Fingerprint identification: advances since the 2009 National Research Council report

"This paper will discuss the major developments in the area of fingerprint" "identification that followed the publication of the National Research Council (NRC, of the US National Academies of Sciences) report in 2009 entitled: Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. The report portrayed an image of a field of expertise used for decades without the necessary scientific research-based underpinning. The advances since the report and the needs in selected areas of fingerprinting will be detailed. It includes the measurement of the accuracy, reliability, repeatability and reproducibility of the conclusions offered by fingerprint experts. The paper will also pay attention to the development of statistical models allow- ing assessment of fingerprint comparisons. As a corollary of these developments, the next challenge is to reconcile a traditional practice domi- nated by deterministic conclusions with the probabilistic logic of any statistical model. There is a call for greater candour and fingerprint experts will need to communicate differently on the strengths and limitations of their findings. Their testimony will have to go beyond the blunt assertion" "of the uniqueness of fingerprints or the opinion delivered ispe dixit."

Fingermarks and Other Impressions Left by the Human Body - A Review (August 2007-July 2010)

The purpose of this paper is to review the scientific literature from August 2007 to July 2010. The review is focused on more than 420 published papers. The review will not cover information coming from international meetings available only in abstract form. Fingermarks constitute an important chapter with coverage of the identification process as well as detection techniques on various surfaces. We note that the research has been very dense both at exploring and understanding current detection methods as well as bringing groundbreaking techniques to increase the number of marks detected from various objects. The recent report from the US National Research Council (NRC) is a milestone that has promoted a critical discussion on the state of forensic science and its associated research. We can expect a surge of interest in research in relation to cognitive aspect of mark and print comparison, establishment of relevant forensic error rates and statistical modelling of the selectivity of marks' attributes. Other biometric means of forensic identification such as footmarks or earmarks are also covered in the report. Compared to previous years, we noted a decrease in the number of submission in these areas. No doubt that the NRC report has set the seed for further investigation of these fields as well.

The Impact of the Electoral System on Political Campaigning : Are Candidates for the Council of States More Moderate than their Fellow Candidates for the National Council ?

It is commonly believed that majority voting enhances parties to cluster around the centre of the political space, whereas proportional systems (PR) foster great ideological divergence. The theoretical arguments for these expectations go back to the work of Downs (1957) and Duverger (1954). More recent studies, however, produced quite contradictory empirical findings. In this paper I will test whether similar arguments hold true for the positioning of candidates campaigning in different electoral systems. The elections for the two chambers of the Swiss Parliament and the data from the Swiss Electoral Studies (SELECTS) and the Swiss Voting Advice Application (VAA) smartvote offer an excellent - almost laboratory like - opportunity to do so empirically. The analyses show clearly, the theoretical claims that majority voting necessarily fosters more moderate positions find no support. The candidates for the Council of States, elected in a majority system, are not more moderate than their fellow party candidates for the National Council which are elected in a PR system.

Transition épidémiologique et évolution des facteurs de risque cardiovasculaire aux Seychelles

Les Seychelles connaissent une transition épidémiologique accélérée, parallèlement au développement socio-économique rapide au cours des trois dernières décennies. Les ressources des Seychelles, qui reposaient traditionnellement sur la production de copra, proviennent actuellement de la pêche industrielle, du tourisme et de services. Le produit national brut par habitant était inférieur à US$ 500 en 1970 et s'élève actuellement à US$ 14'000 actuellement, ce qui place les Seychelles parmi les pays à revenu intermédiaire supérieur. L'étude de la transition aux Seychelles est non seulement intéressante dans ce contexte de transformation socio-économique rapide, mais aussi parce que des données fiables permettent de documenter cette transition depuis trois décennies. Premièrement, la population est régulièrement énumérée et les données montrent un vieillissement rapide, avec un doublement de la population adulte en 25 ans, ce qui entraîne inévitablement une augmentation du nombre total de patients souffrant de maladies chroniques. Deuxièmement, 4 enquêtes de population ont été effectuées en 25 ans (1989, 1994, 2004 et 2013). Il ressort des prévalences élevées de plusieurs facteurs de risque des malades cardiovasculaires (MCV), mais les tendances sont, heureusement, à la baisse pour les facteurs de risque « traditionnels » (tabagisme, hypertension, dyslipidémie) mais, malheureusement, à la hausse pour les facteurs métaboliques « modernes » (obésité, diabète).

European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) accreditation of forensic pathology services in Europe.

Forensic experts play a major role in the legal process as they offer professional expert opinion and evidence within the criminal justice system adjudicating on the innocence or alleged guilt of an accused person. In this respect, medico-legal examination is an essential part of the investigation process, determining in a scientific way the cause(s) and manner of unexpected and/or unnatural death or bringing clinical evidence in case of physical, psychological, or sexual abuse in living people. From a legal perspective, these types of investigation must meet international standards, i.e., it should be independent, effective, and prompt. Ideally, the investigations should be conducted by board-certified experts in forensic medicine, endowed with a solid experience in this field, without any hierarchical relationship with the prosecuting authorities and having access to appropriate facilities in order to provide forensic reports of high quality. In this respect, there is a need for any private or public national or international authority including non-governmental organizations seeking experts qualified in forensic medicine to have at disposal a list of specialists working in accordance with high standards of professional performance within forensic pathology services that have been successfully submitted to an official accreditation/certification process using valid and acceptable criteria. To reach this goal, the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) has elaborated an accreditation/certification checklist which should be served as decision-making support to assist inspectors appointed to evaluate applicants. In the same spirit than NAME Accreditation Standards, European Council of Legal Medicine (ECLM) board decided to set up an ad hoc working group with the mission to elaborate an accreditation/certification procedure similar to the NAME's one but taking into account the realities of forensic medicine practices in Europe and restricted to post-mortem investigations. This accreditation process applies to services and not to individual practitioners by emphasizing policies and procedures rather than professional performance. In addition, the standards to be complied with should be considered as the minimum standards needed to get the recognition of performing and reliable forensic pathology service.

The epidemiologic transition to chronic diseases in developing countries: cardiovascular mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in Seychelles (Indian Ocean).

The occurrence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and related risk factors was evaluated in Seychelles, a middle level income country, as accumulating evidence supports increasing rates of CVD in developing countries. CVD mortality was obtained from vital statistics for two periods, 1984-5 and 1991-3. CVD morbidity was estimated by retrospective review of discharge diagnoses for all admissions to medical wards in 1990-1992. Levels of CVD risk factors in the population were assessed in 1989 through a population-based survey. In 1991-93, standardized mortality rates were in males and females respectively, 80.9 and 38.8 for cerebrovascular disease and 92.9 and 47.0 for ischemic heart disease. CVD accounted for 25.2% of all admissions to medical wards. Among the general population aged 35-64, 30% had high blood pressure, 52% of males smoked, and 28% of females were obese. These findings substantiate the current health transition to CVD in Seychelles. More generally, epidemiologic data on CVD mortality, morbidity, and related risk factors, as well as similar indicators for other chronic diseases, should more consistently appear in national and international reports of human development to help emphasize, in the health policy making scene, the current transition to chronic diseases in developing countries and the subsequent need for appropriate control and prevention programs.

Key elements for, and indicators of, a successful transition: an international Delphi study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to reach an international consensus to determine what key elements should be part of a transition program and what indicators could be used to assess its success. METHODS: For this purpose, a Delphi study including an international panel of 37 experts was carried out. The study consisted of three rounds, with response rates ranging from 86.5% to 95%. At each round, experts were asked to assess key elements (defined as the most important elements for the task) and indicators (defined as quantifiable characteristics). At each round, panelists were contacted via e-mail explaining them the tasks to be done and giving them the Web link where to complete the questionnaire. At Round 3, each key element and indicator was assessed as essential, very important, important, accessory, or unnecessary. A 70% agreement was used as cutoff. RESULTS: At Round 3, more than 70% of panelists agreed on six key elements being essential, with one of them (Assuring a good coordination between pediatric and adult professionals) reaching an almost complete consensus (97%). Additionally, 11 more obtained more than 70% agreement when combined with the Very important category. Among indicators, only one (Patient not lost to follow-up) was considered almost unanimously (91%) as essential by the panelists and seven others also reached consensus when the Very important category was included. CONCLUSIONS: Using these results as a framework to develop guidelines at local, national, and international levels would allow better assessing and comparing transition programs.

Association of car ownership and physical activity across the spectrum of human development : Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study (METS).

BACKGROUND: Variations in physical activity (PA) across nations may be driven by socioeconomic position. As national incomes increase, car ownership becomes within reach of more individuals. This report characterizes associations between car ownership and PA in African-origin populations across 5 sites at different levels of economic development and with different transportation infrastructures: US, Seychelles, Jamaica, South Africa, and Ghana. METHODS: Twenty-five hundred adults, ages 25-45, were enrolled in the study. A total of 2,101 subjects had valid accelerometer-based PA measures (reported as average daily duration of moderate to vigorous PA, MVPA) and complete socioeconomic information. Our primary exposure of interest was whether the household owned a car. We adjusted for socioeconomic position using household income and ownership of common goods. RESULTS: Overall, PA levels did not vary largely between sites, with highest levels in South Africa, lowest in the US. Across all sites, greater PA was consistently associated with male gender, fewer years of education, manual occupations, lower income, and owning fewer material goods. We found heterogeneity across sites in car ownership: after adjustment for confounders, car owners in the US had 24.3 fewer minutes of MVPA compared to non-car owners in the US (20.7 vs. 45.1 minutes/day of MVPA); in the non-US sites, car-owners had an average of 9.7 fewer minutes of MVPA than non-car owners (24.9 vs. 34.6 minutes/day of MVPA). CONCLUSIONS: PA levels are similar across all study sites except Jamaica, despite very different levels of socioeconomic development. Not owning a car in the US is associated with especially high levels of MVPA. As car ownership becomes prevalent in the developing world, strategies to promote alternative forms of active transit may become important.