OSAC Lexicon

A point at which mental or physical duress causes survival and trainability to come into conflict.

Chemicals or other materials used in testing whose performance is vital to the success of the test as determined by empirical studies or routine practice.

Chemicals or other materials used in testing whose performance is vital to the success of the test as determined by empirical studies or routine practice.

Any software or modification that directly affects the integrity of the evidence, the analytical process, interpretations, statistical conclusions, case file documentation, chain of custody documentation, accuracy of results, report wording, or any other item deemed integral.

A change in the canine's behavior where the canine becomes distracted by animal odor or some other animal distracter. Usually evident as there is a change in body language (head and tail position). (See distractibility.)

The opportunity for the attorney (or an unrepresented party) to ask questions of a witness who has been called to testify by the opposing party.

See contamination.

A path where something can be crossed to get from one side to the other.

The absence of one or both testes from the scrotum.

The absence of one or both testes from the scrotum

crystals are classified according to their crystallographic axes length and the angles between them. There are six crystal systems: cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, and triclinic. All crystal systems are anisotropic except for the cubic system, which is isotropic.

Perception of the near infallibility of forensic science in response to popular media.

Computerized tomography scan.

A verbal or physical action (done consciously or unconsciously) by anyone, and/or any environmental stimulus that causes a detector canine to change its actions to respond to an area or item whether target odor/scent is present or not.

An assemblage of biological reference materials acquired and maintained with associated data according to explicit quality control standards.

A flow of electric charge.

Data for the individual in his/her current state, not necessarily data recorded or createdon the current date. For instance, current data on a subject may be a radiograph of adecedent taken at the time of burial several years ago that is now being compared toradiographs that had been provided for a missing person prior to the assumed date ofdeath of the subject.

Client, authority, organization, or person(s) requesting the forensic services.

Cycle number (in quantitative PCR) at which the fluorescence generated within a reaction exceeds a defined threshold; this value is converted to a DNA concentration for each sample tested using a standard curve developed from DNA samples of known concentrations.

The circular gray-to-black deposit around the front margin of the chamber(s) of a revolvercomposed of gunshot residues deposited during the firing process. Also known as a smoke ring,halo, or simply flare.

quantitative or qualitative representation that is observed, measured, collected, or gathered that characterizes some static or dynamic attribute of the physical world or the use of it by individuals or groups of people and that is suitable for communication, interpretation, or processing by humans or machines^g
 

^{g: ASTM E867-06 (2020) Standard Terminology Relating to Vehicle Pavement Systems available from ANSI.}

The process of systematically utilizing logical techniques to dissect, reorder, evaluate, and interpret data.

A reference point or an approximation of the Earth's surface against which positional measurements are made for computing locations. Horizontal datums are used for describing a point on the Earth's surface, in latitude and longitude or other recognized coordinate systems.

The removal or loss of an amine group from a base, which can result in incorrect pairing during DNA amplification.

A permanent document, registered with the vital records office, that states the identification, fact of death, cause of death, and manner of death; a source of mortality statistics.

Location or site at which a death is pronounced, and at which the decedent’s body is located. This need not be the same location as the incident scene.

Deceased person or any suspected human remains.

An administratively defined cutoff or concentration that is at or above the methods limit of detection or limit of quantitation and is used to discriminate between positive and negative results.

An administratively defined cutoff or concentration that is at or above the method's limit of detection or limit of quantitation and is used to discriminate between positive and negative results.

Administratively defined cutoff or concentration that is at or above the method’s limit of detection or lower limit of quantitation and is used to discriminate between a negative and positive test result.