Bioanthropological analysis of human remains from the archaic and classic period discovered in Puyil cave, Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: Determine the geographic place of origin and maternal lineage of prehistoric human skeletal remains discovered in Puyil Cave, Tabasco State, Mexico, located in a region currently populated by Olmec, Zoque and Maya populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All specimens were radiocarbon (14C) dated (beta analytic), had dental modifications classified, and had an analysis of 13 homologous reference points conducted to evaluate artificial cranial deformation (ACD). Following DNA purification, hypervariable region I (HVR-1) of the mitogenome was amplified and Sanger sequenced. Finally, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) was performed for total DNA. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and haplogroups were determined using BioEdit 7.2 and IGV software and confirmed with MITOMASTER and WebHome softwares. RESULTS: Radiocarbon dating (14C) demonstrated that the inhabitants of Puyil Cave lived during the Archaic and Classic Periods and displayed tabular oblique and tabular mimetic ACD. These pre-Hispanic remains exhibited five mtDNA lineages: A, A2, C1, C1c and D4. Network analysis revealed a close genetic affinity between pre-Hispanic Puyil Cave inhabitants and contemporary Maya subpopulations from Mexico and Guatemala, as well as individuals from Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and China. CONCLUSIONS: Our results elucidate the dispersal of pre-Hispanic Olmec and Maya ancestors and suggest that ACD practices are closely related to Olmec and Maya practices. Additionally, we conclude that ACD has likely been practiced in the region since the Middle-Archaic Period.

Identification of the Remains of an Adult Using DNA from Their Deciduous Teeth as a Reference Sample.

In many forensic cases, the identification of human remains is performed by comparing their genetic profile with profiles from reference samples of relatives, usually the parents. Here, we report, for the first time, the identification of the remains of an adult using DNA from the person's deciduous teeth as a reference sample. Fragments of a skeletonized and burned body were found, and a short tandem repeat (STR) profile was obtained. A woman looking for her missing son went to the authorities. When the DNA profile of the woman was compared to a database, a positive match suggested a first-degree kinship with the person to whom the remains belonged. The woman had kept three deciduous molars from her son for more than thirty years. DNA typing of dental pulp was performed. The genetic profiles obtained from the molars and those from the remains coincided in all alleles. The random match probability was 1 in 2.70 × 1021. Thus, the remains were fully identified. In the routine identification of human remains, ambiguous STR results may occur due to the presence of null alleles or other mutational events. In addition, erroneous results can be produced by false matches with close family members or even with people who are completely unrelated to the victim, such that, in some cases, a probability of paternity greater than 99.99% does not necessarily indicate biological paternity. Whenever possible, it is preferable to use reference samples from the putative victim as a source of DNA for identification.

Functional feeding groups of Chironomidae (Diptera: Nematocera) and their spatial variation in an intermittent hill stream (Ventana Stream, Buenos Aires, Argentina).

The feeding habits of Chironomidae in hill streams in the pampean region have not been described. In this study, we analyzed the gut contents of this insect family with an aim at establishing their diet in an intermittent stream in the Ventania-Hill system. We sampled three sites with different habitat characteristics (i. e., altitude, substrate type, and current velocity). Of the total of nine taxa were recorded, the only one present at all sites was Corynoneura sp. 1. The food items found were detritus, diatoms, filamentous chlorophytes, euglenophytes, vascular plants, fungi, and animal remains. Most of the taxa could be classified as gathering collectors, with those having a higher proportion of detritus in the gut contents although the guts of Pentaneura nr. cinerea, Cricotopus sp. 1, and Onconeura analiae included high proportions of animal remains. No differences in the feeding habits were attributable to the location in the stream. This research contributes to our understanding of the trophic habits of Chironomidae in an intermittent hill stream system of South America.

The stories bones tell. Collaboration between forensic teams and victims' relatives in the interpretation and ritual accompaniment of human remains in Guatemala.

This article focuses on the collaborative practices between forensic experts and victims' relatives through the exhumation process in Guatemala. In a context where there is still no real recognition of the victims by the state, and no national common narrative about the violence of the armed conflict, exhumations have been developed in the framework of transitional justice, as a tool for victim recognition as well as historical clarification. In a post-political violence context, the exhumation process produces knowledge and narratives about the past, through the scientific analysis of human remains as material evidence, the collection of testimony, and shared stories. Based on extensive ethnographic work conducted with civil society actors involved in exhumations, this article focuses on the dynamics of production and coexistence of scientific and subjective forms of interpretation of the remains, as well as scientific and ceremonial practices of treatment of the remains. We will question how different regimes of truth coexist around the interpretation of the bones, and how forensics scientists and victims' relatives collaborate to produce them.

Correlative tomography and authentication features of a shrunken head (tsantsa).

Museum personnel and the general public have become quite familiar with the presence of shrunken heads in museum collections, but the procedures to authenticate the history and origin of these unique cultural items are not yet reliable. These shrunken heads, called tsantsas, are meant to be the cultural material remains of ceremonies conducted by the Shuar and Achuar Peoples of South America. This project seeks to integrate the use of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning with methods used in previous studies (clinical computed tomography (CT) and visual inspections) to examine authentication procedures of shrunken heads (tsantsas) held in contemporary museum collections. We use a correlative tomographic approach using several scans at successively higher resolutions to determine whether a tsantsa was created from human remains, and if so, what key features can best contribute to its authentication. Conclusively, our correlative tomographic approaches provide new insights into the determination process of whether a tsantsa was created from real human remains or not. Also, this study questions whether the previously conceptualized dichotomy of ceremonial or commercial might be better thought of as a continuum of practice. Investigating and redefining the examination and authentication procedures of tsantsas is crucial for future ethical curation, management, and repatriation efforts of this unique cultural material of the Shuar and Achuar Peoples.

Age estimation in infant skeletal remains by measurements of the pars lateralis.

The objectives of this work were to validate two published methods for subadult age estimation based on measurements of the pars lateralis, and to develop a new method based on a wider set of measurements using the Granada Osteological Collection. The pars lateralis of 127 individuals from 6 months prenatal to 4 years of age were measured, taking 6 measurements of the body, the anterior synchondrosis and the condyle. Length and width were used to validate the published methods. Regression functions using age as the independent variable were calculated using each of the six measurements taken, and functions for age estimation were obtained through classical calibration. Functions for calculation of the 95% confidence interval of the estimates were obtained through linear regression using the estimation errors. In the validation of the previous methods, one method showed a linear tendency of the differences, which can be attributed to a circularity in reasoning in the original work. In the other method, a tendency towards overestimation was found, which can be attributed to the limitations of the method itself. The new functions have a consistency rate of 92.2% to 97.1%; the functions derived from all measurements are useful from 6 months prenatal to 2 years of age. Moreover, the functions obtained are applicable to incomplete pars lateralis, allowing for age estimation in a wide set of contexts and providing straightforward age estimates with their respective margin of error.

Spinal fracture reveals an accident episode in Eremotherium laurillardi shedding light on the formation of a fossil assemblage.

The Toca das Onças cave is one of the most important Quaternary mammal deposits of Brazil. Two different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the preservation mode of its skeletal remains: either the animals climbed down into the cave, or it could have functioned as a natural trap. Evaluation of pathological modifications on three articulated vertebrae of a single adult giant ground sloth Eremotherium laurillardi reveals a particular type of bone fracture caused by compressive force on the vertebral column, which split the vertebral bodies in the sagittal plane. This diagnosis suggests that the animal accidentally fell into the cave, in accordance with the second hypothesis proposed to the incorporation mode of skeletal remains into the cave.

Human skeletal remains analysis rom pallemalala shell midden in Southern Sri Lanka / Análisis de restos óseos humanos del vertedero de conchas de pallemalala en el sur de Sri Lanka

SUMMARY: Sri Lanka, an island off the tip of the Southeast of the Indian subcontinent processes the earliest skeletal evidence of anatomically modern Homo sapiens (37,000 B.P.) and the best human skeletal record sequence in the South Asian region. Adding another to the list, the skeletal remains, which belong to Mesolithic culture were found at Pallemalala shell midden in Southern Sri Lanka during scientific archaeological exploration by Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya. Sri Lanka. The aim of the study was to determine the minimum number of human individuals, age, sex, and pathological conditions related to the ancient Pallemalala commiunity. For the primary analysis, 426 bone fragments were available. Out of those, 233 bones were identified as human bones which represent 7 minimum number of individuals. The rest of the collection comprises some animal bones and shell species. The community was predominated by the female population. The identified age categories were around 20 years, between 35-45 years, and over 45 years. The encountered pathological lesions were bone thickening, alveolar resorption, dental abscesses, dental caries, antemorterm tooth loss, calculus deposits and brown colour stains on teeth. Regarding the dietary pattern, it was evident that their diet may have consisted of coarse foodstuffs with an extremely basic dietary chemistry.

RESUMEN: Sri Lanka es una isla en la punta del sureste del subcontinente indio que procesa la evidencia esquelética más antigua del Homo sapiens anatómicamente moderno (37.000 AP) y la mejor secuencia de registros esqueléticos humanos en la región del sur de Asia. Agregando otro elemento a la lista, los restos óseos, que pertenecen a la cultura mesolítica, se encontraron en el vertedero de conchas de Pallemalala en el sur de Sri Lanka durante la exploración arqueológica científica realizada por el Instituto de Postgrado de Arqueología de la Universidad de Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar el número mínimo de individuos humanos, edad, sexo y condiciones patológicas relacionadas con la antigua comunidad Pallemalala. Para el análisis se dispuso de 426 fragmentos óseos. De esos, 233 huesos fueron identificados como huesos humanos que representan un número mínimo de 7 individuos. El resto de la colección se componía de algunos huesos de animales y especies de conchas. La comunidad estaba dominada por la población femenina. Las categorías de edad identificadas fueron alrededor de 20 años, entre 35-45 años y mayores de 45 años. Las lesiones patológicas encontradas fueron engrosamiento óseo, reabsorción alveolar, abscesos dentales, caries dental, pérdida de dientes antemortem, depósitos de cálculo y manchas de color marrón en los dientes. En cuanto al patrón dietético, era evidente que su dieta pudo haber consistido en alimentos toscos con una química dietética extremadamente básica.

Bone density and genomic analysis unfold cold adaptation mechanisms of ancient inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego.

The Fuegians, ancient inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, are an exemplary case of a cold-adapted population, since they were capable of living in extreme climatic conditions without any adequate clothing. However, the mechanisms of their extraordinary resistance to cold remain enigmatic. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a crucial role in this kind of adaptation, besides having a protective role on the detrimental effect of low temperatures on bone structure. Skeletal remains of 12 adult Fuegians, collected in the second half of XIX century, were analyzed for bone mineral density and structure. We show that, despite the unfavorable climate, bone mineral density of Fuegians was close to that seen in modern humans living in temperate zones. Furthermore, we report significant differences between Fuegians and other cold-adapted populations in the frequency of the Homeobox protein Hox-C4 (HOXC4) rs190771160 variant, a gene involved in BAT differentiation, whose identified variant is predicted to upregulate HOXC4 expression. Greater BAT accumulation might therefore explain the Fuegians extreme cold-resistance and the protection against major cold-related damage. These results increase our understanding of how ecological challenges have been important drivers of human-environment interactions during Humankind history.

Quinoa, potatoes, and llamas fueled emergent social complexity in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes.

The Lake Titicaca basin was one of the major centers for cultural development in the ancient world. This lacustrine environment is unique in the high, dry Andean altiplano, and its aquatic and terrestrial resources are thought to have contributed to the florescence of complex societies in this region. Nevertheless, it remains unclear to what extent local aquatic resources, particularly fish, and the introduced crop, maize, which can be grown in regions along the lakeshores, contributed to facilitating sustained food production and population growth, which underpinned increasing social political complexity starting in the Formative Period (1400 BCE to 500 CE) and culminating with the Tiwanaku state (500 to 1100 CE). Here, we present direct dietary evidence from stable isotope analysis of human skeletal remains spanning over two millennia, together with faunal and floral reference materials, to reconstruct foodways and ecological interactions in southern Lake Titicaca over time. Bulk stable isotope analysis, coupled with compound-specific amino acid stable isotope analysis, allows better discrimination between resources consumed across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Together, this evidence demonstrates that human diets predominantly relied on C3 plants, particularly quinoa and tubers, along with terrestrial animals, notably domestic camelids. Surprisingly, fish were not a significant source of animal protein, but a slight increase in C4 plant consumption verifies the increasing importance of maize in the Middle Horizon. These results underscore the primary role of local terrestrial food resources in securing a nutritious diet that allowed for sustained population growth, even in the face of documented climate and political change across these periods.

Paleopathology of the Ychsma: Evidence of respiratory disease during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1476) at the Central Coastal site of Pachacamac, Peru.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate evidence for maxillary sinusitis and pulmonary inflammation in archaeological skeletons dating to the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1476) at the site of Pachacamac, Peru. MATERIALS: Thirty-nine individuals (male, female, and unknown sex; 16+ years age-at-death) were analyzed for inflammatory periosteal reaction (IPR) on the visceral (inner) surfaces of the ribs, and 16 individuals were analyzed for evidence of maxillary sinusitis. METHODS: All individuals were macroscopically examined for bony changes in the maxillary sinuses and new bone formation on the ribs according to pre-established criteria. RESULTS: Some 33.3% (13/39) of individuals had IPR on the ribs and 93.8% (15/16) had bony changes in the maxillary sinuses. CONCLUSIONS: Respiratory disease was likely prevalent in people buried at Pachacamac during the Late Intermediate Period. A number of factors may have increased the risk of developing respiratory disease, including exposure to poor air quality and increased crowding and social mixing, resulting from pilgrimage to this important ritual center. SIGNIFICANCE: This paper represents one of the first systematic analyses of evidence for respiratory disease in Peruvian and South American human skeletal remains, demonstrating the suitability of the region for further study. LIMITATIONS: A limited sample was available for analysis. Additionally, the site's skeletal preservation was excellent, meaning the sample available for assessment of maxillary sinusitis was smaller, being limited to individuals with post-mortem breakage. FURTHER RESEARCH: The results of this study should stimulate further much needed systematic investigation of evidence for respiratory disease in other Peruvian and South American populations.

Test of the auricular surface sex estimation method in fetuses and non-adults under 5 years old from the Lisbon and Granada Reference Collections.

Non-adult sex estimation is an active field of forensic inquiry as morphological variations between males and females are subtle, but observable, even from intrauterine development. The objectives of this study are threefold: to test the validity of the auricular surface method for sex estimation (Int J Osteoarchaeol 27:898-911, 2017) in fetuses and children under the age of 5 years old; to evaluate if health conditions, reported as the cause of death, influence its accuracy; and to detect possible secular trends in sexual dimorphism. One-hundred and ninety-seven skeletal individuals from the Lisbon and Granada Identified Collections were studied. Individuals were divided according to the hormonal peaks (< 0, 0-2, < 2, and 2.1-5 years old), cause, and year of death (before and after 1960). As in previous studies, two ratios (FI/CF and DE/AD) and two qualitative variables (OM and MRS) showed the highest frequencies of correct estimation (0.81-0.86). The correct sex allocations increased when the discriminant function (0.85) and logistic regression (0.86) were applied. Males of the age groups < 0 and 2.1-5 years were all correctly sexed by both formulae, and the same was observed for the female probabilities of adequate allocation. The cause and year of death were identified as variables without statistical significance. It is proposed that this method can be incorporated with confidence into the multifactorial laboratory protocols for non-adult sex estimation from skeletal remains.

Overview of roadkills in the Serra da Macaca Park Road (SP-139), state of São Paulo, Brazil / Breve panorama dos atropelamentos de fauna na Estrada Parque Serra da Macaca (SP-139), estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Fatalities involving wildlife on roads and highways due to collisions with automotive vehicles represent a severe threat to the conservation of several species of terrestrial vertebrates throughout the world. However, in addition to the negative impact caused by collisions, there are also serious social and economic implications that arise from this situation. This study aims at qualifying and quantifying the collisions with fauna in the Serra da Macaca Park Road (SP-139), since the end of the revitalization work that the road was underwent – in 2015 – over a stretch of 33 km that crosses the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB), as well as identifying the predisposing factors that lead to such accidents. The ecological analyses were generated by a combination of the records kept by the fiscalization service of the Fundação Florestal and samples collected in the field. In total, the loss of 80 individuals belonging to 27 species was recorded over an estimated period of three years. Reptiles were the most affected group, followed by mammals. A significant part of the animals was unable to be recognized to the species level, since the taxonomic identification was conducted based on the morphology of the external characteristics and several of the carcasses were completely dilacerated. We identified that the temporal variations in the fatalities are related mainly to the intensity of the traffic in the road and to the differential response of herpetofauna to the stimuli of seasonality.

As fatalidades de animais silvestres nas rodovias, decorrentes de colisões com veículos automotores, constitui grave ameaça à conservação de diversas espécies de vertebrados terrestres em todo o mundo. Entretanto, além do impacto negativo causado pelos atropelamentos, existem também implicações socioeconômicas muito sérias advindas desse tipo de conflito. O presente estudo teve como objetivo qualificar e quantificar os atropelamentos de fauna ocorridos na Estrada Parque Serra da Macaca (SP-139), desde a conclusão das suas obras de revitalização – no ano de 2015 – em um trecho de 33 km que atravessa o Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB), assim como delimitar localmente os principais fatores predisponentes. As análises ecológicas foram geradas pela combinação dos registros catalogados pelo serviço de fiscalização da Fundação Florestal com as amostras coletadas em campo. Na contagem total, detectou-se a perda de 80 indivíduos pertencentes a 27 espécies, em um período aproximado de três anos. O grupo dos répteis foi o mais afetado, seguido pelos mamíferos. Uma parte significativa dos animais não pôde ser reconhecida ao nível de espécie, visto que a identificação foi realizada com base na morfologia dos caracteres externos e muitas das carcaças estavam dilaceradas. Constatou-se que as variações temporais das fatalidades estão ligadas principalmente à intensidade de tráfego na via, e à resposta diferencial da herpetofauna aos estímulos da sazonalidade.

Overview of roadkills in the Serra da Macaca Park Road (SP-139), state of São Paulo, Brazil / Breve panorama dos atropelamentos de fauna na Estrada Parque Serra da Macaca (SP-139), estado de São Paulo, Brasil

Fatalities involving wildlife on roads and highways due to collisions with automotive vehicles represent a severe threat to the conservation of several species of terrestrial vertebrates throughout the world. However, in addition to the negative impact caused by collisions, there are also serious social and economic implications that arise from this situation. This study aims at qualifying and quantifying the collisions with fauna in the Serra da Macaca Park Road (SP-139), since the end of the revitalization work that the road was underwent in 2015 over a stretch of 33 km that crosses the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB), as well as identifying the predisposing factors that lead to such accidents. The ecological analyses were generated by a combination of the records kept by the fiscalization service of the Fundação Florestal and samples collected in the field. In total, the loss of 80 individuals belonging to 27 species was recorded over an estimated period of three years. Reptiles were the most affected group, followed by mammals. A significant part of the animals was unable to be recognized to the species level, since the taxonomic identification was conducted based on the morphology of the external characteristics and several of the carcasses were completely dilacerated. We identified that the temporal variations in the fatalities are related mainly to the intensity of the traffic in the road and to the differential response of herpetofauna to the stimuli of seasonality.(AU)

As fatalidades de animais silvestres nas rodovias, decorrentes de colisões com veículos automotores, constitui grave ameaça à conservação de diversas espécies de vertebrados terrestres em todo o mundo. Entretanto, além do impacto negativo causado pelos atropelamentos, existem também implicações socioeconômicas muito sérias advindas desse tipo de conflito. O presente estudo teve como objetivo qualificar e quantificar os atropelamentos de fauna ocorridos na Estrada Parque Serra da Macaca (SP-139), desde a conclusão das suas obras de revitalização no ano de 2015 em um trecho de 33 km que atravessa o Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB), assim como delimitar localmente os principais fatores predisponentes. As análises ecológicas foram geradas pela combinação dos registros catalogados pelo serviço de fiscalização da Fundação Florestal com as amostras coletadas em campo. Na contagem total, detectou-se a perda de 80 indivíduos pertencentes a 27 espécies, em um período aproximado de três anos. O grupo dos répteis foi o mais afetado, seguido pelos mamíferos. Uma parte significativa dos animais não pôde ser reconhecida ao nível de espécie, visto que a identificação foi realizada com base na morfologia dos caracteres externos e muitas das carcaças estavam dilaceradas. Constatou-se que as variações temporais das fatalidades estão ligadas principalmente à intensidade de tráfego na via, e à resposta diferencial da herpetofauna aos estímulos da sazonalidade.(AU)

Missing Persons and Unidentified Human Remains: The Perspective from Armed Conflict Victims Exhumed in Granada, Colombia.

The prevalence of missing persons in Colombia has been analyzed from different perspectives throughout the years. The most recent official numbers given by the National Center for Historical Memory (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica [CNMH]) provides an approximate number of 60,630 missing persons from 1970 to 2015. During this time, participants in the armed conflict performed different types of violence to one another, including torturing, disapperances, and multiple incidents of combat between militant groups and the Colombian National Army. Formerly, the agencies tasked with investigating these crimes were focused primarily on the cause and manner of death; identification was not the main purpose, leaving hundreds of unidentified victims buried in different cemeteries around the Colombian territory. The aim of this article is to provide a broad perspective of the dimension of the missing persons in Colombia, highlighting the achievements that have been made so far, presenting an example from the unidentified victims buried and recovered from "La Resurrección" cemetery in Granada (Colombia) and analyzed by a specialized forensic team of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses [INMLyCF]) in the Eastern Region of Colombia.

Stable isotope evidence for dietary diversification in the pre-Columbian Amazon.

Archaeological research is radically transforming the view that the Amazon basin and surrounding areas witnessed limited societal development before European contact. Nevertheless, uncertainty remains on the nature of the subsistence systems and the role that aquatic resources, terrestrial mammalian game, and plants had in supporting population growth, geographic dispersal, cultural adaptations and political complexity during the later stages of the pre-Columbian era. This is exacerbated by the general paucity of archaeological human remains enabling individual dietary reconstructions. Here we use stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of bone collagen to reconstruct the diets of human individuals from São Luís Island (Brazilian Amazon coast) dated between ca. 1800 and 1000 cal BP and associated with distinct ceramic traditions. We expanded our analysis to include previously published data from Maracá and Marajó Island, in the eastern Amazon. Quantitative estimates of the caloric contributions from food groups and their relative nutrients using a Bayesian Mixing Model revealed distinct subsistence strategies, consisting predominantly of plants and terrestrial mammals and variably complemented with aquatic resources. This study offers novel quantitative information on the extent distinct food categories of polyculture agroforestry systems fulfilled the caloric and protein requirements of Late Holocene pre-Columbian populations in the Amazon basin.

Desenvolvimento pós-embrionário de Chrysomya putoria (Calliphoridae) em carne equina e sua importância para a entomologia e veterinária forenses / [Post embryonic development of Chrysomya putoria (Calliphoridae) using horse meat and its importance for forensic entomology and veterinary]

Devido à importância médica, veterinária, ambiental e forense do califorídeo Chrysomya putoria (Diptera), foi avaliado o desempenho apresentado por estágios imaturos criados em carne de cavalo. Os espécimes foram colocados em câmaras aclimatizadas reguladas a 30 ºC, 60 ± 10% UR e 14 horas de fotofase. Os estágios larval e pupal concluíram seu desenvolvimento em 4,16 e 4,12 dias, respectivamente. As larvas pós-alimentação e pupas com 24h de idade pesaram, em média, 58,06 e 40,10mg, respectivamente. As taxas de emergência registradas foram de 65% nas condições experimentais propostas. Como os compostos orgânicos voláteis são diferentes na decomposição de um animal para outro, este trabalho e outros realizados com a mesma dieta são os mais apropriados para estimativa de intervalo post mortem envolvendo cavalos.(AU)

Due to medical, veterinary, environmental and forensic importance of the calliphorid Chrysomya putoria (Diptera), the performance presented by immature stages, reared on horse meat, was evaluated. The specimens were placed in acclimatized chambers regulated at 30 ºC, 60 ± 10% RU and 14 hours of photo phase. The larval and pupal stages completed their development in 4, 16 and 4, 12 days, respectively. Post-feeding larvae and aged 24h pupae weight on average 58, 06 and 40, 10 mg, respectively. The emergence rates recorded were 65% under the experimental conditions proposed. As volatile organic compounds are different in the decomposition of one animal to another, this work and others carried out with the same diet are the most appropriate for estimating post-mortem interval involving horses.(AU)

A novel method of male sex identification of human ancient skeletal remains.

Sex identification of ancient individuals is important to understand aspects of the culture, demographic structure, religious practices, disease association, and the history of the ancient civilizations. Sex identification is performed using anthropometric measurements and molecular genetics techniques, including quantification of the X and Y chromosomes. These approaches are not always reliable in subadult, or fragmented, incomplete skeletons or when the DNA is highly degraded. Most of the methods include the identification of the male and female sexes, but the absence of a specific marker for the males does not mean that the sample obtained was from a female. This study aims (1) to identify new male-specific regions that allow male identification; (2) to contrast the effectiveness of these markers against AMELX/AMELY and anthropometric measurement procedures; and (3) to test the efficacy of these markers in archaeological samples. For the first two aims, we used known sex samples, and for the third aim, we used samples from different archaeological sites. A novel molecular technique to identify male-specific regions by amplification of TTTY7, TSPY3, TTTY2, and TTTY22 genes of the human Y chromosome was developed. The results showed amplification of the specific DNA regions of Y chromosome in male individuals, with no amplification being observed in any of the female samples, confirming their specificity for male individuals. This approach complements the current procedures, such as the AMELX/AMELY test and anthropometric principle.

Localización, identificación, traslado y entrega de cadáveres / Location, identification, transfer and delivery of corpses

Objetivo del documento: disponer de lineamientos básicos de desinfección para las personas que realizan el proceso de la localización, identificación, traslado y entrega en cementerios de cadáveres por COVID-19, evitando así la propagación del mismo.

Cadaveric ichthyofauna of the Madeira River in the Amazon basin: the myth of man-eating piranhas.

Drowned bodies rescued from the rivers of the Amazon basin exhibit several artefacts caused by the actions of the cadaveric ichthyofauna, namely, the "candiru". This study aims to review and discuss the fish species responsible for the largest number of attacks on bodies in the Madeira River (Porto Velho - Rondônia, Brazil), to describe the feeding strategies and types of lesions caused by each species, and to demystify the myth of the "man-eating piranhas". To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first that aims to provide a systematic analysis of cadaveric ichthyofauna and forensic findings in this region.