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Third hand smoke (THS) is the residue left remaining on surfaces during smoking events, and is composed of particles and vapors that form upon heating. The phrase THS is primarily used to describe nicotine and other chemicals from cigarettes, but any
Simone N. Gittelson, Carolyn R. Steffen, Michael D. Coble
Low-template DNA analyses are affected by stochastic effects which can produce a configuration of peaks in the electropherogram (EPG) that is different from the genotype of the DNA's donor. A probabilistic and decision-theoretic model can quantify the
The discriminative potential of an ion trap mobility spectrometer (ITMS) for trace detection of illicit narcotics relative to environmental background was investigated with a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve framework. The ITMS response of
Comparison of firing pin impressions of cartridge cases is an important part of firearms evidence identification. However, compared with breach face impressions, there is only a limited surface area over which firing pin impressions can be compared
Simone N. Gittelson, Carolyn R. Steffen, Michael D. Coble
This study investigates the following two questions: (i) Should the DNA analyst concentrate the DNA extract into a single amplification or should he/she split it up to do two replicates? (ii) Given the electropherogram obtained from a first analysis, is it
Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) has been used to detect the presence of non-narcotic adulterants in beverages. The non-narcotic adulterants that were examined in this work incorporated a number low molecular weight alcohols
Nicholas E. Sharp, John D. Fassett, David S. Simons
Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) plays an important role in nuclear forensics through its ability to identify isotopic ratios of particles accurately and precisely from samples obtained by inspectors [1]. As the particle mass can be on the order of
Megan Harries, Santiago Bukovsky-Reyes, Thomas J. Bruno
This paper details the sampling methods used with the field portable PLOT-cryoadsorption (PLOT-cryo) approach, described in Part I of this two-part series, applied to several analytes of interest. We conducted tests with coumarin and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene
This is a review of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) efforts in surface metrology and topography measurements for firearm evidence identifications in forensic science. Based on the research projects in surface metrology and
Theodore V. Vorburger, Jun-Feng Song, Nicholas D. Petraco
The application of surface topography measurement methods to the field of firearm and toolmark analysis is fairly new. The field has been boosted by the development of a number of competing optical methods which has improved the speed and accuracy of
This work demonstrates the ability of off-axis direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) to detect five representative homemade nitrate ester explosive by-products. Instrumental parameters that were examined included mass spectrometer
Building on the successful application in the laboratory of PLOT-cryoadsorption as a means of sampling vapor samples, in this paper a field portable apparatus is introduced. This device fits inside of an aluminum tool carrier, and can be easily transported
In this invited submission to the NIJ Journal, I reflect on the role that National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funding has played in my career in forensic science. Early experiences at the FBI Laboratory are discussed along with the benefits of
Katherine Gettings, Kevin M. Kiesler, Seth A. Faith, Elizabeth Montano, Christine H. Baker, Brian A. Young, Richard A. Guerreri, Peter Vallone
Sequencing short tandem repeat (STR) loci allows for determination of repeat motif variations within the STR (or entire PCR amplicon) which cannot be ascertained by size-based PCR fragment analysis. Sanger sequencing has been used in research laboratories
Massimiliano Ferrucci, Theodore D. Doiron, Robert M. Thompson, John Jones, Adam J. Freeman, Janice A. Neiman
Scales for forensic photography provide a geometrical reference in the photographic documentation of a crime scene. A common scale used by investigators is a plastic, L-shaped ruler that allows for a dimensional reference in the photographic documentation
Bowyer and Ortiz, in their paper "A Critical Examination of the IREX VI Results", make seven criticisms of our application of linear mixed-effects models to longitudinally collected iris recognition Hamming Distances. We reject these as either irrelevant
Measurements were carried out to obtain thermal signatures of several ammonium nitrate/fuel (ANF) mixtures, using a laser-heating technique referred to as the laser-driven thermal reactor (LDTR). The mixtures were ammonium nitrate (AN)/kerosene, AN
One material attribute for nuclear forensics is material age. 241Pu is almost always present in uranium- and plutonium-based nuclear weapons, which pose the greatest threat to our security. The in-growth of 241Am due to the decay of 241Pu provides an
Wo L. Chang, Arnab Roy, Mark Underwood, NBD-PWG NIST Big Data Public Working Group
Big Data is a term used to describe the large amount of data in the networked, digitized, sensor-laden, information-driven world. While opportunities exist with Big Data, the data can overwhelm traditional technical approaches and the growth of data is
Modern-day attackers tend to use sophisticated multi-stage/multi-host attack techniques and anti-forensics tools to cover their attack traces. Due to the current limitations of intrusion detection and forensic analysis tools, reconstructing attack
Kevin M. Kiesler, Katherine Gettings, Peter Vallone
The advent and adoption of next generation sequencing (NGS) is enabling analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at an unprecedented scale, limited primarily by multiplexing during the PCR amplification based enrichment step used for forensic
Katherine Gettings, Rachel A. Aponte, Kevin M. Kiesler, Peter Vallone
Sequence data was analyzed from the flanking and repeat regions of 22 autosomal STR loci in 183 population samples. The flanking regions of the loci sequenced in this data set can be divided into six categories, based on the types of polymorphisms they
Rachel A. Aponte, Katherine Gettings, David L. Duewer, Michael D. Coble, Peter Vallone
The development of next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies creates the potential for changing the method by which the forensic science community genotypes short tandem repeat (STR) loci. While the capabilities of NGS are promising, moving from
Edward Sisco, Jessica L. Staymates, Katherine Schilling, John Gillen
The development of a chemically relevant artificial fingerprint material as well as a preliminary method for fingerprint deposition is discussed herein. More specifically the improvement of an artificial sweat material, an artificial sebaceous material