Examination of misconceptions surrounding fatal fire victims

Fire deaths are not unusual in forensic investigative practice but due to the destructive nature of fire they are often very difficult to investigate. With the need to identify the deceased and the events surrounding the manner and cause of death, knowledge of thermally induced alteration to the human body is important. Within the fire investigation community, a number of misconceptions have been present for years regarding the protrusion of the tongue as an indicator of life during the fire, and fractured skulls as the result of brains boiling and skulls exploding. This work presents qualitative analysis on the experimental burning of 42 unembalmed human donated cadavers by the San Luis Obispo Strike Team (SLOFIST) on their annual Forensic Fire Death Investigation Course (FFDIC) between 2017 and 2019. Prior to burning, the position of the tongue within the dental arch was confirmed and sharp, blunt, surgical and gunshot trauma to the cranium documented. Temperature was recorded from ignition through to suppression with thermocouples present both within the scene and the body. Post burn analysis on the position of the tongue, observation of cranial fractures and presence of brain tissue were recorded and analysed in conjunction with thermocouple data, fire scene dynamics and body demographics. The results provide a more comprehensive understanding of the thermal environmental factors involved in producing the phenomena that facilitate these misconceptions, identifying that a more thorough understanding of individual fire scenes and their development is essential when interpreting alteration and injury to the body of the fatal fire victim.     

用人单位单方解除劳动合同的理性反思和制度完善——以解雇保护的正当性与合理性为视角

实践中,越来越多的劳动争议案件的发生是围绕用人单位单方解除劳动合同产生的。用人单位单方解除权的滥用,一方面会威胁劳动者的生存权,另一方面也必然会影响劳动关系的稳定,甚至会影响整个社会的和谐。笔者在介绍解雇自由和解雇保护的概念及相关发展的基础上,分别从自然法、经济学、社会学角度对解雇保护的正当性进行了论述,指出我国对用人单位的单方解除权进行限制是正当的,也是符合国际立法趋势的。然后透过司法实践遇到的问题指出我国劳动合同法中解雇保护的不足和缺陷,并在参照国外成功立法的基础上,提出了完善我国用人单位单方解除劳动合同的立法建议,希望通过事前、事中、事后的全方面规制完善来形成一套完整的解雇保护制度,达到效率和公平的最佳平衡点,体现合理性。     

An Evaluation of Standardized Software for Processing GC/MS Data from Different Vendors' Instruments in a Forensic Laboratory

Forensic science laboratories perform analyses on a variety of materials using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Instruments from different vendors may be used, requiring analysts to be proficient in the use of multiple proprietary software packages for collecting and processing data. There is no standardized GC/MS software available that can acquire data from different vendors' instruments. However, there are third‐party processing software products that can import data files in different formats. The Centre of Forensic Sciences compared the data processing performance of one such product, ACD/MS Manager Suite, with three instrument vendors' software used for casework analysis. This product was tested for its compatibility with the existing software, its capability to load and present data, and to initiate searches of commercial libraries. The study shows that the MS Manager module provides a means for the forensic analyst to view, process, and report on data from different sources in one software package.     

Progress Toward the Determination of Correct Classification Rates in Fire Debris Analysis II: Utilizing Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA)

A multistep classification scheme was used to detect and classify ignitable liquid residues in fire debris into the classes defined by the ASTM E1618‐10 standard method. The total ion spectra (TIS) of the samples were classified by soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) with cross‐validation and tested on fire debris. For detection of ignitable liquid residue, the true‐positive rate was 94.2% for cross‐validation and 79.1% for fire debris, with false‐positive rates of 5.1% and 8.9%, respectively. Evaluation of SIMCA classifications for fire debris relative to a reviewer's examination led to an increase in the true‐positive rate to 95.1%; however, the false‐positive rate also increased to 15.0%. The correct classification rates for assigning ignitable liquid residues into ASTM E1618‐10 classes were generally in the range of 80–90%, with the exception of gasoline samples, which were incorrectly classified as aromatic solvents following evaporative weathering in fire debris.     

Association of Ignitable Liquid Residues to Neat Ignitable Liquids in the Presence of Matrix Interferences Using Chemometric Procedures*,†

Abstract: In fire debris analysis, weathering of ignitable liquids and matrix interferences can make the identification of ignitable liquid residues (ILRs) difficult. An objective method was developed to associate ILRs with the corresponding neat liquid with discrimination from matrix interferences using principal components analysis (PCA) and Pearson product moment correlation (PPMC) coefficients. Six ignitable liquids (gasoline, diesel, ultra pure paraffin lamp oil, adhesive remover, torch fuel, paint thinner) were spiked onto carpet, which was burned, then extracted using passive headspace extraction, and analyzed by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry. Both light and heavy burn conditions were investigated. In the PCA scores plot, ignitable liquids were discriminated based on alkane and aromatic content. All ILRs were successfully associated with the corresponding neat liquid using both PCA and PPMC coefficients, regardless of the extent of burning. The method developed in this research may make the association of ILRs with corresponding neat liquids more objective.     

毫火针联合康复训练治疗脑卒中后肩手综合征Ⅰ期临床研究

摘要：目的：对毫火针联合康复训练治疗脑卒中后肩手综合征（SHS）Ⅰ期患者的临床疗效进行观察。方法：60例脑卒中后肩手综合征Ⅰ期患者随机均等分为观察组和对照组。两组患者均采取常规用药及康复治疗,对照组加普通毫针治疗,观察组加用毫火针治疗,2组疗程均为4周。观察并比较2组患者治疗前后肩手综合征评估量表（SHSS）评分、疼痛视觉模拟评分法（VAS）评分、上肢Fugl-Meyer功能量表（FMA）评分。结果：观察组总有效率显著高于对照组（P＜0.05）。观察组各项指标改善程度均优于对照组（P＜0.05）。结论：毫火针联合康复训练能够显著改善脑卒中后肩手综合征Ⅰ期患者的肢体功能,缓解疼痛肿胀,调节患者的血管功能,提高临床疗效,提升患者生活质量。