Comparing Genetic and Physical Anthropological Analyses for the Biological Profile of Unidentified and Identified Bodies in Milan.

When studying unknown human remains, the estimation of skeletal sex and ancestry is paramount to create the victim's biological profile and attempt identification. In this paper, a multidisciplinary approach to infer the sex and biogeographical ancestry of different skeletons, using physical methods and routine forensic markers, is explored. Forensic investigators, thus, encounter two main issues: (1) the use of markers such as STRs that are not the best choice in terms of inferring biogeographical ancestry but are routine forensic markers to identify a person, and (2) the concordance of the physical and molecular results.

How Physical and Molecular Anthropology Interplay in the Creation of Biological Profiles of Unidentified Migrants.

The skeletal sex and ancestry of unidentified human crania can be inferred both from physical and from molecular features. This paper depicts and discusses the experiences of physical and molecular anthropologists on a set of commingled crania from the largest Mediterranean shipwreck disaster on 18 April 2015, in order to facilitate identification of human crania. Twenty-one disarticulated crania that were recovered from the above-mentioned shipwreck were analyzed to estimate skeletal sex and ancestry, following a physical and a molecular pipeline.

Biogeographical ancestry, variable selection, and PLS-DA method: a new panel to assess ancestry in forensic samples via MPS technology.

As evidenced by the large number of articles recently published in the literature, forensic scientists are making great efforts to infer externally visible features and biogeographical ancestry (BGA) from DNA analysis. Just as phenotypic, ancestry information obtained from DNA can provide investigative leads to identify the victims (missing/unidentified persons, crime/armed conflict/mass disaster victims) or trace their perpetrators when no matches were found with the reference profile or in the database. Recently, the advent of Massively Parallel Sequencing technologies associated with the possibility of harnessing high-throughput genetic data allowed us to investigate the associations between phenotypic and genomic variations in worldwide human populations and develop new BGA forensic tools capable of simultaneously analyzing up to millions of markers if for example the ancient DNA approach of hybridization capture was adopted to target SNPs of interest.

Cadmium bioaccumulation in Mediterranean spider crab (Maya squinado): human consumption and health implications for exposure in Italian population.

Cd bioaccumulation pattern was investigated in Mediterranean spider crab (Maya squinado, Herbst, 1788) collected from the northern Adriatic Sea. Specimens were caught in the framework of a monitoring plan in order to quantify the Cd distribution into different organs and tissues of crab. For this purpose, Cd level was studied in appendages, cephalothorax, abdomen as well as gonads.

Influence of family history of type 2 diabetes on leptin concentration in cord blood of male offspring with high birth weight.

To verify whether a diabetes family history might be a risk factor for the development, in adult age, of metabolic disorders, leptin, anthropometric and endocrine parameters were analysed in 95 babies with grandparents affected by type 2 diabetes (DF) and in 95 matched babies without diabetes family history (NDF). A sexual dimorphism for leptin was present in the NDF group (males: 6.7+/-4.

Advanced glycosylation end product quantification: differently produced polyclonal antisera do not share the recognition of epitopes of different nature.

Advanced glycosylation end products (AGE) which are probably involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications, comprise a series of related chemical structures. Thus different antisera might recognize particular AGE epitopes rather than the complete range of epitopes. To test this hypothesis, two antisera were raised using different immunization techniques and different AGE-carrier proteins as immunogens.

Evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C with a computer-assisted morphometric method.

Objective methods are needed to quantitatively assess the burden of fibrous tissue in liver biopsy specimens and its changes after treatment. The aim of this study was to assess the validity of a computer-assisted morphometric method in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Sixty-nine liver biopsy specimens stained with Sirius red were evaluated by two independent observers with a computer-assisted morphometric method to measure the percentage of fibrous tissue in the optic fields examined (fibrosis ratio).