- Email: [email protected]
The importance of “secondary methods” in the identification of the victims of the 3rd of October 2013 shipwreck
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Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) Symposium, September 16, 2017 P06
Stature estimation using long bone metrics in contemporary Turkish
Fig. 1 Distal femoral and proximal tibial epiphysis; (a): fast spinecho proton density-weighted image, (b): T2-weighted spoiled gradient echo image. Arrows: stage 1: continuous horizontal cartilage signal intensity present between the metaphysis and the epiphysis, stripe-like, with a thickness greater than 1.5 mm and a multilaminar appearance. The multilaminar appearance was seen as decreased signal intensity in the upper layer, increased signal intensity in the middle layer, and decreased signal intensity in the lower layer. Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. Reference [1] Dedouit F, Auriol J, Rousseau H, Rouge D, Crubezy E, Telmon N. Age assessment by magnetic resonance imaging of the knee: a preliminary study. Forensic Sci Int 2012;17(1—3):232.e1—7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.11.013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.030 P05
Finding what is missing: Three-dimensional coordinates estimation for ancestry assessment through geometric morphometrics Angela Bessa *, David Navega, Maria Teresa Ferreira, Eugénia Cunha Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Bessa) Accurate and effective data collection from human remains in a forensic examination is often hindered by unpredictable factors such as taphonomy, pathology and recovery. The main purpose of this preliminary work is to illustrate the value of statistical reconstruction of missing cranial landmark three-dimensional coordinates in the context of ancestry estimation through 3D-ID software. Twenty-eight to thirty-one Cartesian coordinates were collected from 60 individuals from the 21st c. Identified Skeletal Collection housed at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) using the arm digitizer MicroScribe1 G2X and missing Cartesian coordinates were calculated using R functions. When assessing ancestry using 3D-ID, the obtained results before and after missing points estimation showed differences in 25 individuals (41.7 %) from the total sample. Albeit more studies will be required, this method is becoming valuable for forensic anthropologists evaluating population affinities of skeletonized individuals. Keywords 3D-ID; Forensic anthropology; Population affinities Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.031
Effrossyni Michopoulou 1,*, Oguzhan Ekizoglu 2, Ali Er 3, Mustafa Bozdag 3, Mustafa Akcaoglu 3, Ismail Ozgur Can 4, Can Doruk Basa 5, Elena F. Kranioti 1,6,7 1 Edinburgh Unit for Forensic Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK 2 Department of Forensic Medicine, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 3 Department of Radiology, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 4 Department of Forensic Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey 5 Department of Orthopedics, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 6 Forensic Pathology Division Crete, Hellenic Republic Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, Heraklion, Crete, Greece 7 Department of Medical Imaging, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Greece *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (E. Michopoulou) Creating a biological profile of an individual usually requires their stature estimation. However, until recently, studies on stature estimation among modern Turkish were few and far between. Hence, the current study aims to bridge the gap on the bio-anthropological database in this population. The research includes CT scans of 102 adult individuals (51 males and 51 females) of known stature. Age ranges from 20 to 87 years and body mass from 43 to 134 kg. The maximum lengths of the three longest bones of lower limbs (femur, tibia and fibula) were measured, and stature reconstruction formulae have been generated using linear regression. Results reveal that in males, the femur equation provides the lowest standard error of the estimate (SE = 4.76 cm), followed by the fibula (SE = 4.83 cm). Conversely, the fibula produced the lowest standard error among the females (SE = 5.3 cm), followed by the tibia (SE = 5.46 cm). When all bones were used jointly, the standard error of estimate showed very little improvement for both males (SE = 4.65 cm) and females (SE = 5.03 cm). Stature exhibited statistically significant correlation with sex and long bone lengths but not with age or body mass. Keywords Long bones; Stature estimation; CT scans; Regression analysis; Contemporary Turkish Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.032 P07
The importance of ‘‘secondary methods’’ in the identification of the victims of the 3rd of October 2013 shipwreck L. Olivieri 1, D. Mazzarelli 1, A. Cappella 1, D. De Angelis 1, V. Piscitelli 2, C. Cattaneo 1,* 1 LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy 2 Commissario Straordinario del Governo per le Persone Scomparse, Roma, Italy *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Cattaneo) In a mass disaster scenario, Interpol standards are usually followed, which describe identification methods as either primary (DNA, fingerprints and odontology) or secondary (personal descriptors,
Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) Symposium, September 16, 2017 medical findings, etc.). Visual recognition has also been used as an identification method (e.g., after the Thailand tsunami disaster), despite it being considered unreliable. The Mediterranean shipwrecks present similarities with both open and closed disasters: when migrants decide to cross the Sea, they usually inform relatives about their departure (e.g., type of boat, date of departure); however, a list of passengers is obviously lacking. The collection of antemortem data for the victims is complex, both for the rather strained political situation of the countries of origin and the poverty of inhabitants. The lack of medical and dental radiographs or dental records and the complicated kinship relations (that makes it difficult to correctly identify close relatives) make it often impossible to use the traditional primary criteria. For this reason, the identification methods must be chosen case by case in order to allow an effective reconciliation in the identification process. The 3rd of October 2013 shipwreck with 366 recovered victims was one of the biggest disasters in the Mediterranean Sea. The University of Milan [in particular the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (LABANOF)] was designated for the identification of the victims of this shipwreck. The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Italian Police in Rome (Italy) conducted the external examinations of all the bodies, because full autopsies had not been requested by the Prosecutor’s Office. Descriptions of characteristics and marks of the cadaver, clothes and personal items were collected in a form; photographic documentation and biological samples for DNA analysis were taken. The antemortem documentation was collected after one year thanks to the calls sent through Europe by the Office of the Extraordinary Commissioner for Missing Persons through interviews, which were held in Rome and Milan, where a ‘‘missing person’s form’’, photographic/video material (also collected with the help of social networks such as Facebook) and a saliva swab were taken from the relatives. A total of 47 antemortem files were opened. Given the paucity of data, the identification process revealed anthropological and odontological methods (medical description and photo comparison of some features such as details in the dentition, naevi, ear shape, tattoos, scars) to be very useful. To date, these methods achieved 13 positive identifications (27.7%) and 11 probable matches, six of which were confirmed by the DNA analysis. In the present scenario where there is the need to identify deceased migrants with poor antemortem data, ‘‘secondary’’ methods as well as a combination of traditional primary and secondary methods have proven fundamental. Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.033 P08
Asymptomatic anatomical variations of the postcranial skeleton as a marker for human identification Leoni Lauricio Fagundes 1,3,*, Henrique Rodrigues 1, Sofia Antunes 2, Eugénia Cunha 1 1 Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 2 Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3 CAPES Grants/Program of Full Time PhD Abroad/Process number 99999.001373/2015-03 *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Fagundes) Human identification is one of the primary objectives in a forensic context. In this respect, studies concerning the skeletal anatomical variations have revealed a great potential. These variants are used as secondary identification method within the scope of the assessment of
191
ancestry and of the factors of personal identity in the reconstructive and comparative phases. However, not only are there few studies about the postcranial skeletal variants, but also there are a couple of current publications and most of the samples are not contemporary. The purpose of the present research is to obtain the frequency of asymptomatic osseous variants (AOV) of the postcranial skeleton in a current identified Portuguese sample. The present study addresses only the partial results for the upper limb, thorax, and lower limb. Altogether, 58 anatomical variants were analyzed. The sample includes 282 contemporary adult skeletons (148 females and 134 males) belonging to the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection housed in the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, University of Coimbra. The classification pattern of the variants is binary (0 for absent and 1 for present) and bilateral. The results show frequencies for the rarest ones with frequencies lower than 1% (duplication of acromial extremity of the clavicle, misplaced manubriosternal joint and dorsal defect of the patella) to the most frequent ones with frequencies greater than 50% (ulnar medial trochlear notch form, suprascapular notch and bipartite anterior facet of the calcaneus). The detection of an AOV in an unidentified skeleton, besides being an identity factor, could allow allocating that individual to a population where the same characteristic is very frequent. Therefore, the results provide contributions to human identification and can be used whenever a case of forensic anthropology is made. Keywords Osteology; Discrete traits; Ancestry; Identity factors; Forensic anthropology Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.034 P09
Pair-matching phalanges using an automated digital Mesh-to-Mesh Value Comparison method Konstantina Tsiminikaki 1, Mara A. Karell 1,*, Demetrios Halazonetis 2, Elena F. Kranioti 1,2,3 1 Edinburgh Unit for Forensic Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 2 Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece 3 Department of Medical Imaging, Heraklion University Hospital, Heraklion, Greece *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Karell) Currently, there are limited methods to individualize commingled human remains, despite it being a frequent challenge to forensic anthropologists. This study investigates a new method for pairmatching, a common individualization technique, using digital three-dimensional models of bone: mesh-to-mesh value comparison (MVC). The MVC method digitally compares the entire three-dimensional geometry of two bones at once to produce a single value to indicate their similarity. At this time, there is both a manual and automated version of MVC. For this study, 541 phalanges from 24 Cretan individuals were digitized using CT scans and the 3D modeling program AMIRA 5.3.3. The resulting three-dimensional models were then compared with the automated version of MVC in the software program Viewbox 4.1. The subsequent data, over 73,000 comparisons, were assessed using sensitivity and specificity rates via ROC analysis to indicate how well the automated version of MVC pairmatched phalanges. The best bone in terms of pair-matching was the third proximal phalanx with 85.7% sensitivity and 91.1% specificity rates at a threshold value of 0.4975. Thus far, our preliminary results indicate that the MVC method performs well for pair-matching phalanges, though it is less accurate than pair-matching other types of bones. Still, it adds an important additional technique to the repertoire of individualization methods.
Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) Symposium, September 16, 2017 P06
Stature estimation using long bone metrics in contemporary Turkish
Fig. 1 Distal femoral and proximal tibial epiphysis; (a): fast spinecho proton density-weighted image, (b): T2-weighted spoiled gradient echo image. Arrows: stage 1: continuous horizontal cartilage signal intensity present between the metaphysis and the epiphysis, stripe-like, with a thickness greater than 1.5 mm and a multilaminar appearance. The multilaminar appearance was seen as decreased signal intensity in the upper layer, increased signal intensity in the middle layer, and decreased signal intensity in the lower layer. Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. Reference [1] Dedouit F, Auriol J, Rousseau H, Rouge D, Crubezy E, Telmon N. Age assessment by magnetic resonance imaging of the knee: a preliminary study. Forensic Sci Int 2012;17(1—3):232.e1—7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.11.013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.030 P05
Finding what is missing: Three-dimensional coordinates estimation for ancestry assessment through geometric morphometrics Angela Bessa *, David Navega, Maria Teresa Ferreira, Eugénia Cunha Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Bessa) Accurate and effective data collection from human remains in a forensic examination is often hindered by unpredictable factors such as taphonomy, pathology and recovery. The main purpose of this preliminary work is to illustrate the value of statistical reconstruction of missing cranial landmark three-dimensional coordinates in the context of ancestry estimation through 3D-ID software. Twenty-eight to thirty-one Cartesian coordinates were collected from 60 individuals from the 21st c. Identified Skeletal Collection housed at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) using the arm digitizer MicroScribe1 G2X and missing Cartesian coordinates were calculated using R functions. When assessing ancestry using 3D-ID, the obtained results before and after missing points estimation showed differences in 25 individuals (41.7 %) from the total sample. Albeit more studies will be required, this method is becoming valuable for forensic anthropologists evaluating population affinities of skeletonized individuals. Keywords 3D-ID; Forensic anthropology; Population affinities Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.031
Effrossyni Michopoulou 1,*, Oguzhan Ekizoglu 2, Ali Er 3, Mustafa Bozdag 3, Mustafa Akcaoglu 3, Ismail Ozgur Can 4, Can Doruk Basa 5, Elena F. Kranioti 1,6,7 1 Edinburgh Unit for Forensic Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK 2 Department of Forensic Medicine, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 3 Department of Radiology, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 4 Department of Forensic Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey 5 Department of Orthopedics, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey 6 Forensic Pathology Division Crete, Hellenic Republic Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights, Heraklion, Crete, Greece 7 Department of Medical Imaging, University Hospital of Heraklion, Heraklion, Greece *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (E. Michopoulou) Creating a biological profile of an individual usually requires their stature estimation. However, until recently, studies on stature estimation among modern Turkish were few and far between. Hence, the current study aims to bridge the gap on the bio-anthropological database in this population. The research includes CT scans of 102 adult individuals (51 males and 51 females) of known stature. Age ranges from 20 to 87 years and body mass from 43 to 134 kg. The maximum lengths of the three longest bones of lower limbs (femur, tibia and fibula) were measured, and stature reconstruction formulae have been generated using linear regression. Results reveal that in males, the femur equation provides the lowest standard error of the estimate (SE = 4.76 cm), followed by the fibula (SE = 4.83 cm). Conversely, the fibula produced the lowest standard error among the females (SE = 5.3 cm), followed by the tibia (SE = 5.46 cm). When all bones were used jointly, the standard error of estimate showed very little improvement for both males (SE = 4.65 cm) and females (SE = 5.03 cm). Stature exhibited statistically significant correlation with sex and long bone lengths but not with age or body mass. Keywords Long bones; Stature estimation; CT scans; Regression analysis; Contemporary Turkish Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.032 P07
The importance of ‘‘secondary methods’’ in the identification of the victims of the 3rd of October 2013 shipwreck L. Olivieri 1, D. Mazzarelli 1, A. Cappella 1, D. De Angelis 1, V. Piscitelli 2, C. Cattaneo 1,* 1 LABANOF, Laboratorio di Antropologia e Odontologia Forense, Sezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy 2 Commissario Straordinario del Governo per le Persone Scomparse, Roma, Italy *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (C. Cattaneo) In a mass disaster scenario, Interpol standards are usually followed, which describe identification methods as either primary (DNA, fingerprints and odontology) or secondary (personal descriptors,
Forensic Anthropology Society of Europe (FASE) Symposium, September 16, 2017 medical findings, etc.). Visual recognition has also been used as an identification method (e.g., after the Thailand tsunami disaster), despite it being considered unreliable. The Mediterranean shipwrecks present similarities with both open and closed disasters: when migrants decide to cross the Sea, they usually inform relatives about their departure (e.g., type of boat, date of departure); however, a list of passengers is obviously lacking. The collection of antemortem data for the victims is complex, both for the rather strained political situation of the countries of origin and the poverty of inhabitants. The lack of medical and dental radiographs or dental records and the complicated kinship relations (that makes it difficult to correctly identify close relatives) make it often impossible to use the traditional primary criteria. For this reason, the identification methods must be chosen case by case in order to allow an effective reconciliation in the identification process. The 3rd of October 2013 shipwreck with 366 recovered victims was one of the biggest disasters in the Mediterranean Sea. The University of Milan [in particular the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology and Odontology (LABANOF)] was designated for the identification of the victims of this shipwreck. The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Italian Police in Rome (Italy) conducted the external examinations of all the bodies, because full autopsies had not been requested by the Prosecutor’s Office. Descriptions of characteristics and marks of the cadaver, clothes and personal items were collected in a form; photographic documentation and biological samples for DNA analysis were taken. The antemortem documentation was collected after one year thanks to the calls sent through Europe by the Office of the Extraordinary Commissioner for Missing Persons through interviews, which were held in Rome and Milan, where a ‘‘missing person’s form’’, photographic/video material (also collected with the help of social networks such as Facebook) and a saliva swab were taken from the relatives. A total of 47 antemortem files were opened. Given the paucity of data, the identification process revealed anthropological and odontological methods (medical description and photo comparison of some features such as details in the dentition, naevi, ear shape, tattoos, scars) to be very useful. To date, these methods achieved 13 positive identifications (27.7%) and 11 probable matches, six of which were confirmed by the DNA analysis. In the present scenario where there is the need to identify deceased migrants with poor antemortem data, ‘‘secondary’’ methods as well as a combination of traditional primary and secondary methods have proven fundamental. Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.033 P08
Asymptomatic anatomical variations of the postcranial skeleton as a marker for human identification Leoni Lauricio Fagundes 1,3,*, Henrique Rodrigues 1, Sofia Antunes 2, Eugénia Cunha 1 1 Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 2 Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal 3 CAPES Grants/Program of Full Time PhD Abroad/Process number 99999.001373/2015-03 *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Fagundes) Human identification is one of the primary objectives in a forensic context. In this respect, studies concerning the skeletal anatomical variations have revealed a great potential. These variants are used as secondary identification method within the scope of the assessment of
191
ancestry and of the factors of personal identity in the reconstructive and comparative phases. However, not only are there few studies about the postcranial skeletal variants, but also there are a couple of current publications and most of the samples are not contemporary. The purpose of the present research is to obtain the frequency of asymptomatic osseous variants (AOV) of the postcranial skeleton in a current identified Portuguese sample. The present study addresses only the partial results for the upper limb, thorax, and lower limb. Altogether, 58 anatomical variants were analyzed. The sample includes 282 contemporary adult skeletons (148 females and 134 males) belonging to the 21st Century Identified Skeletal Collection housed in the Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, University of Coimbra. The classification pattern of the variants is binary (0 for absent and 1 for present) and bilateral. The results show frequencies for the rarest ones with frequencies lower than 1% (duplication of acromial extremity of the clavicle, misplaced manubriosternal joint and dorsal defect of the patella) to the most frequent ones with frequencies greater than 50% (ulnar medial trochlear notch form, suprascapular notch and bipartite anterior facet of the calcaneus). The detection of an AOV in an unidentified skeleton, besides being an identity factor, could allow allocating that individual to a population where the same characteristic is very frequent. Therefore, the results provide contributions to human identification and can be used whenever a case of forensic anthropology is made. Keywords Osteology; Discrete traits; Ancestry; Identity factors; Forensic anthropology Disclosure of interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medleg.2017.10.034 P09
Pair-matching phalanges using an automated digital Mesh-to-Mesh Value Comparison method Konstantina Tsiminikaki 1, Mara A. Karell 1,*, Demetrios Halazonetis 2, Elena F. Kranioti 1,2,3 1 Edinburgh Unit for Forensic Anthropology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 2 Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece 3 Department of Medical Imaging, Heraklion University Hospital, Heraklion, Greece *Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Karell) Currently, there are limited methods to individualize commingled human remains, despite it being a frequent challenge to forensic anthropologists. This study investigates a new method for pairmatching, a common individualization technique, using digital three-dimensional models of bone: mesh-to-mesh value comparison (MVC). The MVC method digitally compares the entire three-dimensional geometry of two bones at once to produce a single value to indicate their similarity. At this time, there is both a manual and automated version of MVC. For this study, 541 phalanges from 24 Cretan individuals were digitized using CT scans and the 3D modeling program AMIRA 5.3.3. The resulting three-dimensional models were then compared with the automated version of MVC in the software program Viewbox 4.1. The subsequent data, over 73,000 comparisons, were assessed using sensitivity and specificity rates via ROC analysis to indicate how well the automated version of MVC pairmatched phalanges. The best bone in terms of pair-matching was the third proximal phalanx with 85.7% sensitivity and 91.1% specificity rates at a threshold value of 0.4975. Thus far, our preliminary results indicate that the MVC method performs well for pair-matching phalanges, though it is less accurate than pair-matching other types of bones. Still, it adds an important additional technique to the repertoire of individualization methods.