Adapting the Chumbley Score to Match Striae on Land Engraved Areas (LEAs) of Bullets,

The same‐source problem remains a major challenge in forensic toolmark and firearm examination. Here, we investigate the applicability of the Chumbley method (J Forensic Sci, 2018, 63, 849; J Forensic Sci, 2010, 55, 953) (10,12), developed for screwdriver markings, for same‐source identification of striations on bullet LEAs. The Hamby datasets 44 and 252 measured by NIST and CSAFE (high‐resolution scans) are used here. We provide methods to identify parameters that minimize error rates for matching of LEAs, and a remedial algorithm to alleviate the problem of failed tests, while increasing the power of the test and reducing error rates. For 85,491 land‐to‐land comparisons (84,235 known nonmatches and 1256 known matches), the adapted test does not provide a result in 176 situations (originally more than 500). The Type I and Type II error rates are 7.2% (6105 out of 84,235) and 21.4% (271 out of 1256), respectively. This puts the proposed method on similar footing as other single‐feature matching approaches in the literature.     

An unusual case of 3 fatal, accidental CO poisoning cases by re-routed ventilation

A case of fatal carbon monoxide poisoning is presented where three members of a family, aged between 23 and 66 years, died while having dinner. After analysing the scene and evaluating the personal circumstances there was no doubt that death was due to accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. The fact that three persons of different ages died almost simultaneously as well as the technical reconstruction appears noteworthy to the authors. Scrutiny of the technical circumstances revealed that the waste air containing carbon monoxide was re-routed because of the oppressively hot weather conditions. The fumes from the stove heating in the living room flowed into the chimney and from there via another pipe into the kitchen oven and finally reached the atmosphere of the kitchen where the three members of the family died.     

Peri-mortem skin lesions caused by regurgitation of gastric juice. 2 case reports and differential diagnostic considerations

Two cases of regurgitation of gastric juice peri mortem are reported which resulted in lesions of the thoracic skin and led to the suspicion of being caused by another possibly dangerous chemical agent. In both cases, however, other causes of death could be established. Neither could any foreign chemical substances be detected by extensive toxicological investigations nor were any alterations of esophagus and gastric mucosa revealed in the course of the autopsy. Histological investigations demonstrated a circumscribed recent necrosis of the epidermis and dermis. Therefore, regurgitation of the acidic gastric content as the agent impairing the skin was most likely. The impressive histological appearance of the peri mortem regurgitation skin lesions lesions may be due to the circulatory arrest as well as stagnation of vital cellular reactions and repair mechanisms, dehydration of the altered tissue and postmortem permanence of the impairing agent.     

Could the Florida Election Disaster have been Avoided by Competition Among Polling Stations?

We study a model of competition among polling stations wherepolling stations have to invest in counting precision toattract voters. The benchmark is the (current) monopolisticcase in which there is no incentive to provide particularlygood counting technologies. Unsurprisingly, we find thatcompetition enhances precision when compared to a monopoly.The somewhat surprising part of our result is that the optimalnumber of polling stations is two.     

A Robust Approach to Automatically Locating Grooves in 3D Bullet Land Scans

Land engraved areas (LEAs) provide evidence to address the same source–different source problem in forensic firearms examination. Collecting 3D images of bullet LEAs requires capturing portions of the neighboring groove engraved areas (GEAs). Analyzing LEA and GEA data separately is imperative to accuracy in automated comparison methods such as the one developed by Hare et al. (Ann Appl Stat 2017;11, 2332). Existing standard statistical modeling techniques often fail to adequately separate LEA and GEA data due to the atypical structure of 3D bullet data. We developed a method for automated removal of GEA data based on robust locally weighted regression (LOESS). This automated method was tested on high-resolution 3D scans of LEAs from two bullet test sets with a total of 622 LEA scans. Our robust LOESS method outperforms a previously proposed “rollapply” method. We conclude that our method is a major improvement upon rollapply, but that further validation needs to be conducted before the method can be applied in a fully automated fashion.     

Fatal Candida tropicalis infection in an 8-month-old infant with an aplasia of the thymus as a rare cause of death in infancy

Anomalies of the thymus can lead to immunodeficiencies that are often associated with complex syndromes. The clinical relevance of those anomalies varies a lot. Regarding mortality and morbidity, opportunistic infections play a major role in immunocompromised individuals. Case report: An 8-month-old infant died of a sepsis with multi-organ failure after 32 days in intensive care. At autopsy, no thymus gland could be found; toxicological examinations yielded high morphine concentrations. Autopsy findings and the results of further examinations performed postmortem are discussed in view of the clinical findings, the classification and the cause of death.     

Suicide with acetylsalicylic acid

The authors report on a suicide of a 41-year-old man with acetylsalicylic acid. According to his own statement the man had taken about 200 tablets of Aspirin (65 g acetylsalicylic acid) and initially showed no symptoms of intoxication. 4-5 hours after ingestion he vomited twice, but clear intoxication symptoms like convulsions and cardiac arrhythmia occurred not earlier than 11 hours after ingestion. Resuscitation by the emergency physician was not successful. The chemical-toxicological analysis (HPLC-DAD) of blood samples taken in the hospital approximately 12 h after ingestion showed salicylate in concentrations of 475 mg/L to 557 mg/L. The post-mortem concentrations of salicylate were within the lethal-toxic range, i.e. 762 mg/L in heart blood and 215 mg/L in femoral blood. All tested organs contained equally lethal salicylate levels (e.g. 503 mg/L in the liver and 251 mg/L in the brain).     

What drives patenting and commerzialisation activity at East German universities? The role of new public policy, institutional environment and individual prior knowledge

New public policy enacted in Germany in 2002, intends to increase the number of patent registrations of academic entrepreneurs, and facilitate the commercialization and spillover of innovation generated at public universities. Results from a survey amongst university patentees in two new German Laender, Thuringia and Saxony, accomplished in 2009, are reported focusing on government policy, university support, and the role of technology transfer in an organizational and cultural context. Using a two-step cluster analysis, the survey data are used to profile the patentees and to investigate whether personal attributes and institutional environment contribute to academic entrepreneurship. Empirical findings show that advanced age and non-university working experience contribute significantly to entrepreneurial behavior. New public policy contributes to facilitate patent registrations, but professional expertise for the commercialization of knowledge as well as financial and organizational support schemes needs further improvement. This explains why patent registrations have slightly increased but also why universities report very low levels of commercialization through entrepreneurship. We offer policy recommendations to overcome the existent barriers, among them, the professionalization of technology transfer or targeted marketing for registered patents.     

International Dimensions of Legitimacy: Reflections on Western Theories and the Chinese Experience

Western legitimacy theories have mostly focused on the nation-state and the domestic aspects of political legitimacy. However, with the acceleration of globalization, a dimension of legitimacy has come into view that has previously been largely neglected in political science: the international dimension. While the interdependence of nation-states at the global level might put some constraints on the (re)production of legitimacy domestically, it simultaneously allows them to leverage their global standing to gain legitimacy abroad and at home. China is the most prominent example of the growing importance of this dynamic link between internal and external legitimacy. The paper starts with a critical reflection on the prevalent Western legitimacy theories. Based on these reflections, it introduces a new approach which aims to differentiate analytically between internal and external legitimation strategies and to examine the two-level logic linking the two.