DNA TrACK

Column Specification

Detailed explanation of each column in the DNA TrACK database.

Authors

Study authors

    Year

    Year of publication

      Title

      Publication title

        Journal

        Publishing journal

          Addressed question

          Short summary of question addressed in study/experiment

            Activity context

            Specifies whether transfer scenarios were studied in the context of a specific (criminal) activity

            List of Parameters:

            • none
            • shooting
            • manual strangulation
            • assault
            • sexual contact
            • kissing
            • stabbing
            • burglary
            • theft
            • scratching
            • washing machine
            • casework
            • biting
            • professional
            • speaking
            • mail
            • social contact
            • wildlife crime
            • explosive devices
            • car accidents

            Category

            Categorisation of study object (Primary deposit = direct (skin) contact, transfer scenario = further transfer after primary deposit, background DNA = levels of background DNA on specific surfaces, Persistence, Recovery = recovery methods)

            List of Parameters:

            • Primary deposit
            • Transfer scenario
            • Background DNA
            • Persistence
            • Recovery

            Specifications

            Variables affecting DNA deposit, transfer, persistence, background or recovery analysed in study (cave: background DNA (BG) indicates which surface type background DNA was studied on and not whether BG DNA was generally present (cf. Column Background DNA)

            List of Parameters:

            • individual characteristics
            • contact
            • surface
            • bodily origin
            • transfer sequence
            • previous activities
            • transfer via vector
            • transfer via handshake
            • BG on skin/other body locations
            • BG on personal items
            • BG on public items
            • BG on clothing
            • BG in professional environment
            • Persistence with time
            • Persistence with temperature
            • Persistence with firing/explosion
            • Persistence with irradiation
            • Persistence with environmental conditions
            • Persistence with packaging and transport
            • Persistence with regular activities
            • Persistence with further contact
            • Persistence with water immersion
            • Persistence with decontamination
            • Persistence with latent print enhancement
            • Sampling
            • Extraction
            • direct PCR
            • DNA profiling
            • RNA profiling
            • visualisation
            • Persistence with microbial growth
            • Persistence with humidity

            Variables of interest

            Parameters varied within the experimental setup

              Stringency of Control

              Specifies whether samples where taken from the "reality" (casework or environmental samples) or generated in a more or less controlled experiment

              List of Parameters:

              • controlled
              • reality
              • close to realistic

              Number of Individuals

              Number of study participants (n.s. = not specified in publication)

                Replicates per Individual and condition

                Number of replicates per Individual and condition (n.s. = not specified in publication)

                  Nucleic Acid

                  Nucleic acid type analysed in the study (Y-Chromosome specifying studies where more than one Y-chromosomal marker was analysed)

                  List of Parameters:

                  • DNA
                  • RNA
                  • mtDNA
                  • Y-Chromosome
                  • Methylome

                  Bodily origin

                  Specification of cell type (and body location), "trace" indicates an unknown bodily origin

                    Depositor characteristics

                    Any specification on depositor characteristics given in the study (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                      Criter for shedder status

                      When participants were classified according to shedder status, criteria are given here (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                        Previous activitites

                        Previous activities of depositor (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                          Contact scenario

                          Short summary of the separate steps in the contact scenario (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                            Primary substrate type

                            Specification of primary substrate, including "umbrella term" for items with several possible designations: firearms, knife, cartridges, fabric, tools, points of entry, body parts, body fluids, personal items (n.s. = not specified in publication)

                              Primary substrate material

                              Material of primary substrate

                              List of Parameters:

                              • plastic
                              • wood
                              • paper
                              • glass
                              • cotton
                              • skin
                              • skin and nail
                              • various
                              • vinyl
                              • mucosa
                              • metal
                              • n.s.
                              • adhesive
                              • air
                              • leather
                              • fabric
                              • aluminium
                              • squirrel hair
                              • fibreglass
                              • brass
                              • nickel-plated brass
                              • polyester
                              • dust
                              • stone
                              • steel
                              • nickel
                              • nylon
                              • denim
                              • wool
                              • latex
                              • nitrile
                              • melamine
                              • acetate
                              • rubber
                              • food
                              • animal bodies
                              • plexiglass
                              • ceramic

                              Deposit

                              Time and manner of primary deposit (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                Delay (conditions)

                                Delay (conditions) between contacts, for delays before sampling see "Persistence" (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                  Secondary substrate type

                                  Specification of secondary substrate, including "umbrella term" for items with several possible designations: firearms, knife, cartridges, fabric, tools, points of entry, body parts, body fluids, personal items (n.s. = not specified in publication)

                                    Secondary substrate material

                                    Material of secondary substrate (n.s. = not specified in publication)

                                    List of Parameters:

                                    • plastic
                                    • wood
                                    • glass
                                    • skin
                                    • n.s
                                    • adhesive
                                    • squirrel hair
                                    • fibreglass
                                    • acetate
                                    • oil
                                    • cotton
                                    • gelatine
                                    • silicone
                                    • wool
                                    • denim
                                    • leather
                                    • nylon
                                    • polyester
                                    • silk
                                    • nitrile
                                    • latex
                                    • paper
                                    • cardboard
                                    • bone
                                    • metal
                                    • fabric

                                    Type of secondary contact

                                    Time and manner of secondary contact (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                      Further transfer

                                      Specification of any further substrates (including "umbrella term" for items with several possible designations: firearms, knife, cartridges, fabric, tools, points of entry, body parts, body fluids, personal items) and contacts (n.s. = not specified)

                                        Background DNA on sampled surface

                                        Presence or absence of background DNA on sampled surfaces (assumed = no controls shown, confirmed = confirmed by control sampling, n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                        List of Parameters:

                                        • Present
                                        • Negative (Confirmed)
                                        • Negative (Assumed)
                                        • Sampled

                                        Sampling time

                                        Specification whether sampling was performed directly after transfer scenario or delayed (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                          Persistence (conditions)

                                          Specification of time and conditions during a delay before sampling (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                            Sampling method

                                            Specification on sampling method (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                              Sampling area

                                              Description of location and size of sampling area (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                Extraction

                                                Extraction method (including concentration and clean-up steps) (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                  DNA Quantification

                                                  Method used for DNA quantification (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                    Input for Profiling

                                                    Nucleic Acid Input for PCR (a.p.m.i. = as per manufacturer's instructions, n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                      Profiling

                                                      Profiling method and detection of amplification product, software and specification for profile analysis (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                        Reference samples

                                                        Obtainment of reference samples (who and how?) (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                          Profile interpretation and mixture analysis

                                                          Methods of profile interpretation and mixture interpretation (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                            RNA data interpretation

                                                            Interpretation of RNA data (if performed) (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                              DNA Quantitiy

                                                              Range or average of obtained DNA quantification values (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                                Profile Quality

                                                                Short description of obtained profile quality (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                                  Parameter used for comparison

                                                                  Which parameters were used for comparison of results (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                                    Summary of results

                                                                    Short summary of most important findings and trends (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)

                                                                      Raised questions (by authors)

                                                                      Further aspects to study mentioned by publishing authors

                                                                        Cautionary remarks

                                                                        Aspects for consideration when relying on data generated in the respective study (n.s. = not specified in publication, n.a. = not assessed)