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Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis Of Amino Acids In Biological Tissues: Applications In Forensic Entomology, Food Authentication And Soft-Biometrics In Humans, Mayara Patricia Viana De Matos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this work we demonstrate the power of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to analyze proteinaceous biological materials in three distinct forensic applications, including: 1) linking necrophagous blow flies in different life stages to their primary carrion diet; 2) identifying the harvesting area of oysters for food authentication purposes; and 3) the ability to predict biometric traits about humans from their hair.

In the first application, we measured the amino-acid-level fractionation that occurs at each major life stage of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) blow flies. Adult blow flies oviposited on raw pork muscle, beef muscle, or chicken liver. Larvae, pupae …

Variable Classification Of Drug-Intoxication Suicides Across Us States: A Partial Artifact Of Forensics?, Ian R H Rockett, Gerald R. Hobbs, Dan Wu, Haomiao Jia, Kurt B. Nolte, Gordon S. Smith, Sandra L. Putnam, Eric D. Caine

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background

The 21st-century epidemic of pharmaceutical and other drug-intoxication deaths in the United States (US) has likely precipitated an increase in misclassified, undercounted suicides. Drug-intoxication suicides are highly prone to be misclassified as accident or undetermined. Misclassification adversely impacts suicide and other injury mortality surveillance, etiologic understanding, prevention, and hence clinical and public health policy formation and practice.

Objective

To evaluate whether observed variation in the relative magnitude of drug-intoxication suicides across US states is a partial artifact of the scope and quality of toxicological testing and type of medicolegal death investigation system.

Methods

This was a national, state-based, ecological …