Lebanon is a relatively small country with a surface area of 10,452km2 located on the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The Lebanese population, of around four million, has been shaped by many civilizations namely Phoenician, Roman, Persian, Babylonian, Islamic and Christian, followed by both Ottoman and French influences . These civilizations have had a profound impact on the cultural, religious and genetic levels. As a result, the Lebanese population is at present characterized by 18 religious communities which are unevenly distributed over the country and live in a relative isolation (). Due to the geographic isolation and to certain cultural and/or religious practices, marriages take place within the same religious community at an average rate of 88% . In addition, the consanguinity rate ranges from 31 to 36% . Moreover, Lebanon has experienced many wars, most recently the civil war from 1975 to 1990. Wars triggered additional segregation based on religious belongings promoting further endogamous practices. The high endogamy and consanguinity rates have shaped the genetic structure of Lebanese communities . A genetic study of the population of Lebanon is therefore fundamental for a coherent and satisfactory evaluation of evidence in criminal and civil cases.
We determined allele frequencies for 9 autosomal non-CODIS STR loci (D2S1772, D6S1043, D7S3048, D8S1132, D11S2368, D12S391, D13S325, D18S1364, GATA198B05, and Amelogenin) in samples of 188 and 166 unrelated, healthy individuals of the Miao and Gelao populations respectively in the Guangxi municipality of southern China. All participants signed an informed consent form prior to sample donation.
Abstract: Many Y-chromosomal lineages which are defined in the latest phylogenetic tree of the human Y chromosome by the Y Chromosome Consortium (YCC) in 2008 are distributed in (Western) Europe due to the fact that a large number of phylogeographic studies focus on this area. Therefore, the question arises whether newly discovered polymorphisms on the Y chromosome will still be interesting to study Western Europeans on a population genetic level. To address this question, the West-European region of Flanders (Belgium) was selected as study area since more than 1000 Y chromosomes from this area have previously been genotyped at the highest resolution of the 2008 YCC-tree and coupled to in-depth genealogical data. Based on these data the temporal changes of the population genetic pattern over the last centuries within Flanders were studied and the effects of several past gene flow events were identified. In the present study a set of recently reported novel Y-SNPs were genotyped to further characterize all those Flemish Y chromosomes that belong to haplogroups G, R-M269 and T. Based on this extended Y-SNP set the discrimination power increased drastically as previous large (sub-)haplogroups are now subdivided in several non-marginal groups. Next, the previously observed population structure within Flanders appeared to be the result of different gradients of independent sub-haplogroups. Moreover, for the first time within Flanders a significant East–West gradient was observed in the frequency of two R-M269 lineages, and this gradient is still present when considering the current residence of the DNA donors. Our results thus suggest that an update of the Y-chromosomal tree based on new polymorphisms is still useful to increase the discrimination power based on Y-SNPs and to study population genetic patterns in more detail, even in an already well-studied region such as Western Europe.
New research at The University of Nottingham is calling for changes to a government scheme which engages community nurses in the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the home as part of a maternal and child health care programme.
Abstract: A total number of 149 individuals from Iran (Persians, Lurs and Kurds) were analyzed for 49 autosomal SNPs using PCR, SBE and capillary electrophoresis. No deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations was observed. One SNP pair (rs1015250–rs251934) showed significant linkage disequilibrium in Kurds. However, this was most likely due to chance. High intrapopulation variability and no significant population structure were observed among the three ethnic groups from Iran. Pairwise FST values obtained from the mean numbers of pairwise differences between SNP profiles were calculated for Persians, Lurs, Kurds and eighteen other worldwide populations. For each of the three Iranian ethnic groups, the lowest FST values calculated between an Iranian and non-Iranian populations were observed between Iranians and populations in Iraq and Turkey. The three Iranian ethnic groups grouped together with other West Asian populations in the MDS plot drawn from the FST values. Statistical parameters of forensic interest calculated for the Iranian ethnic groups showed values of the same order of magnitudes as those obtained for Asians. The mean match probability calculated for the 49 SNPs ranged from 1.7×10?18 for Kurds to 1.3×10?19 for Persians. Despite the low level of genetic structure observed among Persians, Lurs and Kurds, a single autosomal SNP database should be used with care when extending its forensic application to other Iranian ethnic groups.
This letter is an update to the recent Forensic Science International Genetics publication, ‘Development of a Rapid, 96-Well Alkaline Based Differential DNA Extraction Method for Sexual Assault Evidence’: W. Hudlow, M. Buoncristiani. The development of this six-step alkaline differential extraction process was concluded after it was shown to perform well with mock sexual assault swabs and authentic post-coital swabs . Here, we report modifications to the six-step procedure that were made during the validation, implementation and first two years use of the alkaline differential extraction process in the California Department of Justice high-throughput sexual assault casework (Rapid DNA Service (RADS)) program.
Abstract: DNA-bearing cellular material can come to be present on a surface by either direct or indirect transfer. Direct transfer includes contact, but also includes activities within the vicinity of an item that may result in the transfer of DNA directly from an individual without any contact, such as speaking, coughing, and sneezing. Indirect transfer of DNA is when DNA from an individual comes to be on an item via an intermediary surface. It is important to consider indirect transfer in the evaluation of trace DNA in casework. The term ‘trace DNA’ in this review refers solely to DNA that cannot be attributed to an identifiable body fluid.This review presents and considers data from trace DNA experiments to establish whether the quantity of DNA recovered from a crime stain and/or the quality of a DNA profile obtained can be used to infer the likely mechanism of transfer. The data show that varied results are obtained from apparently similar trace DNA samples, presumably due to the many factors that affect the detection of trace DNA. The nature and effect of these varying factors and the application of the data to casework is considered generally and with specific reference to DNA transfer to skin, DNA beneath fingernails, ‘wearer DNA’, and various contamination considerations.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced a public-private partnership to help identify counterfeit or substandard anti-malarial medicines, including falsified products, with the deployment of the FDA-developed Counterfeit Detection Device, called CD-3.
Pioneering research to investigate whether pancreatic cancer can be detected early through a blood test is to be spearheaded by the University of Leicester thanks to new funding provided by Hope Against Cancer.
