Development of a laboratory test for knicker tearing re-creation studies.

False sexual assault and rape claims result in wasted forensic and police resources and stigma for the alleged offender. In this work a laboratory method was developed to (i) recreate the ripping of knickers and (ii) measure the force required to rip the garments. The effect of laundering was considered as a means to mimic age of garment, and the effect of speed of ripping was used as a measure of forcible removal of garments. Whilst laundering resulted in visual damage to the thongs, it did not affect the mechanical properties. Faster test speeds resulted in higher measured forces and increased levels of damage. This may allow comment to be made regarding the level of force used during an attack.

Effect of laundering on visible damage to apparel fabric caused by sharp force impact.

Sharp force violence is a common way of committing assault in numerous countries and regions around the world. When a stabbing occurs, the clothing worn by the victim may provide vital evidence: for example the weapon used to stab the victim may be identified from severance in the clothing. However, whether laundering the clothing after an attack affects the severance morphology of the fabric and fibres, and whether identification of the weapon is possible from the severance in the clothing after laundering is not known. This study focussed on the effect of laundering 100% cotton twill weave (drill) and single jersey (knit) fabrics. Specimens had been pre-treated and stabbed with either a kitchen knife or a Phillips screwdriver. These specimens were photographed and were again laundered for one wash cycle before being photographed again. Ten expert judges compared the photographs taken before and after laundering. A difference in the appearance of the fabrics before and after laundering was evident. The morphology of the fabric and fibres thus would be expected to differ after laundering the clothing, making identification of a weapon used to stab through clothing more difficult.

Physical and mechanical degradation of shirting fabrics in burial conditions.

The current focal areas within forensic textile science are fibre identification and assessment of the method of damage to fabrics. This paper investigates fabric degradation within clandestine burials. The fabrics considered in this paper, unlike previous archaeological studies, are a modern polyester-cotton blend (65%/35%) and a 100% cotton fabric both of which are commonly used for men's shirting fabrics in the UK. Three laundering conditions were investigated (i) not-laundered, (ii) laundered 6 times, and (iii) laundered 60 times; this represented varying conditions of fabric upon clothing deposition. The two burial conditions; sand and clay, were selected as extremes of soil type. The deposition times (15 and 30 days) were based on a study of clandestine burials in UK crimes. There were clear differences in how polyester-cotton and cotton stained within the two different soil conditions, polyester-cotton becoming extensively stained after a 30-day deposition in sand. The tear force required to tear the fabric after deposition, suggested that polyester/cotton fabrics were consistently weaker after burial, regardless of soil type and deposition period. There was also significant damage caused to not-laundered cotton fabrics after a 30-day deposition in clay. This work indicates that common apparel fabrics can degrade in relatively short times when buried.

Tearing of knicker fabrics.

In Dunedin (South Island, New Zealand), a sexual assault is reported to police approximately once every two to three weeks, with some reports fictitious. Identifying a fictitious claim is difficult, and damage to apparel, especially knickers, may be the only form of evidence. In this paper, the tear behaviour of three knit fabrics, typical of those used to manufacture knickers is reported: the effect of laundering prior to tearing was considered. Tearing behaviour was determined using an Instron universal testing machine (Model 4464) operating in tensile mode to eliminate variability which is inevitable with human participants. Cotton and cotton-rich fabrics were more difficult to tear than modal-rich fabrics: the addition of elastane increased the time for the tear initiation as elastane fibres allowed the fabric to extend more before breaking. Specimens behaved differently depending on which direction they were torn (course-direction specimens down the length of the specimen, wale-direction specimens 50% down the length, 50% across the specimen). Laundered fabrics required less force to tear than new fabrics, therefore, when examining torn apparel, the fibre content and age of the garment need to be considered. Torn fibre ends appeared similar to those damaged by other means (e.g. knife, screwdriver) and no features visible under FESEM could be attributed solely to tearing damage in the fabrics studied.

Effect of laundering on blunt force impact damage in fabrics.

Blunt force assault is a growing issue worldwide. In New Zealand, recorded cases of grievous blunt force assault increased steadily from 1011 in 1999 to 2139 in 2008. In many cases of blunt force assault victims are struck on parts of their body covered by clothing, yet the use of damage to apparel as forensic evidence largely appears to have been overlooked. The current research investigated blunt force impact (BFI) damage in common apparel fabrics and the effects prior and post-laundering had on this damage. Two 100% cotton fabrics (single jersey knit, bull drill) were impacted as single and double layers using an impactor representative of a hammer face, the force transmitted through specimens was measured and impulse calculated. Impacting and laundering were completed cumulatively to establish the effects of impact damage on new, dimensionally stable (laundered 6 times) and aged fabrics (laundered up to 30 times), and the effects of laundering on impacted specimens. BFI left recognisable patterns of damage in specimens, although the extent of this damage varied. Laundering after the impact event altered the visible and microscopic damage. Laundering previously impacted fabrics produced holes in some specimens and some fibres exhibited failure characteristic of blunt force impact.

Forensic evidence in apparel fabrics due to stab events.

Stab injuries and fatalities have been reported to be the most common crimes of violence in several countries, particularly in those where access to firearms is restricted [J.M. Taupin, F.-P. Adolf, J. Robertson, Examination of damage to textiles, in: J. Robertson, M. Grieve (Eds.), Forensic Examination of Fibres, CRC Press, United States of America, 1999, pp. 65-87; A.C. Hunt, R.J. Cowling, Murder by stabbing, Forensic Sci. Int. 52 (1991) 107-112; D.A. Rouse, Patterns of stab wounds: a six year study, Med. Sci. Law 34 (1994) 67-71]. Analysis of damaged apparel may provide important information about the cause of death and the events leading up to and after the victim's final moments [M.T. Pailthorpe, N.A.G. Johnson, The private forensic scientist and the criminal justice system, in: D. Biles, J. Vernon (Eds.), Private Sector and Community Involvement in the Criminal Justice System: Conference Proceedings, vol. 23, Australian Institute of Criminology, Wellington, 1994, 231-240]. A high proportion of stab wounds occur in the chest and as this area is generally clothed many sharp force cases involve damage to fabrics [J.M. Taupin, F.-P. Adolf, J. Robertson, Examination of damage to textiles, in: J. Robertson, M. Grieve (Eds.), Forensic Examination of Fibres, CRC Press, United States of America, 1999, pp. 65-87; A.C. Hunt, R.J. Cowling, Murder by stabbing, Forensic Sci. Int. 52 (1991) 107-112; D.A. Rouse, Patterns of stab wounds: a six year study, Med. Sci. Law 34 (1994) 67-71]. The structural stabilisation and degradation of fabric due to laundering significantly alters fabric properties [S.E. Gore, R.M. Laing, C.A. Wilson, D.J. Carr, B.E. Niven, Standardizing a pre-treatment cleaning procedure and effects of application on apparel fabrics, Text. Res. J. 76 (2006) 455-464], yet the effect of such on severance morphology does not appear to have been investigated. In this work the effect of blade type (hunting knife, kitchen knife, screwdriver) on new and laundered apparel fabrics was investigated. Two approaches were used (i) a human participant trial, and (ii) guided drop testing (using an impact rig). Force-time plots from the human participant trials were matched to those from the impact rig. Information on severance morphology was obtained using visual analysis techniques. Blades could be differentiated and directionality estimated by observing differences in severance shape and size, the degree of fabric distortion, the position of severed yarn ends, loop snippets, curled yarns, planar array and the morphology of fractured fibres. Fabric construction had a visible effect on severance morphology. Pre-impact degradation via laundering hindered the ability to link fractured fibre ends to a source of damage by altering morphology and increasing the variability. The correlation between blade height and severance length was weak, attributed to elastic deformation and recovery. The impact rig was a valuable tool in the reconstruction of textile damage. Damage was consistent when inflicted using a human participant trial and the impact rig, although more variable in the former. The advantage of the impact rig lies in the ability to produce a severance typical of the blade in question, under controlled conditions, in a reproducible manner.

Pretibial injury: key factors and their use in developing laboratory test methods.

Aims were to 1 characterize pretibial injuries and evaluate protection offered by garments/fabrics; and 2 develop a laboratory test to determine the potential protection provided by such fabrics. Most (>85%) of 75 patients treated for pretibial injury at Hutt Hospital, New Zealand sustained injury to one site and required surgery. Injuries were typically grade 3 or 4, 10-250 mm wide 30-350 mm long, and at the mid- to lower third of the tibia. The severity grade was lower when at least one fabric layer covered the site, slightly lower again with more than one layer, and when a knitted fabric/garment was worn, and a trouser type garment. Laboratory test methods and their application reflected these known variables. The force transmitted through multiple fabric layers was less then through one layer: thick pantyhouse and either denim or fabrics used in 'sweat pants' would minimize transmitted force and maximize impulse.

Differences in wearer response to garments for outdoor activity.

The performance of garments for outdoor activity was compared. Three fabrics, each in garments for the upper body, matched garment/wearer dimensions, were worn by 10 athletically 'well-trained' males under controlled conditions (hot 32 +/- 2 degrees C, 20 +/- 2% relative humidity (RH); cold 8 +/- 2 degrees C, 40 +/- 2% RH) with physical (instrumental) and sensory responses obtained during the trials. Differences in human responses to the fabrics/garments included heart rate, core temperature during run (hot, cold), rest (hot) and walk (cold), heat content of the body, humidity under garments during rest and run and time to onset of sweating. No such differences were identified for change in body mass, core temperature during walk (hot) and rest (cold), skin temperature, temperature of skin covered by the garment, humidity under the garments during walk or for any perceptions (thermal sensations, thermal comfort of torso, exertion, wetness). The garment in single jersey wool fabric performed best in both hot and cold conditions. Effects of garments on wearers are often related to properties of the fabrics from which the garments are made. This study shows that only some differences in fabric properties result in measurable thermophysiological and perceptual responses of the garment wearers and underlines the difficulty in predicting performance of garments/persons from laboratory tests on fabrics.

A light-weight cooling vest enhances performance of athletes in the heat.

During the 1990s, emphasis on the health and safety of people who exercise in hot, humid conditions increased and many organizations became aware of the need for protection against heat-related disorders. A practical, pre-cooling strategy applicable to several sporting codes, which is low cost, easy to use, light-weight and which enhances cooling of the human body prior to and following exercise, was developed and tested. Eight males and eight females participated in a maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) test and four trials: a control (without cooling) and wearing each of three different cooling vests (A, B, C). Vests were worn during the rest, stretch, warm-up (50% VO2max) and recovery stages of the protocol, but not during the 30 min run (70% VO2max). Core and skin temperatures during exercise were reduced (by approximately 0.5 degrees C, rectal; 0.1-1.4 degrees C, abdominal skin temperature) and sweat rates were lower (by approximately 10-23%). Endurance times for running at 95% of VO2max were increased by up to 49 s. Perceptions of the thermal state and skin wetness showed changes to greater levels of satisfaction. Physiological and sensory responses were related to design features of the vests.

Helmet design to facilitate thermoneutrality during forest harvesting.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the ventilatory characteristics of vented and non-vented helmets for use in forestry harvesting operations. A ventilation index developed by Birnbaum and Crockford (1978) was used to determine the ventilation capacity of twelve helmets varying in design and presence, location, and dimension of vents. Helmets with top vents had higher ventilation indices than non-vented, side and side/top-vented helmets. Ten physically fit men participated in a maximal oxygen consumption test and four trials wearing a non-vented, round-side-vented, round-top-vented or rectangulartop-vented helmet. Trials simulated typical summer environmental conditions (28 degrees C, 80% rh) and physiological work loads (40% VO(2)max) experienced during forest harvesting in New Zealand. The temperature and humidity under the helmet was typically lowest when the helmet with the largest vented area (288 mm(2)) in the crown was worn, although physiological responses (temperatures at the tympanum, ear and scalp; humidity at the centre of the helmet) of the participants to wearing the helmets differed significantly during some rest periods only. Top-vented helmets (in this experiment measured 288 mm(2)) should be worn to minimize temperature and humidity of the head during forest harvesting operations.

Viral vascular endothelial growth factor plays a critical role in orf virus infection.

Infection by the parapoxvirus orf virus causes proliferative skin lesions in which extensive capillary proliferation and dilation are prominent histological features. This infective phenotype may be linked to a unique virus-encoded factor, a distinctive new member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family of molecules. We constructed a recombinant orf virus in which the VEGF-like gene was disrupted and show that inactivation of this gene resulted in the loss of three VEGF activities expressed by the parent virus: mitogenesis of vascular endothelial cells, induction of vascular permeability, and activation of VEGF receptor 2. We used the recombinant orf virus to assess the contribution of the viral VEGF to the vascular response seen during orf virus infection of skin. Our results demonstrate that the viral VEGF, while recognizing a unique profile of the known VEGF receptors (receptor 2 and neuropilin 1), is able to stimulate a striking proliferation of blood vessels in the dermis underlying the site of infection. Furthermore, the data demonstrate that the viral VEGF participates in promoting a distinctive pattern of epidermal proliferation. Loss of a functional viral VEGF resulted in lesions with markedly reduced clinical indications of infection. However, viral replication in the early stages of infection was not impaired, and only at later times did it appear that replication of the recombinant virus might be reduced.

Development of sizing systems for protective clothing for the adult male.

The aim of the study was to obtain comprehensive anthropometric data from which to develop a sizing system appropriate for inclusion in specifications for protective clothing; and for purchases of other selected equipment. Fifty-five body dimensions on a male sample of the New Zealand Fire Services (n = 691, approximately 7% of employees) were obtained by direct measurement. Descriptive statistics and selected percentiles (5th, 50th, 95th) are given. The body dimensions accounting for most of the variance in the data were established by factor analysis and are reported here. Size groups for various body sections based on the relevant measurements of that section were established by cluster analysis around a control variable.

Dependent opioid users assessed for methadone treatment in Otago: patterns of drug use.

AIMS: To provide detailed information about the types of drugs used and the patterns of drug use for injecting drug users presenting for methadone treatment. METHODS: A retrospective case note review was carried out for 126 consecutive clients who were assessed for methadone treatment in the Otago province over a 2 year period. Patterns of drug use in the three months prior to presentation were recorded. RESULTS: Over 60% of those presenting were using three or more opioid drugs, with the most common being homebake (63%), sustained release morphine sulphate tablets (62%), buprenorphine (52%), opium poppies (50%) and methadone (41%). Use of diacetylmorphine (heroin) was reported primarily by those returning from recent overseas travel. Most clients reported the regular use of multiple other of clients using benzodiazepines daily. Almost 80% of the group were regular tobacco smokers and 11% showed evidence of alcohol disorders (abuse or dependence). Low levels of use were reported for cocaine, amphetamines, and hallucinogens. CONCLUSION: These patterns of drug use have important implications for the planning of methadone treatment programmes.

The effect of reduced extrinsic sucrose intake on plasma triglyceride levels.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect on plasma triglycerides of removing most of the extrinsic sugar from the diet of free living hypertriglyceridaemic individuals while controlling weight loss. DESIGN: Free living subjects were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups. The intervention group undertook to consume a "sugar free' diet for six months after a three month baseline period. The control group maintained their usual diets for the nine month period. The results from the two groups were compared using repeated measures ANOVA. SUBJECTS: Thirty two hypertriglyceridaemic individuals, selected from members of the public in Dunedin, New Zealand. RESULTS: Subjects in the intervention group were able to achieve a mean reduction in sucrose intake of > 70%, largely extrinsic sucrose, resulting in a group mean reduction in plasma triglyceride levels of > 20% and a mean weight loss over the six month period of about 2%. Repeated measures ANOVA on the mean triglyceride figures after the individual figures had been adjusted for this small weight loss, showed that there was a significant fall in triglyceride levels over the study period compared with the baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Hypertriglyceridaemia can be reduced in some individuals by the reduction of extrinsic sucrose in the diet. When allowance is made for weight loss the reduction is still significant.