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Medicina Clínica 01/2013; · 1.38 Impact Factor
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Medicina Clínica 04/2012; 139(2):82-3. · 1.38 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Chemistry plays a leading role in crime investigation. In the study of bloodstains, chemical reactions provide the means for the detection. All these procedures have been thoroughly studied. However, recently, a new source of error has been found: washing stains with "active oxygen" detergents abrogates presumptive and human hemoglobin tests for bloodstains (although visible). The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the ability of pure sodium percarbonate-main component of detergents-to abrogate presumptive and human hemoglobin tests. Then, a solution to this problem could be found. The results demonstrate that pure sodium percarbonate-itself-is able to abrogate all tests, as well as the different degrees to which each of them is affected by the product. Consequently, faced with a stain of bloody appearance, even the preliminary tests are negative; it is advisable to analyze the DNA. Otherwise, the opportunity of obtaining valuable information is lost.
Journal of Forensic Sciences 12/2011; 57(2):500-2. · 1.23 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In criminal investigations, there are three stages involved when studying bloodstains: search and orientation, confirmation, and individualization. Confirmatory tests have two aims: to show that the stain contains a human biological fluid and to confirm the type of biological fluid. The need to determine the nature of the evidence is reflected in the latest bibliography, where the possibility of employing mRNA and miRNA markers for this purpose is proposed. While these new proposals are being investigated, the kits for determining human hemoglobin currently provide a simple solution for resolving this issue. With these kits, the possibility of obtaining false positives and false negatives is well known. However, recently, a new problem has been detected. This involves the interference caused by new cleaning products that contain sodium percarbonate (or active oxygen) when determining human hemoglobin. With the aim to resolve this problem, this work studied the ability of the human glycophorin A test to determine human blood in samples that have been treated with active oxygen. Our results show that the human glycophorin A test has a greater resistance to the destructive effect of the new detergents containing active oxygen; consequently, it provides an alternative to be taken into consideration in the confirmatory diagnoses of bloodstains.
TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 01/2011; 11:907-16. · 1.66 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Currently, forensic sciences can make use of the potential of instrumental analysis techniques to obtain information from the smallest, even invisible, samples. However, as laboratory techniques improve, so too should the procedures applied in the search for and initial testing of clues in order to be equally effective. This requires continuous revision so that those procedures may resolve the problems that samples present. As far as bloodstains are concerned, there are methods available that are recognized as being both highly sensitive and effective. Nevertheless, the marketing of new cleaning products, those that contain active oxygen, has raised doubts about the ability of those procedures to detect blood. It has been shown that stains washed with these detergents (and still visible) invalidated both the presumptive test (reduced phenolphthalein, luminol, and Bluestar) and that applied for determining human hemoglobin. These findings have caused considerable concern both within the forensic and scientific community, and among the general public, so obliging us to seek solutions. In this work, the effect of these new cleaning products on DNA analyses is studied. The results, encouraging ones, show that these detergents, despite invalidating all other tests, do not hinder the extraction, or the subsequent analysis, of DNA.
TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 01/2010; 10:387-92. · 1.66 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The teaching of bioethics and its importance in clinical relationships is to a certain extent complicated when we address students of medicine, young people who are more used to dealing with and solving strictly clinical problems. Informed Consent is one of the aspects of professional practice that is generally and widely accepted in Western societies, although difficulties are still encountered in explaining it from a purely theoretical model. This situation led us to design an educational strategy to make the Informed Consent concept more understandable.
Advances in Health Sciences Education 12/2009; 17(2):161-4. · 2.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: As criminals try to avoid leaving clues at the scene of a crime, bloodstains are often washed away, but fortunately for investigators, they are difficult to eliminate completely. Porous surfaces easily retain blood traces, which are sometimes invisible to the naked eye. The reagent of choice for detecting latent blood traces on all types of surfaces is luminol, but its main disadvantage is a high degree of sensitivity to oxidising contaminants in the blood sample. If household bleach is used to clean bloodstains, presumptive tests are invalidated. Hypochlorites, however, are known to be unstable and deteriorate over time, and this feature could be of help in preventing household bleach-induced interference. Previous studies have evaluated the effect of the drying time on nonporous surfaces, but nothing has as yet been published about this effect on porous surfaces. Consequently, this paper reports on hypochlorite interference with luminol reagents used on this type of surface, evaluating the effects of drying time on the household bleach-luminol reaction, and ascertaining whether the drying procedure could be applied to prevent household bleach interference on bloodstained porous surfaces. The results indicate that the drying method may very well overcome household bleach interference in luminol reaction tests, if the investigation allows for an appropriate waiting time.
Talanta 03/2009; 77(4):1555-7. · 3.79 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Investigation at the scene of a crime begins with the search for clues. In the case of bloodstains, the most frequently used reagents are luminol and reduced phenolphthalein (or phenolphthalin that is also known as the Kastle-Meyer colour test). The limitations of these reagents have been studied and are well known. Household cleaning products have evolved with the times, and new products with active oxygen are currently widely used, as they are considered to be highly efficient at removing all kinds of stains on a wide range of surfaces. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of these new cleaning products on latent bloodstains that may be left at a scene of a crime. To do so, various fabrics were stained with blood and then washed using cleaning agents containing active oxygen. The results of reduced phenolphthalein, luminol and human haemoglobin tests on the washed fabrics were negative. The conclusion is that these new products alter blood to such an extent that it can no longer be detected by currently accepted methods employed in criminal investigations. This inability to locate bloodstains means that highly important evidence (e.g. a DNA profile) may be lost. Consequently, it is important that investigators are aware of this problem so as to compensate for it.
Naturwissenschaften 11/2008; 96(2):303-7. · 2.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Advances in the sensitivity of techniques used to examine latent prints (finger or labial) make it necessary to find more effective methods of locating prints on different surfaces. The most difficult surfaces are those which are porous or multicoloured, in which case the developed print may not be easily seen. This study analyses the effectiveness of two fluorescent dyes, Nile Blue and Nile Red, in developing both recent and older latent lip prints on porous and multicoloured surfaces. The results indicate that Nile Red is a very effective reagent for the development of latent lip prints on difficult surfaces of this type.
Review of Progress in Coloration and Related Topics 06/2006; 120(4):184 - 187. · 0.96 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Latent prints are an important evidence for identification. Nowadays, the technical means, the implementation of image processing techniques and the use of database makes it possible to detect and get information from some prints that seem to be useless at first sight. On the other hand, the possibility of using the print as a DNA source has to be considered, so as to double its identifying value. Human skin is a particularly difficult surface for developing this kind of evidences. Although different methods for locating and developing latent fingerprints on the skin have been already described, it has not been found any method, at the revised bibliography, to obtain and develop invisible lipmarks, that is, lipmarks from protective lipstick, or permanent or long-lasting lipstick. The aim of the work that follows is to determine the effectiveness of several reagents for developing invisible lipmarks on the corpses' skin. Preliminary results show that, under the described experimental conditions, the reagents used, Sudan III, Oil Red O and Sudan Black, are effective for obtaining recent latent lip prints on corpse's skin.
Forensic Science International 05/2006; 158(1):9-13. · 2.30 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Luminescence is specially a useful property for the search of invisible evidences at the scene of a crime. In the latent fingerprints particular case, there are at one's disposal fluorescent reagents for their localization. The study of latent lip prints (that is lip prints from protective lipstick, or permanent or long-lasting lipstick that do not leave any visible marks) is more recent than fingerprints study. Because of the different composition of both types of prints, different reagents have been tried out on their developing. Although, lysochromes are particularly useful reagents to obtain latent lip prints, it may occur on coloured or multicoloured surfaces, the developing is not perceived due to contrast problems between the reagent and the surface where the print is searched. Again, luminescence offers the possibility to solve this problem. Nile Red is being studied as a potential developer for latent lip prints. The results on very old prints (over 1year) indicate that this reagent is highly efficient to get latent lip prints.
Forensic Science International 01/2006; 155(2-3):185-7. · 2.30 Impact Factor
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The FASEB Journal 05/2004; 18(6):615-6. · 5.71 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This article discusses whether it would be wrong to explain a mistake involving medical responsibility on the basis of an opinion that the professional was not in the optimum physical or mental state at the moment the mistake took place.
Hospital medicine (London, England: 1998) 08/2003; 64(7):416-8; discussion 419-20. · 0.33 Impact Factor
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ReCRIM: Revista de l'Institut Universitari d'Investigació en Criminologia i Ciències Penals de la UV , ISSN 1989-6352, Nº. 2, 2009, pags. 163-167.
