Use of subpopulation data in Australian forensic DNA casework

DNA profiling evidence presented in court should be accompanied by a reliable estimate of its evidential weight. In calculating such statistics, allele frequencies from commonly employed autosomal microsatellite loci are required. These allele frequencies should be collected at a level that appropriately represents the genetic diversity that exists in the population. Typically this occurs at broadly defined bio-geographic categories, such as Caucasian or Asian. Datasets are commonly administered at the jurisdictional level. This paper focuses on Australian jurisdictions and assesses whether this current practice is appropriate for Aboriginal Australian and Caucasian populations alike. In keeping with other studies we observe negligible differences between Caucasian populations within Australia when segregated geographically. However segregation of Aboriginal Australian population data along contemporary State and Territory lines appears to mask the diversity that exists within this subpopulation. For this reason datasets collated along more traditional lines may be more appropriate, particularly to distinguish the most genetically differentiated populations residing in the north of the continent.     

Successful DNA typing of ultrafiltered urines used to detect EPO doping

Endogenous and exogenous erythropoietin (EPO) present in urine can be distinguished according to their isoelectric profiles. This methodology requires urine samples to be concentrated about 200 to 1000 times with manipulations that should remove most of the cells occurring in the original sample. In this study, we tried to obtain DNA profiles from 10 ultrafiltered urines (retentates) in order to evaluate whether a formal genetic identification was technically feasible. No nuclear DNA profiles could be established from retentates, despite 34 PCR-cycles amplifications. Contrastingly, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) profiles were obtained for 9 out of the 10 retentates. Apart from some particularities, retentate mtDNA profiles were all distinct and matched mtDNA profiles of corresponding reference samples.     

血尿肝中毒鼠强硅藻土提取GC／NPD检测法

目的建立硅藻土提取气相色谱测定血、尿、肝中毒鼠强的方法。方法原尿液、血液用水稀释、肝匀浆用6％高氯酸沉淀蛋白的上清液倒入硅藻土小柱中，血和尿用苯洗脱，肝用三氯甲烷洗脱，挥干洗脱液，用甲醇定容至0．1ml。结果血提取率98．4％，尿提取率95．6%，肝提取率98．1％。相对标准偏差低于3．2％，检出限低于20ng／ml（g）。结论该法简便、快速，提取率高，适合作为常规毒物分析方法。     

Y-STR analysis on DNA mixture samples—Results of a collaborative project of the ENFSI DNA Working Group

The ENFSI (European Network of Forensic Science Institutes) DNA Working Group undertook a collaborative project on Y-STR typing of DNA mixture samples that were centrally prepared and thoroughly tested prior to the shipment. Four commercial Y-STR typing kits (Y-Filer, Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA; Argus Y Nonaplex, Biotype, Dresden, Germany; Powerplex Y, Promega, Madison, WI, USA; and DYSplex-3, SERAC, Bad Homburg, Germany) were used for the amplification of the mixture samples. The results of the study showed a striking inter-laboratory difference of kit performance as determined from the peak heights of the obtained Y-STR genotypes. Variation in quantity and quality of the shipped DNA can be excluded as reason for the observed differences because both samples and shipping conditions were found to be reproducible in an earlier study. The results suggest that in some cases a laboratory-specific optimization process is indicated to reach a comparable sensitivity for the analysis of minute amounts of DNA.     

Implementation of a robotized real-time PCR setup for the use of the Quantifiler™ Human DNA Quantification Kit

Human DNA quantification occupies a central role within the DNA analytic process of forensic casework samples as DNA quantification results have an important impact on the quality of the short tandem repeat data. Manual processing for the setup of quantification reactions can be time consuming and labor intensive. Therefore automation of quantitative real-time PCR setup was an important component of our DNA-analysis automation concept. Here we show the implementation of a robotized setup for the Quantifiler™ Human DNA Quantification Kit.     

Object-oriented Bayesian networks for paternity cases with allelic dependencies

This study extends the current use of Bayesian networks by incorporating the effects of allelic dependencies in paternity calculations. The use of object-oriented networks greatly simplify the process of building and interpreting forensic identification models, allowing researchers to solve new, more complex problems. We explore two paternity examples: the most common scenario where DNA evidence is available from the alleged father, the mother and the child; a more complex case where DNA is not available from the alleged father, but is available from the alleged father’s brother. Object-oriented networks are built, using HUGIN, for each example which incorporate the effects of allelic dependence caused by evolutionary relatedness.     

郑州地区食尸性苍蝇及幼虫mtDNA中COⅡ基因序列分析

目的 用mtDNA中细胞色素氧化酶辅酶Ⅱ(COⅡ)基因序列鉴定法医学中常见食尸性苍蝇及其幼虫的种类. 方法 收集郑州地区大白鼠尸体上的苍蝇及其幼虫,提取DNA,PCR扩增CO Ⅱ序列,测序,用Clustalx和MEGA 4.0软件对基因序列进行比对分析及构建系统进化树.结果 成虫与幼虫基因差异不明显,CO Ⅱ基因序列可以对棕尾别麻蝇、巨尾阿丽蝇和亮绿蝇进行鉴定,铜绿蝇与丝光绿蝇进化距离较近,CO Ⅱ序列不能将他们区分开,同时还发现巨尾阿丽蝇和亮绿蝇存在种群单核苷酸多态性. 结论 mtDNA中COⅡ序列能有效鉴定郑州地区部分常见食尸性苍蝇的种类,方法 简便、准确.     

赤足跖后缘自动提取与自适应变模型特征识别

将经典Snake模型与自适应变模型相结合的算法，快速提取图像中的开边缘并识别边缘形状，实现赤足足迹跖后缘的自动提取与形状识别。首先，对原图像校正、平滑去噪，由数学形态学方法得到Snake模型的初始轮廓，迭代求解实现跖后缘的快速、精确提取。然后，由高次多项式进行数字滤波，再对滤波后的边缘曲线，利用先验知识，依据平均曲率的变化，自适应地选取不同的函数模型，提取出相应特征，自动识别边缘形状。该方法边缘提取准确，特征提取合理，使计算机总体识别率达到90％。     

改良高盐低pH方法提取陈旧大麻DNA初探

目的探讨建立室温保存10年队上大麻干叶及大麻树脂DNA提取方法。方法采用SDS及改良高盐低pH方法，改变提取缓冲液中β-巯基乙醇终浓度，增加用酚、氯仿快速抽提过程，提取新鲜和陈旧大麻（树脂）DNA，应用大麻叶绿体trnLintron引物进行PCR，琼脂糖凝胶电泳法检测扩增产物。结果用高盐低pH方法获得了10年以上大麻干叶及树脂清晰的电泳图谱，其中成功提取了1份23年陈旧大麻的DNA。结论高盐低pH方法操作简便、实用，可望用于陈旧、微量大麻植株的DNA检测，对于涉毒案件中特殊大麻标本的检验具有一定意义。     

尿中异丙嗪及其代谢物含量硅藻土萃取紫外导数光谱测定法

目的建立尿中异丙嗪原体及其代谢物异丙嗪亚砜的提取测定方法。方法取尿直接倒入硅藻土柱中，用二氯甲烷洗脱，收集洗脱液50℃水浴挥干。剩余物用3．0ml 0．05mol／L硫酸溶解。加入锌粉沸水浴加热，放冷，测定二阶导数光谱。结果异丙嗪亚砜和异丙嗪萃取率均达90％以上，线性范围0．5～5．0μg／ml。结论该方法操作简便，提取率高，重现性好，结果可靠。