平面扫描技术在尿渍鞋印提取中的应用研究

目的应用平面扫描技术建立尿渍鞋印的光学无损提取方法。方法通过调整光源入射角度和反射光接收角度等参数,运用3种平面扫描方法提取大理石、地板革和瓷砖等6种客体上遗留的尿渍鞋印。结果基于平面扫描技术的尿渍鞋印提取方法,显著增加了痕迹与承痕客体之间的亮度反差,消除或减弱承痕客体背景干扰。比较筛选得到了大理石、地板革和瓷砖等客体上尿渍鞋印的最佳平面扫描方法。结论平面扫描方法可作为一种光学无损方法用于尿渍鞋印的提取。     

Recent developments in writing sequence determination

Two modifications of the Igoe-Reynolds lift technique for examination of line margins to determine the sequence of intersecting ball-point pen strokes are proposed. One for handwriting-typewriting intersections and the other extending the lift technique to ball-point pen writings of some age that are otherwise insensitive to the lift efforts.Attention is also directed to the increased usefulness of spectular light reflection examination resulting from changes in writing materials and instruments, particularly as applied to handwriting-typewriting sequence determination. An inexpensive, readily improvised vertical illuminator is described suitable for use with stereomicroscopes and cameras.     

Über Methoden zur Darstellung von latenten Fingerabdrücken auf der menschlichen Haut

Five methods are described for the detection of latent fingerprints on human skin: the X-ray method, the application of laser radiation, the iodine-silver plate transfer method, development with iron powder and Dakty-foil, as well as the photographic paper lift technique. Experiences with the application of these methods in forensic investigations are reported, and impeding factors are outlined. The simpler methods (the detection of such prints with iron powder and Dakty-foil as well as the photographic paper lift technique) are to be preferred for the investigation at the scene of the crime.     

Effects of storage time on DNA profiling success from archived latent fingerprint samples using an optimised workflow

Due to recent improvements in forensic DNA testing kit sensitivity,there has been an increased demand in the criminal justice community to revisit past convictions or cold cases.Some of these cases have little biological evidence other than touch DNA in the form of archived latent fingerprint lift cards.In this study,a previously developed optimised workflow for this sample type was tested on aged fingerprints to determine if improved short tandem repeat(STR)profiles could be obtained.Two-year-old samples processed with the optimised workflow produced an average of approximately five more STR alleles per profile over the traditional method.The optimised workflow also produced detectable alleles in samples aged out to 28 years.Of the methods tested,the optimised workflow resulted in the most informative profiles from evidence samples more representative of the forensic need.This workflow is recommended for use with archived latent fingerprint samples,regardless of the archival time.     

Homicide by stab to the neck with subsequent attempted suicide by cut to the neck

A 37-year-old Turkish woman was fatally injured by her 65-year-old Turkish husband with a stab to the cervical region. After her death he inflicted a deep cut to his own neck, which he survived thanks to immediate medical assistance. To the authors' knowledge this combination of a homicidal stab to the neck and a suicidal cut to the neck has not been described before. Kosher butchering, which is common in the couple's traditional cultural environment, is discussed as possible reason for the choice of the neck as site for applying sharp violence. It may have induced the perpetrator to choose this anatomical region.     

Throat-cutting of accidental origin

Abstract:  Incised wounds of the neck can be accidental, homicidal, or suicidal. In this paper, a death case has been presented where a spinning circular saw of a cutting machine in a workshop came off its place and cut the throat of a 30-year-old male who was operating the machine. There was an incision (15 cm × 5 cm) that began in the middle of the neck down the thyroid cartilage, extended horizontally to the left of the neck and ended on the outer part of the neck in the outer left side of m. trapezius. Death occurred because of exsanguination caused by the cutting of carotis artery and jugular vein. In the case we presented, although the cut in the neck initially suggested homicide, it was found to have occurred as a result of an accident after the autopsy and death scene investigation.     

Automated gunshot residue particle search and characterization

The main disadvantage to gunshot residue (GSR) particle analysis utilizing scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX) instrumentation has been the excessive operator time required for search and identification. This study uses an automated particle search and characterization program for unattended GSR search and identification. This system allows for automatic matrix search, particle sizing, chemical typing, and spectral aquisition with subsequent storage of data to disk for later operator review and verification. This work describes various aspects of the program, determines appropriate parameters adequate for both unique and characteristic GSR particle identification, and evaluates the reliability of data obtained. Samples are collected via the tape lift method from test-firings of .38, .32, .25, and .22 caliber handguns at time after firing intervals of 0 to 6 h. Unique GSR particles are consistently and correctly identified by this method on tape lift samples taken up to 4 h after firing. False positive results of unique GSR particles are not encountered on control handblank samples. This technique appears to provide the forensic science community with an operator-free method of reliable GSR particle search and an improved analyst-time-per-case ratio.     

Cervical soft tissue emphysema in hanging--a prospective autopsy study

The underlying mechanism of cervical soft tissue emphysema (CSTE) in hanging remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of CSTE in cases of hanging. The sample included 83 deceased persons, average age 55.3 ± 17.9 years. CSTE was established in 44 cases. CSTE is presented as frothy air, soap bubble-like formations in superficial and/or deep connective tissue between the neck muscles up to the ligature mark, visible during gross neck examination, using special neck autopsy technique-preparation of the neck organs in layers. The interpretation of positive CSTE must be taken with caution: it could be an antemortem phenomenon possibly because of either Macklin Effect or direct or indirect trauma to the cervical airways, as well as an ante- or postmortem artifact.     

死后小鼠脑组织细胞核DNA变化规律的研究

目的研究DNA降解变化与死亡时间的关系,为法医学推断死亡时间提供一种比较准确可靠的新方法。方法应用单细胞凝胶电泳（SCGE）技术结合荧光显微镜和专业的计算机图像分析技术,测定了111只小鼠在死后72h内不同时间点小鼠脑组织细胞核头半径（HeadRadius,HR）、尾长度（Tail Length,TL）、头DNA（HeadDNA）含量比例、尾DNA（Tail DNA）含量比例、尾矩（Tail Moment,TM）、Olive矩（Olive Moment,OM）、头面积（Head Area,HA）、尾面积（Tail Area,TA）8项参数的变化值。结果在个体死亡72h内,测定的8项参数指标中尾DNA含量比例、彗星尾长、尾矩、Olive矩、尾面积都呈增加趋势,头半径,头DNA含量比例,头面积均呈下降趋势。上述参数均与死亡时间具有高度的相关性。并将每个参数的测量值进行了多项式运算,获得了更能体现DNA降解趋势的二项式回归方程（P〈0．001）和多元回归方程（P〈0．001）,均具有高度的统计学意义。结论应用本研究提供的72h内脑组织DNA变化与死亡时间之间呈线性关系的各组回归方程,为法医学推断死后经过时间提供了一种新的、客观的、精确的方法和参考依据。     

货车侧翻与车辆改装及超载的因果关系分析

车辆在运行中因擅自改装和超载往往会引友道路交通事故，但对于停驶状态的货车发生侧翻与车辆改装和超载是否存在因果关系呢，根据一起货车侧翻的实际案例，通过对载货货车的质心计算、货车侧翻机理分析、货车车厢加长和超载状态与货车稳定性之间的关系分析，得出货车车厢加长和超载使货车载货后的整体质心升高并同时后移，降低了货车的稳定性。货车车厢加长和超载是导致货车发生侧翻的直接原因。     

小鼠死后骨骼肌、心、肝、肾、脑细胞核中DNA的变化规律

目的 研究小鼠器官细胞核中DNA降解变化与死亡时间的关系,为法医学推断死亡时间提供一种新方法.方法 应用单细胞凝胶电泳技术结合荧光显微镜和计算机图像分析技术,测定小鼠在死后72h内不同时间点骨骼肌、心、肝、肾、脑细胞核头DNA含量、尾DNA含量、头半径、尾长度、尾矩、Olive矩、头面积、尾面积8项参数的变化值.结果 在小鼠死亡72h内,彗星尾DNA含量、尾长度、尾矩、Olive矩、尾面积都呈增加趋势,头DNA舍量、头半径、头面积均呈下降趋势.计算出体现DNA降解趋势的二项式回归方程(P<0.001)和多元回归方程(P<0.0001).结论 本研究提供的各组回归方程,可为法医学推断死后经过时间提供一种新的方法.     

Dissecting Thoracic Aortic Hematoma Masquerading as Blunt Force Injury of the Neck

Discoloration of the skin of the anterior and lateral neck may raise suspicion for blunt force injury, particularly cervical compression, in an unwitnessed death. We present a case of an elderly woman with an unwitnessed death at home which highlights an external examination finding of blue/purple discoloration of the skin of the neck and links this finding with those from internal examination at autopsy. Pertinent negatives include absence of conjunctival and mucosal petechiae, absence of cutaneous abrasions of the neck, and absence of contusions of the anterior neck musculature. This case illustrates a natural disease entity, spontaneous dissection of a thoracic aortic hematoma, masquerading as blunt force injury externally and highlights the importance of having an appropriate index of suspicion when triaging jurisdictional cases for postmortem examination to accurately determine cause and manner of death.     

Neck and scleral hemorrhage in drowning

The determination of the cause and manner of death for a body recovered from the water can be difficult because of a lack of autopsy findings specific for drowning. This case report describes a 30-year-old man found submerged at the bottom of a hotel pool. An autopsy revealed scleral hemorrhages and fascial hemorrhages of multiple muscles of the anterior and posterior neck bilaterally. No evidence of traumatic injury was on the surface of the body. An investigation by law enforcement found no evidence of foul play. The occurrence of petechial and neck hemorrhage in a body recovered from the water is controversial, and a review of this literature will be given. We suggest that fascial hemorrhages of the muscles of the neck, as well as cephalic hemorrhages, can be explained by drowning-related elevated central venous pressure that is communicated to the head through the valveless veins of the neck.     

中小企业仍可借力

十年磨一剑，深圳创业板市场的即将推出，实在是来之不易。经验表明，建立创业板市场，有利于发挥资本市场的资源配置功能，引导社会资金和资源向中小创业企业和新兴行业流动，对中小企业融资和发展有着不可替代的积极作用。因此，我国中小企业应该抓住这一难得的机遇，充分利用这一运作平台，借创业板市场推出之东风，提高企业竞争力，实现跨越式发展。     

Fatal accidental hanging from a lanyard key chain in a 10-year-old boy

Lanyard chains are commonly worn around the neck to hold keys and identification badges. A ten-year-old Black male child was home alone jumping and swinging of the raised crossbars on his mother's four-poster bed. He commonly did this. He also wore a lanyard around his neck with his house key, which he used to let himself in after school. His mother found him hanging on the corner of the bedpost by the lanyard when she returned from work. The death scene showed that he was jumping on the bed and the lanyard hooked over the top of the corner bedpost, causing first and second cervical vertebrae dislocation of an abrupt "drop-type" hanging with neck abrasion marks. Lanyards, or any loose rope material around the neck, are inherently dangerous due to their strength and ability to catch fixed or moving objects. Safety modifications to the lanyards are easily made with "breakaway" Velcro-type or plastic clip fasteners. This is the first reported case of an accidental hanging after review of the medical literature and files of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission.     

Incised wound margins caused by steel blades. Scanning electron microscopy to determine wound direction

The aim of this paper has been to check the diagnostic ability of Scanning Electron Microscopy (S.E.M.) to determine wound direction. We have studied incised wound margins caused by steel blades in human skin samples from cadavers by S.E.M. It was found that a lateral accessory tail existed in 65% of the entrance edges. This finding was recorded in all the cases when wound direction was perpendicular to Lancer's lines of the skin area in which the wound was located. No similar finding in the exit tails was noticed. The depth and length of the wound margins was less accurate an index of the wound direction than a lateral accessory tail. We think that this finding could be useful in determining the entrance margin in incised wounds.     

Pressure on the neck calculated for any point along the ligature.

It had been experimentally shown that disfunction of the airways, major arteries and veins occurs in neck compression due to the violence of different strengths. These differences in the vulnerability of the neck anatomical structures determine the sequence and dynamics of the vital function disorders in strangulation, as well as its morphological features. The purpose of this study was to calculate the value of specific pressure P, which affects the neck along the ligature. Mathematical modeling method was used. Cylinder served the model of the human neck. It was found that P-value is directly proportional to the loop tension and inversely proportional to the radius of the curvature and neck-ligature contact area. Thus, in horizontal neck encirclement the strangulation groove forms a circumference, and P-value is invariable along the loop, as in typical cases of homicidal strangulation. In oblique position of the loop it makes an ellipse with changeable curve curvature, as in most hangings. As the formulas and graphs presented show, the increasing deflection of the loop towards the transverse plane results in increase in P-amplitude, mostly at the expense of its minimal indices (up to hundred per cent) rather than maximal ones (within 20% range). At the same time there are narrow zones along the loop, where the P-value remains almost invariable irrespective of loop deflection degree. The results of the study may be useful for investigation of thanatogenesis and pathomorphology of strangulation, including its experimental modeling.     

Reexamination of a measurement for sexual determination using the supero-inferior femoral neck diameter in a modern European population

The present study reexamines the accuracy of the supero-inferior femoral neck diameter for the determination of sex using a modern sample of French individuals. In 1998, Seidemann et al. used this univariate method for sex determination with the Hamann-Todd collection. Stojanowski and Seidemann in 1999 tested previous results on a modern sample taken from the University of New Mexico and concluded that the Caucasian male samples exhibited no significant differences between individuals born before and after 1900, but the Caucasian female subgroup did exhibit differences with an increase of the SID in the modern sample. The current study compares the previous results of the supero-inferior femoral neck diameter with a modern sample of elderly French individuals born after 1910. Both sides of the femur were measured. No statistical difference was found between the right and left side (p = 0.31). The results showed a significant difference between the pre-1900 and the modern sample, with an increase in femoral neck diameter in modern populations. The comparison of the SID values between the two modern samples (Mexico and Nice) showed no significant differences in the femoral neck diameter in the two male subgroups (p = 0.05), but the measurements of the SID in the female subgroup did exhibit significant differences with an increase of the neck femoral diameter (p < 0.01) in the modern French population. These results demonstrate an increase in the neck femoral morphology in the elderly European French females samples.     

Can Neck Contusions in Unexplained Pediatric Deaths be Explained by Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation?

The distribution of cutaneous contusions in infants may raise the possibility of maltreatment. Neck contusions are particularly problematic since they seldom occur outside the setting of abuse, while cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)‐related maneuvers may involve the neck. To address the role of CPR in neck findings, we examined 260 consecutive pediatric autopsies in which CPR was attempted. No neck contusions were identified in manners of death classified as natural, undetermined, or suicide. Contusions were present in two of 80 deaths classified as accident and had obvious accidental causes. About 26% of deaths classified as homicide had neck contusions with no explanation provided by the caregiver (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, neck contusions in deceased children with no apparent explanation should be regarded as suspicious for abuse and investigated accordingly. CPR is not a plausible explanation for neck contusions in children.     

Tape Lift Sampling of Chemical Threat Agents

Commercial‐off‐the‐shelf (COTS) materials were evaluated as surface samplers for the Department of Homeland Security Chemical Forensics Program. The program helps evidence collectors identify trace chemical residues at incident scenes. COTS items are widely available, produced in large lots, and with strict controls. Chemical attribution signatures were collected from common surfaces. Eight tape lift candidates were considered, five were chosen based on performance and tested for analytical interferences and extraction efficiencies with 14 chemicals. Three products (duct tape, print lifters, command strips) were evaluated for uptake from common interior surfaces (glass, tile, ABS plastic). Duct tape provided highest recoveries across all surfaces. Even the most volatile analytes were detected in the ABS plastic samples (nondetections in others), regardless of tape lift material used. The porous plastic substrate provides better target retention than glass and tile surfaces. Forensic field operators should sample surfaces made of ABS plastic (keyboards, remotes, phones, etc.) whenever possible.