Teens and Spice: A Review of Adolescent Fatalities Associated with Synthetic Cannabinoid Use

Synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) are commonly abused by adolescents with reported past year (2013) use in high school students between 3 and 10%. Standard adolescent postmortem toxicology does not include routine SC analysis, and thus, the true burden of fatalities related to SCs is unknown. A retrospective case review of two cases included scene investigation, interviews, autopsy, and toxicology. SCs were confirmed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC?MS/MS). Review of the eight adolescent SC‐associated fatalities in the literature revealed five of eight cases had no other discernible cause of death on autopsy. Compounds detected included PB‐22 (1.1 ng/mL), JWH‐210 (12 ng/mL), XLR‐11 (1.3 ng/mL), JWH‐122, AB‐CHMINACA (8.2 ng/mL), UR‐144 (12.3 ng/mL), and JWH‐022 (3 ng/mL). With synthetic drug use on the rise, forensic experts should have a high index of suspicion for the possibility of SC intoxication in adolescent fatalities with no other discernible cause of death.     

A re‐analysis that supports our main results: A reply to Levine et al.

Levine et al. (2018) criticized our meta‐analysis, but their conclusion was the same as ours: The cognitive approach to lie detection results in a modest improvement. We address and dismiss Levine et al.'s (2018) three criticisms. Regarding the ‘confound’, in our meta‐analysis we averaged the results of two cells on statistical grounds, which does not constitute a confound in statistical terms. Regarding ‘aberrant controls’, that depends entirely on the benchmarks selected and type of statistical test and meta‐analysis used. Regarding ‘unreliable data’, the claim that there is a positive relationship between ‘unreliable’ data and total accuracy in the cognitive lie detection conditions is not even supported by their own data (p = .16). We conclude with a request to Levine et al. to focus on our shared aim: to develop interview protocols that enable lie detection.     

Detecting children's false allegations and recantations of a crime

This study examined adults’ abilities to detect the veracity of children's (ages 6–11) initial disclosures and their later recantations about a crime. Children (N?=?32) were asked to make a false denial or a false accusation of an alleged theft, while some were asked to tell the truth. Afterwards, children recanted their initial statements in a second interview; thus, children who initially denied the theft accused a researcher of the transgression in the second interview, and vice-versa. Adult raters (ages 18–25; N?=?108) watched both interviews and completed a questionnaire that required them to determine the veracity (i.e. whether the report was true or false) and credibility of the disclosure. Adults accurately detected the veracity of children's reports 53% of the time (55% of original reports, 50% of recantations). Raters were more accurate when detecting false denials than false accusations in the children's original and recanted reports. Despite being more difficult to detect, children's recanted denials that became accusations were rated as the least credible. Furthermore, self-reported level of experience with children and ratings confidence were not significant predictors of truth/lie detection accuracy.     

牛病毒性腹泻病毒双抗体夹心ELISA检测方法的建立

将牛病毒性腹泻病毒超免疫血清以常规方法提取IgG,采用过碘酸钠法标记辣根过氧化物酶(HRP),建立了从粪样中检测牛病毒性腹泻病毒抗原的双抗体夹心ELISA。结果,抗体的最佳包被量为150μg/mL,酶标抗体最适工作浓度为1∶200;封闭液为50mL/L的兔血清;待检粪样及酶标抗体的感作时间为37℃120min;底物显色时间为室温15min。应用建立的检测方法对河北省8个大中型奶牛场298份乳牛腹泻粪样进行了检测,结果,阳性检出率为42.6%。     

浅析类比推理在侦查中的应用

类比推理是形式逻辑中的一种推理形式 ,在人们对事物的认识中 ,使用之可以为人们提供新知识 ,认识新事物。把类比推理与侦查有效地结合起来 ,能帮助侦查人员把握案情 ,寻找不同案件间的联系 ,搜寻关键证据 ,从而探明案情 ,查出真凶。因此 ,类比推理是侦查中不可或缺的一种思维工具     

高效液相色谱法测定小鼠血清中可卡因的含量

目的 建立一种测定血清中可卡因含量的高效液相色谱方法。方法 以0.04mol/L磷酸盐缓冲液(含有0.26 mmol/L四丁基胺盐,pH3.2)-乙腈(83:17)为流动相,血清样品采用2％异戊醇正己烷-0.1 mol/L HCl液液反萃取法处理,用Kromasil C18色谱柱分析血清中可卡因的含量。紫外检测波长为235nm。结果可卡因的最小检出浓度为25ng/ml,回收率71％。结论所建方法测定血清中可卡因含量灵敏度高,简便易行。     

单核苷酸多态性及其在法医学中的应用前景

单核苷酸多态性是人类基因组中最常见、分布最广泛的DNA多态性类型。随着人类基因组计划的迅猛发展,已有越来越多的单核苷酸多态性位点被发现,使其可以广泛应用于人类遗传性和遗传相关性疾病的诊断、群体遗传学的研究、药物的开发及应用等方面,同样在法医学也具有广阔的应用前景。本文综合介绍了单核苷酸多态性的一般特性及法医学应用前景,包括其应用的可行性、存在的问题及高通量自动化的检测方法。     

Use of a commercially available hydrogel as a novel DNA surface sampling tool

A common requirement in the military, law enforcement, and forensic mission space is the need to collect trace samples from surfaces using a method that not only readily captures the sample but also retains its integrity for downstream identification and characterization. Additionally, collecting samples from three-dimensional objects (e.g., shell casings) is a challenge for which there is currently no validated standardized approach. Recently, hydrogels have been shown to have the potential for surface collection of trace bacterial spores, amino acids, and DNA. To test whether these hydrogels can serve as a viable collection medium for sampling DNA from surfaces, we carried out a series of preliminary tests examining collection efficiency and suitability of hydrogel material to recover samples of diluted, dried human DNA on a smooth polycarbonate surface. The recovery of surface DNA using a commercially available hydrogel was examined, and the efficiency compared to samples collected using a standard foam collection swab. DNA collected using the hydrogel and swab methods was then examined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and short tandem repeat (STR) analysis to determine whether the collection material was compatible with these downstream processes. The hydrogel material used for this study collected the experimental DNA with comparable efficiency to standard collection swabs. In addition, qPCR and STR analyses demonstrated compatibility with the hydrogel collection and extraction process. These data suggest that hydrogels have the potential to be used as sample collection materials and deserve further characterization to elucidate their utility in collection from irregularly shaped, three-dimensional surfaces/materials.     

奶牛乳房炎四种致病菌PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条快速检测方法的建立及应用

为了开发检测导致奶牛乳房炎的无乳链球菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠杆菌和停乳链球菌这四种重要致病菌的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条方法,本研究采用柠檬酸还原法制备10 nm的胶体金溶液,选用优化的10μL 1 mol/L碳酸钾溶液调节pH和5μL异硫氰酸荧光素抗体偶联金颗粒,并使用优化的封闭液(10%BSA、0.25%PEG2000、0.05%吐温-20、0.05%Triton-X100)进行封闭,将地高辛抗体和山羊抗鼠二抗分别喷涂在检测线和质控线上,烘干并组装成试纸条,进行细菌的纯培养物和鲜牛奶加样检测。结果显示,所制备的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条和凝胶电泳均具有较好的特异性,最低检测限要比凝胶电泳高10倍,在模拟污染牛奶样品测试中,试纸条仍然具有很好的特异性且灵敏度比凝胶电泳的高。上述结果表明,本研究建立的PCR核酸免疫层析试纸条检测方法具有良好的临床应用潜力。     

When the long road is the shortcut: a comparison between two coding methods for content-based lie-detection tools

When using a content-based lie detection tool, a decision regarding veracity is made by evaluating the presence of specific content criteria within the interviewee’s account. This evaluation can be achieved either by counting the frequency of occurrence of the criteria (frequency counts; FC) or by using a scale to rate the intensity at which they appear in the entire text (scale rates; SR). In the current study, we compared these two coding methods with respect to their accuracy in determining veracity, and their intercoder and test–retest reliabilities. Fourteen coders coded the presence of perceptual and contextual details in true and false statements, each used the FC method for one set of 30 statements and the SR method for another set of 30 statements. One month later, eight of the coders recoded 28 statements. Results showed a significant advantage for the FC method over the SR method. While the coders perceived the SR method as less time-consuming than the FC method, accuracy level as well as intercoder and test–retest reliabilities were higher for the FC than for the SR method. These findings suggest that when using a content-based lie detection tool, FC coding should be preferred over SR coding.