12 February 2018, Volume 43 Issue 1
    

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    Research Articles
  • Strategies to Mitigate Forensic Error
    WANG Guiqiang
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 1-10. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.001
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF HTML   Knowledge map Save
    Forensic error, when existing and even causing risks, will do very likely a lot of harm to the criminal justice system. Suitable forensic error management can be effectively reducing the error generating, timely detecting the error, and even lowering the error-incurred damage to minimum. This article will inquire into the strategies to mitigate forensic error by implementing a dozen of relevant measures. 1) To systematically and orderly carry out evidence discovering, collecting, labeling, recording, packaging, preserving and submitting. 2) To continually strengthen the researches on forensic science basis and validation of methods used in forensic laboratory. 3) To adopt the procedures of paralleling multiple examiners, technical review and administrative evaluation. 4) To establish a transparent conflict-resolution policy for settling disagreements in technical decision from examiners. 5) To effectively manage and control the biasing information in forensic analysis. 6) To carry out the procedure of regularly checking cases files in order to search/avoid error. 7) To create and run a procedure of both retaining evidential samples and completely documenting the analytic process for renewing methods or peer review to assess the previous conclusion. 8) To evaluate the risk from forensic conclusion error. 9) To develop an effective mechanism for training and interchanging between forensic participators. 10) To timely detect/rectify forensic error. 11) To build up scientific culture among the forensic community. 12) To strengthen training and education of forensic examiners.
  • Non-drip Filtration Plates for High Performance LC-MS/MS Analysis of 5 Phenothiazine-class Antipsychotics in Blood
    WANG Zhaohong, ZHAO Meng, CHU Jianxin, JIANG Wenhui, LI Hong, LIU Yong
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 11-16. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.002
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    A simple and sensitive method was developed and validated for rapid analysis of 5 phenothiazine-class antipsychotic drugs in human blood. Sample preparation is very simple, with the Captiva non-drip filtration plates (Captiva ND Lipids) being used only for lipid and protein depletion. 100μL of human blood containing the target drugs was transferred to Captiva ND Lipids 96-well filtration plates, followed by the addition of 400μL of 0.1% formic acid in methanol. The filtrate was then collected under 20 psi pressure and subsequently received into UPLC-MS/MS analysis. All of the analytes gave linear calibration curves in the range of 0.2~20ng/mL with correlation coefficients (r2) better than 0.999. The LODs were 3-10pg/mL. The RSDs for each analyte were less than 7.0% for intra-day precision and below 10% for the inter-day. The proposed method was applied to the determination of 5 phenothiazine-class antipsychotics in several real forensic cases, leaving with satisfactory results.
  • Digital Forensic Investigation into Smart Watches by Experiment
    ZHAO Lu, KANG Yanrong, GUO Lili, LONG Yuan
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 17-21. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.003
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    Smart watch, widely popular because of its convenient portability and rich functionality, can store plenty of information such as phone-call history, instant messages, GPS records and health data, all those important for digital forensic investigation to get key clues and strong evidence. In this paper, the present situation was summarized on smart watch at its digital forensic researches/applications home and abroad. The technical difficulties were followed to be analyzed according to the hardware architecture and software data structure of smart watches. Therefore, three practical methods were proposed on the basis of experiments that had been carried on extracting and analyzing the selected characteristics-different smart watches so that the practical digital forensic means were thus concluded for obtaining the data from those commonly-seen smart watches in market. Finally, the future direction was put forward on the digital forensic researches about smart watches, with purpose of providing references to relevant both researchers and technicians who are engaging in digital forensics.
  • Utilization of Excel 2003 Data Fragments to Restore the Original File
    XU Guotian
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 22-25. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.004
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    Objective In practice, the deleted Excel file is usually found of leaving with a large number of residual data in the disk. However, the existing tools of data recovery cannot successfully restore them, incapable of using these important clues. This paper tries a method to manually extract such Excel data fragments. Methods A set of data in the original Excel file are firstly selected as the feature values for search so that they can be located by WinHex at a specific space in the disk. Through the manual analysis to exclude the invalid data and extract the effective ones, the whole original Excel file will be likely to be recovered. For the manual analysis, how to define the value of the searched feature is the key. If the number of bytes is too small, a number of false alarms will emerge; on the contrary, the important clues will be lost. Therefore, many groups of key words are required to test so as to ensure that any set of traces do not be missed. Results Some fields that exist in the Excel data fragments had been accurately located. As the data of a whole Excel document are usually stored in the adjacent sectors of a disk, thus all the remaining field values are able to extract from these places. Finally, the logical relations between different field values were utilized to have the original Excel file restored. Conclusion The method established here can effectively extract the residual Excel data fragments in the disk, capable of restoring the Excel file that cannot be recovered by the already-existing tools.
  • Affecting Factors for the Rifling to Leave Marks on Airgun Pellets
    SHEN Di, YIN Kehua, MA Jixiong
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 26-29. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.005
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    Objective To investigate the factors that affect the rifling to leave marks on airgun pellets so as to facilitate the gun identification through contrasting the ballistic evidence from marks on airgun pellets. Methods Five rifling airguns were selected for test. Samples of ballistic evidence were obtained by use of different airgun pellets, with changing the rifling either at the muzzle or breech. The obtained pellet samples were examined under microscope to observe and analyze the factors that affect the left rifling marks. Results The rifling marks left on airgun pellets can be affected by the kinds of pellet used, the changed rifling both at the muzzle or breech, with the most significant impact being from the rifling changing at the muzzle. Conclusion Upon examination, high attention should be paid to the marks left from the changed rifling either at the muzzle or breech, thus secure to make the original rifling marks found.
  • Research and Development of a Forensic Multiplex STR Kit Containing 15 Autosomal and 18 Y STR Loci
    GU Lihua, YANG Fan, MEI Xinglin, ZHOU Huaigu
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 30-34. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.006
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    Objective To develop a 6-dye fluorescence-labelling PCR multiplex protocol that directly amplifies 15 autosomal and 18 Y STR loci plus one Amelogenin gender indicator without DNA extraction, and evaluate its forensic applicability. Methods With 800 DNA samples of inter-irrelevant individuals, the developed protocol was tested by the samples to be amplified locally at the 15 autosomal (D3S1358, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, TPOX, TH01, D2S1338, CSF1PO, D19S433, vWA, D21S11, D18S51, D8S1179, D5S818, FGA) and 18 Y STR loci (DYS527a/b, DYS448, DYS456, DYS385a/b, DYS458, DYS391, DYS390, DYS19, DYS438, DYS393, DYS389Ⅰ, DYS439, DYS389Ⅱ, DYS392, GATA, DYS635) plus the gender marker Amelogenin. The protocol was evaluated on its stability, sensitivity, species specificity, viability and anti-inhibition. Results All the selected-34-locus STR profiles were accurately and steadily amplified from the 800 samples by the developed protocol, with the high species specificity to be met and the detectable minimal DNA amount equal to or over 0.125ng. The 38 samples from real cases were correctly exposed of their genotypes. All the male STR loci had been exactly revealed when the control DNA was mixed with that of male and female in a ratio at or over 1: 4. Moreover, the anti-inhibition assay demonstrated that all the STR loci can be shown if the DNA template contains at or below certain concentrations of given PCR-inhibitors. Conclusion The developed protocol can be used to amplify the designed 15 autosomal and 18 Y STR loci plus the sex-typing marker Amelogenin with high portability, stability and sensitivity, capable of providing a new way for forensic DNA analysis.
  • Rotation Can Change the Exif Information of JPEG Digital Photo
    LIU Tao, YANG Ming
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 35-38. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.007
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    For digital photos to be browsed, rotating the photos is often operated to facilitate watching them. However, such an operation is likely to modify the information of the photo and destroy its aboriginality, being adverse to preserve and identify those important ones. This paper analyzes the influence of rotation on the aboriginality and Exif information of digital photos. A digital photo, shot by a Canon 5D II digital SLR camera, serves as the original photo, being rotated inside the camera with its rotation function and also by each of the five popular kinds of image browsing software: Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer, ACDSee 17, Neoimage, Picasa 3 and Lightroom 5. Through analysis of MD5 and Exif information of the photo before and after rotation, the result shows that the MD5 has changed and Exif information modified when the rotation was taken inside the camera or by Microsoft Windows Photo Viewer, ACDSee 17 and Neoimage, yet not been influenced by Picasa 3 and Lightroom 5 because these two software usually use extra files to record the rotation process rather than directly manipulate the photo. Therefore, rotation is able to make the digital photo’s Exif information changed, destroying the photo’s aboriginality. In the judicial expertise and forensic practice, it is necessary to adopt right methods and measures to ensure the aboriginality of a photo when preserving and browsing it, especially for important ones.
  • Two Methods for Extracting DNA from Ordinary and Aged Bones or Teeth
    SONG Zhen, SONG Sanping, TU Zheng, ZHAO Jie, HE Yongfeng
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 39-42. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.008
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    Objective To set up new methods for the extraction of DNA from ordinary and aged bones or teeth. Methods 380 pieces of bone and tooth, 347 ordinary and 33 aged ones, were collected from the previous routine casework. Handy-Eco instrument was selected to grind the ordinary samples into powder while the aged by Freezer Mill apparatus to achieve the same efficacy. DNA was extracted from the above-processed samples with Kingfisher automatic system (thus the H-K and FM-K methods), with the Identifiler Plus kit to test the STR profile. Results DNA was shown of 15 autosomal STR loci of Identifiler Plus from the 345 ordinary samples, presenting the extraction rate as 99.42%. 32 aged samples exposed their 15 autosomal STR loci of Identifiler Plus, bringing up the DNA extraction rate about 96.97%. Conclusion The established methods here are efficient to extract DNA from either the ordinary or aged bones/teeth, applicable in forensic practice.
  • Feasibility of Microscopic Spectrophotometry to Test the Time for an Iron-gall Ink to Write
    LÜ Yinni, JIA Kai, ZHAO Pengcheng, ZHANG Haipeng
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 43-46. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.009
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    Eight different Iron-gall inks were selected to probe into their writing marks changing along with time by microscopic spectrophotometer so as to verify the feasibility of microscopic spectrophotometry to analyze the time when one writing was made with an Iron-gall ink. Under the natural aging, the handwritings written with Iron-gall inks were tested of their spectral reflectance curves in the wavelength of 300~700nm, together with the calculation of the color difference (ΔE) between ink marks and paper, thereby concluding the correlation of ΔE with writing time. The results show that microscopic spectrophotometry is feasible to determine the time when an Iron-gall ink was used to write.
    • Reviews
  • Progress and Prospect of Identifying Body Fluid Source by Molecular Biology Approaches
    SUN Qifan, LI Ranran, HU Sheng, LI Caixia, YE Jian, JI Anquan
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 47-52. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.010
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    DNA profiling of short tandem repeats (STR) has always played a great important role for criminal investigation into personal identification and paternity testing. However, it is also important to mine as much information as possible from biological evidence, other than to just present evidence for placing a suspect at a crime scene, e.g., reconstructing the crime scene by the identity of different body fluids (or their stains). Traditional body fluid identification makes use of biochemical and spectroscopic measurement, having various limitations on the items of time consumption, intensive labor, low sensitivity and doubtful specificity. Thanks to the development of molecular biology, new genetic biomarkers have been studied and proposed for forensic identification of body fluids into MicroRNA (miRNA), messenger RNA (mRNA), DNA methylation and microbial species. In this review, an overview was provided on the molecular markers to identify body fluid origin, together with the expatiation on the latest research progress and applications.
  • Advances on Inferring Donors’ Features from Specific Components in the Stains of Body Fluids
    LI Xintong, ZHANG Yunfeng, YANG Yu, QUAN Yangke, HUANG Jian, WANG Jiong, CHANG Jing, YU Zhongshan
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 53-59. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.011
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    Criminals are always raising their anti-detection awareness and updating the offensive means, thereby posing many new challenges for forensic science to improve and enhance the capability of mining, monitoring and deciding the potential information embedded in the evidential materials and crime scenes. This paper focuses on the analysis of body fluids’ stains. Although the morphological depiction and DNA test are presently the major resorts to analyze body fluids’ stains, their hidden information can yet be further unearthed with the physicochemical methods. Through summarizing the research progress on toxicant drugs and their metabolins in the body fluids’ stains out of sweat, blood and saliva, the relevant toxicological discoveries are here provided along with the perspectives, aiming to supply a theoretical basis and reference for inferring donors’ features by body fluids’ specific components.
  • Research and Progress of PM-CT Applying into Forensic Pathology
    XIAO Ying, TIAN Meihui, XUE Jiajia, JIA Yuqing, CHENG Zhiqi, CAO Zhipeng, ZHU Baoli
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 60-63. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.012
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    Forensic pathologists have recently attached great importance to the postmortem computed tomography (PM-CT) for its research and application, orienting their cornerstone to set at the advantages of PM-CT being capable of getting rapidly and accurately the images with no intrusion of the autopsy bodies. Thus, there are important theoretical significances and application values for the examination of brain injury, sudden death, traffic-incident caused and high-fall death. This article reviews some latest advances on the application of PM-CT into forensic pathology, aiming to provide reference for the related research.
  • Insight of the OTC Imidazoline Drugs into Forensic Toxicological Analysis
    REN Xinxin, CUI Guanfeng, WANG Aihua, HUANG Jian, SONG Ge, WANG Ruihua
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 64-69. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.013
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    OTC (over-the-counter) imidazolines are usually used to be administered ophthalmically or intranasally for local decongestion and vasoconstriction, yet able to result in severe side-effects, e.g., serious sedation, lethargy, bradycardia, hypotension and central nervous system depression when they are orally ingested or overdose. Due to the availability of OTC drug and inexpensive cost, imidazolines have been found to use in drug-facilitated sexual assaults and robberies in recent years. OTC imidazolines are prone to rapid onset and elimination, therefore requiring to detect them timely and sensitively. Various analytical methods have been proposed for determination of OTC imidazolines, including spectrofluorimetry, spectrophotometry, electrochemistry, capillary electrophoresis, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. However, most of the methods focus on the in-vitro determination by pharmaceuticals, leaving relatively few methods to involve in biological samples. Thus, it is necessary to further investigate the metabolism of the OTC imidazolines with different administration ways so as to establish fast and efficient screening methods for case-concerned biological samples to support the related cases to be solved.
    • Forum
  • Preliminary Analysis on Forensic Science in Relation to STS - Science, Technology and Society
    MENG Qingzhen
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 70-73. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.014
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    Forensic science researches mostly focus on the application of specific technologies, causing quite few to pay attentions to their essence or characteristics and other aspects. This paper tries to analyze forensic science from the insight of STS (science, technology and society). Based on the historical evolution of STS, the interactions are separate to elucidate between the forensic science and each part of STS. Furthermore, the essence and characteristics of forensic science are macroscopical to reveal. Therefore, new ideas are herewith to conclude on providing the forensic science researches and technical development with some novel references for the macro-management about forensic science.
    • Technical Notes
  • Targeting Suspect by the DNA Mixed STR Genotypes Combined with Image Detection
    DENG Shaoyun, WANG Ruijuan, WANG Huaiyu
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 74-76. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.015
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    Objective To get experience and reference for similar cases to get solved through the DNA mixed STR genotypes combined with the suspects’ images that were obtained from video reconnaissance. Methods Autosomal STRs test was carried out with 9 samples from the related cases, having got the effective mixed STR genotypes that were to directly search into the DNA database for match. The matched suspects were comparatively recognized by their stored images against the ones captured from the road video surveillance. Results One suspect was successfully identified based on the matched part of the mixed genotypes from No. 8 sample which contained DNA of the suspect whose image highly resembles to the one shown in the captured video. Conclusion For the mixed STR genotypes unable to detach, the direct search into DNA database is feasible so that the involved case investigation may obtain valuable clues on the condition that the other usable information, e.g., video image, could be combined to make a judgment.
  • Digital Forensic Evidence Collection from the Cyber-destruction against Industrial Control System
    ZHU Yanjun, GUO Chenyang
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 77-80. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.016
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    A digital forensic evidence collection was here introduced on a case of cyber-destruction against the industrial control system-based GPS remote monitoring network. Through the analysis of the structure and working principle about how the GPS remote monitoring system controls the engineering mechanical equipment, a discovery was attained on two illegal artifices by which the engineering mechanical equipment was unlocked from the GPS control. Moreover, the facilities involved in committing the crime were investigated so that the digital forensics were conducted on electronic data parsing, extraction and examination. Finally, a conclusion was achieved on the main points of digital forensics in the case.
  • Applying Behavior Analysis into Reconstructing the Scene: Case Example
    HUANG Ying, WANG Zhimin
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 81-83. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.017
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    The traces, left from human activities on the crime scene, can be used to reconstruct the scene by analysis of the associated human behaviors in combination of the injury characteristics that were shown on the involving body. This paper introduces one death case occurring in a rental house where the investigators conducted the scene inspection and survey, made cadaver examination, analyzed the track of human activities, finally reconstructed the scene through comprehensively clustering the confirmed clues, thus providing an important technical support for the judgment of the case truth.
  • Smartly Extracting Fingerprint on Mirror by Scanner and Photoshop with a Nondestructive Way
    WANG Mingguang, XIA Junfeng, WANG Zheng
    Forensic Science And Technology. 2018, 43(1): 84-86. https://doi.org/10.16467/j.1008-3650.2018.01.018
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    As contact DNA plays an increasingly important role of evidential power in criminal investigation, a nondestructive way to extract fingerprints is becoming even crucial so that the DNA contained in the fingerprints can be kept intact to make the following DNA analysis be carried out. However, it is also one of the biggest difficulties in the investigation of crime scene to obtain a legible fingerprint meanwhile leave the DNA in its original integrity. This paper tries a new nondestructive way to extract scene fingerprint on mirror. Based on the analysis of one scanner about its structure, working principle and performance, a mirror-carried fingerprint is to be scanned and extracted by the selected scanner with a nondestructive handling. Through Photoshop to process the obtained fingerprint picture, a clear fingerprint is revealed of distinct ridges, sharp contrast with neither the background interference nor overlapping shadows. The new method to extract scene fingerprint can effectively avoid the disadvantages (e.g. complex operation and liable influence by environment) of traditional camera treatment, showing more convenience, swiftness and efficiency.

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