Debunking the Spontaneous Human Combustion Myth: Experiments in the Combustibility of the Human Body

Human combustion has been described as the nearly complete combustion of living human beings in the apparent absence of sufficient external fuel and it has been inferred from this that either the human body is unexpectedly combustible of itself or, more controversially, some unrecognized external energy source is acting on the body (Corliss 1993). Advocates of the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion, or SHC, have hypothesized everything from potables to poltergeists to pyrotrons to account for the unusual circumstances surrounding these deaths. Mainstream science, however, contends that although strange, a scientific explanation for the phenomenon does exist. Several studies have suggested that once ignited by an external source, the combination of melted fat and a carbonaceous wick (in the form of clothing, carpet or upholstery) can sustain a small, localized fire capable of a significant degree of bodily destruction. Advocates of SHC argue that the candle effect or wick effect as this hypothesis is known, has failed in past experiments to replicate (and therefore account for) the degree of bone incineration common to many of these cases. This failure, however, may be due primarily to the use of inappropriate subjects. While pigs (previously the most commonly used subjects for this type of research) may be similar to humans in terms of body fat content, they fail to represent the profile of alleged SHC victims in many ways. It is hypothesized here that victims of alleged SHC, being largely elderly females, are predisposed to more complete incineration because of both a relatively greater body fat content and a relatively lower bone density. It has long been observed by those who work in crematoriums that the time it takes to incinerate a body is largely dependent on the condition and size of the body. Those individuals with more body fat tend to bum hotter and faster than those with less body fat (Fred Adamat, personal communication 1999). Furthermore, elderly individuals tend to take much less time to cremate than younger individuals. One funeral director indicates that the average time for cremation is about 2-2.5 hours, with some young, well-built individuals taking up to 3.5 hours to completely cremate while elderly individuals often take less than one hour (Helen Taylor, personal communication 2000). This research lends further support to the wick effect hypothesis through two experiments. Both experiments used human rather than pig or other animal subjects. This has not been done frequently in the past due to inaccessibility of human subjects by many researchers, but because the circumstances surrounding these deaths require very specific conditions, I think the use of human materials is essential to replicating these conditions as nearly as possible. An experiment on the heat of combustion of human tissues strongly suggested that the constituents of the human body will sustain a low heat, localized fire capable of consuming a significant amount of mass. Additionally, experiments conducted burning healthy versus osteoporotic human bone demonstrated that less dense bone has a propensity to incinerate more quickly and more thoroughly than normal, healthy bone

An Empirical Examination of Frontal Sinus Outline Variability Using Elliptic Fourier Analysis: Implications for Identification, Standardization, and Legal Admissibility

The comparison of frontal sinus radiographs for positive identification has become an increasingly applied and accepted technique among forensic anthropologists, radiologists, and pathologists. However, the current method of outline comparison by visual assessment fails to meet evidence admissibility guidelines as set forth in the 1993 case of Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Specifically, no empirical testing of the uniqueness of frontal sinus outlines has ever been performed, there has been no evaluation of the probability of misidentification using the technique, there are no standards controlling the technique’s operation, and there are no subjective standards for confirming or rejecting a putative identification. Despite the fact that identifications based upon frontal sinus radiograph comparisons have been routinely accepted by scientists, medical examiners and law enforcement officers, these shortcomings could pose serious problems if forensic scientists were ever called upon to testify regarding such an identification in trial. This study investigated frontal sinus outline variability using Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA), a geometric morphometric approach that fits a closed curve to an ordered set of data points, generating a set of coefficients that can be treated as shape descriptors used as variables in discriminatory or other multivariate analyses, or used to reproduce the outline. By modeling 2-dimensional representations of frontal sinuses (as seen in posterior-anterior cranial radiographs) as closed contours by digitizing their outer borders, differences in their shapes were assessed quantitatively by comparing the Euclidean distances between the EFA-generated outlines. The probability of misidentification was assessed using likelihood ratios and posterior probabilities based on the EFA coefficients. Results showed that there is a quantifiable and significant difference between the shapes of different individuals’ frontal sinus outlines as represented by Euclidean distances, since distances between outlines of different individuals were shown to be significantly larger than those between replicates (simulated antemortem and postmortem) of the same individual. Likelihood ratios using EFA coefficients showed that the probability of a frontal sinus match given the correct identification versus the probability of a match from the population at large was very high, and therefore the probability of misidentification was very low. This study concluded that for individuals with sufficiently remarkable frontal sinus outlines, using EFA coefficients of digitized frontal sinus outlines to estimate the probability of a correct identification, and thereby confirm or reject a presumptive identification, is a reliable technique. Given these results, EFA comparison of frontal sinus outlines is recommended when it may be necessary to provide quantitative substantiation for a forensic identification based on these structures

Decision-Making Process in Female Genital Mutilation: A Systematic Review

Female genital mutilation/cutting “FGM/C” is a deep-rooted damaging practice. Despite the growing efforts to end this practice, the current trends of its decline are not enough to overcome the population’s underlying growth. The aim of this research is to investigate the FGM/C household decision-making process and identify the main household decision-makers. A review of peer-reviewed articles was conducted by searching PubMed, JSTOR, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, EBSCO, and CINAHL Plus via systematic search using keywords. The found publications were screen using inclusion and exclusion criteria in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. After critical appraisal, seventeen articles were included in this review. The data extracted from the articles regarding FGM/C household-decision making process and decision-makers were analyzed using narrative analysis. FGM/C decision-making process varies from a region to another; however, it generally involves more than one individual, and each one has different power over the decision. Fathers, mothers, and grandmothers are the main decision-makers. It was shown from this review that opening the dialogue regarding FGM/C between sexes may lead to a productive decision-making process. The participation of fathers in the decision-making may free the mothers from the social-pressure and responsibility of carrying on traditions and create a more favorable environment to stop FGM/C practice

DeWitt Wallace Library Annual Report 2013-2014

Summary of library and media services activities for 2013-201

Evaluasi Kualitas Semen Beku Akibat Perbedaan Metode Lama Equilibrasi Dan Lama Penurunan Suhu Selama Prosesing Semen

The research is experiment in laboratory with using semen from 3 Priangan rams. The experiment use completely Randomized Design (CRD) of 4 x 4 Faktorial with three Priangan rams as replications. The treatment are equilibration time as first faktor with level 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, and freezing time as second faktor with level 4 minutes, 8 minutes, 12 minutes, and 16 minutes.The variable observed is sperm motility, sperm abnormality, sperm membrane intact and sperm macrodome intact after thawing. Data was analysis by Analysis of Variance and further analysis by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT).The result of experiment show that treatment between 3 hours equilibration and 12 minutes freezing time are the best significantly influence (P 0>01) with significantly (P >0,05) with significantly interaction between two factors on sperm motility, sperm membrane intact and sperm macrodome intact after thawing but there is no interaction(P<0,05) for sperm abnormality after thawing

Profil Peternakan Babi di Kota Kupang dan Potensi Penularan Trichinellosis

Trichinellosis is a parasitic disease of humans caused by eating raw from domestic or game animals infected by Trichinella spp. Human trichinellosis contracted from commercial supplies of meat have been most often linked to infected pigs, wild boar, or horses. Trichinella is a nematode which has an atypical direct life cycle that does not involve stages developing outside of the host. This study was conducted to see the profile of pig farms in the city of Kupang and the potential transmission of trichinellosis. The data was derived from interview 60 farmers in 6 sub districts in city of Kupang by using a structured questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. The results of the questionnaire survey showed that many race of pig from a mixed race, the seeds come from traditional breeding. Feed rest of the home or restaurant are usually directly given to the pigs. The presence of rat in around of the cage often. All respondents were interviewed did not know or hear about trichinellosis disease which can be one cause of the spread of trichinellosis in city of Kupang

Forensic fractography of bone: fracture origins from impacts, and an improved understanding of the failure mechanism involved in beveling

Fractography involves the study of fractures and cracks in a material in order to understand the cause of failure. Even as a complex, highly hierarchical composite, bone is a material that obeys physical laws, including cracking behavior. The fields of fractography and fracture mechanics, therefore, have much to offer in our understanding of bone’s response to loading and force. Here we discuss how fractography can be used in the assessment of fractures originating from impacts including those from projectiles. Fractures and fracture patterns frequently associated with impact trauma—including radial fractures, circumferential fractures, and beveling—are described and used interpretively in forensic analyses; however, the mechanisms for their production and arrangement are often underutilized in fully understanding the trauma event. These mechanisms are reviewed here from a fractography perspective. Furthermore, a review is presented of new data indicating that beveling in bone associated with impacts, especially with projectiles, is produced by cone cracking, a process that is also well documented in other brittle materials. This information can be used to enhance understanding of impact trauma in general, as well as in the context of specific forensic cases. Moreover, describing and interpreting skeletal trauma within the context of fracture mechanics and fractography has the advantage of aligning the nomenclature used in forensic anthropology with that used in other scientific fields, particularly those involved in the study of material failure. To facilitate this alignment, we provide discussion and definitions for various fractography-related terms