Forensic science international最新文献

{"title":"Semi-synthetic cannabinoids: Recent developments, analytical challenges and strategic responses","authors":"Rachel Christie,&nbsp;Ross Conlon,&nbsp;Thomas Néfau,&nbsp;Ana Gallegos","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112823","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112823","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>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.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"381 ","pages":"Article 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}

{"title":"Elucidating the mechanism of fulvic acid-mediated PCR inhibition and its mitigation through nanoparticle-assisted amplification","authors":"Kamayani Vajpayee ,&nbsp;Shriyansh Srivastava ,&nbsp;Shivkant Sharma ,&nbsp;Swadha Gupta ,&nbsp;Ashutosh Srivastava ,&nbsp;Vidhi Paida ,&nbsp;Hirak Ranjan Dash ,&nbsp;Anju Pappachan ,&nbsp;Ritesh K. Shukla ,&nbsp;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 &gt; 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 &lt; 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}

{"title":"Enhancement of DNA recovery in rapid DNA technology: A novel pre-extraction protocol","authors":"Shira Dishon ,&nbsp;Ayala Gold ,&nbsp;Liron Sapir,&nbsp;Enia Palit,&nbsp;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}

{"title":"Constructing coherent score-based likelihood ratios that account for rarity","authors":"Danica M. Ommen ,&nbsp;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}

{"title":"Case-specific accuracy in sex estimation from long bones in forensic anthropology: An “accuracy x-factors” approach","authors":"Siam Knecht ,&nbsp;Gabriele Krüger ,&nbsp;Leandi Liebenberg ,&nbsp;Yann Ardagna ,&nbsp;Marie Perrin ,&nbsp;Mustapha Ouladsine ,&nbsp;Christophe Roman ,&nbsp;Pascal Adalian","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112820","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112820","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Sex estimation from human skeletal remains is a cornerstone of forensic anthropological analysis. Long bones, despite exhibiting less pronounced dimorphism than pelvis, serve as invaluable substitutes. However, traditional statistical approaches for sex estimation from long bone measurements often lack the precision and case-specific reliability demanded by stringent legal standards. This study addresses these critical limitations by rigorously exploring the potential of machine learning (ML) to significantly enhance sex estimation from long bones.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We analyzed 16 osteometric measurements from the humerus, radius, femur, and tibia of 2969 individuals (1207 females, 1762 males) across eight skeletal collections. Eleven ML algorithms were trained and cross-validated, then validated on an independent South African sample. To address the common issue of incomplete remains, we developed an “accuracy x-factors” approach. This method simulates missing data scenarios and selects tailored training subsets, yielding individualized reliability assessments adapted to specific measurement availability.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) consistently achieved the highest performance, with accuracies up to 93 %. The “accuracy x-factors” approach proved effective in providing per-individual confidence measures, highlighting that prediction reliability varies with data completeness. Adjusting thresholds to higher confidence levels (e.g., &gt;0.7) substantially reduced error rates, allowing a conservative yet legally robust classification of a smaller but more reliable subset of cases.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>ML offers a powerful framework for sex estimation from long bones. The proposed “accuracy x-factors” approach introduces a significant methodological advance by delivering transparent, case-specific confidence levels. This strengthens both the forensic applicability and the legal admissibility of long bone-based sex estimation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112820"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973432","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}

{"title":"Comparative stability assessment of designer benzodiazepines and methaqualones in dry blood spots and blood using UHPLC-MS/MS: Implications for forensic applications","authors":"Kaja Tusiewicz ,&nbsp;Paweł Szpot ,&nbsp;Marcin Zawadzki","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112821","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112821","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>New psychoactive substances (NPS) pose a significant and ongoing threat to public health. Among the most prevalent on the current drug market are designer benzodiazepines, while new groups, such as methaqualone analogs, continue to emerge to bypass legal restrictions. In this study, 26 NPS compounds from these two groups were analyzed to assess their stability in different storage conditions. Samples were secured either as whole blood (stored at 4 °C and −20 °C) or as dried blood spots (DBS, stored at room temperature and 4 °C). Analyses were performed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. The stability study lasted 365 days, monitoring both the degradation rate of analytes and the possible formation of degradation products. In addition, the influence of chemical structure on analyte stability was evaluated. Results demonstrated that the stability of analytes depended on both storage method and temperature. Several compounds showed superior long-term stability in DBS samples. For example, 3-hydroxyphenazepam was undetectable in whole blood by day four, while still present in DBS. In many cases, short-term stability was also better in DBS than in blood. Furthermore, specific degradation products were identified, such as diazepam from ketazolam and 7-aminoclonazolam from clonazolam. Overall, the findings highlight that the stability of methaqualone analogs and designer benzodiazepines is strongly related to chemical structure. DBS cards frequently provide equal or improved stability compared to whole blood, particularly in short-term analyses. Consequently, securing biological material in both forms is recommended to maximize analytical options in forensic and toxicological investigations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112821"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973164","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}

{"title":"Microscopic characterisation of dental fractures caused by firearm projectiles","authors":"Ángel Rubio Salvador ,&nbsp;Lydia P. Sánchez-Barba Muñoz ,&nbsp;Fernando Navarro Merino ,&nbsp;Jesús M. Úbeda-Portugués ,&nbsp;Aristeidis Strimenopoulos ,&nbsp;Paula Yanke ,&nbsp;Elena Vera-Cruz ,&nbsp;Marina Lozano","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112819","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112819","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The analysis of bone injuries resulting from high-velocity firearm projectile trauma is a complex process, due to the influence of numerous variables on the resultant injury patterns. This complexity is particularly evident in specific skeletal regions, such as the oral cavity and teeth, which have received minimal attention in forensic research. In this study, four fractured teeth from an individual interred in a mass grave dating to the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) in Seville, Spain, were analysed to assess gunshot-related trauma.The teeth were examined using digital 3D microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This analysis enabled the identification of features in the dental tissue indicative of perimortem trauma, including characteristics related to the fracture response of living or hydrated dental tissue. Additionally, variations in damage —such as edges, surfaces, and fracture lines— were observed, depending on the proximity of the teeth to the projectile’s impact point in the oral cavity. Notably, surface damage presenting as pits was identified, with morphologies and patterns potentially linked to the forces generated by the projectile. These findings suggest that such microscopic features may serve as indicators of ballistic trauma, even in the absence of prior microscopic analyses of dental tissues.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112819"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973163","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}

{"title":"Identification of the brands of the inkjet printers used in the altered document identification proficiency test: Combination of chemical analysis with conventional morphological examination","authors":"Xu Hu ,&nbsp;Xiao-guang Jia ,&nbsp;Ling-yun Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiao-xia Zhang ,&nbsp;Hui Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112818","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112818","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The altered document identification proficiency test of the China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS), initiated by the China Academy of Forensic Science in 2022, provided a specially prepared questioned document sample. This challenging case sample rendered conventional morphological examination methods virtually ineffective. As a result, only a low percentage of judicial appraisal institutions received the “satisfactory” rating. This work examined the characteristics of the inkjet printers used in the proficiency test from two independent perspectives, by combining volatile solvent composition analysis of printing inks using GC–MS creatively with conventional morphological examination. This work not only efficiently determined whether there was appended content via a secondary printing pass in the case sample, but also further identified the brands of the inkjet printers used to prepare the sample of the proficiency test. Finally, precautions for identifying the brands of inkjet printers were summarized. We hope this work will underscore the importance of incorporating physical and chemical analytical methods in questioned document examination and draw forensic examiners’ attention to its necessity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112818"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973434","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}

{"title":"A robust synthetic face detector in OSN context based on Gradient of Color features","authors":"Tanusree Ghosh,&nbsp;Ruchira Naskar","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112817","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112817","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Extensive development in Generative Artificial Intelligence and the growth of Online Social Networks have facilitated the creation and sharing of synthetic images like never before. This has led to an overwhelming increase in the dissemination of fake content on OSNs. Maintaining the integrity of OSNs is paramount, and detecting synthetic images plays a crucial role in preserving social balance. Existing solutions, while achieving perfect detection performance on test datasets, often experience significant degradation when applied to OSN images. In our work, we propose a robust fake image detector that relies on features minimally affected by common OSN perturbations. Specifically, our solution leverages gradient features in color channels, including chrominance and luminance channels, accompanied by a residual-based CNN. Our low-parameterized solution is characterized by low complexity, making it particularly resource-efficient and suitable for edge devices.</div><div>Thorough experiments demonstrate that our method achieves 100% accuracy in identifying fake images on our test dataset. We further evaluate the approach on images generated by contemporary generative adversarial networks and diffusion models, where it consistently exhibits strong detection performance. In addition, when applied to images that undergo post-processing operations designed to mimic OSN circulation, the proposed detector maintains high accuracy and robustness. Overall, results indicate that our proposed gradient-based color-channel features, coupled with a low-complexity residual network, provide an effective and OSN-resilient solution for synthetic image detection across both generic and post-processed/compressed scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112817"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973971","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}

{"title":"On the uncertainty associated with using a signal detection theory model to analyze data from forensic black-box studies","authors":"Bruce Budowle ,&nbsp;Max D. Morris ,&nbsp;Todd J. Weller","doi":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112816","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.forsciint.2026.112816","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A parametric signal detection theory model has been used in recent literature to model data collected from black-box studies of forensic examiner accuracy, and to predict how error rates might change if examiners were to be either more or less demanding in their requirements for making IDENTIFICATION or EXCLUSION calls. Such models depend on latent (i.e., unobservable) scores, summaries of which are only partially estimable from the data collected on categorical conclusion scales. As a result, inferences based on signal detection theory models are sensitive to the probability model used, and imprecise due to the limited information available about the latent scores. This paper explains some of these uncertainties, with the aim of demonstrating that they can be substantial in typical forensics applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12341,"journal":{"name":"Forensic science international","volume":"380 ","pages":"Article 112816"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145973161","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}