Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Development Of An Analytical Method And Sample Preparation Technique For The Analysis Of Sulfur-Containing Fentanyl Analogs By Uplcmsms, And The Application To Forensic Science, Amber D. Budmark

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

In February 2018, the US DEA Agency released a statement of the emergency scheduling (Schedule 1) of all fentanyl analogs not already regulated by the CSA due to an alarming increase in overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids. Fentanyl analogs are pharmacologically similar to fentanyl, but often more potent. This increased potency can create problems with proper dosing of fentanyl analogs leading to untoward effects including an increase in overdoses and deaths. Since 2018, there has been a 38.4% increase in illicitly manufactured fentanyl overdose deaths leading the CDC to make available the FAS Kit and Emergent Panels containing previously …

The Efficacy Of Recovering Latent Fingerprints From Fired Cartridge Cases By Way Of Cyanoacrylate Fuming Combined With Basic Yellow Dye Staining, Lily Mantz

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

This experiment attempted to tackle the long-standing struggle to consistently recover latent fingerprints from fired cartridges. With an emphasis on realistic handling of high volume of samples combined with Cyanoacrylate fuming followed by Basic Yellow dye staining, a total of 740 cartridges were examined. These included fired and unfired brass and nickel case 9mm Luger and 40 S&W cartridges. The cartridges were divided into five different groups; each were treated differently prior to cyanoacrylate fuming and dye staining, which was conducted in the same manner for the groups. The groups included the positive and negative controls, loaded, cycled, and fired. …

Anti-Modalities, David E. Pozen, Adam Samaha

Faculty Scholarship

Constitutional argument runs on the rails of “modalities.” These are the accepted categories of reasoning used to make claims about the content of supreme law. Some of the modalities, such as ethical and prudential arguments, seem strikingly open ended at first sight. Their contours come into clearer view, however, when we attend to the kinds of claims that are not made by constitutional interpreters – the analytical and rhetorical moves that are familiar in debates over public policy and political morality but are considered out of bounds in debates over constitutional meaning. In this Article, we seek to identify the …

Rights For The “Non-Conforming” Woman: The Intersectionality Of The Fight For Women’S Rights And Lgbtq+ Rights In Argentina, Talia C. Housman

Honors Theses

Argentina has faced many challenges throughout its history of activism as the people have pushed for an equal society. Different movements have sprung up over the years, but they have begun to twist together in recent times due to the need for support during repressive regimes. This brings into question the concept of intersectionality, which spans feminist, queer, and legal theory in its attempt to explain the need for overlap, modeling the natural development of personal identities and groups like family. The feminist movement and the LGBTQ+ movements have woven together in many rallies, especially during El Encuentro Nacional de …

The Role Of Opposition In A Democracy: A Bibliometric Analysis, Abhinav Shrivastava Mr., Richa Dwivedi Ms.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Globally, democracy is under threat with the prevalence of authoritarian regime all over the world and the role of opposition in a democracy is an under studied subject and has not received adequate importance by researchers all over the world. The present study focuses on the bibliometrics analysis of the role of opposition in democratic system in order to understand the research status of the subject globally using SCOPUS and Web of Science databases.

The analysis shows that research has been undertaken by various organisations and researchers however, the present time demands more attention on the role of opposition so …

Mental Distress Calls: Should Police Be Frontline Responders?, Audrey Suwarno

Capstone Showcase

Due to an over-reliance on law enforcement, police officers have become frontline responders to individuals suffering with mental illness, despite not being properly trained to handle such situations. Many studies have addressed officers’ feelings of incompetence and lack of preparedness when faced with an individual in distress. Without proper training, police tend to resort to force against individuals in mental distress, which can escalate the situation even further. This paper serves to analyze the excessive use of force that is commonly used amongst police officers during mental distress calls, as well as its potentially dangerous and fatal outcomes for individuals …

Covid-19 In Correctional Settings: How Has The Covid-19 Pandemic Impacted Prison Policies And Conditions?, Marissa Tepper

Capstone Showcase

Due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the public has been advised to isolate and quarantine from one another. These social distancing practices have also been applied to institutions such as schools, universities, businesses, and even prisons. Within prisons, officials have been working with the medical community to determine the best course of action to contain the spread of the virus. The current proposed policies for prisons to contain COVID-19 are decarceration or medical isolation. However, in the medical community, there is some concern with implementing medical isolation in prisons. Under supervision of the prison officials, medical isolation could become …

The Impact Of Latent Print Processing On Firing Pin And Breechface Impressions During Firearm Examination, Brittany B. Harrington

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Latent prints can be a valuable source of forensic evidence when solving a crime. They can verify if a person was at a specific scene, identify unknown individuals to connect them to a scene, and help to corroborate eyewitness accounts. Latent prints, however, are not always visible until they have undergone enhancement or visualization techniques. When fired cartridge cases are suspected of containing latent prints, they are brought in for latent print processing before any firearm analysis is performed. As a result, these cartridges are often coated in various residues or dyes when they arrive for firearm examination. In response, …

Powerplex® Fusion 6c System Versus Powerplex® Fusion 5c: A Comparison Of Performance Metrics, Caitlin M. Mccaughan

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Following the FBI mandated expansion of the CODIS core loci from 13 to 20, several manufacturers developed short tandem repeat (STR) typing kits in response to the new criteria. One such manufacturer was the Promega Corporation, which released the PowerPlex® Fusion 5C megaplex STR typing kit (Fusion 5C) in 2012. Currently, the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (VDFS) utilizes this amplification kit for both casework and database applications. In 2015, Promega released the PowerPlex® Fusion 6C STR typing kit (Fusion 6C), which contains three additional loci beyond those included in PowerPlex® Fusion 5C, and a sixth color channel. The power …

Creation And Optimization Of An Optical Trapping Microfluidic Device For The Separation Of Mock Forensic Sexual Assault Samples, Mackenzie Lally

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Cell mixtures are often seen in forensic samples and commonly involve sexual assault cases where mixtures of sperm cells and vaginal epithelial cells are frequently encountered. This produces challenges in downstream analysis in the form of STR mixture profiles. The only method currently in use in crime laboratories for front-end sperm and epithelial cell separation is differential extraction. This method often results in STR mixture profiles due to carryover into both the male and female fractions and suffers from a wide range of efficiency depending on the laboratory or individual processing the sample. Optical trapping offers an alternative method for …

Evaluation Of Cell Lysis Techniques For Direct Amplification Of Sexual Assault Samples, Sarah Schellhammer

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Sexual assault is one of the most common crimes committed today with a delay in sample processing, resulting in the “rape kit backlog”. The traditional method to extract DNA from these samples containing both male and female DNA is a differential extraction; taking hours to process. This study examined a variety of different cell lysis techniques to develop a method which can consistently generate high-quality profiles at a fast rate and with low volumes when compared to the currently used method in our laboratory.

Six lysis methods, in addition to the currently used forensicGEM™ Sperm kit, were performed on …

Evaluation Of Dna Extraction Efficiencies Of Promega’S Dna Iq™ Methods And Casework Extraction Kit For Low Template Samples, Emily M. Anderson

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Biological evidence from crime scene samples frequently contain low levels of DNA, such as the most predominant form of evidence, which is DNA deposited by handling objects or “touch evidence”. To maximize the DNA yield recovered from theses challenging samples, forensic laboratories must optimize the extraction methods utilized to isolate and purify DNA for downstream short tandem repeat (STR) amplifications. Currently, the Virginia Department of Forensic Science (VADFS) uses a DNA IQ™ System (DNA IQ) extraction method for isolation of DNA from most forensic samples. This extraction procedure, which combines DNA IQ™ lysis buffer and Dithiothreitol (DTT), has been validated …

Testing The Efficacy Of Surface Swab Sampling To Determine Post-Mortem Submersion Interval (Pmsi), Using The Microbiome Colonization Of Skeletal Remains Submerged In A Lotic Environment, Sarah Rose

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Estimating the post-mortem submersion interval (PMSI) can provide a valuable forensic tool for medicolegal death investigations involving victims discovered in aquatic environments. Previous studies conducted by Cartozzo et al. (2021) successfully demonstrated the use of microbial succession to create predictive models for the estimation of PMSI from submerged bone. Though effective, bone sampling requires time consuming processing techniques that result in destruction of decedent tissue. This study investigates the use of bone surface swabbing as an effective alternative method to bone sampling, with the goal of predicting PMSI using a simpler, non-invasive sampling technique. Porcine (Sus scrofa) skeletal remains (rib …

Challenges And Successes Teachers Experience Educating Incarcerated Youth: A Mixed-Methods Approach, Morgan Crozier

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study explores the educators’ perspectives on their experiences providing academic services and supports to incarcerated youth placed in short-term juvenile detention centers and how they perceive success and challenges in this environment. The study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research design while incorporating tools such as a questionnaire, interviews, and reflective journal activities to get a deeper understanding of the experiences educators encounter in this role. The questionnaire consisted of 38 questions designed to address the demographics of the teachers participating in the study, their teaching experience with incarcerated youth, professional development received, and the challenges and successes they …

Neither “Post-War” Nor Post-Pregnancy Paranoia: How America’S War On Drugs Continues To Perpetuate Disparate Incarceration Outcomes For Pregnant, Substance-Involved Offenders, Becca S. Zimmerman

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the unique interactions between pregnancy, substance involvement, and race as they relate to the War on Drugs and the hyper-incarceration of women. Using ordinary least square regression analyses and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, I examine if (and how) pregnancy status, drug use, race, and their interactions influence two length of incarceration outcomes: sentence length and amount of time spent in jail between arrest and imprisonment. The results collectively indicate that pregnancy decreases length of incarceration outcomes for those offenders who are not substance-involved but not evenhandedly -- benefitting white …

Comparison Of The Bacterial Community Structure Of Bone Swabs To Ground Bone Recovered From Waterlogged Skeletal Remains From A Lentic Environment For Postmortem Submersion Interval (Pmsi) Estimation, Hannah Johnson

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) is an essential factor when recovering bodies from aquatic environments. Although several studies exist on postmortem interval (PMI) estimation of mammalian cadavers in terrestrial systems, the same is not true for the aquatic systems. Cartozzo et al. (11) developed PMSI prediction models using bacterial succession data associated with waterlogged skeletal remains. This study is a continuation of the Cartozzo et al. (11) study, but the aim of this study is to compare the bacterial DNA (16S rDNA) community found on the surface of swabs recovered from waterlogged bones to the bacterial DNA obtained from ground bone …