{"name":"Science & Justice","volume":"65 6","pages":"Article 101318"},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145623854","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}