Recommendations for procedures related to the evidence chain of custody in forensic anthropology in Brazil.

Forensic anthropologists perform specialised analysis, mainly involving skeletonised human remains, cadavers in advanced stages of decomposition, disassociated elements from the human body, and human remains in extreme carbonisation. The main objectives of the forensic anthropology expertise are human identification and assisting in determining the cause and manner of death. Estimating the time since death is also a priority for some cases, especially ones involving missing persons. This science works on individual cases, violent deaths, missing persons, mass disasters, suspected violations of human rights, and crimes against humanity. Forensic anthropological evidence is, in general, very sensitive. Thus, it is important to detail aspects relevant to the maintenance of the chain of custody at all phases of the investigation, as well as standardise the actions of the individuals involved. This aims to preserve the evidence integrity and sameness (Sameness: free translation of the Portuguese word "mesmidade", derived from a Spanish word that does not possess a translation to Portuguese. Sameness of evidence is understood as the guarantee that the evidence under valuation (or under analysis of its probative value) is exactly and integrally the same one which was collected, corresponding, therefore, to "the same" (and not "part of", "derived from"), safeguarding its value. Brazil Law No. 13.964 of 14 December 2019 establishes and lists 10 phases related to the evidence chain of custody that must be followed. These newly introduced requirements resulted in the need for adaptation of the forensic, investigative, and legal actors involved in an investigation, and in the detailed description of the procedures for the different areas related to criminalistics, including forensic anthropology. The information provided in this article should be interpreted as recommendations, even though their non-compliance may weaken the investigative and forensic analysis processes in whole or in part.

Testing the Olze and Timme Methods for Dental Age Estimation in Radiographs of Brazilian Subadults and Adults.

AIM: This study aimed to test the applicability of the methods proposed by Olze et al. (2012) and Timme et al. for dental age estimation in Brazilian subadults and adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Panoramic radiographs of 503 individuals aged between 20 and 70 years were analyzed. The mean chronological age of males and females of the sample was 29.04 and 29.97 years, receptively. Secondary dentin formation, cementum apposition, periodontal recession, and attrition of teeth #34, #35, #44 and #45 teeth were assessed as parameters to be calculated in the formulae designed by Olze et al. and Timme et al. RESULTS: In males, the mean estimated age by the Olze method was 28.97 ± 2.86 years, while in females it was 27.85 ± 2.70 years. The Timme method estimated mean age for males of 32.54 ± 5.32 years and for females 33.09 ± 5.16 years. Low coefficients of determination (r2) for the application of tooth-specific formulae of both methods suggest that estimated and chronological ages were not properly associated. CONCLUSION: The outcomes of this study indicate that the Olze and Timme methods may be limited for forensic applications in Brazilian subadults and adults. Country-specific statistical adjustments might be useful for improvements in practice.

Oral health of older adults in brazilian nursing ho mes: case report involving the department of public prosecution / Saúde bucal de idosos em instituições de longa permanência no brasil: relato de caso envolvendo a atuação do ministério público

The poor oral health of older adults, living in nursing homes (NH), affects their quality of life, requiring government protection in favor of the collectivity and to defend the social and individual rights of Brazilians. citizens This study reports a case investigated by the Department of Public Prosecution of Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil, which received complaints about the care provided to the residents of a nursing home, including oral care, which was unsatisfactory. A multidisciplinary team carried out visits to the institution and analysis, with professionals in the medical, nursing and dental fields. No mistreatment was confirmed, but dental healthcare revealed poor hygiene conditions that leaded to the confection of a Term of Conduct Adjustment (TCA), to be implemented in the inspected institution. Nevertheless, some of the elder residents still presented unsatisfactory oral health conditions, with some necessary action inside the institution to enhance the quality of life for this group.

A precariedade das condições de saúde bucal de idosos residentes em instituições de longa permanência afeta a qualidade de vida deste grupo, que necessita da tutela do poder público em favor de interesses coletivos com o intuito de garantir e defender os direitos sociais e individuais dos brasileiros. Este trabalho tem o objetivo de relatar um caso investigado pelo Ministério Público do Rio Grande do Sul/Brasil, partindo de denúncias a respeito da precariedade dos cuidados com a higiene oral em idosos institucionalizados. As visitas e avaliações foram feitas por uma equipe de saúde multidisciplinar composta por médicas, uma enfermeira e uma cirurgiã-dentista. Não foram confirmados sinais de maus-tratos. Contudo, a avaliação da saúde bucal revelou condições insatisfatórias de higiene, resultando na elaboração de um Termo de Ajustamento de Condutas (TAC), pela equipe de saúde, o qual foi implementado na ILP. O TAC propiciou melhorias envolvendo o cuidado aos residentes da instituição inspecionada. Entretanto, os idosos aindaapresentam condições de higiene bucal insatisfatórias, sendo necessárias alguns ações dentro da instituição para que haja uma melhora da qualidade de vida deste grupo.

Age estimation among Brazilians: Younger or older than 18?

The age estimation of living or dead individuals is an important part of forensic science because it can be used in various situations, including mass disasters, or for civil or criminal reasons, such as adoption or asylum. Teeth play a major role in this context because they are more resistant than bones in extreme environmental conditions and their development is hardly affected by exogenous or endogenous factors. Because the third molars (3rdM) are still in development from the age of 14, they are useful for determining whether an individual has reached the legal age of 18 years. This study aims to verify the method of Cameriere et al. (2008) in Brazil to discriminate whether an individual is under or over 18 years from the maturity index of the 3rdM (I3m). The analysis of 444 panoramic radiographs resulted in a sensitivity of 78.3%, a specificity of 85.1% and a correct classification of 87%. Significant differences in sexual dimorphism in the early mineralization of males were found only for the average age with I3m ≥ 0.08, except for the range (0.7, 0.9). Due to the high miscegenation ratio of the Brazilian population the ancestry was not one of the studied variables. The method is suitable for estimating adulthood for forensic purposes in Brazil, although it must be applied carefully and judiciously. We recommend a combination of several methods that are available to increase accuracy as well as the establishment of different parameters that are likely to determine whether a person is more or less than 18 years of age, depending on the different legal requirements, whether civil or criminal.

O uso do terceiro molar na estimativa de idade em brasileiros / The use of third molar in the age estimation in Brazilians

A estimativa de idade em indivíduos vivos ou mortos desempenha um importante papel das ciências forenses, pois pode ser requisitada para propósitos civis ou por razões criminais: desastres em massa, adoção, asilo, direitos civis ou imputabilidade penal, dentre outros. Os dentes desempenham um protagonismo neste contexto, pois são mais resistentes que os ossos em condições ambientais extremas e seu desenvolvimento dificilmente é afetado por fatores exógenos ou endógenos. Pelo fato dos terceiros molares (3ºM) serem os únicos ainda em desenvolvimento a partir dos 14 anos de idade, tornam-se úteis para determinar se um indivíduo atingiu a maioridade legal aos 18 anos de idade. As técnicas desenvolvidas na atualidade para estimativa de idade em pessoas vivas em sua maioria dependem de imagens radiográficas dos dentes, pois é um método não-invasivo e com potencial de conseguir amostras de banco de dados de clínicas radiológicas para estudos populacionais. Este estudo almejou verificar o método de Cameriere et al. (2008c) (MC) em brasileiros, no intuito de estabelecer parâmetros para discriminar se um indivíduo é maior ou menor de 18 anos de idade a partir do índice de maturidade do 3ºM (I3m); também teve como objetivo comparar a sensibilidade (SE) e a especificidade (ES) deste método com os estágios G e H do método desenvolvido por Demirjian et al. (1973) e adaptado por Mincer et al. (1993) (MD). A análise de 444 radiografias panorâmicas de indivíduos entre as idades de 14 a 22 anos resultou em, para o valor de corte do I3m<=0,08 (MC), uma SE de 77,4%, uma ES de 86,2% e uma probabilidade estimada (PE) corretamente de 87,8%

Para o MD foram encontrados, respectivamente para os estágios G e H, SE: 80,54% / 52,94%, ES: 85,27% / 95,54% e PE: 86,8% / 94,2%. Diferenças significativas de dimorfismo sexual, com mineralização mais precoce para o sexo masculino, foram encontradas apenas paras médias de idade pertencentes às faixas de I3M>=0,08 (MC) - à exceção da faixa [0,7, 0.9) - e aos estágios E e F (MD). O método é adequado para estimar a idade adulta para propósitos forenses em brasileiros, entretanto deve ser aplicado cuidadosa e criteriosamente. Recomenda-se uma combinação de diversos métodos disponíveis para aumentar sua acurácia, bem como o estabelecimento de diferentes parâmetros de probabilidade para determinar se uma pessoa é maior ou menor de 18 anos de idade, a depender dos diferentes requisitos legais, se civil ou criminal. Para brasileiros, o método atinge sua melhor performance com I3m<=0,13 (MC) ou estágio G (MD), parâmetros recomendados para considerar a maioridade legal para fins civis, administrativos e trabalhistas. Para fins criminais, recomenda-se o I3m<=0,05 (MC) ou estágio H (MD)

The age estimation of living or dead individuals is an important part of forensic sciences because it can be used in various situations, including mass disasters, or for civil or criminal reasons, such as adoption, asylum, civil rights or criminal responsibility. Teeth play a major role in this context because they are more resistant than bones in extreme environmental conditions and their development is hardly affected by exogenous or endogenous factors. Because the third molars (3rdM) are still in development from the age of 14, they are useful for determining whether an individual has reached the legal age of 18 years. The techniques developed at present to estimate the age of living people mostly rely on radiographic images of teeth, because it is a non-invasive method and has potential to get samples database of clinical radiological for population studies. This study aims to verify the method of Cameriere et al. (2008) (CM) in Brazil to discriminate whether an individual is under or over 18 years from the maturity index of the 3rdM (I3m), as well as comparing the sensitivity (SE) and the specificity (SP) of this method with the G and H stages of the Demirjian et al. (1973) method (DM) modified by Mincer et al. (1993). The analysis of 444 panoramic radiographs resulted in a SE of 78.3%, a SP of 85.1% and a correct classification (CC) of 87%, for a cutoff value of I3m <= 0.08 as in original study

Significant differences in sexual dimorphism in the early mineralization of males were found only for the average age belonging to the bands I3m >= 0.08, except for the range [0.7, 0.9). For the MD were found, respectively, for the G and H stages - SE: 80.54% / 52.94%, SP: 85.27% / 95.54% and CC: 86.8% / 94.2%. The method is suitable for estimating adulthood for forensic purposes in Brazil, although it must be applied carefully and judiciously. We recommend a combination of several methods that are available to increase accuracy as well as the establishment of different parameters that are likely to determine whether a person is more or less than 18 years of age, depending on the different legal requirements, whether civil or criminal. For Brazilians, MC an MD achieve its best performance with I3m <= 0.13 or G stage, respectively, recommended parameters to consider the legal age for civil purposes. For criminal purposes, it is recommended I3m <= 0.05 (CM) or H stage (DM)