Journal of forensic sciences最新文献

Gutierrez RE, Prokesch EJ. The false promise of firearms examination validation studies: Lay controls, simplistic comparisons, and the failure to soundly measure misidentification rates. J Forensic Sci. 2024;69(4):1334–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.15531

The list of affiliations listed for RE Gutierrez has been modified; in that, the Academy Standards Board, Firearms and Toolmarks Consensus Body, has been removed. This comunication also corrects two inadvertent typographical errors from the publication. First, Reference 53 included a misspelling of Dr. Ryan Lilien’s name (“Lillien” as opposed to the correct “Lilien”). Second, Table 2 provided an incorrect value for the inconclusive rate on different source comparisons for the “Duez examiners” group (15% as opposed to the correct 13%). That typographical error did not, however, carry over into other figures and calculations (e.g. confidence intervals) provided throughout the remainder of the piece.

We apologize for these errors.

EXPRESSION OF CONCERN: J. Louhelainen, and D. Miller, “Forensic Investigation of a Shawl Linked to the “Jack the Ripper” Murders.” Journal of Forensic Sciences 65 no. 1 (2020): 295–303, https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.14038.

This Expression of Concern is for the above article, published online on 12 March 2019 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), and has been published by agreement between the journal Editor-in-Chief, Michael Peat; and the Publisher, Wiley Periodicals LLC, on behalf of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Following an investigation by the publisher, the Expression of Concern has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties after publication regarding the conclusions drawn from the mtDNA analysis performed by the authors. Related concerns were also summarized in two Letters to the Editor [1, 2] published by the journal, to which the authors responded with their own Letters to the Editor [3, 4]. During the investigation, the publisher and Editor-in-Chief made every effort to obtain from the authors the original raw data from the mtDNA analysis. However, the authors stated that the data were no longer available, due to instrument data failure and other complications. Through further investigation it was concluded that, because it was not possible to examine the original data, no determination could be made regarding the third-party complaints. The journal is issuing this Expression of Concern because the concerns regarding the data and the results presented cannot be resolved. The authors have been informed about this Expression of Concern and agree to its publication.

In mass disaster events, forensic DNA laboratories may be called upon to quickly pivot their operations toward identifying bodies and reuniting remains with family members. Ideally, laboratories have considered this possibility in advance and have a plan in place. Compared with traditional short tandem repeat (STR) typing, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may be better suited to these disaster victim identification (DVI) scenarios due to their small genomic target size, resulting in an improved success rate in degraded DNA samples. As the landscape of technology has shifted toward DNA sequencing, many forensic laboratories now have benchtop instruments available for massively parallel sequencing (MPS), facilitating this operational pivot from routine forensic STR casework to DVI SNP typing. Herein, we present the commercially available SNP sequencing assays amenable to DVI, we use data simulations to explore the potential for kinship prediction from SNP panels of varying sizes, and we give an example DVI scenario as context for presenting the matrix of considerations: kinship predictive potential, cost, and throughput of current SNP assay options. This information is intended to assist laboratories in choosing a SNP system for disaster preparedness.

The collection, storage, and transport of samples prior to and during analysis is of utmost importance, especially for highly potent analogs that may not be present in high concentrations and are susceptible to pH or thermally mediated degradation. An accelerated stability study was performed on 17 fentanyl analogs (fentalogs) over a wide range of pH (2–10) and temperature (20–60°C) conditions over 24 h. Dilute aqueous systems were used to investigate temperature and pH-dependent kinetics using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Liquid chromatography-quadrupole/time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-Q/TOF–MS) was used for structural elucidation of degradants. With the exception of remifentanil, all fentalogs evaluated were stable at pH 6 or lower. Fentalogs were generally unstable in strongly alkaline environments and at elevated temperatures. Remifentanil was the least stable drug and N-dealkylated fentalogs were the most stable. Fentanyl degraded to acetylfentanyl, norfentanyl, fentanyl N-oxide, and 1-phenethylpyridinium salt (1-PEP). A total of 26 unique breakdown products were observed for 15 of the fentanyl derivatives studied. Common degradation pathways involved N-dealkylation, oxidation of the piperidine nitrogen, and β-elimination of N-phenylpropanamide followed by oxidation/dehydration of the piperidine ring. Ester and amide hydrolysis, demethylation at the propanamide, and O-demethylation were observed for selected fentalogs only. The potential for analyte loss should be considered during the pre-analytical phase (i.e., shipping and transport) where environmental conditions may not be controlled, as well as during the analysis itself.

Cannabis is one of the most consumed illicit drugs and the potency of cannabis products is of note due to health-related concerns. Hand-rubbed hashish is the ancient technique of extracting psychoactive resin from cannabis plants and is practiced in the Indian Himalayas. This study establishes the cannabinoid profile and potency of hand-rubbed hashish collected from 20 regions of the northwest Himalayas. Fifty-eight hashish samples were analyzed using a validated high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method. Ten cannabinoids were quantified including acidic (THCA & CBDA), and neutral compounds (CBDV, THCV, CBD, CBG, CBN, Δ⁹-THC, Δ⁸-THC, and CBC). The mean concentration (w/w%) of Δ⁹-THC is 26%; THCA is 15% and THC_Total is 40% is observed in the studied hashish samples. The majority (70%) of the hashish samples were categorized in chemotype I with the THC:CBD:CBN ratio of 91:3:4, and the remaining 30% were categorized under chemotype II with the ratio of 76:15:8. Diverse qualities of hashish are produced in the studied regions as per the seed, plant selection, and skills of manual rubbing, which results in potency variations. The average difference between the least and highest potent hand-rubbed hashish of a region is 27 w/w% (THC_Total). The other studied non-psychoactive cannabinoids have a mean w/w% of <5%, followed by 6% of CBDA. It is concluded that the cultivated and wild cannabis fields in the northwest Himalayas belong to the drug-type cannabis subspecies. Hand-rubbed hashish holds traditional significance and impacts the current policies of legislation.