According to INTERPOL, the comparison of antemortem and postmortem dental identifiers is a scientifically reliable approach for human identification. This study aimed to quantify the prevalence of corresponding INTERPOL coded dental identifiers in cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans and panoramic radiographs (PR). The sample consisted of 100 CBCT scans and 100 PR taken the same day from the same patients (35 males and 65 females). Randomly and independently, forty-one INTERPOL coded dental identifiers were searched in each image. Wilcoxon test compared the prevalence of codes in CBCT scans and PR, Chi-square tested the dependence between codes and teeth; and multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) explored the association between codes and teeth in color maps for CBCT scans and PR. No statistically significant differences between the prevalence of identifiers in CBCT scans and PR were detected (p=0.693). In CBCT scans and PR, dependence between teeth and codes was detected (p<0.05). In the study sample, the strongest associations were found between the codes unerupted (UNE), partially erupted (ERU) and impacted (IMV) and third molars, both in CBCT scans and PR. INTERPOL coded dental identifiers registered on CBCT scans and PR can be exchanged during human identification.

As technology advances, counterfeiters improve their techniques reproducing banknotes with more accuracy. Spectroscopic techniques may be applied for characterization of these forgeries. The aim of this study was to develop a methodology for banknotes characterization employing portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and portable Raman spectroscopy (RS) equipment for measurements in genuine and counterfeit Real (Brazilian currency) banknotes. Quantification of the metals in the ink and paper was carried out with pXRF data, using a sensitivity curve. pXRF spectral analysis was effective to discriminate between genuine and counterfeit bills. Moreover, the quantification of the metals enriched the analysis, since it was possible to compare elements concentration that are commonly found in genuine and counterfeit banknotes. The use of partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) applied to pXRF data was efficacious to identify fake banknotes and it may be used for further investigation about the provenance of forgeries. Principal component analysis (PCA) grouped forgeries from different seizures based on similarities in the elemental composition. The spectra obtained by RS allowed identification of characteristic bands of two pigments from the inks: phthalocyanine and diarylide. For the RS data, PLS-DA and PCA successfully discriminated R$ 50 genuine and fake banknotes.

The succession of carrion fauna and the decomposition stages were studied in summer for two years in open pastures of the Department of Paysandú, Uruguay (32°21'5″S; 58°3'37″). Each year, three pig carcasses (Sus scrofa) were placed in wire mesh cages, 100 m apart from each other. Each carcass was surrounded by pitfall traps, and a modified Malaise trap was placed above. Daily samplings were carried out to collect the insects present in the carcasses and the traps, and body and environmental temperatures were measured. The composition of carrion entomofauna and the decomposition patterns were markedly similar in both sampling years. The decomposition process was rapid, that is, the time to reach the remains stage was 7 days in all treatments, both years. The mosaic nature of decomposition was observed. Both Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann) and Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius) behaved as primary invaders of the carcasses, although the former species and its larvae were dominant. The first adult blow flies emerged after 6 days. The remains stage was characterized mainly by both adults and larvae of Dermestes maculatus. This preliminary study represents the first contribution to the knowledge of cadaveric succession in Uruguay. Its seasonal replication supports the succession pattern obtained.

A common objective in microbial forensic investigations is to identify the origin of a recovered pathogenic bacterium by DNA sequencing. However, there is currently no consensus about how degrees of belief in such origin hypotheses should be quantified, interpreted, and communicated to wider audiences. To fill this gap, we have developed a concept based on calculating probabilistic evidential values for microbial forensic hypotheses. The likelihood-ratio method underpinning this concept is widely used in other forensic fields, such as human DNA matching, where results are readily interpretable and have been successfully communicated in juridical hearings. The concept was applied to two case scenarios of interest in microbial forensics: (1) identifying source cultures among series of very similar cultures generated by parallel serial passage of the Tier 1 pathogen Francisella tularensis, and (2) finding the production facilities of strains isolated in a real disease outbreak caused by the human pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Evidence values for the studied hypotheses were computed based on signatures derived from whole genome sequencing data, including deep-sequenced low-frequency variants and structural variants such as duplications and deletions acquired during serial passages. In the F. tularensis case study, we were able to correctly assign fictive evidence samples to the correct culture batches of origin on the basis of structural variant data. By setting up relevant hypotheses and using data on cultivated batch sources to define the reference populations under each hypothesis, evidential values could be calculated. The results show that extremely similar strains can be separated on the basis of amplified mutational patterns identified by high-throughput sequencing. In the L. monocytogenes scenario, analyses of whole genome sequence data conclusively assigned the clinical samples to specific sources of origin, and conclusions were formulated to facilitate communication of the findings. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the potential of using bacterial whole genome sequencing data, including data on both low frequency SNP signatures and structural variants, to calculate evidence values that facilitate interpretation and communication of the results. The concept could be applied in diverse scenarios, including both epidemiological and forensic source tracking of bacterial infectious disease outbreaks.

5F-ADB (methyl 2-{[1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indazole-3-carbonyl]amino}-3,3-dimethylbutanoate) is a frequently abused new synthetic cannabinoid that has been sold since at least the end of 2014 on the drug market. It has been classified as an illicit drug in most European countries, and also in Turkey, Japan, and the United States. In this study, 5F-ADB and its methyl ester metabolite were determined in the blood and urine samples taken from fatal cases using liquid chromatography-highresolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). The extraction of samples was performed using a solid-phase extraction method, followed by LC-HRMS analysis. The method was fully validated for linearities, limits of detection (LODs), limits of quantification (LOQs), recoveries, matrix effects, process efficiencies, accuracies, precisions, and stabilities and was applied to 70 blood and 36 urine samples from fatal cases where 5F-ADB was the only drug detected. The LODs were between 0.08 and 0.10ng/mL, and LOQs were between 0.10 and 0.12ng/mL for both blood and urine samples. 5F-ADB and its methyl ester hydrolysis metabolite were found at the blood concentrations ranging from 0.10 to 1.55ng/mL (mean=0.40ng/mL) and 0.15 to 23.4ng/mL (mean=2.69ng/mL), respectively. 5F-ADB was not detected in any urine samples. 5F-ADBmethyl ester hydrolysis metabolite was detected in 35 urine samples with a detection range of 0.28-72.2ng/mL and a mean of 9.02ng/mL. The synthetic cannabinoid 5F-ADB and its methyl ester metabolite were identified and quantified in authentic human blood and/or urine specimens obtained from 70 fatal cases. The method was successfully applied to postmortem blood and urine samples.

This article seeks to assess the prospects of UK forensic science and technology in a post-Brexit world by analysing four interlocking issues: Brexit itself, the evolution of national criminal justice organisational and funding priorities, the increasing interrelationship of science and technology in the forensic domain and the relatively disadvantaged place of forensic science and technology within the contemporary 'scientific state' paradigm. The results are generally pessimistic for the likely future of forensic science. This conclusion is reinforced by scepticism about the wisdom of proceeding with Brexit. The article is structured to identify the potential implications of British political decisions on its national forensic science capabilities and capacity. Some aspects of the analysis are likely to have a wider resonance for international discourse about the future sustainability of forensic science and technology, however, particularly the interface between the globalisation of science and technology with justice.

Counterfeit luxury fashion goods have rarely been the subject of scientific studies. Very little is known about the mechanisms of this illicit market despite the apparent prevalence and their adverse consequences. Counterfeit watches remain one of the preferred targets in the luxury goods segment. The study of marks or traces in a forensic intelligence perspective can contribute to an improved understanding of the phenomenon. The aim of our research was to highlight different types of links that can be drawn between specimens of counterfeit watches, to carry out a thorough study of the information conveyed by the revealed links, to study their complementarity and to get an understanding of the intelligence that can be produced from these pieces of information. Thirty-five counterfeit watches of a commonly counterfeit watch brand including seven popular models were studied in this research. Chemical and physical links were found that corroborated existing knowledge and also revealed new connections between different seizures or specimens. The comparison of chemical and physical features combined with spatiotemporal information on the seized watches enabled us to produce intelligence disclosing possible aspects of the structure and the organisation of production and distribution channels. We were able to reveal or confirm links between watches that were previously unknown or uncertain and demonstrated the interconnection of all watches on a chemical and/or physical level, suggesting an overhead organised network with substructures. Despite the limited set of specimens that was considered, this study illustrates that forensic intelligence on this illicit market can be used to support consistent decision-making from all the key-players involved in the anti-counterfeiting process.

Asphyxia due to inhalation of nitrogen, as accidental or suicidal event, has been seldom reported in the forensic field. Death usually occurs because of a displacement and decrease of environmental and alveolar oxygen concentrations, but taking into account that nitrogen is a normal component of atmosphere, autopsy findings, which may be in certain cases unremarkable, must be corroborated with a careful scene investigation in order to determine the cause of death. We present a case of a 37-year old male found unresponsive inside his car with five liquid nitrogen tanks placed in the trunk, three of them with clear losses because of incomplete lock. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Autopsy findings and histological analyses were unremarkable, but toxicological analyses were crucial. Percentages of nitrogen were high in blood collected from the inferior vena cava (85.2%), left ventricle (81.01%) and the right lung (80.73%). Concentrations of nitrogen were higher than those detected in control samples: 14 autopsy cases, room air and water. The cause of death was identified as an inert gas asphyxiation, which was classified as accidental in accordance with the police report.

Positional isomer differentiation is crucial for the analysis of forensic drugs. Presently, it is difficult to distinguish among ortho, meta, and para positional isomers of ring-fluorinated synthetic cathinones, a major class of new psychoactive substances (NPSs), because they exhibit similar chromatographic properties and mass spectral patterns. We describe herein that the ring-fluorinated synthetic cathinone positional isomers, viz. o-, m-, and p-fluoro-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenones (o-, m-, and p-FPPPs), can be discriminated by their benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (Triton B)-mediated one-pot reaction with methanol at ambient temperature, followed by chromatographic and mass spectral analyses of the corresponding products. For p-FPPP, fluorine was nucleophilically substituted by the methoxy group to afford p-methoxy-α-pyrrolidinopropiophenone, while o- and m-FPPPs afforded the corresponding FPPP-enamine-pyrrolidine adducts, which allowed the above positional isomers to be unambiguously differentiated by comparing the reaction product chromatograms and mass spectra. The adopted approach, which does not require excess heating or use of metallic catalysts and features the advantages of simplicity and convenience, is expected to contribute toward practical NPS identification.

This article describes a Total Laboratory Automation (TLA) system for DNA sample (FTA sample collection paper cwards or whole blood) processing, including barcoding, FTA card hole-punching or whole blood DNA extraction, PCR amplification, CE analysis and data acquisition process. This system designed to meet the needs of massive DNA database construction. Daily sample handling capacity for this TLA system is 800pcs (within 8h) to 2400pcs (within 24h). No such scaled system has previously used as STR analysis. Thus, it was important to find a suitable proportion numbers for different kind of components within the TLA system and to achieve the maximum efficiency as well as to make sure the system could achieve and maintain stable performance in continuously handling substantial DNA samples through performance test and stability test, in order to meet the needs of massive DNA database construction. In addition, the TLA system incorporates a novel track line system named RackRunner, a robotic access to all components in the pipeline, designed to transfer 96-well microplates whilst prevent all kinds of cross-contamination during STR tests. Experiments were undertaken to prove the performance of these factors in maintaining the STR test efficiency and prevent cross-contamination. This TLA system is also programmable for NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) tests in massive DNA Genome database construction without major changes.