The sciatic notch/acetabular index as a discriminator of sex in European skeletal remains

The sciatic notch/acetabular index and its rule of thumb application was tested on two European skeletal series of documented sex. The results showed poor consistency between documented and estimated sex. Of the two variables comprising the index, it appeared that sciatic notch width was a particularly poor discriminator of sex. It is suggested that this may be due to differences in the relationship between sciatic notch form and body size in different ethnic groups.     

Detection of bullet residue in bone using proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis

External beam proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis has been used to verify the presence of lead in the finger bone of a murder victim. The deceased, who had been buried several years, was known to have suffered a bullet wound to his right hand several years before death. X-ray radiographs of the right second proximal phalanx revealed the possible presence of metal fragments below the surface of the bone. To verify the presence of lead in a nondestructive manner, the bone was scanned with a 1.5-MeV proton beam. PIXE analysis showed that lead was present only in the vicinity of the fragments previously detected in the radiographs. A study of gunshot residue in bone shows that the distribution of lead around the bullet hole is independent of the firing distance for distances greater than 0.6 m.     

Blood droplet dynamics--I

The interpretation of bloodstain patterns at crime scenes has received increased attention in recent years. Important to an understanding of this is knowledge of the fundamentals of blood droplet formation and impact dynamics. A review of the literature reveals that a considerable amount of work has been done with aqueous drop dynamics. Workers in the forensic science area seem to have been unaware of this. In addition, some of the most important and comprehensive early work with blood droplet dynamics seems to have been forgotten. It is not cited in more recent publications dealing with bloodstain pattern interpretation. This literature is reviewed and discussed as well. The present study presents results of experiments with blood droplet dynamics and high-speed photographs of blood droplet impacts on stationary target surfaces. Some longstanding misconceptions of importance to forensic scientists engaged in crime scene reconstruction are discussed.     

A consultant's survey of the patients in a maximum security hospital

The patients at a state maximum security forensic facility were interviewed by a psychiatrist and their files reviewed. Only 43 of the 203 patients were judged to be suitable for the facility. Nearly 60% of the pretrial defendants were judged to be capable of proceeding to trial. Of the patients, 18% were judged to be malingering or avoiding trial or prison. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Police grantsmanship: A case study

Police leadership is increasingly dependent on community oriented policing (COPS) federal grants because of diminishing financial resources. This paper demonstrates the importance of excellent police grantsmanship skills while simultaneously providing theoretical and concrete steps for achieving a successful grant package. Furthermore, a case study example is presented where COPS grants and federal funding assisted in the acquisition of community-oriented and problem-solving strategic objectives.     

Fluidity of cadaveric blood after sudden death: Part III. Acid-base balance and fibrinolysis

In rats, fibrinolytic activity and acidosis increased rapidly after death. Postmortem fibrinolysis and the pH, base excess (BE), and [HCO3-] levels were affected by the method of sacrifice: the lower the pH, BE, and [HCO3-] levels, the higher the fibrinolytic activity. Conversely, in experiments using the vascular perfusion technique, low pH, BE, and [HCO3-] levels of the perfusate induced abundant release of plasminogen activator from the vascular wall.     

The Auction Price of Apartments in Moscow: Hedonic Estimation in Disequilibrium1

The purpose of this paper is to see how economic factors determine prices in the previously communist countries undergoing privatization. This does not concern the auctions of big state enterprises where the prices are found to be rigged. In this paper we estimate hedonic price functions based on a unique data set on auction prices of apartments in Moscow. We collected the data ourselves by attending the auctions and gathered data on the characteristics. We estimated the hedonic equations using a disequilibrium approach because no equilibrium prices were observed for large number of apartments that were withdrawn from the auction. We found that, as the privatization of residential housing was carried out, the hedonic price equations fit the data remarkably well.     

Effect of hypothermia on breath-alcohol analysis

Mild hypothermia, induced by experimental immersion of ten subjects in cold water, distorted the decay curve of breath ethanol of intoxicated subjects by as much as 22% while not altering overall ethanol clearance rate. The results provide in vivo verification of the in vitro temperature correction factor of 6.8% X degrees C-1, and support previous recommendations that temperature monitoring be included in procedures for breath-ethanol testing. We recommend that mouth temperature be obtained before breath sampling to screen for abnormal body temperature and to allow for potential use of a temperature correction factor. This modification to existing analytical procedures would help to optimize the reliability of breath-ethanol analysis in predicting blood-ethanol concentration.