Evidence Vanished in Thin (H)air

Hair is one of the easiest objects to find, it seems to be everywhere. This is because on average a person loses 50 to 100 strands per day, but how is this applicable to crime scenes? Hair is one of the most prominent types of evidence, and it can be used to identify both victims and suspects. Given hair’s ability to build a case on a suspect, many criminals attempt to destroy the hair and other evidence at the crime scene. But the real question is, how well is the evidence destroyed? By conducting solubility tests with five different solvents (acetic acid, ammonia, toluene, acetone, and dimethylsulfoxide) on six different hair types, potential changes in morphology can be observed to answer the question of how well can evidence be destroyed. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy are also being utilized to determine morphological changes. It is suspected that hair will experience morphological changes after being treated with solvent

Evapotranspiration, crop coefficient and water use efficiency of giant reed ( Arundo donax

Giant reed (Arundo donax L.) and miscanthus (Miscanthus 9 giganteus Greef et Deu.) are two perennial rhizomatous grasses (PRGs), considered as promising sources of lignocellulosic biomass for renewable energy production. Although the agronomic performance of these species has been addressed by several studies, the literature dedicated to the crop water use of giant reed and miscanthus is still limited. Our objective was thus to investigate giant reed and miscanthus water use by assessing crop evapotranspiration (ETc), crop coefficients (Kc) and water use efficiency (WUE). The study was carried out in central Italy and specifically designed water-balance lysimeters were used to investigate the water use of these PRGs during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. Giant reed showed the highest cumulative evapotranspiration, with an average consumption of approximately 1100 mm, nearly 20% higher than miscanthus (900 mm). Crop evapotranspiration rates differed significantly between the species, particularly during the midseason (from June to September), when average daily ETc was 7.4 and 6.2 mm in giant reed and miscanthus respectively. The Kc values determined in our study varied from 0.4 to 1.9 for giant reed and 0.3 to 1.6 for miscanthus. Finally, WUE was higher in miscanthus than in giant reed, with average values of 4.2 and 3.1 g L-1 respectively. Further studies concerning water use under nonoptimal water conditions should be carried out and an assessment of the response to water stress of both crops is necessary to integrate the findings from this study