Fingermark Evidence Evaluation Based on Automated Fingerprint Identification System Matching Scores: The Effect of Different Types of Conditioning on Likelihood Ratios

In recent studies, the evidential value of the similarity of minutiae configurations of fingermarks and fingerprints, for example expressed by automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS), is determined by likelihood ratios (LRs). The paper explores whether there is an effect on LRs if conditioning takes place on specified fingers, fingerprints, or fingermarks under competing hypotheses: In addition, an approach is explored where conditioning is asymmetric. Comparisons between fingerprints and simulated fingermarks with eight minutiae are performed to produce similarity score distributions for each type of conditioning, given a fixed AFIS matching algorithm. Both similarity scores and LRs are significantly different if the conditioning changes. Given a common‐source scenario, “LRs” resulting from asymmetric conditioning are on average higher. The difference may reach a factor of 2000. As conditioning on a suspect's finger(print) is labor‐intensive and requires a cooperating suspect, it is recommended to just condition on the number of minutiae in the fingermark.     

Examination of acetone findings in suspected drug-facilitated sexual assaults: A case series

Acetone presence in human biological specimens can result from exogenous administration or endogenous production, resulting from diabetes, dietary composition, alcoholism, and stress response. Victims of drug-facilitated sexual assaults (DFSA) are understood to experience enhanced stress. At the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS), DFSA drug testing includes analysis of volatile compounds, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, and acetone, by headspace gas chromatography/flame ionization detection. The prevalence of acetone-positive specimens in DFSA casework has been observed to exceed that of other human performance case types. In this report, DFSA cases received between 2019 and 2021 (n = 393) were reviewed and 41 acetone-positive cases were detailed. Overall, nearly 11% of the DFSA cases had acetone-positive blood or urine specimens, where 3% identified acetone only, 6% identified acetone and other drug(s), and 2% identified acetone, ethanol, and other drug(s). Acetone concentrations ranged from 0.010 to 0.147 g/100 mL in urine. Other drugs such as nor-carboxy-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, amphetamine, methamphetamine, ethanol, and benzoylecgonine were commonly detected. Elevated stress response encountered during DFSAs may facilitate the mechanism behind enhanced acetone production leading to increased identification. Limited availability of victim medical history precludes understanding the contribution of other disease states or physiological conditions. Nonetheless, the identification of acetone in DFSA specimens supports its potential as a biomarker of trauma in forensic toxicology casework and warrants future research within the community.     

Insane Arsonists: An Early 21st Century Sample

We studied all individuals (n = 41) who had been found not guilty by reason of insanity for arson and who were committed to a California state psychiatric hospital on October 1, 2016 in a cross‐sectional analysis. This group of insane arsonists contained 33 (80.5%) males and eight (19.5%) females with a mean age at the time of the index arson of 35.9 years. At least 87.8% (n = 36) were considered to not have been participating in psychiatric treatment at the time of the index arson. Five (12.2%) of the insane arsonists had previously been found not guilty by reason of insanity for arson or had been convicted of having committed arson. Our findings suggest that lack of participation in psychiatric treatment was the most important factor in contributing to the index arson and the most important problem to be addressed in subsequent psychiatric treatment plans.     

Sovereignty,Bargaining, and the International Regulation of Foreign Direct Investment

While developing countries have undergone a remarkable transformation in their attitudes toward foreign direct investment (FDI) during the past decade, they still resist the establishment of a multilateral regime governing FDI. This is puzzling, first, because these states are liberalising their policies anyway, and second, because a multilateral regime offers several advantages over the patchwork of unilateral and bilateral arrangements that currently exist (for instance, by contributing to increasing FDI flows). What explains this paradoxical attitude? This paper critically examines a number of potential explanations. Concerns about losing sovereignty, lack of knowledge about the costs of FDI restrictions, or lingering suspicions of multinational corporations may play some role, but cannot account for unilateral and bilateral liberalisation. Another approach highlights the role of domestic groups in supporting or opposing a multilateral agreement. Yet the pattern of variation among the attitudes of developing countries casts doubt on this explanation as well. Finally, the paper puts forth an argument that focuses on how bargaining power affects the trade-off between economic gains and the loss of sovereignty. The host state's perceived attractiveness to multinational investors conditions whether or not the government resolves this trade-off in favour of supporting a multilateral regime.     

Fentanyl transdermal patches: Extraction and evaluation of a novel disposal method using NarcX®

Currently, there is no known commercially available product for disposing of used fentanyl transdermal patches. To eliminate the potential for harm and abuse, a proper disposal method is needed–one that neutralizes the dangerous amount of residual fentanyl that remains after therapeutic use of the fentanyl patch. The patent-pending liquid solution of activated carbon, known as NarcX^®, was investigated as a potential fentanyl adsorbing agent. In order to determine the amount of fentanyl remaining after a patch is treated with NarcX^®, here, we utilized hexanes to first dissolve the patch adhesive and then followed with liquid-liquid extraction with methanol to recover the fentanyl. Using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS), the extracts obtained with this method yielded between 85% and 117% recovery of fentanyl from new and unused patches. Further optimization of this method allowed for a quantitative evaluation of NarcX^®-treated fentanyl patches. 100 µg/h Apotex brand fentanyl patches were exposed to NarcX^® for 1, 24, 48, and 72 h. NarcX^® was shown to adsorb fentanyl from the patches with varying degrees of success, demonstrating an average of 66.98 ± 0.75% fentanyl adsorption after 72 h. These findings suggest that more work is needed to successfully neutralize the fentanyl patches in their entirety using NarcX^®; however, this work does demonstrate proof of concept.     

“She’s Mlungu but she looks like me!”: disrupting insider/outsider dichotomies in ethnographic fieldwork

What happens when the biologically and socially visible (and invisible) boundaries used to maintain differences between the researcher (outsider) and the researched (insiders) are broken down or denied acknowledgment? This article explores one challenge of conducting ethnographic fieldwork in regards to race and the unintentional blurring of the insider–outsider dichotomies within the field. As an English-speaking African American attempting to penetrate Langa, a black South African, predominantly isiXhosa-speaking township, it became apparent that my physical appearance automatically relegated me to an ‘insider,’ awarding me a certain and perhaps undeserved membership in the field. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork from 2011 to 2012, this article is a reflection of my experience of balancing my role as a black-American researcher – and by default an outsider – in an environment where my “outsider-ness” was visibly non-existent. This both mitigated an exacerbated my ethnographic data collection.     

Enhancing the Foster Care Review Process: The Case of Kentucky's Interested Party Review Program

In order to promote timely permanency for children in out‐of‐home care, citizen foster care review programs employ volunteers to monitor progress for children in the child welfare system. In addition to case file reviews, Kentucky implemented an Interested Party Review system in which foster care review board members meet with family members and child welfare staff in order to glean more detailed and multi‐faceted information to submit to the court. This article describes a mixed‐methods program evaluation demonstrating the contribution of such a review process to judicial decision making and child outcome, as well as recommendations for program improvement.     

Evaluation of a Teen Dating Violence Prevention Intervention among Urban Middle-School Youth Using Youth Participatory Action Research: Lessons Learned from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Start Strong Boston</Emphasis>

Almost half of adolescents aged 11 to 14 have dated and between 10 and 30% report experiencing Teen Dating Violence (TDV). However, there are no evidence-based TDV prevention interventions designed for afterschool, community-based settings with middle-school youth, in high-risk neighborhoods. Start Strong Boston (SSB) is a model that fills all three gaps, founded on partnerships between the Boston Public Health Commission, community afterschool sites, academic experts and evaluators, and youth. Here, we describe the SSB program and discuss how this collaboration built upon successes of this peer-engaged intervention, by developing and implementing a youth participatory action research (YPAR) evaluation study of SSB. Use of the YPAR framework tested the feasibility of employing Peer Researchers in an interdisciplinary evaluation team. We describe how through participation in evaluation research, Peer Researchers improve professional and leadership skills while informing measurement and conceptualization of a program affecting their own neighborhoods. Lessons learned are presented.