Development of latent fingerprints on compact disc and its effect on subsequent data recovery

Chance fingerprints may be found on every type of surfaces of contact and when they are latent, need to be developed by various methods. The type of surface on which latent prints are to be developed is one of the important factors when a choice for a method of development is to be made. The matter becomes more crucial when the surface is unique like a compact disc containing digital data. In this case, to develop the fingerprints is not the only matter to be taken care of but also, is very important to select such a method which may not effect the stored data and its retrieval. In present investigation, various methods have been tried to develop fingerprints on the writing surface of a CD and results are discussed with respect to their development as well as its effect on stored data and data retrieval.     

Age of retinal hemorrhages by iron detection: an animal model

Intraretinal hemorrhages have been found in some abusively injured infants and children. Intraretinal hemosiderin has been proposed as an indication of previous injury. The limits of the accuracy of the proposal have not been established. Experimental central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) was produced in 20 eyes of adult rhesus monkeys as part of ongoing research by one of the authors (SSH). The animal experiments were conducted in accordance with a research protocol approved by the Animal Care Committee, University of Iowa. CRVO produced diffuse intraretinal hemorrhages. Clinical ocular examinations assessed the onset and time course of retinal hemorrhages. Enucleation specimens were used to assess hemosiderin in the retinas. Hemosiderin was detected within 2 days of induction of retinal hemorrhages. It was detected in only 4 of 11 eyes (36%) studied more than 1 week following induction of hemorrhages. In 2 eyes, hemosiderin was found 9 and 16.8 months after development of hemorrhages. Hemosiderin can represent organization of current hemorrhage rather than evidence of prior hemorrhage. This study does not allow specifying the duration of hemorrhages with greater precision than "more than 2 days prior to death," and that, only if there is no survival interval. Failure to detect hemosiderin does not exclude prior retinal hemorrhages.     

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements by multiplication factors: A revised attempt

Estimation of stature from foot and shoe measurements using multiplication factors is well known. It is a simple method and it is used very frequently as a ready reckoner in forensic anthropology. However the individual error is quite large. In the present work an attempt has been made to evolve revised multiplication factors to reduce this error so that this method (multiplication factor) can be used more effectively with smaller error.     

Screening and confirmation of drugs in urine: interference of hordenine with the immunoassays and thin layer chromatography methods.

Hordenine cross-reacted with various enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or radioimmunoassay (RIA) kits used for the screening of urine samples. Morphine-ELISA kit was most sensitive, whereas etorphine- and buprenorphine-ELISA kits were least sensitive to hordenine cross-reactivity. Hordenine also interfered with the thin layer chromatography of oxymorphone, hydromorphone and apomorphine. The major source of hordenine in humans is beer brewed from barley, whereas the major source of hordenine in horses is canary grass or barley. Therefore, the presence of hordenine in the urine of humans consuming beer or in the urine of horses consuming canary grass may give false positive values when the immunoassay and TLC methods are used for the screening of the urine sample. In order to distinguish hordenine from the opiate drugs, simple and sensitive gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) and high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed in this study.     

Rapid and non-destructive approach for characterization and differentiation of sealing wax using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

Sealing wax is used for maintaining the integrity and authenticity of a document or physical evidence. Any tampering with the seal calls into question the overall integrity and authenticity of the tangible evidence or document. In these circumstances, determining the authenticity of the sealing material (physical and chemical) becomes imperative. In this study, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy supported by chemometrics has been used to differentiate sealing wax samples belonging to 12 different brands available across India. All the samples were first melted, cooled, and then analyzed using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the mid-infrared region (4000–600 cm⁻¹). The obtained spectra were first examined visually for the presence of different functional groups. Principal component analysis (PCA) and principal component analysis-linear discriminant analysis (PCA-LDA) were employed to analyze the sample clustering patterns and to categorize them into their respective groups, respectively. For classification, a PCA-LDA training model was applied, and it demonstrated 95.83% accuracy. The validation test resulted in an accuracy of 83.33%. PCA-LDA model offered 100% accurate prediction for samples on various substrates, including cloth, cardboard, and paper. A blind study was also performed using five unknown samples, which were accurately classified into their respective groups. PCA-LDA model will be helpful in providing investigative leads by linking a questioned sealing wax sample with its respective group.     

Cytochrome b based genetic differentiation of Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) and domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) and its use in wildlife forensics

The Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) is a protected species and listed in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The wild pig is often hunted illegally and sold in market as meat warranting punishment under law. To avoid confusion in identification of these two subspecies during wildlife forensic examinations, we describe genetic differentiation of Indian wild and domestic pigs using a molecular technique. Analysis of sequence generated from the partial fragment (421 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene exhibited unambiguous (> 3%) genetic variation between Indian wild and domestic pigs. We observed nine forensically informative nucleotide sequence (FINS) variations between Indian wild and domestic pigs. The overall genetic variation described in this study is helpful in forensic identification of the biological samples of wild and domestic pigs. It also helped in differentiating the Indian wild pig from other wild pig races. This study indicates that domestic pigs in India are not descendent of the Indian wild pig, however; they are closer to the other wild pig races found in Asia and Europe.