Abstract-Following the Daubert ruling in 1993, forensic evidence based on fingerprints was first challenged in the 1999 case of the U.S. versus Byron C. Mitchell and, subsequently, in 20 other cases involving fingerprint evidence. The main concern with the admissibility of fingerprint evidence is the problem of individualization, namely, that the fundamental premise for asserting the uniqueness of fingerprints has not been objectively tested and matching error rates are unknown. In order to assess the error rates, we require quantifying the variability of fingerprint features, namely, minutiae in the target population. A family of finite mixture models has been developed in this paper to represent the distribution of minutiae in fingerprint images, including minutiae clustering tendencies and dependencies in different regions of the fingerprint image domain. A mathematical model that computes the probability of a random correspondence (PRC) is derived based on the mixture models. A PRC of 2.25 10 6 corresponding to 12 minutiae matches was computed for the NIST4 Special Database, when the numbers of query and template minutiae both equal 46. This is also the estimate of the PRC for a target population with a similar composition as that of NIST4.

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We report the magnetic proximity effect (MPE) and valley non-degeneracy in monolayer MoS and magnetic semiconductor EuS thin film heterojunctions studied by density functional theory (DFT) with the vdW-DF2 correlations. Magnetic moments are observed in MoS due to the MPE when forming chemical or van der Waals (vdW) adsorption states with EuS. Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) leads to observable valley non-degeneracy of MoS at the K (K') points in the Brillouin zone. The valley Zeeman splitting energy E can reach 5.1 meV and 37.3 meV for the vdW and chemical adsorption states, corresponding to a magnetic exchange field (MEF) of 22 T and 160 T respectively. By applying a gate voltage across the MoS/EuS interface, it is found that E can be tuned from 1.8 meV to 8.2 meV and from 24.5 meV to 53.8 meV for vdW and chemical adsorption states respectively. The strong MPE, large and tunable valley degeneracy in 2D material and ferromagnetic semiconductor/insulator vdW heterojunctions demonstrate their promising potential for novel optoelectronic and valleytronic device applications.

Lysimeter leachate collection efficiencies (LCEs), which are the measured leachate volume divided by estimated percolation water, are needed to convert measured leachate volumes to actual leachate fluxes. In this study, LCE of zero‐tension pan and passive capillary fiberglass wick lysimeters were evaluated and directly compared. A total of 18 pan and 18 wick lysimeters were installed 1.2 m below the soil surface in tilled and no‐till plots. From May 1995 to April 2000 the lysimeter LCEs were evaluated using a water‐balance method with evapotranspiration (ET) estimated by the Penman‐Monteith equation. On average, wick lysimeters collected 2.7 times more leachate than did pan lysimeters, and tillage had no effect on the 5‐yr total leachate volume at the 5% significance level. If the anomalous 1997 leaching year with an exceptionally warm and wet winter was excluded, wick and pan lysimeters collected about 50 and 20% of precipitation, respectively, from both tillage systems. The average 4‐yr LCE for wick lysimeters was 101% and that for the pan lysimeters was 40%. The much higher LCEs for both pan and wick lysimeters during the 1997 leaching year were thought to be the result of over‐sampling of leachate during the exceptionally wet and warm winter. Errors of ET estimates associated with estimating crop residue cover and water stress adjustment parameters were small. Errors in LCE estimates can be mathematically shown to be in the same range as those of ET estimates.

Authentication systems based on biometric features (e.g., fingerprint impressions, iris scans