Scene investigation, identification, and victim examination following the accident of Galaxy 203: disaster preplanning does work

Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashed following takeoff from Reno-Cannon International Airport on 21 Jan. 1985. Sixty-eight persons on board the aircraft perished in the initial crash and resultant fire which followed. Two victims expired as a result of crash injuries within subsequent days and one passenger survived. A community disaster response plan was in place and had been practiced by local government agencies before this incident. The successes of this preplanned response, as well as methods of actual recovery, identification, and examination of the victims is presented.     

Immature glomeruli in cot death kidneys

A morphometric study on the kidneys of cot death cases and age-matched controls was carried out using a point-counting method. The average proportions of the various kidney structures, especially the percentage of foetal glomeruli, were similar in both groups. This percentage decreased after the age of six months. The hypothesis that cot death may be caused by renal insufficiency associated with immaturity of glomeruli gained no morphological or morphometric support.     

Stain analysis using oligonucleotide probes specific for simple repetitive DNA sequences

The use of oligonucleotide fingerprinting is evaluated in practical forensic work, using both artificially and systematically produced stains as well as actual case work material. The probes (CAC5/(GTG)5 are superior because of their individualizing potential in comparatively fresh specimens with little DNA degradation, whereas (GACA)4, still produces substantial information when high molecular weight DNA is lacking. The overall limitations and the advantages of this technology are discussed in detail and compared to the classical minisatellite probes.     

Empirical Limits for the Forensic Assessment of PTSD Litigants

This paper discusses the limits of expert opinion on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in personal injury claims. The construct of PTSD is hampered by several empirical limitations. Multiple reliable measures of PTSD exist, but have not been evaluated sufficiently within litigating samples and are infrequently used by forensic assessors. Common methods for trauma screening appear insensitive. Opinions about causation of PTSD and disability are complicated by retrospective memory biases, as well as the failure of most anxiety disorders to be detected within primary medical care. PTSD appears to have a steep spontaneous remission curve during the first year, but at least 10% of trauma-exposed people suffer chronic distress. Little is known about the course beyond 1 year. Efficacious psychological treatments have been developed for PTSD, but are not in common use limiting claimants access to rehabilitative treatments. Research on functional disability associated with PTSD is in its infancy, but it seems likely that PTSD will account for only a part of the variance in work disability. We provide suggestions for improving forensic practice, advising the courts about the limitations of forensic opinions, and necessary research.     

The evaluation of evidence in the forensic investigation of fire incidents. Part II. Practical examples of the use of Bayesian networks

This paper extends a previous discussion of the use of Bayesian networks for evaluating evidence in the forensic investigation of fire incidents. Bayesian networks are proposed for two casework examples and the practical implications studied in detail. Such networks were found to provide precious support in addressing some of the wide range of issues that affect the coherent evaluation of evidence.