Fracture variation in survivable versus fatal blunt force trauma associated with intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global human rights issue that affects approximately 25% of women and 10% of men and is the leading cause of homicides of women worldwide. Multiple interventional studies have been conducted to screen for IPV; however, fractures associated with intimate partner homicide (IPH) have not been studied from a forensic anthropological perspective. Therefore, this study uses computed tomography scans of IPH victims (n=33) obtained from the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator to 1) classify and quantify perimortem craniofacial blunt force fractures, and 2) compare the IPH-related fractures to those associated with non-lethal IPV using previously published studies. The results indicate that IPH cases presented similarly to non-lethal IPV cases in that they were concentrated on the middle and lower face, but fractures were more frequent in the upper face and cranial vault in IPH cases. While IPH cases showed more fractures, they were not necessarily associated with extensive fracturing, as 75.8% of IPH victims had five or fewer fractures-the most common being comminuted and linear fractures, comprising 93.8% of IPH-related fractures. As IPV is significantly underreported, understanding the nuances of fracture patterns associated with IPH can help to aid holistic forensic investigations.

Frontal Sinus Morphological and Dimensional Variation as Seen on Computed Tomography Scans.

Frontal sinus variation has been used in forensic anthropology to aid in positive identification since the 1920s. As imaging technology has evolved, so has the quality and quantity of data that practitioners can collect. This study examined frontal sinus morphological and dimensional variation on computed tomography (CT) scans in 325 individuals for assigned sex females and males from African-, Asian-, European-, and Latin American-derived groups. Full coronal sinus outlines from medically derived CT images were transferred into SHAPE v1.3 for elliptical Fourier analysis (EFA). The dimensional data were measured directly from the images using the MicroDicom viewer. Statistical analyses-Pearson's chi-square, ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc tests-were run in R Studio. Results indicated that 3.7% lacked a frontal sinus and 12.0% had a unilateral sinus, usually on the left (74.3%). Additionally, no statistically significant morphological clustering using EFA was found based on assigned sex and/or population affinity. However, there were statistically significant differences dimensionally (height and depth) when tested against assigned sex and population affinity, indicating that the interactive effects of sexual dimorphism and adaptive population histories influence the dimensions but not the shape of the frontal sinus.

The role of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) in positive identification.

The use of skeletal pathologies in establishing positive identifications via radiographic comparison is often avoided-and thus understudied-due to the dynamic nature of the skeleton in response to pathological conditions. Using an online survey, this study tests the accuracy of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH), a relatively common vertebral pathology, in making positive identifications through radiographic comparison. Three digital radiographic images from 51 DISH-positive individuals were obtained from the Boston Medical Center: one image taken at a baseline date (Group A), one image taken within 2 years from baseline (Group B), and one image taken greater than 4.5 years from baseline (Group C). Survey participants were tasked with comparing between simulated lateral "antemortem" and "postmortem" images from living patients and identifying which pair represented the same individual at different time intervals. A total of 40 responses were recorded and analyzed by measuring accuracies, sensitivities, and specificities. Information about survey participants' field, degree, experience working with radiographs, and familiarity with DISH was also recorded. Series 1 compared Group A to Group B images and resulted in an accuracy of 87.3%, sensitivity of 46.9%, and specificity of 94.3%. Series 2 compared Group A to Group C images and resulted in an accuracy of 83.4%, sensitivity of 34.3%, and specificity of 95.8%. The results indicate that the progressive changes associated with DISH render the condition unreliable for making positive identifications but suggest that DISH could be used to winnow potential matches.

Responding to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences vision, mission, and values statements: Comments, revisions, and proposed actions.

•We call for revisions to the current AAFS vision, mission, and values statements.•Truly aspirational statements will provide guiding principles for forensic scientists.•Revisions should meaningfully engage with issues of diversity and equity.•Our goal of pursuing justice should also extend to our practitioner community.•We envision AAFS committees of diverse membership making positive changes to the statements.

The effects of orthopedic pathological conditions and systemic diseases on the prevalence of hip osteoarthritis in Modern African- and European-Americans.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability among aging adults. In the U.S., many individuals living with total hip replacements attribute OA as the cause. However, the majority of anthropological OA research excludes pathological individuals (i.e., individuals with systemic disease, traumatic injuries, or orthopedic devices). Thus, little is known about how implants and pathological conditions impact OA beyond a general acceptance that they likely increase OA risk. This study adds to the skeletal research surrounding OA by directly investigating its relationship with age, disease, and implants. The proximal femora of 186 African- and European-American individuals (21-95 years old) from the Edmonds Orthopedic Pathology Collection (National Museum of Health and Medicine; Armed Forces Institute of Pathology) were analyzed. The individuals were grouped into three cohorts: disease; non-disease; and previous injury/implant. Jurmain's (1990) ordinal scoring method was used to categorize OA changes as: none/slight; moderate; severe; and ankylosis. Intra-rater reliability for the scoring of OA was perfect, while inter-rater reliability was moderate. Results from Chi-square tests, exploratory data analysis, and ordinal logistic regression showed that there was a statistically significant relationship (p < 0.001) between degree of OA, age, recorded disease (e.g., cancer), and evidence of previous injury (i.e., healed fractures, fracture fixation devices). In contrast with the expectation that different populations exhibit different patterns of OA, no significant sex or ancestry effects were observed. These results help researchers better understand the etiology and contemporary risk factors of OA as well as identifying an additional subset of the population who may be at greater risk for developing OA - i.e., individuals with fractures, implants, and systemic disease, especially those in older age cohorts (60+ years).

Secular change in morphological cranial and mandibular trait frequencies in European Americans born 1824-1987.

OBJECTIVES: Secular change in cranial and postcranial morphometrics and morphological traits has been documented in several studies. However, to date, few studies have addressed temporal changes occurring in the expression of cranial morphological traits commonly used in ancestry estimation. This study examines secular change in the expression of 23 cranial and mandibular morphological traits; accounting for age-at-death, sex, and year-of-birth. MATERIALS & METHODS: Data were collected on 23 morphological cranial and mandibular traits for European American individuals (19-97 years of age) from the Hamann-Todd Skeletal Collection (n = 518) and the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection (n = 602). Individuals were divided into six birth-year cohorts: 1824-1849 (Cohort 1), 1850-1874 (Cohort 2), 1875-1899 (Cohort 3), 1900-1924 (Cohort 4), 1925-1949 (Cohort 5), and 1950-1987 (Cohort 6). RESULTS: Statistical analyses, including Pearson's chi-square, correspondence analysis, and ordinal regression, demonstrate that secular changes have occurred in 11 traits, including: anterior nasal spine (ANS); malar tubercle (MT); nasal bone contour (NBC); postbregmatic depression (PBD); supranasal suture (SPS); transverse palatine suture (TPS); zygomaticomaxillary suture (ZS); ascending ramus shape (ARS); gonial angle flare (GAF); mandibular tori (MDT); and posterior ramus edge inversion (PREI), with changes occurring in both sexes for ANS, MT, TPS, ZS, GAF, MDT, and PREI. Significant changes in trait expression were found predominately between Cohorts 3 and 4, and Cohorts 4 and 5. While the sex of an individual affected the expression of ANS, MT, NBC, PBD, SPS, ZS, ARS, GAF, and PREI, age-at-death only affected MT and PREI. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates that secular change in morphological cranial and mandibular traits has occurred over the last two centuries in European Americans, with the most considerable change appearing at the turn of the twentieth century. Changes in morphological trait expression over a relatively short period of time correspond with changes seen in craniometric analyses and correlate with the industrialization of society and environmental and cultural changes, such as medical advancements, nutrition, and population health/stress.

Nonmetric Cranial Trait Variation and Ancestry Estimation in Asian and Asian-Derived Groups.

Traditionally, precontact Native Americans and Asian groups have been conflated for aspects of the biological profile due to their distantly shared genetic history, although this grouping remains largely unexplored. This study examines craniomorphic variability to ascertain whether Asian groups can be differentiated from each other and from Asian-derived groups using more fine-tuned models. Cranial and mandibular data for 35 nonmetric traits were recorded on precontact Native Americans (n = 150) and modern Japanese (n = 150) and Thai (n = 150) individuals. Chi-square analyses indicate that all groups exhibit statistically significant differences in most traits. Additionally, cross-validated binary logistic regression equations resulted in correct classification rates in the range of 65.0-93.3% and demonstrate that sex does not contribute to statistical models. Therefore, numerous traits provide discriminatory resolution that detects differences between the samples, thus highlighting the potential utility of nonmetric traits in identifying individuals beyond the traditional African, European, and Asian forensic ancestry groupings.

Distal Humerus Morphological Variation and Sex Estimation in Modern Thai Individuals.

Due to differential preservation, it is necessary to develop sex estimation methods on varied anatomical regions, including the distal humerus. Sexually dimorphic differences of the medial epicondyle angle, olecranon fossa shape, trochlear extension, and trochlear constriction have been documented in several non-Asian groups. This study examines distal humerus morphological variation in 616 modern Thai individuals (f = 198; m = 418) 18-96 years old and tests the methods on a hold-out sample of 152 individuals (f = 91; m = 61). The results indicate that population-specific binary probit regression performs the best (74.1-100%), followed by composite scoring (77.0-90.1%), binary logistic regression (63.3-92.2%), and univariate sectioning points (37.7-90.1%). Age minimally effects the expression of the medial epicondyle angle in males, and trait scoring is susceptible to high intra- and interobserver error. While demonstrating relatively high sex biases, distal humerus morphology can be used to estimate the sex of Thai individuals when more sexually dimorphic regions are absent.

Craniometric variation and ancestry estimation in two contemporary Caribbean populations.

Ancestry estimation of skeletonized remains by forensic anthropologists is conducted through comparative means, and a lack of population-specific data results in possible misclassifications. This is especially germane to individuals of Latin American ancestry. Generally, each country in Latin America can trace their ancestral lineage through three main parental groups: Indigenous, European, and African. However, grouping all Latin American individuals under the broad "Hispanic" category ignores the specific genetic contributions from each parental group, which is variable and dependent on the population histories and sociocultural dynamics of each country. This study analyzes the craniometric ancestry of Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti) using 190 cranial Computed Tomography (CT) scans (f=103; m=87), along with the island's history, to explore similarities and differences between the two groups. MANOVA results indicate that 53.6% and 71.4% of the 28 cranial measurements differ between the ancestries and sexes, respectively; and intraobserver error analyses demonstrate that 85.7% of measurements from CT scans are good-excellent in reliability. Further, a total of 12 canonical discriminant function analyses produced cross-validated classification accuracies of 73.7-78.6% for females, 71.8-87.5% for males, and 72.0-77.8% for pooled sex. This study demonstrates that, despite sharing a small island, Dominican and Haitian individuals can be differentiated with a fair amount of statistical certainty, which is possible due to complex socio-cultural, -political, and -demographic factors that have produced and maintained genetic heterogeneity. Moreover, the discriminant functions provided here can be used by the international forensic science community to identify individuals living on Hispaniola.

The effects of household corrosive substances on silver amalgam and porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations and non-restored teeth.

This study examines the effects of household corrosive products on 105 restored (silver amalgam and porcelain-fused-to metal) and non-restored teeth. Five household products were utilized, including hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and detergent. Teeth were radiographed before and after exposure and were submerged for 120 or 264h. Documentation included weight, mesiodistal and buccolingual crown measurements, ordinal scores, and photography at specific hours of exposure. Results indicate that 81.9% of the teeth could be positively matched by radiographs. Hydrochloric acid had the most destructive effects mainly to non-restored and silver amalgam teeth followed by sulfuric acid. Porcelain samples were more resistant to the effects of acid and conferred protection to the underlying teeth. Acid type, acid concentration and the restoration type are statistically significant contributors to alterations and in radiographic matching. Household corrosive substances may affect the morphology of teeth, and in some cases completely destroy teeth, which could conceal identifications.

Application of the Optimized Summed Scored Attributes Method to Sex Estimation in Asian Crania.

The optimized summed scored attributes (OSSA) method was recently introduced and validated for nonmetric ancestry estimation between American Black and White individuals. The method proceeds by scoring, dichotomizing, and subsequently summing ordinal morphoscopic trait scores to maximize between-group differences. This study tests the applicability of the OSSA method for sex estimation using five cranial traits given the methodological similarities between classifying sex and ancestry. A large sample of documented crania from Japan and Thailand (n = 744 males, 320 females) are used to develop a heuristically selected OSSA sectioning point of ≤1 separating males and females. This sectioning point is validated using a holdout sample of Japanese, Thai, and Filipino (n = 178 males, 82 females) individuals. The results indicate a general correct classification rate of 82% using all five traits, and 81% when excluding the mental eminence. Designating an OSSA score of 2 as indeterminate is recommended.

Forensic Applicability of Femur Subtrochanteric Shape to Ancestry Assessment in Thai and White American Males.

Ancestry assessment from the postcranial skeleton presents a significant challenge to forensic anthropologists. However, metric dimensions of the femur subtrochanteric region are believed to distinguish between individuals of Asian and non-Asian descent. This study tests the discriminatory power of subtrochanteric shape using modern samples of 128 Thai and 77 White American males. Results indicate that the samples' platymeric index distributions are significantly different (p≤0.001), with the Thai platymeric index range generally lower and the White American range generally higher. While the application of ancestry assessment methods developed from Native American subtrochanteric data results in low correct classification rates for the Thai sample (50.8-57.8%), adapting these methods to the current samples leads to better classification. The Thai data may be more useful in forensic analysis than previously published subtrochanteric data derived from Native American samples. Adapting methods to include appropriate geographic and contemporaneous populations increases the accuracy of femur subtrochanteric ancestry methods.