296 research outputs found
Bite Mark Identification - A Reliable Forensic Tool or Junk Science
Bite mark evidence has been a prosecution tool since the 1950s, especially in burglary, homicide, child abuse, and rape cases. In fact it has been said that without bite mark evidence, many violent crimes could not be prosecuted successfully. This forensic principle is premised upon the idea that no two people have the same dentitition as to size, shape and teeth alignment.
Hundreds of cases have admitted bite mark identification into evidence that have resulted in conviction. The accuracy of bite mark evidence is currently under assault. A major challenge to bit mark evidence is that it lacks an adequate scientific foundation, as it is not based on reliable scientific methodology. In fact, several scientific bodies have recently released reports critical of bite mark evidence. Each has determined that bite mark analysis does not meet scientific standards for foundational validity.
This article will examine this growing controversy and recent court cases on the topic. The courts show great reluctance in overturning the many years of precedent concerning the admissibility of the evidence, but the tide may be changing
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Intermediate progenitors support migration of neural stem cells into dentate gyrus outer neurogenic niches.
The hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) is a unique brain region maintaining neural stem cells (NCSs) and neurogenesis into adulthood. We used multiphoton imaging to visualize genetically defined progenitor subpopulations in live slices across key stages of mouse DG development, testing decades old static models of DG formation with molecular identification, genetic-lineage tracing, and mutant analyses. We found novel progenitor migrations, timings, dynamic cell-cell interactions, signaling activities, and routes underlie mosaic DG formation. Intermediate progenitors (IPs, Tbr2+) pioneered migrations, supporting and guiding later emigrating NSCs (Sox9+) through multiple transient zones prior to converging at the nascent outer adult niche in a dynamic settling process, generating all prenatal and postnatal granule neurons in defined spatiotemporal order. IPs (Dll1+) extensively targeted contacts to mitotic NSCs (Notch active), revealing a substrate for cell-cell contact support during migrations, a developmental feature maintained in adults. Mouse DG formation shares conserved features of human neocortical expansion
Application of Appropriateness Criteria to Stress Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography Sestamibi Studies and Stress Echocardiograms in an Academic Medical Center
ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to apply published appropriateness criteria for single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in a single academic medical center.BackgroundThe American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF) and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) have developed appropriateness criteria for stress SPECT MPI to address concern about the growth in cardiac imaging studies.MethodsWe retrospectively examined 284 patients who underwent stress SPECT MPI and 298 patients who underwent stress echocardiography before publication of these criteria.ResultsThe overall level of agreement in characterizing appropriateness between 2 experienced cardiovascular nurse abstractors was modest (kappa = 0.56), but noticeably poorer (kappa = 0.27) for patients with previous SPECT or echo studies. Similar percentages of each imaging modality were assigned to the 3 appropriateness categories: 64% of stress SPECT and 64% of stress echo studies were classified appropriate; 11% of stress SPECT and 9% of stress echo were of uncertain appropriateness; and 14% of stress SPECT and 18% of stress echo were inappropriate. Of the inappropriate studies, 88% were performed for 1 of 4 indications. Approximately 10% of the patients were unclassifiable.ConclusionsApplication of existing SPECT MPI appropriateness criteria is demanding and requires an established database or detailed data collection, as well as a number of assumptions. Fourteen percent of stress SPECT studies and 18% of stress echo studies were performed for inappropriate reasons. Quality improvement efforts directed at reducing the number of these inappropriate studies may improve efficiency in the health care system
Preservation at Syracuse University Library
Prepared for IST600 (Preservation), this presentation gives an overview of the activities of the Department of Preservation and Conservation including environment, disaster preparedness and salvage, circulating collections repair, rare book conservation, rehousing, audio preservation, and digitization. For more about department see http://library.syr.edu/about/departments/preservation and our resource guide at http://researchguides.library.syr.edu/preservation
The Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Spectral Catalog: Four Years Of Data
In this catalog we present the updated set of spectral analyses of GRBs
detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) during its first four years
of operation. It contains two types of spectra, time-integrated spectral fits
and spectral fits at the brightest time bin, from 943 triggered GRBs. Four
different spectral models were fitted to the data, resulting in a compendium of
more than 7500 spectra. The analysis was performed similarly, but not
identically to Goldstein et al. 2012. All 487 GRBs from the first two years
have been re-fitted using the same methodology as that of the 456 GRBs in years
three and four. We describe, in detail, our procedure and criteria for the
analysis, and present the results in the form of parameter distributions both
for the observer-frame and rest-frame quantities. The data files containing the
complete results are available from the High-Energy Astrophysics Science
Archive Research Center (HEASARC).Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Old Stellar Populations of the Small Magellanic Cloud
We present WFPC2 and ground-based VI photometry of NGC 121 and a nearby field
in the outer SMC. For NGC 121, we measure a true distance modulus of (m-M)0 =
18.96 +/- 0.04 (distance of 61.9 +/- 1.1 kpc), age of 10.6 +/- 0.5 Gyr,
metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.03 +/- 0.06, and initial mass of 4.1 +/- 0.4 x 10^5
Msun, assuming a Salpeter IMF with lower cutoff at 0.1 Msun. In the outer SMC
field, we find evidence of stars covering a wide range of ages -- from 2 Gyr
old to at least 9-12 Gyr old. We have measured the distance, extinction, and
star formation history (past star formation rates and enrichment history) using
a CMD fitting algorithm. The distance modulus of the SMC is measured to be
(m-M)0 = 18.88 +/- 0.08, corresponding to a distance of 59.7 +/- 2.2 kpc. The
overall star formation rate appears to have been relatively constant over this
period, although there may be small gaps in the star forming activity too small
to be resolved. The lack of current star-forming activity is a selection
effect, as the field was intentionally chosen to avoid recent activity. The
mean metallicity of this field has increased from an average of [Fe/H] = -1.3
+/- 0.3 for stars older than 8 Gyr to [Fe/H] = -0.7 +/- 0.2 in the past 3 Gyr.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures accepted for publication in Ap
First-year Results of Broadband Spectroscopy of the Brightest Fermi-GBM Gamma-Ray Bursts
We present here our results of the temporal and spectral analysis of a sample
of 52 bright and hard gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed with the Fermi Gamma-ray
Burst Monitor (GBM) during its first year of operation (July 2008-July 2009).
Our sample was selected from a total of 253 GBM GRBs based on each event peak
count rate measured between 0.2 and 40MeV. The final sample comprised 34 long
and 18 short GRBs. These numbers show that the GBM sample contains a much
larger fraction of short GRBs, than the CGRO/BATSE data set, which we explain
as the result of our (different) selection criteria and the improved GBM
trigger algorithms, which favor collection of short, bright GRBs over BATSE. A
first by-product of our selection methodology is the determination of a
detection threshold from the GBM data alone, above which GRBs most likely will
be detected in the MeV/GeV range with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) onboard
Fermi. This predictor will be very useful for future multiwavelength GRB follow
ups with ground and space based observatories. Further we have estimated the
burst durations up to 10MeV and for the first time expanded the duration-energy
relationship in the GRB light curves to high energies. We confirm that GRB
durations decline with energy as a power law with index approximately -0.4, as
was found earlier with the BATSE data and we also notice evidence of a possible
cutoff or break at higher energies. Finally, we performed time-integrated
spectral analysis of all 52 bursts and compared their spectral parameters with
those obtained with the larger data sample of the BATSE data. We find that the
two parameter data sets are similar and confirm that short GRBs are in general
harder than longer ones.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables, Submitted to Ap
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