Validation of Reduced Reagent Volumes in the Implementation of the Quantifiler® Trio Quantification Kit

The Quantifiler^® Trio Quantification Kit has been developed to quantify the total amount of amplifiable and human male DNA in samples and to estimate the extent of DNA degradation. To minimize the cost of DNA quantification, we evaluated kit performance using a reduced volume of reagents (1/10‐volume) using DNA samples of varying types and concentrations. Our results demonstrated concordance between the manufacturer's method and the low‐volume method for DNA quantification, DNA degradation index estimation, and human male DNA quantification. We confirmed the practical utility of the low‐volume method with 109 casework samples by evaluating short tandem repeat (STR) profiling success with respect to DNA quantity and quality. We also defined a cutoff value for DNA quantity to ensure reliable STR results. Using a reduced volume of reagents, 10 times more reactions per kit are possible; accordingly, this method reduces the cost of DNA quantification, while maintaining performance.     

Collection of Wet‐Origin Footwear Impressions on Various Surfaces Using an Electrostatic Dust Print Lifter

Electrostatic dust print lift method is known to be able to recover only dry‐origin footwear impression. However, the wet‐origin footwear impression could also be recovered using this method. As the amount of dust accumulated before deposition of the wet‐origin footwear impression increased, the intensity of the footwear impression lifted with this method became stronger. If the footwear impression is not affected by moisture after it is made, the 28‐h old wet‐origin footwear impression could be recovered using this method. The intensity of the lifted footwear impression did not decrease significantly even when the number of sequential steps increased as long as the shoe sole is wet. However, when the moisture on the shoe sole depleted, the intensity of the footwear impression decreased sharply. This method has the advantage of being able to enhance the footwear impression without being affected by the footwear impressions deposited in the past.     

The Role of Forensic Anthropology in the Examination of the Daegu Subway Disaster (2003, Korea)*

Abstract: Meticulous recovery of victims in the Daegu subway disaster was possible, because charred and fragmented victims were left in situ. Because bodies were piled one over another within the train, appropriate methodology during the recovery was critical to identifying the victims. The disaster area was thoroughly documented with notes, photographs, and schematic drawings of the various locations. The recovery team, comprising two medical examiners and one forensic anthropologist, decided when charred body parts and cremated bones were linked to the same individual based on the anatomy and forensic anthropological examination. Without these recovery procedures, it would not have been possible to efficiently harvest representative DNA sample from most of the victims’ body parts. After the entire process of identification, 136 victims were positively identified, and six victims remained unidentified. This study supports the crucial role of forensic anthropologists in the recovery of victims, especially in fire scenes.     

Microscopic Age Estimation from the Anterior Cortex of the Femur in Korean Adults*

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop age‐predicting equations from the anterior cortex of the femur of Korean adults. Seventy‐two femoral samples (44 male and 28 female) were obtained from Korean cadavers and used to develop the equations. The thin sections (<100‐μm thick) were prepared by manual grinding; the sections were not decalcified and were stained with Villanueva bone stain reagent. Analysis of covariance showed no significant differences in age‐adjusted histomorphological variables between sexes. In stepwise regression analysis, osteon population density, average osteon area, and the most anterior cortical width were selected for an age‐predicting equation which produced a high regression correlation (R² = 0.789). The average Haversian canal area was not significantly related to age for any specimen.     

Book reviews

Lawrence L. Whetten (ed.), The Future of Soviet Military Power. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers, 1977. vii+190 pp. £9.75.

Lawrence L. Whetten (ed.), The Political Implications of Soviet Military Power. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers, 1977. ii+183 pp. £9.75.

Arthur Jay Klinghoffer, The Soviet Union and International Oil Politics. New York: Columbia UP, 1977. 389 pp. $20.15.

Roy D. Laird, Joseph Hajda, Betty A. Laird (eds.), The Future of Agriculture in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe: The 1976–1980 Five Year Plans. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1977 (Outside the United States— Tonbridge, Kent: Ernest Benn).

Ronald J. Hill, Soviet Political Elites: the Case of Tiraspol. London: Martin Robertson, 1977. x+226 pp.

Karl W. Ryavec, Implementation of Soviet Economic Reforms: Political, Organizational and Social Processes. New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1975‐ 300 pp.

Alvin Z. Rubinstein, Red Star on the Nile. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1977. 383 pp. 20.10 or £8.10 (paperback).

Raymond Hutchings, Soviet Science, Technology, Design. Interaction and Convergence. London: OUP for the Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1976. x+320 pp. £12.00.

Walter Sablinsky, The Road to Bloody Sunday (Father Gapon and the St. Petersburg Massacre of 1905). Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1976. $18.50.

Robert J. Brym, The Jewish Intelligentsia and Russian Marxism. A Sociological Study of Intellectual Radicalism and Ideological Divergence. London: Macmillan Press, 1978. viii+157 pp. £8.95.

Vera S. Dunham, In Stalin's Time: Middleclass Values in Soviet Fiction. London: CUP, 1976. 283 pp. £10.00.

Gerd Meyer, Bürokratischer Sozialismus. Eine Analyse des sowjetischen Herrschaftssystems. Stuttgart: Frommann‐Holzboog, 1977. 331 pp.

R. W. Davies (ed.), The Soviet Union. London: Allen & Unwin, 1978. 191 pp. £6.50; £2.95 (flexicovers).