Characteristics of deceased and quality of death certificates for cases subjected to Indonesia's management of the dead protocol for bodies with COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many aspects of life, including death care. International and national protocols have been implemented for the management of the dead. This study aims to determine the characteristics of decedents managed according to COVID-19 protocols in Indonesia and the quality of their death certificates. This study uses a descriptive, cross-sectional design. Secondary data of deaths with COVID-19 were taken from hospital death registries, medical records, and death certificates. Data were collected from nine referral hospitals and one funeral home in 6 cities in Indonesia. The majority of the decedents were male, Muslim, with a median age of 57. Most were treated in non-intensive isolation wards, and almost half had known comorbidities. Many were still awaiting the result of their confirmative PCR at the time of death. Almost all were managed compliant with the standard protocol, and most were buried in COVID-only cemeteries. There were still deficiencies in the completeness and accuracy of the death certificates. "COVID-19" was mentioned as a cause of death in only about half of the cases, with a wide variety of terms and spelling. Management of the dead protocols for bodies with COVID-19 can generally be implemented in Indonesia. The quality of the death certificates should, however, be continuously improved.

DNA Polymorphism of 13 Autosomal Short Tandem Repeats (STR) Loci in Mentawai Populations.

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Indonesia consists of various ethnic groups with diverse cultures. However, research on allele frequencies and genetic variations of each ethnic group in Indonesia has not been well established. Therefore, a study was conducted on 13 STR loci panels to analyze the mentawai population as an enhancement of the Indonesian population's genetic data library and genetic variation. Mentawai is one of the Indonesian tribes who live on Mentawai Island, West Sumatera. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> The PrepFiler kit to extract DNA from blood and the GlobalFiler kit for amplifying the 13 loci were used. The genetic analyzer ABI PRISM 3500 was used to detect PCR products. Data were processed and analyzed by EasyDNA and FORSTAT software. <b>Results:</b> The allele frequency data for 13 autosomal loci in Mentawai populations were obtained. Expected heterozygosity was found with a minimum of 0.607 for TPOX and a maximum of 0.866 for FGA. Power of discrimination (PD) values ranges from TPOX (0.792) to FGA (0.968). Polymorphic information content (PIC) values for all loci were high, ranging from 0.642 for TPOX to 0.921 for vWA. Three off-ladder alleles in these findings were detected. Allele 6.3 at the TH01 loci and allele 14.2 at the D18S51 loci are exquisite. The mean expected heterozygosity and mean power of discrimination value across the 13 loci were 75.9 and 90.1%, indicating striking gene diversity. <b>Conclusion:</b> These 13 STR loci can be used for population genetic studies and forensic identification.

GENETIC ANALYSIS 21 SHORT TANDEM REPEATS (STR) LOCUS IN MINANGKABAU POPULATION, WEST SUMATERA, INDONESIA.

Background: Minangkabau is the majority ethnic group in West Sumatra, Indonesia. West Sumatra is a disaster area, especially earthquakes and the potential for a tsunami. Allele frequency for 21 short tandem repeat locus and genetic variation are not well known. This data is essential for calculating the Paternity Index and Match Probability for forensic identification. Materials and methods: This was an observational study. We analyze the GlobalFiller STR loci in 25 unrelated individuals from Minangkabau ethnic group. The DNA was extracted using a Prefiller kit and amplified with a Global Filler kit by a GeneAmp PCR System, followed by capillary electrophoresis using ABI Prism 3500 Genetic Analyzer. Data analysis was performed by using Easy DNA and FORSTAT software. Results: We observed 162 alleles with allele frequencies between 0.02 - 0.36. The highest expected heterozygosity and the highest power of discrimination were at the SE33 loci, and the highest match probability was at the D2S441 locus. The Chi-square test showed that all STR loci followed Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p > 0.05). All loci were highly polymorphic (PIC > 0.5). The combined discrimination capacity of each locus in the population was 99,999%. Conclusion: The 21 STR loci are useful for forensic analysis and population genetic studies of the Minangkabau population.