Is it time for a unified forensic science taxonomy?

Prompted by disparate data highlighted in responses to a Sydney Declaration survey, this paper examines how forensic science 'disciplines' are defined and described by various professional organizations. A considerable degree of disagreement in taxonomic organization of forensic science 'disciplines' was uncovered. This paper suggests that the global forensic science community come together to develop and implement a standard taxonomic system for defining, describing and classifying the disciplines/subdisciplines within forensic science.

A canonical polyadic tensor basis for fast Bayesian estimation of multi-subject brain activation patterns.

Task-evoked functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, such as the Human Connectome Project (HCP), are a powerful tool for exploring how brain activity is influenced by cognitive tasks like memory retention, decision-making, and language processing. A fast Bayesian function-on-scalar model is proposed for estimating population-level activation maps linked to the working memory task. The model is based on the canonical polyadic (CP) tensor decomposition of coefficient maps obtained for each subject.

An exercise in scientific problem-solving: Illustrating the utility of the principles of the Sydney Declaration.

In forensic science, scientific problem-solving is characterized by the recognition of traces as part of iterative reasoning processes to assign meaning to those traces in order to interpret and reconstruct events. Through a set of fundamental principles, the Sydney Declaration presents a foundation of forensic science through the lens of a scientist. The distinction between a scientist and a technician may require clarification-where a prototypical technician follows a prescribed set of 'standard operating procedures' and may be limited in the interpretation of the resultant data, the scientist utilizes knowledge, skills, experience and imagination to identify the issue at hand and develop lines of inquiry for testing and interpretation.

Neuroimaging feature extraction using a neural network classifier for imaging genetics.

Background: Dealing with the high dimension of both neuroimaging data and genetic data is a difficult problem in the association of genetic data to neuroimaging. In this article, we tackle the latter problem with an eye toward developing solutions that are relevant for disease prediction. Supported by a vast literature on the predictive power of neural networks, our proposed solution uses neural networks to extract from neuroimaging data features that are relevant for predicting Alzheimer's Disease (AD) for subsequent relation to genetics.

The use of COVID-19 contact tracing app data as evidence of a crime.

This commentary draws attention to the introduction of data collected by COVID-19 tracing apps as evidence in criminal proceedings and the novel considerations this evidence presents for criminal justice agents and digital forensics professionals.

Evaluating the concordance of functional MRI-based language lateralization and Wada testing in epilepsy patients: A single-center analysis.

Background: For patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgery may be effective in controlling their disease. Surgical evaluation may involve localization of the language areas using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or Wada testing. We evaluated the accuracy of task-based fMRI versus Wada-based language lateralization in a cohort of our epilepsy patients.

Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy.

In high-stake cases (e.g., evaluating surgical candidacy for epilepsy) where neuropsychological evaluation is essential to care, it is important to have culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible neuropsychological instruments and procedures for use with deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL).

The cost-effectiveness of human papillomavirus vaccination in the Philippines.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the Philippines. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination provides protection from the most common cancer-causing HPV types. This analysis used a proportionate outcomes model to estimate the potential cost-effectiveness of four different HPV vaccine products-Cervarix™, Cecolin®, GARDASIL®, and GARDASIL®9-for routine HPV vaccination of 10 cohorts of 9-year-old girls from the government and societal perspectives.

Functional Connectivity Methods and Their Applications in fMRI Data.

The availability of powerful non-invasive neuroimaging techniques has given rise to various studies that aim to map the human brain. These studies focus on not only finding brain activation signatures but also on understanding the overall organization of functional communication in the brain network. Based on the principle that distinct brain regions are functionally connected and continuously share information with each other, various approaches to finding these functional networks have been proposed in the literature.

A Review of Bayesian Hypothesis Testing and Its Practical Implementations.

We discuss hypothesis testing and compare different theories in light of observed or experimental data as fundamental endeavors in the sciences. Issues associated with the -value approach and null hypothesis significance testing are reviewed, and the Bayesian alternative based on the Bayes factor is introduced, along with a review of computational methods and sensitivity related to prior distributions. We demonstrate how Bayesian testing can be practically implemented in several examples, such as the -test, two-sample comparisons, linear mixed models, and Poisson mixed models by using existing software.

The Sydney declaration - Revisiting the essence of forensic science through its fundamental principles.

Unlike other more established disciplines, a shared understanding and broad acceptance of the essence of forensic science, its purpose, and fundamental principles are still missing or mis-represented. This foundation has been overlooked, although recognised by many forensic science forefathers and seen as critical to this discipline's advancement. The Sydney Declaration attempts to revisit the essence of forensic science through its foundational basis, beyond organisations, technicalities or protocols.

The trace in the technique: Forensic science and the Connoisseur's gaze.

Both scientific art investigations and forensic investigations rely on observation, inferential reasoning, and analytical techniques to answer questions concerning identification, source, and activity. The forensic scientist and the art connoisseur evaluate the whole-a crime scene or work of art, respectively-and draw meaning from the often-overlooked details, or traces, contained therein. This manuscript considers the correlations between art connoisseurship and forensic science, first by outlining the history of connoisseurship, focusing on the detection and evaluation of traces through patient observation, reasoning, and comparison based on methods established by Giovanni Morelli in the nineteenth century.

Consideration of different scoring approaches for a verbal incidental learning measure from the WAIS-IV using hippocampal volumes.

While Spencer's verbal incidental learning (IL) task-from Vocabulary and Similarities subtests of the WAIS-has been validated relative to traditional memory measures and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, the effectiveness of the particular scoring method used has not been assessed relative to alternative scoring weightings. The purpose of this study was to compare original and alternative scoring methods of this IL task by using an AD biomarker-benchmark to arrive at an optimal approach. Fifty-five memory-clinic patients aged 59-87 received neuropsychological assessment, measures of IL, and quantitative brain imaging.

Predicting Upcoming Events Occurring in the Space Surrounding the Hand.

Predicting upcoming sensorimotor events means creating forward estimates of the body and the surrounding world. This ability is a fundamental aspect of skilled motor behavior and requires an accurate and constantly updated representation of the body and the environment. To test whether these prediction mechanisms could be affected by a peripheral injury, we employed an action observation and electroencephalogram (EEG) paradigm to assess the occurrence of prediction markers in anticipation of observed sensorimotor events in healthy and brachial plexus injury (BPI) participants.

Teleneuropsychology for Monolingual and Bilingual Spanish-Speaking Adults in the Time of COVID-19: Rationale, Professional Considerations, and Resources.

Objective: Neuropsychological assessments with monolingual Spanish and bilingual Spanish/English-speaking adults present unique challenges. Barriers include, but are not limited to, the paucity of test norms, uncertainty about the equivalence of translated neuropsychological tests, and limited proficiency in the provision of culturally competent services. Similar issues generalize to telephone- and video-based administration of neuropsychological tests or teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) with Hispanics/Latinos (as), and few studies have examined its feasibility and validity in this group.

Acute Stress Increases Intraocular Pressure in Nonhuman Primates.

Purpose: To quantify intraocular pressure (IOP) change and time course during stressful activity.

Study Design: Experimental Study.

Subjects: Three nonhuman primates (NHPs).

Bayesian Semiparametric Functional Mixed Models for Serially Correlated Functional Data, with Application to Glaucoma Data.

Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is characterized by optic nerve damage related to intraocular pressure (IOP), but its full etiology is unknown. Researchers at UAB have devised a custom device to measure scleral strain continuously around the eye under fixed levels of IOP, which here is used to assess how strain varies around the posterior pole, with IOP, and across glaucoma risk factors such as age. The hypothesis is that scleral strain decreases with age, which could alter biomechanics of the optic nerve head and cause damage that could eventually lead to glaucoma.

Sleep quality mediates the relationship between frailty and cognitive dysfunction in non-demented middle aged to older adults.

Unlabelled: ABSTRACTObjectives:Frailty is associated with cognitive decline in older adults. However, the mechanisms explaining this relationship are poorly understood. We hypothesized that sleep quality may mediate the relationship between frailty and cognition.

TPRM: TENSOR PARTITION REGRESSION MODELS WITH APPLICATIONS IN IMAGING BIOMARKER DETECTION.

Medical imaging studies have collected high dimensional imaging data to identify imaging biomarkers for diagnosis, screening, and prognosis, among many others. These imaging data are often represented in the form of a multi-dimensional array, called a tensor. The aim of this paper is to develop a tensor partition regression modeling (TPRM) framework to establish a relationship between low-dimensional clinical outcomes (e.

Bayesian spatial transformation models with applications in neuroimaging data.

The aim of this article is to develop a class of spatial transformation models (STM) to spatially model the varying association between imaging measures in a three-dimensional (3D) volume (or 2D surface) and a set of covariates. The proposed STM include a varying Box-Cox transformation model for dealing with the issue of non-Gaussian distributed imaging data and a Gaussian Markov random field model for incorporating spatial smoothness of the imaging data. Posterior computation proceeds via an efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm.

Ru binding to RNA following treatment with the antimetastatic prodrug NAMI-A in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and in vitro.

[ImH][trans-Ru(III)Cl(4)(DMSO)(Im)] (where DMSO is dimethyl sulfoxide and Im is imidazole) (NAMI-A) is an antimetastatic prodrug currently in phase II clinical trials. The mechanisms of action of this and related Ru-based anticancer agents are not well understood, but several cellular targets have been suggested. Although Ru has been observed to bind to DNA following in vitro NAMI-A exposure, little is known about Ru-DNA interactions in vivo and even less is known about how this or related metallodrugs might influence cellular RNA.

Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L. Leguminosae): an evidence-based systematic review by the natural standard research collaboration.

An evidence-based systematic review including written and statistical analysis of scientific literature, expert opinion, folkloric precedent, history, pharmacology, kinetics/dynamics, interactions, adverse effects, toxicology and dosing.