Search

Half-sibling (HS) kinship testing is more difficult and complicated. This article describes a case where we sought to establish if three children with different mothers (one boy and two girls), shared a common father. The three children and their mother, as well as the suspected father's elder brother took part in the identification. To investigate the application of multiple genetic markers in HS kinship testing, autosomal STR, Y-STR, and X-STR was performed on blood samples from the individuals of interest C1 (female), M1 (mother of C1), C2 (male), M2 (mother of C2), C3 (female), M3 (mother of C3), and UC (elder brother of the suspected biological father). The 24 Y-STR haplotypes of C2 and UC were identical, confirming that they come from the same paternal line. Among the 27 X-STRs tested in C1 and C3, 18 of them had different paternal alleles, so C1 and C3 were excluded as half-sibling kinship.39 autosomal STR were calculated by ITO method, the HSI (or AI) of the pairs C1-C3, C2-C3, and C3-UC are <1, so HS kinship between C1 and C3, and between C2 and C3 can be excluded and avuncular kinship between C3 and UC can be excluded. The HSI (or AI) of the pairs C1-C2, C1-UC, and C2-UC are much >1, which may supports HS kinship between C1 and C2 and avuncular kinship between C1 and UC, and between C2 and UC.15 autosomal STR were calculated by discriminant function, DHS3 > DR3 between C1 and C2, and thus they could be HS. DHS3 < DR3 between C1 and C3, and between C2 and C3, so C1 and C3, and C2 and C3 may be unrelated individuals. Based on the above results, we can conclude that a HS relationship may be existed between C1 and C2. There may be a avuncular relationships between C1 and UC and between C2 and UC. HS relationships between C3 and C1 and between C3 and C2 as well as an avuncular relationship between C3 and UC were not supported by this study. The application of multiple genetic marker testing should be more regularly applied in the evaluation of HS and avuncular relationships. Increasing the number of related individuals tested when evaluating kinship relationships provides more data for better identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Dialogue: Canadian Philosophical Review is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Androphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult males, whereas gynephilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult females. The Kin Selection Hypothesis posits that male androphilia may persevere over evolutionary time if the fitness costs of not reproducing directly are offset by increasing one's inclusive fitness. Theoretically, this could be accomplished by allocating altruism toward close kin, thereby increasing the ability of those kin to reproduce. Evidence for this hypothesis has been garnered from research conducted in Samoa; however, no support has been garnered from research conducted in other, more industrialized cultures (i.e., Canada, USA, u K, Japan). It has been suggested that geographic disconnect from kin might mitigate the potential for androphilic males to exhibit elevated kin-directed altruism in more industrialized cultures. We examined whether Canadian androphilic males expressed elevated willingness to engage in altruistic behavior towards nieces and nephews, compared to gynephilic males and androphilic females, when the activities in question could be executed from a distance. Contrary to our prediction, when comparing groups for willingness to engage in altruistic behavior towards nieces and nephews that could be performed from a distance, we did not find that Canadian androphilic males exhibited significantly higher avuncular (uncle-like) tendencies. Other possible reasons for cross-cultural differences in avuncular tendencies by androphilic males are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]