The analysis of latent fingermarks on polymer banknotes using MALDI-MS

In September 2016, the UK adopted a new Bank of England (BoE) £5 polymer banknote, followed by the £10 polymer banknote in September 2017. They are designed to be cleaner, stronger and have increased counterfeit resilience; however, fingermark development can be problematic from the polymer material as various security features and coloured/textured areas have been found to alter the effectiveness of conventional fingermark enhancement techniques (FETs). As fingermarks are one of the most widely used forms of identification in forensic cases, it is important that maximum ridge detail be obtained in order to allow for comparison. This research explores the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) profiling and imaging for the analysis of fingermarks deposited on polymer banknotes. The proposed methodology was able to obtain both physical and chemical information from fingermarks deposited in a range of scenarios including; different note areas, depletion series, aged samples and following conventional FETs. The analysis of forensically important molecular targets within these fingermarks was also explored, focussing specifically on cocaine. The ability of MALDI-MS to provide ridge detail and chemical information highlights the forensic applicability of this technique and potential for the analysis of fingermarks deposited onto this problematic surface

Profiling and imaging of forensic evidence – a pan-European forensic round robin study part 1: document forgery

The forensic scenario, on which the round robin study was based, simulated a suspected intentional manipulation of a real estate rental agreement consisting of a total of three pages. The aims of this study were to (i) establish the amount and reliability of information extractable from a single type of evidence and to (ii) provide suggestions on the most suitable combination of compatible techniques for a multi-modal imaging approach to forgery detection. To address these aims, seventeen laboratories from sixteen countries were invited to answer the following tasks questions: (i) which printing technique was used? (ii) were the three pages printed with the same printer? (iii) were the three pages made from the same paper? (iv) were the three pages originally stapled? (v) were the headings and signatures written with the same ink? and (vi) were headings and signatures of the same age on all pages? The methods used were classified into the following categories: Optical spectroscopy, including multispectral imaging, smartphone mapping, UV-luminescence and LIBS; Infrared spectroscopy, including Raman and FTIR (micro-)spectroscopy; X-ray spectroscopy, including SEM-EDX, PIXE and XPS; Mass spectrometry, including ICPMS, SIMS, MALDI and LDIMS; Electrostatic imaging, as well as non-imaging methods, such as non-multimodal visual inspection, (micro-)spectroscopy, physical testing and thin layer chromatography. The performance of the techniques was evaluated as the proportion of discriminated sample pairs to all possible sample pairs. For the undiscriminated sample pairs, a distinction was made between undecidability and false positive claims. It was found that none of the methods used were able to solve all tasks completely and/or correctly and that certain methods were a priori judged unsuitable by the laboratories for some tasks. Correct results were generally achieved for the discrimination of printer toners, whereas incorrect results in the discrimination of inks. For the discrimination of paper, solid state analytical methods proved to be superior to mass spectrometric methods. None of the participating laboratories deemed addressing ink age feasible. It was concluded that correct forensic statements can only be achieved by the complementary application of different methods and that the classical approach of round robin studies to send standardised subsamples to the participants is not feasible for a true multimodal approach if the techniques are not available at one location

Photoreduction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen using temperature programmed method

The photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen was studied by Temperature-Programmed Surface Reaction (TPSR). This process was carried out in a flow reactor that was especially designed and constructed for this purpose. Titanium dioxide (TiO2, Degussa P-25) was used as supports for platinum, ruthenium and nickel catalysts. The experimental results indicated that the activity of photoreduction of CO2 changes as follows: Ru/TiO2> Ni/TiO2>= Pt/TiO2> TiO2

Photoreduction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen using temperature programmed method

The photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen was studied by Temperature-Programmed Surface Reaction (TPSR). This process was carried out in a flow reactor that was especially designed and constructed for this purpose. Titanium dioxide (TiO2, Degussa P-25) was used as supports for platinum, ruthenium and nickel catalysts. The experimental results indicated that the activity of photoreduction of CO2 changes as follows: Ru/TiO2> Ni/TiO2>= Pt/TiO2> TiO2

Main sources of mercury in human organisms not exposed professionally

Rtęć zajmuje jedno z pierwszych miejsc na liście najbardziej niebezpiecznych, globalnych zanieczyszczeń środowiska. Nie pełni żadnej znanej roli biologicznej, jest natomiast toksyczna dla wszystkich żywych organizmów. Skażenie rtęcią, początkowo postrzegane jako poważny problem lokalny, stanowi obecnie problem powszechny. Wynika to ze specyficznej natury tego metalu, która zdeterminowana jest mnogością jego form, dużą lotnością i ruchliwością w środowisku. Toksyczne działanie rtęci i jej związków zależy głównie od formy w jakiej występuje (rtęć elementarna, nieorganiczne i organiczne związki rtęci), od drogi wniknięcia do organizmu, dawki oraz czasu ekspozycji. Najbardziej groźne dla człowieka (zwłaszcza dla płodu i małych dzieci) są organiczne związki metylortęciowe, ponieważ uszkadzają one przede wszystkim ośrodkowy układ nerwowy [58÷61]. Rtęć uwolniona do środowiska naturalnego pozostaje w nim, przemieszczając się w różnej postaci pomiędzy jego elementami: powietrzem, wodą, osadami, glebą oraz organizmami żywymi. Ze względu na swoją stosunkowo dużą lotność może zostać przeniesiona na duże odległości. Nie ulega biodegradacji i dlatego bardzo długo utrzymuje się w środowisku, gromadząc się w łańcuchach troficznych i przedostając się do organizmu ludzkiego. W środowisku naturalnym rtęć występuje głównie w łupkach węglowych i łupkach bitumicznych oraz zasadowych skałach krystalicznych, w glebach gliniastych i torfowych, oraz stanowi zanieczyszczenie paliw kopalnych.Toxic sources of mercury emission into the environment and human organisms were given. The strategy of Union concerning mercury as well as some of its decisions were presented. In the case of people not exposed to mercury professionally diet rich in fish and dental amalgam are the main sources of mercury. Some results of studies of mercury content in fish were presented. Current regulations in force determining maximal acceptable norms for mercury content in fish, fish products and diet supplements were given. It was pointed out that 75-95% of mercury in fish and seafood is in the form of methylmercury, which is the strong neurotoxin, the current PTWI norm (EFSA) is 1.6 žg of methylmercury compounds per a kilo of body mass (1.6 žg/kg bw/week). The amounts of mercury found in ford products other than fish and seafood are not so worrying because in the case of these products mercury does not appear in the form of methylmercury, which poses less threat. Mercury amalgams used as dental fillers were characterized. UE does not recommend amalgams as dental fillers. Even those in favour using claim that a man should not have more than 6-7 of such fillers them. So far no studies proved that the amount of mercury released from a amalgam dental fillers into organism is can lead to poisoning. However, authors of many studies of mercury content in hair or urine carried out in 2 groups of people which and without amalgam dental fillers found out that the content of mercury was noticeably higher among those with the amalgam fillers. It was recognized that using amalgam without gamma -2 phase would reduce the exposure to mercury. Amalgam dental fillers should not be used in the case of pregnant women and people suffering from kidney disorders. Some attention was paid to mercury compounds which can possibly appear as preservation substances (mainly thimerosal) in some cosmetics, medicines and vaccines. Methods of mercury analysis were presented. 57 publications were cited

Science-business co-operation within student skills development programme

W artykule przedstawiono główne formy współpracy świata nauki i biznesu w zakresie rozwoju kwalifikacji studentów. Opisano podstawowe formy tej współpracy z uwzględnieniem ich problemowych obszarów. Przedstawiono bariery dla współpracy tych dwóch środowisk. Podsumowano akcję pilotażową organizowaną w ramach projektu IDEA "innowacyjne staże wakacyjne" oparte na formule mentoringu.Forms of science-business co-operation concerning student skills development were presented. The most import forms of the cooperation, including their problem areas, were described. Moreover, barriers in such cooperation were also discussed. The results of the pilot action "innovative internships" based on the mentoring method and organized within IDEA Project were summed up

Analysis of the mercury transition from dental amalgams into the artificial saliva

Amalgamat stomatologiczny powstaje w wyniku zachodzącej reakcji chemicznej po zmieszaniu stopu srebra z rtęcią [3]. Stop srebra jest drobnym proszkiem, który składa się głównie ze srebra, cyny i miedzi.Rtęć stanowi do 50% wagowych amalgamatu. Według ADA (American Dental Association), wypełnienia z amalgamatu stomatologicznego nie powodują żadnych szkodliwych skutków, nadwrażliwość na rtęć może wystąpić u około 1% populacji. W piśmiennictwie znajdują się doniesienia o wystąpieniu u pacjentów z wypełnieniami amalgamatowymi reakcji alergicznych [4] lub miejscowych odczynów manifestujących się zmianami w jamie ustnej. Zauważono także, że nadwrażliwość ta występuje częściej, kiedy wypełnienia amalgama towe są w jamie ustnej dłużej niż 5lat [8]. Rtęć może być uwalniana z wypełnień amalgamatowych do jamy ustnej [13, 22] będąc głównym źródłem ekspozycji na rtęć ludzi nie narażonych zawodowo i ludzi, w diecie których ryby i owoce morza pojawiają się rzadko [12]. Wielu autorów dostarczyło naukowych dowodów, że żucie gumy zwiększa uwalnianie par rtęci z wypełnień amalgamatowych [1, 6, 7, 15, 19, 21].Odnotowano 15-krotne [19], 4-krotne [7] i 8-krotne [1] zwiększenie stężenia par rtęci w powietrzu wydychanym po żuciu w porównaniu z wartościami przed żuciem. Podczas usuwania starego wypełnienia i ponownego wypełnienia zęba amalgamatem srebra dochodzi do wzrostu stężenia par rtęci w wydychanym powietrzu [17, 18], z wyraźnym spadkiem wartości po 10÷25 min i całkowitą eliminacją po 120 min [17]. Aby ograniczyć wydzielanie rtęci z amalgamatu w trakcie wiązania, wprowadzono ostatnio stop rtęciowo-indowy zamiast czystej rtęci [3]. Uzasadniona jest opinia, że należy ograniczać obciążenie organizmu rtęcią, stosując do wypełnień amalgamaty bez fazy gamma-2. Wypełnień amalgamatowych nie powinno się stosować u kobiet w ciąży i u osób z chorobami nerek [16].Dental amalgam is a mixture of silver alloy with mercury. Mercury is up to 50% by weight of amalgam. Silver alloy is fine powder, which mainly consists of silver, tin and copper. After mixing the silver alloy with mercury, a chemical reaction leading to the formation of dental amalgam takes place. According to ADA (American Dental Association), dental amalgam fillings do not cause any adverse effects, hypersensitivity to mercury can occur in about 1 % of the population. But mercury can be released from amalgam fillings into the mouth, being the main source of mercury exposure to humans who are not exposed due to their occupation and people, who rarely eat fish and seafood. Many authors have provided scientific evidence that chewing gum increases the release of mercury vapor from amalgam fillings. The aim of the presented study was to investigate the extent to which the dental amalgam fillings are the source of mercury for the human body. The release of mercury form dental amalgams (two amalgams of different composition - one containing indium) to the solution of "artificial saliva" at several different temperatures and at different times as well as the release of mercury into the solution of "artificial saliva" from extracted teeth filled with amalgam were studied. The tests were performed using Mercury Analyzer SP-3D, a Japanese company, Nippon Instruments Corporation, and the method of atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES . spectrometer, an American company, Thermo Jarrell Ash. Regardless of the composition of amalgam the amount of the released mercury increases significantly with an increasing temperature, therefore, people with amalgam fillings should avoid hot food and hot liquids. Release of mercury is a continuous process. The largest amounts are released in the first seven days, however, a significant increase is observed after a period of six months. Considerable amounts of mercury are even released from the extracted teeth filled with amalgam, which "existed" in the human body for a long time after immersing them in the solution of artificial saliva. The amount of mercury ions released at lower temperatures of investigated range (22°C, 38°C) is slightly lower for an amalgam containing indium, compared to the amalgam 2, not containing indium in its composition. At higher , temperatures of 42°C, 55~C an inverse relationship was observed - the amount I of mercury released from amalgam 1 is a bit higher than the amount of mercury released from amalgam 2

Mercury in carcasses of wild animals hunted in the province of Lodz

Celem niniejszej pracy było zbadanie zawartości rtęci całkowitej w próbkach mięsa dzikich zwierząt oraz ocena wpływu: rodzaju zwierzęcia oraz odległości miejsca pobrania próbki od miejsca postrzału na jej zawartość. Dodatkowym zadaniem było porównanie zawartości rtęci w przebadanych tkankach (wątroba, nerki, płuca, mięśnie). Analizowany materiał został pobrany w latach 2009÷2010, z trzech gatunków dzikich zwierząt (sarna, dzik i jeleń). Z Łódzkiego Skupu Dziczyzny "Darz Bór", pobrano próbki od 10 saren, 3 dzików i 3 jeleni. Sarny były to osobniki starsze niż 2 lata, o masie ciała do 20 kg. Pobrano mięśnie od 10 sztuk: z rany postrzałowej z 10 i 25 cm od rany, od trzech sztuk pobrano nerki, a od 9 sztuk pobrano wątroby. Dziki były dwuletnimi osobnikami o masie 35÷40 kg. Pobrano mięśnie od 3 osobników: z rany postrzałowej z 10 i 25 cm od rany. Przebadano trzy sztuki jeleni. Jelenie były młodymi około 3-letnimi osobnikami o masie około 100 kg., przebadano próbki: z rany postrzałowej z 10 i 25 cm od rany oraz z wątroby. Z terenu Nadleśnictwa Bełchatów, analizowany materiał został pobrany od 4 dzików i 5 jeleni. Dziki były młodymi osobnikami nie starszymi niż 2 lata, o masie do 40 kg. Jelenie natomiast miały od 4 do 8 lat o masie około 110 kg. Materiał do analizy pobrano z nerek, wątrób, płuc, ran postrzałowych oraz mięśni w odległości: 5, 10, 15 i 20 cm od miejsca postrzału.The purpose of this paper was to study the total content of mercury in samples of meat from wild animals and to assess the influence of the following factors on the mercury content: type animal, type of the tissue collected, the distance from wound of a sampling point. Toxic metals such as mercury bioaccumulate and the differences in content in selected tissues of wild animals or small organisms can be used to assess the degree of environmental pollution as well as for biomonitoring purposes. The meat samples were taken from hunted animals collection points in Łódź (3 wild boars, 10 roe deer and 3 deer), and Bełchatów (4 wild boars and 5 deer). Material for analysis was taken from the kidneys, livers, lungs, bullet wounds and muscles. The content of mercury was determined using a Japanese automatic mercury analyzer Mercury SP-3D, Nippon Instruments Corporation. The correctness of the results was verified on the basis of the analysis of certified reference materials: Bovine Liver BCR 185R and Tuna Fish IMEP-20. It was found that in all tested samples of muscles of wild animals mercury concentration did not exceed the limit value of 20 ng/g. Higher concentrations of mercury were found in livers and than in muscles. For kidney samples of deer, the level of mercury ranged from 80.2 to 128.5 ng/g, that is from 30 to 50 times higher than in other parts of the body. The results showed that the species of animal and its diet can affect the mercury content in kidney and liver. The difference in total mercury content in particular animal tissues was found