FORENSIC BIOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOILS - FINAL REPORT

• NCJ Number: 29804
• Author(s): J I Thornton
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 230 pages
• Grant Number(s): 73-NI-99-1000
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Thesis/Dissertation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY - DISSERTATION

Annotation

THIS STUDY FOUND THAT SOILS WHICH ARE COLLECTED WITHIN CLOSE PROXIMITY MAY BE DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR ENZYME PATTERNS FOR FORENSIC PURPOSES.

Abstract

THE ENZYMES CONSIDERED ARE PHOSPHATASE, ARYLSULFATASE, UREASE, INVERTASE, AND TRYPSIN (MORE PROPERLY, TRYPTIC ACTIVITY). SIMILARITIES IN SAMPLING SITES ARE ASSESSED BY MEANS OF THE CANBERRA METRIC SIMILARITY COEFFICIENT, AND THE EXTENT OF SIMILARITY IS CONVEYED BY EITHER A TABLE OF COEFFICIENTS OR BY A DENDROGRAM. ENZYME LEVELS, MICHAELIS CONSTANTS, THE MAXIMAL VELOCITY, DILUTION PLATE COUNTS, THE MUNSELL VALUE AND CHROMA, AND OTHER CHARACTERS MAY BE ADDED TO THE ARRAY, RESULTING IN HIGH POWERS OF DISCRIMINATION. THE DIVERSITY OF THE SOIL ENVIRONMENT IS DISCUSSED AS A COMPLEMENTARY CONCEPT TO THE UNIQUENESS OF THE SOIL ENVIRONMENT, WITH THE FORENSIC EMPHASIS BEING FORMULATED IN TERMS OF THE LATTER. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)