Police Forensic Science Laboratory Dundee

Abstract Missing person behaviour datasets indicate that a significant proportion of those reported missing are subsequently found deceased in water. Despite this, information about how human bodies move in an aquatic environment is limited. Created by a serving police officer and police search advisor, this study involved the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data relating to deceased human bodies found in inland water. The analysis of this data was further enhanced by experimentation. The research aimed to identify factors that might affect body movement in water and to establish if these variables could determine search parameters more effectively and increase the chances of successful search operations and associated investigations. In this manuscript, the search and investigation approach is introduced and the key findings and implications of the application of natural sciences for police practice are discussed.

Comprehensive data for the detectable changes occurring when various prosthodontic devices are exposed to elevated temperatures is still poorly recorded. The present study aimed to revisit the scientific literature in order to systematically review and assess experimental studies that analyze the effects of high temperature on different materials used in prosthodontics. A systematic literature review was structured according to PRISMA. Four primary electronic databases and one source of grey literature were searched. Only academic and peer-reviewed original experimental studies and proceedings of scientific conferences were included. The risk of bias was assessed using formulated questions by the authors adapted from the strategy proposed by Onofre et al. 2014. The search resulted in 1526 scientific articles, from which met the eligibility criteria. Out of the eligible studies, 60% exhibited a medium risk of bias, which demonstrates a positive characteristic of the present study. Results showed that the detectable changes due to extreme heat observed in the included studies were dependent on the type of prosthodontic device exposed and the type of material used in its fabrication. The data gathered from this study could aid further in the analysis and identification when dealing with incinerated remains.

Abstract Calliphora vicina larvae were reared on artificial foodstuffs spiked with a range of concentrations of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), sodium salicylate, paracetamol, sodium aminohippurate, amphetamine sulfate, and the barbiturates thiopentone, phenobarbitone, amylobarbitone, barbitone, and brallobarbitone. Larvae were harvested at either day 6, 7, or 8 for analysis of drug content. Paracetamol, aspirin, amylobarbitone, and thiopentone were not detected in larvae fed on foodstuff containing drug concentrations equivalent to those expected in skeletal muscle from fatal human overdoses. Drug concentrations in larvae (expressed as larva: Foodstuff drug ratio) were 12–14% for phenobarbitone, 9–11% for sodium salicylate, 10% for aminohippurate, 18–19% for brallobarbitone, 41% for amphetamine, and 50–67% for barbitone. Amylobarbitone became detectable in larvae fed on higher drug concentrations (larva: Foodstuff drug ratio 2.6–21%). Higher levels of thiopentone and phenobarbitone were lethal to the larvae. Despite sharing similar basic structures, related drugs were each handled very differently by the larvae. We found it impossible to predict, on the basis of chemical structure, which drugs are likely to be detectable in Calliphora vicina larvae and in what ratio to the drug-spiked foodstuff. Drug concentrations in larvae are significantly lower than in their food source and the absence of a drug from feeding larvae does not necessarily imply its absence from the food source.