Pub Date : 2026-01-23DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112833
Sonja Bitzer, John Divoy, Inès Lemans
Measuring the value of forensic science is crucial for helping law enforcement agencies allocate resources more effectively, ultimately enhancing policing outcomes. However, this assessment is neither straightforward nor uniform. Through the results of a systematic literature review of studies examining the contribution of forensic science, this study investigates two key questions. A first challenge lies in defining the specific contributions of forensic science, which are closely tied to the definition of forensic science itself, its utility dimensions, and its roles within the criminal justice process. Secondly, these roles vary across cases and contexts, necessitating the use of diverse evaluation metrics. Quantitative metrics, such as the number of traces collected or analysed, lead times, and case clearance rates, provide measurable outcomes, while qualitative measures, including decision-making factors, reasons for trace analysis, and the informational impact on investigations, capture subtler contributions. The findings reveal that forensic science's perceived value is highly dependent on roles given to or expected by forensic science (operational, strategic or symbolic), impacting factors (personnel, contextual, conceptual and structural) and the metrics and frameworks applied. These results highlight the importance of adopting a holistic and context-sensitive approach to evaluation. By addressing these challenges, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers aiming to optimise the integration of forensic science into the criminal justice process.
{"title":"Systematic review on trace processing and forensic science contributions. Part II: Measuring the contribution of forensic science.","authors":"Sonja Bitzer, John Divoy, Inès Lemans","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112833","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112833","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Measuring the value of forensic science is crucial for helping law enforcement agencies allocate resources more effectively, ultimately enhancing policing outcomes. However, this assessment is neither straightforward nor uniform. Through the results of a systematic literature review of studies examining the contribution of forensic science, this study investigates two key questions. A first challenge lies in defining the specific contributions of forensic science, which are closely tied to the definition of forensic science itself, its utility dimensions, and its roles within the criminal justice process. Secondly, these roles vary across cases and contexts, necessitating the use of diverse evaluation metrics. Quantitative metrics, such as the number of traces collected or analysed, lead times, and case clearance rates, provide measurable outcomes, while qualitative measures, including decision-making factors, reasons for trace analysis, and the informational impact on investigations, capture subtler contributions. The findings reveal that forensic science's perceived value is highly dependent on roles given to or expected by forensic science (operational, strategic or symbolic), impacting factors (personnel, contextual, conceptual and structural) and the metrics and frameworks applied. These results highlight the importance of adopting a holistic and context-sensitive approach to evaluation. By addressing these challenges, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers aiming to optimise the integration of forensic science into the criminal justice process.</p>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"112833"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anterior disc space widening (ADSW), defined in this study as an autopsy-based category of cervical discoligamentous injury, is difficult to diagnose on postmortem computed tomography. The vacuum phenomenon (VP) has been debated as a trauma-related finding, and several studies have suggested that its presence may indicate ADSW. However, VP generation requires a negative-pressure environment and may not occur in structurally disrupted disc spaces.
Methods
We retrospectively evaluated 395 cases that underwent autopsy and postmortem kinetic CT of the cervical spine, including neutral and extension series. VP was defined as intervertebral gas with attenuation values below −100 HU. The prevalence of VP was analyzed in relation to cervical positioning, degeneration, and the presence or absence of ADSW.
Results
The prevalence of VP increased significantly from the neutral to the extended position and was consistently higher in degenerated spines, indicating a posture-dependent, degeneration-related phenomenon. In contrast, no clear positive association with ADSW was observed on neutral imaging, and ADSW showed a tendency toward lower VP prevalence in the extended position and among newly appearing VP after positional change. Bayesian logistic regression analysis demonstrated a high posterior probability that the odds ratio for VP occurrence was less than 1 in the presence of ADSW.
Conclusion
These findings indicate that VP reflects degenerative negative-pressure states rather than traumatic disc separation. Accordingly, VP should not be regarded as a marker of traumatic injury but may serve as supportive evidence against ADSW in forensic practice, particularly when evaluated on postmortem kinetic CT.
{"title":"Intradiscal vacuum phenomenon on postmortem kinetic computed tomography of the cervical spine suggests intact discoligamentous structures","authors":"Shogo Shimbashi , Motoo Yoshimiya , Tomoaki Hagita , Akiko Tashiro , Hideki Hyodoh","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112831","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112831","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Anterior disc space widening (ADSW), defined in this study as an autopsy-based category of cervical discoligamentous injury, is difficult to diagnose on postmortem computed tomography. The vacuum phenomenon (VP) has been debated as a trauma-related finding, and several studies have suggested that its presence may indicate ADSW. However, VP generation requires a negative-pressure environment and may not occur in structurally disrupted disc spaces.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We retrospectively evaluated 395 cases that underwent autopsy and postmortem kinetic CT of the cervical spine, including neutral and extension series. VP was defined as intervertebral gas with attenuation values below −100 HU. The prevalence of VP was analyzed in relation to cervical positioning, degeneration, and the presence or absence of ADSW.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The prevalence of VP increased significantly from the neutral to the extended position and was consistently higher in degenerated spines, indicating a posture-dependent, degeneration-related phenomenon. In contrast, no clear positive association with ADSW was observed on neutral imaging, and ADSW showed a tendency toward lower VP prevalence in the extended position and among newly appearing VP after positional change. Bayesian logistic regression analysis demonstrated a high posterior probability that the odds ratio for VP occurrence was less than 1 in the presence of ADSW.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>These findings indicate that VP reflects degenerative negative-pressure states rather than traumatic disc separation. Accordingly, VP should not be regarded as a marker of traumatic injury but may serve as supportive evidence against ADSW in forensic practice, particularly when evaluated on postmortem kinetic CT.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 112831"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076229","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112828
Johannes Pippidis Lorentzen , Mads Skipanes
We investigate how effectively automatic named entity recognition can recover entities selected by investigators in real criminal cases. Two homicide cases and one synthetic case were processed with five NER models, and extracted entities were matched to investigator labels using a lightweight entity resolution and similarity scoring method. Police trained models aligned best with investigator annotations, while general-purpose models produced larger but less relevant entity sets. Manual validation confirmed that many labels are not text recoverable, establishing a realistic upper bound on NER performance. The results indicate that extraction and investigative relevance are distinct tasks, motivating a two-stage pipeline and future work on relevance modelling and improved resolution.
{"title":"Entity recovery in criminal investigations: Evaluating NER and investigator labels on real case texts","authors":"Johannes Pippidis Lorentzen , Mads Skipanes","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112828","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112828","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We investigate how effectively automatic named entity recognition can recover entities selected by investigators in real criminal cases. Two homicide cases and one synthetic case were processed with five NER models, and extracted entities were matched to investigator labels using a lightweight entity resolution and similarity scoring method. Police trained models aligned best with investigator annotations, while general-purpose models produced larger but less relevant entity sets. Manual validation confirmed that many labels are not text recoverable, establishing a realistic upper bound on NER performance. The results indicate that extraction and investigative relevance are distinct tasks, motivating a two-stage pipeline and future work on relevance modelling and improved resolution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 112828"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112829
Łukasz A. Poniatowski , Agnieszka Siwińska , Albert Acewicz , Magdalena Kwiatkowska , Mieszko Olczak
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) constitutes the principal cause of disability and death globally. Recently, the group of neurotrophic and lysosomal trafficking-related proteins, including prosaposin (PSAP), progranulin (PGRN), sortilin (SORT1), and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), has garnered increasing interest in neuroscience research. The aim of this study was to profile the post-mortem levels of PSAP, PGRN, SORT1 and LRP1, and to determine whether these biomarkers could serve as diagnostic tools for mechanistic stratification in forensic neuropathology and medico-legal investigations. The study involved a total of 40 cases, individuals with head injuries (n = 20) suspected to be the cause of death and control atraumatic cases of sudden death (n = 20) due to cardiopulmonary reasons. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), were collected approximately 24 h post-mortem and analyzed through ELISA testing. Brain specimens were obtained during forensic autopsies and subjected to immunohistochemical staining. We observed the elevated concentration level of PSAP in CSF, and the elevated concentration level of PGRN within serum and CSF. In the frontal cortex, anti-SORT1 and anti-LRP1 immunostaining revealed a general homogenization of the reaction in the study group. The molecular and cellular evidence suggests lysosomal trafficking disruption as central element of fatal TBI. The redistribution of SORT1 and LRP1, together with CSF-specific PSAP elevation and systemic PGRN increase, support a model in which neuronal lysosomal stress, receptor trafficking breakdown, and systemic release of lysosomal proteins are intertwined. The potential use of PSAP, PGRN, SORT1, and LRP1 assays offers an novel tool for research regarding TBI diagnosis and pathogenesis.
{"title":"Lysosomal trafficking markers covering PSAP, PGRN, SORT1 and LRP1 in body liquids and cerebral tissue as auxiliary indicative tool of traumatic brain injury","authors":"Łukasz A. Poniatowski , Agnieszka Siwińska , Albert Acewicz , Magdalena Kwiatkowska , Mieszko Olczak","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112829","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112829","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Traumatic brain injury (TBI) constitutes the principal cause of disability and death globally. Recently, the group of neurotrophic and lysosomal trafficking-related proteins, including prosaposin (PSAP), progranulin (PGRN), sortilin (SORT1), and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), has garnered increasing interest in neuroscience research. The aim of this study was to profile the post-mortem levels of PSAP, PGRN, SORT1 and LRP1, and to determine whether these biomarkers could serve as diagnostic tools for mechanistic stratification in forensic neuropathology and medico-legal investigations. The study involved a total of 40 cases, individuals with head injuries (n = 20) suspected to be the cause of death and control atraumatic cases of sudden death (n = 20) due to cardiopulmonary reasons. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), were collected approximately 24 h post-mortem and analyzed through ELISA testing. Brain specimens were obtained during forensic autopsies and subjected to immunohistochemical staining. We observed the elevated concentration level of PSAP in CSF, and the elevated concentration level of PGRN within serum and CSF. In the frontal cortex, anti-SORT1 and anti-LRP1 immunostaining revealed a general homogenization of the reaction in the study group. The molecular and cellular evidence suggests lysosomal trafficking disruption as central element of fatal TBI. The redistribution of SORT1 and LRP1, together with CSF-specific PSAP elevation and systemic PGRN increase, support a model in which neuronal lysosomal stress, receptor trafficking breakdown, and systemic release of lysosomal proteins are intertwined. The potential use of PSAP, PGRN, SORT1, and LRP1 assays offers an novel tool for research regarding TBI diagnosis and pathogenesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 112829"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146037220","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112830
Geoffrey T. Desmoulin , Szymon Claridad , Marc-André Nolette , Theodore E. Milner
Forensic investigations often require accurate placement of objects or persons in an incident scene in order to establish the most likely scenario of how events transpired. This can be accomplished through ray pinning, a technique in which control points on a model of an object of interest and a 2D image of the incident scene are correlated to optimally match the location of the object in 3D space to its location in the 2D image. Alternatively, a technique referred to as model-based image matching (MBIM) relies on the acuity of an operator's vision to manually manipulate the location of the model until the operator judges that the model of the object is overlaid as accurately as possible on the 2D image of the object, as represented in the 3D space. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of ray pinning to MBIM in positioning an object using 2D images from video frames. A simulated scene, in which a Blueguns rifle had been placed on the ground, was captured in videos taken by three stationary cameras placed in different locations. The position and orientation errors for the rifle placement was calculated for ray pinning and MBIM. Both techniques employed a 3D scan of the scene used to calibrate the cameras. The results of statistical analysis showed that MBIM was significantly more accurate in positioning the rifle than ray pinning, although the two techniques were equally accurate in orienting the rifle.
{"title":"Accuracy of ray pinning compared to model-based image matching for forensic investigations","authors":"Geoffrey T. Desmoulin , Szymon Claridad , Marc-André Nolette , Theodore E. Milner","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112830","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112830","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic investigations often require accurate placement of objects or persons in an incident scene in order to establish the most likely scenario of how events transpired. This can be accomplished through ray pinning, a technique in which control points on a model of an object of interest and a 2D image of the incident scene are correlated to optimally match the location of the object in 3D space to its location in the 2D image. Alternatively, a technique referred to as model-based image matching (MBIM) relies on the acuity of an operator's vision to manually manipulate the location of the model until the operator judges that the model of the object is overlaid as accurately as possible on the 2D image of the object, as represented in the 3D space. The purpose of this study is to compare the accuracy of ray pinning to MBIM in positioning an object using 2D images from video frames. A simulated scene, in which a Blueguns rifle had been placed on the ground, was captured in videos taken by three stationary cameras placed in different locations. The position and orientation errors for the rifle placement was calculated for ray pinning and MBIM. Both techniques employed a 3D scan of the scene used to calibrate the cameras. The results of statistical analysis showed that MBIM was significantly more accurate in positioning the rifle than ray pinning, although the two techniques were equally accurate in orienting the rifle.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 112830"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146076230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-20DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112827
Taru Mäkinen, Heli Maijanen, Oula Seitsonen
The unique climatic conditions of the Nordic region, particularly the freeze-thaw cycle, present both challenges and opportunities for detecting clandestine burials. By understanding seasonal environmental and vegetational indicators, forensic archaeologists can develop more effective methods for locating burial sites to aid in forensic investigations, archaeological surveys, and humanitarian projects. This pilot study investigates the detection of clandestine burials in a Nordic environment, focusing on a case study of a 50-year-old pet cemetery in Finland. While domestic pets are a poor substitute to human bodies, their burials are very similar to clandestine human burials. The burials are usually small and shallow, and the bodies are often bare or wrapped in cloth or plastic. Pet cemeteries are also often less regulated, in remote locations, and have less visitors, allowing for discreet research. The study site was monitored for changes in ground temperature, vegetation and topography during the thawing period 2021–2024. The aim of the study was to determine whether burials show seasonal variation that would make them easier to detect during a specific season. Ground surface temperature surveys revealed significant differences between burials and undisturbed ground during early spring. Vegetation analysis identified early blooming flowers and specific persistent plants growing over graves as potential indicators of past burials. Topographical changes, including mounds and depressions, were more pronounced during the thawing cycle, aiding in the identification of burials. These findings are valuable, for instance, for detecting clandestine and forgotten graves in historical contexts, such as old cemeteries, mental hospitals, prisons and childrens’ homes.
{"title":"Using a pet cemetery as a control study to optimise clandestine burial search in the Nordic region with insights into seasonal variation in vegetation, topography and temperature","authors":"Taru Mäkinen, Heli Maijanen, Oula Seitsonen","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112827","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112827","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The unique climatic conditions of the Nordic region, particularly the freeze-thaw cycle, present both challenges and opportunities for detecting clandestine burials. By understanding seasonal environmental and vegetational indicators, forensic archaeologists can develop more effective methods for locating burial sites to aid in forensic investigations, archaeological surveys, and humanitarian projects. This pilot study investigates the detection of clandestine burials in a Nordic environment, focusing on a case study of a 50-year-old pet cemetery in Finland. While domestic pets are a poor substitute to human bodies, their burials are very similar to clandestine human burials. The burials are usually small and shallow, and the bodies are often bare or wrapped in cloth or plastic. Pet cemeteries are also often less regulated, in remote locations, and have less visitors, allowing for discreet research. The study site was monitored for changes in ground temperature, vegetation and topography during the thawing period 2021–2024. The aim of the study was to determine whether burials show seasonal variation that would make them easier to detect during a specific season. Ground surface temperature surveys revealed significant differences between burials and undisturbed ground during early spring. Vegetation analysis identified early blooming flowers and specific persistent plants growing over graves as potential indicators of past burials. Topographical changes, including mounds and depressions, were more pronounced during the thawing cycle, aiding in the identification of burials. These findings are valuable, for instance, for detecting clandestine and forgotten graves in historical contexts, such as old cemeteries, mental hospitals, prisons and childrens’ homes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 112827"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146006505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112823
Rachel Christie, Ross Conlon, Thomas Néfau, Ana Gallegos
The emergence and proliferation of semi-synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) represents a significant evolution in the European new psychoactive substances (NPS) landscape. SSCs, are substances that mimic the effects of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC or delta-9-THC), the substance primarily responsible for the major psychoactive effects of cannabis. They are marketed as 'legal' replacements to cannabis and delta-9 THC and can be produced from cannabidiol (CBD) extracted from low-THC cannabis (hemp). Since the first detection of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) in Europe in late 2022, the SSC market has rapidly expanded, with over 30 compounds now under monitoring by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA). These substances exhibit targeted chemical modifications to the structure of delta-9-THC, aimed at increasing potency, altering pharmacokinetics, or circumventing legislation. However, little is known about their pharmacological and toxicological profiles, metabolic pathways, or long-term health effects. SSCs are widely available in various consumer-friendly forms, including vapes, edibles, and herbal products. They are frequently mislabelled, can often contain undeclared substances or contaminants, and are marketed in ways that can appeal to younger or inexperienced users. These factors, combined with their unpredictable potency, have contributed to an increase in acute poisonings reported by several EU countries. Analytically, SSCs pose major challenges. The rapid pace of market innovation, issues with accessibility and affordability of certified reference materials, and the presence of isomeric compounds, for example, complicate detection and identification. Consumer product matrices-ranging from vape liquids to edibles-introduce additional variability and analytical interference. Forensic and toxicological laboratories involved in SSC analysis must navigate a challenging landscape, characterised by uncertainty and rapidly changing targets. To address these challenges and to ensure laboratories are best equipped to respond to emerging threats, such as SSCs, coordinated and collaborative efforts are needed. The sharing of information, best practices and analytical data, combined with investment in research, test-purchasing projects and pharmacological and toxicological studies are some key strategic responses. The EUDA coordinates some of these efforts and has implemented several strategic initiatives. These include the EU Early Warning System (EWS), the establishment of a dedicated Network of forensic and toxicological laboratories, and the development of the EUDA-JRC GC-MS library containing reference spectra for newly identified substances. Technical meetings and collaborative efforts have identified key priorities such as inter-laboratory harmonisation, increased data sharing, and targeted research into metabolism and toxicity.
{"title":"Semi-synthetic cannabinoids: Recent developments, analytical challenges and strategic responses.","authors":"Rachel Christie, Ross Conlon, Thomas Néfau, Ana Gallegos","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112823","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112823","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence and proliferation of semi-synthetic cannabinoids (SSCs) represents a significant evolution in the European new psychoactive substances (NPS) landscape. SSCs, are substances that mimic the effects of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC or delta-9-THC), the substance primarily responsible for the major psychoactive effects of cannabis. They are marketed as 'legal' replacements to cannabis and delta-9 THC and can be produced from cannabidiol (CBD) extracted from low-THC cannabis (hemp). Since the first detection of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) in Europe in late 2022, the SSC market has rapidly expanded, with over 30 compounds now under monitoring by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA). These substances exhibit targeted chemical modifications to the structure of delta-9-THC, aimed at increasing potency, altering pharmacokinetics, or circumventing legislation. However, little is known about their pharmacological and toxicological profiles, metabolic pathways, or long-term health effects. SSCs are widely available in various consumer-friendly forms, including vapes, edibles, and herbal products. They are frequently mislabelled, can often contain undeclared substances or contaminants, and are marketed in ways that can appeal to younger or inexperienced users. These factors, combined with their unpredictable potency, have contributed to an increase in acute poisonings reported by several EU countries. Analytically, SSCs pose major challenges. The rapid pace of market innovation, issues with accessibility and affordability of certified reference materials, and the presence of isomeric compounds, for example, complicate detection and identification. Consumer product matrices-ranging from vape liquids to edibles-introduce additional variability and analytical interference. Forensic and toxicological laboratories involved in SSC analysis must navigate a challenging landscape, characterised by uncertainty and rapidly changing targets. To address these challenges and to ensure laboratories are best equipped to respond to emerging threats, such as SSCs, coordinated and collaborative efforts are needed. The sharing of information, best practices and analytical data, combined with investment in research, test-purchasing projects and pharmacological and toxicological studies are some key strategic responses. The EUDA coordinates some of these efforts and has implemented several strategic initiatives. These include the EU Early Warning System (EWS), the establishment of a dedicated Network of forensic and toxicological laboratories, and the development of the EUDA-JRC GC-MS library containing reference spectra for newly identified substances. Technical meetings and collaborative efforts have identified key priorities such as inter-laboratory harmonisation, increased data sharing, and targeted research into metabolism and toxicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"112823"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146118428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fulvic acid is a common humic contaminant found in soil-matrix forensic samples and is a highly effective PCR inhibitor. This work uses computational analysis to investigate its molecular interaction with Taq DNA polymerase and evaluate nanoparticle-based facilitation strategies. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations proposed selective binding of fulvic acid with catalytic residues (ARG587, ASP610, PHE667, TYR671, ASP785, GLU786), affecting DNA binding, active-site geometry, and Mg²⁺ coordination. Tryptophan quenching assays confirmed a low-affinity (∼251.6 ± 2.2 µM), reversible interaction. Functionally, fulvic acid reduced the peak height by > 80 % within the DNA profile and affected critical loci-D18S51, Penta D, D22S1045, FGA, CSF1PO, and D21S11. Nano-based facilitators-bare and BSA-coated AuNPs-were compared with the commonly employed BSA; the latter showed a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) 25 % TPH improvement compared to the inhibited level but did not affect allelic balance. These findings establish the inhibitory mode for fulvic acid and confirm the effectiveness of BSA-coated AuNPs as a scalable solution to restore PCR efficiency to environmentally compromised forensic DNA samples over highly concentrated application of BSA as a facilitator.
{"title":"Elucidating the mechanism of fulvic acid-mediated PCR inhibition and its mitigation through nanoparticle-assisted amplification","authors":"Kamayani Vajpayee , Shriyansh Srivastava , Shivkant Sharma , Swadha Gupta , Ashutosh Srivastava , Vidhi Paida , Hirak Ranjan Dash , Anju Pappachan , Ritesh K. Shukla , Souvik Sengupta","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112825","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112825","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fulvic acid is a common humic contaminant found in soil-matrix forensic samples and is a highly effective PCR inhibitor. This work uses computational analysis to investigate its molecular interaction with Taq DNA polymerase and evaluate nanoparticle-based facilitation strategies. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations proposed selective binding of fulvic acid with catalytic residues (ARG587, ASP610, PHE667, TYR671, ASP785, GLU786), affecting DNA binding, active-site geometry, and Mg²⁺ coordination. Tryptophan quenching assays confirmed a low-affinity (∼251.6 ± 2.2 µM), reversible interaction. Functionally, fulvic acid reduced the peak height by > 80 % within the DNA profile and affected critical loci-D18S51, Penta D, D22S1045, FGA, CSF1PO, and D21S11. Nano-based facilitators-bare and BSA-coated AuNPs-were compared with the commonly employed BSA; the latter showed a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) 25 % TPH improvement compared to the inhibited level but did not affect allelic balance. These findings establish the inhibitory mode for fulvic acid and confirm the effectiveness of BSA-coated AuNPs as a scalable solution to restore PCR efficiency to environmentally compromised forensic DNA samples over highly concentrated application of BSA as a facilitator.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112825"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Forensic laboratories aim to shorten the time needed to produce a DNA profile without compromising its quality. During the past decade, Rapid DNA technologies emerged, introducing fast generation of DNA profiles. Despite remarkable progress in rapidly processing high-DNA-content specimens within 90 min, current methods still face challenges. These limitations affect the efficiency of DNA extraction and the quality of the resulting profiles, depending on the item types processed. We present an optimized pre-extraction protocol that introduces a 12-minute preparatory phase of thermal agitation to enhance low-template DNA recovery, using the latest RapidHit™ cartridges IntelPlus (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Incorporating thermal agitation significantly improved profile quality in diverse forensic items. Pre-extracted profiles had more alleles called, higher allele peak heights and a finer balance of peak height ratios (PHR). Additionally, the pre-extracted samples were less degraded, and DNA yield was higher according to internal quantity control markers.
{"title":"Enhancement of DNA recovery in rapid DNA technology: A novel pre-extraction protocol","authors":"Shira Dishon , Ayala Gold , Liron Sapir, Enia Palit, Merav Amiel","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112826","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112826","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Forensic laboratories aim to shorten the time needed to produce a DNA profile without compromising its quality. During the past decade, Rapid DNA technologies emerged, introducing fast generation of DNA profiles. Despite remarkable progress in rapidly processing high-DNA-content specimens within 90 min, current methods still face challenges. These limitations affect the efficiency of DNA extraction and the quality of the resulting profiles, depending on the item types processed. We present an optimized pre-extraction protocol that introduces a 12-minute preparatory phase of thermal agitation to enhance low-template DNA recovery, using the latest RapidHit™ cartridges IntelPlus (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Incorporating thermal agitation significantly improved profile quality in diverse forensic items. Pre-extracted profiles had more alleles called, higher allele peak heights and a finer balance of peak height ratios (PHR). Additionally, the pre-extracted samples were less degraded, and DNA yield was higher according to internal quantity control markers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112826"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-13DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112824
Danica M. Ommen , Nathaniel Garton
Score-based likelihood ratios (SLRs) are the most practical alternative to feature-based likelihood ratios for the evaluation of complex forensic evidence. The construction of effective general score functions, however, has received little attention. Many scores are measures of dissimilarity between two pieces of evidence. However, it is not always obvious which two pieces of evidence should be compared. This leads to applications of SLRs that suffer from incoherence, e.g. when you change the order in which the propositions are considered and the resulting SLR value is different from what is expected. We argue that this problem with SLRs should not be characterized as incoherence, but rather the comparison of two SLRs based on different score functions. Another common criticism of SLR approaches is that they do not account for the rarity of the features in a relevant background population. Towards this end, we build scores by aggregating many dissimilarity metrics and discuss potential relationships to rarity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the resulting SLRs are both coherent and superior to standard scores via simulations.
{"title":"Constructing coherent score-based likelihood ratios that account for rarity","authors":"Danica M. Ommen , Nathaniel Garton","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112824","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112824","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Score-based likelihood ratios (SLRs) are the most practical alternative to feature-based likelihood ratios for the evaluation of complex forensic evidence. The construction of effective general score functions, however, has received little attention. Many scores are measures of dissimilarity between two pieces of evidence. However, it is not always obvious which two pieces of evidence should be compared. This leads to applications of SLRs that suffer from incoherence, e.g. when you change the order in which the propositions are considered and the resulting SLR value is different from what is expected. We argue that this problem with SLRs should not be characterized as incoherence, but rather the comparison of two SLRs based on different score functions. Another common criticism of SLR approaches is that they do not account for the rarity of the features in a relevant background population. Towards this end, we build scores by aggregating many dissimilarity metrics and discuss potential relationships to rarity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the resulting SLRs are both coherent and superior to standard scores via simulations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112824"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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