Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 44 in total

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  1. Ivorra T, Khorri SM, Rahimi R, Hoe CC
    Trop Biomed, 2023 Mar 01;40(1):1-6.
    PMID: 37355997 DOI: 10.47665/tb.40.1.003
    The estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is an essential information in death investigations. It is necessary to know the developmental data of the most important necrophagous insect species in every geographical area. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is one of the most common species associated with human body decomposition, especially in the tropics, so a precise knowledge of its life cycle is crucial. However, despite its ubiquity, developmental data in a range of tropical temperatures is scarce. For this reason, the aim of this study is to provide the developmental data of the blowfly, C. megacephala, in a range of tropical temperatures and to apply these data in forensic entomology. Four temperatures were examined (i.e., 27.0°C 29.5°C, 32.0°C and 34.5°C) and the time of developments from egg to adult were recorded. To build the growth curves, five larvae per day were measured with a digital caliper. Accumulated degree-days were calculated and the isomorphen diagram for this species was plotted. As we predicted, the results showed that the life cycle of this species was affected by the increasing temperature. The implications of these new data for determining the minimum PMI in forensic entomology were discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  2. Lim L, Ab Majid AH
    Sci Rep, 2023 Jan 27;13(1):1506.
    PMID: 36707655 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-28774-y
    Tropical bed bugs, Cimex hemipterus, which commonly feeds on human blood, may be useful in forensic applications. However, unlike the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius, there is no information regarding tropical bed bug, C. hemipterus, being studied for its applications in forensics. Thus, in this study, lab-reared post-feeding tropical bed bugs were subjected to Short Tandem Repeat (STR) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) analyses to establish the usage of tropical bed bugs in forensics. Several post-feeding times (0, 5, 14, 30, and 45 days) were tested to determine when a complete human DNA profile could still be obtained after the bugs had taken the blood meal. The results showed that complete STR and SNP profiles could only be obtained from the D0 sample. The profile completeness decreased over time, and partial STR and SNP profiles could be obtained up to 45 days post-blood meal. The generated SNP profiles, complete or partial, were also viable for HIrisPlex-S phenotype prediction. In addition, field-collected bed bugs were also used to examine the viability of the tested STR markers, and the STR markers detected mixed profiles. The findings of this study established that the post-blood meal of tropical bed bugs is a suitable source of human DNA for forensic STR and SNP profiling. Human DNA recovered from bed bugs can be used to identify spatial and temporal relations of events.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  3. Ivorra T, Martínez-Sánchez A, Rojo S
    Acta Trop, 2022 Feb;226:106233.
    PMID: 34808117 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2021.106233
    The larval development of Chrysomya albiceps and Lucilia sericata is a well-known and valuable tool for estimating the postmortem interval (PMI). The third instar larvae of Ch. albiceps are facultative predators of the larvae of other necrophagous dipterans, and this behaviour is undoubtedly an important factor to consider. Both species are found together during human autopsies in Spain and other parts of Europe, where they cohabit, so a precise knowledge of their larval coexistence data is essential. The aim of this study is to investigate their coexistence and the intraguild predation of Ch. albiceps on L. sericata under experimental conditions and in real case reports. To analyse intra- and interspecific competition, four densities were used under controlled abiotic conditions [25ºC, 60-70% RH and 12:12 (D:N)]. The experimental data were compared with data corresponding to their coexistence in natural conditions, so annual activity and forensic case reports for both species were studied. The results indicate that the mortality of immature specimens in both species, the preimaginal developmental time, and adult size were affected by competition. In natural conditions, adult coexistence during the spring-summer period was confirmed. The simultaneity of the two species colonising human corpses is frequent in the studied area, with Ch. albiceps being the dominant species, and L. sericata the relevant species for estimating the minimum postmortem interval.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  4. Khoo LS, Hasmi AH, Ibrahim MA, Mahmood MS
    Forensic Sci Med Pathol, 2020 09;16(3):463-470.
    PMID: 32519316 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-020-00269-6
    The emergence of a novel human coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causing severe respiratory tract infections in humans, is affecting all countries of the world and has become a global health concern. Since the virus was first identified in December 2019, the number of deaths have been propagating exponentially, causing countries across the world, including Malaysia, to increase emergency measures to combat the virus. Due to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic does not discriminate its victims, it is of paramount importance to construct a plan for management of the dead for all suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, including the unidentified deceased, as an essential portion of the humanitarian forensic action approach. This document provides an overview on ways to maximize the local collective capacity from various government agencies to manage the dead based on the prevailing regulations and legislation in the country, in preparation for possible large scale deaths from this pandemic. The National Institute of Forensic Medicine Malaysia has improvised procedures and guidelines for management of the dead within the existing regulations in order to achieve a balance between medicolegal requirements and the safety of personnel managing the bodies of the deceased with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection; at the site of death, during transport, during postmortem procedures, storage and preparation before and during burial or cremation as well as environmental cleaning and disinfection, involving various agencies in the country. A form of temporary controlled burial is as an option to allow the reinvestigation of a decedent to help formally identify victims of the pandemic such as undocumented migrants or refugees who were previously not identified. Due to the different legal requirements and mortality rates between countries, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the management of the dead. Whenever possible, every opportunity and assistance must be given to families to mourn their loved ones, even in times of crisis or an outbreak, in order to sustain an appropriate level of dignity and respect.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/organization & administration*
  5. Nwawuba Stanley U, Mohammed Khadija A, Bukola AT, Omusi Precious I, Ayevbuomwan Davidson E
    Malays J Med Sci, 2020 Jul;27(4):22-35.
    PMID: 32863743 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2020.27.4.3
    Short tandem repeat (STR) typing continues to be the primary workhorse in forensic DNA profiling. Therefore, the present review discusses the prominent role of STR marker in criminal justice system. All over the world, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) profiling provides evidence that may be used to convict criminals, as an irrefutable proof of wrongful convictions, invaluable links to the actual perpetrators of crimes, and could also deter some offenders from committing more serious offences. Clearly, DNA profiling tools have also aided forensic scientists to re-evaluate old cases that were considered closed as a result of inadequate evidence. In carrying out this review, a comprehensive electronic literature search using PubMed, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and Google Search were used, and all works meeting the subject matter were considered, including reviews, retrospective studies, observational studies and original articles. Case reports presented here, further demonstrates the crucial role of forensic DNA profiling in mitigating and providing compelling evidence for the resolution of crimes. For case report 1, there was a 100% match between the DNA recovered from the items found in the crime scene, and the suspect's DNA sample collected via buccal swab following 15 STR loci examination. Case report 2 further highlights the indispensable contribution of DNA database in solving crime. Therefore, it has become very necessary for developing countries like Nigeria to develop a national DNA database and make policies and legislatures that will further expand and enable the practice of forensic genetics, particularly DNA profiling.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  6. Nordin FA, Bominathan UR, Abdullah AFL, Chang KH
    J Forensic Sci, 2020 Jan;65(1):11-25.
    PMID: 31373699 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14142
    Wherever an impact mark is found, either on the surface or on the recovered projectile, it is important for forensic investigators to extract useful information in solving shooting-related cases. This article reviews a collection of works on examination of impact marks upon striking of projectiles on inanimate objects, emphasizing on the retrievable information from a shooting scene and their forensic significance in shooting event reconstruction. Literature suggested that impact marks on target surfaces and the degree of deformation on striking projectiles vary according to different combinations of ammunition and surface materials. It was noted that conditions in real-case scenarios further differed unpredictably in comparison with controlled studies, where forensic investigation should be treated as case-specific basis. Furthermore, the way forensic science is researched and applied operationally has to be reconsidered to reduce the gap via translational approach for more effective use of forensic evidence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  7. Nur Atiqah Zaharulli
    ESTEEM Academic Journal, 2020;16(2):88-95.
    MyJurnal
    Questioned document examination becomes a great interest and one of the broad fields in forensic science. It involves the analysis of ink, handwriting and signature examination, paper’s physical structure analysis and the ageing of a document. Ink analysis in forensic document examination is a challenging process. Questioned documents examiners are dealing with unknown source of ink and minute sample size. Ink extraction needs to be done before the ink analysis. 17 gel pen ink samples were chosen in this study. Solubility test has been done to determine the degree of solubility of ink in a variety of organic solvents. Extraction solvent optimization is a process to evaluate the efficiency of organic solvents to extract ink samples. Ethanoic acid showed the ability to dissolve most of the ink samples and displayed maximum absorbance of UV-Vis spectra.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  8. Ong SQ, Ahmad H, Tan EH
    Environ Entomol, 2018 12 07;47(6):1582-1585.
    PMID: 30165432 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy127
    Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) provides great evidential value in estimating the postmortem interval (PMI) compared with other dipterans due to its common occurrence on human corpses both indoors and in concealed environments. Studies have focused on the effect of temperature, larval diet, and photoperiod on the development of the species; however, knowledge of M. scalaris development at different moisture levels is insufficient. This study aimed to investigate the effects of substrate moisture on the larval development time, pupal recovery, pupal weight, adult emergence, and adult head width of M. scalaris. The larvae were reared in five replicates on substrates with six moisture levels ranging from 50 to 90%. Larvae and puparia were sampled daily, and the collection time, number, and weight were recorded, measured, and then compared using multivariate analysis of variance with a post hoc least significant difference test. Larvae developed most quickly (3.75 ± 0.04 d) at 50% substrate moisture; the larvae were able to survive in extremely wet substrates (90% moisture), but the development time was significantly longer (6.48 ± 0.19 d). Moisture greatly influenced the pupation rate and adult emergence but showed a weak effect on the pupae weight and adult head width. Due to the significance of moisture on the development of M. scalaris, PMI estimation using M. scalaris with cadavers of different moisture content must be carefully conducted to avoid inaccuracy.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  9. Lee LC, Liong CY, Jemain AA
    Analyst, 2018 Jul 23;143(15):3526-3539.
    PMID: 29947623 DOI: 10.1039/c8an00599k
    Partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) is a versatile algorithm that can be used for predictive and descriptive modelling as well as for discriminative variable selection. However, versatility is both a blessing and a curse and the user needs to optimize a wealth of parameters before reaching reliable and valid outcomes. Over the past two decades, PLS-DA has demonstrated great success in modelling high-dimensional datasets for diverse purposes, e.g. product authentication in food analysis, diseases classification in medical diagnosis, and evidence analysis in forensic science. Despite that, in practice, many users have yet to grasp the essence of constructing a valid and reliable PLS-DA model. As the technology progresses, across every discipline, datasets are evolving into a more complex form, i.e. multi-class, imbalanced and colossal. Indeed, the community is welcoming a new era called big data. In this context, the aim of the article is two-fold: (a) to review, outline and describe the contemporary PLS-DA modelling practice strategies, and (b) to critically discuss the respective knowledge gaps that have emerged in response to the present big data era. This work could complement other available reviews or tutorials on PLS-DA, to provide a timely and user-friendly guide to researchers, especially those working in applied research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  10. Azman AR, Mahat NA, Abdul Wahab R, Abdul Razak FI, Hamzah HH
    Int J Mol Sci, 2018 May 25;19(6).
    PMID: 29799469 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19061576
    Waterways are popular locations for the disposition of criminal evidence because the recovery of latent fingerprints from such evidence is difficult. Currently, small particle reagent is a method often used to visualize latent fingerprints containing carcinogenic and hazardous compounds. This study proposes an eco-friendly, safranin-tinted Candida rugosa lipase (triacylglycerol ester hydrolysis EC 3.1.1.3) with functionalized carbon nanotubes (CRL-MWCNTS/GA/SAF) as an alternative reagent to the small particle reagent. The CRL-MWCNTS/GA/SAF reagent was compared with the small particle reagent to visualize groomed, full fingerprints deposited on stainless steel knives which were immersed in a natural outdoor pond for 30 days. The quality of visualized fingerprints using the new reagent was similar (modified-Centre for Applied Science and Technology grade: 4; p > 0.05) to small particle reagent, even after 15 days of immersion. Despite the slight decrease in quality of visualized fingerprints using the CRL-MWCNTS/GA/SAF on the last three immersion periods, the fingerprints remained forensically identifiable (modified-Centre for Applied Science and Technology grade: 3). The possible chemical interactions that enabled successful visualization is also discussed. Thus, this novel reagent may provide a relatively greener alternative for the visualization of latent fingerprints on immersed non-porous objects.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/methods*
  11. Mohd Noor MS, Khoo LS, Zamaliana Alias WZ, Hasmi AH, Ibrahim MA, Mahmood MS
    Forensic Sci Int, 2017 Sep;278:410.e1-410.e9.
    PMID: 28698062 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.05.014
    The first ever mass identification operation of skeletal remains conducted for the clandestine graves in Malaysia consisted of 165 individuals unearthed from 28 human trafficking transit camps located in Wang Kelian, along the Thai-Malaysia border. A DVI response was triggered in which expert teams comprising of pathologists, anthropologists, odontologists, radiologists and DNA experts were gathered at the identified operation centre. The Department of Forensic Medicine, Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah, Alor Star, Kedah, located approximately 75km away from Wang Kelian, was temporarily converted into a victim identification centre (VIC) as it is the nearest available forensic facility to the mass grave site. The mortuary operation was conducted over a period of 3 months from June to September 2015, and was divided into two phases; phase 1 involving the postmortem examination of the remains of 116 suspected individuals and for phase 2 the remains of 49 suspected individuals. The fact that the graves were of unknown individuals afforded the mass identification operation a sufficient duration of 2 weeks as preparatory phase enabling procedurals and daily victim identification workflow to be established, and the setting up of a temporary body storage for the designated mortuary. The temporary body storage has proven to be a significant factor in enabling the successful conclusion of the VIC operation to the final phase of temporary controlled burials. Recognition from two international observers, Mr. Andréas Patiño Umaña, from the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Prof. Noel Woodford from Victoria Institute of Forensic Medicine (VIFM) had proven the mortuary operation was in compliance to the international quality and standards. The overall victim identification and mortuary operation identified a number of significant challenges, in particular the management of commingled human remains as well as the compilation of postmortem data in the absence of antemortem data for future reconciliation. CF Index in this DVI operation is 9%, indicating the primary identifications in this operation were effective. Limitations and further improvements of the mass identification operation will be discussed. This paper details the planning, preparations and management of the mass identification operation on the exhumed human remains which was also a forensic humanitarian service for the dead with dignity and respect.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/organization & administration*
  12. Chung NE, Castilani A, Tierra WE, Beh P, Mahmood MS
    Forensic Sci Int, 2017 Sep;278:367-373.
    PMID: 28806635 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.07.030
    On December 1st, 2014, the sinking of Oryong 501 occurred in the Bering Sea off the east coast of Russia. A total of 60 crew members, including 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and 1 Russian inspector were on board out of which only seven survived. Through an international rescue operation, the dead bodies of 27 were found and the remaining 26 crew are still missing. After transferring the dead bodies to the Busan Harbor in South Korea, the operation to identify the deceased began involving DVI teams from three countries: Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines. When a deep sea fishing boat sinks, it is very difficult to obtain antemortem data of the crew who had been on board for a long time. This is especially so if the crews are multinational. Further, the accuracy of the antemortem data provided by the families may be questionable, and the provided data is often not standardized. Despite the fact that the antemortem data were received in different formats, the identification process for the bodies of the 27 crew from the Oryong sinking was quickly completed through the cooperation among the three DVI teams. This case is an excellent example of how efficiently a DVI operation can be conducted in the Asia Pacific region. Issues raised during this operation should enable even better preparation for similar events in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/organization & administration*
  13. Jahanirad M, Anuar NB, Wahab AWA
    Forensic Sci Int, 2017 Mar;272:111-126.
    PMID: 28129583 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.01.010
    The VoIP services provide fertile ground for criminal activity, thus identifying the transmitting computer devices from recorded VoIP call may help the forensic investigator to reveal useful information. It also proves the authenticity of the call recording submitted to the court as evidence. This paper extended the previous study on the use of recorded VoIP call for blind source computer device identification. Although initial results were promising but theoretical reasoning for this is yet to be found. The study suggested computing entropy of mel-frequency cepstrum coefficients (entropy-MFCC) from near-silent segments as an intrinsic feature set that captures the device response function due to the tolerances in the electronic components of individual computer devices. By applying the supervised learning techniques of naïve Bayesian, linear logistic regression, neural networks and support vector machines to the entropy-MFCC features, state-of-the-art identification accuracy of near 99.9% has been achieved on different sets of computer devices for both call recording and microphone recording scenarios. Furthermore, unsupervised learning techniques, including simple k-means, expectation-maximization and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) provided promising results for call recording dataset by assigning the majority of instances to their correct clusters.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  14. Zuha RM, Huong-Wen S, Disney RH, Omar B
    Trop Life Sci Res, 2017 Jan;28(1):131-143.
    PMID: 28228921 MyJurnal DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2017.28.1.9
    Scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae) are small-sized insects of forensic importance. They are well known for diversified species and habitats, but in the context of forensic entomology, scuttle flies' inhabitance of corpses remains inadequately explored. With recent reports indicating the existence of more scuttle fly species possibly inhabiting these environments, a decomposition study using animal carcasses in enclosed environments was conducted. The aim was to record the occurrence of scuttle flies on rabbit carcasses placed in sealed plastic waste bins for a 40-day period. The study was conducted as two replicates in Bangi, Selangor. Sampling was carried out at different time intervals inside a modified mosquito net as a trap. Inside the trap, adult scuttle flies were aspirated and preserved in 70% ethanol. The fly larvae and pupae were reared until their adult stage to facilitate identification. From this study, six scuttle fly species were collected, i.e., Dahliphora sigmoides (Schmitz) ♂, Gymnoptera simplex (Brues) ♀, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) ♂♀, Puliciphora borinquenensis (Wheeler) ♂, Puliciphora obtecta Meijere ♀ and Spiniphora sp. ♀. Both D. sigmoides and P. obtecta were newly recorded in Malaysia, whilst the Spiniphora sp. was considered an unknown species until it was linked to its male counterpart. The sealed waste bins were found to be accessible for the scuttle flies with delayed arrival (day 4-5). Megaselia scalaris was the primary scuttle fly species attracted to the carcass, and its occurrence could be observed between days 4-7 (replicate 1) and days 5-33 (replicate 2). This study also revealed Sarcophaga spp. (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) as the earliest species to colonize the remains and the longest to inhabit them (days 2-40). The larvae of Hermetia illucens (Linneaus) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) and Fannia sp. (Diptera: Fanniidae) were found on the carcasses during the mid-advanced decay period. These findings expand the knowledge on the diversity of forensically important scuttle flies and coexisting dipterans in enclosed environments in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  15. Syamsa RA, Omar B, Ahmad FM, Hidayatulfathi O, Shahrom AW
    J Forensic Leg Med, 2017 Jan;45:41-46.
    PMID: 27997861 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2016.12.002
    Forensic entomology refers to the science of collection and analysis of insect evidence in order to determine the minimum time period since death. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of forensically important flies on 34 human remains referred to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre over a period of three years. Entomological specimens were collected at the death scenes and/or during autopsies. Live specimens were reared into adults while preserved specimens were processed for species identification. Five families, seven genera and nine species of flies were identified from human remains. The results of the study showed Chrysomya megacephala (Calliphoridae) maggots occurred on corpses with the highest frequency (70.6%), followed by Ch. rufifacies (Calliphoridae) (44.1%), sarcophagid fly (Sarcophagidae) (38.2%), Synthesiomya nudiseta (Muscidae) (20.6%), Megaselia scalaris (Phoridae) (14.7%), Lucilia cuprina (Calliphoridae) (5.9%), Ch. nigripes (Calliphoridae) (5.9%), Eristalis spp. (Syrphidae) (5.9%) and Hydrotaea spinigera (Muscidae) (2.9%). The greatest fly diversity occurred on remains recovered indoors (eight species) compared to outdoors (three species). Whilst, single and double infestations were common for both indoor and outdoor cases, multiple infestation of up to six species was observed in one of the indoor cases. Although large numbers of fly species were found on human remains, the predominant species were still those of Chrysomya, while S. nudiseta was found only on human remains recovered from indoors. The present study provides additional knowledge in the context of Malaysian forensic entomology and the distribution of forensically important flies which is of relevance to forensic science.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences
  16. Ali A, Abd Razak S, Othman SH, Mohammed A, Saeed F
    PLoS One, 2017;12(4):e0176223.
    PMID: 28445486 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176223
    With the rapid development of technology, mobile phones have become an essential tool in terms of crime fighting and criminal investigation. However, many mobile forensics investigators face difficulties with the investigation process in their domain. These difficulties are due to the heavy reliance of the forensics field on knowledge which, although a valuable resource, is scattered and widely dispersed. The wide dispersion of mobile forensics knowledge not only makes investigation difficult for new investigators, resulting in substantial waste of time, but also leads to ambiguity in the concepts and terminologies of the mobile forensics domain. This paper developed an approach for mobile forensics domain based on metamodeling. The developed approach contributes to identify common concepts of mobile forensics through a development of the Mobile Forensics Metamodel (MFM). In addion, it contributes to simplifying the investigation process and enables investigation teams to capture and reuse specialized forensic knowledge, thereby supporting the training and knowledge management activities. Furthermore, it reduces the difficulty and ambiguity in the mobile forensics domain. A validation process was performed to ensure the completeness and correctness of the MFM. The validation was conducted using two techniques for improvements and adjustments to the metamodel. The last version of the adjusted metamodel was named MFM 1.2.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/methods*
  17. Lee WC, Khoo BE, Abdullah AFL
    Forensic Sci Int, 2016 06;263:1-9.
    PMID: 27061146 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.03.046
    Evidence in crime scenes available in the form of biological stains which cannot be visualized during naked eye examination can be detected by imaging their fluorescence using a combination of excitation lights and suitable filters. These combinations selectively allow the passage of fluorescence light emitted from the targeted stains. However, interference from the fluorescence generated by many of the surface materials bearing the stains often renders it difficult to visualize the stains during forensic photography. This report describes the use of background correction algorithm (BCA) to enhance the visibility of seminal stain, a biological evidence that fluoresces. While earlier reports described the use of narrow band-pass filters for other fluorescing evidences, here, we utilize BCA to enhance images captured using commonly available colour filters, yellow, orange and red. Mean-based contrast adjustment was incorporated into BCA to adjust the background brightness for achieving similarity of images' background appearance, a crucial step for ensuring success while implementing BCA. Experiment results demonstrated the effectiveness of our proposed colour filters' approach using the improved BCA in enhancing the visibility of seminal stains in varying dilutions on selected surfaces.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/methods
  18. Yang TY, Dehghantanha A, Choo KK, Muda Z
    PLoS One, 2016;11(3):e0150300.
    PMID: 26982207 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0150300
    Instant messaging (IM) has changed the way people communicate with each other. However, the interactive and instant nature of these applications (apps) made them an attractive choice for malicious cyber activities such as phishing. The forensic examination of IM apps for modern Windows 8.1 (or later) has been largely unexplored, as the platform is relatively new. In this paper, we seek to determine the data remnants from the use of two popular Windows Store application software for instant messaging, namely Facebook and Skype on a Windows 8.1 client machine. This research contributes to an in-depth understanding of the types of terrestrial artefacts that are likely to remain after the use of instant messaging services and application software on a contemporary Windows operating system. Potential artefacts detected during the research include data relating to the installation or uninstallation of the instant messaging application software, log-in and log-off information, contact lists, conversations, and transferred files.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences*
  19. Zuha RM, Jenarthanan LX, Disney RH, Omar B
    Trop Biomed, 2015 Sep;32(3):568-72.
    PMID: 26695221 MyJurnal
    In forensic entomology, larval rearing usually includes the presence of biological contaminants including scuttle flies (Diptera: Phoridae). Scuttle flies are recognized as forensically important insects and have been reported causing nuisance and contamination in laboratory environments. This paper reports for the first time the finding of multiple scuttle fly species affecting colonies of third instar larvae of the Oriental latrine blowfly, Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), reared indoors at the Forensic Science Simulation Site, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Adult scuttle flies were discovered inside a rearing container after the emergence of adult C. megacephala., The scuttle fly species are Megaselia scalaris (Loew), M. spiracularis Schmitz and Puliciphora borinquenensis (Wheeler). Notes on the life history and biology of these species are discussed herein.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/methods*
  20. Syamsa RA, Omar B, Zuha RM, Faridah MN, Swarhib MS, Hidayatulfathi O, et al.
    Trop Biomed, 2015 Jun;32(2):291-9.
    PMID: 26691258 MyJurnal
    The distributions of flies are not only confined to ground level but can also be at higher altitudes. Here, we report three forensic cases involving dipterans in high-rise buildings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Case 1 involved a corpse of adult female found at the top floor of a fifteen-story apartment. Case 2 dealt with a body of a 75-year-old female discovered in a bedroom on the eleventh floor of an eighteen-story building, while Case 3 was a 52-year-old male found in his fifth floor shop house. Interestingly, entomological analysis revealed that all corpses were infested with similar Dipterans: Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae), Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Wulp) (Diptera: Muscidae) and sarcophagid (Diptera: Sarcophagidae). The first two species were commonly associated with corpses found indoors at ground level. We noted the additional occurrence of blowflies Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae in Case 2 and Case 3, respectively. Findings from this study are significant as they demonstrate that certain groups of fly can locate dead bodies even in high-rise buildings. Forensic entomofauna research on corpses found at high elevation is scarce and our study has highlighted the peculiarity of the fly species involved in Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Sciences/methods*
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