大鼠肾细胞DNA含量与死亡时间关系的图像分析

运用计算机图像分析技术,对大鼠死后肾细胞DNA的变化进行观测,以寻找一种客观、量化的推断早期死亡时间的标准.实验选择15只大鼠,处死后,在24小时内每隔1小时取肾组织进行细胞学涂片,福尔马林液固定,Feulgen染色,自动图象分析仪测量,所得数据进行统计学分析处理.实验结果证明大鼠的早期死亡时间与肾细胞核DNA降解速率呈线性关系,其中积分光密度、平均灰度、异形指数提示此方法有可能作为辅助手段,使死亡时间推断更为精确.     

诉讼法视野中的法医DNA证据研究

作为一种科学证据,法医DNA证据在凶杀、性犯罪等案件的审判中被广泛运用。但是该证据能否最终被法庭采纳,取决于其提取、保管、送检以及鉴定过程中是否受到一系列严格的诉讼程序加以规范,并经过庭审的质证,从而最终通过法庭的审查判断。而庭审质证能否有效进行,又与警察、鉴定人出庭作证以及交叉询问制度的真正确立息息相关。     

法庭科学DNASTR分型标准物质初探

本文介绍了标准物质及法医DNA标准物质的概念,并就目前法庭科学DNASTR分型技术所需要的标准物质的制备及应用做一概述,以对法医DNA标准物质的生产提供参考。     

死后小鼠脑组织细胞核DNA变化规律的研究

目的研究DNA降解变化与死亡时间的关系,为法医学推断死亡时间提供一种比较准确可靠的新方法。方法应用单细胞凝胶电泳（SCGE）技术结合荧光显微镜和专业的计算机图像分析技术,测定了111只小鼠在死后72h内不同时间点小鼠脑组织细胞核头半径（HeadRadius,HR）、尾长度（Tail Length,TL）、头DNA（HeadDNA）含量比例、尾DNA（Tail DNA）含量比例、尾矩（Tail Moment,TM）、Olive矩（Olive Moment,OM）、头面积（Head Area,HA）、尾面积（Tail Area,TA）8项参数的变化值。结果在个体死亡72h内,测定的8项参数指标中尾DNA含量比例、彗星尾长、尾矩、Olive矩、尾面积都呈增加趋势,头半径,头DNA含量比例,头面积均呈下降趋势。上述参数均与死亡时间具有高度的相关性。并将每个参数的测量值进行了多项式运算,获得了更能体现DNA降解趋势的二项式回归方程（P〈0．001）和多元回归方程（P〈0．001）,均具有高度的统计学意义。结论应用本研究提供的72h内脑组织DNA变化与死亡时间之间呈线性关系的各组回归方程,为法医学推断死后经过时间提供了一种新的、客观的、精确的方法和参考依据。     

Results of the 2008 Colombian paternity testing quality control exercise

The Reference National Laboratory, Genes Ltda, designated by the Commission of Accreditation and Alertness created by Law 721 of 2001 of Republic of Colombia, organized and coordinated the Quality Control Exercise of 2008 for laboratories undertaking paternity and maternity tests with DNA markers. The Quality Control Exercise included both practical and theoretical exercises. For the practical exercise, three blood samples in FTA Classic Card were sent to each participating laboratory to be genotyped for DNA markers using the routine methodologies in their laboratories. For the theoretical exercise, it was asked to the participating laboratories to calculate the partial and final paternity indexes based on two genetic profiles of an alleged biological father and his son. Allele frequencies were made available to the participants, as well as Y chromosome haplotype database. A total of 12 laboratories have participated with data from 57 STRs, including autosomal and sex chromosome markers. Consensus was found in 37 STRs, 21 in autosomes and 16 Y chromosome linked. The rate of reporting errors was 3.1% (concentrated in just one laboratory). The theoretical exercise had consensus.     

Development of two new Mini-STR multiplex assay for typing archival Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues

Short amplicon autosomal short tandem repeat (Mini-STR) assay has proved to be a highly useful tool in forensic applications, especially for highly degraded DNA samples that typically result in partial profiles and total loss of information from regular STR amplicons.In this study two new quadruplex systems were designed to get nuclear DNA profile from degraded forensic casework samples. In order to obtain PCR products less than 120 bp in size, primer pairs of eight STR markers, included in available commercially multiplex PCR kits, were redesigned and assembled in two PCR-multiplexes: D8S1179, D3S1358, TPOX, D16S539 and CSF1P0, TH01, D13S317, D5S818.After validation, these two Mini-STR quadruplex were employed in paternity testing case that involved DNA extraction from archival postmortem Bouin's fluid-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue where commercial kit yielded low success. The results obtained with the present Mini-STR PCR-multiplexes proved clearly demonstrating their usefulness in analyzing degraded DNA samples.     

Female criminals—It's not always the offender!

Numerous crimes (including murder), all having a common denominator, occurred in Germany and Austria between 1993 and 2009. All of these cases presented with identical female DNA traces being found at the crime scene. The crimes committed differed markedly, as did the suspects involved, which were of varied origin. Many of these cases could be solved. However, none of the suspects could identify an involved female. Fourteen of these cases (including one murder) occurred in Upper Austria.A special task force of the Austrian police, together with the Institute of Legal Medicine in Salzburg, began systematically searching for errors in the investigative process after the cases became more and more incoherent and nebulous. In the end, the DNA trace evidence was shown to be contaminated. A woman involved in the manufacture of the cotton swabs turned out to be the source of the female DNA profile.Following this, several products of other manufacturers were tested for contamination with DNA. It was noted that cotton swabs which had been sterilised with radiation were often contaminated. As a result, it is recommended that the manufacturing process, as well as the products themselves used in collection of DNA trace evidence, should be re-evaluated with the emphasis on preventing contamination.     

Trace DNA success rates relating to volume crime offences

In this study, 252 trace DNA samples (from handled surfaces) from 201 burglary, robbery and drugs cases were compiled to assess success rates and to interpret the value of trace DNA evidence in volume crime investigations. The average amount of DNA recovered from the trace DNA samples collected was 1.7 ng. Full or major (12 or more alleles) profiles were recovered from 14% of samples. Samples from firearms and burglary points of entry were the least successful. Mixtures were recovered from 21% of samples, presenting a case for the collection of more elimination profiles to enable more samples to be used for database purposes. The research highlighted the difficulties in collecting data relating to the success rates of samples. Computerised automation of this process would be extremely beneficial in the assistance of policy development, method application, training, and investigative usefulness.     

Genotyping of DNA samples under adverse conditions of Low Copy Number—LCN (formolisados tissue samples and embedded in paraffin)

This paper aims to describe and evaluate a protocol for extraction of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in formalinized tissues and embedded in paraffin for forensics genetic analysis. In outline the method is the removal of paraffin with an organic solvent in 0.3–0.5 mg of the sample of the tissue under study, followed by removal of formaldehyde, rehydration and soon after the extraction of genomic DNA. The extraction is achieved through the stages of cellular lysis, enzymatic digestion of proteins and DNA precipitation in ethanol medium. With the research we can conclude that even when the DNA is present in small quantities in conditions of extreme difficulties in its extraction, as formalinized tissues and embedded in paraffin, the technique of optimizing the extraction of DNA used both to organic extraction as Chelex, for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and possible the investigation of different samples of human tissue, biological samples, or was obtained under the conditions tested, a DNA with good quality and concentration. The samples were amplified for the mini-STRs loci using the product marketed in multilocus, using a methodology recommended by the supplier and validated for analysis of forensic DNA. Commercial kit was used MiniFiler from Applied Biosystems. The DNA fragments amplified by PCR showed that the extracted DNA had good amplification.     

A new approach in the identification of degraded paternity samples

DNA extraction from bone is an important issue particularly in paternity cases when bones are the only remaining material to obtain and analyze DNA. The difficulties arising from bacterial damages, taphonomic factors and diagenesis might negatively affect the extraction and the amplification of DNA. This makes the laboratory procedure a hard and time-consuming process, and the analysis can fail. Analyzing mini-STRs in this type of degraded samples is highly recommended. In this study a new extraction technique was carried on bone samples which were then typed for mini-STRs. The aim was to differentiate two genetically related skeletons found in the same familial grave for a paternity test. The analysis revealed that this new extraction technique along with mini-STR analysis can properly be an effective way to obtain and analyze DNA in bones in the field of forensic sciences.