Forensic anthropology casework performance: Assessing accuracy and trends for biological profile estimates on a comprehensive sample of identified decedent cases.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the accuracy rates and trends in forensic anthropology casework concerning the estimation of the biological profile (sex, age, ancestry, and stature). Identified cases from the Forensic Anthropology Database for Assessing Methods Accuracy (FADAMA; n = 359) were analyzed to explore the following: accuracy rates per biological profile component, case-level performance in assessing the biological profile, and factors related to inaccuracy rates. Accuracy rates for the four biological profile components ranged from 83% to 98%, with sex estimation performing the best and stature performing the poorest. While the overall sex estimation inaccuracies were the lowest of any biological profile component, we found that females are missexed approximately ten times more often than males. Inaccurate age estimates were more frequently the result of overestimation than underestimation, while the trends are reversed for stature estimation. Regarding ancestry estimation performance, African American/Black and White decedents had the lowest inaccuracy rates, while Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander decedents demonstrated greater inaccuracy rates. When examining accuracy rates for each case, 81% of cases had no inaccurate biological profile estimates, while 17% and 2% inaccurately estimated one and two biological profile components, respectively. The demographic trends of identified forensic anthropology cases reflect the national unidentified decedent demographics. Biological profile accuracy rates were generally comparable to previous studies. The findings highlight the current status of forensic anthropologists' casework performance, with a greater amount of case-level inaccuracy rates than previously thought, and demonstrate the potential methodological and sampling strategies that could improve accuracy rates.

A hierarchy of expert performance as applied to forensic anthropology.

Due to their medicolegal repercussions, forensic anthropology conclusions must be reliable, consistent, and minimally compromised by bias. Yet, a synthetic analysis of the reliability and biasability of the discipline's methods has not yet been conducted. To do so, this study utilized Dror's (2016) hierarchy of expert performance (HEP), an eight-level model aimed at examining intra- and inter-expert reliability and biasability (the potential for cognitive bias) within the literature of forensic science disciplines. A systematic review of the forensic anthropology literature was conducted (1972-present), including papers published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Science International, and the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Anthropology Section abstracts published in the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the AAFS which matched keywords such as "forensic anthropology," "bias," "reliability," "cognition," "cognitive," or "error." The resulting forensic anthropology HEP showcases areas that have ample research and areas where more research can be conducted. Specifically, statistically significant increases in reliability (p < 0.001) and biasability (p < 0.001) publications were found since 2009 (publication of the NAS report). Extensive research examined the reliability of forensic anthropological observations and conclusions (n = 744 publications). However, minimal research investigated the biasability of forensic anthropological observations and conclusions (n = 20 publications). Notably, while several studies demonstrated the biasing effect of extraneous information on anthropological morphological assessments, there was no research into these effects on anthropological metric assessments. The findings revealed by the forensic anthropology HEP can help to guide future research, ultimately informing the development and refinement of best-practice standards for the discipline.

Human identification using a new matching Pursuit-based feature set of ECG.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In recent years, many attempts have been made to design reliable systems for identifying individuals using biometrics. Electrocardiogram (ECG) biometric is one of the newest methods that not only offers unique characteristics of individuals for human identification, but also the possibility of counterfeiting it is negligible. In this paper, our objective was to develop an identification system using a non-fiducial one-lead ECG feature set based on a sparse algorithm. METHODS: The ECG signals of 90 participants were decomposed using a matching pursuit (MP) and several statistical and nonlinear measures were extracted from the MP coefficients. Then, the performance of ECG characteristics delivered by MP analysis in human identification was evaluated by the probabilistic neural network (PNN) and k-nearest neighbor (kNN) with one vs. all strategy. The role of the feature set in classification rates was also tested in different modes, including linear attributes, nonlinear indices, all features, features selected by principal component analysis (PCA), and features selected by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). RESULTS: Experimental results showed that (1) the highest recognition rate was 99.68%; (2) the performance of the PNN was superior to the kNN; and (3) selecting features with LDA resulted in higher identification rates. CONCLUSIONS: The results are prominent from the performance perspective because it gives higher recognition rates over the group of 90 participants. The great performance of the proposed identification system advocates that it can be employed confidently in different smart systems.

Sex Determination of Three-Dimensional Skull Based on Improved Backpropagation Neural Network.

Sex determination from skeletons is a significant step in the analysis of forensic anthropology. Previous skeletal sex assessments were analyzed by anthropologists' subjective vision and sexually dimorphic features. In this paper, we proposed an improved backpropagation neural network (BPNN) to determine gender from skull. It adds the momentum term to improve the convergence speed and avoids falling into local minimum. The regularization operator is used to ensure the stability of the algorithm, and the Adaboost integration algorithm is used to improve the generalization ability of the model. 267 skulls were used in the experiment, of which 153 were females and 114 were males. Six characteristics of the skull measured by computer-aided measurement are used as the network inputs. There are two structures of BPNN for experiment, namely, [6; 6; 2] and [6; 12; 2], of which the [6; 12; 2] model has better average accuracy. While η = 0.5 and α = 0.9, the classification accuracy is the best. The accuracy rate of the training stage is 97.232%, and the mean squared error (MSE) is 0.01; the accuracy rate of the testing stage is 96.764%, and the MSE is 1.016. Compared with traditional methods, it has stronger learning ability, faster convergence speed, and higher classification accuracy.

Worldwide tendency and focused research in forensic anthropology: A bibliometric analysis of decade (2008-2017).

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to illustrate the global research productivity and tendency of forensic anthropology in recent ten years (2008-2017) by bibliometric analysis. METHODS: "Forensic anthropology" was used as the Medical Subject Headings term and topic in PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection. RESULTS: As 5130 articles retrieved, two independent investigators evaluated all of them respectively. After restricting the published year, excluding duplicated and irrelevant articles, 1663 articles were available. The total of 219 countries and regions contributed to this research and the United States was the most productive country. There were 201 peer-reviewed journals including all of articles and two of them were identified as core journals according to Bradford's law. Eight of the top 10 productive authors were from developed countries. The top 10 cited articles were published by authors from developed countries with half in the United States. Sex estimation and age estimation were the most popular topics. CONCLUSIONS: With the basic and recognized methodology administered in this study, it provided a relative broad view to evaluate the scientific research capacity of forensic anthropology and reveal the worldwide tendency in this field.

The Knowledge Level of Dentists in Turkey About Their Potential Role on the Disaster Victims Identification (DVI) Team.

OBJECTIVE: Although dentists are valuable assets in identification teams during disaster events, forensic dentistry is not used effectively in the identification studies conducted in Turkey, and the importance of dental data is ignored. The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge of dentists regarding their duties and responsibilities during major disasters. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted between December 2015 and June 2016. Registered dentists (n=20.280) of the Turkish Dental Association were invited to complete the organization's online survey. A total of 539 dentists participated in the volunteer workshop. Data were analyzed using SPSS, version 22.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). The chi-square analysis was used to evaluate the knowledge level of dentists by group regarding disaster victim identification (DVI) - the process and procedure of recovering and identifying victims of major disasters (eg, earthquake, terrorist attack). RESULTS: The dentists included in the study consisted of 320 (59.4%) females and 219 (40.6%) males with a mean age of 37.4±12.6 years. The number of specialists and general dentists were 249 (45.6%) and 297 (54.4%), respectively; 249 (69.71%) dentists who had knowledge about forensic dentistry stated that they received this information during their formal training. The percentage of dentists who were aware of the existence of an organization of a disaster response operation in Turkey was 74.2%, but only 20.5% (n=110) had knowledge about DVI. We found that 92.9% (n=104) of these dentists believed that dentists should be included in the team for the identification of disaster victims. On the other hand, only half (52.3%) of the dentists with knowledge of DVI wanted to work on the identification teams. The majority (99.1%) considered DNA analysis to be the safest method for identification. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that, although dentists know about the identification process, they do not have enough relevant knowledge. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:533-538).

Analysis of Three Commonly Used Tibia Length Measurement Techniques.

This study analyzes three tibia length measurement techniques on a sample of 107 tibiae. Two of the techniques meet published criteria by resting the tibia on its posterior surface with the longitudinal axis parallel to an osteometric board. The third technique does not adequately keep the longitudinal axis parallel to the board. Statistical analyses show low levels of interobserver error for all techniques and statistically significant differences between the third technique and the other two techniques. Results report a maximum difference of 6 mm between measurement techniques with the third technique having greater than 95% directional bias. A survey sent out to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences forensic anthropology community reported more than 50% of respondents having been taught the third technique when an osteometric board with a slot/hole is not available. The intermixing of the third technique with the other two has likely contributed to higher levels of interobserver error in tibia length measurements.

[The forensic medical characteristic of the non-identified corpses based on the materials of Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise of the Moscow Health Department]. / Sudebno-meditsinskaia kharakteristika neopoznannykh trupov po dannym Biuro sudebno-meditsinskoi ékspertizy Departamenta zdravookhraneniia Moskvy.

We undertook the analysis of the archive data of forensic medical expertises of the non-identified corpses accumulated at the tanatological divisions of the Moscow Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise for the period from 2012 till 2016. Special attention was given to sex and age composition of the deceased as well as the structure of mortality and the traces of ethyl alcohol, if any, present in the blood. It was shown that the majority of the unidentified bodies were those of the young men, with the main cause of the non-violent deaths being the cardiovascular pathology. Ethyl alcohol was found in the blood of 43% of the corpses. The analysis encompassed also the most frequently used methods for personality identification based on the data available from the medical-criminalistic department of the Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise. The statistical treatment of the results of the study provided materials making it possible to envision the tendencies of the further development and improvement of the methods for personality identification for the purpose of forensic medical expertise and judicial practice.

A critical review of sub-adult age estimation in biological anthropology: Do methods comply with published recommendations?

The diversity of approaches and the high number of publications on sub-adult age estimation is a testament to the relevance of this particular area of forensic anthropological research. However, a downside of this diversity is the many methodological, sampling and statistical discrepancies between publications, which can lead to difficulties in method definition, application and comparison. Several authors have published recommendations highlighting standardized methodological parameters that should be respected and clearly appear in the original publications for anthropological methods to be valid. This study aims to objectively evaluate a corpus of 269 publications on dental and skeletal postnatal sub-adult age estimation using these recommendations translated into descriptors. These descriptors cover five sampling and five statistical parameters that can be considered valid or invalid according to published methodological recommendations. Parameter and descriptor distributions are shown in frequency tables and graphs, illustrating the general invalidity of the sampling and/or statistical protocols. Provided our corpus of methods is an accurate representation of available publications, the extrapolation of these results leads to conclude that most sub-adult age estimates are at worst invalid, at best questionable, and almost certainly method-dependent. In view of this study, rigorous and standardized sampling and statistical approaches should be preferred when applying and building sub-adult age estimation methods.

Accuracy Rates of Ancestry Estimation by Forensic Anthropologists Using Identified Forensic Cases.

A common task in forensic anthropology involves the estimation of the ancestry of a decedent by comparing their skeletal morphology and measurements to skeletons of individuals from known geographic groups. However, the accuracy rates of ancestry estimation methods in actual forensic casework have rarely been studied. This article uses 99 forensic cases with identified skeletal remains to develop accuracy rates for ancestry estimations conducted by forensic anthropologists. The overall rate of correct ancestry estimation from these cases is 90.9%, which is comparable to most research-derived rates and those reported by individual practitioners. Statistical tests showed no significant difference in accuracy rates depending on examiner education level or on the estimated or identified ancestry. More recent cases showed a significantly higher accuracy rate. The incorporation of metric analyses into the ancestry estimate in these cases led to a higher accuracy rate.

Verificação da praticabilidade e da unicidade na queiloscopia e na palatoscopia como métodos de identificação humana / Checking the feasibility and uniqueness in cheiloscopy and palatoscopy as human identification methods

Introdução: Na odontologia forense, a cavidade oral tem um importante papel devido a sua anatomiaúnica. A queiloscopia e a rugoscopia são métodos de identificação seguros e acurados. Objetivos: Osobjetivos da presente pesquisa foram: a) avaliar a praticabilidade das técnicas empregadas; b) avaliar aunicidade das amostras; c) traçar um perfil das rugas palatinas e sulcos labiais de alunos do curso deOdontologia da UERN. Materiais e métodos: Foram feitas moldagens no palato com o auxilio demoldeiras de estoque e alginato. Modelos de estudo foram feitos com gesso tipo III. Para a obtenção dasimpressões labiais, foram utilizados um batom de cor vermelha, uma folha de papel de cor branca e umaplaca de vidro. Para classificar as impressões labiais foi utilizado o sistema de classificação de Suzuki eTsuchihashi. Para a classificação das rugas palatinas foi o utilizado o sistema de Martin dos Santos.Resultados: Ao todo foram coletadas 60 amostras, sendo 30 impressões labiais e 30 modelos comimpressões das rugas palatinas. As rugas palatinas do tipo sinuosa foram as mais encontradas. Os sulcoslabiais com maior ocorrência foram dos tipos bifurcados. Conclusões: A queiloscopia e a palatoscopiasão técnicas de identificação humana aplicáveis, porém é necessário que mais estudos sejam realizadospara que as mesmas sejam utilizadas com mais frequência entre os órgãos de investigaçõescompetentes. As técnicas mostraram-se exequíveis e as amostras singulares. Foi encontrada uma maiorocorrência de rugas palatinas sinuosas e uma predominância de sulcos labiais bifurcados.

Introduction: In forensic dentistry, the oral cavity plays a very important role because of the uniqueanatomy. The cheiloscopy and palatoscopy are self and accurate methods of identification. Objectives:The objectives of this research were: a)assess the feasibility of techniques b) assess the uniqueness ofthe sample c) draw a profile of wrinkles and furrows lip palate of students of Dentistry, UERN. Methods:Impressions on the palate were made with stocks trays and alginate and making the study model wasmade with plaster type III. To obtain the lip prints were used lipstick red color, a sheet of white paper and aglass plate. To sort the lip prints it was used the classification system of Suzuki and Tsuchihashi. For theclassification of palatal rugae was the system used Martin dos Santos. Results: Altogether 60 sampleswere collected, with 30 lip prints and 30 models with palatal rugae. The palatal rugae winding type werefound with higher occurrence. The highest occurrence labial furrows were bifurcated type. Conclusions:The cheiloscopy and palatoscopy are applicable human identification techniques, but it is necessary thatmore studies be conducted so that they are used more frequently among competent organs ofinvestigations. The techniques were feasible and the samples were singular. A higher occurrence ofwinding palatine rugae and a predominance of bifurcated labial grooves were found.

Validação do método de carrea na região noroeste do estado do paraná, brasil / Carrea’s method validation in northwest of Paraná State, Brazil

A identificação humana é um processo de fundamental importância para a sociedade. As análisesantropológicas na Odontologia fornecem informações para a estimativa de sexo, idade, ancestralidade,estatura, dentre outros. Com base na análise de determinados dentes é possível ter um parâmetro daestatura do indivíduo e com isto auxiliar no processo investigativo de identidade. O objetivo deste trabalhofoi verificar a eficácia do método de estimativa de estatura de Carrea em indivíduos residentes na regiãoNoroeste do Estado do Paraná, considerando sexo e faixa etária. Foram avaliados 180 indivíduos deambos os sexos, estando na faixa etária de 12 a 69 anos. Mensurou- se a estatura de cada um delesatravés do uso de um antropômetro. Para a estimativa pelo método de Carrea, foram feitas mensuraçõesna arcada inferior. Os resultados demonstraram que o método de Carrea estimou em 91,6% a estaturareal dos indivíduos. Entretanto, para alguns casos foi grande a diferença entre estatura máxima e mínima.Não houve associação estatística entre a eficácia do método com sexo e/ou faixa etária dos indivíduosavaliados. Com base nestes achados conclui-se que o referido método pode ser auxiliar na investigaçãode estatura, mas deve ser associado a outros métodos para conferir maior credibilidade.

Human identification is a process essential importance for society. Anthropological analysis in dentistryprovides information for an estimate of sex, age, racial group, stature among others. Based on the analysisof certain dental elements can have an individual's height parameter and thereby assist in the investigativeprocess identity. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Carrea height estimationmethod for individuals residing in the State of Paraná Northwest, considering sex and age. They evaluated180 individuals of both sexes, being in the age group 12-69 years. A stature of each individual wasmeasured by an anthropometer. To estimate the Carrea method, measurements were made on the lowerarch. The results showed that the method Carrea estimated at 91.6% the actual height of the individual.However, some cases there were great differences between maximum and minimum height there was nostatistical association between the efficacy of the method to sex and / or age of the individuals. Based onthese findings, it was finished that the methodology can be assist in stature research, but it must beassociated with other methods to bring greater credibility.

Análise radiográfica para estimativa de idade utilizando o método demirjian em uma população do nordeste do brasil / Radiographic analysis to age estimation using demirjian method in a population of Northeast Brazil

A estimativa da idade é um elemento importante na investigação odontolegal, sendo o método Demirjianet al. (1973) um dos mais difundidos para estimar a idade dental. Diversos estudos foram realizados comeste método, entretanto, poucos são os estudos de impacto realizados na população brasileira até o presente momento. Neste sentido, este trabalho objetivou estimar a idade dental aplicando o métodoDemirjian et al. (1973) em uma cidade no nordeste do Brasil. Para isso, foram analisadas 300 radiografiaspanorâmicas de pacientes com idade entre 3 e 18 anos, obtidas a partir do arquivo digital de um institutode radiologia. Os resultados indicam uma forte correlação entre a idade cronológica - IC - (11, 683 anos) ea idade dental - ID - (11,667 anos) quando da aplicação do método Demirjian et al. (1973). A exatidãomédia (EM) comparou ID e IC de acordo com os gêneros, mostrando que, em ambos os sexos, as IC e IDsão compatíveis. Para o gênero feminino, nas idades de 5, 7, 8, 13 e 14 anos houve um maior percentualde coincidência entre a ID e a IC. Para o gênero masculino, nas idades de 3, 7, 8, 9 e 12 anos obteve-seo maior percentual de coincidência entre a ID e a IC. Assim, observa-se que é viável a utilização dométodo para estimar a idade na população desta região amostrada. Contudo, por ser o Brasil um paísmiscigenado, novos estudos devem ser realizados.

Estimating dental age is an important asset on forensic dentistry, and Demirjian et al. method (1973) havebeen one of the most recurrent mechanisms to reach this finality. A variety of studies regarding Demirjianet al. (1973) method have taken place so far, however very few of them were precise to determine thesubject in Brazilian populations. To this end, the purpose of the present study was estimating dental ageby applying Demirjian et al. method (1973) in a northeastern population of Brazil. To fulfil this goal,panoramic radiographs of 300 people, between the age of 3 and 18 were obtained from a digital archive ofa radiology institute and analysed. The results indicate a strong correlation between chronological age CA(11, 683 years) and dental age DA (11,667 years), when applying Demirjian et al. method (1973). Theaverage accuracy compared CA and DA according to gender, revealing both male and female to becompatible between these rates.The highest compatibility rate between CA and DA was found amongmales aged from 3, 7, 8, 9 and 12, as well as among females aged from 5, 7, 8, 13 and 14. In brief,Demirjian et al. (1973) method has proved to be a viable technique to estimate dental age in theaforementioned population. However, since Brazil is well-know for its miscegenation, new studies shall beencouraged.

Reconstrução facial forense: comparação entre tabelas de espessuras de tecidos moles faciais / P

As Ciências Forenses empregam a técnica de Reconstrução Facial buscando aumentar as possibilidades de reconhecimento humano. Após análise antropológica, a face é esculpida sobre o crânio esqueletizado e divulgada na mídia. Existem várias metodologias para a modelagem do rosto e das características da face, bem como vários dados de espessuras de tecidos moles que auxiliam no contorno facial. Com o intuito de investigar se existe uma metodologia que favoreça mais reconhecimentos e que permita uma maior semelhança com o indivíduo, este trabalho buscou comparar reconstruções faciais manuais feitas com duas abordagens para o preenchimento dos tecidos moles (métodos Americano e de Manchester) e para a predição dos olhos, nariz, boca e orelhas. Também buscou comparar reconstruções realizadas com quatro tabelas de espessuras de tecidos moles, desenvolvidas para brasileiros por estudos prévios, observando a possibilidade de unir esses dados para auxiliar na reconstrução. Um quarto objetivo foi averiguar se existe influência do sexo e do conhecimento anatômico ou forense na frequência de reconhecimentos. O estudo foi dividido em duas fases. Na primeira, duas reconstruções foram realizadas para dois indivíduos alvos (um homem e uma mulher) com os métodos Americano e de Manchester, aplicando dois guias para olhos, nariz, boca e orelhas. As reconstruções foram avaliadas por quarenta indivíduos (homens e mulheres, divididos em 4 grupos - alunos de graduação em Odontologia que não passaram pela disciplina de Odontologia Legal, alunos

de graduação em Odontologia que passaram pela disciplina, especialistas em Odontologia Legal e indivíduos que não possuíam conhecimento de anatomia humana) por meio dos testes de reconhecimento e semelhança. Para o alvo feminino, as frequências de reconhecimentos foram 20% e 10% para os métodos Americano e de Manchester, respectivamente; para o alvo masculino, as frequências foram 35% e 17,5%. Em relação à semelhança, as medianas foram menores que 3 (em uma escala de 1 a 5); entretanto, foi verificada uma exceção para a escultura feita com o método Americano para o alvo masculino, a qual apresentou mediana 3. Na segunda fase, reconstruções faciais para quatro alvos (dois homens e duas mulheres) foram obtidas com o método Americano, considerando as quatro tabelas de espessuras de tecidos moles para brasileiros. Dezesseis reconstruções foram avaliadas por cento e vinte indivíduos, também pelos testes de reconhecimento e semelhança. Assim como na fase I, foram considerados o sexo e o grupo dos avaliadores. Para o alvo 1, as proporções de acertos são significativamente maiores para reconstruções feitas com as tabelas de cadáveres (44% e 38%) em relação às com os dados de exames de imagem. Para o alvo 4, as proporções de acertos com os dados de cadáveres (Tedeschi-Oliveira et al.) e com os de ressonância magnética foram significativamente maiores comparados às reconstruções com dados de tomografias computadorizadas. Em relação à semelhança, somente o alvo 1 mostrou diferenças significativas de frequências de semelhança leve entre reconstruções. Além disso, não houve influência nem do sexo, nem do conhecimento de anatomia nas frequências de reconhecimentos corretos. Espera-se que a tabela proposta possa ser empregada para a população brasileira.

Forensic Sciences employ Forensic Facial Reconstruction technique to increase possibilities in human recognition. After anthropological analysis, the face can be created on the skeletonized skull and published in the media. There are several methodologies for facial modeling and facial features as well as multiple soft tissue thicknesses data that aid in facial contour. In order to investigate whether a methodology allows more recognition and greater resemblance to a person, this study aimed to compare manual facial reconstructions made with two approaches of filling facial soft tissue (American and Manchester methods) and two approaches to predict the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. This study also intended to compare facial reconstructions carried out with four Brazilian soft tissue thicknesses data, that were developed by previous studies considering the possibily of merging these data for Forensic Reconstruction purpose. A fourth aim was to determine whether sex and anatomical or Forensic knowledge of assessor can influence in frequency of recognition. This study was divided into two phases. In the first phase, two reconstructions were performed for two targets (one male and one female) with American and Manchester methods and applying two guides for eyes, nose, mouth and ears. The reconstructions were evaluated by forty assessors (both sex, divided into four groups - undergraduated students in dentistry who did not study Forensic Dentistry,

undergraduated students in dentistry who have gone through the subject of Forensic Dentistry, experts in Forensic Dentistry and individuals who did not have knowlegde of human anatomy) through the recognition and resemblance tests. For female target, frequencies of recognitions were 20% and 10% for American and Manchester methods, respectively; for male target, frequencies were 35% and 17.5%, with significant differences between the proportions of correct responses. Regarding resemblance rates, medians were less than 3 (on a scale from 1 to 5); however, it was found an exception for the sculpture made with the American method for male target, which had median 3. Thus, American method was used for the reconstructions of phase II. In this second phase, facial reconstructions for four targets (two male and two female) were obtained with the American method, considering the four Brazilian soft tissue thicknesses data. Sixteen facial reconstructions were evaluated by a hundred and...

Automatic sex determination of skulls based on a statistical shape model.

Sex determination from skeletons is an important research subject in forensic medicine. Previous skeletal sex assessments are through subjective visual analysis by anthropologists or metric analysis of sexually dimorphic features. In this work, we present an automatic sex determination method for 3D digital skulls, in which a statistical shape model for skulls is constructed, which projects the high-dimensional skull data into a low-dimensional shape space, and Fisher discriminant analysis is used to classify skulls in the shape space. This method combines the advantages of metrical and morphological methods. It is easy to use without professional qualification and tedious manual measurement. With a group of Chinese skulls including 127 males and 81 females, we choose 92 males and 58 females to establish the discriminant model and validate the model with the other skulls. The correct rate is 95.7% and 91.4% for females and males, respectively. Leave-one-out test also shows that the method has a high accuracy.

Geometric morphometric assessment of sexually dimorphic characteristics of the distal humerus.

A number of recent studies investigated the use of morphological characteristics of the distal humerus to estimate the sex of unknown individuals. Using visual assessment, accuracies ranging from 74% to more than 90% were reported. The aim of this study was to assess these traits with geometric morphometrics, in order to determine if they corroborate the findings described with pure visual assessment. A total sample of 155 female and 175 male humeri of South Africans were used. All humeri were photographed in standardized positions from a posterior and inferior view, and homologous landmarks assigned. Olecranon fossa shape, angle of the medial epicondyle and trochlear symmetry were assessed. Males and females could be separated with accuracies ranging from 78% to 91%. The results of this study confirm the existence of these traits and their usability in assessment of sex from skeletal remains, and the observed anatomical characteristics largely agree with what have been described by visual assessment.

A survey and proposed framework on the soft biometrics technique for human identification in intelligent video surveillance system.

Biometrics verification can be efficiently used for intrusion detection and intruder identification in video surveillance systems. Biometrics techniques can be largely divided into traditional and the so-called soft biometrics. Whereas traditional biometrics deals with physical characteristics such as face features, eye iris, and fingerprints, soft biometrics is concerned with such information as gender, national origin, and height. Traditional biometrics is versatile and highly accurate. But it is very difficult to get traditional biometric data from a distance and without personal cooperation. Soft biometrics, although featuring less accuracy, can be used much more freely though. Recently, many researchers have been made on human identification using soft biometrics data collected from a distance. In this paper, we use both traditional and soft biometrics for human identification and propose a framework for solving such problems as lighting, occlusion, and shadowing.

Current practices by forensic anthropologists in adult skeletal age estimation.

When determining an age estimate from adult skeletal remains, forensic anthropologists face a series of methodological choices. These decisions, such as which skeletal region to evaluate, which methods to apply, what statistical information to use, and how to combine information from multiple methods, ultimately impacts the final reported age estimate. In this study, a questionnaire was administered to 145 forensic anthropologists, documenting current trends in adult age at death estimation procedures used throughout the field. Results indicate that the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis method (1990) remains the most highly favored aging technique, with cranial sutures and dental wear being the least preferred, regardless of experience. The majority of respondents stated that they vary their skeletal age estimate process case-by-case and ultimately present to officials both a narrow and broad possible age range. Overall, respondents displayed a very high degree of variation in how they generate their age estimates, and indicated that experience and expertise play a large role in skeletal age estimates.

Forensic DNA databases in Western Balkan region: retrospectives, perspectives, and initiatives.

The European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) recommended the establishment of forensic DNA databases and specific implementation and management legislations for all EU/ENFSI members. Therefore, forensic institutions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia launched a wide set of activities to support these recommendations. To assess the current state, a regional expert team completed detailed screening and investigation of the existing forensic DNA data repositories and associated legislation in these countries. The scope also included relevant concurrent projects and a wide spectrum of different activities in relation to forensics DNA use. The state of forensic DNA analysis was also determined in the neighboring Slovenia and Croatia, which already have functional national DNA databases. There is a need for a 'regional supplement' to the current documentation and standards pertaining to forensic application of DNA databases, which should include regional-specific preliminary aims and recommendations.

How reproducibly can human ear ossicles be measured? A study of inter-observer error.

Ear ossicles have thus far received little attention in biological anthropology. For the use of these bones as a source of biological information, it is important to know how reproducibly they can be measured. We determined inter-observer errors for measurements recorded by two observers on mallei (N = 119) and incudes (N = 124) obtained from human skeletons recovered from an early medieval cemetery in southern Germany. Measurements were taken on-screen on images of the bones obtained with a digital microscope. In the case of separately acquired images, mean inter-observer error ranged between 0.50 and 9.59% (average: 2.63%) for malleus measurements and between 0.67 and 7.11% (average: 2.01%) for incus measurements. Coefficients of reliability ranged between 0.72 and 0.99 for the malleus measurements and between 0.61 and 0.98 for those of the incus. Except for one incus measurement, readings performed by the two observers on the same set of photographs produced lower inter-observer errors and higher coefficients of reliability than the method involving separate acquisition of images by the observers. Across all linear measurements, absolute inter-observer error was independent of the mean size of the measured variable for both bones. So far, studies on human ear ossicles have largely neglected the issue of measurement error and its potential implication for the interpretation of the data. Knowledge of measurement error is of special importance if results obtained by different researchers are combined into a single database. It is, therefore, suggested that the reproducibility of measurements should be addressed in all future studies of ear ossicles.