Forensic Sciences Research最新文献

Adult sex estimation is one of the first and most important steps in forensic examination. While dealing with disturbed burials, the most dimorphic anatomic areas of the skeleton (such as the coxae, the skull and the head of femur and humerus) may be deteriorated or fragmented. In contrast, the minimum supero-inferior femoral neck diameter (SID) is generally much better preserved. The aim of the present research is to identify the discriminatory potential of SID for sex estimation and to test different formulae and mathematical procedures currently available in the forensic literature, on a sample of 295 contemporary individuals from the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection (University of Coimbra, Portugal), in order to identify its relevance for application in Portuguese forensic cases. Results showed that SID is a dimorphic variable, with high frequencies and probabilities of cases correctly estimated (0.82 and 0.83, respectively); statistically significant differences between females and males, and a high association between the metrics and sex, were identified. Posterior probabilities allow reliable estimations for all the measurements, excepting those between 31.0 and 31.5 mm, and the procedures that show the highest accuracy are those proposed by Seidemann et al. (1998), Curate et al. (2016), and Luna et al.(2021). Adult sex estimation from in a contemporary osteological sample from Buenos Aires, Argentina, with frequencies and probabilities between 0.82 and 0.83 for both sexes. The validation procedures implemented in this study highlight both the need to test quantitative models generated from diverse contemporary human populations, and the value of SID for obtaining reliable adult sex estimates, as they improve the quality of the biological profiles obtained in forensic contexts.

Forensic entomology complements medicolegal investigations by studying insects at the crime scene. In Colombia, studies that characterized the succession of cadaver entomofauna have been published. However, in Tunja (Boyacá), the information related to evaluating the decomposition process and the fauna associated with cadavers is incipient. Therefore, this study aimed to describe that process under the environmental conditions of the municipality. Four pig cadavers were used to monitor decomposition and collect the visiting species. We conducted a descriptive statistical analysis with diversity indexes and a canonical correspondence analysis to evaluate the possible relations among decomposition stages, the species, and environmental variables. The observed decomposition process was atypical, presenting a prolonged duration of the early cadaveric phenomena and a low number of arthropods attracted to the cadavers. In total, we collected 1 249 arthropods. The Diptera and Coleoptera orders were the most abundant, representing 55.7% and 33.7%, respectively. The Calliphoridae family represented 64.7% of the Diptera fauna succession, with Calliphora vicina and Chrysomya albiceps as the most abundant species and the first colonizers under the conditions of the study zone. The results provide information about the entomofauna associated with decomposing bodies in the municipality of Tunja. Due to the environmental conditions of the study zone, we could demonstrate that factors like rainfall and temperature could delay colonization and the onset times of cadaveric phenomena.

If there is a category of war victims for whom the identification process has been and still remains an extremely challenging issue, it is the soldiers of World War One. There are various reasons for this, including unreliable identity tags, the unprecedented number of casualties, and the level of destruction caused by the massive use of "new" weapons. In Italy, this phenomenon was so severe and well-known that a monument was erected in Rome specifically in memory of those unknown soldiers ("Tomba del Milite Ignoto"). However, modern techniques in forensic archaeology and anthropology can facilitate identification even in this extreme context. In the casework described here, the presence of human remains was reported to the judicial authorities, which were subsequently located and excavated in a remote region of the Italian Alps using a range of techniques, including drone imagery, GPR, and micromorphological surveying. During the archaeological excavation of the human remains, a World War One zinc identification tag in very poor condition was found adjacent to the body. The biological profile was estimated (male, 20-30 years old, 166 cm±3.27 cm), and a trauma survey was performed. Thanks to the restoration of the ID tag, parts of the name and enrolment number were found and cross-referenced with the anthropological data of the subject, matching the information in the available military records. The victim had no siblings or offspring, making it impossible to identify descendants. However, the operation led to a contextual/presumptive identification of the soldier and the discovery of his story. He was a native of Tuscany, who died during the "Punitive Expedition" (1916) and was buried, probably by his comrades, in a small flat area hidden from enemy lines. In investigations like this, the involvement of local communities, whether groups or individuals, is crucial. In this case report, it will be shown how multidisciplinary approaches and collective actions can play a pivotal role in resolving highly intricate scenarios, such as those pertaining to armed conflicts.

When human remains are inadvertently located, case-related circumstantial information is used to generate an identification hypothesis, and the preservation of the remains typically informs which identification methods may then be used to validate that hypothesis. What happens, however, when there is no contextual information to generate an identification hypothesis? This paper presents the case of a near-complete human skeleton discovered at Sandy Point in Victoria, Australia. The circumstances of the case did not facilitate an identification hypothesis, and with no hypothesis to triage the identification process, all possible identification methods were employed. Preservation of the individual meant neither a visual nor a fingerprint identification was possible, and the lack of an identification hypothesis meant there was no antemortem reference data to compare with the postmortem DNA or dental information. Consequently, in addition to historical research, novel methods, such as radiocarbon dating and genetic intelligence, were utilized to complement information provided by the forensic anthropology and odontology analyses, which ultimately resulted in the identification. This example highlights the complexity of cases of unidentified skeletal remains and emphasizes the fact that identification is a process that necessarily requires a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach.

Key points: Human skeletal remains were recovered from Sandy Point, Victoria.The absence of circumstantial information and the poor preservation (i.e. skeletonized) of the remains precluded the formation of an identification hypothesis, rendering the identification process complex.Only through the integration of anthropology, odontology, molecular biology, radiocarbon dating, historical research, and genealogy were the remains able to be identified as Mr. Christopher Luke Moore, who drowned in 1928.Human identification is a process that necessarily requires a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1093/fsr/owad043.][This retracts the article DOI: 10.1093/fsr/owae011.].

The Han nationality is widely distributed in different regions, and it is one of the most populous nationalities in China. Compared with the ethnic minorities in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, there is relatively less research on Han individuals dwelled in Guangxi as a part of Chinese Han population. In this study, the genetic polymorphisms of 57 autosomal insertion/deletion (InDel) loci were explored in Hezhou Han (HZH) population. Forensic-related parameters revealed that these 57 InDel loci had high forensic validity and could be used in forensic practice application. In addition, the genetic relationships between the HZH population and 30 worldwide reference populations were explored using a variety of analytical methods, such as phylogenetic tree, principal component analysis, and genetic structure analysis. These results demonstrated that there were closer genetic relationships between the HZH and nine populations from East Asia (EAS). The prediction accuracy rates of five inter-continental cross-validation analyses for individuals from EAS was >0.9, and the prediction accuracy rates of three inter-continental cross-validation analyses for individuals from EAS, Europe, and Africa were all >0.95. In addition, 24 of the 57 InDel loci could be served as ancestral information inference loci, which could effectively distinguish individuals of EAS, Europe, and Africa. In conclusion, these InDel loci could be used not only as a good tool for individual identification and paternity testing in HZH population, but also as an auxiliary tool for ancestry information inference research.

Potassium chlorate has long been utilized as an excellent oxidizing agent in pyrotechnics and explosives. As mixtures of potassium chlorate and any type of combustible material can be explosive, there is a potential risk of misuse in homemade explosives. Unlike commercial explosives, homemade chlorate and oil mixtures do not have a constant composition, which limits their understanding. This study reports the effects of two types of oil (motor oil and cooking oil) and their ratios (ranging from 2.5% to 40.0% (w/w)) on the explosive properties of such mixtures. The impact sensitivity was highest at a motor oil ratio of 5%. The friction sensitivity increased with an increasing oil ratio, reaching a maximum at an oil ratio of ~22.5%, and was close to those of primary explosives. The motor oil mixtures exhibited higher sensitivity than the cooking oil mixtures at oil ratios of 25.0% or less. A 10% oil mixture, which was close to the ratio of oxygen balance equal to zero, detonated in weak confinement, such as a paper cylinder. The highest detonation velocities in a polypropylene tube were ~2 300 and 2 550 m/s at a 10% ratio of motor oil and cooking oil, respectively. The velocities of the metal case wall, measured by photonic Doppler velocimetry, reached ~1 100 m/s near the end of acceleration. These results show that homemade chlorate and oil mixtures are capable of detonation and quite sensitive over a wide range of oil ratios, with sufficient power to cause damage in the vicinity.

Key points: Simple mixtures of potassium chlorate and oil can be used as a homemade explosives.Oil types and ratios considerably affect the sensitivity and detonation velocity.Mixtures are sufficiently potent to generate hazardous fragments.Long-term storage causes an internal oil gradient.Mixtures with wide-ranging oil ratios can have highly sensitive points.

In China, the use of smokeless powders for making homemade ammunition and bombs is an incipient criminal practice. One of the key tasks of analyzing smokeless powders in forensic sciences is to make comparisons between them, providing information about their source or establishing a link between two different smokeless powders seized at different locations. The main component of smokeless powders is nitrocellulose (NC) no matter what type of the smokeless powder is. As a kind of polymer, NC may have different molecular weights and polydispersity index (PDI) values, which could help the identification and differentiation of the smokeless powders. In this study, weight-average molecular weights (Mw), number-average molecular weights (Mn), and PDI value of 79 propellants samples from different sources were measured by gel permeation chromatography, and likelihood ratio evaluation method was applied to facilitate interpretation of the data. The possibility of using these methods to make comparisons between smokeless powders was explored instead of depending on analysis of target compounds with trace amounts in them.