International Journal of Forensic Science

Introduction: The pelvic girdle consists of pelvic and sacral bones which is sexually dimorphic because of its contribution to the functional sex differences. Researchers have focused on deriving population-specific standards from multislice computed tomography (CT) scans through analyzes of inter-landmark distances to weight predictor variables and classify an unknown individual into one of several reference populations. Objective: This study aims to determine the relationship of morphometric of pelvic girdle with sex and ethnicity among the Malaysian population based on a total of 373 pelvic CT images collected at Kuala Lumpur Hospital. Method: The pelvic girdles were segmented from CT images through Mimics Research 17.0 software. Inter-landmark distances were measured with Microsoft 3D Builder. Results and Discussion: The relative technical error of measurements were in acceptable range at below 2% for both intra-observer and inter-observer error analyses. Results showed that the most useful sexual dimorphism parameters were acetabulum dimensions and the ilium height. The accuracy of demarcation points generated from the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve for these parameters ranged from
83.5% to 89.1%. The success rates were 97.3% and 97.1% for respective male and female classification within the Malaysian population. On the other hand, the ilium transverse length, ilium breadth and pelvic inlet transverse diameter were the most useful ancestry differentiation parameters. These parameters showed highest in average values amongst the Chinese, followed by Malay and Indian segment of the Malaysian population. The comparative classification between Chinese and Indian achieved a higher success rate ranging from 64.5% to 67.2%. Conclusion: This population-specific study based on pelvic girdle amongst the Malaysian assist in enhancing the existing
database for Forensic Anthropologists and Forensic Radiologists to perform both sex and ancestry estimation on skeletal remains.

Keywords: Forensic Anthropology; Pelvic Girdle; Morphometric Analyzes; Sex Estimation; Ancestry Estimation; Malaysian Population.
 

Food forensics is an emerging branch of Forensic Chemistry which comes to rescue when food is contaminated/ adulterated. It helps to check food safety and quality amongst others. Nowadays, food adulteration is a common problem and different countries are at stake due to lack of monitoring and infringement of the policies. However,
adulteration in milk is one of the most common problems that have been overlooked in many countries. Unfortunately, milk adulterants can pose serious health problem leading to fatal diseases. This study basicallyfocuses on common milk adulterantswhich are widely used to adulterate milk and other dairy products using different methods, which
are employed to detect the adulterants both qualitatively and quantitatively. this paper deals with chemicals which are used for adulterating milk and the techniques used for their detection which is usefulfor awareness among Forensic Chemist and Toxicologist.

Keywords: Milk Processing; Food Adulteration; Milk Adulterants etc.
 

The recovered biological traces from the sources of victim, suspect and from crime scene are most important types of evidences for forensic DNA analyzes. The collection of the evidences is important for DNA examination in the identification of suspect as well as innocent. The biological sources of DNA evidences may be blood, saliva, vaginal
swabs, hair, teeth, bone etc. The method of the collection of evidences could differ from laboratory to laboratory in the current scenario coronavirus is constantly spreading. It may also be spread by touching contaminated objects or surfaces similarly it may also be transmitted by infected deceased. This study highlights some precautionary steps for medical and crime scene experts during the collection of forensic DNA evidences from biological sources to reduce the risk of the dispersion of COVID-19.

Keywords: Forensic DNA; Biological samples; DNA examination; Medical experts; COVID-19.
 

Soil is a heterogeneous mixture of inorganic minerals, organic materials and biological matter the consistency of which varies horizontally and vertically along the surface of earth. This inconsistency arises because the factors which influence the formation of soil - temperature, rainfall, humidity, atmospheric pressure and composition of parent rocks - differ from place to place. It is therefore pertinent that the soil of one location is different from that of another location not only in its chemical constituents like ions, polymers and carbonaceous deposits, but also in
physical parameters like color, texture and density. Such diverse characteristics serve as identification markers for different units of landscape and make soil a valuable evidence to link a suspect to the crime scene.

Keywords: Soil analyzes; Soil comparison; Soil density; Soil evidence; Soil particles.
 

Fingerprints dactylography is the study of ridge patterns on the fingers. Dermatoglyphic is considered as the best tool for personal identification. It is one of the oldest and most reliable methods of identification. The present study was conducted to correlate between digital fingerprintpatterns with respect to ABO blood grouping system and to evaluate their significance in the field of forensic science. This study was carried on the fingerprints of about 230 subjects (122 malesand 108females) belonging to the age group 18-35 were taken from Haryana, north India. In this study Rh-negative was found 6.08% of the total population. The majority of the subjects in this population belongs to blood group O (40%) followed by B (35.2%), A (15.2%) and AB (9.56%).Loop pattern was found in highest frequency in both right and left thumb fingerprint patterns which was 50.2% followed by whorls 47.6% and Arches 2.17% predominant.In male blood group O and whorl pattern was predominant but in female blood group O was found in highest frequency. Fingerprint pattern on both Right and left thumbs showed significant differences among males and females of North Indian population.

Keywords: Dermatoglyphic; Pattern types; Fingerprints; Identification;Blood groups.
 

Forensic samples, such as those from sexual assault cases, which contain male sperm cells mixed with male and female epithelial cells always pose challenges for DNA scientists in Forensic laboratories. Sometimes, it becomes more challenging when there is a mixture of male epithelial and sperm cell of petrilineal suspect. It is very difficult
to obtain DNA profile from a mixture of two different sources with different quantity. In the present paper, we report a case of sodomy and murder, in which culprit was a petrilineal relative to the deceased. To identify the culprit through DNA technology only autosomal STR markers were helpful and Y STR markers were not helpful in this case, due to the culprit was petrilineal relative of the deceased, having same DNA Profile of Y lineage STR markers . DNA profile obtained from semen stains detected on kameej of deceased, chaddi of suspect, anal swab of deceased, soil and hair recovered from crime scene exposed the suspect to be involved in the crime.

Keywords: Sodomy; Homicide; Forensic; DNA; STR.
 

Fingerprint evidences are perhaps the most common type of physical evidences found at crime scene. Their development and identification helps to prove criminal physical presence at scene of crime. It is extremely difficult for a criminal to commit the crime without having behind his fingerprint. The latent fingerprints are the most pronounced category of fingerprints which serves as an evidence. This review paper focuses upon conventional and advanced analytical techniques used in the detection and comparison of latent fingerprints for easier decipherment. Now a day, criminals nowadays use latex gloves to hide their identity in order to reduce their chances of being sinful. Although it work act as a protective covering but when removed, they are typically peeled off preserving the fingerprints evidences on them without smearing. Thus, those prints were developed by using various physical
and chemical methods and then photographed for investigation and the comparison purpose. Hence, these gloves at crime scene can serve as a direct evidence to catch the culprit. There are several non-destructive physical methods which are used for the development of latent fingerprints which includes the use of a variety of powders such as
black powder (on dark surfaces), white powder(on light surfaces), fluorescent powder (Multicolored surfaces) etc. whereas the destructive method includes the chemical treatment by cyanoacrylate, small particle reagent, ninhydrin etc.Keywords: Charred/Burnt Documents; Decipherment; Ammonia Solution; Forensic Document Examination.

Keywords: Latex gloves; Sweat; Latent fingerprints; Powder.
 

The unicity, permanency, and generality of fingerprints make them as a reliable identification feature in crime and civil cases all over the globe. Various methods are available for the detection of latent fingerprint. Of them, powder dusting is a simplest and most commonly used procedure. Although several powders has been demonstrated earlier
as visualization agents of latent fingerprints, in some context, they are expensive, toxic, and are not easily accessible as they usually composed of various materials. In this study, we have introduced neutral alumina, commonly used in thin layer chromatography as a stationary phase, as a new fingerprint visualizing agent. Neutral alumina is a
cheap, easily available and accessible (one of the most common laboratory consumables), non-toxic, convenient material. In this study, the effectiveness of alumina as a fingerprint powder has been demonstrated on sixteen various substrates of different properties. The results revealed that the alumina powder can be used as an efficient
alternative for other costly commercial powders. The alumina-developed friction ridges were also viewed with the aid of confocal laser scanning microscope and the results are discussed in this article. The alumina-developed fingerprint offers the possibility of extracting level 2 and level 3 features too. Context: The main objective of this work is to identify cheap, non-toxic, and easily accessible material for fingerprint detection as efficient alternative to costly and toxic commercial fingerprint powders. Aims: The aim of this work is to explore the efficiency of
neutral alumina as a cheap and non-toxic fingerprint powder particularly in the scarcity of commercial powders. Results: Sixteen substrates with varying surface, color, and nature were chosen to deposit the fingerprints and their efficiency of development on the application of neutral alumina powder was explored. Most of the aluminadeveloped substrates were showed excellent contrast and visibility. Conclusions: The neutral alumina powder can be an effective and inexpensive substitute for other commonly used fingerprint powders particularly in the case of shortage.

Keywords: Powder dusting; Confocal laser scanning microscopy; Sweat pores; Ridge density; Minutiae; Ridge spacing.