scholarly journals Prevalence and Recovery of Microorganisms from Containers used for the Collection of Forensic Biological Samples

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-167
Author(s):  
Gitanjali Dass ◽  
Vrishty Sharma ◽  
Muneer Ahmad Malla ◽  
Sally Lukose ◽  
Rajesh Kumar Kori
Keyword(s):  
Agar Plate ◽  
Acetic Acid Bacteria ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Negative Stain ◽  
Chain Of Custody ◽  
Evidence Collection ◽  
The Media ◽  
Biological Evidence ◽  
Cryptococcus Spp

Background: Microbes play a significant role in the degradation of biological evidence collected for forensic analysis. The present study is aimed to isolate and identify the microbes present inside the empty container used for the biological evidence collection. Methods: Bacterial isolation from the selected containers was done by cotton swab over the inner surface of the containers. Streaking was done on the surface of the three different culture plates as a Blood agar plate, Nutrient plate and MacConkey plate. The plates were placed in an incubator shaker at 37ºC for 48 hours. The colonies grown on the surface of the media were counted on and used for further study. Various biochemical assays were performed to characterize isolated bacteria. Results: Staining results suggested that the presence of Gram-positive stain (Staphylococcus, Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Clostridium) and Gram negative stain (E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Salmonella, Shigella, Stenotrophomonas, Bdellovibrio, Acetic acid bacteria). The Catalase and Coagulase test suggested the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermis and S. sapropyticus. Moreover, the indole test suggested the presence of Citrobacter koseri, Kebsiella oxytoca, Proteus vulgaris etc. Some of the bacteria were urea metabolizing, including Proteus spp, Helicobacter pylori, Cryptococcus spp, Corynebacterium spp. Conclusion: This study recommends that there should be proper maintenance of the chain of custody from the collection to analysis so that evidence properly prevents degradation or contamination in the biological evidence. Extra care is needed for the collection and packing of biological evidence from the crime scene. Moreover, the collection containers, if left wide open, lead to contamination and degradation of biological evidence.

scholarly journals An Annotated Corpus of Crime-Related Portuguese Documents for NLP and Machine Learning Processing

Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Gonçalo Carnaz ◽  
Mário Antunes ◽  
Vitor Beires Nogueira
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Named Entity Recognition ◽  
Entity Recognition ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Named Entities ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Named Entity ◽  
Chain Of Custody ◽  
Evidence Collection

Criminal investigations collect and analyze the facts related to a crime, from which the investigators can deduce evidence to be used in court. It is a multidisciplinary and applied science, which includes interviews, interrogations, evidence collection, preservation of the chain of custody, and other methods and techniques of investigation. These techniques produce both digital and paper documents that have to be carefully analyzed to identify correlations and interactions among suspects, places, license plates, and other entities that are mentioned in the investigation. The computerized processing of these documents is a helping hand to the criminal investigation, as it allows the automatic identification of entities and their relations, being some of which difficult to identify manually. There exists a wide set of dedicated tools, but they have a major limitation: they are unable to process criminal reports in the Portuguese language, as an annotated corpus for that purpose does not exist. This paper presents an annotated corpus, composed of a collection of anonymized crime-related documents, which were extracted from official and open sources. The dataset was produced as the result of an exploratory initiative to collect crime-related data from websites and conditioned-access police reports. The dataset was evaluated and a mean precision of 0.808, recall of 0.722, and F1-score of 0.733 were obtained with the classification of the annotated named-entities present in the crime-related documents. This corpus can be employed to benchmark Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) methods and tools to detect and correlate entities in the documents. Some examples are sentence detection, named-entity recognition, and identification of terms related to the criminal domain.

scholarly journals Exploring the possibilities of infrared spectroscopy for urine sediment examination and detection of pathogenic bacteria in urinary tract infections

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (10) ◽  
pp. 1759-1767
Author(s):  
Mieke Steenbeke ◽  
Sander De Bruyne ◽  
Jerina Boelens ◽  
Matthijs Oyaert ◽  
Griet Glorieux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Urinary Tract ◽  
Urinary Tract Infections ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Agar Plate ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Urine Sediment ◽  
Flight Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Tract Infections

AbstractObjectivesIn this study, the possibilities of Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for analysis of urine sediments and for detection of bacteria causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) were investigated.MethodsDried urine specimens of control subjects and patients presenting with various nephrological and urological conditions were analysed using mid-infrared spectroscopy (4,000–400 cm−1). Urine samples from patients with a UTI were inoculated on a blood agar plate. After drying of the pure bacterial colonies, FTIR was applied and compared with the results obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Chemometric data analysis was used to classify the different species.ResultsDue to the typical molecular assignments of lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and carbohydrates, FTIR was able to identify bacteria and showed promising results in the detection of proteins, lipids, white and red blood cells, as well as in the identification of crystals. Principal component analysis (PCA) allowed to differentiate between Gram-negative and Gram-positive species and soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA) revealed promising classification ratios between the different pathogens.ConclusionsFTIR can be considered as a supplementary method for urine sediment examination and for detection of pathogenic bacteria in UTI.

The microbial content and morphological character of the normal bovine uterus and oviduct

1950 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 150-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. L. M. Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Character ◽  
Agar Plate ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Surface Epithelium ◽  
Secretory Phase ◽  
Control Series ◽  
Proliferative Phase ◽  
Gland Tissue ◽  
Pure Cultures ◽  
A Site

The genitalia of a control series of nineteen animals, slaughtered for other reasons than reproductive failure, were studied. Of these six were in various stages of pregnancy, one was in a ‘proliferative phase’, being slaughtered probably just before the first oestrus after calving, and twelve represented different phases of the oestrous cycle, more than half exemplifying the last 4 days before heat. Stages were judged from the appearance of the ovaries, and checked in five instances by repeated rectal examinations, and observation of behaviour during life. Of the nineteen uteri eight yielded bacteria on culture, sometimes in moderately high density; from two of them, pure cultures were recovered respectively of Pseudomonas and Neisseria catarrhalis; and in another, probably Proteus was found. No previous records of these three genera at such a site have been found. Only aerobic blood agar plate cultures, and those for tuberculosis organisms were made. Dissection results unequivocally supported the view of Tagliavini in opposition to that taken by Hammond, that the sanguineous elements in post-oestral discharge originated from endometrial extravasation. The cow slaughtered 4 days after heat indicated that congestion disappears from the caruncles before leaving the areas between them. Microscopically, no mast cells, as observed by the Italian workers, could be seen; it appeared that a ‘proliferative phase’ occurs in every cycle during the three pre-oestral days, when gland tissue proliferates from its nadir of development, surface epithelium grows in height, and vascularization progresses. The rate and interrelations of these changes seemed variable. Arterioles appeared to be withdrawn from the superficial mucosa during the secretory phase. Tagliavini's claim to have observed sloughing of epithelium about the 17th day, strictly equivalent to the process of menstruation in the Primates, must on the evidence be regarded with considerable reserve.

scholarly journals EFFECTIVITY ANTIBACTERIAL ZINC OXIDE EUGENOL WITH ZINC OXIDE PROPOLIS FOR ENDODONTIC TREATMENT IN PRIMARY TEETH

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Erwid Fatchur Rahman ◽  
Sandy Christiono
Keyword(s):  
Zinc Oxide ◽  
Enterococcus Faecalis ◽  
Agar Plate ◽  
Inhibition Zone ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Group Design ◽  
Normality Test ◽  
Zinc Oxide Eugenol ◽  
Post Test

Background: Enterococcus faecalis is generally found on the failure of root canal treatments. Zinc oxide propolis is believed to have an antibacterial effect on that bacteria. This research aimed to compare bacteriostatic effect of zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE) and zinc oxide propolis (ZOP) as the sealer materials of root canal.Method: This was an experimental research with post-test only control group design with two different groups (ZOE and ZOP). Culture of Enterococcus faecalis bacteria was smeared on Blood Agar Plate media with six times replication per group and kept inside incubator for 24 hours. The result was obtained from the inhibition zone formed around the pasta.Result: The average result of ZOE and ZOP was 27.7 mm and 13.45 mm respectively. Normality test using Shapiro-Wilks showed that data was normal (p>0.05). Then, the data was analysed using Independent Samples T-test. The result showed that there was different inhibition zone between ZOE group and ZOP group (p<0.05).Conclusion: Based on the result, it can be concluded that ZOP has lower antibacterial effectiveness of the Enterococcus faecalis than ZOE.

scholarly journals The Growth of Staphylococcus aureus in the blood agar plate media of sheep blood and human blood groups A, B, AB, and O

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Dora Dayu Rahma Turista ◽  
Eka Puspitasari
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Red Blood Cells ◽  
Human Blood ◽  
Blood Cells ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Agar Plate ◽  
Blood Groups ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Sheep Blood ◽  
Randomized Design

BAP media is a medium used to distinguish pathogenic bacteria based on their hemolytic power on red blood cells. Staphyllococcus aureus is a bacterium that is able to emolate red blood cells with 3 types of hemolysis, namely α, β, γ, and δ. Usually BAP media is made by adding 5-10% sheep blood. Making BAP media using sheep blood has become a problem for several laboratories today, including health education laboratories. This is because the health education laboratory does not yet have a sheep farm, so it has not been able to procure sheep blood. The use of human blood as a substitute for sheep blood in making BAP media may be a solution, but it is not yet known whether there are differences in the growth and hemolysis of S. aureus bacteria on BAP media in sheep's blood and human blood. This research is an experimental study with a completely randomized design (CRD) of 3 replications which aims to determine whether there are differences in growth and hemolysis of bacteria S. aureus in BAP media of sheep blood and human blood groups A, B, AB, and O. The results showed that S. aureus bacteria could grow and show hemolysis in BAP media in sheep blood and human blood in groups A, B, AB, and O. The results of subsequent studies analyzed ANOVA using the software spss for windows with a significant level of 0.05. From the results of research and data analysis it can be concluded that S. aureus bacteria can grow and show hemolysis in BAP media of sheep blood and human blood groups A, B, AB and O, but there are significant differences in the number of S. aureus bacteria colonies grown in BAP media of sheep's blood and human blood groups A, B, AB and O.

scholarly journals Diagnostic Performance of Various Methodologies for Group B Streptococcus Screening in Pregnant Woman in China

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kankan Gao ◽  
Qiulian Deng ◽  
Lianfen Huang ◽  
Chien-Yi Chang ◽  
Huamin Zhong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group B Streptococcus ◽  
Agar Plate ◽  
Reference Method ◽  
Antigen Detection ◽  
The Other ◽  
Blood Agar ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Chromogenic Agar ◽  
Group B ◽  
Detection Reagent

Maternal vaginal/rectal colonization of group B streptococcus (GBS) is a main risk for neonatal invasive infection. Efficient determination of GBS colonization in pregnant women is crucial. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of GBS carriage and evaluate the diagnostic performance of six methodologies for GBS screening conducted in China, including blood agar plate, liquid chromogenic medium, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) without pre-enrichment, chromogenic agar plate with pre-enrichment, and GBS antigen detection without and with pre-enrichment in comparison with the standard reference method (Lim broth-enriched subculture with plating on 5% sheep blood agar). Vaginal/rectal swabs were collected from 1,281 pregnant women at 35–37 weeks of gestation. Of them, 309 were taken in triplicate, one for Lim broth-enriched subculture, one for blood agar plate, and the third for GBS antigen detection (Reagent W); 177 were acquired in duplicate, one for Lim broth-enriched subculture and the other for GBS antigen detection (Reagent H); 502 were obtained in duplicate, one for Lim broth-enriched subculture and the other for liquid chromogenic medium; 158 were collected in duplicate, one for Lim broth-enriched subculture and the other for LAMP; and 135 were inoculated in Lim broth-enriched for GBS antigen detection (Reagent W) and subculture with chromogenic agar plate and 5% blood agar plate. The overall prevalence of GBS carriage was 10.1% (130/1,281, 95% CI: 8.5–12.1%) according to the standard reference method. Compared with the standard reference method, the LAMP had excellent performance of sensitivity (100%, 95%CI: 83.4–100%), specificity (94%, 95%CI: 88.1–97.1%), and Yoden index (0.940); as well as the blood agar plate with sensitivity (81.5%, 95%CI: 61.3–93.0%), specificity (100%, 95%CI: 98.3–100.0%), and Yoden index (0.815). The other four methods were not sufficient to reach the threshold in terms of sensitivity or specificity compared to the standard reference method. Furthermore, for LAMP, results can be obtained within 0.5–1 h, while for blood agar plate, which needed 24–48 h, and further identification was required. Our data suggested that the performance of LAMP was highly comparable to the standard Lim broth-enriched subculture and LAMP is considered as an alternative for fast and accurate GBS screening.

Forensic Analysis of Telegram Desktop-based Applications using the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 381
Author(s):  
I Gusti Ngurah Guna Wicaksana ◽  
I Ketut Gede Suhartana
Keyword(s):  
Instant Messaging ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Criminal Cases ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
Digital Forensic ◽  
National Institute Of Justice ◽  
Evidence Analysis ◽  
The Media ◽  
Log File

Abstract The development of telecommunications has increased very rapidly since the internet-based instant messaging service has spread rapidly to Indonesia. Telegram application is one of the growing and well-known application services in Indonesia, Desktop or smartphone-based Telegram applications, it is very possible to use digital crimes by using services, user personal information, or by hacking the Telegram application. This study explains the stages of investigation of cybercrime cases that occurred in desktop-based telegram. The method used for this research refers to the stage of investigation that was carried out in previous studies, namely using the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) method with the stages of the preparation stage, the collection stage, the examination stage, the analysis stage, and the reporting stage. The media used in this study is a desktop-based Telegram application that is synchronized with an Android-based Telegram. In this process, the location of the log file, cache, and digital proof image file was obtained in the conversation of a desktop-based Telegram application. Digital forensic evidence obtained is expected to strengthen evidence of criminal cases in court in the form of digital evidence analysis results. Keywords: Telecommunications, Digital Forensic, Telegram, Investigation, Cybercrime

Forensic Matter

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-120
Author(s):  
Ángeles Donoso Macaya
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Abandoned Mine ◽  
Documentary Films ◽  
Forensic Evidence ◽  
First Case ◽  
The Media

The Lonquén case, as it is known, was the first case that definitively confirmed the denied existence of the detained-disappeared. Besides establishing that fifteen men who had been detained on October 7, 1973, had been thrown into the furnace of an abandoned mine, buried, and left there in clandestine cemeteries, the forensic analysis and the inspecting judge’s investigation also revealed that the depositions given by the policemen involved in the crime were completely false. Despite the prominence of the Lonquén case, little attention has been placed on the documentary photographs that served to secure and present the physical remains found as forensic evidence. I consider two sets of photographs taken by Vicaría de la Solidaridad photographers Helen Hughes and Luis Navarro at the abandoned mine during the first days of December 1978, immediately after the findings. My analysis centers on the photos that were disseminated publicly and also considers how the unpublished photos (the vast majority) were discussed in the media. The chapter ends with a brief consideration of No Olvidar (Not To Forget) (1982) by Ignacio Agüero, and La ciudad de los fotógrafos by Sebastián Moreno, two documentary films in which the traces of Lonquén continue emerging.

Digital Forensic Analysis of Cybercrimes

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regner Sabillon ◽  
Jordi Serra-Ruiz ◽  
Victor Cavaller ◽  
Jeimy J. Cano
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Forensic Analysis ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Digital Ecosystems ◽  
Cyber Forensics ◽  
Digital Forensic ◽  
Chain Of Custody ◽  
Technological Ecosystems ◽  
Forensic Tools

This paper reviews the existing methodologies and best practices for digital investigations phases like collecting, evaluating and preserving digital forensic evidence and chain of custody of cybercrimes. Cybercriminals are adopting new strategies to launch cyberattacks within modified and ever changing digital ecosystems, this article proposes that digital investigations must continually readapt to tackle cybercrimes and prosecute cybercriminals, working in international collaboration networks, sharing prevention knowledge and lessons learned. The authors also introduce a compact cyber forensics model for diverse technological ecosystems called Cyber Forensics Model in Digital Ecosystems (CFMDE). Transferring the knowledge, international collaboration, best practices and adopting new digital forensic tools, methodologies and techniques will be hereinafter paramount to obtain digital evidence, enforce organizational cybersecurity policies, mitigate security threats, fight anti-forensics practices and indict cybercriminals. The global Digital Forensics community ought to constantly update current practices to deal with cybercriminality and foreseeing how to prepare to new technological environments where change is always constant.

scholarly journals Antibacterial Potential of Jatropha sp. Latex against Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Muhammad Evy Prastiyanto ◽  
Prayoda Deri Tama ◽  
Ninda Ananda ◽  
Wildiani Wilson ◽  
Ana Hidayati Mukaromah
Keyword(s):  
Agar Plate ◽  
Antibacterial Activities ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Blood Agar Plate ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Klebsiella Pneumonia ◽  
Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase ◽  
Mueller Hinton

Objective. This study was aimed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the latex of three species members of Jatropha (J. curcas, J. gossypilofia Linn., and J. multifida) against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), extended-spectrum beta-lactamase- (ESBL-) producing Escherichia coli and ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumonia, carbapenemase-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)-E. coli, K. pneumoniae-carbapenemase (KPC), and carbapenemase-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA). Method. The antibacterial activities were calculated based on the inhibition zones using the Mueller–Hinton agar diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using Mueller–Hinton broth in a microdilution method, and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) using blood agar plate. Results. The latex of Jatropha showed antibacterial activities against the MRSA and CRPA. All latex of Jatropha appeared to have the antibacterial activities against MRSA and CRPA in the diffusion method (20.4–23.7 mm and 12–15 mm), MIC (0.19–6.25%, and 25%), and MBC (0.39–12.5% and 50%). Phytochemical screening of latex indicated the presence of flavonoids. Conclusions. The latex of J. curcas, J. gossypilofia Linn., and J. multifida has the potential to be developed as antibacterial agents, especially against MRSA and CRPA strain, but further in vivo research and discovery of the mode of its action are required to shed the light on the effects.

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