Forensic Analysis and Identification Processes in Mass Disasters: Explosion of Gun Powder in the Fireworks Factory

A mass disaster is a situation that involves criticality between the number of victims and resources, in terms of both men and means, present on the site of an event that is mostly unexpected and sudden. In the multidisciplinary teams that intervene, the role of forensic pathologists, who are responsible for the direction and coordination of post-mortem operations, is central, and must remain so. The authors report the case of an explosion of a pyrotechnic artifice factory, as a result of which numerous victims and injuries are recorded. So, the team completed the autopsies and created a protocol to obtain biological samples (bones, blood, teeth, muscles), while the forensic pathologists contacted the families of the alleged victims and each provided a blood sample that was collected for the DNA. The geneticist, using the method of gene extraction and amplification, obtained the DNA from each bone, tooth, and muscle of blood taken from the victims and then compared it with that extracted from the blood samples of the relatives; the electropherograms showed at least one allele for each genetic marker of the “Combined DNA Index System” in common between the victims and the families, thus allowing to establish the identity of all the subjects involved in the event. Having established the identity of all workers, it was possible to determine their whereabouts in the environment at the time of the location of fires and explosions. The results of the various forensic analyzes (autopsies, genetic investigations and even traumatological investigations) have allowed us to validate a scientific method useful in all mass disasters even when any type of anthropological or forensic dental research is difficult.

Allele Diversity, Haplotype Frequency and Diversity, and Forensic Genotyping of Fulanis and Yorubas Population in North Central Region of Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous African nation, comprising over 250 ethnic groups. The Yoruba and Fulani are the second and fourth largest ethnic groups in Nigeria, respectively. Forensic genotyping of short tandem repeats (STRs) is used in computation of Combined DNA Index System databases of individuals and ethnic groups. We examined allele diversity, haplotype frequency, haplotype diversity, and forensic genotyping data of autosomal STRs in Fulani and Yoruba residents in Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, in-order to further provide forensic genotyping data of these ethnic groups. Samples of 25 Fulani males and 23 Yoruba males whose ethnicity was confirmed by three generations (paternal and maternal) were collected with informed consent using purposive sampling. All individuals in the samples were unrelated. The samples were amplified and then genotyped using the SureID® 21G PCR Amplification Kit containing Amelogenin and 20 autosomal STR loci. Statistical analyses of forensic genotyping parameters confirmed no deviation from expectation of Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium and no dependence of alleles between loci. All tested loci were polymorphic. Expected Heterozygosity and gene diversity parameters showed lower genetic diversity amongst Fulanis compared to Yorubas. This is possibly due to the prevalent custom of marriage between cousins amongst Fulanis, which is forbidden in Yoruba customs.

DNA index as prognostic factor in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the COG-TARGET database

Background This study was aimed to evaluate the value of DNA index(DI) among pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated on Children’s Oncology Group (COG) protocols between 2000 and 2015. Methods Retrospective study were analysis among pediatric ALL patients from the TARGET dataset. Result Totally, 1668 eligible pediatric patients were enrolled in this study. Of them, 993 are male and 675 are female with a median age of 7.6 years old. The median follow-up for those patients was 7.7 years (range 0.1–15.7 years). The probability of 15-year EFS and OS were reported to be 67.5 ± 3.1% and 78.3 ± 2.5%, respectively. BCR/ABL1 fusion gene affected the early treatment response and the survival of childhood ALL. Moreover, those patients with ETV6/RUNX1 fusion gene were also significantly associated with better EFS (HR = 0.6, 95% CI 0.4–0.8, P = 0.003) and OS (HR = 0.3, 95%CI 0.2–0.5, P < 0.001) compared to patients with no ETV6/RUNX1. On the contrary, BM NR on Day+ 29 showed a significant decrease in EFS (HR = 3.1, 95%CI 2.1–4.5, P < 0.001) and OS (HR = 1.7, 95%CI 1.1–2.8, P = 0.026). Multivariate analysis showed that DI was significantly associated with better EFS and OS. The threshold effect of DI on poor outcome was significant after adjusting for potential confounders. The adjusted regression coefficient (Log RR) was 0.7 (95%CI 0.1–3.2, P = 0.597) for DI < 1.1 while 8.8 (95%CI 1.4–56.0, P = 0.021) for DI ≥ 1.2 and 0.0 (95%CI 0.0–0.8, P = 0.041) for 1.1 ≤ DI < 1.2. Generalized additive models revealed that the lowest rates of the adverse outcomes estimated to occur among DI between 1.1 and 1.2. Conclusion For those childhood ALL treated on COG protocols between 2000 and 2015, ETV6/RUNX1 and BM NR were closely related to the prognosis. Moreover, the DI between 1.1 and 1.2 can serve as a significant cut-point discriminating the risk group, which indicated a favourable prognostic factor.

Investigating the Ethics of DNA Collection by CODIS

America's criminal justice system has experienced controversy for decades and it seems as if the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), an FBI criminal justice database that stores the DNA profiles of millions of Americans, is a major contributor to it. Due to CODIS, an individual’s DNA is collected and permanently stored upon arrest, resulting in major red flags like privacy violations and marginalization. However, there are potential solutions - although each has its drawbacks - to this problem, in order of increasing efficacy: mandating the DNA collection of all Americans to alleviate biases, adopting a solely fingerprint-based system as forensic evidence, and terminating CODIS entirely.

The Polymorphism Analyses of Short Tandem Repeats as a Basis for Understanding the Genetic Characteristics of the Guanzhong Han Population

The short tandem repeat (STR) loci are polymorphic markers in the combined DNA index system (CODIS) and non-CODIS STR loci. Due to the highly polymorphic characteristic of STR loci, they are popular and widely used in forensic DNA typing laboratories. In this study, 22 STR loci (1 CODIS, 21 non-CODIS STR loci) and an Amelogenin locus were genotyped and analyzed in 590 unrelated individuals of the Guanzhong Han population. None of the 22 STR loci deviated from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, and all the loci were in the linkage equilibrium state. We observed 247 alleles, and the corresponding allelic frequencies ranged from 0.0008 to 0.3695 in the Guanzhong Han population. The combined power of discrimination and the cumulative exclusion probability was 0.999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 999 346 36 and 0.999 999 999 709 74, respectively. The results including Nei’s D A genetic distance, multidimensional scaling analysis, and principal component analysis showed that the Guanzhong Han population has closer genetic affinities with Northern Han, Chengdu Han, and Xinjiang Hui groups from China based on allelic frequencies of 15 overlapped STR loci from Guanzhong Han and 13 reference groups. The present results indicated that Microreader™ 23sp ID kit included highly polymorphic loci, and it could be well used for individual identification, paternity testing, and population genetics in the Guanzhong Han population.

Re-Evaluate of DNA Index Among the Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Background This study was aimed to re-evaluate the value of DNA index(DI) among pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with the recent chemotherapy protocols.Methods Retrospective study were analysis among pediatric ALL patients from the TAGET dataset.Result Totally, 1,668 eligible pediatric patients were enrolled in this study. Of them, 993 are male and 675 are female with a median age of 7.6 years old. The median follow-up for those patients was 7.7 years (range 0.1-15.7 years). The probability of 10-year EFS and OS were reported to be 68.3±2% and 79.6±2%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that DI was significantly associated with better EFS and OS. The threshold effect of DI on poor outcome was significant after adjusting for potential confounders. The adjusted regression coefficient (Log RR) was 0.7 (95%CI 0.1-3.2, P=0.597) for DI <1.1 while 8.8 (95%CI 1.4-56.0, P=0.021) for DI≥1.2 and 0.0 (95%CI 0.0-0.8, P=0.041) for 1.1≤DI<1.2. Generalized additive models revealed that the lowest rates of the adverse outcomes estimated to occur among DI between 1.1 and 1.2. Conclusion For those childhood ALL treated with recent chemotherapy protocols, the DI between 1.1 and 1.2 can serve as a significant cut-point discriminating the risk group, which indicated an independent prognostic factor.

Investigative Outcomes of CODIS Matches in Previously Untested Sexual Assault Kits

A 2011 Texas statute required that police agencies submit to the state all unanalyzed sexual assault kits between 1996 and 2011. Cases where a match was made with DNA from an individual or case were returned to local agencies for additional investigation. This article examines outcomes of these cases. Consistent with other studies, we found that the ratio of arrests to all kits submitted was below 1%, and the ratio of arrests to Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) hits was 5.5%. A cost analysis concluded that the cost per court filing was US$132,000. We argue that the small number of arrests was partially due to the age of the cases, based on 8- to 23-year-old crime reports. We further contend that the program could have produced better results if the state had provided funding more quickly for testing and investigations.

DNA index and anatomical aspects of the micrografting of dragon fruit on different rootstocks

The objective of this work was to evaluate the viability of the micrografting of yellow dragon fruit (Selenicereus megalanthus) on different rootstocks, based on DNA content and anatomical analyses. The used rootstocks were: yellow dragon fruit, white dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus), Saborosa (Selenicereus setaceus) dragon fruit, and the Cebra and Orejona red dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) varieties. The experimental design was completely randomized with five treatments and four replicates of five plants. After 30 days of cultivation, the following traits were evaluated: length and diameter of the micrografts and microrootstocks; and root length, percentage of setting, and fresh mass of the micrografts. Flow cytometry analyzes were performed before and after micrografting to verify genetic stability and the occurrence of endoreduplication. In addition, histological sections were made in the micrografting region to verify the connections of vessels and tissues between the graft and the rootstock. Endoreduplication was observed in all treatments. The amount of DNA in the yellow dragon fruit micrograft increased on the red Orejona variety. The presence of vessel connections was verified between the micrografts and microrootstocks. The yellow dragon fruit was also more vigorous when grafted on Orejona. Based on DNA content and anatomical analyses, in vitro yellow dragon fruit micrografting is feasible in all used rootstocks.