Estimating legal age based on fusion of The proximal humeral epiphysis.

The increasing demand which requires ascertaining the legal age of undocumented individuals who reach the various countries of the European Community means that new lines of research must be developed which help respond to questions posed by the Justice Administration. For this reason, this study has been designed on the basis of fusion times of the proximal humeral epiphysis. Moreover, the ultrasound scan has been used as the diagnostic method. It is a non-invasive technique, unlike the radiograph, which is used under current standards for the forensic diagnosis of age. Used as a study sample were the ultrasound images of the proximal humeral epiphysis among 221 individuals belonging to the Spanish population, of both genders, of ages ranging from 5 to 30 years. All of the images were classified into 6 stages of fusion based on the morphology of each. The results display differences among the six age groups proposed for each of the stages of fusion and are of great interest from the perspective of enforcing the Spanish Criminal Law Act on Minors, because Stage 4 would mean that the person being studied is under the age of 16 years in the case of males and 15 years in the case of females. These results, coupled with the use of ultrasound as a non-invasive diagnostic technique, make this study a very useful method when the use of radiographs is not possible.

Age-at-death estimation based on radiological and image analysis methods in clavicle in a current Spanish population.

Age-at-death estimation in adult individuals is one of the most challenging issues in forensic anthropology, namely, due to the large age intervals provided by the current methods, which demand the development of more reliable investigations. The clavicle has been studied as an age-at-death indicator in many researches for its accessibility, low biomechanical implication in locomotion and accuracy to predict age at death when other age indicators are not available. The present study was developed on a sample of 332 clavicles from adult individuals of known sex and age from the current Spanish population. They were x-rayed and digitalized, in a standardized way, using a Sedecal X-ray generator, model SHF 415. Three indices were calculated at the mid-diaphysis point (anterior index, posterior index, and total index) which relate the cortical thickness and the total clavicle thickness to age at death. The average grey level was also calculated in a 0.5-cm(2) area of the sternal and acromial ends (sternal grey average, acromial grey average), using Image J software. The data were subjected to a statistical analysis, using SPSS, version 15.0. The results show that average grey level has a weaker correlation with age than the variables which are based on the cortical thickness. On the other hand, the regression equations, which were calculated combining all the variables, provided smaller age-at-death intervals, demonstrating the usefulness of this method for adult age-at-death estimation in forensic anthropology.

Facial soft tissue thicknesses for the Portuguese adult population.

In recent years there has been an important increment of studies on the determination of facial soft tissue thicknesses for craniofacial identification purposes. In spite of this, there is no information on the particularities of the facial soft tissue depths for the Portuguese adult population. In order to address this lack, the soft tissue thicknesses of a Portuguese cadaver sample of 151 individuals, 103 males and 48 females with ages between 20 and 99 years old, autopsied at the South Branch of the National Institute of Legal Medicine, were measured using published needle puncture methods at 20 anatomical points. The stature and weight of all cadavers were determined and their body mass index (BMI) calculated. In order to prevent post-mortem distortion, soft tissue depths were assessed prior to the individual's autopsy in cadavers whose time of death did not exceed 24h. From these data, descriptive statistics were calculated and the average soft tissue depths were reported considering the BMI and the sex of the cadavers. In general, males were found to have greater soft tissue depths than females but some landmarks showed the opposite while others presented the same values for both sexes. In spite of this, almost all the differences among the sexes were found to be not statistically significant. The Post Hoc Gabriel test performed between the different BMI categories for mixed sexes and for each sex suggested BMI-related differences on the soft tissue thicknesses, although these vary considerably within and between the sexes with no linear correspondence between the anatomical landmarks. These results, point not only to the necessity to present data in accordance with the sexual dimorphism, but also to consider the BMI as an important variable for better results in the achievement of the likeness of the deceased individuals in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional facial approximations or superimpositions. Additionally, evidence of interpopulation differences in the average soft tissue thicknesses were observed by the comparison of this data set with similar studies from Caucasian groups with different geographic origin.

The girl from the Church of the Sacrament: a case of congenital syphilis in XVIII century Lisbon

Syphilis is a sexually or congenitally transmitted infectious disease with an impact on the health of human populations that has undergone important cycles in different countries and periods of history. Its presence was first diagnosed in Europe in the late XIV century. In Portugal, although there are various written records of the infection in the last centuries, there are rare references to it in archeological findings (mummified bodies are also rare in Portugal). The current study describes a probable case of congenital syphilis in an 18-month-old girl buried in the Church of the Sacrament in Lisbon. Her body, dating to the XVIII century, was found mummified together with dozens of others, still not studied. Symmetrical periostitis of the long bones, osteitis, metaphyseal lesions, left knee articular, and epiphyseal destruction, and a rarefied lesion with a radiological appearance compatible with Wimberger's sign all point to a diagnosis of congenital syphilis. The diagnosis of this severe form of the infection, possibly related to the cause of death in this upper-class girl, calls attention to the disease's presence in XVIII century Lisbon and is consistent with the intense mobilization at the time in relation to the risks posed by so-called heredosyphilis. It is the first case of congenital syphilis in a child reported in archeological findings in Portugal, and can be correlated with other cases in skeletons of adults buried in cemeteries in Lisbon (in the XVI to XVIII centuries) and Coimbra (XIX century). Finally, this finding highlights the need to study the entire series of mummified bodies in the Church of the Sacrament in order to compare the paleopathological findings and existing historical documents on syphilis, so as to expand the paleoepidemiological knowledge of this infection in XVIII century Lisbon.

The girl from the church of the sacrament: a case of congenital syphilis in XVIII century Lisbon.

Syphilis is a sexually or congenitally transmitted infectious disease with an impact on the health of human populations that has undergone important cycles in different countries and periods of history. Its presence was first diagnosed in Europe in the late XIV century. In Portugal, although there are various written records of the infection in the last centuries, there are rare references to it in archeological findings (mummified bodies are also rare in Portugal). The current study describes a probable case of congenital syphilis in an 18-month-old girl buried in the Church of the Sacrament in Lisbon. Her body, dating to the XVIII century, was found mummified together with dozens of others, still not studied. Symmetrical periostitis of the long bones, osteitis, metaphyseal lesions, left knee articular, and epiphyseal destruction, and a rarefied lesion with a radiological appearance compatible with Wimberger's sign all point to a diagnosis of congenital syphilis. The diagnosis of this severe form of the infection, possibly related to the cause of death in this upper-class girl, calls attention to the disease's presence in XVIII century Lisbon and is consistent with the intense mobilization at the time in relation to the risks posed by so-called heredosyphilis. It is the first case of congenital syphilis in a child reported in archeological findings in Portugal, and can be correlated with other cases in skeletons of adults buried in cemeteries in Lisbon (in the XVI to XVIII centuries) and Coimbra (XIX century). Finally, this finding highlights the need to study the entire series of mummified bodies in the Church of the Sacrament in order to compare the paleopathological findings and existing historical documents on syphilis, so as to expand the paleoepidemiological knowledge of this infection in XVIII century Lisbon.