663 research outputs found
Cadaver dogs: Unscientific myth or reliable biological devices?
No full textDogs are commonly used to detect explosives, narcotics, and other illegal materials. In the forensic setting, cadaver dogs are trained to detect and locate concealed human remains or fluids due to the high sensitivity and selectivity of the canine olfactory system and the relative ease with which dogs can be trained and handled. The need for international and scientifically validated standards has long been outlined by the literature. It is important, therefore, to establish the reliability of the handler/dog team. Our study aimed to detect the real effectiveness of dogs trained to locate human cadaveric blood in very low concentrations, through an optimized and rigorously controlled design which would rule out any possible sources of bias. The study was designed to determine the dogs' olfactory sensitivity to human cadaveric blood and how this capacity might change as the dilution of blood increases from pure blood to very low concentrations. The further step was to examine the dogs' ability to discriminate among target (human cadaveric blood) and non-target (confounding substances) odors (discriminative capability). Our results revealed that well trained dogs were able to detect human cadaveric blood samples even when very low concentrations of blood were stored in the tubes, showing high levels of olfactory sensitivity and to discriminate the target odor even when the non-target odor was orders of magnitude higher in concentrations. Although our results are based only on two dogs, the procedure we used may provide a comprehensive answer to the need for a scientifically unassailable tool for quantifying and objectifying the performance of well-trained specific search dogs in detecting human cadaveric blood traces
THE RELEVANCE OF A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION: A CASE REPORT OF A HOMICIDE VICTIM WHO WAS HIDDEN
No full textWATER SEARCHES AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS): A METHOD TO AID IN DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF SUBMERGED HUMAN BODIES
No full textLa Vestale 'incesta'
No full textMarcello Salvadore: La Vestale incesta.
Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Pliny the Younger and Plutarch are the sources
of a detailed account of Vestalis incesta’s punishment: they say that she was
sentenced to death. Dionysius adds that there was no after death ritual.
Modern scholars generally accept what the three authors assert. In this article
the author surmises that the Vestalis incesta, together with the parricida, was
not condemned to death: both of them were sentenced to a particular kind
of banishment from the Society
De Lope a Celano: la adaptación italiana de "Los tres diamantes"
No full textAbstract
This paper explores an Italian adaptation of Lope de Vega’s play Los tres diamantes, written in the
second part of the seventeenth century. Its author, Carlo Celano, was a famous writer of opere regie,
i.e., adaptations of Spanish comedies of situation. The analysis focuses on the way in which the
adaptation of the Aristotelian units of space and time leads to a reduction of the characters and a
simplification of the situation, although this is compensated by enriching its ludic component. This
last trait can be also observed in a previous re-elaboration of Lope’s comedy, the scenario of the
Commedia dell’arte titled Il cavaliere dai tre gigli d’oro
Due note critiche
No full textMarcello Garzaniti
Answers to Criticism
The author answers to the critics of M. Capaldo and A.Giambelluca Kossova with the aim to bring the different proposed questions back into the sphere of scientifi c dialogue
DOG BITE-RELATED ACCIDENTS: A NEW FORENSIC APPROACH
No full textThe alarming statistics reported around the world have shown that dog attacks today represent a health hazard where prevention strategies have not always been successful 1,2. Most of the dogs involved in these events are known to the victim or belong to him. From our study we found 19 dog bite-related fatalities in Italy from 2009 to 2016 (2,37 cases for year) 3; these data are sharply increased in relationship with previous study that describes 32 dog bite-related fatalities between 1984 to 20094 with a frequency of 1,28 cases for year.
A scientific inclusion/exclusion of the involved dog is possible and also recommended because of the possible consequences for the animal’s owner that could have civil consequences or criminal consequences in the most serious cases. Since dog bite mark analysis should involve different forensic professionals such as pathologists, odontologists, veterinarians, biologists, and also police investigators, a review focused on this type of evidence from a multidisciplinary point of view is presented.
To the best of our knowledge, there are different approaches for identification of offending dog when a human attack occurs. Forensic investigations in dog attacks usually involve the examination of bite marks and toothprints, the dog’s stomach and pathological methods. For the identification of the offending dog the best approach is to evaluate the canine STR typing into saliva traces on dog bite marks. Generally, it is possible to obtain a canine-specific STR profile from the dog’s saliva left on the wound area, even when high background of human DNA was present (blood).
This approach is often a problem because the surface of the wounds may have been treated, for example by first aid workers, removing the canine cells. This approach causes less success in obtaining useful STR results, before that the medico-legal techniques are applied. Furthermore, the dogs appear more frequently in human social life, so it is no rare that the canine DNA is present on hands, arms, legs or foot of the people.
A new forensic approach was described for offending dog identification starting from dog's buccal swabs: the target is the identification of human profile starting from this sample. The further goal of this paper was to determine the latency time of this biological trace in the dog's mouth.
In this work, 10 different races of dogs were used that bite a beef meat sample, previously typed (internal control profile). At different times (30’, 45’, 60’, 90’, 120’, 150’, 180’, 240’), 2 dog buccal swabs were done (a swab for each dental arch). 160 samples were collected. Subsequently DNA was extract and bovine genotyping kit was used. We found in all samples a complete profile of our internal control until 45 minutes and a partial profile until 150 minutes.
These data are very important to confirm the possibility of approaching with buccal swabs to reach the identification of offending dog. The human STRs typing kits are much more specific and sensitive compared with cattle kit, so we can supposed that a complete human STR profile could be obtained from the dog buccal swab, after aggression, at least to 150 minutes. This time is usually enough for the medico-legal team arrive.
This study may offer a model that could be always applied for identification of offending dogs; furthermore, dog-bite related accidents can provide concrete cases even fatal, making it possible to develop, refine or validate medico-legal techniques
The Pragmatics of Literature
No full textThis translation of the work of one of the founding fathers of literary structuralism and semiotics in Italy is a timely introduction to the theoretical study of literary communication. Marcello Pagnini is a leading figure in the post-structuralist endeavor to return the text to something resembling its social matrix. He explores not only the dynamics of the author/reader rapport but also the connections between the literary text and its sociocultural and historical contexts
Sulla presenza di Cipriano nel “De aleatoribus”
No full textIn ps.cyprianic De aleatoribus the whole way of composing shows
a deep assimilation of Cyprian’s model by the anonymous author.
The similarities attract attention for their evidence: the main subjects in common, the reference to single words and expressions, the similar structure of several sentences, the same expressions for introducing biblical quotations, the quotation of the same biblical texts too. Everything induces to admit that the anonymous author depends directly on Cyprian
The nephrotic syndrome is an immunoinflammatory disorder
No full textAuthor shows that nephrotic syndrome is a complex immunoinflammatory disorde
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