Postmortem interval of skeletal remains through the detection of intraosseal hemin traces. A comparison of UV-fluorescence, luminol, Hexagon-OBTI®, and Combur® tests

With the goal of obtaining additional practically applicable methods for estimating the PMI of skeletal remains, 39 samples of human and 5 samples of domestic animal long bones with known PMI (PMI=1 to approximately 2000 years) were tested with two established methods (UV-fluorescence of a freshly sawn cross-section and the luminol test) and two screening tests (Hexagon-OBTI? test and Combur? test) that were being tried out in this context for the first time. The hypothesis underlying this experiment was the supposition that the PMI-related chemiluminescence of the luminol reaction for bone is based on the presence of persisting hemin from hemoglobin molecules in bone. Our results showed that lack of luminescence and reduced UV-fluorescence were more meaningful results for estimating PMI and excluding forensic relevance than a positive luminol reaction or strong UV-fluorescence, as both of the latter findings revealed the limitations of these methods in this particular context. Particularly for cases showing a positive luminol reaction, the use of additional absolute dating methods may be indicated. Against our expectations, both the Combur? test strips and the Hexagon-OBTI? test, which were both devised to demonstrate blood, delivered negative results for all samples. They are thus not suitable for estimating the PMI of skeletal remains. Future research will be necessary to elucidate whether the negative results obtained for these tests may be due to the poor solubility of potentially present hemoglobin or hemoglobin breakdown products in the Tris buffer used in this experiment.     

The Relationship Between Crime and Electronic Gaming Expenditure: Evidence from Victoria, Australia

Gambling in Australia is a significant economic activity. Expenditure on its many forms is sizeable and has undergone sustained periods of expansion. At the same time, the structure of the gambling industry has undergone substantial change, with the use of gaming facilities in local hotels and licensed clubs now representing one of the most predominant forms of gambling. Despite this, and the extensive international literature on the relationships between gambling and crime, there have been relatively few studies which examine the local area effects of gaming establishments on crime in Australia. This study uses a unique set of data from the Australian state of Victoria, a region in which local area expansion of gaming networks has been considerable since 1991, to investigate the relationship between gaming machine expenditure and various types of crime in 1996, 2001 and 2006. One particular focus is that of income-generating crime, defined here as theft, fraud, breaking and entering, forgery, false pretences, larceny and robbery. After controlling for a host of statistical issues, our results indicate a consistent positive and significant relationship between gaming and crime rates, especially income-generating crime rates, at the local level.     

Child Abuse in a Disciplinary Context: A Typology of Violent Family Environments

The objectives of this study were to identify and validate types of violent family environments based on child abuse in a disciplinary context. The study is original in that it simultaneously takes into account the cognitive and behavioral dimensions of the parental role as it relates to the degree of family violence in a child??s life. Cluster analyses were performed on a representative sample of 3,148 families. The Abusive profile applied to families who reported at least one severe assault on a child within the past year. This profile also had the highest levels of domestic violence, psychological aggression, and corporal punishment. The Harsh profile is nevertheless similar to the Abusive profile, despite the fact that these families reported no severe assault. The key difference is the lower score levels: the attributes are the same, but less intense. The Nonabusive profile accounted for the families with the lowest rates of domestic and parental violence, together with a negative attitude towards corporal punishment and a heightened awareness of the consequences of violence. Although the families who matched the Paradoxical profile reported very little violence, they are the least aware of the consequences of violence and the most in favor of corporal punishment. The four profiles were replicated with another cluster analysis performed on an independent representative sample of 2,465 families. Then the profiles were compared with regard to the variables used to create the clusters and other variables theoretically associated with the appearance of maltreatment. These validation methods enhance the credibility of the proposed typology.     

Expedited, chemically enhanced sperm cell recovery from cotton swabs for rape kit analysis

This report focuses on the development of a method for chemically induced enhancement of cell elution and recovery from cotton swabs. The method exploits the exclusive use of detergents for intact cell removal, and can be utilized in conjunction with, or to circumvent, conventional differential extraction (DE). Samples treated with Sarkosyl (54.4 +/- 1.8%) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (78.5 +/- 0.7%) yielded higher sperm cell recoveries than a conventional DE buffer (39.4 +/- 2.1%). The results indicated that the choice of detergent affected sperm cell yield, with anionic detergents having the greatest effect. Storage time of samples affected the concentration of detergent required for optimal sperm cell recovery, longer times requiring increased detergent concentrations. In addition, the extent of sperm cell lysis by proteinase K digestion was evaluated. The results indicate that the exclusive use of SDS enhances the release of sperm and epithelial cells from a cotton swab as compared with DE buffer, providing for a more effective DNA analysis.     

Screening for intimate partner violence: the impact of screener and screening environment on victim comfort

The barriers that professionals face when screening victims for intimate partner violence (IPV) are well studied. The specific barriers that victims face however when being screened are not. The authors sought to identify characteristics of the screener and screening environment that make a victim feel more or less comfortable when disclosing a history of IPV. One hundred forty self-reported female victims of IPV completed a survey regarding their experiences with screening and degree of comfort with certain traits of the screener and the screening environment. Women demonstrated a preference to be screened by a woman, someone of the same race, a provider aged 30 to 50 years, and without anyone else present. Screeners should be aware of characteristics that impact victim comfort and should provide multiple opportunities for women to disclose IPV in a safe, respectful, and culturally effective environment.     

Postmortem atropine concentrations in resuscitation cases

The medications used during resuscitation are often in and of themselves toxic. Several reports have been published regarding toxicities of these drugs, including lidocaine, procainamide, and atropine. But how does a forensic pathologist or toxicologist differentiate a possible intoxication from therapeutic or resuscitory use especially given that the concentrations of such drugs, when used in the setting of resuscitation, have not been studied? Concentrations of a well-known resuscitation medication, atropine, were assessed in cases where it was administered before death during attempted resuscitation in an effort to address this deficiency. A review of deaths occurring in 2009 was undertaken to identify cases where drugs known to be used during resuscitation were present on toxicological analysis. Autopsy reports and medical records were examined to determine how much atropine was administered, the timing and route of administration, the time the sample was drawn (antemortem and postmortem), the source of the sample, and the ultimate cause of death. Eighty-nine cases were identified in which atropine was given before death during attempted resuscitation and was detected in the blood on postmortem toxicological screening; 11 cases were identified in which atropine was administered before death yet was not detected on the postmortem toxicological screening. Mean age was 41 years, and there were 65 males and 35 females. The overall median dose of atropine given was 3 mg, the median difference between the time of last administration of the atropine to the time of death (or draw for antemortem samples) was 15 minutes, and the median atropine concentration was 0.1 mg/L. Analysis failed to reveal significant differences in the atropine concentration based on the route of administration (intravenous or intraosseus), the cause of death, or the time since administration (within the first 2 hours). Analysis did reveal a difference between the atropine concentrations in peripheral versus central blood sources and with prolonged postmortem interval (>24 hours) suggesting postmortem redistribution.     

Method validation of a survey of thevetia cardiac glycosides in serum samples

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI(+)-MS/MS) procedure was developed and validated for the identification and quantification of thevetin B and further cardiac glycosides in human serum. The seeds of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana) contain cardiac glycosides that can cause serious intoxication. A mixture of six thevetia glycosides was extracted from these seeds and characterized. Thevetin B, isolated and efficiently purified from that mixture, is the main component and can be used as evidence. Solid phase extraction (SPE) proved to be an effective sample preparation method. Digoxin-d3 was used as the internal standard. Although ion suppression occurs, the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.27 ng/ml serum for thevetin B. Recovery is higher than 94%, and accuracy and precision were proficient. Method refinement was carried out with regard to developing a general screening method for cardiac glycosides. The assay is linear over the range of 0.5-8 ng/ml serum. Finally, the method was applied to a case of thevetia seed ingestion.     

To Each According to his Need? Variability in the Responses to Inequity in Non-Human Primates

While it is well established that humans respond to inequity, it remains unclear the extent to which this behavior occurs in our non-human primate relatives. By comparing a variety of species, spanning from New World and Old World monkeys to great apes, scientists can begin to answer questions about how the response to inequity evolved, what the function of this response is, and why and how different contexts shape it. In particular, research across non-human primate species suggests that the response is quite variable across species, contexts, and individuals. In this paper, we aim to review these differences in an attempt to identify and better understand the patterns that emerge from the existing data with the goal of developing directions for future research. To begin, we address the importance of considering socio-ecological factors in non-human primates in order to better understand and predict expected patterns of cooperation and aversion to inequity in different species, following which we provide a detailed analysis of the patterns uncovered by these comparisons. Ultimately, we use this synthesis to propose new ideas for research to better understand this response and, hence, the evolution of our own responses to inequity.