Digital grid method for fingerprint identification and objective report writing

Fingerprints are considered to be one of the most important parameter for human identification. The analysis of fingerprints for comparing/matching purpose requires 12–14 ridge characteristics or minutiae points to prove similarity or dissimilarity in the court of law. These unique features found within the patterns make us capable of giving opinion. But various studies have shown that even the trained and experienced experts commits various types the fingerprint, these may be because of the use of arbitrary/non standard terminology like clockwise/anticlockwise or directions etc. in writing a report. The classical method of fingerprint comparison with lens to locate minutiae in directions, which is a time consuming procedures needs to be revised. In the present study an attempt has been made to develop a modified grid method for comparison of finger print. The step by step procedure to use this grid for comparison of inked fingerprints present on questioned or standard documents like property wills affidavits, bank documents and passports etc along with the Adobe Photoshop CS5 has been discussed in detail. The modified grid enables the expert not only to perform a box by box comparison of the fingerprints but also a new way of write a report, which can be demonstrated well to the judiciary in the court room trials

Development of a standardized methodology for selecting candidate DNA barcodes of Trillium govanianum to combat biodiversity crime and environmental exploitation

This study introduces an innovative method using DNA barcodes to accurately identify species, addressing the critical issue of trafficking invaluable medicinal plants like Trillium govanianum. The success rate in amplification and sequencing of barcoding regions was an impressive 100%. The Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region proved most effective in distinguishing closely related Trillium species. By testing herbal products from markets, the study revealed extensive illegal trade, with 50% confirmed as Trillium govanianum and 30% adulterated with Dioscorea villosa. This research contributes new DNA sequences to identification databases, enhancing protocols. Genetic variations within Trillium govanianum were narrower than to the nearest non-conspecific neighbor in barcoding regions (matK: 0.006, rbcL: 0.003, ITS: 0.043). Combining coding and non-coding regions (matK + ITS) achieved 100% species discrimination. Market samples showed 30% product substitution, with varying success rates for amplification (rbcL: 70%, matK: 60%, ITS: 40%, improved with ITS2 primers). Half the sequences were Trillium govanianum, 30% were Dioscorea villosa, revealing covert substitution. ITS and matK sequences were effective, with a genetic distance gap, while rbcL had limited divergence (0.003), making it less suitable for accurate identification compared to matK and ITS

Validation studies on gender determination from fingerprints with special emphasis on ridge characteristics

Abstract Background The present work investigates the ridge characteristics and ridge density of fingerprints to determine gender differences among population of Punjab. The main characteristics studied were general pattern type, ridge density and minutiae or ridge characteristics with respect to general pattern type. Further, instead of using conventional method of ridge counting, Adobe Photoshop cs5 is used to conclude ridge density and minutiae characteristics. Experimental results shows, along with ridge density, minutiae characteristics procure special importance in determining the gender from fingerprints. Results The results suggest that mean ridge density in males is 12.32 ridges/25mm2, where as it was 13.94 ridges/25mm2 in females. The study has supported the hypothesis that women tend to have thin ridges i.e. more ridge density as compared to men. The study of minutiae or ridge characteristics revealed that frequency of ridge ending (50.24 index fingers, 50.62 middle fingers) and enclosures (2.87% in index and 3.08% in middle finger) is higher in females as compared to males. Further significant gender difference has been observed in minutiae characteristics with respect to general pattern type. Among both genders; males tend to have more number of minutiae as compared to females in case of loop and whorl as general pattern type. In case of Arch pattern females tends to have more number of minutiae as compared to males. Conclusions The research carried by the authors of this paper synchronizes with the findings of other researchers despite differences in populations selected. More number of minutiae and ridges were found in case of females as compared to male fingerprints. In the present study an attempt has been made to validate the method by analyzing the blind samples which likewise showed more number of minutiae in case of females as compared to males. Although the study agrees with common theory of more ridge details in females as compared to males, yet low success rate in case of blind trial has unveiled further scope of research required to determine gender from fingerprints found at scene of crime or disputed documents

Forensic studies of phytoplankton ecology of two water bodies of Kurukshetra area of Haryana, State in India

Abstract Background In forensic investigations of death cases in which the body has been recovered from a water body, there is an urgent need to prove whether the death is due to drowning or not. Moreover, another important issue arises, whether a person was alive at the time of drowning (anti-mortem drowning) or he was thrown dead into the water body (post-mortem drowning) To answer these questions, phytoplankton species of forensic importance from two water bodies (Braham Sarovar and Prithus Pools) were analyzed to develop the Phytoplankton maps (P-maps). The P-maps are basically a detailed list of categories of species which are common, site-specific, rare and seasonally occurring phytoplanktons along with their photomicrographs. Methods In the present study, water samples have been collected from Braham Sarovar and Prithus Pools situated at Kurukshetra area of Haryana state, India. The phytoplankton species present in both ponds were extracted by mild acid digestion (5% HCl). The physico-chemical properties of these water bodies such as pH, water temperature, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, hardness, alkalinity, calcium, sodium, potassium, and chloride ions have been recorded to establish a correlation with the distribution of phytoplankton using principal component analysis. Results Total 138 species of 59 genera of phytoplanktons belonging to Cyanophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, Euglenophyceae and Dinophyceae have been observed. In Braham Sarovar, Cylindrospermum sp., Epithemia turgida, Eunotia rhomboidea, and Westella botryoides were the site-specific phytoplanktons whereas in Prithus pool, the site specific phytoplanktons were Leptolynbya granulifera, Arthospira jenerii, Cymbella cymbiformis, Frustulia vulgaris. Conclusion It is hoped that results/data obtained from the present study (P-maps) may go a long way in solving the mysteries related to the deaths due to drowning and can be usefully used as a reference data for determining the exact site of drowning

Evaluation of genetic polymorphisms at 21 autosomal STR loci in Ramgharia Sikh population of Punjab, India

Background STR (Short Tandem Repeat) markers are highly polymorphic markers, which are widely used in forensics DNA analysis and aid to ascertain unique genotype profiles of individuals and determine the genetic diversity of the given population. Aim In the present study, an attempt has been made to evaluate the population genetic diversity of the Ramgharia Sikh population of Punjab, India, using 21 autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, vWA, D16S539, CSF1PO, TPOX, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D2S441, D19S433, TH01, FGA, D22S1045, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, SE33, D10S1248, D1S1656, D12S391, and D2S1338) to augment the emerging forensic database related to the indigenous population of India. Subjects and methods For generation of the database, 200 (blood on FTA card) samples were obtained from genetically unrelated Ramgharia Sikhs residing in the state of Punjab. Twenty-one autosomal STR markers were analysed using the Globalfiler® PCR amplification kit. Results With the help of various statistical tools, a total of 232 alleles were observed and 11.048 ± 1.284 (mean ± standard deviation) alleles per locus were recorded. No locus deviated from Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium. SE33 locus was found to be the most polymorphic and exhibited the highest discrimination power, that is, 0.99. Moreover, results further indicated that Ramgharia Sikhs of Punjab showed a high affinity with Bhils of Madhya Pradesh (India). Thus, the studied population showed genetic proximity with the geographically close populations of India and showed significant genetic variations with distant populations, which was evident from the UPGMA tree and Principal Component Analysis plot. Conclusion Overall, the 21 autosomal STRs were found to be polymorphic in the Ramgharia population and suitable for forensic casework and studies on population genetics