Development, detection and decipherment of obfuscated fingerprints in humans: Implications for forensic casework.

Fingerprints have been widely used and accepted as an effective method of human identification. This biometric tool aids in criminal investigations for personal identity for over a century. Whilst the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) has bolstered security efforts, it has also opened doors to potential scams, affecting both civilian and law enforcement operations. Despite extensive research on fingerprint authentication issues, very little attention has been given to addressing the problem of fingerprint alteration or obfuscation. Fraudsters, with the guidance of experts, have developed new techniques to obscure their fingerprints intentionally. Fingerprint obfuscation is the deliberate alteration of fingerprint patterns with the aim of concealing their true identity, raising concerns amongst security and investigative organizations. The objective of the current communication is to highlight the numerous techniques used for obfuscation, forgery and alteration of fingerprints in humans. It further accentuates the need for identification and interpretation of these altered fingerprints and recommends notifying law enforcement agencies of potential threats.

Large Thermo-Spin Effects in Heusler Alloy-Based Spin Gapless Semiconductor Thin Films.

Recently, Heusler alloy-based spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs) with high Curie temperature (TC) and sizable spin polarization have emerged as potential candidates for tunable spintronic applications. We report comprehensive investigation of the temperature-dependent ANE and intrinsic longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in CoFeCrGa thin films grown on MgO substrates. Our findings show that the anomalous Nernst coefficient for the MgO/CoFeCrGa (95 nm) film is ≈1.86 µV K-1 at room temperature, which is nearly 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of the bulk polycrystalline sample of CoFeCrGa (≈0.018 µV K-1) and almost 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the half-metallic ferromagnet La1-xNaxMnO3 (≈0.005 µV K-1) but comparable to that of the magnetic Weyl semimetal Co2MnGa thin film (≈2-3 µV K-1). Furthermore, the LSSE coefficient for our MgO/CoFeCrGa (95 nm)/Pt (5 nm) heterostructure is ≈20.5 nV K-1 Ω-1 at room temperature, which is twice larger than that of the half-metallic ferromagnetic La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films (≈9 nV K-1 Ω-1). We show that both ANE and LSSE coefficients follow identical temperature dependences and exhibit a maximum at ≈225 K, which is understood as the combined effects of inelastic magnon scatterings and reduced magnon population at low temperatures. Our analyses not only indicate that the extrinsic skew scattering is the dominating mechanism for ANE in these films but also provide critical insights into the functional form of the observed temperature-dependent LSSE at low temperatures. Furthermore, by employing radio frequency transverse susceptibility and broad-band ferromagnetic resonance in combination with the LSSE measurements, we establish a correlation among the observed LSSE signal, magnetic anisotropy, and Gilbert damping of the CoFeCrGa thin films, which will be beneficial for fabricating tunable and highly efficient Heusler alloy-based spin caloritronic nanodevices.

Quality of life following LASIK surgery at a tertiary center in North India.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Laser-assisted in situ keratomileuses (LASIK) refractive surgery is a cutting-edge and developing area of ophthalmology. Reshaping the cornea during refractive surgery helps patients become less dependent on glasses or contact lenses. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the visual outcome, quality of life, and patient satisfaction following LASIK surgery at a tertiary care center in North India using the National Eye Institute Refractive Error Quality of Life (NEIRQL-42) questionnaire. METHODS: NEI-RQL, a 42-item measure with 13 subscales. The questionnaire was administered to a sample size of 71 patients who underwent LASIK Surgery at a tertiary center in North India. Data were collected pre- and post-surgery (1,3,6 month post-LASIK) for myopic or hyperopic refractive error. Statistical analysis was done using the Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: In myopic patients, the mean preoperative spherical equivalent (SE) was -4.19 ± 2.28D in the right eye and -4.26 ± 2.28D in the left eye and post-op SE -0.06±0.29 (p=0.00). The largest improvements (>25 points) on the 0 to 100 possible score range, were seen in activity limitations, dependence on correction, appearance, and satisfaction with correction subscales. The subscale glare showed a statistically significant difference (worsening) whereas a non-significant change (P> 0.05) was recorded only in the sub-optimal correction sub-scale. CONCLUSIONS: The NEIRQL-42 is a responsive tool to evaluate vision-related changes in quality of life after LASIK surgery in the Indian population. The best surgical expectancy and QoL can be expected at 6 months following surgery.

Odontoma and other congenital dental anomalies: Implications for forensic identification.

Forensic odontology plays a crucial role in establishing the identity in mass disasters and criminal cases with high accuracy. Dental anomalies and features help in such situations. Congenital and developmental dental anomalies can be easily documented to establish distinctive and individualistic characteristics of an individual. The location, number of teeth involved, and the type of anomaly vary between individuals. Similarly, dental malformations also assist greatly in the identification process. Many types of dental anomalies have been studied in the past for their individualistic characteristics in forensic examinations. One such dental anomaly is odontoma, which is a benign odontogenic malformation. This malformation may also help in the identification of the deceased, when recorded and examined accurately. An odontome is a malformed teeth-like structures consisting of enamel, dentin, and pulpal tissue, formed due to the growth of completely differentiated epithelial and mesenchymal cells. If antemortem (AM) dental records incorporate information regarding odontomes and other dental anomalies, including in radiographs, orthopantomograms or microradiographs, positive identification may be established by comparison of these records with postmortem (PM) records. In the present communication, a rare case of compound composite odontoma in the anterior mandible with multiple denticles has been discussed with a brief overview of congenital and developmental dental anomalies. The authors emphasize the importance of such rare dental anomalies and malformations which may be used for identifying the deceased in mass disasters and forensic identification.

3D printed bionic ear and microtia-anotia: Medical and forensic implications.

Advances in science and technology result in continuous upgrading of the medical and clinical fields. These upgrades have been beneficial to many patients suffering from congenital and developmental diseases causing compromised functionality as well as the structural integrity of the affected organs. One such congenital anomaly is the microtia-anotia spectrum, which results in deformities of the external ear, affecting the hearing capability of an individual. The collaboration and integration of electronics in human biology are exemplified by the development of a 3D printed cyborg bionic ear from the patient's own cells, which is implanted to ameliorate microtia and improve the patient's hearing capacity. Since the late nineteenth century, forensic scientists have explored the external ear, establishing the significance of ear biometrics in the identification process. Similarly, ear prints can also play an important role in identifying the felon of a crime. In this regard, we examine the structure and functionality of implanted ears. This communication is an attempt to enlighten investigators on the forensic importance and limitations of the use of bionic ears for identification.

A methodological comparison of discriminant function analysis and binary logistic regression for estimating sex in forensic research and case-work.

The purpose of this study is to assess the accuracy of two multivariate statistical approaches for estimating sex from human external ear anthropometry, namely, discriminant function analysis (DFA) and binary logistic regression (BLR). A cross-sectional sample of 497 participants (233 males and 264 females) aged 18-35 years (24.42 ± 5.17) was obtained from Himachal Pradesh state of North India. Both the ears of the participants (994) were examined for anthropometric measurements. A total of 12 anthropometric measurements were taken independently on the left and right ear of each individual with the help of a pair of sliding calipers using a standard method. The sex of the population groups was discriminated against using binary logistic regression and discriminant function analysis. The predictive percentage of sex estimation computed from both the models were substantially the same, that is, 76.3% from DFA and 76.2% from BLR, with nearly comparable (∼0.02) sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values, whereas the values of correct predicted percentage were 0.1% higher in DFA than BLR. Moreover, the other comparison metrics, such as classification error, B-index, and Matthews correlation coefficient indicated that both models performed equally well. The study highlighted that if the assumptions of the statistical methods are met, both methods are equally capable of discriminating the population depending on sex. The study recommends that the discriminant function analysis and binary logistic regression may be used synonymously in forensic research and case-work pertaining to the estimation of sex and various other forensic situations.

Is fingerprint ridge density influenced by hand dimensions?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Various aspects of fingerprint resarch were extensively explored in the past. However, the correlation between fingerprint ridge density and hand dimensions has not yet been documented. Therefore, the present study has investigated the relationship so that some conclusions regarding the association can be established. METHODS: The study included 500 subjects (250 males and 250 females) between the ages of 18 to 25 years who belonged to the Rajput community of the Shimla and Solan districts of Himachal Pradesh state of North India. The sexual dimorphism among the ridge count was examined using student's t-test. The relationship of fingerprint ridge density with hand dimensions among both the sexes and pooled data was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: All the fingers on both hands showed statistically significant sex differences. When all digits were considered together, the left little finger in males and right middle finger in females showed a weak but significant correlation with hand length while all the digits when considered in combination reported strong correlation hand length measurements. Similarly, right thumb showed significant correlation with hand breadth. All the ten digits showed highly significant correlation with hand breadth when pooled data was examined. CONCLUSION: The ridge density correlates with the hand dimensions in the case of pooled data. This relationship can then be used to devise prediction equations for hand dimensions based on ridge density, or vice-versa for pooled data. The equations will also help in estimating hand dimensions based on ridge density and vice-versa.

An SBQ-R assessment of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young adults in North India.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: During the COVID-19 pandemic in India, an increase in the number of suicides was observed in India. Therefore, the present study aims to explore various factors affecting the mental health of an individual and their consequences. Moreover, it has been attempted to assess the suicidal risk in the population of North India by using the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). METHODOLOGY: The young adults from the North Indian population belonging to the age group of 18 to 35 years (24.93±4.42 years) have been incorporated into the study. A total of 190 responses (102 males and 88 females) were recorded through online mode. The present questionnaire has incorporated the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) and some of the parameters taken from the psychology today online survey. RESULTS: The demographic characteristics of the respondents were described by using frequencies and percentages, means, and standard deviations. Cronbach's alpha, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO), and the Bartlett sphericity were calculated. The mean SBQ-R score was recorded to be 4.62±1.5. Further, during the factor analysis with the principal component method, seven factors have explained the 70.797% of the cumulative variance with an eigenvalue of 1. CONCLUSIONS: The SBQ-R assessment revealed a minimal risk of suicidal behavior but the frequency distribution of the parameters taken for the psychological assessment has highlighted that anxiousness or worriedness has a significant impact on the mental health of the population at risk. Therefore, it is recommended that some precautionary measures, such as online mental health services, should be taken by the health ministry to keep the population healthy.

Characteristic Features of Ear and Ear-Prints in Forensic Identification.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The human external ear is a morphologically perplexing structure with wide variations in its features across individuals. Advances in forensic science have established the use of morphological features and prints of different parts of the human body in establishing the identity of an individual. The present study aims to establish such an identification process by examining the use of comparative analysis of ear prints and ear photographs. METHODOLOGY: The study examined the morphological features of ear prints of 140 participants (71 males and 69 females) ranging in age from 18 to 25 years (with a mean age of 20.22 ±â€Š1.77 years), recruited from a North Indian population. Prints of both the ears were recorded, using the inking method. The morphological features of the ear prints were compared with the photographs of the ear for their uniqueness and individualization using likelihood ratios. RESULTS: The degree ofantihelix curvature demonstrated the highest correlation (98.57%) between the morphological features visible on the ear and the expressions of these features in an ear print. The impression of earlobes, Darwin tubercle, crus of the helix, and shape of the external ear showed accuracy between 70% and 90%, whereas correlations below 70% accuracy were recorded for the other features. The likelihood ratios for 12 parameters were reported to be more than 10x, representing that the identification made using these parameters was > 10 times more likely to be true identification as compared to false positives. Moreover, 5 parameters were found to show high sensitivity, with values greater than 3 standard deviations (0.997), with an additional 9 parameters found to have good sensitivity at values greater than 2 standard deviations (<0.95). Similarly, 2 parameters were found to show high specificity, with values greater than 3 standard deviations (0.997), with an additional 18 parameters found to have good sensitivity at values greater than 2 standard deviations (<0.95). CONCLUSIONS: Elevated features of the ear, such as helix, antihelix, antitragus, tragus, and inter-tragic notch; particularly the degree of antihelix curvature, are more easily impressed and identifiable on an ear print. The results support that ear prints may provide important clues to assist in establishing the identity of an individual if several morphological features are evaluated concurrently.

A Soft Computing-Based Analysis of Cutting Rate and Recast Layer Thickness for AZ31 Alloy on WEDM Using RSM-MOPSO.

In the present research, the AZ31 alloy is machined by wire-cut electric discharge machining (WEDM). The experiments were designed according to the Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM). The input process variables, namely servo feed (SF), pulse on-time (Ton), servo voltage (SV), and pulse off-time (Toff), were planned by BBD, and experiments were performed to investigate the cutting rate (CR) and recast layer thickness (RCL). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine the influence of machining variables on response characteristics. The empirical models developed for CR and RCL were solved using Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO). Pareto optimal front is used for the collective optimization of CR and RCL. The optimal solution suggested by the hybrid approach of RSM-MOPSO is further verified using a confirmation test on the random setting indicated by the hybrid algorithm. It is found that the minimum RCL (6.34 µm) is obtained at SF: 1700; SV: 51 V; Toff: 10.5 µs; and Ton: 0.5 µs. However, maximum CR (3.18 m/min) is predicted at SF: 1900; SV: 40 V; Toff: 7 µs; and Ton: 0.9 µs. The error percentage of ±5.3% between the experimental results and predicted solutions confirms the suitability of the proposed hybrid approach for WEDM of AZ31.

Non-porous interpenetrating Co-bpe MOF for colorimetric iodide sensing.

MOFs with their accessible voids/channels have been explored immensely for sensing due to their exclusive host-guest chemistry. However, unavailability of pores/voids in interpenetrating non-porous MOFs limits their applications in sensing. We herein report for the first time, hitherto, a non-porous MOF with an interpenetrating ladder structure for iodide sensing. A Co-bpe MOF was synthesized by hydrothermal reaction between cobalt nitrate and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpe) in methanol and tested against colorimetric sensing of halides. The supramolecular structure of the Co-bpe MOF was stabilized through strong hydrogen bonding. We propose a double nucleophilic substitution reaction mechanism for iodide detection, which is one of its own kind. While Co-bpe showed a significant color change from dark maroon to dark green in the presence of iodide, the rest of halides did not display any pronounced colorimetric effect. The limit of detection (LOD) of this material was found to be 2.7 × 10-7 M. This article focuses on the equal competency of non-porous MOF materials with the porous MOFs in sensing applications.

Assessment of body weight from percutaneous widths of the bones and joints-Implications in forensic and clinical examinations.

BACKGROUND: Estimation of age, stature, sex, and ancestry contributes to the establishment of the biological profile of the deceased in forensic examinations. Assessment of the body weight aids in the approximation of the overall body size of the individual which may help in the forensic identification process. In clinical examinations, body weight assessment assumes importance in cases where body weight measurement is a challenging task due to illness and body deformity. OBJECTIVE: The present research was conducted to estimate the body weight from the percutaneous width of the bones and joints with the help of prediction equations. METHODS: The study was carried out on 344 adults (172 Females and 172 Males) aged between 18 and 25 years from the Himachal Pradesh State of North India. Eleven anthropometric measurements including height vertex, mid-arm circumference, humerus bicondylar width, transverse chest breadth, sagittal chest breadth, bi-iliac breadth, handbreadth, femur bicondylar breadth, ankle breadth, foot breadth, and body weight were taken on each individual. The sex differences were evaluated by using independent student t-test and Mann-Whitney U test and the correlation between the body weight and the anthropometric variables was investigated by using both Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient depending upon the normality of the data. Regression models for the estimation of body weight were calculated. Further, a validation study was carried out to check the accuracy and utility of the derived regression models by calculating the mean absolute percent prediction error (MAPPE). RESULTS: Significant sex differences were observed among all the anthropometric variables. The transverse chest breadth and mid-arm circumference were strongly correlated with the body weight, whereas, a good correlation was also observed in other measurements except for the ankle breadth. The SEE (Standard error of estimate) of the derived linear regression models was compared, and it was found that multiple linear regression models show better accuracy than simple linear regression models. The MAPPE was found to be less in the case of multiple linear regression models than the linear ones. CONCLUSION: The present investigation concludes that regression models can be used in the estimation of body weight from the percutaneous measurements and joint widths with reasonable accuracy in an Indian population.

Evaluation of Morphological Characteristics of the Human Ear in Young Adults.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Human external ear is a morphologically complex structure and plays a vital role in the collection of sound. The present study would provide the information regarding the shape and size of the various morphological structures of the ear in normal individuals which may help the plastic surgeons to reconstruct the anatomy of the deformed ear and the physical and forensic anthropologists to study variations and establishing its use as a biometrics. The aim of the study was the morphological examination of the ear and its features to investigate the biological variations, sex differences, bilateral variations and further attempt to provide a database of external ears of a normal north Indian population. METHODS: A cross-sectional sample of 71 males and 69 females aged between 18 to 25 years were collected from Nahan city of Sirmaur District in Himachal Pradesh state of North India. Various anthroposcopic parameters were considered and evaluated through personal observation such as ear shape, form of the helix, lobule shape and its attachment to the cheeks, strength of the anti-helix, etc and were sub-divided on the basis of form, shape, elevation, etc. The SPSS statistic (IBM, Armonk, NY) software version 16 was used to evaluate the sexual dimorphism and bilateral differences. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The frequencies of various morphological characters of the human external ear were calculated using Crosstabs. The results indicate the oval and round shaped ears were reported in 37.3%; 35.92% males and 23.92%; 38.41% females, respectively. Normally rolled helix was more frequent (73.24% in males and 84.06% in females) and possessed frequently occurring Darwin's tubercle with nodosity form (88.03% in males and 90.58% in females). Hypertrichosis was mostly present on the complete helix in case of males (66.20%). Single knob tragus (40.14% in males and 52.90% in females) and double knob tragus (33.10% in males and 36.23% in females) were found to be with higher frequency in the studied population. Partially free earlobes (53.52% in males and 46.38% in females) were more common than the attached one (38.03% in males and 47.83% in females) in case of males only. The present study provides a database of morphoscopy of the external ears of North Indian population. The database may be useful in the reconstruction of the deformed ears and in the anthropological and forensic research for comparison purposes. The study may also be utilized in the prediction of ear shape and size of the studied population for facial reconstruction in forensic examinations.

Carboxymethylation of Lepidium sativum polyuronide, its characterization and evaluation as a nanometric carrier.

Carboxymethylation of Lepidium sativum polyuronide was carried out to improve its functionality. Carboxymethyl modification was accomplished by reacting it with monochloroacetic acid under alkaline conditions, which yielded a product with degree of carboxymethyl substitution of 1.75. The results of characterization studies revealed that carboxymethylation of L. sativum polyuronide improves its flow property, changes compression behavior from elastic to plastic, diminishes its viscosity and swelling, and increases its crystallinity. The interaction between the anionic carboxymethyl lepidium polyuronide and Mg2+ ions was utilized to prepare ionically gelled nanoparticles employing ofloxacin as a model drug. A selected nanoparticulate formulation prepared by interaction between solutions of ofloxacin (0.1%, w/v) containing carboxymethyl lepidium polyuronide (0.15%, w/v) and magnesium chloride (0.05%, w/v) had particle size of 405nm and drug entrapment of 90.41%. On comparative evaluation, no significant difference was observed between the antibacterial activity of selected nanoformulation and conventional aqueous solution of ofloxacin. Further, the nanoparticulate formulation was observed to sustain the release of ofloxacin with 97% of the drug getting released over 12h. The release of ofloxacin from nanoformulation was found to follow first order kinetics with the mechanism of release being erosion of polymer matrix.