Who touched the document?: A new overall strategy for collection and identification of DNA from the questioned documents as a supportive evidence.

The questions on which judges/prosecutors apply for expertise are mostly about by whom a document was drafted/signed. In this study, a new collective strategy was constructed including a collection method, a modified-silica-based DNA isolation method, and a novel purification method on four contact traces formed on four different paper surface during writing, using PCR with AmpFlSTR®GlobalFiler™ STR kit (after experimental comparison between three different kits) and identification using CE. This collective analysis approach is more sensitive and superior to its equivalents on questioned documents in literature because quantifiable amounts of touch DNA and profiles with high loci percentages (100% on day 1, 72.72% after 1 week) were obtained up to 1 week even after the most challenging conditions of sample forming that a forensic scientist can meet; as washing hands just before drafting and using a very low pressure in a shorter time (simulating a simple contact real conditions while drafting), using no visualizing technique that damages the document. Using the strategy, four most commonly used paper types were compared, to see in which of them DNA could be recovered better. The success of this strategy was shown on the 1-day to 10-year-old real samples from a diary and some archive documents from a law office (including the mix-DNA and different ballpoint pens). Thus, it became possible to show if a person had touched the document, in high success rates up to 1 week as a secondary evidence, when primary evidences are insufficient for the detection of document fraud offenses.

The effects of 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms on antisocial personality disorder among criminals in a sample of the Turkish population.

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a cluster B personality disorder characterized by a disposition for criminal behaviors. It has been determined by previous studies that ASPD may have a genetic origin and the human serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) is one of the two serotonergic genes expected to be associated with this disorder. 5-HTT-linked polymorphic promoter region (5-HTTLPR) is a degenerate repeat polymorphic region in SLC6A4, the gene that codes for the serotonin transporter. Among many polymorphisms in SLC6A4, 5-HTTLPR an insertion/deletion (indel) polymorphism and rs25531 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 5-HTTLPR polymorphic region contribute to the regulation of SLC6A4 expression. In this study, we aimed to reveal the relationship between frequencies of 5-HTTLPR variants and ASPD among criminals in the Turkish population. Moreover, it was also attempted to figure out the SLC6A4 gene expression level differences regarding these polymorphisms. The 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 genotypes were determined by PCR and restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses and quantitative real-time-PCR was done for measuring the gene expression levels in the case and control groups. Although no significant difference was observed in the distributions of the 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 polymorphisms between the case and control groups, SLC6A4 expression level in the control group was found significantly higher than the case group (p < 0.0001). There was also no significant difference between genotypes in terms of mRNA expression levels in either the control or the case group. According to our results, ASPD in Turkish society is associated with the SLC6A4 gene expression levels, though the distributions of 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms are not different. This study sheds light on future relevant studies as the first study which is conducted in criminals with ASPD in the Turkish community.

The evaluation of medical malpractice claims: Creating a Standard Approach Model Using the Delphi Method.

Complaints about alleged medical malpractice have increased over time in Turkey, as well as other countries around the world. And it is often the subject of debate in health law and medical law. It can be seen that discussions are underway on "standard of care" which is highlighted in the finalization of claims for medical malpractice. In this case, the expert opinion offered to be the key point for the cases. In the expert opinion, there seems to be differences in approach and procedure. However, the period of determination of whether health professionals provide the expected minimum standard of care needs to be analyzed in a standard way. In addition to standard, objective and scientific evaluation of the evidence of liability for the medical malpractice claims by the experts, it is aimed to create an algorithm that will facilitate the evaluation by the judicial authorities. The aim of this research is to provide minimum common denominator which will be the standard approach model for the experts in the evaluation of medical malpractice claims. The Delphi method was used as a tool for the panelists to express their opinions freely without being under the influence of each other and to reveal different ideas. The research conducted with 11 panelists consist of forensic medicine experts, clinicians, and a lawyer between January 2017 and September 2017. This research will impact the forensic science and law community by serving the evaluations of the experts in medical malpractice claims whether evaluations are based on methodological and logical considerations and the scientific validity of the evaluations is objective or not.

IRS-2 G1057D polymorphism in Turkish patients with colorectal cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Gene polymorphisms have a broad range of analysis, but are of particular use in molecular medicine due to their potential in revealing the genetic tendency in diseases such as cancer, heart attack etc. These studies basically depend on mutations that can be detected by proper techniques. The genes coding the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) proteins are among the most widely analysed polymorphisms in various cancer types, in which a G1057D mutation is seen. AIM: To determine the risk of colon cancer by analysing the IRS-2 gene polymorphism in Turkish patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 161 newly diagnosed colorectal cancer patients were analysed and compared to 197 unrelated healthy controls. A polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism method was carried out. RESULTS: No differences were observed between the patient and control groups for both allele and genotype frequencies of the IRS-2 G1057D gene. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrated that IRS-2 G1057D polymorphism is not associated with colorectal cancer in the Turkish population. This research is a preliminary and original study in Turkish patients with colorectal cancer. It also provides population-level genetic data on IRS-2 in the Turkish population. Further studies should be performed on larger number of patients and controls for more reliable results about the genetic tendency in colorectal cancer in Turkey. The study is a collaborative work of different universities and scientists.