Forensic methods

Even though forensic methods have hardly been applied with regards to Auschwitz, there are a few examples which I shall discuss briefly in the following chapter. 

Nerve agents are the most potent of the weaponized CW agents, causing lethality at doses in the ig/kg range. Their use in the last two decades, in the Iraq-Iran conflict, against Kurdish communities in Iraq, and by terrorists in Japan, has stimulated the development of a number of forensic methods for confirmation of exposure. 

Unfortunately, until recently there were no attorneys who recognized this vicious circle that is so catastrophic for a state supposedly governed by justice, and no attorneys who demanded that the crime, the murder weapon and the victims, i.e., the evidence for these, as well as eyewitness testimony and documents, be examined with modem forensic methods before the question can be raised of who the murderer/s might have been. Such attorneys have stepped onto the scene only recently, but aside from slander and abuse, threats of prosecution and the aforementioned decision of the Federal Supreme Court - i.e., an exacerbation of the judicial situation - they too have been unable to achieve any changes. 

A forensic method involves the identification of blood group from a trace of blood on the victim s clothing. 

Diagnostic RFLP methods employ DNA that is readily available from the white cells of patient blood samples. Forensic methods, on the other hand, use DNA samples of unpredictable (usually low) quantity furthermore, if the DNA sample is old and has been exposed to sunlight (UV radiation), the DNA may be present as cleaved fragments rather than intact genes. In such cases, the available DNA is amplified in concentration using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR).10 PCR technology has revolutionized DNA analysis, and has made such general forensic tests feasible. 

Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is the usual method applied for the direct measurement of T radioactivity. Samples in which T is the major source of radioactivity are introduced into a scintillation cocktail. Prior conversion to water, followed by distillation to purify the sample from other radionuclides, is the preferred forensic method unless the analyst is certain that no other radionuclides are present. LSC on T-bearing aqueous specimens involves the use of an appropriate emulsifier to distribute the sample throughout the organic scintillator without degradation in performance. LSC calibration standards are available from NIST, and compensation for the efficiency change caused by the introduction of varying amounts of sample solution into the scintillator is discussed in Sansoni and Kracke (1971). 

Recently, local adduct formation after cutaneous exposure to sulfur mustard has been a focus of investigation in an effort not only to establish new forensic methods, but also to better understand vesication, the most evident symptom of sulfur mustard exposiue via the skin. Adducts of sulfur mustard to cytokeratin types 1 and 11, actin stratifin, and galectin-7 were successfully identified by Mol et al. (2008) in sulfur mustard-exposed human epidermal keratinocytes. Sulfur mustard adducts to actin, annexin A2, and keratin 9 were also found in HaCaT cells (immortalized kerationcytes) by Sayer et al. (2009). 

This method was designed to produce an acetyl intermediate just like that in the failed recipe a few paragraphs above using only sulfuric acid and acetonitrile [93]. This reaction works, in theory, in a so-so manner on allylbenzene but not on safrole. This method will not make X for many reasons. So why does underground literature and DEA forensic scientists keep claiming that it does Strike doesn t know either. Let s see what the man who invented this. Dr. Ritter, had to say back in 1952 "several attempts to obtain amides from...safrol (sic) were fruitless. [94]. What makes all these people think that this will work unless no one did their homework. This is another sore spot of Strike s and... 

The elements listed in the table of Figure 15.2 are of importance as environmental contaminants, and their analysis in soils, water, seawater, foodstuffs and for forensic purposes is performed routinely. For these reasons, methods have been sought to analyze samples of these elements quickly and easily without significant prepreparation. One way to unlock these elements from their compounds or salts, in which form they are usually found, is to reduce them to their volatile hydrides through the use of acid and sodium tetrahydroborate (sodium borohydride), as shown in Equation 15.1 for sodium arsenite. 

An example of a classification problem ia which feature weighting and selection was important comes from forensic chemistry (qv). A classification method was needed to determine the paper grade and manufacturer of a paper scrap found at the scene of a crime. In this study, 119 sheets of paper (qv) representing 40 different paper grades and nine manufacturers were obtained (25). The objects were then the paper samples, and the variables consisted of... 

The use of agarose as an electrophoretic method is widespread (32—35). An example of its use is in the evaluation and typing of DNA both in forensics (see Forensic chemistry) and to study heritable diseases (36). Agarose electrophoresis is combined with other analytical tools such as Southern blotting, polymerase chain reaction, and fluorescence. The advantages of agarose electrophoresis are that it requires no additives or cross-linkers for polymerization, it is not hazardous, low concentration gels are relatively sturdy, it is inexpensive, and it can be combined with many other analytical methods. 

LC-GC, therefore, shows promise for forensic science applications, reducing sample handling and preparation steps by essentially using an on-line LC column in place of one or more extraction steps. This is followed by a traditional high resolution GC analysis. The methods described here for pesticides and hormones could be readily adapted to a variety of analyses, especially those involving fatty matrices. Such as tissues, food or blood. 

Although comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography has not been applied to any great extent in forensic analysis, the technique shows great promise when samples or sample matrices are complex. For example, when oil is spilled into waterways, assigning responsibility for the economic and environmental damage is often difficult. Gaines et al. employed comprehensive two-dimensional GC in the forensic analysis of samples collected at oil-spill sites and were able to obtain results which were comparable to those obtained by classical methods (39). This article also... 

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