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Forensic science

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Displaying 76 - 100 of 544

Developmental Validation of the VersaPlex(R) 27PY System

November 21, 2023
Author(s)
Kristy Lenz, Stephen McDaniel, Dawn Rabbach, Becky Steffen, Douglas Storts, Robert McLaren
The VersaPlex™ 27PY System is a short tandem repeat (STR) multiplex from Promega that co-amplifies 27 loci. This six-dye multiplex was designed for casework samples and includes loci that meet database requirements for the US (CODIS) and Europe (ESS). The

Demystifying Accreditation A Framework for Accreditation of Forensic Units

October 1, 2023
Author(s)
Nicole Jones, Erin Forry, Donna J. Sirk
Accreditation is a formal recognition by an independent third party/accreditation body that a forensic service provider such as a laboratory, unit, or agency,a meets standards. A standard is a requirement or guideline used to ensure that a process or

On the challenge of unambiguous identification of fentanyl analogs: exploring measurement diversity using standard reference mass spectral libraries

July 11, 2023
Author(s)
Arun Moorthy, Edward Erisman, Anthony J. Kearsley, Yuxue Liang, Edward Sisco, William E. Wallace
Fentanyl analogs are a class of designer drugs that are particularly challenging to unambiguously identify due to the mass spectral and retention time similarities of unique compounds. In this paper, we use agglomerative hierarchical clustering to explore

Concentration of Ignitable Liquid Residue from Simulated Fire Debris by Dynamic Vapor Microextraction: Sensitivity to Instrument Settings and Debris Characteristics

July 6, 2023
Author(s)
Jennifer Berry, Mary Gregg, Amanda Koepke, Reta Newman, Kavita Jeerage
Dynamic vapor microextraction (DVME) is a potential method for the extraction and concentration of ignitable liquid (IL) residue in fire debris. This low flow rate, purge-and-trap headspace concentration method collects IL vapors onto a chilled adsorbent

Interpretation and Report Writing in Forensic Comparisons of Paint Evidence: An Inter-laboratory Exercise

June 21, 2023
Author(s)
Donna J. Sirk, Andria Mehltretter, Meghan Prusinowski, Hal Arkes, David Flohr, Cedric Neumann, Scott Ryland, Tatiana Trejos
This interlaboratory study evaluated a guide for interpreting and reporting trace evidence examinations. The online survey aimed to assess the examiners' interpretation of casework scenarios designed by a subject matter expert panel (SMEP), specifically

U.S. population data for 94 identity informative SNP loci

May 15, 2023
Author(s)
Kevin Kiesler, Lisa Borsuk, Becky Steffen, Peter Vallone, Katherine Gettings
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology analyzed a set of 1036 samples representing four major U.S. population groups (African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Hispanic) with the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit, DNA primer mix B

Rapid Analysis of Drugs: A Tool to Detect Drug Overdose Spikes, Build Trust Among People Using Drugs and Reduce Overdoses - Maryland, November 2021 - August 2022

April 28, 2023
Author(s)
Erin Russell, Edward Sisco, Allison Thomson, Jasmine Lopes, Dana Heilman, Margaret Rybak, Malik Burnett, Meghan Appley, Matthew Gladden
Maryland overdose deaths increased 16%, to a record high of 2,912 deaths during the 12-month period from July 2020 to June 2021. Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and/or fentanyl analogs* contributed to 84% of these overdose deaths.† Timely public health

Who Is That? Perceptual Expertise on Other-Race Face Comparisons, Disguised Face Comparisons, and Face Memory

April 20, 2023
Author(s)
Amy Yates, Jacqueline Cavazos, Geraldine Jeckeln, Ying Hu, Eilidh Noyes, Carina Hahn, Alice O'Toole, P. Jonathon Phillips
Forensic facial specialists identify faces more accurately than untrained participants on tests using high quality images of faces. Whether this superiority holds in more challenging conditions is not known. Here, we measured performance for forensic

OSAC Registry Implementation Survey: 2022 Report

March 2, 2023
Author(s)
Allison Getz
This report provides a detailed look at the implementation status of 95 standards that were posted on the OSAC Registry through June 2022. It also provides a comparison of the 2022 survey data with some of the findings from the 2021 OSAC Registry

Development & Validation of A Rapid GC-MS Method for Seized Drug Screening

February 15, 2023
Author(s)
Madeline Bloom, Edward Sisco, Ira Lurie
Controlled substances are one of the most frequently analyzed types of evidence in forensic laboratories. An increase in frequency of seizures in recent years has necessitated a need for rapid screening techniques to decrease case backlogs and expedite

Field-Deployable Devices

January 1, 2023
Author(s)
Thomas P. Forbes, Raychelle Burks
Reductions in instrument size, weight, and power continue to facilitate the development and application of field-deployable devices for investigative purposes. Portable analytical instrumentation supporting the rapid and reliable identification of two
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