RESUMEN
Within post-conflict communities, attempts to identify and repatriate unidentified and missing individuals poses a difficult task. As current forensic strategies commonly lack the capacity to provide region of origin assessments, forensic anthropologists/investigators are often unable to identify sources of DNA for kinship analysis. Using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), hair samples from 10 volunteers were used to assess the variation in strontium isotope ratios (87 Sr/86 Sr) between extant people in Guatemala City and Coban; with a leach (external) and digest (dietary) signal analyzed for each sample. A two-way anova demonstrated that the difference between 87 Sr/86 Sr of Guatemala City and Coban was statistically significant (F [1, 16] = 259.839, p < 0.05), with no statistically significant differences observed between leach and digest 87 Sr/86 Sr (F [1,16] = 4.319, p = 0.054). Overall, individuals from Coban demonstrate 87 Sr/86 Sr comparable to previously recorded baseline values, demonstrating a minimal change in diet which is reflected in associated surveys. Volunteers from Guatemala City, however, show a marked shift in 87 Sr/86 Sr away from predicted values highlighting the potential influence of imported goods. The results here highlight the applicability of 87 Sr/86 Sr in hair to serve as a potential tool to support the identification of unknown individuals in Guatemala in a forensic context.
Asunto(s)
Monensina , Isótopos de Estroncio , Ciudades , Cabello/química , Humanos , Espectrometría de Masas/métodos , Monensina/análisis , Estroncio/análisis , Isótopos de Estroncio/análisisRESUMEN
In this paper, we describe development of a high-throughput, highly sensitive method based on Lab Chip CGE-SDS platform for purity determination and characterization of virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines. A capillary gel electrophoresis approach requiring about 41 s per sample for analysis and demonstrating sensitivity to protein initial concentrations as low as 20 µg/mL, this method has been used previously to evaluate monoclonal antibodies, but this application for lot release assay of VLPs using this platform is unique. The method was qualified and shown to be accurate for the quantitation of VLP purity. Assay repeatability was confirmed to be less than 2% relative standard deviation of the mean (% RSD) with interday precision less than 2% RSD. The assay can evaluate purified VLPs in a concentration range of 20-249 µg/mL for VEE and 20-250 µg/mL for EEE and WEE VLPs.