Forensic scientist’s blog

Detailed Explanations of Forensic Medicine from "Review Of Forensic Medicine" 3rd Edition, Paper courtesy DAMS Delhi Academy of Medical Sciences 1. The age of a 15-year old female is best determined by the radio-graph of : a. Lower end of Radius and Ulna b. Upper end of Humerus c. Upper end of Radius and Ulna d. Xiphisternum Explanation: Joints Approximate age of fusion

Nous sommes en 2020, je prépare mon dossier de renouvellement pour rester inscrit sur la liste des experts judiciaires. Le temps a passé depuis l'année 1999 où j'ai été désigné pour la première fois, à 35 ans, pour mener à bien une expertise judiciaire. Le temps a passé. La Justice s'est modernisée, comme tout le monde d'ailleurs, mais parfois dans la douleur. J'ai été contacté ce matin sur mon

Authors: Huang H, Yan Y, Zuo Z, Yang L, Li B, Song Y, Liao L Although the change in adenosine phosphate levels in muscles may contribute to the development of rigor mortis, the relationship between their levels and the onset and development of rigor mortis has not been well elucidated. In the current study, levels of the adenosine phosphates including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in gastrocnemius at various postmortem intervals of 180 rats from different death modes were detected by high performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the levels of ATP and ADP significantly decreased along with the postmortem period of rats from different death mode whereas the AMP level remained the same. In addition, it was fo...

This article integrates work in the areas of 3D graphics, computer vision, motion tracking, natural language processing, and forensic computing, to investigate the state-of-the-art in forensic visualization. It identifies and reviews areas where new applications of 3D digital technologies and artificial intelligence could be used to enhance particular phases of forensic visualization to create 3D models and animations automatically and quickly. Having discussed the relationships between major crime types and level-of-detail in corresponding forensic animations, we recognized that high level-of-detail animation involving human characters, which is appropriate for many major crime types but has had limited use in courtrooms, could be useful for crime investigation. PMID: 20533989 [PubMed...

Authors: Bird C, Found B, Rogers D Disguised handwriting is problematic for forensic document examiners (FDEs) and attracts higher misleading and inconclusive rates on authorship opinions than does genuine writing (Found B, Rogers D, International Graphonomics Society, 2005). There are currently no published empirical data on FDEs' expertise in distinguishing between natural and disguised writing behavior. This paper reports on the skill of FDEs for determining the writing process of 140 pairs of natural and disguised writings and compares their results with those of a control group of laypeople. A significant difference was found between the examiner and lay group. FDEs' expertise is characterized by their conservatism, where FDEs express a higher proportion of inconclusive opinions (...

Authors: Antia U, Tingle MD, Russell BR An LC-MS method was developed for benzylpiperazine (BZP) and trifluoromethylphenylpiperazine (TFMPP), constituents of "party pills" or "legal herbal highs," and their metabolites in human blood plasma. Compounds were resolved using a mixture of ammonium formate (pH 4.5, 0.01 M) and acetonitrile (flow rate of 1.0 mL/min) with a C18 column. Calibration curves were linear from 1 to 50 ng/mL (R(2) > 0.99); the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5 ng/mL; the accuracy was >90%; the intra- and interday relative standard deviations (R.S.D) were <5% and <10%, respectively. Human plasma concentrations of TFMPP were measured in blood samples taken from healthy adults (n = 6) over 24 h following a 60-mg oral dose of TFMPP: these peaked at 2...

Authors: Lenz EJ, Foran DR Forensic identification of soil based on microbial DNA fingerprinting has met with mixed success, with research efforts rarely considering temporal variability or local heterogeneity in soil's microbial makeup. In the research presented, the nitrogen fixing bacteria rhizobia were specifically examined. Soils were collected monthly from five habitats for 1 year, and quarterly in each cardinal direction from the main collection site. When all habitats were compared simultaneously using Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis of the rhizobial recA gene and multidimensional scaling, only two were differentiated over a year's time, however pairwise comparisons allowed four of five soils to be effectively differentiated. Adding in 10-foot distant...

Authors: Iwase H, Yajima D, Hayakawa M, Yamamoto S, Motani H, Sakuma A, Kasahara S, Ito H The Japanese method of inquest, which depends mostly on external examinations, may misdiagnose a considerable number of accidental deaths and suicides as death by disease. We conducted computed tomography (CT) scans of 80 cases for which police concluded death by disease or natural causes based on police investigations into the circumstances and results from external examinations. The cause of death was clearly determined by CT scan in 17 of 80 cases. Ten cases underwent autopsy after the police suspected criminality based on results of the CT examinations. The results suggest CT scan may be a tool for preventing a number of overlooked crimes and accidents in Japan. However, it cannot be a perfect...

We report a case in which a bloodstained syringe and two needles were found during inspection of a barn by inspectors of the Pennsylvania Racing Commissions. Using the multiplex and single-locus detection, all 21 equine DTR markers were detected in a suspect horse and two evidence samples, indicating the evidence samples came from the suspect animal. Only six markers were detected in the third evidence sample because the volume of blood was limited. Following whole-genome amplification and single-locus PCR, the third evidence sample detected a total of 17 markers and the likelihood of identity (probability from suspect horse/probability from a random pacer) was 7.0 x 10(6). The DTR multiplex has some technical limitations, but it is already practical for casework. PMID: 20533984 [PubMe...

Authors: Smart JL The purpose of this study was to return to fundamental principles of heat transfer and derive a suitable model to establish a firm basis for constructing a postmortem human cooling curve. A Fourier Series Model was successfully applied to unsteady heat transfer within a wooden cylinder in controlled laboratory conditions. Wood has similar thermal diffusivity properties as human tissue. By manipulation of the model, sensitivity analyses were performed to observe the impact of changes in values of input variables. Variables of initial temperature of the cylinder and ambient surrounding temperature were shown to be very sensitive and have the most impact upon predictive results of the model. The model was also used to demonstrate the existence of an initial temperature p...