A dermatoglyphic study of the Amis aboriginal population of Taiwan

Amis is the largest aboriginal population in Taiwan. The previous dermatoglyphic studies of the Amis only reported limited data. In this study, we collected and analyzed the dermatoglyphs of 200 Amis individuals, and we reported a wide range of dermatoglyphic variables including total finger ridge count, a-b ridge count, atd angle, axial triradius percent distance, and frequencies of fingerprint pattern, palmar thenar pattern, palmar interdigital pattern, and simian line. This study is the first comprehensive dermatoglyphic research of Amis since 1960s, and its dermatoglyphic data will be useful for future research in anthropology, genetics and medicine.     

A dermatoglyphic study of the Amis aboriginal population of Taiwan

Amis is the largest aboriginal population in Taiwan. The previous dermatoglyphic studies of the Amis only reported limited data. In this study, we collected and analyzed the dermatoglyphs of 200 Amis in-dividuals, and we reported a wide range of dermatoglyphic variables including total finger ridge count, a-b ridge count, atd angle, axial triradius percent distance, and frequencies of fingerprint pattern, pal-mar thenar pattern, palmar interdigital pattern, and simian line. This study is the first comprehensive dermatoglyphic research of Amis since 1960s, and its dermatoglyphic data will be useful for future re-search in anthropology, genetics and medicine.     

A dermatoglyphic study of the Kavalan aboriginal population of Taiwan

By the 1970s, a number of dermatoglyphic studies of Taiwan aborigines (Gaoshan nationality) had been published, however in each only a few dermatoglyphic variables were addressed. Since that time, little new research has been conducted. In this study, we collected and analyzed the dermatoglyphs of 100 individuals of Kavalan, a Taiwan aboriginal population, and we reported a wide range of dermatoglyphic variables including total finger ridge count (TFRC), a-b total ridge count (a-b RC), atd angle and axial triradius percent distance (tPD), and frequencies of fingerprint pattern, palmar thenar pattern, palmar interdigital pattern, palmar hypothenar pattern, and simian line. This study is the first comprehensive dermatoglyphic research of any Taiwan aboriginal population.     

A dermatoglyphic study of the Kavalan aboriginal population of Taiwan

By the 1970s, a number of dermatoglyphic studies of Taiwan aborigines (Gaoshan nationality) had been published, however in each only a few dermatoglyphic variables were addressed. Since that time, little new research has been conducted. In this study, we collected and analyzed the dermatoglyphs of 100 individuals of Kavalan, a Taiwan aboriginal population, and we reported a wide range of dermatoglyphic variables including total finger ridge count (TFRC), a-b total ridge count (a-b RC), atd angle and axial triradius percent distance (tPD), and frequencies of fingerprint pattern, palmar thenar pattern, palmar interdigital pattern, palmar hypothenar pattern, and simian line. This study is the first comprehensive dermatoglyphic research of any Taiwan aboriginal population.     

Dermatoglyphics in hypertension: a review

Hypertension is a major contributor to the global burden of disease and mortality. A major medical advancement would be a better means to ascertain which persons are at higher risk for becoming hypertensive beforehand. To that end, there have been a number of studies showing that certain dermatoglyphic markers are associated with hypertension. This association could be explained if the risk toward developing hypertension later on in life is somehow connected with fetal development of dermatoglyphics. It would be highly valuable from a clinical standpoint if this conjecture could be substantiated since dermatoglyphic markers could then be used for screening out individuals who might be at an elevated risk of becoming hypertensive. The aim of this review was to search for and appraise available studies that pertain to the association between hypertension and dermatoglyphics.A systematic literature search conducted using articles from MEDLINE (PubMed), Trip, Cochran, Google scholar, and gray literature until December 2014. Of the 37 relevant publications, 17 were included in the review. The review performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement.This review showed a fairly consistent finding of an increased frequency of whorl patterns along with a higher mean total ridge count in digital dermatoglyphic results in hypertensive samples compared to controls. However, it was imperative to discuss several limitations found in the studies that could make this association as yet unsettled.     

海峡两岸汉民族与南岛民族肤纹之比较

本文研究与整理海峡两岸汉民族与南岛民族的肤纹数据,来比较与探讨目前他们的肤纹形态上的异同。研究群体包含台湾的汉人与原住民族群,以及大陆的汉族与海南的回辉人。研究结果显示两岸非官话(亦作北方方言)区汉族虽然在肤纹参数上有些许不同,但皆属于北方群。而南岛民族的回辉人和台湾原住民则分属南方和北方群,并且在肤纹参数上有非常显著的不同。这是第一个两岸南岛民族的肤纹比较研究,也是第一个非官话区汉人群体的肤纹比较研究。     

Dermatoglyphic peculiarities in patients with hypomelanosis of Ito (Incontinentia pigmenti achromians). A new case

We have analyzed the dermatoglyphic aspects of a patient affected by hypomelanosis of Ito (Incontinentia pigmenti achromians — HI) and of his healthy mother, and have compared our findings with those of the only three other cases in whom such studies had been done. It appeared that hypomelanosis of Ito shows anomalous dermatoglyphic peculiarities: a larger number of ulnar loops and the frequent absence of patterns in thenar, II and III interdigital areas. However, the absence of some interdigital triradii, particularly of d triradius, seems to be the most distinctive character. Since the timing of embryonal life during which d triradius should be formed is between 16 and 17 weeks, it seems highly probable that some developmental abnormality might occur at this point in HI. Moreover, the present analysis allows to support some hypotheses already proposed in the literature, concerning the modalities of determination of the absence of d triradius. The observed concomitance with some dermatoglyphic findings, such as the absence of other palmar triradii and the absence of interdigital patterns, led us to suggest that such characteristics could be connected each other, having perhaps a common genetical basis or undergoing the same microenvironmental effects.     

Holistic anthropological research of Hvar Islanders, Croatia--from parish registries to DNA studies in 33 years

The complexity of interactions between hereditary, environmental and cultural factors in determining human phenotypes is often underestimated in biomedical research. In this paper, we present 33 years of holistic anthropological research that was being conducted since 1971 in the island of Hvar, Croatia. During this period, detailed characterization of migrations, demography, isonymy, linguistic differences, anthropometric traits (head and body dimensions), physiological (cardio-respiratory) properties, quantitative and qualitative dermatoglyphic traits, radiogrammetric metacarpal bone dimensions and genetic traits (classical antigens, HLA diversity, DNA short tandem repeat -STR, mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome polymorphisms) was performed. The analysis of this large collection of data using both model-bound and model-free approaches showed that the complexity underlying human biological traits may be considerably greater than generally assumed, which has important implications for design of future studies into genetic determinants of complex traits.     

Trends in forest fragment research in Madagascar: Documented responses by lemurs and other taxa

The rise in research investigating fragmentation and its impact on primates and other taxa reflects the growing presence of fragmented landscapes themselves. Although numerous studies report the negative effects of fragmentation on biodiversity, it is difficult to generalize responses to fragmentation for specific taxonomic groups, such as non-human primates, when studies have not employed a definitive concept of fragmentation or fragments themselves. Madagascar's high degree of fragmentation, wealth of endemic taxa, and extensive history of ecological research provide the opportunity to compare fragmentation studies across similar contexts. We conducted a literature search of peer-reviewed articles on fragmentation in Madagascar to characterize its trends. A total of 70 articles, 46 of which concentrated on lemurs, tested the impacts of fragmentation on Malagasy taxa, while additional sources conducted research in one or more fragments without testing its effects (n = 112 total, 79 on lemurs). Studies on lemurs most frequently tested fragmentation's impacts on genetics and biodiversity metrics (n = 16 and 15 studies, respectively), although health, modeling, behavioral, and cross-disciplinary techniques were also reported. Responses to fragmentation were reported for 49 lemur species, with most studies concentrated in eastern Madagascar (87%). Although there was variation in the metrics reported in studies testing the effects of fragmentation on Malagasy species, the most common measures were fragment area, isolation, or comparison to a control site. Landscape-scale approaches and examination of fragmentation per se were rarely employed. Characterizing trends of fragmentation research in Madagascar emphasizes the challenges of documenting fragmentation's effects while highlighting the benefits of research within fragmented landscapes, particularly when combined with consideration for how the matrix within human-modified landscapes may impact primate populations.     

台湾闽南汉人肤纹学研究

本文报导台湾闽南汉人的肤纹参数,样本包括100名男性和100名女性。研究的项目有TFRC、a-b RC、atd、tPD、指纹、指间纹、手大小鱼际、猿线、指三角等,并且还分析了同名指指纹对应的情况,见到非随机组合的现象。这是对闽南汉人肤纹较详尽的调查,为人类学、遗传学和医学等提供了较完整的肤纹数据。     

A comparison of dermatoglyphic methodologies in population studies

Use of dermatoglyphics in population studies has been marked by a great deal of methodological variation among investigators. We compare various dermatoglyphic approaches using data derived from four groups in the Kumaon region of India. Dermatoglyphic data included ridge-counts and other quantitative variables, and the classification systems of Cummins and Midlo and Penrose and Loesch. Results were evaluated against anthropometric and serological relationships. No clearly superior approach emerges, although it is generally true that palmar variables exhibit more intergroup heterogeneity than digital variables and produce more reasonable results than the other approaches. The conventional method of treating ridge-counts, that of choosing the larger of the two counts, was the most unsatisfactory of the quantitative approaches, leading to the recommendation that both radial and ulnar counts be retained. We conclude that environmental variation may contribute substantially to intergroup variation.     

Sexual dimorphism in the Chuvashian population of Russia in two types of dermatoglyphic traits: principal component analysis

With the aim of determining sexual dimorphism in the component structures among the Chuvashian population of Russia, finger and palmar dermatoglyphics of 547 individuals (293 males, 254 females) were analyzed. The sex differences in two categories of dermatoglyphic traits (22 quantitative traits and 38 asymmetry and diversity traits) are reflected differently and contradictory with other ethnic groups. However, a common feature of the factor 1 "digital pattern size factor" (finger ridge counts from the first category of traits) indicate its degree of universality when compared with other populations, which suggests that the variability of finger ridge counts is determined by the same genes that control the pattern types. The factors "intra-individual finger diversity factor", and "bi-lateral asymmetry factor" extracted from the second category of dermatoglyphic traits are also similar in both sexes. However, these components are hardly described in the literature. The nature of variation of these components (from two categories of dermatoglyphic traits) appears with a good similarity between sexes, which suggests their common biological validity of the underlying component structures of the finger and palmar dermatoglyphic characters.     

Interethnic comparisons of three endogamous groups of West Bengal with respect to two sets of variables

The present paper focuses on the interethnic comparison among three endogamous groups (a higher caste, a tribe and a religious group) with different ethnohistorical background. A total of 700 individuals were studied from their anthropometric and dermatoglyphic traits along with their asymmetries. Statistical comparisons were carried out through the use of student’s ‘t’ test and Sanghvi’s T² statistics. Heterogeneity for most of the anthropometric and some dermatoglyphic traits supports their different origins. Though dermatoglyphic asymmetry doesn’t reveal significant discrimination, heterogeneity in anthropometric asymmetry corroborates with their different occupations. The anthropometric distances show greater values than the dermatoglyphic distances. This difference is probably due to the fact that anthropometry is not independent of environment and not a stable character like dermatoglyphic traits.     

Dermatoglyphics from All Chinese Ethnic Groups Reveal Geographic Patterning

Completion of a survey of dermatoglyphic variables for all ethnic groups in an ethnically diverse country like China is a huge research project, and an achievement that anthropological and dermatoglyphic scholars in the country could once only dream of. However, through the endeavors of scientists in China over the last 30 years, the dream has become reality. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of dermatoglyphics from all ethnic groups in China. Using cluster analysis and principal component analysis of dermatoglyphics, it has been found that Chinese populations can be generally divided into a southern group and a northern group. Furthermore, there has been considerable debate about the origins of many Chinese populations and about proper assignment of these peoples to larger ethnic groups. In this paper, we suggest that dermatoglyphic data can inform these debates by helping to classify a Chinese population as a northern or southern group, using selected reference populations and quantitative methods. This study is the first to assemble and investigate dermatoglyphics from all 56 Chinese ethnic groups. It is fortunate that data on population dermatoglyphics, a field of physical anthropology, have now been collected for all 56 Chinese ethnic groups, because intermarriage between individuals from different Chinese ethnic groups occurs more frequently in recent times, making population dermatoglyphic research an ever more challenging field of inquiry.     

The dermatoglyphic characteristics of patients with ischemic heart disease]

The dermatoglyphic studies showing the existence of genetic predisposition to the development of coronary heart disease were conducted. Methods based on the mathematical theory of pattern recognition were used for multifactorial analysis of the material. It was established that complex evaluation of 20 dermatoglyphic parameters could be reliable in predicting genetic risk factor in the development of this cardiovascular pathology.     

Effect of prenatal testosterone administration on palmar dermatoglyphic intercore ridge counts of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

Dermatoglyphic ridge counts of the prints of 59 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) whose mothers had been treated with injections of testosterone during their pregnancies were studied to determine the effect of the day the hormone began to be administered, the amount of hormone administered, and the number of days of hormone administration upon the dermatoglyphic variation of the offspring. Of the three hormone variables, only the day of beginning administration (STARTDAY) was significantly associated with dermatoglyphic variation, and its positive significance was demonstrated with the ridge counts of Area I on both the left and right hand, Area II of the left hand, and the total ridge counts of both hands. These results are discussed within the context of the timing of the dermatoglyphic window, and the differences in the findings between the monkey and earlier human studies are addressed. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Dermatoglyphic assessment of the genetic relationships of native American populations

Genetic distance techniques and cluster analysis were used to determine which dermatoglyphic parameters were most useful in assessing genetic relationships between native American populations. The dermatoglyphic parameters used for this analysis were those most completely reported in the papers examined in a literature survey we had carried out previously, and include digital patterns, modal types of the C-line and D-line terminations, and palmar patterns in the hypothenar, thenar/I, and interdigital areas. The populations examined were separated by sex and divided into seven major geographical groups: Eskimo; North American Indian; Maya and non-Maya (Central America); Amazonian; Quechua, and Aymara (South America). Mean frequencies of dermatoglyphic traits were computed for each group and pairwise “genetic” distances calculated using Cavalli-Sforza and Edward's D-test. Dendrograms were then generated from these D-values using Q-mode cluster analysis. Using the hypothenar, thenar/I and III and IV interdigital areas, the results of this analysis demonstrated a good fit to an expected phylogenetic tree. When digital patterns, patterns in the II interdigital area, and the modal types of the C-line were included in the analysis, the same phylogenetic relationships were observed. However, inclusion of the modal types of the D-line with the other parameters tended to introduce some distortion and a greater separation between sexes within the same populations.     

Harold Cummins--and the birth, growth and development of dermatoglyphics.

The work of Harold Cummins in dermatoglyphics is reviewed, in the areas of populational variability, twin studies, dermatoglyphics of non-human primates, and dermatoglyphic methodology.     

Associations between dermatoglyphic variation, topography, and climate in Kenya

Correlations between a number of dermatoglyphic finger and palmar taxonomic traits relating to 57 male and 53 female Kenyan populations, and altitude and mean annual rainfall are significant, not only in terms of the full range of samples, but also when samples are divided into independent smaller groups. These results are discussed and contrasted with those of other studies which have found no relationships between dermatoglyphic variation and climate in sub-Saharan Africa.