The Doppelgänger effect? A comparative study of forensic facial depiction methods

This study attempted to assess the reproducibility of 2D and 3D forensic methods for facial depiction from skeletal remains (2D sketch, 3D manual, 3D automated, 3D computer-assisted). In a blind study, thirteen practitioners produced fourteen facial depictions, using the same skull model derived from CT data of a living donor, a biological profile and relevant soft tissue data. The facial depictions were compared to the donor subject using three different evaluation methods: 3D geometric, 2D face recognition ranking and familiar resemblance ratings. Five of the 3D facial depictions (all 3D methods) demonstrated a deviation error within ± 2 mm for ≥ 50% of the total face surface. Overall, no single 3D method (manual, computer assisted, automated) produced consistently high results across all three evaluations. 2D comparisons with a facial photograph of the donor were carried out for all the 2D and 3D facial depictions using four freely available face recognition algorithms (Toolpie; Photomyne; Face ++; Amazon). The 2D sketch method produced the highest ranked matches to the donor photograph, with overall ranking in the top six. Only one 3D facial depiction was ranked highly in both the 3D geometric and 2D face recognition comparisons. The majority (67%) of the facial depictions were rated as limited or moderate resemblance by the familiar examiner. Only one 2D facial depiction was rated as strong resemblance, whilst two 2D sketches and two 3D facial depictions were rated as good resemblances by the familiar examiner. The four most geometrically accurate 3D facial depictions were only rated as limited or moderate resemblance to the donor by the familiar examiner. The results suggest that where a consistent facial depiction method is utilised, we can expect relatively consistent metric reliability between practitioners. However, presentation standards for practitioners would greatly enhance the possibility of recognition in forensic scenarios.

Depiction of periprostatic nerve fibers by means of 1.5 T diffusion tensor imaging

PURPOSE

The knowledge of periprostatic nerve fiber (pNF) is still incomplete by means of conventional MRI. The purpose of our study was to demonstrate if DTI imaging is able to depict anatomical features of pNF.

METHODS

For this retrospective study, fifty-six patients (mean age 63.5 years), who underwent 1.5-T prostate MRI, including 32 directions DTI, were enrolled between October 2014 and December 2018. ANOVA test and Student's t-test were performed between the mean values of the number, FA values, and fiber length of pNF between base and mid-gland, mid-gland and apex, base and apex, right and left side, and anterior and posterior face of the prostate. A qualitative analysis was performed to detect the main orientation of pNF through a colorimetric 3D tractographic reconstruction.

RESULTS

The number of pNF showed a decrease from the base (322) to mid-gland (248) and apex (75) (p < 0.05). The FA values were higher at base and mid-gland (0.435 and 0.456) compared to the apex (0.313) (p < 0.05). The length of pNF was higher at apex (13.4 mm) compared to base (11.5 mm) and mid-gland (11.7 mm) (p < 0.05). The number of pNF was higher on the posterior face compared to the anterior face at base (186 vs 137), (p < 0.001). The FA values were higher on the posterior face compared to the anterior face at base (0.452 vs 0.417), mid-gland (0.483 vs 0.429), and apex (0.42 vs 0.382), (p < 0.05). The length of the pNF was higher in the posterior (14.7 mm) than in the anterior face (12 mm) at apex (p < 0.001). The main orientation of pNF was longitudinal in all patients (56/56, 100%).

CONCLUSIONS

DTI imaging has been demonstrated able to depict anatomical features of pNF.

Correlations Between Handshape and Movement in Sign Languages

Sign language phonological parameters are somewhat analogous to phonemes in spoken language. Unlike phonemes, however, there is little linguistic literature arguing that these parameters interact at the sublexical level. This situation raises the question of whether such interaction in spoken language phonology is an artifact of the modality or whether sign language phonology has not been approached in a way that allows one to recognize sublexical parameter interaction. We present three studies in favor of the latter alternative: a shape‐drawing study with deaf signers from six countries, an online dictionary study of American Sign Language, and a study of selected lexical items across 34 sign languages. These studies show that, once iconicity is considered, handshape and movement parameters interact at the sublexical level. Thus, consideration of iconicity makes transparent similarities in grammar across both modalities, allowing us to maintain certain key findings of phonological theory as evidence of cognitive architecture.

A revised nose tip shape validation method for facial reconstruction based on CT data from a modern German population

Several methods aid with reconstructing features of the human nose, including angle, projection and width, but only one study by Davy-Jow et al. (2012) has focused on nose tip shape. The main finding was that the shape of the nasal bridge is consistent with the shape of the nose tip. The study also theorised that the method would not be suitable for snub (upturned) noses. Although promising, further investigation with a larger sample of different origin would be of benefit. In addition, grouping samples into upturned, horizontal and downturned nose tips could reveal the need for a difference in the applied method. The approach has been recreated with a larger sample size (N = 103 versus N = 25) derived from a modern German population. Based on soft tissue models, the individuals were firstly grouped into three categories; upturned, horizontal, and downturned noses. Computed Tomography (CT) data allowed the simultaneous visualisation of both skull and (semi-transparent) facial surfaces. Each head was viewed frontally in the Frankfurt Horizontal Plane (FHP), and then tilted back until the nasal tip superimposed the nasal bridge, with the angle of tilt measured from the FHP. The results show that the angle of tilt is significantly different for upturned, horizontal, and downturned noses, but that it can be equally applied to all three groups. The mean angle was 44° for upturned noses, 51° for horizontal, and 56° for downturned. Error studies suggest a very high accuracy and repeatability with intra-class correlation coefficients of 0.991 (inter-observer error) and 0.972 (intra-observer error) respectively.

Illustrated dynamic stories behind pediatric neurosurgery

Background:

The aim of this paper is to provide a depiction of the surgical technique and dynamic story behind the procedures in pediatric neurosurgery.

Methods:

Five standard common pediatric neurosurgeries: endoscopic third ventriculostomy, fronto-orbital advancement for metopic and coronal craniosynostoses, posterior fossa craniotomy, strip craniectomy for sagittal craniosynostosis, and ventriculoperitoneal shunting were chosen to be exampled in illustrations.

Results:

Surgical techniques were depicted in a step-by-step fashion with comic-like style of images. Illustrations enable to highlight specific surgical and anatomical features and also convey surgical procedures in a sequential order from beginning to end as if it is a story.

Conclusion:

Surgical illustrations may serve as an educational tool with potentially instructional value for practical application, especially for surgical trainees.

The Chemistry Development Kit (CDK) v2.0: atom typing, depiction, molecular formulas, and substructure searching

Background

The Chemistry Development Kit (CDK) is a widely used open source cheminformatics toolkit, providing data structures to represent chemical concepts along with methods to manipulate such structures and perform computations on them. The library implements a wide variety of cheminformatics algorithms ranging from chemical structure canonicalization to molecular descriptor calculations and pharmacophore perception. It is used in drug discovery, metabolomics, and toxicology. Over the last 10 years, the code base has grown significantly, however, resulting in many complex interdependencies among components and poor performance of many algorithms.

Results

We report improvements to the CDK v2.0 since the v1.2 release series, specifically addressing the increased functional complexity and poor performance. We first summarize the addition of new functionality, such atom typing and molecular formula handling, and improvement to existing functionality that has led to significantly better performance for substructure searching, molecular fingerprints, and rendering of molecules. Second, we outline how the CDK has evolved with respect to quality control and the approaches we have adopted to ensure stability, including a code review mechanism.

Conclusions

This paper highlights our continued efforts to provide a community driven, open source cheminformatics library, and shows that such collaborative projects can thrive over extended periods of time, resulting in a high-quality and performant library. By taking advantage of community support and contributions, we show that an open source cheminformatics project can act as a peer reviewed publishing platform for scientific computing software.Graphical abstract

Threefoldness

Theories of picture perception aim to understand our perceptual relation to both the picture surface and the depicted object. I argue that we should talk about not two, but three entities when understanding picture perception: (A) the picture surface, (B) the three dimensional object the picture surface visually encodes and (C) the three dimensional depicted object. As (B) and (C) can come apart, we get a more complex picture of picture perception than normally assumed and one where the notion of twofoldness, which has played an important albeit controversial role in understanding picture perception is replaced by the concept of threefoldness.

Epilepsy through the ages: An artistic point of view

The historical allure of epilepsy transcends academic circles and serves as fascinating critique of the state of the times-its values, judgments, mythos, and people. Immortalized and laid bare in artistic renderings of epilepsy are societal truths, at times both disparately grandiose and grotesque. During the middle ages and Renaissance, the European discourse on epilepsy assumed religious fervor. Epilepsy was considered a demonic machination and its cure an act of divine intercession. A similar theme is found in the artistic depiction of epilepsy from the Inca and Aztec civilizations of that time. After the 19th century drew to a close, the ascendency of empiricism coincided with waning creative interest in epilepsy, with few paintings or pieces to capture insightful perspectives on the illness. In this paper, we review the relationship between art and epilepsy and present two contemporary paintings that convey current western perceptions. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Epilepsy, Art, and Creativity".