Forensic DNA phenotyping in Europe: How far may it go?

The fast evolution of genetic sequencing techniques led to new applications in forensic genetics, one of these being the prediction of the physical appearance of a possible perpetrator from biological traces found at the crime scene. Some European countries recently changed their legislations, to permit this technique, also known as Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP). The phenotypical traits that may be analyzed under those revised domestic laws are usually restricted to include no information about the suspect’s health. This article elaborates whether the European legal framework, as set by the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU), defines any boundaries for the analytical scope of FDP. After a brief introduction to FDP and a description of the type of data collected through predictive forensic genetics, this article discusses the relevant European legislation and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) around privacy, data protection and the use of genetic data. The article attempts to define possible limits for forensic genetic analysis, by eventually trying to predict the jurisprudence of the two European courts

"Total Human DNA Sampling" - Forensic DNA profiles from large areas.

Employed for the first time in 1986, DNA profiling is nowadays established as one of the most widely used forensic techniques worldwide. However, until today, no efficient sampling technique existed to collect DNA from human skin cells from a large area, not to say from the floor of an entire room. This has been extremely unfortunate, as there is enormous forensic potential in these DNA traces from the ground to provide clues as to who has been present at a particular location, i.e. at the crime scene. By desquamation, humans loose several millions of skin cells per day, everywhere they stand, sit or walk; and they can do little about it. We developed a fast and simple method by which we can make use of all those lost skin cells. We use a vacuum cleaner equipped with a specialized filter cartridge to sample the ground. Fragmentation of the filter membrane and subsequent parallel processing of the filter fragments, using a modified Chelex® 100 extraction protocol, significantly reduce the complexity of the dust mixture. In this way, a large number of interpretable major contributor DNA profiles can be generated from individuals who have been present on the sampled surface. Overall, at least 38 % of the generated DNA profiles from all sampled test areas fulfilled the criteria for submission of single major contributor profiles to the Swiss DNA database. As demonstrated through a mock crime scene scenario simulating an indoor stabbing event, the perpetrator's DNA could be found on the floor even after a very short stay in the room of less than one minute. Furthermore, already the first application of the method at a real crime scene led to relevant case information for the police. Given its large investigative potential, we recommend Total Human DNA Sampling as a helpful complemental forensic tool to conventional DNA trace collection in major crimes

Self- and non-self-DNA on hands and sleeve cuffs.

Studying DNA transfer and persistence has become increasingly important over the last decade, due to the impressive sensitivity of modern DNA detection methods in forensic genetics. To improve our understanding of background DNA that could also potentially be transferred, we analyzed the DNA composition on the outside of sleeve cuffs and sampled DNA directly from the hands of four different collaborators upon their arrival at work during 25 working days. Sampling of their hands was repeated after several hours working in our department. The shedder status of the participants, as assumed from previous internal studies, was well re-produced in the study. However, we noticed that the DNA shedding capacity could also change drastically during the day, with one participant showing a more than sixfold increase between hands sampled in the morning and hands sampled in the afternoon. As expected, poor DNA shedders carry more relative amounts of non-self-DNA on their hands than good shedders. Non-self-alleles were detected in 95% of the samples. We also observed potential effects of hand washing and the mode of transport to get to work on the DNA amount. People living with family members occasionally carried their DNA on their hands and more frequently on their sleeve cuffs. Sleeve cuffs, as being close to our hands, have a large potential to transfer DNA from one place to another, yet they have sparsely been studied as DNA transfer intermediates so far. In general, we collected consistently more DNA from the sleeve cuffs than from the hands of the participants, demonstrating their importance as potential transfer vectors. More DNA was recovered from sleeve cuffs made of synthetic fabric than from cuffs made of cotton or leather. In the afternoon, DNA from co-habitant family members could not be detected on the hands anymore and the detection of profiles from colleagues became more frequent. From two out of 100 analyzed sleeve cuffs and two out of 200 sampled hands, we established unknown major DNA profiles that would have been suitable for an entry in the national DNA database. This finding demonstrates the possibility to transfer DNA that has most likely been picked up somewhere in the public space

Expanding the Swiss autosomal marker set to 32 STRs.

By genotyping 1198 individuals with the Qiagen Investigator® HDplex Kit, we expand the Swiss autosomal STR dataset to 32 loci, providing additional resources for complex kinship cases. We present the first high-quality allele frequency dataset for loci D2S1360, D5S2500, D7S1517, and D10S2325 that will be accessible through the ENFSI reference database STRidER. For loci D3S1744, D4S2366, D6S474, D8S1132, and D21S2055, we provide a first European STRidER dataset

Considerations on expanding criminal offender DNA databases with Y-STR profiles

Although national criminal offender DNA databases (NCODDs) including autosomal short tandem repeats (STRs) have been a successful tool to identify criminals for decades in many countries, yet there are many criminal cases they cannot solve. In cases with mixed male–female samples, particularly sexual assault, expanding NCODDs with Y-chromosomal STR (Y-STR) profiles allows database matching in the absence of autosomal STR profiles. Although Y-STR matches are not individual-specific, this can be largely overcome with rapidly mutating Y-STRs (RM Y-STR) allowing separation of paternally related men. Expanding NCODDs with Y-STR profiles is also beneficial for law enforcement in cases without known suspects via familial searching. Expanding NCODDs with Y-STR profiles may raise concerns about genetic privacy and fundamental human rights. A legal analysis of the European Convention on Human Rights revealed that when primarily for reidentifying convicted sex offenders, it would be in line with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, while a generalized approach primarily for familial searching and involving all types of offenders may not. This paper aims to stimulate a debate among various stakeholders regarding the benefits and risks of expanding NCODDs with Y-STR profiles that in some countries has already been practically implemented.</p

A holistic approach for the selection of forensic DNA swabs.

In the present study, we compared the performance of five different ISO 18385 certified forensic swabs for DNA sampling in practice over a time period of five months. Comparisons were made for DNA profiling success rates, measured as the percentage of CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) suitable profiles as well as for practical suitability during sampling at the scene, measured through a survey among collaborators. More than forty members of our crime scene investigation (CSI) unit took part in the test series and provided structured feedback concerning different aspects of swab handling. A total number of 1094 "touch" DNA samples have been subjected to DNA analysis. Swabs performed significantly different in terms of DNA profiling success rates. We also observed significant differences in DNA extraction efficiency between swabs. The evaluation by the collaborators of various aspects of handling differed significantly between swabs. We can assume that a more convenient handling decreases the risk of contamination or sample mislabelling and increases sampling efficiency and staff satisfaction. Our results demonstrate that the selection of disposable sampling devices such as forensic swabs for DNA sampling should be made based on a holistic approach. To be able to select the best performing swab for a given combination of CSI and DNA laboratory procedures, it might not be sufficient to only perform DNA extraction comparisons and trace sampling under controlled laboratory conditions

Human background DNA on stones in an urban environment.

Stones are frequently used as tools in criminal acts. In our department, around 5 % of all analysed crime scene related trace samples are contact or touch DNA traces swabbed from stones. These samples are primarily related to cases of damage to property and burglary. In court, questions can arise about DNA transfer and the persistence of background DNA not related to the respective crime. To shed some light on the question of how likely it is to detect human DNA as background DNA on stones from an urban environment, the surfaces of 108 stones sampled throughout the city of Bern, the Swiss capital, were swabbed. We detected a median quantity of 33 pg on the sampled stones. STR-profiles suitable for a CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) registration in the Swiss DNA database were established from 6.5 % of all sampled stone surfaces. For comparison, retrospective casework data analysis from routine crime scene samples demonstrates a success rate of 20.6 % for the establishment of CODIS-suitable DNA profiles from stones sampled for touch DNA. We further investigated how climatic conditions, location and properties of the stones affected the quantity and quality of the recovered DNA. In this study, we show that the quantity of the measurable DNA decreases significantly with increasing temperature. Furthermore, less DNA could be recovered from porous stones, compared to smooth ones

Artificial Intelligence in Multiphoton Tomography: Atopic Dermatitis Diagnosis

The diagnostic possibilities of multiphoton tomography (MPT) in dermatology have already been demonstrated. Nevertheless, the analysis of MPT data is still time-consuming and operator dependent. We propose a fully automatic approach based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to fully realize the potential of MPT. In total, 3,663 MPT images combining both morphological and metabolic information were acquired from atopic dermatitis (AD) patients and healthy volunteers. These were used to train and tune CNNs to detect the presence of living cells, and if so, to diagnose AD, independently of imaged layer or position. The proposed algorithm correctly diagnosed AD in 97.0 ± 0.2% of all images presenting living cells. The diagnosis was obtained with a sensitivity of 0.966 ± 0.003, specificity of 0.977 ± 0.003 and F-score of 0.964 ± 0.002. Relevance propagation by deep Taylor decomposition was used to enhance the algorithm’s interpretability. Obtained heatmaps show what aspects of the images are important for a given classification. We showed that MPT imaging can be combined with artificial intelligence to successfully diagnose AD. The proposed approach serves as a framework for the automatic diagnosis of skin disorders using MPT

Die Wahrnehmung von Leistungen direktabsetzender Betriebe des ökologischen Landbaus durch Verbraucher

In a holistic approach customers were asked in qualitative interviews about their perception of organic farms which run their own shops. Besides the organic quality they like the competent service, the traditional look and details. They regard the farms shops as pleasant. Many customers visit the farm and animals. Other consumers living near the farm like a wide range of products contact to their neighbourhood and exchange information. The seasonal fluctuations in supply are accepted. Most customers, though different in age and motivation, are aware of ecological and health topics. Customers praise the good taste, the real freshness and good quality. In a second series of Interviews customers of organic shops were asked to define the farm shop related meaning of the word “atmosphere”. They regard it as the classical idyllic small farm agriculture