Even when generated with the same weapon, a wound's appearance would be affected by its use and the assaulter's physique. In contrast, even if wounds look similar in shape and/or color, they could have a different wounding history. In this work, we strive to extract the features of shape and color from a given wound image and build on the mathematical model of meaning to create the associated semantics of the criminal act. We demonstrate that a system called THEMIS (theoretical estimation of the meaning of insults) provides a context-sensitive visual similarity analysis for wound imagery in computational forensics. The THEMIS system can help forensic doctors and e-court stakeholders potentially determine important aspects of a case through a comparison with wounds of corpses in past cases, in a way that is not currently possible.
The origin and demographic history of the aboriginal populations of Taiwan have not been clearly resolved. To investigate the genetic characteristics of the Plains tribes or the so-called Pingpu population, thought to be originally Austronesian-speaking inhabitants of Taiwan, the mito- chondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable segment 1 (HVS1) region and diagnostic variants in cod- ing regions in 35 individuals sampled from historical skeletal remains obtained from National Tai- wan University were analyzed. The Pingpu population showed high haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity compared with the populations of other aboriginal Taiwanese and southern Chinese populations, which probably reflects their complex history. The analysis showed that the haplogroups that are predominant in southern East Asia, including F, B, and M7, account for 64% of mtDNA in Pingpu populations. Genetic characteristics of the Pingpu population differ from those of other mountain aboriginal people of Taiwan. Principal component analysis of haplogroup frequencies demonstrated closer relatedness between Pingpu and other southern China lineages, especially from Guangdong, Hainan Island, and North Vietnam, suggesting a general south China origin of maternal lineages in the Pingpu populations. In spite of the recent gene flow from the Han Chinese living in Taiwan, maternal lineages of the Pingpu population could be traced back to southern China during the Neolithic period.
Sex determination is a crucial factor in the identification of unidentified human remains. Sex determination by DNA analysis is particularly useful because it can be applied to samples for which morphological characteristics are unavailable. Because samples handled in forensic DNA typing are easily degraded by environmental factors and microorganisms, there is a need for a method that can accurately determine sex even in highly decayed samples. Previous studies mainly used sex differences in an intron of the amelogenin gene. However, this region is highly polymorphic, and there are cases where accurate sexing cannot be performed because of genetic mutations in the target region. Thus, for reliable sex determination, it is desirable to select loci with as few non-sexual polymorphisms as possible. In this study, we focused on the exon 1 region of the amelogenin gene, which has very little polymorphism other than sex differences. We developed a primer set for sex determination and compared it with the GlobalFiler™ PCR Amplification Kit (GF), which is widely used for forensic DNA typing. The results showed that the amount of DNA required for accurate sex determination was 25 pg for both methods, achieving equivalent sensitivity. Next, we compared the two methods using ancient human skeletons and found that the present method with its shorter amplicon was considerably superior to GF. The present method is simple, rapid, inexpensive, and suitable for analyzing highly degraded samples. Therefore, this method is expected to contribute to forensic sciences and physical anthropology.
Obtaining genetic information about early humans is indispensable to our understanding of the demographic history of mankind. In the present study, we performed a detailed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis of a skeleton of the initial Jomon era unearthed from the Yugura cave site in Nagano, Japan, which was dated to 7920–7795 calBP by direct 14C dating. mtDNA of the Yugura skeleton was designated to haplogroup D4b2, which is widely observed in present-day East Asians, including the Japanese, but is absent in Hokkaido Jomon people. This finding indicates that the basal population of Japan was heterogeneous with respect to their mtDNA lineage. This is the first report on the genotype of the people from the initial phase of the Jomon period.
Abstract Objectives The Ainu, the indigenous people living on the northernmost island of Japan, Hokkaido, have long been a focus of anthropological interest because of their cultural, linguistic, and physical identity. A major problem with genetic studies on the Ainu is that the previously published data stemmed almost exclusively from only 51 modern‐day individuals living in Biratori Town, central Hokkaido. To clarify the actual genetic characteristics of the Ainu, individuals who are less influenced by mainland Japanese, who started large‐scale immigration into Hokkaido about 150 years ago, should be examined. Moreover, the samples should be collected from all over Hokkaido. Materials and methods Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups of 94 Ainu individuals from the Edo era were successfully determined by analyzing haplogroup‐defining polymorphisms in the hypervariable and coding regions. Thereafter, their frequencies were compared to those of other populations. Results Our findings indicate that the Ainu still retain the matrilineage of the Hokkaido Jomon people. However, the Siberian influence on this population is far greater than previously recognized. Moreover, the influence of mainland Japanese is evident, especially in the southwestern part of Hokkaido that is adjacent to Honshu, the main island of Japan. Discussion Our results suggest that the Ainu were formed from the Hokkaido Jomon people, but subsequently underwent considerable admixture with adjacent populations. The present study strongly recommends revision of the widely accepted dual‐structure model for the population history of the Japanese, in which the Ainu are assumed to be the direct descendants of the Jomon people.
Polymerase chain reaction-amplified product length polymorphism (PCR-APLP) is one of the most convenient and reliable methods for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. This method is based on PCR, but uses allele-specific primers containing SNP sites at the 3′-terminus of each primer. To use this method at least two allele-specific primers and one “counter-primer”, which serves as a common forward or reverse primer of the allele-specific primers, are required. The allele-specific primers have SNP sites at the 3′-terminus, and another primer should have a few non-complementary flaps at the 5′-terminus to detect SNPs by determining the difference of amplicon length by PCR and subsequent electrophoresis. A major disadvantage of the addition of a non-complementary flap is the non-specific annealing of the primer with non-complementary flaps. However, a design principle for avoiding this undesired annealing has not been fully established, therefore, it is often difficult to design effective APLP primers. Here, we report allele-specific primers with an inosine chain at the 5′-terminus for PCR-APLP analysis. This unique design improves the competitiveness of allele-specific primers and the reliability of SNP analysis when using the PCR-APLP method.
When the denture base is lifted up by the functional force, the clasp arm moves up on the tooth surface and the deformation of the clasp arm makes the retentive force until the clasp arm reaches at surveyline. But, the tooth contour of the abutment tends to be very flat at near about surveyline. Therefore it is necessary to get more retentive force while to permit less axial displacement of the clasp arm to amount of the standard undercut. It produces a better retention to make the reciprocal plane which is prepared on the proximal surface of abutment tooth in order to be contacting during axial displacement of the clasp arm. Planning standard for reciprocal plane is examined with 67 cases of lower premolar abutment corresponding the effective axial displacement for exerting the retentive force.Results1. When “I” bar may apply to the abutment which has the undercut of more than 114 mm on the buccal surface, its adaptability is 75% of the cases.2. When the effective axial displacement of the clasp arm is estimated to 60% of the distance from 1/4 mm undercut point to surveyline, the axial dimension of the reciprocal plane which should correspond to this displacement is from 0.59 mm to 2.32 mm on the proximal surface of the abutment, and its mean value is 1.35 mm.3. When the rotation center locates the mesial rest on the first premolar and “I” bar tip locates the second premolar, the value of the effective axial displacement of the clasp arm estimates 0.75 mm, which should control the lifting up of the free end within 3 mm, and the axial dimension of the reciprocal plane which should correspond to this displacement is 1.1 mm.4. In order to control the lifting up of the free end within 3 mm, there is only 10% of the cases having the effective axial displacement of the clasp arm less than 0.75 mm, however, 90% of the cases may have this displacement when the additional compensative undercut of 0.1 mm is prepared on the tooth surface.From above those results, it is considered that the effective axial dimension of the reciprocal plane on the denture retntion is approximately 1 mm, and the retentive force increases with slight mouth preparation.
