Reliability of bloodhounds in criminal investigations

Anecdotal evidence and legend have suggested that bloodhounds are capable of trailing and alerting to a human by his or her individual scent. This same evidence may be presented to a court of law in order to accuse a particular suspect or suspects of a crime. There is little to no scientific evidence confirming the bloodhound's ability to trail and discriminate the scent of different individual humans. Eight bloodhounds (3 novice and 5 veteran), trained in human scent discrimination were used to determine the reliability of evidence, garnered through the use of bloodhounds, in a court of law. These dogs were placed on trails in an environment that simulated real-life scenarios. Results indicate that a veteran bloodhound can trail and correctly identify a person under various conditions. These data suggest that the potential error rate of a veteran bloodhound-handler team is low and can be a useful tool for law enforcement personnel.     

Virtopsy-postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a fatal scuba diving incident

The body of a 44-year-old scuba diver was examined using postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and findings were verified by subsequent autopsy. The goal was to find out whether the important pathomorphological findings for the reconstruction of events and the identification of cause and manner of death could be identified using modem digital cross-sectioning techniques. The findings of a massive vital decompression with pulmonary barotrauma and lethal gas embolism were identified in the radiological images. MSCT and MRI were superior to autopsy in the demonstration of the extent and distribution of gas accumulation in intraparenchymal blood vessels of internal organs as well as in areas of the body inaccessible by standard autopsy.     

Chronology of a homicide and an attempted suicide by DNA analysis of selected blood stains on the weapon (knife)]

A five-year-old boy was fatally injured by a stab and a cut to the throat. The suspected offender, an acquaintance of the victim's mother, stated that he had been disturbed by the boy while attempting suicide and had therefore killed the boy. The suspect showed superficial cuts on both wrists and three shallow stabs on the right-hand side of the abdomen. The purpose of the forensic investigations was to answer the question if the suspect's statement could be confirmed or if the attempted suicide took place after killing the boy. The blood-smeared blade of the knife was divided into different sectors with the cutting edge and the tip of the blade being examined separately from the sides. The blood traces from the different blade sectors were then typed in 12 different DNA regions by PCR (polymerase-chain-reaction). It could be demonstrated that the strong blood traces on the sides of the blade originated from the victim alone, whereas in the area of the edge and the tip of the blade the amount of the victim's blood was negligible compared with that of the suspected offender. The explanation for this finding is that in the areas of the edge and the tip of the knife the blood of the victim must have been replaced by the blood of the suspected perpetrator, which means that the suicidal injuries were the last to be caused by the knife.     

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.     

Entrepreneurship, Secrecy, and Productivity: A Comparison of Clinical and Non-Clinical Life Sciences Faculty

This paper addresses research in the life sciences, responsible for significant national expenditures for scientific investigations funded by both the federal government and industry. Our investigation examines faculty members' involvement with industry in entrepreneurial ways that is, involved in translating their research into potentially marketable knowledge or products. First, this study examines whether there are differences in entrepreneurial behaviour between clinical and non-clinical faculty in the life sciences with industry relationships, and, second, to discover any linkage between entrepreneurship and secrecy or productivity in different ways for clinical and non-clinical faculty. The study is based on survey responses of a national sample of 4,000 clinical and non-clinical life sciences faculty in 49 U.S. research universities. The results show non-clinical faculty as more involved at the back end. The more entrepreneurial end of commercialization while clinical faculty are involved at the back end. The more entrepreneurial faculty (non-clinical) are more likely to be secretive about their research. Clinical faculty are less likely to have been denied access to research results or products. Entrepreneurial faculty are not less productive in their faculty roles. This investigation is preliminary in that it addresses one large area of academic research but excludes fields with longer historical relationships with industry.     

Maternal Child-Rearing Attitudes and Role Satisfaction and Children's Temperament as Antecedents of Adolescent Depressive Tendencies: Follow-up Study of 6- to 15-Year-Olds

Development of depressive tendencies was assessed over a 9-year period in a random sample of 389 Finnish children. Predictors of maternal role satisfaction and hostile child-rearing attitudes, assessed when the children were ages 6 and 9 years, respectively, and a temperament predictor of perceived child difficultness, assessed when the children were age 6 years, were measured using questionnaires designed for this study. Depressive tendencies were assessed by a self-report at age 15 (modification of Beck's Depression Inventory). Using structural equation modeling, we tested a hypothesized model comprising direct as well as mediated effects between the childhood predictor variables and adolescent depressive tendencies. The results indicated support for a similar mediational model in girls and boys. Low maternal role satisfaction and maternal perceptions of child difficultness, measured when children were age 6 years, predicted hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes measured when children were age 9 years, which in turn had a significant direct effect on depressive tendencies among these children during adolescence. The only other direct effect was found solely in girls: Low maternal role satisfaction predicted adolescent depressive tendencies. These results underline the close interplay of child temperament and mothering factors in the development of depressive tendencies in girls and boys.     

Lethal child abuse (through the use of physical force) in the German Democratic Republic during the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study

No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child abuse (by active force) in the area of the former German Democratic Republic. In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in the entire area of the former German Democratic Republic. RESULTS: The study center received information on 39 cases of lethal child abuse which correspond to approximately 7 cases per year. However, a low percentage of undetected crimes which cannot be determined more precisely has to be taken into consideration. Almost 40% of the victims were younger than 1 year, 73% of the victims showed indications of repeated ill-treatment. The effects caused by using direct blunt forces, against the head in particular, were by far the most frequent causes of death. The male contact person (the victim's father, brother or stepfather as well as the life companion of the child's mother in particular) killed the child in most of the cases. As far as it is known, 37% of the male/female offenders suffered from chronic alcoholism; 32% of the male/female offenders were under the influence of alcohol when the crime happened. 83% of the male/female offenders who were found guilty made a confession shortly after the crime had happened or during the interrogations. Almost all the male/female offenders were sentenced to prison (the duration of the imprisonment varied between one year and for life). Due to the considerably lower section rate compared to the one in the German Democratic Republic, it is to fear that each second fatal child abuse is not detected in the new federal states.