Forensic Science and Technology Commons^™

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 …

Development Of A Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Gc/Ms) Method For The Quantification Of Vitamin E And Vitamin E Acetate In Electronic Cigarettes, Matthew Adreance

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) are a medium of facilitating drug use that is gaining notoriety in the public eyes. E-cigs were originally designed to be “safer” alternatives to traditional cigarettes, providing the same or similar nicotine dosage without the other side compounds found in tobacco and traditional cigarettes. Typical e-cigs use e-liquids composed of propylene glycol (PG) and/or vegetable glycerin (VG) bases, various flavoring agents, and varying concentrations of nicotine depending on manufacturer or use. With the advent of the growing legalization of cannabis and CBD/THC products in many states and jurisdictions, e-cigs have become a popular medium to ingest these …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Postmortem Interval Estimation Based On Eukaryotic Community Associated With Soil Under Decomposing Porcine Remains, Amanda M. Haase

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Recent studies have shown that bacteria associated with soils under a carcass change significantly both temporally and spatially. These studies were done in both laboratory and field conditions, but with limited replications. In addition, limited information exists on temporal and spatial changes in eukaryotic community structure associated with soil under decomposing remains. This study was designed to fill in these gaps and expand on previous studies to improve postmortem interval (PMI) estimation techniques as well as to identify cadaver decomposition islands (CDI) based on eukaryotic community structure associated with soil under vertebrate remains. To accomplish this goal, soil samples were …

Detection Of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharides Of Escherichia Coli By Direct Analysis In Real Time/Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry, Dakotah M. Biller

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a major component of the outer membrane in Gram-negative bacteria species and are responsible for toxicity caused by organisms such as Escherichia coli (E.coli). Conventional methods for characterizing LPS utilize mass spectrometry, particularly matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Although these are successful in analyzing intact LPS molecules, they can be time-consuming. Other mass spectrometry techniques, such as direct analysis in real time/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DART-TOF-MS) could also be helpful in the rapid analysis of LPS molecules without sample extraction procedures. This research focuses on the application …

The Utilization Of Sex Hormone Antibodies For Screening And Separation Of Trace Biological Mixtures, Kristin N. Jones

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Touch or trace evidence consists of epidermal cells deposited by contact with items such as handled objects, touched surfaces, or worn clothes. This type of evidence has surpassed most other sample types submitted to forensic labs and typically consists of low quantities of DNA and multiple contributors. In this study epithelial skin cells, i.e., “touch/trace evidence,” were used as they are estimated to constitute approximately half of the casework evidence items submitted for DNA analysis. For the optimization of antibody staining, male and female skin epithelial samples from donors were incubated and hybridized with antibodies of various concentrations of Alexa …

Development Of An Untargeted Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (Gc/Ms) Method For The Detection Of Drugs In Wastewater, Samuel A. Miller

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Monitoring current illicit drug trends and consumption rates of pharmaceuticals using a non-invasive collection technique is needed to address the present drug use and the growing drug epidemic. Reliance on self-reporting drug use surveys is not always a practical measure of illicit drug use. Wastewater analysis has been used globally as a targeted method for monitoring the consumption of specific illicit drugs. Current existing analytical techniques for wastewater analysis focus on the use of targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) based techniques. Few gas chromatography (GC) procedures exist for wastewater analysis, and those that do concentrate their methods on a single …

Development Of A Quantitative Pcr (Qpcr) Based Method For Studying Temporal Dna Degradation In Waterlogged Bone, Isis Thornton

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Human activities are often centered around the presence of water, thus it is not surprising that there are many water-related human deaths. Accumulated degree days (ADD), and other aquatic variables may affect DNA retrieval from waterlogged bone. Calcium and collagen in bone can inhibit the PCR necessary to produce an STR profile; the current solution is a time-consuming organic extraction. While there are examples of research on DNA degradation in terrestrial bone over time, there has been little work done on submerged bone samples and they are usually limited to case studies. The major aim of this study was to …

Expanded Testing Of An Integrated Qpcr Mixture Screening Assay Using High Resolution Melt Curve Analysis And Support Vector Machine Modeling, Andrea L. Williams

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

In the conventional forensic DNA workflow, the number of contributors in a sample is unknown until the final step of STR analysis. We propose a high-resolution melt curve (HRM) mixture screening assay, which uses support vector machine (SVM) modeling of melt morphologies of D5S818 and D18S51 amplicons integrated into a common qPCR-based human DNA quantification kit, to differentiate between single-source samples (and their genotypes) and mixtures at an earlier stage in the DNA workflow (quantification). Previously, using data generated from whole melt curves, 87.5% of single-source samples and 100% of 1:1 mixture samples (2 contributors) classified accurately.

In this study, …

The Effect Of Time And Temperature On The Quality Of Latent Fingerprints On Incandescent Lightbulbs, Varying Donors Age And Sex, Kinaysha M. Collazo Maldonado

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Fingerprints are used as a means of identification, but there are no established methodologies to determine time since deposition of latent fingerprints by visual means alone. This research considered the influence of age and sex on the quality of recovered latent prints from lit and unlit lightbulbs from 1 to 10 days, using accumulated degree hours (ADH) to account for both heat and time simultaneously. Two male and two female donors (one of each aged40 years) were used. A thermal imaging camera was used to monitor the lightbulbs top and middle regions, which were significantly different (p≤0.05) for the experimental …

Effective Laundering Conditions For Ignitable Liquid Decontamination Of Fire Scene Clothing Used By The Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, And Explosives, Rebecca K. Whitney

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Ignitable liquids such as gasoline and diesel fuel are common accelerants encountered by Certified Fire Investigators (CFIs). These ignitable liquids can be identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy; the presence of particular peaks in appropriate abundances and patterns indicates the presence of compounds found in ignitable liquids. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) issues clothing to its CFIs for wear during fire scene investigation. Previous research has identified a method to decontaminate the tools used by CFIs, but no explicit protocol to decontaminate scene clothing has been determined. This study investigated the use of Tide Ultra Stain Release, …

Discrimination Of Colorless Fibers By Uv-Vis Microspectrophotometry And Microspectrofluorimetry, Kialani Killinger

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

Fiber evidence is frequently encountered in forensic casework, and part of a typical fiber analytical scheme involves the detailed study of the color and other physical properties, optical properties, and chemical composition of the fibers in question. Microspectrophotometry (MSP) is commonly used to provide objective color measurements of fibers, eliminating subjectivity that may be present in visual color examinations. MSP can produce color measurements over the ultraviolet (UV) and visible (VIS) regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, as well as emission spectra from fluorescence measurements. In this research, colorless fibers were analyzed by MSP, using both transmission measurements in the UV-VIS …

Analysis Of Pellet Patterns And Gsr Produced From Judge Taurus Revolvers, Donald Poon

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

The Taurus Judge is a five-shot revolver designed to fire both 410 Bore shotshells and caliber 45 (Long) Colt cartridges. It is marketed as a self-defense firearm by Taurus. As of 2010, the Taurus Judge was “quickly becoming a popular personal defense firearm”.¹ Although it has become somewhat popular, the Taurus Judge and its various models have not had many distance determination studies completed and there is still a dearth of information on how these handguns compare with shotguns when looking at range of fire determinations. This study focused on: how barrel length affected pellet spread patterns produced by …

Validation Of The 4-Aminophenol Chemical Test And Analytical Testing Scheme To Distinguish Marijuana And Hemp, Kenna Lewis

Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects

With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp, law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories needed a more efficient testing scheme to differentiate marijuana and hemp Cannabis plants. The validation of the 4-aminophenol chemical test and the subsequent analytical scheme allows for this differentiation to be performed. The evaluation of eighteen different cannabinoids, including acids, demonstrated that compounds with structures similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produced a blue result and compounds with structures similar to cannabidiol (CBD) produced a pink result. Several titration curves with varying concentrations of cannabinoids indicated a pink result when the THC concentration was less …

Optical Tweezers As An Effective Tool For Spermatozoa Isolation From Mixed Forensic Samples, Nicole Auka, Michael Valle, Bobby D. Cox, Peter D. Wilkerson, Tracey Dawson Cruz, Joseph E. Reiner, Sarah J. Seashols-Williams

Forensic Science Publications

A single focus optical tweezer is formed when a laser beam is launched through a high numerical aperture immersion objective. This objective focuses the beam down to a diffraction-limited spot, which creates an optical trap where cells suspended in aqueous solutions can be held fixed. Spermatozoa, an often probative cell type in forensic investigations, can be captured inside this optical trap and dragged one by one across millimeter-length distances in order to create a cluster of cells which can be subsequently drawn up into a capillary for collection. Sperm cells are then ejected onto a sterile cover slip, counted, and …

The Effect Of Electronic Cigarette User Modifications And E-Liquid Adulteration On The Particle Size Profile Of An Aerosolized Product, Haley A. Mulder, Jesse L. Patterson, Matthew S. Halquist, Leon Kosmider, Joseph B. Mcgee Turner, Justin L. Poklis, Alphonse Poklis, Michelle R. Peace

Forensic Science Publications

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are an alternate nicotine delivery system that generate a condensation aerosol to be inhaled by the user. The size of the droplets formed in the aerosol can vary and contributes to drug deposition and ultimate bioavailability in the lung. The growing popularity of e-cigarette products has caused an increase in internet sources promoting the use of drugs other than nicotine (DOTNs) in e-cigarettes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of various e-cigarette and e-liquid modifications, such as coil resistance, battery voltage, and glycol and drug formulation, on the aerosol particle size. E-liquids containing …