Traces under nails in clinical forensic medicine: not just DNA.

When dealing with complex crimes such as rape and assault, every trace takes on an essential role. The hands are often the only means of defence and offence for the victim as well as a frequent area of contact with the environment; fingernails of a victim are a well-known possible source of DNA of the aggressor; nevertheless, they are more rarely treated as an area of interest for non-genetic material, particularly on living victims. The hyponychium, because of its physiological protective function, lends itself ideally to retaining different kinds of traces representative of an environment or various products and substrates that could shed light on the environment and objects involved in the event. We therefore tested how far this capability of the hyponychium could go by simulating the dynamics of contamination of the nail through scratching on different substrates (brick and mortar, painted wood, ivy leaves, cotton and woollen fabric, soil) and persistence of any contaminant at different time intervals. We have thus shown how these traces may remain in the living for up to 24 h after the event using inexpensive and non-destructive techniques such as the episcopic and optical microscope.

Suplementação gestacional na produção de lã de ovelhas e cordeiros / Gestacional supplementation in wool production of ewes and lambs

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da suplementação durante diferentes períodos gestacionais sobre a produção de lã de ovelhas e cordeiros da raça Ideal. Foram utilizadas 53 ovelhas da raça Ideal, com escore corporal médio (3), inseminadas pela técnica de laparoscopia, com sêmen fresco de um único reprodutor; e seus cordeiros. Os tratamentos experimentais foram: sem suplementação (n=9); suplementação do início da gestação até 50 dias (n=11); suplementação dos 51 aos 100 dias de gestação (n=11); suplementação dos 101 aos 150 dias - final da gestação (n=11); e suplementação durante toda a gestação (n=11). A suplementação foi a 1,5% do peso corporal. Amostras de lã das ovelhas e dos cordeiros foram tomadas na região do costilhar esquerdo e enviadas ao laboratório para análises objetivas de finura de lã. As suplementações no terço final e durante toda a gestação proporcionavam os melhores resultados, com aumento de produção de lã e de peso das ovelhas. Ovelhas que receberam suplementação durante toda a gestação apresentaram maior diâmetro de fibra e peso corporal. O desempenho de lã dos cordeiros não foi influenciado pela alimentação de ovelhas durante a gestação.(AU)

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of supplementation during different gestational periods on the wool production of sheep and lambs of the Ideal breed. Fifty-three adult Ideal sheep were used, with a mean body score inseminated by the laparoscopy technique using fresh sperm from a single breeder and his lambs. Treatment groups: No supplementation (n=9); Supplementation in the beginning of gestation up to 50 days (n=11); Supplementation from 51 to 100 days of gestation (n=11); Supplementation from 101 to 150 days - end of gestation (n=11) ;and Supplementation throughout the gestation (n=11). The supplementation was at 1.5% of body weight. After birth, lambs were kept with their mothers in cultivated pasture of black oats and ryegrass. Wool samples from sheep and lambs were taken in the left-hand region and sent to the laboratory for objective analyzes of wool fineness. The supplementation performed in the final third and throughout the gestation provides the best results, with increased sheep weight. Ewes that received supplementation throughout pregnancy had greater fiber diameter and body weight. The wool performance of lambs was not influenced by feeding sheep during gestation.(AU)

Onion (Allium cepa L.) Skin: A Rich Resource of Biomolecules for the Sustainable Production of Colored Biofunctional Textiles.

The aqueous extract of dry onion skin waste from the 'Dorata di Parma' cultivar was tested as a new source of biomolecules for the production of colored and biofunctional wool yarns, through environmentally friendly dyeing procedures. Specific attention was paid to the antioxidant and UV protection properties of the resulting textiles. On the basis of spectrophotometric and mass spectrometry analyses, the obtained deep red-brown color was assigned to quercetin and its glycoside derivatives. The Folin⁻Ciocalteu method revealed good phenol uptakes on the wool fiber (higher than 27% for the textile after the first dyeing cycle), with respect to the original total content estimated in the water extract (78.50 ± 2.49 mg equivalent gallic acid/g onion skin). The manufactured materials showed remarkable antioxidant activity and ability to protect human skin against lipid peroxidation following UV radiation: 7.65 ± 1.43 (FRAP assay) and 13.60 (ORAC assay) mg equivalent trolox/g textile; lipid peroxidation inhibition up to 89.37%. This photoprotective and antioxidant activity were therefore ascribed to the polyphenol pool contained in the outer dried gold skins of onion. It is worth noting that citofluorimetric analysis demonstrated that the aqueous extract does not have a significative influence on cell viability, neither is capable of inducing a proapoptotic effect.