biological evidence
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2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-167
Author(s):  
Gitanjali Dass ◽  
Vrishty Sharma ◽  
Muneer Ahmad Malla ◽  
Sally Lukose ◽  
Rajesh Kumar Kori

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.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136571272110703
Author(s):  
Susana Costa

The introduction of biological evidence in judicial settings raises particular modes of entanglement between professional cultures and perceptions of the probative value of evidence. When DNA evidence reaches court, it also challenges the perceived margins of critical assessment of the work and understandings of previous links in the chain of custody, like the criminal police, forensic experts and the public prosecution services. Given the apparent neutrality of judicial institutions, how do Portuguese judges perceive and value biological evidence? And how do judges see their articulation with other operators of the criminal justice system? An analysis of 14 interviews carried out with Portuguese judges reveals the challenges in the evaluation of biological evidence, which is characterised as a ‘safe haven’, grounded as it is on an indisputable scientific authority. The suggestion of the presence of a cultural rift emerges, which, taken with the work of other epistemic cultures, leads to biological evidence being seen as ‘ready-made evidence’ on its arrival in court, thus limiting the role of judges in its appraisal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-304
Author(s):  
Victor Beltran Roman

Preservation of biological evidence can profoundly impact criminal justice as it can be essential to establish the innocence of a convicted person and thus make evident a miscarriage of justice. The paper provides information and insights regarding the State’s duty to preserve biological evidence in criminal justice, thus improving accessibility issues in the post-conviction review in Chile. In doing so, the paper looks beyond Chile’s borders and seeks to obtain lessons from the U.S. States’ preservation statutes. The research uses law comparison to assess and comprehend the appropriateness of Chilean regulation and then to identify areas for improvement in the criminal justice system.


Author(s):  
Allison J. Sherier ◽  
August E. Woerner ◽  
Bruce Budowle

Microbial DNA, shed from human skin, can be distinctive to its host and thus help individualize donors of forensic biological evidence. Previous studies have utilized single locus microbial DNA markers (e.g., 16S rRNA) to assess the presence/absence of personal microbiota to profile human hosts. However, since the taxonomic composition of the microbiome is in constant fluctuation, this approach may not be sufficiently robust for human identification (HID). Multi-marker approaches may be more powerful. Additionally, genetic differentiation, rather than taxonomic distinction, may be more individualizing. To this end, the non-dominant hands of 51 individuals were sampled in triplicate (n = 153). They were analyzed for markers in the hidSkinPlex, a multiplex panel comprising candidate markers for skin microbiome profiling. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the highest Wright’s fixation index (F ST ) estimates were then selected for predicting donor identity using a support vector machine (SVM) learning model. F ST is an estimate of the genetic differences within and between populations. Three different SNP selection criteria were employed: SNPs with the highest-ranking F ST estimates 1) common between any two samples regardless of markers present (termed overall ); 2) each marker common between samples (termed per marker ); and 3) common to all samples used to train the SVM algorithm for HID (termed selected ). The SNPs chosen based on criteria for overall , per marker, and selected methods resulted in an accuracy of 92.00%, 94.77%, and 88.00%, respectively. The results support that estimates of F ST , combined with SVM, can notably improve forensic HID via skin microbiome profiling. IMPORTANCE There is a need for additional genetic information to help identify the source of biological evidence found at a crime scene. The human skin microbiome is a potentially abundant source of DNA that can enable the identification of a donor of biological evidence. With microbial profiling for human identification, there will be an additional source of DNA to identify individuals as well as to exclude individuals wrongly associated with biological evidence, thereby improving the utility of forensic DNA profiling to support criminal investigations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 1913-1915
Author(s):  
Tasneem Murad ◽  
Sundus Ambreen ◽  
Noureen Hafeez ◽  
Faisal Khan ◽  
Jahanzaib . ◽  
...  

Forensic medical examination serve two purposes i.e.to preserve mental and physical health of the victim as well as collection of forensic evidence 1,2. Collection and documentation of evidence whether in form of injures or biological material is help to validate the objects and the accoster's past.3 The outline of wounds also has a criminal worth because they are related to the result of lawful proceedings4. The works assessment explores the variables linked to genital harm occurrence and places that are informed in a sequence of surveying examinations of medicinal proceedings 5.The occurrence of perfect indication of erotic harms in the U.S. ranges from 5-27%, in Italy 11.5%, in Thailand 42% and in Denmark 38%. In Israel, as in another place in the countries, few cases of erotic stabbing in children have vibrant indication of a erotic style. 6,7,8,9. Objective: To evaluate incidence and comparison of physical and biological evidence in victims of sexual assault and their relation to time interval between examination and incident. Methodology: The retrospective cross sectional study was placed during June 2019 to December 2020 on cases reported in the DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi with follow up reports. Total 108 cases were reported during this period. Data was collected from DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi with follow up reports. Examination results were included presence and absence of physical injuries located genital region and other parts of the body, and presence and absence of biological evidence .The fallouts of investigation were linked to parameters such as sex, age and length of time since assault. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 19 Results: Female victim: Out of 108 cases 77 was female.61% was unmarried and 39% was married (Figure 1). 44.2% cases was fall between age range of 16-20years.2.6%cases between age group of 45-50 years.51.9% cases belong to rural area. While 48.1% cases belong to urban. Vaginal swab was positive in 79.2%.genital injuries was present in 13% cases.11.7% married and 1.3% unmarried. Other injuries present in 6.5%married.7.8%unmarried. Fresh hymen injuries present in 13%.old in 41.6%. Male victims: Total 31 in number.67.7%in rural area ,while 32.3% in urban.45.2% (14)between age group 11-15 years .Anal swab was positive in 64.5%.(20 in number).Bleeding was present in 32.3% (10)cases. Bruises in 41.9%.abrasion was present in 48.4%.(15)25% in 11-15 years age group. Genital injuries was present in 45.2%(14).other injuries 28.1%.anal swab with injuries positive in 34.4%.negative in 12.5%.Finding on clothes was present on 12.5%. Conclusion & Recommendations: Rape or sexual assault in the absence of prior sexy knowledge, genital or physique harms are usually found in adolescents. The possibility of rape in nonappearance of any hurt, with or deprived of permission cannot be excluded. A competent forensic examiner must examines and follow up the victims of sexual violence. The forensic examiner must have technical and scientific skills that are medicinal and stabbing history taking, whole body examination, and organic article collects, recording damages, clinical pediatric practice, interpretation of findings and reports and prosecution. Keywords: Genital harms, adolescent, body injuries, Prosecution


mBio ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franck Touret ◽  
Léa Luciani ◽  
Cécile Baronti ◽  
Maxime Cochin ◽  
Jean-Sélim Driouich ◽  
...  

The emergence of several SARS-CoV-2 variants raised numerous questions concerning the future course of the pandemic. We are currently observing a replacement of the circulating viruses by the variant from the United Kingdom known as 20I/501Y.V1, from the B.1.1.7 lineage, but there is little biological evidence that this new variant exhibits a different phenotype.


2021 ◽  
pp. 123-132
Author(s):  
Gökhan AKTÜRK ◽  
Hakan KAR

Incest relationship, which has many different definitions, is a form of sexual abuse that is more difficult to manifest and its effects on the victim are much more severe. In our study, it was aimed to develop solutions by evaluating the sociodemographic and forensic medical characteristics of the incest victims who were sent to Mersin University Forensic Medicine Department. Method: The forensic investigation documents and medical reports of 34 incest cases that were sent to us for forensic reports with the allegation of sexual assault between January 2019 and January 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. Findings: It was found that most of the cases (85.3%, n: 29) were women, average age being 15.41, with the majority (41.2%, n: 14) between the ages of 6-12. It was observed that in 44.1% of the cases (n: 15) the defendant was the victim's biological father, in 47.1% (n: 16) of the cases the incident took place in the shared house where the victim and the defendant lived. In 32.4% of the cases (n: 11), the incident was reported by school counselors, the person to whom the victim told the event first was most frequently their mother (35.3%, n: 12). In 70.6% of the cases (n: 24), the first person to whom the victim told the incident supported the forensic reporting process. Biological evidence was detected in 8.8% (n: 3) of the cases, the victim's mental health deteriorated in 61.8% (n: 21) of the cases, most common psychopathology being Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (41.2%, n: 14). Conclusion: Our study reveals the importance of schools, where children can communicate with others, in the emergence of incest. On that account, it should be ensured that children continue their education and benefit from guidance services. All teachers, especially counselors, should be made aware on the matter of sexual abuse of children. In addition, "systematic sexual education" for children should be included in the curriculum. Since incest cases are mostly reported late, more often than not biological evidence cannot be obtained. The occurrence of psychopathology in most of the victims shows the importance of mental evaluation. In addition, it should be ensured that all procedures, including clinical treatment, are carried out in centers where multidisciplinary approach can be provided, to prevent secondary suffering due to reinterrogations and examinations of the victim in the judicial process.


BioTechniques ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-238
Author(s):  
Abigail S Bathrick ◽  
Jon M Davoren

The preservation of DNA in biological samples is important for forensic testing, as samples can be tested years or even decades after collection. Generally, the DNA within biological evidence is stable over shorter time frames but can degrade over extended periods. In this work, we evaluated accelerated aging as a method to reduce the duration of studies examining the stability of DNA in forensic evidence-type samples. Evaluation of the DNA extracted from cells stored at 37 and 50°C for 194 or 79 days, respectively, showed similar quality metrics to cells stored at 25°C for 548 days.


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