多系统联合分析应用于复杂亲缘关系鉴定

目的探讨多种检测系统用于祖孙、同胞等复杂亲缘关系鉴定的效能。方法采用常染色体、性染色体STR检测系统以及常染色体STR基因座累计状态一致性评分方法筛选符合要求的参照样本,分析复杂亲缘关系鉴定中缺失被鉴定人的等位基因,对无法重建的＂空白＂等位基因,以最不利于＂认定亲缘关系＂的假设取概率值计算似然率。结果在一复杂亲缘关系鉴定案例中,从8个声称的全同胞中筛选出5个符合同父同母遗传条件的全同胞作为参照样本用于重建缺失被鉴定人等位基因,重建的父母相关基因型符合作为被检女孩亲生祖父母的遗传基因条件,祖孙亲缘关系似然率为1483659.96。结论在复杂亲缘关系鉴定中联合协同应用常染色体STR基因分型、性染色体STR基因分型、生物学全同胞关系累计状态一致性评分标准等多种分析系统有利于获得更接近真实的案件结论。     

Evaluation of sensitivity and specificity of sibship determination in the Caucasian population of the Russian Federation using the 23 STR loci VeriFiler panel

We performed a simulation study to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of sibship determination in the Caucasian population of the Russian Federation using 23 autosomal STR loci included in the VeriFiler Express (Applied Biosystems) kit. Population genetic data were obtained from 1609 unrelated Caucasian individuals from different regions of the Russian Federation. Several scenarios were analyzed: half siblings duo vs unrelated; half siblings vs unrelated (mother(s) will be genotyped); full siblings duo vs half siblings; full siblings vs half siblings (mother will be genotyped); full siblings duo vs unrelated.     

A test for carrion fly full siblings: a tool for detecting postmortem relocation of a corpse

We propose a genetic test for full sibship for a pair of carrion flies that could reveal the postmortem relocation of a corpse. A carrion fly larva is sometimes left behind when a corpse is moved. The discovery of full sibling larvae of approximately the same developmental stage at two locations would strongly suggest that a corpse was moved between those two sites. Distributions of pairwise comparisons of relatedness (R) coefficients were generated using amplified fragment length polymorphism profiles for nine samples of laboratory-generated full siblings as well as for a reference sample of nonfull sibling Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). The mean relative R coefficient, a pairwise measure of the proportion of shared alleles, was 0.479 (±0.289 SD) for full siblings, close to the theoretical expectation of 0.5. A likelihood ratio (LR) test was based on observed distributions of R. R >0.55 corresponded to an LR >1000 favoring full sibship for that pair of individuals.     

Use of sibling pairs to determine the familial searching efficiency of forensic databases

Pairs of individuals tested at the 13 CODIS core STR loci to determine sibship were used as a source of familial data that was seeded into a larger data set of 12,000 plus DNA profiles simulating a CODIS-like offender database. To determine whether known sibs could be found in the larger database two methods were used: degree of allele sharing and a kinship matching approach. The allele sharing method detected 62 of 109 of the known sib pairs (57%) while kinship matching detected 90 of the sib pairs (83%). Although kinship matching was the more efficient method of the two, the number of false positives generated prior to finding a true match was inversely related to the likelihood of sibship suggesting that many true siblings would not be easily found in a large forensic database via familial searching techniques.     

判别函数在同胞鉴定中的应用

目的探讨判别函数法在全同胞与半同胞鉴定中的应用价值。方法根据360对全同胞、90对半同胞及360对无关个体的15个STR基因座分型结果,计算全不同(X0)、半相同(X1)和完全相同(X2)的基因座数目,分别根据DFS1=3.898X0+3.973X1-19.481,DHS1=5.687X0+5.300X1-35.112及DR1=7.309X0+5.533X1-44.941的全同胞/半同胞/无关个体判别函数、DFS2=3.872X0+3.931X1-18.895及DR2=7.303X0+5.473X1-44.298全同胞/无关个体判别函数和DHS3=10.227X0+10.436X1-66.102及DR3=11.863X0+11.089X1-79.494半同胞/无关个体判别函数进行判别。结果判别准确率:①用全同胞/半同胞/无关个体判别函数,全同胞组为83.61%,半同胞组为81.11%,无关个体组为83.06%;②用全同胞/无关个体判别函数,全同胞组为96.39%,无关个体组为98.61%;③用半同胞/无关个体判别函数,半同胞组为88.89%,无关个体组为85.00%。结论本文3种判别函数可应用于同胞鉴定,尤其运用全同胞/无关个体判别函数判断同胞关系准确率高,有较高的应用价值。     

An analysis of data curated from 5 years of identifying human remains

An archive of 5 years of cases involving the identification of human remains was curated, collecting information on: The sample type submitted, the number of STR loci yielding interpretable results, the kinship challenge posed, and the outcome for the case. A total of 129 cases of remains ID were investigated using manual DNA extraction and recovery methods with amplification of STR markers using the Power Plex 21 multiplex STR kit from Promega Corp. In 52 cases, blood spots collected by the ME were provided as sample and in 100% of those cases, probabilities of relatedness to the reference samples was ≥99%. In 77 cases, tissue other than blood was provided as a source of DNA. These other samples were grouped categorically into long bones (femur and tibia; 40 cases), skull bones/teeth (11 cases), other bones (16 cases), and tissue (normally adherent to bone) (10 cases). Reference samples provided for cases included alleged parents or child(ren) of the victim (86 cases), alleged full siblings of the victim (38 cases), or alleged second-order relatives (five cases). The overall success rate in confirming the identity of the source of the remains in these cases was 89.2%. Our results demonstrate that a laboratory can be often successful identifying human remains using methods easily implemented in any DNA typing laboratory.     

Death Due to Coronary Artery Insufficiency Following Blunt Trauma to the Chest

There have been numerous reports of sudden cardiac death following blunt trauma to the chest, but there is lack of such references in forensic literature. It is the court of law which makes decision about trauma precipitating natural events. The forensic pathologist is scientifically trained in the medical field and would be in a better position to give clear picture about the victim's general status at the time of death, exact nature and severity of the illness he is suffering from if any. He can also assess the nature and severity of injuries sustained, and thus, his opinion as to the possible role played by the traumatic event in bringing about the death is valuable. This paper will discuss the mechanism of cardiac injury or possible cardiac injury and sudden death of an apparently healthy 36‐year‐old male following blunt chest trauma sustained during alleged assault by his neighbor.     

ITO法和判别函数法在同胞关系鉴定中的应用

目的探讨ITO法和判别函数法在全同胞、半同胞关系鉴定中的应用价值。方法根据500对全同胞、50对半同胞及500对无关个体的15个STR基因座（PowerPlex^TM 16体系）的分型结果,采用ITO法分别计算全同胞关系指数（FSI）、半同胞关系指数（HSI）及其比值（FSI：HSI）。比较三组配对个体的等位基因匹配情况,计算分型结果全不同的基因座数（x0）、半相同的基因座数（x1）和完全相同的基因座数（x2）,利用SPSS 13．0分析软件建立全同胞、半同胞和无关个体的判别函数。结果（1）以FSI≥19、FSI〈1作为全同胞与无关个体的判别标准,交互准确率为96.4％;以HSI≥19、HSI〈I作为半同胞与无关个体的判别标准,交互准确率为85.3％;以FSI：HSI≥1、FSI：HSI〈1作为全同胞与半同胞的判别标准,交互准确率为87．5％。（2）分别建立了全同胞-半同胞-无关个体、全同胞-无关个体、半同胞-无关个体、全同胞-半同胞4组判别函数．判别函数交互准确率为84．4％～97．7％,其中同胞-无关个体判别准确率最高。结论ITO法与判别函数法在全同胞、半同胞鉴定中均具有较高的应用价值。     

Forensic Facial Reconstruction: A Systematic Review of Nasal Prediction Techniques

Prediction facial features from the skull are recurring theme on the forensic literature. The nose has been investigated since it has a significant role in facial recognition and the literature shows that there is not an universal method for nasal prediction. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review to analyze what are the most consistent techniques of nasal reconstruction. Primary studies describing or validating nasal reconstruction techniques in adults and published in journals of Forensic Sciences were included in this review. Tedeschi‐Oliveira's method positioned nasal tip with acceptable accuracy as Gerasimov's method. The Krogman's and Iscan's technique underestimated nasal projection in North Americans. The Prokopec's and Ubelaker's method obtained accuracy in Caucasoid. George's method presented results similar to reference standard in Caucasoid. In a supplementary way, studies are needed to accurately estimate the nasal width.     

Hyperthermia,Thermal Injuries,and Death from a Forced Convection Heat Source: A Case Report and Experimental Model

Heat‐related deaths of children are most often encountered in the context of enclosed vehicles in summer months. Deviating from this, a 16‐month‐old boy was found unresponsive in a stroller that was placed adjacent to a space heater during mid‐winter. The cause of death was hyperthermia and thermal injuries. Manner of death determination was difficult due to alleged surrounding circumstances. To understand the time‐course of this child's injuries, a child death scene investigation was performed; the stroller and space heater were recovered. In a re‐enactment of the events, a slaughtered pig approximating the child's size was warmed using a water bath and placed in the stroller beside the space heater. Cutaneous temperature measurements showed rapid initial temperature rise with subsequent steady increases. Tanning of the skin was seen on periodic direct observations. Internal temperature monitoring illustrated steady increases. This experiment was essential in classifying the manner of death as homicide.     

Justice and Well‐Orderedness: Saving Rawls from Luck Egalitarianism

This paper develops a full account of Rawls's notion of a well‐ordered society and uses it to address two luck egalitarian objections to his principles of justice. The first is an internal criticism which claims that Rawls's account of justice is better captured by a responsibility‐sensitive egalitarian account. The second is an external objection according to which, regardless of the alleged inconsistency between Rawls's principles and his account of justice, we should reject those principles in favour of a responsibility‐sensitive criterion because it better captures our moral intuitions about distributive justice. The argument presented answers both objections by defending the value of well‐orderedness and showing the difficulties of responsibility‐sensitive egalitarian conceptions in realizing this ideal.     

Comparing Sexuality,Aggressiveness, and Antisocial Behavior of Alleged Juvenile Sexual and Violent Offenders,

Sexual delinquency in juveniles is insufficiently explored in regard to the specificity of offender characteristics. The aim is to investigate relevant areas for juvenile sexual offending in a precourt, pretreatment group. Thirty‐two alleged juvenile sexual offenders (ASO) referred to by police were compared with 32 juvenile nonsexual violent offenders (VNO) on standardized measures of aggressiveness and psychopathology, antisocial behavior, substance use problems, and sexuality. Less externalizing disorders and antisocial behavior were found among the ASOs than among the VNOs. The ASO group was sexually less experienced, had less trust in their relationship abilities, fewer victimization experiences, and reported more sexual deviance, while pornography use and obscene calls were reported less often. Few juvenile sexual offenders had severe problems in the investigated areas. Including groups of offenders before court, treatment or incarceration in research appears crucial to understand the full spectrum of sexual deviance in youth and avoid misguidance due to selection factors.     

The effect of linkage on the calculation of DNA match probabilities for siblings and half siblings

The loci in many forensic multiplexes are often selected to avoid linked loci. However as the multiplices used increase in the number of loci represented instances are occurring of loci that are loosely linked. As yet little attention has been paid to the likely consequence of this. We begin the process of developing formulae to give the match probability at two linked loci for full and half siblings. The methodology proceeds from the previously published joint IBD states for two linked loci [B.K. Suarez, J. Rice, T. Reich, The generalized sib pair IBD distribution: its use in the detection of linkage, Ann. Hum. Genet. Lond. 42 (1978) 87; J.K. Haseman, R.C. Elston, The investigation of linkage between a quantitative trait and a marker locus, Behav. Genet. 2 (1972) 3-19]. Our formulation has the drawback of assuming linkage equilibrium. This assumption may be tenable as a first order approximation. We hope to stimulate work on developing better treatments.     

The effect of linkage on the calculation of DNA match probabilities for siblings and half siblings

The loci in many forensic multiplexes are often selected to avoid linked loci. However as the multiplices used increase in the number of loci represented instances are occurring of loci that are loosely linked. As yet little attention has been paid to the likely consequence of this. We begin the process of developing formulae to give the match probability at two linked loci for full and half siblings. The methodology proceeds from the previously published joint IBD states for two linked loci [B.K. Suarez, J. Rice, T. Reich, The generalized sib pair IBD distribution: its use in the detection of linkage, Ann. Hum. Genet. Lond. 42 (1978) 87; J.K. Haseman, R.C. Elston, The investigation of linkage between a quantitative trait and a marker locus, Behav. Genet. 2 (1972) 3–19]. Our formulation has the drawback of assuming linkage equilibrium. This assumption may be tenable as a first order approximation. We hope to stimulate work on developing better treatments.     

An examination of the impact of community‐based rehabilitation on the offending behaviour of male domestic violence offenders and the characteristics associated with recidivism

Purpose. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of completing a community‐based rehabilitation programme on both the rate of domestic violence reoffending, and time to first post‐treatment offence within an 11‐month follow‐up period. In addition, the pre‐treatment psychological, demographic, and offending history characteristics of recidivists were examined. Methods. Prior to attending West Midlands Probation Area's Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programme (DVPP), 86 male offenders completed a battery of six psychometric tests. The tests were the Novaco Anger Scale, Inventory of Beliefs about Wife Beating, Abusive Behaviour Inventory, Interpersonal Dependency Inventory, Multidimensional Locus of Control Scale and Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding. Post‐treatment reoffending was identified from police contact data. Results. Of the 86 offenders who started the DVPP, 21% were alleged to have reoffended within an 11‐month post‐treatment period. Completing the programme was not significantly associated with either alleged reoffending, or time to first alleged incident. The identified treatment effect size was small (w=0.20). It was found that higher interpersonal dependency and more frequent contact with the police in the 24 months prior to attending the programme for theft and violent domestic violence predicted post‐treatment domestic violence offending. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the programme did not significantly reduce the rate of alleged reoffending among programme completers, or the time to first post‐treatment offence reported to the police. However, the results suggest that those offenders who were alleged to have reoffended may represent a distinct offender subgroup. These results are discussed with reference to client treatment matching and the move towards nationally accredited rehabilitation programmes in the UK.     

New York State TrueAllele® Casework Validation Study

DNA evidence can pose interpretation challenges, particularly with low‐level or mixed samples. It would be desirable to make full use of the quantitative data, consider every genotype possibility, and objectively produce accurate and reproducible DNA match results. Probabilistic genotype computing is designed to achieve these goals. This validation study assessed TrueAllele^® probabilistic computer interpretation on 368 evidence items in 41 test cases and compared the results with human review of the same data. Whenever there was a human result, the computer's genotype was concordant. Further, the computer produced a match statistic on 81 mixture items (for 87 inferred matching genotypes) in the test cases, while human review reported a statistic on 25 of these items (30.9%). Using match statistics to quantify information, probabilistic genotyping was shown to be sensitive, specific, and reproducible. These results demonstrate that objective probabilistic genotyping of biological evidence can reliably preserve DNA identification information.     

Divided We Quarrel: The Politics of Congressional Investigations, 1947–2004

Are congressional committee investigations into alleged executive‐branch wrongdoing more common during periods of divided government? We analyze original data tracking congressional committee investigations into alleged fraud, waste, and abuse by the executive branch between 1947 and 2004. Countering David Mayhew's (1991) empirical finding, we show that divided government generates more and more‐intensive congressional investigations, but this relationship is contingent on partisan and temporal factors. Our findings shed new light on the shifting dynamic between partisan institutional politics and congressional oversight.     

利用Identifiler分型系统推断同胞关系

目的探讨自主开发的同胞关系鉴定自动分析软件（ASI）对Identifiler分型系统进行同胞关系鉴定的可行性。方法应用本课题组所开发的软件ASI,对151对同胞及31 224对人工模拟无关个体进行Identifiler系统的15个常染色体STR基因座分型进行分析,计算亲权指数（PI）、同胞关系概率（WFS）和等位基因匹配情况,所获数据进行统计分析,自动计算排序。结果当WFS大于99.999%时,同胞个体占39.07%,无关个体占0%,两组具有显著差异,可以推断两个体同胞关系。当WFS介于1%~99.999%范围内,同胞个体和无关个体有部分重叠,同胞个体占60.93%,无关个体占21.3%,两者具有一定差异,可以通过增加检测STR基因座,再结合案情加作Y-STR、m tDNA检测,以推断两个体是否具有同胞关系。当WFS小于1%时,同胞个体占0%,无关个体占78.7%,可以推断两个体不具有同胞关系。个体间等位基因匹配结果表明：在检测Identifiler体系15个STR基因座时,当两个体常染色体STR基因座的全相同数目≥5时,或全不同数目≤1时,提示为同胞关系;当两个体全不同数目≥6时,或全相同数目≤1时,提示为无关个体,以此作为预测有无同胞关系的界值。结论Identifiler系统及同胞关系鉴定自动分析软件ASI可用于推断同胞关系。     

Effectiveness of Single‐Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Investigate Cattle Rustling

Short tandem repeats (STR)s have been the eligible markers for forensic animal genetics, despite single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s became acceptable. The technology, the type, and amount of markers could limit the investigation in degraded forensic samples. The performance of a 32‐SNP panel genotyped through OpenArrays^TM (real‐time PCR based) was evaluated to resolve cattle‐specific forensic cases. DNA from different biological sources was used, including samples from an alleged instance of cattle rustling. SNPs and STRs performance and repeatability were compared. SNP call rate was variable among sample type (average = 80.18%), while forensic samples showed the lowest value (70.94%). The repeatability obtained (98.7%) supports the used technology. SNPs had better call rates than STRs in 12 of 20 casework samples, while forensic index values were similar for both panels. In conclusion, the 32‐SNPs used are as informative as the standard bovine STR battery and hence are suitable to resolve cattle rustling investigations.     

An Aquatic Decomposition Scoring Method to Potentially Predict the Postmortem Submersion Interval of Bodies Recovered from the North Sea

This study aimed to develop an aquatic decomposition scoring (ADS) method and investigated the predictive value of this method in estimating the postmortem submersion interval (PMSI) of bodies recovered from the North Sea. This method, consisting of an ADS item list and a pictorial reference atlas, showed a high interobserver agreement (Krippendorff's alpha ≥ 0.93) and hence proved to be valid. This scoring method was applied to data, collected from closed cases—cases in which the postmortal submersion interval (PMSI) was known—concerning bodies recovered from the North Sea from 1990 to 2013. Thirty‐eight cases met the inclusion criteria and were scored by quantifying the observed total aquatic decomposition score (TADS). Statistical analysis demonstrated that TADS accurately predicts the PMSI (p < 0.001), confirming that the decomposition process in the North Sea is strongly correlated to time.