Metabolite monitoring concept for the biometric identification of individuals from the skin surface.

This study aims at proof of concept that constant monitoring of the concentrations of metabolites in three individuals' sweat over time can differentiate one from another at any given time, providing investigators and analysts with increased ability and means to individualize this bountiful biological sample. A technique was developed to collect and extract authentic sweat samples from three female volunteers for the analysis of lactate, urea, and L-alanine levels. These samples were collected 21 times over a 40-day period and quantified using a series of bioaffinity-based enzymatic assays with UV-vis spectrophotometric detection. Sweat samples were simultaneously dried, derivatized, and analyzed by a GC-MS technique for comparison. Both UV-vis and GC-MS analysis methods provided a statistically significant MANOVA result, demonstrating that the sum of the three metabolites could differentiate each individual at any given day of the time interval. Expanding upon previous studies, this experiment aims to establish a method of metabolite monitoring as opposed to single-point analyses for application to biometric identification from the skin surface.

Victimization and depressive symptoms in early adolescence: The role of perceived school climate.

Nearly 4 million adolescents in the United States experience clinical depression, and this alarming rate has increased in recent years. Adolescents' perceptions of their school's climate may moderate the association between victimization and depressive symptoms, including suicidality; however, it is unclear whether perceived school climate would act as a buffer or intensifier of the association between victimization and depressive symptoms. The present study examined how different types of victimization (traditional, cyber, and homophobic) are associated with depressive symptoms in middle schoolers (N = 1,151), and whether these associations are buffered or exacerbated by how adolescents perceive school climate. Multiple moderated regression analyses revealed traditional and cyber victimization were significantly positively associated with depressive symptoms, whereas homophobic victimization was not directly associated with depressive symptoms. Further, perceived school climate moderated these associations, exacerbating the link between cyber victimization and depressive symptoms, and buffering the link between homophobic victimization and depression. Results support the importance of middle schoolers' perceptions of school climate in understanding the associations between victimization experiences and depressive symptoms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Bullying, victimization, and bystander behavior: Risk factors across elementary-middle school transition.

Students with mental health difficulties are at increased risk for victimization, and this risk may be exacerbated during the transition to middle school, when there is an increase in bullying behaviors. Through a social-ecological lens, the present study investigated how internalizing and externalizing problems in the fall of fifth grade were associated with bullying role behaviors in the fall of sixth grade and whether these associations differed by gender. This study expanded prior research by examining not only bullying and victimization, but also bystander behaviors (i.e., assisting, defending, or outsider behavior). Participants were students attending fifth grade at one of 13 elementary schools at Time 1, and later attending sixth grade at one of five middle schools at Time 2 (N = 1,139). Structural equation modeling results indicated that externalizing problems in fifth grade were positively associated with bullying (B = .25, p < .001), assisting (B = .08, p = .024), and victimization (B = .30, p = .010) in sixth grade; further, internalizing problems in fifth grade were significantly positively associated with victimization (B = .43, p < .001) and defending (B = .33, p = .002) in sixth grade. There were no significant gender differences in these associations. Implications for social-emotional screening and intervention are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examination of a Tiered Training Model to Increase School Psychology Graduate Students' Behavior Specific Praise.

Several strategies (e.g., performance feedback, video models, tactile prompting) have been found to be effective for improving preservice teachers' use of foundational behavior management skills. However, there is limited research examining these training strategies for promoting preservice clinicians' use of evidence-based behavior management skills. Furthermore, when these strategies are utilized, personnel receiving training often respond differentially. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a tiered training model that incorporated performance feedback, video models, and tactile prompts to increase school psychology graduate students' rates of behavior specific praise during one-to-one sessions with child clients. Results indicated that rates of behavior specific praise increased and maintained across time. Findings, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

Determination of Time since Deposition of Fingerprints via Colorimetric Assays.

Past investigations involving fingerprints have revolved heavily around the image of the fingerprint-including the minutiae, scarring, and other distinguishing features-to visually find a match to its originator. Recently, it has been proven that the biochemical composition can be used to determine originator attributes, such as sex, via chemical and enzymatic cascades. While this provides pertinent information about the originator's identity, it is not the only piece of information that can be provided. This research was designed with three goals in mind: (1) identify how long it would take before an aged female fingerprint could no longer be differentiated from a male fingerprint, (2) identify a correlation between the data collected and a specific time since deposition (TSD) time point, and (3) identify if a specific amino acid could be contributing to the decreasing response seen for the aging fingerprints. Using ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, aged fingerprints were evaluated over the course of 12 weeks via three chemical assays previously used for fingerprint analysis-the ninhydrin assay, the Bradford assay, and the Sakaguchi assay. As fingerprints age, the conditions they are exposed to cause the biochemical composition to decompose. As this occurs, there is less available to be detected by analytical means. This results in a less intense color production and, thus, a lower measured absorbance. The results displayed here afforded the ability to conclude that all three goals set forth for this research were accomplished-a female fingerprint can be differentiated from a male fingerprint for at least 12 weeks, UV-vis data collected from aged fingerprints can be correlated to a TSD range but not necessarily a specific time point, and the decomposition of at least a single amino acid can afford the ability to estimate the TSD of the fingerprint.

Fingerprint Analysis: Moving Toward Multiattribute Determination via Individual Markers.

Forensic science will be forever revolutionized if law enforcement can identify personal attributes of a person of interest solely from a fingerprint. For the past 2 years, the goal of our group has been to establish a way to identify originator attributes, specifically biological sex, from a single analyte. To date, an enzymatic assay and two chemical assays have been developed for the analysis of multiple analytes. In this manuscript, two additional assays have been developed. This time, however, the assays utilize only one amino acid each. The enzymatic assay targets alanine and employs alanine transaminase (ALT), pyruvate oxidase (POx), and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The other, a chemical assay, is known as the Sakaguchi test and targets arginine. It is important to note that alanine has a significantly higher concentration than arginine in the fingerprint content of both males and females. Both assays proved to be capable of accurately differentiating between male and female fingerprints, regardless of their respective average concentration. The ability to target a single analyte will transform forensic science as each originator attribute can be correlated to a different analyte. This would then lead to the possibility of identifying multiple attributes from a single fingerprint sample. Ultimately, this would allow for a profile of a person of interest to be established without the need for time-consuming lab processes.