Assessing three soil removal methods for environmental DNA analysis of mock forensic geology evidence

Soil is useful in criminal investigations as it is highly variable and readily transferred. Forensic geologists use several different techniques to removal soil from evidence prior to the analysis of inorganic components. There has been recent interest from the forensic science community to analyze environmental deoxyribonucleic acid (eDNA) associated with soil to augment existing forensic analyses. Notably however, limited research has been conducted to compare commonly used soil removal methods for downstream eDNA analysis. In this study, three soil removal methods were assessed: picking/scraping, sonication, and swabbing. Three mock evidence types (t-shirts, boot soles, and trowels) were sampled in triplicate with each removal method (n = 27). Soil samples underwent DNA isolation, quantification, and amplification of four genomic barcode regions: 16S for bacteria, ITS1 for fungi, ITS2 for plants, and COI for arthropods. Amplicons were prepared into libraries for DNA sequencing on an Illumina^® MiniSeq. DNA concentrations were highest in picked/scraped samples and were statistically significant compared with swabbed and sonicated samples. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were identified, and removal methods had no impact on the recovery of the total number of target ASVs. Additionally, when assessing each sample in multidimensional space, picked/scraped samples tended to cluster separately from swabbed and sonicated samples. The soil core used a reference in this study also clustered with the picked/scraped samples, indicating that these samples may be more reflective of the communities collected from soil cores. Based on these data, we identified that picking/scraping is an acceptable soil removal method for eDNA analysis.     

Shifts in perceptions of NGOs with the creation of the Palestinian National Authority

This article explores perceived shifts in roles for NGOs and religious actors after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority with the 1993 Oslo Accords, using original data from a survey of more than 1,000 community members in the West Bank and Gaza. The survey data show a centralisation of requests for assistance from the Palestinian National Authority, with a decrease in requests from local government, NGOs, and religious actors after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority. The support the empirical findings lend to theories of government and voluntary failure is discussed.     

Asymmetrical information in the provision of human services: an empirical investigation of contract failure theory

In this article, we empirically investigate the validity of the contract failure arguments as applied to a segment of the child care industry. However, prior research has focused upon actual quality differences between nonprofit and for-profit providers whereas the theory is concerned with consumers' perceptions of quality differences. In the current study, we examine both consumers′ perceptions and actual performance in testing the theory. In general, the data provide support for contract failure.     

Fatal Intoxication with α‐PVP,a Synthetic Cathinone Derivative

This study presents the fatal case of a young man who was admitted to the ICAU due to sudden cardiac arrest. An interview revealed that the patient had taken some unspecified crystals. From the moment of admission, his condition deteriorated dramatically as a result of increasing circulatory insufficiency. After a few hours, sudden cardiac arrest occurred again and the patient was pronounced dead. In the course of a medicolegal autopsy, samples of biological material were preserved for toxicology tests and histopathological examination. The analysis of samples using the LC‐MS/MS technique revealed the presence of α‐PVP in the following concentrations: blood—174 ng/mL, urine—401 ng/mL, brain—292 ng/g, liver—190 ng/g, kidney—122 ng/g, gastric contents—606 ng/g. The study also presents findings from the parallel histopathological examination. Based on these findings, cardiac arrest secondary to intoxication with alpha‐PVP was determined as the direct cause of the patient's death.     

Where is Latisha’s Law? Black Invisibility in the Social Construction of Victimhood

Laws named after specific crime victims have become increasingly common. These laws are part of a broader effort to downgrade the status and rehabilitative needs of offenders and to hear the voices and trumpet the legitimate concerns of victims—often as a means of justifying punitive crime control policies. Beyond the substantive merit of individual statutes, collectively these named laws provide a clear image of which victims warrant protection and memorialization: Victims who are vulnerable in some way, who are pursued by predatory criminals into their otherwise safe domains, and—above all—who are White. In this regard, an analysis of 51 named laws from 1990 to 2016 reveals that the vast majority of them (86.3%) honor White victims. In asking the question, “Where is Latisha’s Law?,” we seek to illuminate the virtual invisibility of African American victims and the implicit social construction of which lives matter more in American society.     

Four new illicit cocaine impurities from the oxidation of crude cocaine base: formation and characterization of the diastereomeric 2,3-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropionylecgonine methyl esters from cis- and trans-cinnamoylcocaine

Four new impurities have recently been detected in the gas chromatographic signature profiles of many illicit cocaine hydrochloride exhibits. These impurities are only seen in exhibits that have been oxidized and are most prominent in samples that have been highly oxidized. Exhibits containing these compounds were subjected to gas and liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analyses to determine the identity of the impurities. These impurities were subsequently synthesized to verify their structures. Four diastereomeric diols formed from the oxidation of cis- and trans-cinnamoylcocaine were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and synthesis. Oxidation of cis-cinnamoylcocaine in neutral conditions yielded (2R,3R)-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropionylecgonine methyl ester and (2S,3S)-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropionylecgonine methyl ester, while trans-cinnamoylcocaine produced (2R,3S)-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropionylecgonine methyl ester and (2S,3R)-dihydroxy-3-phenylpropionylecgonine methyl ester. The recent appearance of these new impurities suggests that some illicit cocaine processors have modified their oxidation procedures of crude cocaine base for transformation into illicit refined cocaine hydrochloride.     

Apparent effects of glyphosate on alkaloid production in coca plants grown in Colombia

During the routine analysis of coca leaf material from South America, alkaloids in Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu (ECVI) leaf samples from fields suspected of being treated with glyphosate were compared with those from non-treated E. coca var. ipadu and Erythroxylum novogranatense var. novogranatense (ENVN) plants. Cocaine levels in leaf tissue from non-treated ECVI and ENVN were 0.53+/-0.08% and 0.64+/-0.08% (w/w), respectively, whereas leaves from treated plants were nearly devoid of cocaine. Further analysis demonstrated the presence of several previously undescribed N-nortropane alkaloids, several of which were tentatively identified. The results suggest that applications of glyphosate to coca plants can have dramatic effects on the quantity and quality of alkaloids produced by surviving or subsequent leaves. The analytical data presented will be of value to forensic chemists who encounter illicit cocaine preparations containing alkaloids produced from coca plants treated with glyphosate.     

Establishing identity using cheiloscopy and palatoscopy

Establishing a person's identity can be a very difficult process. Dental, fingerprint and DNA comparisons are probably the most common techniques used in this context, allowing fast and secure identification processes. However, since they cannot always be used, sometimes it is necessary to apply different and less known techniques. In this paper, the authors describe two unusual techniques: cheiloscopy and palatoscopy. It is known that due to their special features, both lip grooves and palatal rugae can be used successfully in human identification. This paper reviews the techniques of cheiloscopy and palatoscopy, and describes the different classifications and their advantages and limitations.     

SNPs in paternity investigation: The simple future

Based on the 52 SNP-plex developed by the SNPforID Consortium, we designed two 10-plex to study single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for human identification and to establish its usefulness in paternity casework. This 20 autosomal SNP set was studied in 56 paternity investigation cases from South Portuguese resident population, also analyzed with 17 Short Tandem Repeats (STRs). Results obtained with both methodologies were consistent with each other, except for one case where the alleged father could not be excluded by SNPs. No mutation was found in the SNP loci, whereas a mismatch in STRs was detected. The use of SNPs as a complement to the analysis of autosomal STRs in paternity casework can result in paternity index and paternity probability values equivalent or higher than those obtained with more STR loci, but with lower costs. This study shows that instead of using additional STR loci, the analysis of 20 autosomal SNPs, as a complement technique to standard methodologies, is an appealing alternative in paternity investigation cases.     

MtSNP typing before mtDNA sequencing: Why do it?

Analysis of control mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable regions is sometimes the only available method to study hair evidence in forensic casework although being a laborious technique. Nowadays there is a huge interest in new genetic markers such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to type degraded forensic samples. For that purpose, a 10-Plex mitochondrial SNP for haplogroup typing, chosen from several SNP studies and useful to study the most common populations in our laboratory was applied in forensic casework. Hair shafts from three forensic cases with different ethnic backgrounds were studied with mtDNA sequencing and compared with mitochondrial SNPs (mtSNPs) study. Coding mtSNP typing prior to sequencing can allow for a rapid screening in forensic casework, which is emphasized in the first two cases. Moreover, in cases in which mtDNA sequencing fails, mtSNPs can still be detected. This 10 SNP loci multiplex provides a less expensive and simpler method for mitochondrial typing compared to control region mtDNA sequencing, especially when used as a fast screening method.