X-chromosome SNP analyses in 11 human Mediterranean populations show a high overall genetic homogeneity except in North-west Africans (Moroccans).

Background: Due to its history, with a high number of migration events, the Mediterranean basin represents a challenging area for population genetic studies. A large number of genetic studies have been carried out in the Mediterranean area using different markers but no consensus has been reached on the genetic landscape of the Mediterranean populations. In order to further investigate the genetics of the human Mediterranean populations, we typed 894 individuals from 11 Mediterranean populations with 25 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located on the X-chromosome.

Haplotype frequencies of eight Y-chromosome short tandem repeats loci in four Amerindian populations (state of Hidalgo, Mexico).

Amerindian populations: Huastecos (n=97), Otomies de la Sierra (n=41), Otomies del Valle (n=40), and Tepehuas (n=13).

Childhood homicide: a 1990-2000 retrospective study at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The authors retrospectively reviewed all homicides of children under 15 years of age referred to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Lausanne from January 1990 to December 2000. We report on 41 cases during this eleven-year period. Among those, 17 newborns and 24 older children, a higher proportion of males was found.

Fatal aortic injury during laparoscopy: report of two cases.

The authors report the cases of two young women who died of massive hemorrhage resulting from trocar aortic injuries during abdominal laparoscopy. In the first case, wherein the patient underwent laparoscopy for cecopexy, the forensic autopsy showed a through-and-through perforation of the abdominal aorta and of the ileum. The other woman, who had morbid obesity, underwent a laparoscopy for gastroplasty.

Post-mortem castration by a dog: a case report.

A man was found dead in a room where two dogs and a cat were wandering freely. His legs were bare and his underpants presented a few small tears. The deceased exhibited a partial emasculation but with only a small amount of bleeding.