Lineup Administrators' Expectations: Their Impact on Eyewitness Confidence

This research focuses on how lineup a administrators influence eyewitnesses' postidentification confidence. What happens to witness confidence when a witness makes an identification that confirms the lineup administrator's expectations; what happens when this expectation is not confirmed? In Experiment 1, participant interviewers (n = 52) administered target-absent photo lineups to participant witnesses (n = 52). The interviewers did not view the simulated crime, but were told the thief's position in the lineup. In every instance this information was false (we used a target-absent lineup). A one-way ANOVA revealed that eyewitness identification confidence was malleable as a function of interviewers' beliefs about the thief's identity. In Experiment 2, participant jurors (n = 80) viewed 40 testimonies of Experiment 1 witnesses (2 participants viewed each testimony). Participant jurors judged all participant witnesses as equally credible despite their varying levels of postidentification confidence.

     

Glucose and lactate in vitreous humor compared with the determination of fructosamine for the postmortem diagnosis of diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic illness responsible for a great number of deaths. In postmortem diagnosis, because of the difficulty involved in interpreting blood glucose levels and relatively nonspecific pathologic features, biochemical markers in vitreous humor are useful. The aim of this study was to compare the results obtained for the combined determination of lactate and glucose with fructosamine levels recorded in the vitreous humor of two diagnostic groups (one diabetic and the other nondiabetic). The authors intended to ascertain the capacity of different markers measured in vitreous humor to diagnose diabetes mellitus. Fifty-one cadavers (mean age, 58.7 years; standard deviation, 17.09) were studied. The mean postmortem interval was 16.4 hours (standard deviation, 9.05). Cases were assigned to two diagnostic groups according to whether they were previously diagnosed as either diabetic or nondiabetic. Statistically significant differences for glucose, fructosamine, and the sum values of glucose and lactate were found between the two diagnostic groups. The highest levels were obtained in the group of cases with a previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. After the comparison of receiver operating characteristic curves, the sum values of glucose and lactate in vitreous humor is a better predictor of antemortem diabetes mellitus than the fructosamine.     

Numerical density of mu opioid receptor expressing neurons in the frontal cortex of drug related fatalities

In animal and cell culture experiments, chronic morphine treatment has been followed by 'up'- as well as 'down-regulation' of the mu opioid receptor (mu OR) number. The present postmortem morphometric study of morphine-related fatalities of drug addicts (n=12, and 22-35 years old, with blood unconjugated morphine levels from 27.1 to 458 ng/ml, m.v. 198.5 ng/ml) versus a non-addicted control group (n=13 and 10-44 years old) was intended to examine whether chronic opiate exposure affects the numerical density of mu OR expressing neurons in the human neocortex (area 10 according to Brodmann). For the immunohistochemical procedure, thick (100 microm) vibratome sections were incubated with a monoclonal antibody against the mu OR [Arvidsson et al., J. Neurosci. 15 (1995) 3328] and immunoreactive sites were visualized using an immunoperoxidase protocol. The numerical densities of mu OR-expressing and Nissl-stained neurons were assessed morphometrically (camera lucida-drawings). In both collectives, the anti-mu OR immunoreactivity was mainly found in pyramidal neurons of layers (L) II/III and V and in multiform neurons of L VI. In the drug-related fatalities and the control group, the density of neurons expressing mu OR protein was similar, amounting for 2698 +/- 153 and 2688 +/- 172/mm(3), respectively. These findings extend the binding studies of opioid ligands in postmortem brains of heroin addicts [Gabilondo et al., Psychopharmacology 115 (1994) 135] revealing similar receptor densities and affinities by showing no difference in the density of mu OR-positive neurons.     

The effect of metal salt treatment on the photoluminescence of DFO-treated fingerprints

Ninhydrin developed fingerprints can be enhanced by treatment with a zinc or cadmium salt. The resulting fingerprint luminescence has been attributed to the induced coplanarity of the bicyclic indanedione rings of Ruhemann's purple due to complexation with the metal ions. This paper explores whether this effect also occurs in the 1,8-diaza-9-fluorenone (DFO)-amino acid adduct (1), formed from the reaction of DFO with amino acids. Molecular modeling studies of (1) indicate a relatively small out-of-plane angle of 24 degrees. 1H NMR studies indicate (1) is asymmetric about the C2 axis in contrast to what has been previously reported. Little, if any, enhancement of luminescence was observed with Zn, Cd, Ru or Eu treated DFO developed latent fingerprints. This lack of enhancement was also borne out by solution luminescence studies. Given this lack of enhancement of luminescence, solutions of (1) and the four metal ions above were analyzed by electrospray mass spectrometry (ESMS). This indicated the formation of predominantly 1:1 complexes of (1) with both Zn and Cd, and the 2:1 complex with ruthenium. No evidence of a Eu complex was found by ESMS.     

Brazilian population database for the 13 STR loci of the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and Cofiler multiplex kits

Allele frequencies for the 13 STR core loci (D3S1358, VWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, CSF1PO, TPOX, THO1 and D16S539) included in the AmpFlSTR((R)) Profiler Plus and AmpFlSTR((R)) Cofiler kits were obtained for a sample of 700-800 genetically unrelated Brazilians. The expected performance of these loci for personal identification and paternity testing in the Brazilian population was estimated.     

Piperazine-like compounds: a new group of designer drugs-of-abuse on the European market

1-Aryl-piperazine compounds are, depending on their substituents, selective for certain serotonin receptors and together with their easy availability and their so-called legal status, this group of psychoactive compounds are potential designer drugs-of-abuse. Internet in that respect is an important source of information and distribution facilities. Because this development may have consequences for the interpretation of future clinical and forensic toxicological case studies, some analytical aspects of 1-benzyl-piperazine (BZP), 1-[4-methoxyphenyl]-piperazine (pMeOPP) and 1-[3-trifluoromethylphenyl]-piperazine (TFMPP) were studied. BZP was not detected by the AxSYM FPIA technology designed to determine amphetamine-like compounds, but had showed some cross reactivity with EMIT d.a.u.. The cross reactivities at 300 and 12,000ng/ml (RS)-amphetamine equivalents were 0.4 and 1.3%, respectively. Although BZP was not identified directly by the REMEDi HS Drug Profiling System, it can be detected by this HPLC/UV scanning system. Using GC/NPD without derivatisation, BZP, pMeOPP and TFMPP can be analysed for and applying GC/MS without or with acetylation or trifluoroacetylation, these compounds can be identified unambiguously. The usefulness of GC/NPD and GC/MS in this respect was demonstrated by the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content of a capsule with the synthetic stimulant A2, which proved to contain 86.4mg of BZP.