A Ge.F.I. Collaborative Study: Evaluating Reproducibility and Accuracy of a DNA-Methylation-Based Age-Predictive Assay for Routine Implementation in Forensic Casework.

The increasing interest in DNA methylation (DNAm) analysis within the forensic scientific community prompted a collaborative project by Ge.F.I.

The Usefulness of qPCR Data for Sample Pre-Assessment and Interpretation of Genetic Typing Results.

DNA quantification is a crucial step in the STR typing workflow for human identification purposes. Given the reaction's nature, qPCR assays may be subjected to the same stochastic effects of traditional PCR for low-input concentrations. The study aims to evaluate the precision of the PowerQuant (Promega) kit assay measurements and the degree of variability for DNA templates falling below the optimal threshold of the PowerPlex ESX-17 Fast STR typing kit (Promega).

Trace DNA Transfer in Co-Working Spaces: The Importance of Background DNA Analysis.

The presence of background DNA (bgDNA) can hinder the evaluation of DNA evidence at the activity level, especially when the suspect is expected to be retrieved due to their habitual occupation of the investigated environment. Based on real-life casework circumstances, this study investigates the prevalence, composition, origin, and probable transfer routes of bgDNA found on personal items in situations where their owner and person of interest (POI) share the same workspace. Baseline values of bgDNA were evaluated on the participants' personal items.

Direct and Secondary Transfer of Touch DNA on a Credit Card: Evidence Evaluation Given Activity Level Propositions and Application of Bayesian Networks.

In a judiciary setting, questions regarding the mechanisms of transfer, persistence, and recovery of DNA are increasingly more common. The forensic expert is now asked to evaluate the strength of DNA trace evidence at activity level, thus assessing if a trace, given its qualitative and quantitative features, could be the result of an alleged activity. The present study is the reproduction of a real-life casework scenario of illicit credit card use by a co-worker (POI) of its owner (O).

Genetic identification of endoscopic biopsies after unnecessary gastrectomy: Case report and medico-legal evaluation.

Introduction: Forensic genetic laboratories analyse samples included in paraffin to verify the genetic correspondence of histological samples, from living subjects or cadavers, in cases where there is a suspicion of contamination of samples with tissues of other patients.

Presentation Of The Case: A case of a man subjected to a gastrectomy as a result of a histological diagnosis of gastric adenocarcinoma after endoscopic biopsies is reported. The microscopic analysis on the gastric tissue after the gastrectomy excluded the presence of cancer.

Medico-Legal Aspects of Pulmonary Thromboembolism.

Pulmonary ThromboEmolism (PTE) is an important disease for legal medicine. Because of their sudden lethal onset, generally medicolegal autopsies show few clinical information when PTE is the cause of death. During medicolegal autopsies, the autopsy operator must answer to important questions.