Dermatoglyphic meta-analysis indicates early epigenetic outcomes & possible implications on genomic zygosity in type-2 diabetes

Identification of obesity in children and teenagers

BACKGROUND

Obesity is a condition that increases the risk of developing several health problems, resulting in high health care costs worldwide. Therefore, it is important to investigate several avenues for the control of this condition. This study aimed to identify a dermatoglyphical condition that distinguishes obesity individuals from those of appropriate weight.

METHODS

The sample comprised 2172 children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 19 years, female and male, from public and private schools of the municipality of Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

RESULTS

In a comparison of qualitative variables, i.e., patterns, significant differences were observed between groups, including a higher frequency of ulnar loops (LU) on the index and middle fingers (MET2 and MET3) in the appropriate weight group. In the obesity group, a greater frequency of whorls (W) on fingers MET2 and MET3 was observed in males. In females, there were statistically significant correlations between the presence of radial loops (LR) on MET3 in the appropriate weight group and arches (A) in the obesity group.

CONCLUSIONS

The study uncovered dermatoglyphical marks characteristic of obesity individuals.

Canada's Colonial Genocide of Indigenous Peoples: A Review of the Psychosocial and Neurobiological Processes Linking Trauma and Intergenerational Outcomes

The policies and actions that were enacted to colonize Indigenous Peoples in Canada have been described as constituting cultural genocide. When one considers the long-term consequences from the perspective of the social and environmental determinants of health framework, the impacts of such policies on the physical and mental health of Indigenous Peoples go well beyond cultural loss. This paper addresses the impacts of key historical and current Canadian federal policies in relation to the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples. Far from constituting a mere lesson in history, the connections between colonialist policies and actions on present-day outcomes are evaluated in terms of transgenerational and intergenerational transmission processes, including psychosocial, developmental, environmental, and neurobiological mechanisms and trauma responses. In addition, while colonialist policies have created adverse living conditions for Indigenous Peoples, resilience and the perseverance of many aspects of culture may be maintained through intergenerational processes.

Kristine Bonnevie's theories on the genetics of fingerprints, and their application in Germany

This paper offers a historical reconstruction of the efforts to geneticize fingerprints, focusing on the theories put forward by the Norwegian biologist Kristine Bonnevie. The criminological and colonial roots of the preoccupation with fingerprints led to the creation of huge catalogues of fingerprints, which later became the starting point of Bonnevie's analysis. Building on insights she gained from her studies on the inheritance of human pathologies, Bonnevie insisted that all ten fingers exhibited varying manifestations of a single, underlying genotypic design. In 1923-4, she identified several theoretical genes that presumably constituted this hypothetical genotypic finger; five years later she revised her theory in light of a series of embryological dissections she conducted. Her new theory was adopted by German jurists, doctors and racial-anthropologists who relied on it to determine legal questions of disputed paternity. The extensive application of Bonnevie's genetic theory also exposed its deficiencies, and by the late 1950s her model was abandoned. At the same time, one of the most important genetic variables that Bonnevie discovered (or, invented) entered mainline genetic theory, and is still being used to this very day. The paper examines these developments, highlighting the multiple and complex relations between scientific theory building, practical considerations related to the gathering and processing of data, and social, racial and gender biases that shaped the process of "Mendelization" of finger print patterns.

Association between gestational period and obesity in children with the use of dermatoglyphic traits: A preliminary study

Events occurring during the gestational period can influence the development of diseases and conditions such as obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between events occurring in the gestational period and the occurrence of obesity in children based on dermatoglyphic traits. The sample comprised 73 children born in 2009, living in Palhoça, Santa Catarina (SC), Brazil, regularly enrolled in public and private schools in that municipality and who are participants of an ongoing major cohort study project called Coorte Brasil Sul. The results show predictive traits of obesity when comparing BMI and fingerprint groups. Obese male group, presented the figure Ulnar Loop (UL) in the right hand (MDT1) thumb and greater number of ridges in the (MDSQL1) right thumb the greater the BMI; likewise, the older the woman getting pregnant the greater the number of ridges that the child presented in the (MESQL2) left index finger and (MESQL1) right thumb. The results obtained infer the presence of predictive traits of BMI ranges and a possible association between the dermatoglyphic traits of children with obesity and late pregnancy women.

Dermatoglyphical impressions are different between children and adolescents with normal weight, overweight and obesity: a cross-sectional study

Background: Obesity is a health condition that causes a great impact on public health. The aim of this study was to determine the association between dermatoglyphic characteristics and excessive weight in children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in the center-west region of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Methods: The sample comprised of 2,172 children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 years old of both sexes and from public and private teaching networks. Results: The results suggested a predictive marker of obesity, with a greater number of lines in left hand finger two (Mesql2) and a higher frequency of the whorl pattern in participants of a healthy weight, while the overweight group had a higher frequency of the radial loop pattern and the obese group had a higher frequency of the ulnar loop pattern. Conclusion: It was concluded that there may be different dermatoglyphic characteristics depending on the nutritional status of children and adolescents.