Abledu Jubilant Kwame, Abledu Godfred Kwame, Offei Eric Bekoe, Antwi Emmanuel Mensah
School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Koforidua Polytechnic, Koforidua, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2015 Oct 7;10(10):e0139891. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139891. eCollection 2015.
The present study sought to verify the utility and reliability of footprint dimensions in sex determination in a Ghanaian population. Bilateral footprints were obtained from 126 Ghanaian students (66 males and 60 females) aged 18-30 years at Koforidua Polytechnic using an ink pad and white papers. Seven dimensions-length of each toe (designated T1-T5) from the most anterior point of the toe to the mid-rear heel point, breadth at ball (BAB) and breadth at heel (BAH)--and the heel-ball (HB) index were obtained from each footprint. Some footprint dimensions (i.e. T2, T3, T4 and T5) showed statistically significant bilateral asymmetry in males only. All the footprint dimensions, except HB index, were significantly greater in males than females (p<0.001). Applied singly in discriminant function analysis, the footprint dimensions allowed 69.8%-80.3% of cases to be correctly classified into their sex groups; the accuracy of sex classification was higher using left footprints than right footprints. With all dimensions subjected to stepwise discriminant function analysis 80.3% and 77% of cases could be correctly classified, combining both T5 and BAH for left footprints and T1, BAB and BAH for left footprints respectively. The present study has demonstrated, for the first time among Ghanaian subjects, the utility and reliability of sex determination standards developed from footprint dimensions. The results thus provide the baseline for elaborated studies in the future.
本研究旨在验证足迹尺寸在加纳人群性别判定中的实用性和可靠性。在科福里杜瓦理工学院，使用印台和白纸从126名年龄在18至30岁的加纳学生（66名男性和60名女性）处获取双侧足迹。从每个足迹中获取七个尺寸——每个脚趾从最前端到足跟中点的长度（分别指定为T1 - T5）、跖球部宽度（BAB）、足跟宽度（BAH）以及足跟-跖球部（HB）指数。部分足迹尺寸（即T2、T3、T4和T5）仅在男性中显示出具有统计学意义的双侧不对称性。除HB指数外，所有足迹尺寸在男性中均显著大于女性（p<0.001）。在判别函数分析中单独应用时，足迹尺寸可使69.8% - 80.3%的案例正确分类到其性别组中；使用左脚足迹进行性别分类的准确性高于右脚足迹。对所有尺寸进行逐步判别函数分析时，分别结合左脚足迹的T5和BAH以及右脚足迹的T1、BAB和BAH，80.3%和77%的案例能够正确分类。本研究首次在加纳受试者中证明了基于足迹尺寸制定的性别判定标准的实用性和可靠性。因此，研究结果为未来的详细研究提供了基线。
