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.

Evaluating the impact of a cemetery on groundwater by multivariate analysis.

Water analyses in conjunction with hydrological and geotechnical investigations were carried out to assess the potential for groundwater contamination from the decomposition of buried human bodies. Water samples were collected from 2007 to 2018 in three monitoring wells built within the cemetery area. Water quality was evaluated based on the determination of 25 analytical parameters (20 physical-chemical and 5 microbiological). Laboratory data reported by the local sewage water company for water collected in household cisterns located outside the cemetery area were also evaluated. Multivariate analysis showed a similar pattern between iron content, turbidity, and rainfall data collected at the rainfall station closest to the study area. This behavior is a direct consequence of soil leaching (oxisol). The physical characterization of the soil of the unsaturated area above the aquifer indicates that the absorption of body waste by the soil is favored, preventing surface contaminants from reaching the aquifer. This work also found that the water samples collected outside the cemetery area do not comply with the Brazilian limits for drinking water. In conclusion, water samples collected from monitoring wells located within the cemetery area have little to none impact on both subsurface and underground contamination.

Place of origin of the sacrificial victims in the sacred Cenote, Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

OBJECTIVES: The ancient city of Chichén Itzá in the northern Yucatán of Mexico was one of the most important in the Maya area, but its origins and history are poorly understood. A major question concerns the origins of the peoples who founded and later expanded the ancient city. Hundreds of people were ritually executed and their bodies thrown into the waters of the Sacred Cenote at Chichén. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we use strontium and oxygen isotopes to study the place of origin of a large sample of these individuals. Isotopes are deposited in human tooth enamel. Enamel forms during the first years of life, remains largely unchanged long past death, and can provide a signature of the place of birth. If the isotope ratios in enamel are different from the place of death, the individual must have moved during his/her lifetime. RESULTS: Comparison of our results from the cenote with information on isotope ratios across the Maya region and elsewhere suggests that the individuals in the cenote came from a number of different parts of Mexico and possibly beyond. DISCUSSION: It is not known if all of the sacrificial victims resided in Chichén Itzá, but their suggested origins likely reflect patterns of population movement and social networks that existed between Chichén Itzá and both neighboring and distant regions. Various lines of evidence point to places in the Yucatán, along the Gulf Coast, Central America, or even in the Central Highlands of Mexico.

Lack of Corpses for Teaching and Research / A Falta de Cadáveres para Ensino e Pesquisa

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to address the importance of providing unclaimed corpses and cadavers donated for use in studies, focusing on the training of health professionals, the improvement of professionals already trained in this area and the advance of research, mainly in surgical techniques, in the scope of educational and research institutions, both public and private. It seems unanimous, among the authors who deal with the matter, the view that the use of corpses is irreplaceable in technical training and professional development. There is, however, a lack of the material in question, which in turn is due to a series of difficulties raised here, such as the lack of regulation centers that manage the flow of capture and distribution of cadavers and the decrease in the number of unclaimed corpses. The following problem is thus defined: on the one hand, there is a clear need to obtain human remains for basic education in the health area - fundamentally in the disciplines of Anatomy - for the improvement of professionals in this area and for research - such as the disciplines of surgical techniques -; on the other hand, the lack of cadaveric material is evident, a fact that, by consequence, has been compromising the final quality of health services, especially those of surgical nature. A bibliographic survey was carried out aiming to know the state of the art on the current legislation and on the Bills currently submitted to the National Congress. It was found that, despite the existence of legislation concerning this matter, it is necessary to have legislative-normative improvement to encompass the several demands, including those of the emerging technologies. The legislative process is very slow, taking into account the need indicated here, considering the significant increase in the number of courses in the health area. It is necessary, therefore, that urgent measures be taken to supply the needs in the area, which must necessarily take place through legal and regulatory norms.

RESUMO O estudo tem como objetivo abordar a importância da disponibilização de cadáveres não reclamados e de cadáveres doados para utilização em estudos, com foco na formação de profissionais da área da saúde, no aperfeiçoamento de profissionais já formados nessa área e no avanço de pesquisas sobretudo em técnicas cirúrgicas, no âmbito de instituições de ensino e pesquisa, tanto públicas como privadas. Parece unânime, entre os autores que versam sobre a matéria, a opinião de que a utilização de cadáveres é insubstituível na formação técnica e no aperfeiçoamento do profissional. Verifica-se, entretanto, a falta do material em questão, o que, por sua vez, se deve a uma série de dificuldades aqui levantadas, como a falta de centrais de regulação que administrem o fluxo de captação e distribuição de cadáveres e a diminuição do número de cadáveres não reclamados. Configura-se, assim, o seguinte problema: por um lado, tem-se a clara necessidade de obtenção de restos mortais humanos para o ensino básico na área da saúde - em se tratando fundamentalmente das disciplinas de Anatomia -, para o aperfeiçoamento de profissionais dessa área e para pesquisa - a exemplo das disciplinas de técnicas cirúrgicas -; por outro lado, é flagrante a carência de material cadavérico, fato que, por via de consequência, vem comprometendo a qualidade final dos serviços de saúde, em especial os de caráter cirúrgico. Realizou-se aqui levantamento bibliográfico visando conhecer o estado da arte sobre a legislação vigente e os projetos de lei em tramitação no Congresso Nacional. Verificou-se que, apesar da existência de legislação concernente à matéria, é necessário haver aperfeiçoamento legislativo-normativo para contemplar as diversas demandas, incluídas as tecnologias que vêm surgindo. O processo legislativo é muito lento em face da necessidade aqui apontada, considerado o expressivo aumento do número de cursos na área da saúde. É mister, pois, que sejam tomadas medidas urgentes para suprir o passivo na área, o que deve realizar-se necessariamente por meio de regulamentação legal e normativa.

Entre vidas objetificadas e vítimas da escravização: a trajetória das ossadas do Cemitério dos Pretos Novos, no Rio de Janeiro / Between objectified lives and victims of slavery: the bones of the Pretos Novos Cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro / Entre vidas objetivadas y victimas de la esclavización: la trayectoria de los huesos del Cementerio Pretos Novos, en Rio de Janeiro

Resumo Nos últimos anos, diversas iniciativas no Brasil e no mundo apontam para um novo enquadramento da escravidão que procura trazer à tona o ponto de vista dos escravizados. Elas são elaboradas em torno de uma nova moralidade que denuncia o processo de vitimização a que foram submetidos. No entanto, a construção dessas novas narrativas é permeada por conflitos e ambiguidades. Partindo de uma etnografia sobre as ossadas do sítio arqueológico Cemitério dos Pretos Novos, tento trazer à tona a multiplicidade de atores e representações que transcendem e ressignificam o processo de vitimização. Com isso, procuro iluminar a complexidade da construção contemporânea da categoria da vítima, em particular as vítimas da escravização no Brasil.

Abstract In recent years, slavery has been redefined in new frames that emphasizes the enslaved’s perspective. This change brings a new morality that denounces the process of victimization of the enslaved. But these narratives are permeated by conflicts and ambiguities. Through an ethnografic research of the bones found in the Pretos Novos Cemetery archeological site, this article analyzes the multiplicity of actors and representantios which transcend and ressignify the victimization process and highlights the complexity of the contemporary category of victim, in particular victims of slavery, in Brasil.

Resumen En los últimos años, varias iniciativas en Brasil y en todo el mundo revelan un nuevo marco de esclavitud que busca llevar a cabo el punto de vista de los esclavizados. Ellas se elaboran en torno a una nueva moral denunciando el proceso de victimización que han sufrido. Sin embargo, la construcción de estos nuevos relatos está impregnada de conflictos y ambigüedades. A partir de una etnografía sobre los restos del sitio arqueológico Cementerio de Pretos Novos, trato de poner de manifiesto la multiplicidad de actores y representaciones que trascienden y re-significar el proceso de victimización. Con eso, trato a la luz de la complejidad de la construcción contemporánea de la categoría de víctima, en particular las víctimas de la esclavitud en Brasil.

The Paleoparasitology in Brazil and Findings in Human Remains from South America: A Review.

The review article presents some of the history of how paleoparasitology started in Brazil, making highlight the great responsible Dr. Luiz Fernando Ferreira and Dr. Adauto Araújo, the trajectory of paleoparasitology in Brazil since 1978 and its performance in science to the present day. In sequence, it is made a presentation of parasitological findings on human remains found in archaeological sites in South America, highlighting Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, where major discoveries have occurred. Many of the parasites found in archaeological material and mentioned in this review went out of Africa with the peopling of Europe and from there they dispersed around the world, where climatic conditions allow the transmission. However, humans have acquired other parasites of animals, since humans invaded new habitats or creating new habits adopting new technologies, thus expanding its range of influence on the environment. Thus, this review article is finalized with information that explain the importance of these findings in the interaction between parasites, human host, and ambient.

Osteometric sorting of skeletal elements from a sample of modern Colombians: a pilot study.

The Colombian armed conflict has been catalogued not only as the longest civil war in the western hemisphere, but also as having one of the highest indexes of missing persons. Among the several challenges faced by forensic practitioners in Colombia, the commingling of human remains has been recognised as one of the most difficult to approach. The method of osteometric sorting described by Byrd and Adams and Byrd (2008) has proven relevant as a powerful tool to aid in the reassociation process of skeletal structures. The aim of this research was to evaluate the three osteometric sorting models developed by Byrd (2008) (paired elements, articulating bone portions and other bone portions) in a sample of modern Colombian individuals. A set of 39 linear measurements was recorded from a sample of 100 individuals (47 females and 53 males aged between 20 and 74 and 18 and 77 years, respectively), which was used to create a reference sample database. A different subset of eight individuals (five females aged between 23 and 48 years, and three males aged between 27 and 43 years) was employed to randomly create six small-scale commingled assemblages for the purposes of testing the osteometric sorting models. Results demonstrate that this method has significant potential for use in the Colombian forensic context.

Observational case series: an algorithm incorporating multidetector computed tomography in the medicolegal investigation of human remains after a natural disaster.

An algorithm incorporating multidetector computed tomography (MDCT), digital radiographs, and external examination was used to triage cases for noninvasive or complete autopsy after a natural disaster. The algorithm was applied to 27 individuals who died during or soon after the earthquake that struck the Republic of Haiti on January 12, 2010. Of the 27 cases reviewed, 7 (26%) required a complete autopsy to determine cause and manner of death. In the remaining 20 (74%), cause and manner of death were determined with a reasonable degree of medical certainty after review of circumstances, an external examination, and postmortem imaging by MDCT and digital radiography (noninvasive autopsy). MDCT was particularly useful in detecting skeletal fractures caused by blunt force injury which were not evident on digital radiographs. The algorithm incorporating postmortem MDCT can be useful in the triage of human remains for autopsy after a natural disaster.