Forensic Science Review最新文献

Experimental, epidemiological, and real-case studies have different advantages and limitations when used to study the effect of substance use on the risk for involvement in a road traffic crash. It is easier to perform well-controlled experimental studies than well-controlled epidemiological studies due to difficulties related to selection bias, information bias, and confounding. On the other hand, it is difficult or impossible to perform experimental studies using single and repeated substance doses similar to those used by drivers and problematic drugs users. Real-case studies indicate which substances may cause observed impairment and involvement in road traffic crashes and at which concentrations; however, those studies cannot be used to quantify crash risks or determine causality. All three types of studies are needed to obtain a broad and complete picture as they may complement each other when assessing the effects of substance use on road traffic safety.

Important events in the history of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and/or other drugs (DUID) are reviewed covering a period of approximately 100 years. This coincides with major developments in the pharmaceutical industry and the exponential growth in motor transportation worldwide. DUID constitutes an interaction between the driver, the motor-driven vehicle, and one or more psychoactive (mind-altering) substances. In this connection, it is important to differentiate between drugs intended and used for medical purposes (prescription or licit drugs) and recreational drugs of abuse (illicit drugs). All chemicals with a mechanism of action in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) are potentially dangerous to use when skilled tasks, such as driving, are performed. The evidence necessary to charge a person with drug-impaired driving has evolved over many years and initially rested on a driver's own admissions and observations made about the driving by police officers or eyewitnesses. Somewhat later, all suspects were examined by a physician, whose task was to ask questions about any recent ingestion of alcohol and/or other drugs and to administer various clinical tests of impairment. By the 1940s-1950s, the driver was asked to provide samples of blood, breath, or urine for toxicological analysis, although the test results served only to verify the type of drug causing impairment of the driver. The current trend in DUID legislation is toward zero-tolerance or concentration per se statutes, which are much more pragmatic, because behavioral evidence of impairment is no longer a lynchpin in the prosecution case. This legal framework puts considerable emphasis on the results of toxicological analysis; therefore, the methods used must be accurate, precise, and fit for forensic purposes. Many traffic delinquents charged with DUI or DUID suffer from a substance use and/or personality disorder, with high recidivism rates. In addition to conventional penalties and sanctions for drug-related traffic crimes, many offenders would probably benefit from a medical intervention, such as counseling, rehabilitation, and treatment for substance use disorder, which often coexists with a mental health problem.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the symptomatology in three Conium maculatum intoxication incidents, one of which was fatal. A number of studies were reviewed in order to update and summarize the relevant literature on the incidence, sociodemographic variables, method of poisoning, pathophysiology, diagnosis, variables associated with survival and fatality, management, and treatment of C. maculatum intoxication as well as the biosynthesis and biological effects of poison hemlock alkaloids. Results show that hemlock poisoning is relatively rare, although incidence varies in different regions, despite its worldwide distribution. Hemlock poisoning is more common in European and especially Mediterranean countries. The majority of the patients are adult males over 38 years of age. The clinical course of hemlock poisoning includes neurotoxicosis, tremor, vomiting, muscle paralysis, respiratory paralysis/failure, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure. The therapeutic management focuses on absorption reduction, close observation for complications, and supportive therapy (especially for respiration). Acute occurrence is severe and life-threatening, but the survival rate is high if treatment is provided promptly. Recovery is rapid, generally taking only a few days.

Cyanide (CN) is one of the most toxic of all substances and can be found in various natural and anthropogenic sources. Sensitive and effective methods for the confirmation of CN exposure are crucial in medical, military, and forensic settings. Due to its high volatility and reactivity, direct detection of CN from postmortem samples could raise inconclusive interpretation issues that may hinder accurate determination of the cause of death. The detection of the alternative CN metabolites as markers to test CN exposure may offer a solution to reduce the potential for false-negative and false-positive results. 2-Aminothiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA) is a minor metabolite of CN and has been proposed to be a potential alternative forensic marker for the confirmation of CN exposure. According to the current state of knowledge, ATCA has not yet been associated with other metabolic pathways except for CN detoxification. Moreover, ATCA is stable under various conditions over time. This article reviews analytical methods developed for the analysis of ATCA as well as studies related to potential use of ATCA as a marker for the diagnosis of CN exposure. The need for research related to the use of ATCA as a reliable forensic marker for CN exposure in medicolegal death investigations is also discussed.

As a forensic science, fire investigation involves a wide variety of disciplines and thus attracts an equally wide variety of practitioners. These range from fire protection engineers who may only occasionally engage in forensic work to law enforcement officers, laboratory chemists, metallurgists, and materials engineers. This breadth of practice has resulted in a checkered history, which only relatively recently has given science a full-throated embrace. Because of the stakes involved, fires provide a rich source of material for litigation, both civil and criminal. This conceptual review provides a brief history from the standpoint of a practitioner who has witnessed and sometimes precipitated the changes that have taken place since 1974. Highlights include the debunking of many misconceptions about fire behavior and a general (though not always uninterrupted) movement toward making fire investigation more scientifically accurate through the development of best practices.

There have been several significant advances in Raman spectroscopy instrument technology during the past few decades, including the introduction of several new laser sources, the development of holographic gratings, efficient Rayleigh line rejection filters, and CCD array detectors, and the advent of FT-Raman spectrometers. In view of these developments, Raman spectroscopy is now a fully mature analytical technique on par with its counterpart, infrared spectroscopy. The latter technique experienced a quantum leap in use in the forensic science laboratory following the introduction of inexpensive FT-IR spectrometers in the 1980s, but forensic scientists have been slower to embrace Raman spectroscopy. This may stem in part from the perception that fluorescence prevents its use for many samples. However, a more significant factor may be insufficient understanding of the unique capabilities of Raman spectroscopy, including how it can provide information not accessible using other methods. This promising technique is finally making some inroads into the forensic science laboratory, and this will continue as forensic scientists gain a greater appreciation of its features and merits. To facilitate this process, this article presents a comprehensive review of Raman spectroscopy, with an emphasis on how and why this underutilized cousin to infrared spectroscopy can be a very valuable tool for the analysis of a wide variety of evidentiary materials. Owing to the wide scope of this review, it is presented in two parts. Most forensic scientists are not very familiar with inelastic scattering and Part I of this article describes the principles and instrumentation of Raman spectroscopy. Forensic scientists, however, are generally more knowledgeable about infrared spectroscopy, and a comparison of the spectral data produced by these two related vibrational methods for various categories of analytes is also presented and discussed.

There have been several significant advances in Raman spectroscopy instrumentation during the past few decades, and this method is now a fully mature analytical technique on par with its counterpart, infrared spectroscopy. The latter method experienced a quantum leap in use in the forensic science laboratory following the introduction of inexpensive FT-IR spectrometers in the 1980s, but forensic scientists have been slower to embrace Raman spectroscopy. However, this promising technique is finally making some inroads into the forensic science laboratory, and to facilitate this process, this article presents a comprehensive review of Raman spectroscopy; it emphasizes how and why this underutilized method can be a very valuable tool for the analysis of a wide variety of evidentiary materials. Part I of this article described the principles of Raman spectroscopy, including theory, instrumentation, and a comparison of spectral data obtained using infrared and Raman methods for various analytes. Part II discusses how different analytical conditions can affect Raman spectra, and what bearing this and other factors may have on spectral interpretation; it also presents a review of the literature describing applications of Raman spectroscopy for the examination of various types of evidence.

Cannabinoids including, but not limited to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, 11-hydroxytetrahydrocannabinol, and (-)-11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid are known to toxicologists and synthetic chemists as difficult compounds because they are subject to numerous degradative pathways. It is the purpose of this short review article to discuss common pathways that result in the disappearance of cannabinoids - such as conjugate formation, adsorption to surfaces, chemical reactions, microbial action, thermal decomposition, chemical bonding, photosensitivity, sample handling, analytical methodology, and micelle trapping - and to point out possible ways to avoid such degradation.

The accuracy of textile damage analyses was evaluated by laboratory tests carried out by trained experts. The analyzed damages were prepared by various methods, including stabbing, cutting, shooting, heating/burning, etc. A number of damages were aged by household washing and tumble-drying procedures, addition of blood, or burying. The samples were analyzed by routine laboratory evaluation. The results indicate that the properties of a damage provide a good indication of the way a textile had been damaged. Nevertheless, scoring of the answers is not straightforward. Results indicated that examiners evaluated damages on different levels of specificity and thereby showed the latent need for a more systematic approach to damage classification. The second part of the current contribution therefore presents the classification scheme we developed. This classification scheme aims to guide examiners during examination and accommodates the vast majority of textile damages observed in forensic casework. Each of the proposed classes is defined, relevant literature in each of the classes is reviewed, and the characteristics that can be expected after different damaging actions are explained. Finally, we share some ideas for further investigations.