Forensic science international
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Web browsers are among the most commonly used applications to access the web from any platform nowadays. With recent digital incidents involving breach of data, users are becoming more cognizant of the threat posed by malicious actors having access to personal data as well as vulnerable applications which may compromise their data. For this very reason, users are being offered privacy preserving solutions for trust maturity. ⋯ Due to this feature, majority of the users use Tor browser for normal use as well as malign activities. In order to validate the claims of Tor browser and help digital forensic investigators and researchers, we created different scenarios to forensically analyze the Tor browser privacy and anonymity. As a result of the findings, it can be concluded that the Tor browser leaves plethora of sensitive digital artifacts on host machine, which can be further used to compromise user data.
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The presented manuscript describes the carbon monoxide (CO) related deaths in Portugal over a period of 3 years, based on autopsies carried out at the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, from January 2012 to December 2014. Three hundred and forty-seven forensic autopsy reports with carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) analysis requests were analysed and subdivided into three main groups: (1) improbable CO intoxication; (2) possible CO intoxication; (3) highly probable CO intoxication. In group 1, COHb analysis was negative, and the death circumstances, as well as the post mortem findings, didn't corroborate an exposition to CO. ⋯ In the second group (164 cases), 29% of the cases were directly or indirectly related to CO exposure (between 0% and 94%). In the third group (70 cases), 56 deaths were due to CO intoxication and 14 due to burns after CO inhalation (between 18% and 91%). This study intended to do, not only a 3-year assessment of CO poisoning, but also to enhance the fact that circumstantial information, as well as a correct evaluation at the forensic autopsy data are crucial, and allow an enhanced diagnosis of possible intoxication, as well as a better guidance for the consequent toxicological analysis requests.
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Medical problems related to illicit drug use are frequently encountered at electronic dance music (EDM) events. In this prospective study, the medical problems and toxicological analyses on intoxicated persons and seized materials are described jointly. The aim of this study is to find out to what extent these efforts may assist in developing prevention strategies and organising on-site care at EDM events. ⋯ Of particular interest was a tablet containing 4-chloromethamphetamine (a previously unknown neurotoxic NPS), 4-chloroamphetamine, para-methoxyamphetamine, para-methoxymethamphetamine and ethylone. Our data show that at EDM events ethanol and MDMA are still the party drugs causing most health hazards and that NPS only play a minor role. Regarding the toxicological efforts, we recommend to analyse all seized materials from an EDM event, but only blood samples from the most severely intoxicated patients.
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The GIFT CBRN project (Generic Integrated Forensic Toolbox for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents), funded under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Commission, has been set up to find solutions for investigating incidents involving CBRN agents. Regarding the forensic point of view, specific tools and procedures to assist forensic investigators to perform a crime scene investigation (CSI) and methodologies to enable the subsequent analysis of the evidences (contaminated with CBRN agents) seized at the crime scene have been developed. To validate the procedures and methods developed within this project and to test them, three field-exercises engaged with one type of agent at the time (i.e. a RN-agent, a B-agent or a C-agent) has been held. ⋯ Step 4 concentrated on the decontamination and transport of evidences and traces sampled in the contaminated zone. The revelation of fingerprints in a glovebox (step 5) was finally demonstrated. In conclusion, this field-exercise was an opportunity for the different Belgium services to work together, to learn from each other, and to work towards the establishment of a national operating procedure to manage investigations in CBRN conditions.
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The recent rise in the recreational use of plant-based "legal highs" has prompted the development of methods for the identification of the bulk material, and quantification of their psychoactive components. One of these plants is Mitragyna speciosa, commonly referred to as Kratom. While traditional use of this plant was primarily for medicinal purposes, there has been a rise in its recreational use, and as a self-prescribed medication for opioid withdrawal. ⋯ The protocol was applied to determination of the mitragynine content of 16 commercially available Kratom plant products purchased online. The mitragynine amounts in these materials ranged from 2.76 to 20.05 mg g-1 of dried plant material. The utilization of DART-HRMS affords a mechanism not only for the preliminary identification of bulk plant material as being M. speciosa-derived (with no sample preparation required), but also provides the opportunity to quantify its psychoactive components using the same technique.