There is a dire need of identification of analytical techniques suitable for the detection of trace evidence especially in sexual assault cases. We report an alleged case of sexual assault of a four year old girl child in which a jelly/ cream could have been used as a lubricant and applied on her genital area. The samples taken from the child were deposited in an attempt to document the presence of traces of the jelly/cream involved. Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis allowed the identification of Petrolatum. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS) confirmed the presence of Methyl Stearate. Results of this investigation are relevant in the context and strongly suggest that a jelly composition containing petrolatum and methyl stearate as ingredients was in fact applied to the genital area of the child and the presence of same was also confirmed on the undergarment of the child.

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Age plays an important role in various fields such as forensic science, various social and legal settings and treatment planning in clinical dentistry. Children with undocumented birth date are vulnerable to violation of various child rights. This pilot study aimed to test the applicability of Willem’s method of dental age assessment at the threshold of 14 years considering prohibition of employment of children. The sample consisted of 30 males and 30 females. The dental age estimation was performed by two blinded examiners using Willem’s method. The accuracy of Willem’s method of age assessment was measured by the difference between the chronological age and estimated dental age. It was seen that there was underestimation of age in both males and females. The difference in females and males were -0.29 years and -0.23 years respectively. The scores of dental maturation described by Willems may be suitable for South Indian children.

Background: Food colors are used to give an attractive appearance to food articles. Food colors are categorized as permitted and non-permitted colors. Use of non-permitted food colors has led to loss of real quality of food. Adulteration of food products is a cause of concern these days.

Objective: The objective was to detect the presence of non-permitted food colors in edibles using preliminary color test and thin layer chromatography. Materials and methods: Four types of samples i.e. turmeric, jelly, green peas and namkeen were collected from different locations for analysis. 20 samples of each were collected from different locations to be analysed for adulteration with most commonly used food colors i.e metanil yellow and malachite green. Non permitted food colors in collected edibles were detected using preliminary color test and thin layer chromatography.

Results: The colour change and Rf values of the test samples were analysed and it was observed that 46% of food products tested were adulterated with metanil yellow whereas adulteration with malachite green was about 44% of the tested samples.

Conclusion: The used methods of detection can be used in the area of food quality control to detect such harmful and banned colors in edibles without massive instrumentation.

Compared to the amount of research on Gujarati consonants, few studies indeed have been done to analyse Gujarati vowels. In addition, the results of recent studies are mixed. This study was conducted for reviewing the Gujarati vowel system. In this study, we measured the formant frequencies of eight Gujarati vowels by three dialect female speakers of native Gujarati’s in their early 30s, and compared the results with those of two Gujarati males in their early 30s. We confirmed overlapped /i, î/, /u, u/ and /a, a/ formant frequencies uttered by female speakers, this was also the result of male speakers. These findings were similar to the results in the previous studies. Additionally vowel spaces of males have corresponded to the results indicated in previous studies. However the vowel spaces of females were different from the results of previous studies.

Forensic dentistry is an essential part of Forensic science, mainly involves the identification of an assailant by comparing a record of their dentition (set of teeth) with a record of a bite mark left on a victim. Human bite-mark traditionally provides the forensic dentist with both physical and biological evidence. Bites have been found in cases of homicide, attempted suicide, sexual assault, and child abuse. Bite marks with high evidentiary value that can be used in comparisons with the suspects’ teeth will include marks from specific teeth that accurately record distinct traits. The teeth may also be used as weapon and, under certain circumstances may leave information as to the identity of the biter. Analysis of bite marks is the second major responsibility of the forensic dentist. However, the advent of DNA and its recovery from bite-marks has offered an objective method of bite-mark analysis. Despite the strengths of DNA, the physical comparison of a suspect’s dentition to bite-mark injuries is still commonplace. The article provides an update on the current context and status of bite-mark analysis.