Forensic Identification Research Articles

Foramen magnum variables for forensic identification among Egyptians using computed tomographic scans: A narrative review

Foramen magnum variables for forensic identification among Egyptians using computed tomographic scans: A narrative review

Species Identification of Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi) From Swim Bladders by Real‐Time Fluorescence‐Based Recombinase‐Aided Amplification

The increased illegal fishing to supply swim bladders is the current threat to the Totoaba macdonaldi, due to the high commercial value of swim bladders. Species identification is the foundation of the endangered animal protection. Limited by the sophisticated thermal cycling, specialized machine, and sequencing costs, DNA barcoding might not better satisfy the needs of on‐site inspection to the efficiency, convenience, and low cost, although it has reliable results and has been widely used. It is necessary to establish a convenient, rapid, sensitive, and accurate method for customs to inspect the swim bladders in legal or illegal trade on site. In this study, we introduce real‐time fluorescence‐based recombinase‐aided amplification (RF‐RAA) into species identification of swim bladders. Specific primers and probes targeted to Totoaba macdonaldi were designed and the reaction temperature and time were screened. It was applied to the forensic identification of swim bladders confiscated by custom after its sensitivity and specificity were verified. The results showed that (1) the primers of TMcytB F1 and TMcytB R3 targeted to the Cytb had a good amplification at 39°C, 30 cycles (15 min) with good repeatability and stability; (2) the method had good specificity and no cross‐reaction with other 22 swim bladder originated species; (3) the lowest detectable limit (LDL) of this method was 3.7 × 101 copies/μL; (4) about 1.836 kg of all the swim bladders confiscated by Shenzhen customs on 2022 were identified to be Totoaba macdonaldi by using this method. This study provides an effective species identification alternative for competent authorities to tackle the illegal import and market regulation of totoaba swim bladders.

Application of the Investigator Argus X-12 QS Kit and the Famlinkx Software for Solving Complex Kinship Forensic Genetics Cases in Colombia: Case Report

X-chromosome short tandem repeats (X-STRs) genotyping is a powerful ¬tool in forensic genetics for resolving intricate kinship cases due to its distinctive inheritance pattern. It proves particularly valuable in scenarios where the application of autosomal (A-STR) and Y-chromosomal STR (Y-STR) markers falls short in addressing such cases, especially those involving complex situations and kinship analyses encompassing extensive and incomplete pedigrees. The recent advancement and implementation of the Argus X-12 QS kit along with the FamilinkX software for X-STR analysis have facilitated the resolution of forensic cases that were formerly inconclusive or not received by the laboratory due to their high complexity. This article delineates seven intricate cases of kinship and identification conducted at the Forensic Genetics Laboratory of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Bogotá, Colombia, in instances where autosomal STRs yielded non-conclusive or weak likelihood ratio (LR) values, the combination of the Argus X-12 QS kit and the FamilinkX software proved instrumental in elucidating and enhancing LR values, thereby leading to conclusive outcomes. The article details a case involving the confirmation of the identity of a body retrieved from water, which was subsequently returned to the institute by its relatives for identification. It also encompasses cases involving maternal half-siblings, complex pedigrees with paternal half-aunts, and others. In each scenario, the total LR was estimated by combining the LR of autosomal STRs (LR AS-STR) with the LR of X-STRs (LR X-STR), utilizing the population frequency database specific to Colombia. Additionally, the LRs of X-STRs obtained using population frequency data from Colombia were compared with those from Mexico. The data derived from both the Mexican and Colombian populations exhibited a high degree of similarity. The collective LR values substantiate the efficacy of X-STR markers, particularly in resolving cases of maternal half-siblings. The analysis underscores the robust informativeness of the 12 X-STR loci examined in the context of forensic testing

Review on Polygraph Testing in Clinical Forensic Psychology

Polygraph tests are widely employed as forensic tests in investigations and in legal proceedings. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how physiology and psychological techniques operate in lie detection or Polygraph provides a contribution to scientific methods of criminal investigation. Lie detector tests use a polygraph machine that consists of different parts to measure the changes in the physiological aspects (usually respiration, electro dermal activity, relative blood pressure, and often peripheral vasomotor activity) of a person while answering questions or reacting to statements. Polygraph testing is still used in certain contexts, its validity and reliability are matters of ongoing debate within the scientific community. Many experts argue that it should not be the sole basis for making high-stakes decisions. Polygraph tests are used frequently in many fields, such as law enforcement, national security, and private investigations etc. The constitutional validity of Polygraph Test is still unanswered. Thus, government should enact new legislation regarding application of lie detectors in criminal justice. So that, our legal system take better advantage of rapid advances in scientific tools which work as judicial aids.

Reliability of Automated Biometrics in the Analysis of Enamel Rod End Patterns- In Vitro Study

ABSTRACT: Introduction: Ameloglyphics is the study of the distinctive patterns found on the enamel surface of teeth, which are different on each tooth and particular to each person. The purpose of this study was to compare the enamel print patterns on the buccal and lingual surfaces of teeth to see if there are any appreciable differences, and to evaluate the sensitivity and reliability of an automated biometrics software. Method: The study involved 62 individuals including 36 females and 26 males, from age range 15-60 years. From each individual one tooth sample was analyzed using a light microscope to capture images of the buccal and lingual surfaces middle third. These images were then analyzed using biometric software called Source AFIS, which processed the images and displayed enamel patterns. Data were entered and analyzed using GPower software (version 3.0). Chi-square test and Goodness of fit tests were done to compare the enamel rod end patterns between the teeth surfaces These enamel patterns were classified according to the “Manjunath Classification”. Result: The study found that there were no notable distinctions in enamel print patterns when comparing the teeth buccal and lingual surfaces. All 62 samples analyzed showed a high degree of similarity in enamel print patterns on both surfaces. This finding suggests that the same developmental, environmental, and genetic factors likely influence the enamel print patterns on both surfaces of a tooth. Conclusion: The samples' high frequency of comparable sub-patterns on both the buccal and lingual surfaces suggests that they are very similar to one another. This implies that tooth prints may be a valuable tool for forensic personal identification, particularly in the area of forensic dentistry.

Assessing the Relationship between Fingerprints and Lip Prints Patterns with Gender and Blood Group at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Fingerprints and lip prints are unique biometric markers extensively studied in forensic science for individual identification. Objective: This study investigates the relationship between fingerprints and lip print patterns concerning gender and blood group characteristics within a tertiary care hospital setting. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings: Department of Forensic Medicine Loralai Medical College, Loralai Pakistan. Duration: From August 2022 to January 2023. Methods: Total 150 patients involving the collection of fingerprints and lip prints from participants were enrolled. Gender and blood group information were also recorded. Statistical analysis, including correlation tests and chi-square analysis, was employed to examine associations between biometric patterns and demographic variables. Results: The mean age of the sample population was 37.53 years, with a standard deviation of 3.2 years. Approximately 53.33% of the participants were male, while 46.67% were female. Groups A and O each comprised 26.67% of the sample, while group AB accounted for 16.67%. Type II and Type III patterns followed, accounting for 23.33% and 20.00%, respectively, while Type I patterns were least common at 16.67%. In terms of fingerprint types, loops were the most prevalent at 46.67%, followed by whorls at 30.00% and arches at 23.33%. The correlation indicates significant associations between lip prints and fingerprints with gender (χ² = 7.128, df = 3, p < 0.001*) and between lip prints and fingerprints with blood group (χ² = 5.454, df = 3, p = 0.001*). These findings suggest that gender and blood group may influence the distribution of lip prints and fingerprints. Conclusion: This study demonstrates significant associations between fingerprints, lip prints, gender, and blood group characteristics among individuals at a tertiary care hospital. These findings underscore the potential utility of integrating biometric parameters for enhanced forensic identification and medical diagnostics.

Age Identification System with Panoramic Image Processing Digital Molar Dental Radiograph with Adaptive Region Growing Approach Method

Forensics plays a crucial role in legal enforcement, particularly in cases where objects or human victims undergoing forensic identification have suffered significant damage. Teeth offer a robust solution in the identification process due to their resilience to various circumstances. Forensic odontology focuses on dental identification for judicial purposes. One crucial parameter in forensic odontology is age estimation. Generally, an individual's dental development is directly related to age, which can be observed through the dental pulp. The dental pulp tends to narrow or widen with increasing age. In this study, an image processing system using the Adaptive Region Growing Approach (ARGA) method was developed for dental pulp molar radiograph images. Subsequently, the dental pulp images were classified using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) method. The research process encompassed data collection, image processing, feature extraction, and molar dental pulp size classification. The results demonstrated an accuracy of over 80% in the system, using specific parameters such as an adjustment threshold of OTSU 1.15, a clip limit histogram Equalization of 0.1, a polynomial kernel type, and one against one coding type for data classification into four classes. This study concludes that the Adaptive Region Growing Approach (ARGA) method and Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification can be effectively implemented in age estimation using panoramic radiograph images. This has the potential for significant applications in forensic odontology, supporting victim identification in legal enforcement.

СИСТЕМНЫЙ ПОДХОД В ПОНИМАНИИ КРИМИНАЛИСТИЧЕСКОЙ ИДЕНТИФИКАЦИИ

The work is devoted to theoretical issues of forensic identification. The article highlights the points of view of various researchers regarding the essence and content of this category. It is indicated that the scientific and applied development of forensic identification has led to its significant enrichment, as a result of which it can be considered as a theory of criminology, a method of collecting and verifying evidentiary information, a separate research procedure or a process of establishing facts significant for a criminal case. Due to the different understanding and interpretation of forensic identification in the scientific literature, there are often contradictions in the views of scientists. The article attempts to eliminate them by applying a systematic approach. For this purpose, forensic identification is considered as a system consisting of various components (components) that are closely interrelated, interacting and complementing each other. It is stated that the reduction of the forensic identification system to one of its components is completely incorrect and unjustified. Particular attention is focused on such components of the forensic identification system as method and theory. Their generalizing and concentrating role is emphasized. It is indicated that the theory of forensic identification forms the general foundation from which the other components of the system under consideration are formed. The evolution of the theory of forensic identification is highlighted. It is concluded that at present the system of forensic identification continues to develop naturally responding to objective trends and needs of the practice of combating crime.

Retrieving complete plastid genomes of endangered Guibourtia timber using hybridization capture for forensic identification and phylogenetic analysis

The high economic value and increased demand for timber have led to illegal logging and overexploitation, threatening wild populations. In this context, there is an urgent need to develop effective and accurate forensic tools for identifying endangered Guibourtia timber species to protect forest ecosystem resources and regulate their trade. In this study, a hybridization capture method was developed and applied to explore the feasibility of retrieving complete plastid genomes from Guibourtia sapwood and heartwood specimens stored in a xylarium (wood collection). We then carried out forensic identification and phylogenetic analyses of Guibourtia within the subfamily Detarioideae. This study is the first to successfully retrieve high-quality plastid genomes from xylarium specimens, with 76.95–99.97% coverage. The enrichment efficiency, sequence depth, and coverage of plastid genomes from sapwood were 16.73 times, 70.47 times and 1.14 times higher, respectively, than those from heartwood. Although the DNA capture efficiency of heartwood was lower than that of sapwood, the hybridization capture method used in this study is still suitable for heartwood DNA analysis. Based on the complete plastid genome, we identified six endangered or commonly traded Guibourtia woods at the species level. This technique also has the potential for geographical traceability, especially for Guibourtia demeusei and Guibourtia ehie. Meanwhile, Bayesian phylogenetic analysis suggested that these six Guibourtia species diverged from closely related species within the subfamily Detarioideae ca. 18 Ma during the Miocene. The DNA reference database established based on the xylarium specimens provides admissible evidence for diversity conservation and evolutionary analyses of endangered Guibourtia species.

Offline Mongolian Handwriting Identification Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Handwriting is a biometric behavioral characteristic with evident individual distinctiveness. With the rise of the deep learning trend and demands for forensic identification, handwriting identification has become one of the focal points of research in the field of pattern recognition. Research in handwriting identification for major global languages has matured. However, in China, there is limited attention in the field of writer identification for minority languages such as Mongolian, making it challenging to resolve criminal cases involving handwriting issues. This paper initiates an initial exploration of Mongolian handwriting identification by constructing a structurally simple convolutional neural network. This convolutional neural network, consisting of 12 convolution operations and designed for Mongolian handwriting identification, is referred to as MWInet-12. In this paper, the model evaluation experiments were conducted using a dataset comprising 156,372 samples contributed by 125 writers from the MOLHW dataset. The dataset was divided into training, validation, and test sets in an 8:1:1 ratio. The final results of the experiments reveal impressive accuracy on the test set, achieving a top-1 accuracy of 89.60% and a top-5 accuracy of 97.53%. Furthermore, through comparative experiments involving Resnet50, Fragnet, GRRNN, VGG16, and VGG19 models, this paper establishes that the proposed model yields the most favorable results for Mongolian handwriting identification. The exploratory research on Mongolian handwriting identification in this paper contributes to increasing awareness of information processing for minority languages. It aids in advancing research on classifying writers of Mongolian historical texts and provides technical support for judicial authentication involving handwriting issues.

Forensic Odontology and Its Ineluctable Slice: Prosthodontics - A Review

The branch of forensic science that deals with dental evidence is called forensic odontology. It is a very recent science that makes use of dentists' expertise to benefit the legal system. The importance of forensic identification based on examination of prosthetic appliances is growing since labelling on dentures and other prosthetic devices may offer crucial hints for patient identification. This article reviews the relevant research and emphasises how a prosthodontist can be crucial in the identification of a deceased person. Keywords: Denture marking, embossing, forensic odontology, inclusion, denture marking medium

A Study Among General Dental Practitioners, Orthodontists and Forensic Odontologists Regarding Forensic Identification in Orthodontic Context

The process of dental identification involves comparing the dentition of the deceased with the latest dental records of presumed dead. It may become challenging to identify an individual whose orthodontic treatment records are untraceable for any reason. In such instances the dentition of the dead who underwent orthodontic treatment may need to be compared with the records before orthodontic treatment. The goal of this study was to determine the accuracy of matching pre and post-orthodontic treatment casts among general dental practitioners (GDPs), orthodontists, and forensic odontologists. Pre and post-orthodontic treatment dental casts from ten patients were used in this study. Pre-orthodontic maxillary and mandibular dental casts were separated from post-orthodontic maxillary and mandibular dental casts. A total of fifteen assessors comprising five orthodontists, five forensic odontologists and five GDPs compared and matched the pre and post-orthodontic dental cast pairs. Results revealed higher correct matches among forensic odontologists (94%) as compared to orthodontists (88%) followed by GDPs (80%). Among the parameters, ‘specific features in the dentition’ were most successful at correct identification. Orthodontic therapy causes morphometric changes in the dentition, which can make comparative identification difficult. Unique features in the dentition present before orthodontic treatment and persistent even after orthodontic treatment such as peculiar attrition facets, etc. can prove highly accurate in the identification.

Peculiarities of identification of persons who died during martial law (literature review)

Identification of dead persons in forensic medical practice is key one during the martial law in Ukraine. Nowadays, when new research methods and modern laboratory and instrumental equipment appear, there is a need to improve forensic diagnostics during the identification of unknown persons. The goal was to establish the peculiarity of the identification of dead persons during martial law, to provide practical recommendations for the selection and extraction of biological material during forensic medical examinations of corpses. The reliability of the results and conclusions is ensured by the use of general scientific empirical and theoretical research methods. With the help of the general scientific methods of research (analysis, synthesis, generalization), scientific and informational literary sources by the subject of research are characterized. The level of problematic issues in the profile information was determined and recommendations for solving problematic aspects related to the identification of dead persons were provided. A systematic approach to solving problematic issues made it possible to formulate conclusions to achieve the set goal. The necessity of training experts in the peculiarities of material selection for further DNA identification is substantiated. The need to provide forensic medical experts with the necessary consumables and equipment, as well as urgent revision of the normative acts regulating their activities, has been proven. The features of identification of putrefied persons are characterized, which consist in the possibility of DNA extraction from smears from the wall of the aorta, the wall of the urinary bladder, brain tissue and intact teeth. It is proven that the identification of dead persons during the martial law is complicated by the influence of the thermal factor, as well as pronounced putrefactive changes. In these cases, bones and teeth as the objects of DNA extraction should be preferential. The relevance and practical significance of the use of innovative technologies for the identification of dead persons during martial law have been established. Some issues of regulatory and legal provision of forensic medical identification of dead persons during martial law, the need to improve the procedure for taking biological samples in criminal proceedings, etc. were raised. Directions for their solution are proposed.

Forensic Analysis of Eighteen Tubal Pregnancy-Related Medical Damage.

To analyze the cases of medical damage after misdiagnosis of tubal pregnancy, to explore the causes of medical damage, the causal relationship between medical malpractice and the damage consequences, as well as the causative potency, in order to provide evaluation ideas for forensic identification of such cases. Eighteen cases of forensic identification of tubal pregnancy related medical damage were collected and retrospectively analyzed from the aspects of age, maternity history, fertility requirements, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment, medical malpractice, damage consequences, and causative potency. All 18 cases were tubal pregnancy, of which 17 cases had medical malpractice, resulting in 14 cases of affected tubal resection, 2 cases of hemorrhagic shock death, 1 case of intrauterine fetal death and affected tubal resection. The other case had the consequence of affected tubal resection, but there was no malpractice in the treatment. Correct diagnosis is helpful to make appropriate treatment plan, prevent disease progression and reduce serious adverse consequences and the occurrence of medical disputes. Scientific and reasonable analysis of the causal relationship between medical malpractice and damage consequences and the causative potency is of great significance to the successful settlement of medical disputes.

Biochemical Toxicological Study of Insulin Overdose in Rats: A Forensic Perspective.

Due to nonspecific pathological changes and the rapid degradation of insulin in postmortem blood samples, the identification of the cause of death during insulin overdose has always been a difficulty in forensic medicine. At present, there is a lack of studies on the toxicological changes and related mechanisms of an insulin overdose, and the specific molecular markers of insulin overdose are still unclear. In this study, an animal model of insulin overdose was established, and 24 SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, insulin overdose group, and a recovery group (n = 8). We detected the biochemical changes and analyzed the toxicological mechanism of an insulin overdose. The results showed that after insulin overdose, the rats developed irregular convulsions, Eclampsia, Opisthotonos, and other symptoms. The levels of glucose, glycogen, and C-peptide in the body decreased significantly, while the levels of lactate, insulin, and glucagon increased significantly. The decrease in plasma K+ was accompanied by the increase in skeletal muscle K+. The PI3K-AKT signaling pathway was significantly activated in skeletal muscle, and the translocation of GLUT4/Na+-K+-ATPase to sarcolemma was significantly increased. Rare glycogenic hepatopathy occurred in the recovery group after insulin overdose. Our study showed that insulin overdose also plays a role in skeletal muscle cells, mainly through the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, the detection of signaling pathway proteins of the skeletal muscle cell membrane GLUT4 and Na+-K+-ATPase has a certain auxiliary diagnostic value for forensic insulin overdose identification. Glycogen detection in the liver and skeletal muscle is important for the diagnosis of insulin overdose, but it still needs to be differentiated from other causes of death. Skeletal muscle has great potential for insulin detection, and the ratio of insulin to the C-peptide (I:C) can determine whether an exogenous insulin overdose is present.

(Invited) A Biosensor Platform for on-Site Virus Visualization

Introduction The detection of small amounts of specific targets such as toxins, pathogens, and viruses has become increasingly important since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Particularly, the on-site virus detection by naked eye or camera, which allows direct and rapid visualization of the virus on a surface directly and rapidly, is one of the most appropriate ways to control and prevent from the infection. Currently available technologies for the virus detection such as quantitative PCR, ELISA, and lateral flow immunoassay are useful, but they require complicated sample extractions and sometimes bound/free (B/F) separation procedures, which makes the detection time-consuming and inconvenient. One realistic example of the on-site visualization is a forensic luminol blood test based on chemiluminescence because complicated detection procedures must be eliminated for the on-site visualization. The forensic test is based on the peroxidase activity of hemoglobin for the chemiluminescence emission upon the spraying of hydrogen peroxide solution. Therefore, we focused on generation of hydrogen peroxide in the proximal of virus and the associated emission of chemiluminescence, which enables us to the on-site visualization.To realize the localized hydrogen peroxide generation and successive chemiluminescence emission, we designed sequential enzymatic reactions using oxidase and peroxidase to be occurred only on the viral surface. In detail, we prepared antibody-enzyme complex (AEC) composed of oxidase and anti-virus antibody as a donor, and peroxidase-based molecules with virus-recognition ability as an acceptor. In the presence of virus, the donor and the acceptor bind to the virus, and a hydrogen peroxide relay from the donor and the acceptor on the viral surface will lead to the detection and visualization only after mixing of reagents (Fig.). Here, glucose oxidase (GOx) was used as a model donor enzyme because the substrate, glucose, is safe and highly stable, and conveniently prepared the AEC by SpyCatcher/SpyTag system, a protein coupling module for biosensing1). As the acceptor, bispecific aptamer targeting virus and peroxidase-based molecules was used. Then, we validated the utility of the platform by applying it to the detection and visualization of inactivated SARS-CoV-2. Methods The recombinantly produced SpyTag (ST)-fused anti-SARS-CoV-2 surface protein single-chain variable fragment (scFv-ST) and SpyCatcher (SC)-fused GOx (SC-GOx) were equivalently mixed and incubated at 4℃ to prepare the homogenous AEC. The bivalent AEC can be prepared because the GOx forms homo-dimer. The enzymatic activity and affinity were evaluated. Then, we constructed the detection systems using different peroxidase-based molecules as acceptors, and applied them to inactivated SARS-CoV-2 detection and visualization using a conventional smartphone camera. Results & Discussion SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that the AEC was prepared by only mixing of scFv-ST and SC-GOx via the SpyCatcher/SpyTag reaction. The AEC showed high binding ability, and K D values of scFv-ST and the AEC were 32 nM and 19 nM, respectively. This affinity enhancement was caused by the bivalency of the AEC. The AEC showed 72% of oxidase activity compared to the original GOx, suggested that the AEC retained sufficient activity for the signal generation as the donor.As the acceptor, myoglobin (Mb) and a bispecific aptamer composed of Mb aptamer2) and SARS-CoV-2 surface protein binding aptamer were used. The peroxidase activity of Mb is relatively weak, so a reduced decreased background signal is expected. The bispecific aptamer showed binding abilities to Mb and inactivated SARS-CoV-2.Using these detection components, we successfully detected inactivated SARS-CoV-2 by only mixing of the components, and the linear detection range met the clinically required level. Owing to the sequential enzymatic reactions only on the viral surface, the rapid detection system without any washing procedures was established. By exchanging a set of antibody and aptamer, it was applied to inactivated influenza A virus detection.Finally, hemin and hemin-binding aptamer were used as the acceptor and applied it to the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 visualization. As a result, not only the viruses in a 96-well plate but also on a nitrocellulose membrane was visualized by luminol-derived chemiluminescence through a conventional smartphone camera. This was a first report of the on-site virus visualization. In addition, the use of sequential enzymatic reaction provides the signal amplification when applied to electrochemical detection3), leading to more rapid and convenient detection using established portable devices. This system can be a platform for control of infection in public space in the future. References 1) D. Miura et al., Talanta, 234, 122638 (2021).2) K. Tsukakoshi et al., Nucleic Acid Res., 49, 6069-6081 (2021).3) B. Jeong et al., Anal. Chem., 85, 1784-1791 (2013). Figure 1

Effect of uniparental disomy in parentage testing

Uniparental disomy (UPD) is a rare type of chromosomal aberration that may hinder the analysis of kinship during forensic identification. Here, we investigated these genetic findings to avoid false exclusions during parentage testing. Thirty-nine fluorescently labeled, autosomal short tandem repeats (STR) were amplified in three cases, to detect parent–child relationships. Twenty-three fluorescently labeled Y-chromosome STRs were also employed. These were subjected to capillary electrophoresis. The parentage index was calculated by the bipartite or tripartite model. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarrays were performed to further investigate the genetic mechanisms. The conclusions supported the biological mother–child relationship in three cases. However, in all cases, the alleged father and child had three autosomal STR markers, constrained to a single chromosome, which did not conform to Mendelian inheritance rules. The genotyping of 23 Y-chromosome STRs did not reveal any violations of Mendelian law. The combination of STR profiling and SNP microarrays suggested that two children had maternal UPD of chromosome 7, whilst one had UPD of chromosome 2. After excluding the three incompatible loci, the conclusions supported the biological father-child relationship in all cases. The same results were obtained when parentage testing of trios was used. Uniparental disomy may complicate the judgment of kinship in parentage testing. The possibility of UPD should be considered when incompatible STR loci are found on the same chromosome. Genetic evidence obtained through additional molecular techniques can provide better interpretation of kinship in the presence of UPD and avoid false exclusions of biological relationships.

Evaluation of the effect of ozone disinfection on forensic identification of blood, saliva, and semen stains

Good laboratory practice minimizes the biological hazard posed by potentially infectious casework samples. In certain scenarios, when the casework sample is contaminated with highly contagious pathogens, additional safety procedures such as disinfection might be advised. It was previously proven that ozone gas treatment does not hamper STR analysis, but there is no data on how the disinfection affects other steps of the forensic analysis.In this study, we aimed to assess the interference of ozone disinfection with forensic tests used to identify biological stains.A dilution series of blood, saliva, and semen samples were pipetted onto cotton fabric and let completely dry. Half of the samples were subjected to ozone treatment, while the rest served as controls. All the samples were tested with specific lateral flow immunochromatographic assays and for specific RNA markers with quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, luminol test was carried out on blood spots, Phadebas® Amylase Test on saliva stains, and semen stains were examined with STK Lab kit and light microscope following Christmas Tree or Hematoxylin-Eosin staining.Ozone treatment had no detrimental effect on the microscopic identification of sperm cells. Undiluted blood samples were detected with luminol and immunoassay, but at higher dilution, the sensitivity of the test decreased after disinfection. The same decrease in sensitivity was observed in the detection of semen stains using STK Lab kit from STK® Sperm Tracker, and in the case of the immunoassay specific for prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Ozone treatment almost completely inhibited the enzymatic activity of amylase. The sensitivity of antibody-based detection of amylase was also greatly reduced. RNA markers showed degradation but remained detectable in blood and semen samples after incubation in the presence of ozone. In saliva, the higher Ct values of the mRNA markers were close to the detection limit, even before ozone treatment.

Systematical explorations of forensic feature and population genetic diversity of the Chinese Mongolian group from northwest China via a self-constructed Multi-InDel panel.

This study aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and population characteristics of Chinese Mongolian group from northwest China (NCM) through a self-developed panel including 43 autosomal insertion/deletion (A-InDel) polymorphism genetic markers. Herein, 288 unrelated healthy individuals from the NCM group were employed to obtain the genetic data of 43 A-InDels through multiplex PCR amplification and InDel genotyping using capillary electrophoresis platform. In addition, multiplex population genetic analyses were performed between the NCM group and 27 reference populations. There were no deviations at 43 loci from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the NCM group. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) values ranged from 0.312 8 to 0.559 2, and the combined power of discrimination (CPD) and cumulative probability of exclusion (CPE) values in the NCM group were 0.999 999 999 999 999 998 77 and 0.999 814, respectively. The forensic parameter values indicated that this panel was polymorphic and informative in the NCM group and could be used as an effective tool for forensic personal identification. Furthermore, the results of pairwise genetic distances, principal component analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis, phylogenetic tree construction, and admixture analysis among the NCM group and 27 reference populations revealed that there were closer genetic relationships between the NCM group and East Asian populations, especially Chinese Hui group (CHH) from the northwest China, which is consistent with the geographical location. These present findings contributed to the ongoing genetic explorations and insights into the genetic architecture of the NCM group.

Advances in machine learning-based bacteria analysis for forensic identification: identity, ethnicity, and site of occurrence.

When faced with an unidentified body, identifying the victim can be challenging, particularly if physical characteristics are obscured or masked. In recent years, microbiological analysis in forensic science has emerged as a cutting-edge technology. It not only exhibits individual specificity, distinguishing different human biotraces from various sites of occurrence (e.g., gastrointestinal, oral, skin, respiratory, and genitourinary tracts), each hosting distinct bacterial species, but also offers insights into the accident's location and the surrounding environment. The integration of machine learning with microbiomics provides a substantial improvement in classifying bacterial species compares to traditional sequencing techniques. This review discusses the use of machine learning algorithms such as RF, SVM, ANN, DNN, regression, and BN for the detection and identification of various bacteria, including Bacillus anthracis, Acetobacter aceti, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus, among others. Deep leaning techniques, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) models and derivatives, are also employed to predict the victim's age, gender, lifestyle, and racial characteristics. It is anticipated that big data analytics and artificial intelligence will play a pivotal role in advancing forensic microbiology in the future.