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Niel M, Adalian P. New models to estimate fetal and young infant age with the pars basilaris biometry. Forensic Sci Int 2023; 342:111531. [PMID: 36455452 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2022.111531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The pars basilaris of the occipital bone is often found intact when fetal or infant bones are discovered. In the literature, several methods use measurements of this bone for juvenile's age-at-death estimation, but it has already been demonstrated that they can come along methodological and statistical biases. In this study, new age prediction formulas were created from a learning sample of 208 CT scans of fetuses and infants from Marseilles (France) with normal development. The two statistically validated models, with a prediction interval of 95 % of reliability, were tested on a separate sample of 68 individuals, for which we ensured that they did not show any developmental pathology. Models show an average of 97.06 % of correct age estimates, compared to less than 26.6 % when using previously published which tend to overestimate age. The new age estimation formulas make it possible to estimate fetuses and infants age with very good results up to 2 postnatal months. Results are both reliable and precise enough for forensic practice, and we provide an automated tool (a simple excel spreadsheet) to ensure an easy and quick access to the application of this method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Niel
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France.
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Niemann K, Lazarus L, Rennie CO. Developmental changes of the facial skeleton from birth to 18 years within a South African cohort (A computed tomography study). J Forensic Leg Med 2021; 83:102243. [PMID: 34507048 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2021.102243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 08/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Skeletal remains are often found on a crime scene in which a forensic anthropologist is then consulted to create a biological profile, which includes the estimation of age, sex, ancestry and stature. The viscerocranium plays an important role in the formation of a biological profile. However, to utilise the viscerocranium for age estimation, population specific normative data and knowledge of the development of the viscerocranium is required. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the developmental changes from birth to 18 years of age of the facial skeleton of individuals from a South African cohort. This study comprised of 239 computed tomography (CT) scans (128 males; 111 females). The viscerocranium was subdivided into five regions viz.: orbital, nasal, midfacial, maxillary and mandibular. The linear parameters in each region were correlated to age to identify the developmental growth patterns of the viscerocranial regions according to male and female. The measurements which displayed the highest correlations with age were used to develop formulas which could be used for age estimation. The results of this study showed that the measurements in the orbital, midfacial, maxillary and mandibular regions experienced rapid growth between 0 and 5 years of age, with the nasal region increasing steadily over time. It was noted that males displayed overall larger measurements than females except for the anterior interorbital distance and both right and left zygomatic arch lengths (ZAL). Although only the left orbital height, nasal aperture height and mandible width displayed statistically significant size differences according to sex (p ≤ 0.05). The measurements which showed the highest correlations to age were the zygomatic arch distance (r = 0.8842, p < 0.001), ZAL (right: r = 0.8929, p < 0.001; left: r = 0.8656, p < 0.001) and the mandible width (r = 0.8444, p < 0.001). Formulas were derived for the measurements that could be used to forensically estimate age within a subadult cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Niemann
- Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Lelika Lazarus
- Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
| | - Carmen O Rennie
- Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
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Corron LK, Santos F, Adalian P, Chaumoitre K, Guyomarc'h P, Marchal F, Brůžek J. How low can we go? A skeletal maturity threshold for probabilistic visual sex estimation from immature human os coxae. Forensic Sci Int 2021; 325:110854. [PMID: 34091409 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.110854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The appearance of sexually dimorphic traits varies depending on the type of bone, age, environmental and genetic factors and is closely linked to skeletal maturation sequence. Subadult sex estimation currently shows inconsistent accuracy and methods do not incorporate indicators of maturation. The goal of this study is to apply the Santos et al. (2019) adult sex estimation method on virtually reconstructed subadult os coxae and account for pelvic maturation. MATERIAL AND METHODS The right os coxae of 194 female and male individuals aged 11-30 years from Marseille, France were virtually reconstructed from computed tomography (CT) scans. Santos et al.'s (2019) 11 traits were scored as female, male, or indeterminate. Maturation of 10 pelvic epiphyseal sites was scored using a four-stage system (0-3) to obtain a composite maturity score from 1 to 30. RESULTS Three maturity groups were identified based on composite maturity scores ranging from 0 to 30. Individuals with a composite maturity score of 15 or higher showed 98 % sex estimation accuracy and a 6 % indeterminate rate. Scores of 2 for the ischiatic tuberosity or 1 for the anterior superior iliac spine can be used as proxies for a composite maturity score of 15 and application on incomplete bones. DISCUSSION Sexual dimorphism was observed in the epiphyseal maturation sequence and the development of sexually dimorphic pelvic traits. The Santos et al. (2019) method is applicable on immature individuals who meet a maturation threshold with comparable accuracy to adults, without relying on known or estimated age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise K Corron
- Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
| | - Frédéric Santos
- PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, UMR 5199, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, CS 50023, Pessac 33615, France.
| | - Pascal Adalian
- ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, UMR 7268, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, Faculté de Médecine - secteur Nord, CS80011, Bd Pierre Dramard, 13 344 Marseille cedex 15, France.
| | - Kathia Chaumoitre
- ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, UMR 7268, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, Faculté de Médecine - secteur Nord, CS80011, Bd Pierre Dramard, 13 344 Marseille cedex 15, France; Department of Radiology and medical imaging, CHU Nord, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, F-13915 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
| | - Pierre Guyomarc'h
- ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, UMR 7268, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, Faculté de Médecine - secteur Nord, CS80011, Bd Pierre Dramard, 13 344 Marseille cedex 15, France.
| | - François Marchal
- ADES - Anthropologie bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique et Santé, UMR 7268, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, Faculté de Médecine - secteur Nord, CS80011, Bd Pierre Dramard, 13 344 Marseille cedex 15, France.
| | - Jaroslav Brůžek
- PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel: Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie, UMR 5199, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, CS 50023, Pessac 33615, France; Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague 2 1200, Czech Republic.
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Corron L, Adalian P, Condemi S, Marchal F, Navega D. Sub-adult aging method selection (SAMS): A decisional tool for selecting and evaluating sub-adult age estimation methods based on standardized methodological parameters. Forensic Sci Int 2019; 304:109897. [PMID: 31378399 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.109897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES A decisional tool was developed to select sub-adult age estimation methods referenced in a centralized database. Through a freely accessible webpage interface, this tool allows users to evaluate how much the sampling and statistical protocols of these referenced methods comply with methodological recommendations published for building and applying methods in forensic anthropology. MATERIALS AND METHODS 261 publications on sub-adult age estimation were collected. Three search parameters describing the anatomical element(s) and the indicators used to obtain age estimates are chosen by the user to filter the database and present the publications that best correspond to the user's selection. A simple algorithm was created to score age estimation methods according to their relevance and validity. "Relevance" and "Validity" parameters indicate how much a publication complies with user queries and published methodological recommendations, respectively; "Score" is a combination of "Relevance" and "Validity". The closer these parameters are to 1, the better the method complies with the user's choice and standardized protocols. RESULTS The publications resulting from the user's query appear as search results alphabetically. They are characterized by their "Relevance", "Validity" and "Score" values and descriptors relating to their methodology, sampling and statistical protocols. The reference of the publications and an URL to access them online are also provided. CONCLUSIONS SAMS is a decisional tool based on a centralized database for selecting, accessing and evaluating sub-adult age estimation methods based on published methodological recommendations. Protocol validity can be easily and fully accessed to provide the necessary information for method evaluation. The database will be gradually updated and implemented as new sub-adult age estimation methods are made available online.
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Suchomelová P, Jančúchová-Lásková J, Landová E, Frynta D. Experimental assessment of social interactions in two species of the genus Teratoscincus (Gekkota). Behav Processes 2015; 120:14-24. [PMID: 26299547 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2015] [Revised: 08/12/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Social organization of many reptile species that are rare in the wild remains rather unexplored due to difficulties when setting experiments in the field. Behavioral analysis of standard social situations in laboratory conditions is considered an indirect method to reveal social behavior in the field. We studied two rare species of geckos, Teratoscincus scincus and Teratoscincus keyserlingii, inhabiting sand dunes of Uzbekistan and Eastern Iran. A series of experiments was carried out to quantify responses in social interactions among conspecific adults as well as reactions of these towards conspecific/heterospecific subadults and juveniles. We also assessed the effect of species and sex on recorded behavior. Finally, the reaction to threat stimuli simulating predator attack was analyzed. The species effect was recorded only in the response to a simulated predatory attack: T. scincus typically escaped whereas larger T. keyserlingii attacked the stimulus. In accordance with the sexual competition hypothesis, agonistic interactions were nearly exclusively confined to male-male encounters while females were tolerant to each other. Male-female encounters regularly resulted in mating attempts, which suggests that females are not strongly selective in choosing partners. Therefore, male aggression can be linked to mate guarding or territoriality. Adults' lack of interest in immature geckos may indicate generalized tolerance of adults towards young.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Suchomelová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Jitka Jančúchová-Lásková
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Daniel Frynta
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czech Republic.
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Karkhanis S, Mack P, Franklin D. Dental age estimation standards for a Western Australian population. Forensic Sci Int 2015; 257:509.e1-509.e9. [PMID: 26344558 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2015.06.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2014] [Revised: 02/14/2015] [Accepted: 06/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Age estimation in the juvenile skeleton primarily relies on the assessment of the degree of dental and skeletal development relative to full maturity. The timing of the mineralization and eruption of the teeth is a sequential process that, compared to skeletal growth and development, is less affected by extrinsic influences such as nutrition and/or chronic illness. Accordingly, radiographic visualization and analysis of different tooth formation stages are the foundation for a number of widely applied age estimation standards. Presently, however, there is a relative paucity of contemporary dental age estimation standards for a Western Australian population. To that end, the aim of the present study is to develop statistically quantified radiographic age estimation standards for a Western Australian juvenile population. A total of 392 digital orthopantomograms (202 male and 190 female) of Western Australian individuals are analyzed. Following, Moorrees et al. (J. Dent. Res. 42 (1963a) 490-502; Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 21 (1963) 205-213), dental development and root resorption was assessed. Alveolar eruption was analyzed following Bengston (Northwest Univ. Bull. 35 (1935) 3-9). Stages of dental development were used to formulate a series of age estimation polynomial regression models; prediction accuracy (±0.998 to 2.183 years) is further validated using a cross-validation (holdout) sample of 30 film orthopantomograms. A visual atlas of dental development and eruption was subsequently designed for the pooled sex sample. The standards presented here represent a non-invasive and statistically quantified approach for accurate dental age estimation in Western Australian juvenile individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shalmira Karkhanis
- Centre for Forensic Anatomy and Biological Sciences, School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, M420, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia.
| | - Peter Mack
- Centre for Forensic Anatomy and Biological Sciences, School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, M420, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Daniel Franklin
- Centre for Forensic Anatomy and Biological Sciences, School of Anatomy, Physiology and Human Biology, The University of Western Australia, M420, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
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Akhlaghi M, Khalighi Z, Vasigh S, Yousefinejad V. Sex determination using mandibular anthropometric parameters in subadult Iranian samples. J Forensic Leg Med 2014; 22:150-3. [PMID: 24485441 DOI: 10.1016/j.jflm.2013.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2012] [Revised: 10/25/2013] [Accepted: 12/07/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Sex determination is the first step in the identification of corpses and skeletal remains. The mandible is the largest and strongest bone of the face and has high durability. It is known that skeletal features vary by population, thus the need to establish population-specific standards. In this study, for the first time, we investigated mandibular anthropometric parameters for sex determination in subadult Iranian cadavers. METHODS Eight mandibular anthropometric parameters were measured in 45 Iranian cadavers below the age of 20 (23 males and 22 females corpses), and the relationships of these variables with gender were determined. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, ROC curve, cross tabulation and discriminant analysis in SPSS 13. RESULTS No significant statistical difference was seen in the mandibular anthropometric values between the two genders in samples below the age of 12. In the 12-19 age group, accuracy of symphysial height and bigonial breadth in differentiation of gender was 69% and 86.2% respectively. CONCLUSION Although mandibular anthropometric parameters are not helpful in sex determination below the age of 12, if for some reasons such as explosions, air disasters and other accidents, only the mandible is available, symphysial height and mandibular bigonial breadth could be used to determine the gender with high accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitra Akhlaghi
- Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Research Center of Legal Medicine Organization of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zahra Khalighi
- Internal Medicine Department, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran.
| | - Shayesteh Vasigh
- Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahid Yousefinejad
- Forensic Medicine Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Robin JP, Roberts M, Zeidberg L, Bloor I, Rodriguez A, Briceño F, Downey N, Mascaró M, Navarro M, Guerra A, Hofmeister J, Barcellos DD, Lourenço SAP, Roper CFE, Moltschaniwskyj NA, Green CP, Mather J. Transitions during cephalopod life history: the role of habitat, environment, functional morphology and behaviour. Adv Mar Biol 2014; 67:361-437. [PMID: 24880797 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-800287-2.00004-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Cephalopod life cycles generally share a set of stages that take place in different habitats and are adapted to specific, though variable, environmental conditions. Throughout the lifespan, individuals undertake a series of brief transitions from one stage to the next. Four transitions were identified: fertilisation of eggs to their release from the female (1), from eggs to paralarvae (2), from paralarvae to subadults (3) and from subadults to adults (4). An analysis of each transition identified that the changes can be radical (i.e. involving a range of morphological, physiological and behavioural phenomena and shifts in habitats) and critical (i.e. depending on environmental conditions essential for cohort survival). This analysis underlines that transitions from eggs to paralarvae (2) and from paralarvae to subadults (3) present major risk of mortality, while changes in the other transitions can have evolutionary significance. This synthesis suggests that more accurate evaluation of the sensitivity of cephalopod populations to environmental variation could be achieved by taking into account the ontogeny of the organisms. The comparison of most described species advocates for studies linking development and ecology in this particular group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Paul Robin
- Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, UMR BOREA: Biologie des ORganismes et des Ecosystèmes Aquatiques, Esplanade de la paix, CS 14032, 14032 Caen, France; UMR BOREA, UMR CNRS7208, IRD207, UPMC, MNHN, UCBN, 14032 Caen, France.
| | - Michael Roberts
- Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa; Oceans & Coasts Research, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Lou Zeidberg
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Isobel Bloor
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, United Kingdom
| | - Almendra Rodriguez
- El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Colonia Casasano, Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Felipe Briceño
- Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Nicola Downey
- Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa; Bayworld Centre for Research & Education, Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Maite Mascaró
- Unidad Multidisciplinaria de Docencia e Investigación, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto de Abrigo s/n, Sisal, Yucatán, México
| | - Mike Navarro
- Integrative Oceanography Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA; Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Angel Guerra
- Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (CSIC), Vigo, Spain
| | - Jennifer Hofmeister
- Caldwell Laboratory, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Diogo D Barcellos
- Laboratório de Ecossistemas Pesqueiros (LabPesq), Universidade de São Paulo, Instituto Oceanográfico Praça do Oceanográfico, Butantã, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | | | - Clyde F E Roper
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Natalie A Moltschaniwskyj
- School of Environmental & Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Corey P Green
- Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Fisheries Victoria, Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jennifer Mather
- Psychology Department, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
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