Estimation of stature from the foot and its segments in a sub-adult female population of North India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Establishing personal identity is one of the main concerns in forensic investigations. Estimation of stature forms a basic domain of the investigation process in unknown and co-mingled human remains in forensic anthropology case work. The objective of the present study was to set up standards for estimation of stature from the foot and its segments in a sub-adult female population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample for the study constituted 149 young females from the Northern part of India. The participants were aged between 13 and 18 years. Besides stature, seven anthropometric measurements that included length of the foot from each toe (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 respectively), foot breadth at ball (BBAL) and foot breadth at heel (BHEL) were measured on both feet in each participant using standard methods and techniques.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results indicated that statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between left and right feet occur in both the foot breadth measurements (BBAL and BHEL). Foot length measurements (T1 to T5 lengths) did not show any statistically significant bilateral asymmetry. The correlation between stature and all the foot measurements was found to be positive and statistically significant (<it>p-value </it>< 0.001). Linear regression models and multiple regression models were derived for estimation of stature from the measurements of the foot. The present study indicates that anthropometric measurements of foot and its segments are valuable in the estimation of stature. Foot length measurements estimate stature with greater accuracy when compared to foot breadth measurements.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study concluded that foot measurements have a strong relationship with stature in the sub-adult female population of North India. Hence, the stature of an individual can be successfully estimated from the foot and its segments using different regression models derived in the study. The regression models derived in the study may be applied successfully for the estimation of stature in sub-adult females, whenever foot remains are brought for forensic examination. Stepwise multiple regression models tend to estimate stature more accurately than linear regression models in female sub-adults.</p

Contrasting genetic structure in Plasmodium vivax populations from Asia and South America.

Populations of Plasmodium falciparum show striking differences in linkage disequilibrium, population differentiation and diversity, but only fragmentary data exists on the genetic structure of Plasmodium vivax. We genotyped nine tandem repeat loci bearing 2-8 bp motifs from 345 P. vivax infections collected from three Asian countries and from five locations in Colombia. We observed 9-37 alleles per locus and high diversity (He=0.72-0.79, mean=0.75) in all countries. Numbers of multiple clone infections varied considerably: these were rare in Colombia and India, but &gt; 60% of isolates carried multiple alleles in at least one locus in Thailand and Laos. However, only one or two of the nine loci show &gt;1 allele in many samples, suggesting that mutation within infections may result in overestimation of true multiple carriage rates. Identical nine-locus genotypes were frequently found in Colombian populations, contributing to strong linkage disequilibrium. These identical genotypes were strongly clustered in time, consistent with epidemic transmission of clones and subsequent breakdown of allelic associations, suggesting high rates of inbreeding and low effective recombination rates in this country. In contrast, identical genotypes were rare and loci were randomly associated in all three Asian populations, consistent with higher rates of outcrossing and recombination. We observed low but significant differentiation between different Asian countries (standardized FST = 0.13-0.45). In comparison, we see greater differentiation between collection locations within Colombia (standardized FST = 0.4-0.7), and strong differentiation between continents (standardized FST = 0.48-0.79). The observed heterogeneity in multiple clone carriage rates, linkage disequilibrium and population differentiation are similar in some, but not all, respects to those observed in P. falciparum, and have important implications for the design of association mapping studies, and interpretation of P. vivax epidemiology

Role of orthopedic implants and bone morphology in the identification of human remains

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comWhen conventional methods of identification, such as visual recognition and dental comparison, cannot be used to identify a deceased person, it becomes necessary to consider alternative methods. The presence of an orthopedic implant in a body may assist identification if ante-mortem medical records are available for comparison. Another method of identification involves comparison of ante-mortem and postmortem radiographs. Eight cases are reported from Forensic Science SA where the presence of orthopedic implants and/or ante-mortem radiographs were used to try to establish identification. In six cases, positive identification was established, and in two cases with upper limb orthopedic implants, the bones remained unidentified. Manufacturers were unable to provide any information about the distribution and use of the implants that could be of use with identification, as there are no requirements in Australia for individual medical implants to be tracked. Such a system has the potential to aid postmortem identification if serial codes were etched onto implants that could then be traced to manufacturers, surgeons, and recipients of these devices.Ellie K. Simpson, Ross A. James, David A. Eitzen and Roger W. Byar