Home Office Fingerprint Source Book

The Fingerprint Source Book is primarily intended to provide the background and validation for the techniques currently (up to 2016) recommended by the Home Office Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), and to publish, in some cases for the first time, data collected over 45 years of research. It will therefore often present information in an ‘CASTcentric’ way, emphasising research that was carried out at Sandridge or Horseferry House, possibly sometimes at the expense of research carried out elsewhere. It is not the intention of the authors to ignore the significant contributions made by other research groups and apologies are made in advance if this sometimes appears to be the case. The document is also aimed at providing the UK Forensic Science Regulator and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which has carried out ISO 17025 accreditation in the UK, with the background evidence behind the advice given in the Fingermark Visualisation Manual

The Reed-Stanton press rig for the generation of reproducible fingermarks : towards a standardised methodology for fingermark research

In the search for better or new methods/techniques to visualise fingermarks or to analyse them exploiting their chemical content, fingermarks inter-variability may hinder the assessment of the method effectiveness. Variability is due to changes in the chemical composition of the fingermarks between different donors and within the same donor, as well as to differential contact time, pressure and angle. When validating a method or comparing it with existing ones, it is not always possible to account for this type of variability. One way to compensate for these issues is to employ, in the early stages of the method development, a device generating reproducible fingermarks. Here the authors present their take on such device, as well as quantitatively describing its performance and benefits against the manual production of marks. Finally a short application is illustrated for the use of this device, at the method developmental stages, in an emerging area of fingerprinting research concerning the retrieval of chemical intelligence from fingermarks

Sample treatment for tissue proteomics in cancer, toxicology, and forensics

Since the birth of proteomics science in the 1990, the number of applications and of sample preparation methods has grown exponentially, making a huge contribution to the knowledge in life science disciplines. Continuous improvements in the sample treatment strategies unlock and reveal the fine details of disease mechanisms, drug potency, and toxicity as well as enable new disciplines to be investigated such as forensic science. This chapter will cover the most recent developments in sample preparation strategies for tissue proteomics in three areas, namely, cancer, toxicology, and forensics, thus also demonstrating breath of application within the domain of health and well-being, pharmaceuticals, and secure societies. In particular, in the area of cancer (human tumor biomarkers), the most efficient and multi-informative proteomic strategies will be covered in relation to the subsequent application of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) and liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA), due to their ability to provide molecular localization of tumor biomarkers albeit with different spatial resolution. With respect to toxicology, methodologies applied in toxicoproteomics will be illustrated with examples from its use in two important areas: the study of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) and studies of effects of chemical and environmental insults on skin, i.e., the effects of irritants, sensitizers, and ionizing radiation. Within this chapter, mainly tissue proteomics sample preparation methods for LC-MS/MS analysis will be discussed as (i) the use of LC-MS/MS is majorly represented in the research efforts of the bioanalytical community in this area and (ii) LC-MS/MS still is the gold standard for quantification studies. Finally, the use of proteomics will also be discussed in forensic science with respect to the information that can be recovered from blood and fingerprint evidence which are commonly encountered at the scene of the crime. The application of proteomic strategies for the analysis of blood and fingerprints is novel and proteomic preparation methods will be reported in relation to the subsequent use of mass spectrometry without any hyphenation. While generally yielding more information, hyphenated methods are often more laborious and time-consuming; since forensic investigations need quick turnaround, without compromising validity of the information, the prospect to develop methods for the application of quick forensic mass spectrometry techniques such as MALDI-MS (in imaging or profiling mode) is of great interest

Modeling the Responses of TSM Resonators under Various Loading Conditions

We develop a general model that describes the electrical responses of thickness shear mode resonators subject to a variety of surface loadkgs. The model incorporates a physically diverse set of single component loadings, including rigid solids, viscoelastic media and fluids (Newtonian or Maxwellian). The model allows any number of these components to be combined in any configuration. Such multiple loadings are representative of a variety of physical situations encountered in electrochemical and other liquid phase applications, as well as gas phase applications. In the general case, the response of the composite is not a linear combination of the individual component responses. We discuss application of the model in a qualitative diagnostic fashion, to gain insight into the nature of the interracial structure, and in a quantitative fashion, to extract appropriate physical parameters, such as liquid viscosity and density and polymer shear moduli

Escherichia coli RNA Polymerase mutations located near the upstream edge of an RNA:DNA hybrid and the beginning of the RNA-exit channel are defective for transcription antitermination by the N protein from lambdoid phage H-19B

Transcription antitermination is an important mechanism that can control regulation of gene expression. The N protein of lambdoid phages modifies the transcription Elongation Complex (EC) and helps it to overcome downstream terminators. In this modified EC, the C-terminal domain of N makes specific interactions with RNA Polymerase (RNAP). The interacting surface of RNAP for N is unknown. Here, we report five mutations in the β (G1045D) and β′ (P251S, P254L, R270C and G336S) subunits of RNAP that are specifically defective for antitermination by N protein of the lambdoid phage, H-19B. A mutation in the C-terminal domain of N, L108F, suppresses the defect of β′-P254L. Purified mutant holoenzymes exhibit less processive antitermination. The amino acid substitutions in the mutant RNAPs cluster very close to the RNA:DNA hybrid at the beginning of the RNA-exit channel of the EC. We suggest that the action of H-19B N is exerted through the region defined by these amino acids. Wild-type N stabilizes the EC at terminator sites and in this modified EC a part of the terminator hairpin may form but appears to be unstable. We propose that the action of N close to the active center alters the RNAP–nucleic acid interactions around the RNA:DNA hybrid, which impairs proper folding of the terminator hairpin or stabilizes the weak RNA:DNA hybrid or both