Latest news with #DVI
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Hertz car rentals could get a lot more expensive
Just like everything else from groceries to apartments these days, car rentals are much more expensive then they used to be. In the last decade, the price of a car rental has gone up by 29.2%, per data from Nerdwallet. Although they're not as high as they were in 2021, the year after the pandemic, you can still expect to fork out a chunk of cash if you're in need of a rental. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Where you rent the car also matters when it comes to how much you'll have to spend. Miami was the best deal as of 2024 ($377.07 for a week-long rental) among cities with large, heavily traveled airports, while New York, Chicago, and Seattle had the highest rates ($590-$624). Consumers who are used to renting cars on work trips or who travel frequently for leisure will be all too familiar with the process of having the vehicle photographed before and after to document its condition in case it's damaged during the rental duration. Related: Hertz absorbed a massive loss after electric vehicle fire sale Now, Hertz (HTZ) is introducing a new documentation process that will be less time-consuming, which seems like a boon for the consumer and the rental company alike. But according to some customers, it can also come with an unexpected new fee that could add hundreds to your bill. Earlier this year, Hertz partnered with an Israeli tech company called UVeye to introduce a new way to check the condition of car rentals when they depart and return to the rental lot. The system is called Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) and uses AI technology to capture the data. Hertz says it enhances the rental experience by providing clear, detailed documentation of the vehicle condition. The customer is then able to view before and after photos taken via an app. That all sounds like it would be a time-saver - but some Hertz customers report being charged additional fees for small defects that they deem unfair. According to a customer who rented a car from Hertz at the Atlanta airport and spoke with The Drive, the DVI detected a one-inch scuff on the driver's side rear wheel when he returned the vehicle. Within minutes, the customer was slapped with a charge: $250 for the repair, $125 for processing, and another $65 administrative fee, totaling $440. Related: Dave Ramsey has blunt words for Americans buying a car The customer was also notified that he could get a $52 discount on the fee if he agreed to the terms and paid within two days, or a $32.50 discount if he paid within a week. When he tried to speak to a customer service agent, he was redirected to a chatbot. While Hertz gave a statement to The Drive saying that "the vast majority of rentals are incident-free," the company did not answer when asked whether damage-related fees are higher when renting vehicles from Hertz stores that use UVeye scanners versus ones that don't. Hertz is aiming to implement the scanners at 100 of its roughly 1,600 U.S. airport locations by the end of 2025. Hertz also owns several other rental car companies, including Thrifty, Dollar, and Firefly. TheStreet has reached out to Hertz to find out if the DVI will be used at these as well. UVeye revealed the partnership with Hertz in April 2025, saying, "Hertz is setting a new standard for vehicle maintenance and fleet management in the rental industry, and we're thrilled to partner with them," said UVeye CEO Amir Hever. Hertz has also drawn past customer criticism for its practices. In 2022, the rental car company faced claims that it falsely accused 364 people of stealing its vehicles. Some of the accused were arrested, charged with felony, and in some cases served time in prison. In December 2022, Hertz announced it would pay $168 million to settle the claims. Hertz has also faced other struggles. In the last four years, the car rental company has been through five different CEOs. It also filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2020, but re-emerged in June 2021 after a restructuring process. Related: Amazon aims to crush Elon Musk's Robotaxi The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Time of India
30-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
What's in a tooth!
Of the 260 victims of the devastating Ahmedabad aviation tragedy that shook the nation on June 12, 253 were identified through DNA matching. While DNA profiling and matching is rightfully regarded as the gold standard in victim identification, forensic dentistry serves as valuable supplementary identification tool especially in circumstances where DNA samples are extremely compromised — in identifying cases of mutilated, decomposed and burnt bodies where extraction of DNA from most of the body parts becomes impossible. (Interpol's DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) guide identifies dental comparison as one of three primary methods of identification (alongside fingerprints and DNA) and affirms that a positive dental match may suffice as a standalone identifier under proper conditions.) You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru While India is prone to disasters and uses forensic odontology in identification, there is no unified national policy mandating systematic dental record keeping or a centralised dental database. 'It's time we built one,' says Dr Deepak V, programme coordinator, department of forensic dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Davangere. Two ways a tooth helps DNA extraction DNA can be extracted from teeth using highly specialised forensic procedures. Teeth are particularly valuable in forensic identification because they're the hardest tissue in the body and can often protect DNA for years—even decades—especially in fire, trauma, or decomposition scenarios. Tracing dental records If a forensic dentist finds a root canal treated upper right first molar with a metal crown and a porcelain crown on lower left first molar, and a missing lower left canine tooth during postmortem dental charting, just imagine, the probability of having this same combination of findings among the victims of a closed disaster scenario. These metal restoration can withstand much higher temperatures, says Dr Jayasankar Pillai, forensic odontologist and secretary of Indian Association of Forensic Odontology. 'This is where dental records are useful, provided the antemortem dental records are provided by the family members or the dentists of the deceased person. This can narrow down the identification process and thus can be confirmed by DNA,' he adds. "Teeth are incredibly durable and often survive trauma, decomposition and fire. Interpol lists dental records among the three primary identifiers—alongside fingerprints and DNA Dr Deepak V, programme coordinator, department of forensic dentistry, College of Dental Sciences, Davangere How forensic dentists work Forensic dentists find the missing links that could lead to the missing person. They help in segregation of the charred bodies based on age category, by assessing the age of the charred victim by observing the eruption and mineralisation status of the teeth. Based on the colour changes in the teeth on fire, the forensic dentists can even help the fire investigators to elucidate the temperature at which the body was burning. A widely accepted tool Dental identification is used extensively not only in the West, but also in Asian countries like Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, notes Dr Ashith B Acharya, professor and head of forensic odontology at SDM College of Dental Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad. Dental records are particularly useful for identifying twins who are likely to have the same DNA. How it helped in the past 9/11 (World Trade Center, 2001) Hundreds of victims were successfully identified via dental records Asian Tsunami (2004) 46 % of victims were identified primarily using dental comparisons. Thai nationals had low usable dental-record availability, slowing identification for local victims Other large disasters such as the Scandinavian Star ferry fire of 1990 and various airline crashes have relied heavily on forensic odontology for identification Two Ways A Tooth Helps DNA Extraction DNA can be extracted from teeth using highly specialised forensic procedures. Teeth are particularly valuable in forensic identification because they are the hardest tissue in the body and can often protect DNA for years-even decades- especially in scenarios like fire, trauma or decomposition Tracing dental records If a forensic dentist finds a root canal treated upper right first molar with a metal crown and a porcelain crown on lower left first molar, and a missing lower left canine tooth during postmortem dental charting, just imagine, the probability of having this same combination of findings among the victims of a closed disaster scenario. These metal restorations can withdstand much higher temperatures, says Dr Jayasankar Pillai, forensic odontologist and secretary of India Association of Forensic Odontology. "This is where dental records are useful, provided teh antemortem dental records are provided by the family members or the dentists of the deceased person. This can narrow down the identification proess and can further be confirmed by DNA," he adds
Indian Express
23-06-2025
- Indian Express
Ahmedabad plane crash: 259 bodies, including 19 ground casualties, identified; remains of 256 handed over to families
After over 11 days of the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, 259 bodies have been identified by Monday. Sources told The Indian Express that only one Indian male passenger's remains were yet to be confirmed by DNA profiling. Of these 259 identified bodies, 256 have been handed over to families so far, said Dr Rakesh Joshi, the Medical Superintendent of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. Dr Joshi said of the 259 bodies, 253 were identified through DNA analysis and six by facial recognition. He declined to offer an official death toll, stating that the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) process was underway. Dr Joshi said that of the 259 bodies that had been identified by June 23 evening, 253 — including 240 from the aircraft and 13 on ground — had been identified through DNA profiling. Bodies of six people – all ground casualties – had been identified by their faces. Sources told The Indian Express that only one body, that of an Indian male passenger who was aboard the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed on June 12, was yet to be identified, even as the forensic experts had exhausted all the 318 samples from the remains found at the crash site in Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad. This is also likely the final death toll because of the process of elimination, the sources added. If 240 bodies of passengers and crew had been identified from the aircraft, this would mean that only one body remained to be identified. The plane crash had only one survivor – Viswash Kumar Ramesh – while the rest 241 passengers died in the tragedy. Jaypalsingh Rathore, the Additional Commissioner of Police for Sector-2, had earlier confirmed to The Indian Express that only four people had been reported missing on the ground after the crash. The bodies of all four had been identified through DNA profiling and handed over to the families, thus leaving no person in the ground unaccounted for, he said. This took the total death toll on the ground to 19 persons, a fact further corroborated by Dr Joshi who said that no new bodies had been recovered from the crash site over the last several days. Given that most of the aircraft debris has been moved out of the crash site, and there is little chance of discovery of any new body now, the final death toll of the crash of AI 171 would be restricted to 260 people, the sources said. Sources also told The Indian Express that there had been certain problems in matching the DNA of the remaining deceased passenger to the relatives, who had submitted their blood samples. This could be due to extensive damage to the body of this victim, who has been identified by the flight manifest but not yet confirmed by DNA, they added. The name of this victim has been kept under wraps for now. Meanwhile, Dr Joshi said that of the 259 identified bodies, 256 had been handed over to families. These include 180 Indians, seven Portuguese, one Canadian and 49 British passengers, besides 19 non-passengers. The three remaining bodies were also of British nationals, two of which are likely to be collected on the intervening night of June 23-24. The third will be received by the kin on June 25. Of the 256 bodies handed over to kin, 28 have been flown over by air while 228 have been transported by road.
Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Indian Express
Interpol guidelines to DNA matching: The painstaking work to find Ahmedabad plane crash victims' families some closure
A crowd near the entrance of the 1,200-bed Ahmedabad Civil Hospital on June 15 piqued Rohit Patel's curiosity. Moments later, Rohit, a grizzled man in a cerulean shirt who had been perched outside the mortuary complex since June 12, followed the crowd, squeezing into a gap behind a table. At this table, three Gujarat officials were giving updates on the identification status of the June 12 air crash victims. Minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhai Patel International Airport, a London-bound Air India flight with 242 people went down, its tail striking the first-floor mess at B J Medical College and Hospital, located a kilometre away, killing 241 onboard and at least 19 people on the ground. Interrupting the officials, Rohit, who had travelled to Ahmedabad from Kheda district, around 50 km away, said, 'My nephew and his wife were on the plane. I have been at the hospital since the crash. We submitted a DNA sample on June 12. We were told their bodies would be given to us today (June 15) but now officials are saying they need more time to identify the remains.' Turning around, Dr Rajnish Patel, Additional Medical Superintendent, Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, replied, 'We (doctors and the Forensic Science Laboratory) are working as fast as possible but checking each sample carefully takes three-four days. Please come here only after you get a call from us. We will handhold you through the entire process.' With most victims charred beyond recognition, including 12 people at the crash site, confirming their identities correctly has been a formidable task. As of 11.50 am on June 20, 223 victims had been identified and 204 remains handed over to families. Officials say the final toll will be declared after the DNA profiling of all victims is complete. Even as families described the wait for the bodies as 'painful', an official at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital says, 'We are following the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) guidelines prescribed by Interpol (largest international police organisation with 196 member nations). Bodies are also being embalmed and put in sealed coffins before being handed over to kin.' The three primary identifiers, according to the 2023 DVI guidelines, are 'fingerprints, odontology (dental examination) and DNA profiling'. Secondary identifiers include 'tattoos, scars and ornaments', but are considered 'inaccurate'. Dr Jayasankar P Pillai, a forensic odontologist at Ahmedabad's Government Dental College, stepped in to help extract dental DNA and compile a dental charting of the victims. A different team profiled DNA samples later. Given the magnitude of the tragedy, Dr Pillai says he knew he needed help with the work. 'I sent a message seeking help from my current and former students. Fifty of them turned up at the hospital within hours. We began autopsies, dental examinations and DNA sample collections around 6 pm on June 12. By 4.30 am on June 13, the process was completed for most victims.' The autopsy required doctors from the Departments of Forensic Odontology and Forensic Medicine to collect samples of each victim's teeth and bones, which were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). At FSL, these samples were matched against those obtained from their relatives — the second step of identity confirmation and the gold standard. The third step — fingerprint analysis — could not be conducted since most bodies were charred in the fire that broke out after the crash. Explaining why molars were 'the best bet' to find a DNA sample in this case, Dr Pillai says, 'Teeth can usually withstand higher temperatures than our bodies. The rotation and gaps between teeth are unique to each person, like fingerprints. The melting point of a metal or ceramic crown (from a root canal treatment) is higher. Even if a tooth is destroyed, it is unlikely that the crown would be destroyed too.' In case his team found a dental crown, he says they asked the kin for the victim's dental records. 'This ante- and post-mortem comparison of dental characteristics, coupled with DNA profiling, leaves nothing to chance.' Dr Tamanna Parmar, a periodontologist, was at her clinic, nearly 15 km from the Civil Hospital, when she heard about the crash. Having completed her post-graduation from the Government Dental College in 2024, she called up her juniors in college immediately. 'They told me they had left the mess just 15 minutes before the crash.' Then, she says, she received Dr Pillai's message seeking help. Two hours later, she and two of her batch-mates were at the hospital. 'Due to barricading near the hospital, we had to park our vehicles 1 km away and walk,' she says. The mortuary complex, she says, is a sight that she will 'never forget' — the fire and rigor mortis (stiffening of the body after death) had caused many bodies to twist badly. 'It took two people to just straighten them before we could start the dental exam. I looked for dental characteristics specific to victims and made observations on dental treatments or prosthetics in their mouths,' Dr Parmar says. The DNA samples — teeth and bones — were put inside labelled containers and transferred to the FSL. DNA profiling and matching took place at two laboratories — the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) and the Centre of Excellence in DNA Analysis at the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) — both located on the same road in Gandhinagar, around 20 km from the Civil Hospital. At NFSU, the opening of all samples was videographed for evidence, Professor (Dr) S O Junare, director, Gujarat campus, NFSU, tells The Indian Express. 'The samples were cleaned thoroughly with distilled water and chemicals to remove all traces of someone else's DNA,' he says, adding that this step was necessary because multiple persons had come in contact with the bodies — from rescue to medical personnel. Stating that extracting DNA from blood is easier, an NFSU forensic expert says, 'We powder the teeth or bones and then use the magnetic bead-based extraction method to get the DNA. This can take nearly 10 hours. To check if that sample is viable, it is run through another test (q-PCR) before profiling starts.' At this point, Dr Junare says, the team is able to ascertain the victim's gender. Diluted and using a 24-marker kit (24 genetic markers), the DNA is run through a genetic analyser to create a genetic profile. 'The entire process takes 72-96 hours,' a scientist says. Reference blood samples from living relatives — collected at B J Medical College's Kasauti Bhavan at the time of autopsies — went through the same process before the comparative analysis. 'Reference samples are matched against all deceased samples till we get a hit,' says Dr Junare. A major challenge in such tragedies, he says, is the death of an entire family. 'In these cases, we take reference blood samples from grandparents or uncles or nieces,' he says. Since DNA is measured in centimorgans (cM) to determine the closeness of the relation, the higher the cM value, the closer the degree of relation. For instance, we share around 25% of our DNA with each grandparent, say experts. In these cases, the Y chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) markers and X-STR markers are used to determine paternal and maternal lineage respectively, he says. Another obstacle is determining the correct identity of siblings or identical twins belonging to the same gender. While siblings share almost 50% of their DNA, most identical twins have almost completely identical DNA. While their DNA profiling was on, the bodies of most victims were embalmed. Dr Dharmesh Patel, Head, Department of Forensic Medicine, Civil Hospital, said in a statement, 'The bodies were embalmed so that they could sustain long-distance travel.' Though most final rites took place across Gujarat, in some cases, the bodies were sent to Nagaland and even the United Kingdom. Explaining the process, Dr Patel says, 'A chemical solution (like formaldehyde) is introduced into the body to preserve it. As per legal requirements, embalming and coffin sealing certificates were issued. Each victim's belongings were also duly certified.' Dr Rakesh Joshi, Medical Superintendent, Civil Hospital, says the handing over of bodies to the families was the 'most critical part' of this process. 'Unfortunately, the body identification process is painstakingly slow, not only due to the implications it has for the family, but also the law.' Gujarat Relief Commissioner Alok Pandey had recently said that the Treasury Department was working on getting inquest reports and insurance claims ready for families 'as soon as possible'. A 24/7 help desk has also been set up by the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority (GSLSA) to help families. The most difficult identification so far has been that of minors. As per the airline manifest, 13 children aged 12 years and below were on the plane. While three had not yet turned 2 years old, the others were mostly aged between 11 and 18 years. Officials say they were able to obtain just 'partial' DNA profiles for some 'whom we suspect are minors', making an 'accurate' match difficult. Though DNA can be taken from any tooth in the case of children, accidents involving a fire complicate matters, says Dr Pillai. He explains, 'Heat degrades their front teeth. Also, children aged six years and below only have milk teeth. In such cases, we try to extract the permanent molars developing inside their jaws.' The age of minors on the manifest also helped. 'Some of these minors had developed their second molars. So we knew they were between three to six years old. That helped narrow down their identification,' he adds. (With inputs from Aditi Raja)
New Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Air India crash: DNA profiling of victims is the most daunting task, says expert
BENGALURU: A tragedy of the scale of Air India's Boeing 787-8 crash in Ahmedabad on Thursday is unfathomable and massive. Handling the aftermath of such accidents is an extremely tough job that requires trained, responsible and sensitive expertise. Fortunately, we do have the expertise in India. On the one hand is the shock and scale of the tragedy, on the other is the need to have immediate boots and hands on the ground. It begins with cordoning off the areas by the police, dousing the fire by expert fire personnel, searching for survivors and rushing them to the nearest hospital, pulling out the dead bodies from inside the debris and sending them to the nearby mortuaries. This is a humongous exercise which calls for immediate and seamless coordination of multiple agencies; from the airport authorities (in an incident like the AI171) to the local police, civic authorities, medics and paramedics, ambulance services, disaster response task force and young volunteers among others who serve as the first responders. The most daunting task is the identification of bodies, which may have got charred or disfigured beyond recognition because of the impact of the crash and the ensuing explosion. The pressure is on forensic doctors to identify and hand over the bodies to the relatives on an urgent basis, but this kind of pressure may be counterproductive. Also, the handing of the victims over to the next of kin requires sensitivity. Sometimes, only a part of the body is available and not the whole body. There are strict guidelines for disaster management and relief, which have to be adhered to. "DNA profiling for disaster victim identification (DVI) is considered to be one of the most reliable and efficient means to identify bodies charred with dismembered body parts," said Dr Vina Vaswani, professor, Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, and Director of the Centre for Ethics at Yenepoya (deemed to be University), Mangaluru. According to the DVI Interpol guidelines, "In disasters, identification is established by taking a post mortem DNA sample, which is matched with their first-degree biological relative. From the relative, antemortem (information before death) information about the victim regarding dental treatment or past history of fracture surgery (including prosthetic implants) is also elicited. For instance, parents may inform them that their son or daughter had dentures or a front tooth missing," she said.
