Federica Collini

Accuracy of a cut-off value based on the third molar index: Validation in an Australian population

According to Recommendation N°196 of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC), the age at which a child reaches adulthood for the purposes of criminal law should be 18 years in all Australian jurisdictions. With specific reference to age at majority, the only tooth with development spanning adolescence (and thus the legally relevant 18 years of age) is the third molar, which limits the number of methods that can be applied from those available in the published literature. The aim of the present study is to test the accuracy of the third molar index (I3M=0.08), based on the correlation between chronological age and normalized measures of the open apices and height of the third mandibular molar, in order to assess the legal adult age of 18 years. Digital orthopantomographs of 143 living Australian subjects (72 boys and 71 girls) are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the sensitivity is 0.90 in boys and 0.90 in girls; associated specificity values are 0.85 and 0.87 respectively. We conclude that the cut-off value of I3M=0.08 is statistically robust and thus valid for forensic application in an Australian population.

The Issue of Age Estimation in a Modern Skeletal Population: Are Even the More Modern Current Aging Methods Satisfactory for the Elderly?†,‡

The main idea behind age assessment in adults is related to the analysis of the physiological degeneration of particular skeletal structures with age. The main issues with these procedures are due to the fact that they have not been tested on different modern populations and in different taphonomic contexts and that they tend to underestimate the age of older individuals. The purpose of this study was to test the applicability and the reliability of these methods on a contemporary population of skeletal remains of 145 elderly individuals of known sex and age. The results show that, due to taphonomic influences, some skeletal sites showed a lower survival. Therefore, the methods with the highest percentage of applicability were Lovejoy (89.6%) and Rougé‐Maillart (81.3%), followed by Suchey‐Brooks (59.3%), and those with the lowest percentage of applicability were Beauthier (26.2%) and Iscan (22.7%). In addition, this research has shown how for older adults the study of both acetabulum and auricular surface may be more reliable for aging. This is also in accordance with the fact that auricular surface and the acetabulum are the areas more frequently surviving taphonomic insult.

Preservation of histological structure of cells in human skin presenting mummification and corification processes by Sandison's rehydrating solution

INTRODUCTION To overcome the difficulties of construction and interpretation of microscopic material from corpses presenting mummification and corification processes, a variety of techniques and tricks are used: in this research the results of applying the Sandisons rehydrating solution are presented, generally used in archeological field on Egyptian mummies of different ages, in human cadaveric material in an advanced state of decomposition. MATERIALS AND METHODS Nineteen skin specimens were taken from corpses presenting corification and mummification processes, discovered in a time ranging between one and four months and exhumed after 11 years. Each biological sample was divided into two parts: one, directly fixed in buffered formalin 10%; the other, preliminarily treated with the Sandisons rehydrating solution and, therefore, post-fixed in 10% buffered formalin. All samples were then carried out the routine histological preparation, and the sections were stained by hematoxylin-eosin and by other histochemical stains. RESULTS Under the microscope, the samples placed directly into formalin, showed marked structural changes of the various components, while those previously rehydrated with the Sandisons rehydrating solution allowed the clear recognition of different structures. CONCLUSIONS The use of the Sandisons rehydrating solution on skin samples presenting corification and mummification processes, preserving significantly its general setting, stands as an indispensable procedure in the study of such cases.

The Erratic Behavior of Lesions in Burnt Bone

This study analyses depressed fractures (by blunt force trauma) and circular full‐thickness injuries (drill injuries and gunshot wounds) in charred bones. Fifty bovine ribs (total 104 lesions) were divided into three groups. The first group consisted in 20 depressed hammer‐produced fractures; in the second one, 60 round drill‐holes were produced (30 circular, 30 semicircular); in the third group, 12 fleshed and 12 skeletonized ribs were hit by 9‐mm bullets. Each specimen was carbonized in an electric oven up to 800°C. Morphological and metric analyses were performed before and after: morphological features were preserved, but depressed fractures showed an increase in their dimensions (p‐value < 0.05); the drilled holes shrunk (p‐value < 0.01); the charring cycle increased the number of fractures in samples with gunshot wounds differently in fleshed and defleshed ribs. This study showed the complex behavior of charred bone, for what concerns the interpretation of trauma and how caution should be applied.

Study on the criteria for assessing skull-face correspondence in craniofacial superimposition

Craniofacial superimposition has the potential to be used as an identification method when other traditional biological techniques are not applicable due to insufficient quality or absence of ante-mortem and post-mortem data. Despite having been used in many countries as a method of inclusion and exclusion for over a century it lacks standards. Thus, the purpose of this research is to provide forensic practitioners with standard criteria for analysing skull-face relationships. Thirty-seven experts from 16 different institutions participated in this study, which consisted of evaluating 65 criteria for assessing skull-face anatomical consistency on a sample of 24 different skull-face superimpositions. An unbiased statistical analysis established the most objective and discriminative criteria. Results did not show strong associations, however, important insights to address lack of standards were provided. In addition, a novel methodology for understanding and standardizing identification methods based on the observation of morphological patterns has been proposed.

Analysis of metallic medical devices after cremation: The importance in identification

The recovery of a charred cadaver raises many issues concerning personal identification; the presence of prosthetic materials may provide very important and decisive information. Who is involved in the recovery of a charred body or of burnt human fragments, should therefore be able to recognize medical devices even if modified by fire effects. Metallic residues (585kg) that came from 2785 cremations were studied. Medical devices were then divided by type and material in order to esteem the representativeness of each typology. The study illustrates the great presence of metal medical devices that could be of great help in identifying bodies and underlines that metallic medical devices types and morphology should be known by forensic practitioner involved in identification cases and that this kind of material can still be identified by physician and dentists, even if exposed to very high temperatures.

Variations of midfacial soft-tissue thickness in subjects aged between 6 and 18 years for the reconstruction of the profile: A study on an Italian sample

Facial approximation techniques used in forensic anthropology are based on soft-tissue thickness databases. However most of articles deal with adult populations, and very few studies were conducted on minors. This study aims at providing data concerning facial thickness for George reconstruction, preliminary to the 3D facial approximation. Diagnostic cephalometric X-ray films were obtained from 222 healthy Caucasoid children (91 boys and 131 girls), aged between 6 and 18years, treated in a Department of Orthodontics of Northern Italy. After setting the Frankfurt plane horizontal, 14 measurements were taken at the mid-facial landmarks: supraglabella, glabella, nasion, nasale, subnasale, superior labial sulcus, labrale superius, stomion, labrale inferius, inferior labial sulcus, suprapogonion, pogonion, gnathion, menton. Mean and standard deviation of soft-tissues thickness at each point were calculated. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to test the modifications of facial parameters with age and sex (p<0.01). The results demonstrated that there is an increase in tissue thickness as individuals grow; in most occasions, males showed thicker soft tissues than females of the same age, especially after the adolescent growth spurt. Facial thicknesses at subnasale, superior labial sulcus, labrale superius, labrale inferius, inferior labial sulcus, suprapogonion, pogonion and gnathion significantly modified with age, whereas the same parameters at subnasale, superior labial sulcus, labrale superius, labrale inferius, stomion and suprapogonion were significantly sexually dimorphic. In addition, a database for soft-tissue thicknesses in children aged between 6 and 18years was created, which may be of interest in cases of facial approximation of Italian minors.

Can cadaverous pollution from environmental lead misguide to false positive results in the histochemical determination of Gunshot Residues? In-depth study using ultra-sensitive ICP-MS analysis on cadaveric skin samples

INTRODUCTION In a previous work, we wanted to evaluate if the histochemical determination of lead in Gunshot Residues (GSR) on firearm wounds could be misled due to possible environmental contamination produced by heavy metals and, in particular, by lead. The Sodium Rhodizonate test and its confirmation test with 5% HCl Sodium Rhodizonate resulted to be negative and therefore we wanted to verify if these techniques were sensible enough in order to evaluate this element. We have assessed, on these same samples, a more sensitive technique, as inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is. This technique is able to detect elements in solution at concentrations as low as 10-15gL-1. MATERIALS AND METHODS Skin samples taken from two groups of victims, whose cause of death was not related to gunshot wounds were analyzed using ICP-MS: group A included 25 corpses found in open spaces after a long time; group B included 16 corpses exhumed after a period of 11 years. As a positive control group we used skin samples from two subjects that had died due to firearm wounds: as a negative control group we used three different types of plain paraffin slides without included biological material. RESULTS At the analysis by ICP-MS, the evaluation of the samples belonging to groups A, B and for the negative control groups resulted to be negative for traces of lead (Pb), barium (Ba) and antimony (Sb). On the other hand, high concentrations of GSR could be found in the positive control group were victims died for firearm wounds. CONCLUSIONS On these basis, we can state that environmental Pb does not contaminate cadavers exposed to open air nor those buried in soil, as confirmed using to ICP-MS technique. Sodium Rhodizonate and 5% HCl Sodium Rhodizonate confirmation test have therefore a high sensitivity, highlighting GSRs, for the diagnosis of death caused by firearm wounds.

Sexual Violence Against Adolescent Girls: Labeling It to Avoid Normalization

Violence against women is a pervasive complex phenomenon that destroys womens feelings of love, trust, and self-esteem. In this commentary, we specifically focus on sexual violence against adolescent girls, whose impact is particularly harmful since it may lead to impaired mental health, social functioning, and neurodevelopment. Between 12% and 25% of adolescent girls throughout the world experience sexual violence, very often perpetrated by a family member or a friend. Moreover, for an alarming proportion of girls, the first sexual experience is coerced. In this article, we review the multiple negative effects of sexual violence against adolescent girls. We also report data derived from our practice in a public Italian referral Centre for Sexual and Domestic Violence (SVSeD) and address the importance of a multidisciplinary clinical approach with adolescent victims of sexual violence.

Can cadaverous pollution from environmental lead misguide to false positive results in the histochemical determination of gunshot residues? Study on cadaveric skin samples

Histochemical determination of lead in gunshot residues (GSR) raises the question of possible environmental contamination by heavy metals. Authors assess the specificity of the Sodium Rhodizonate Test in the search of lead derived from environmental pollution. Sodium Rhodizonate Test and 5% HCl Sodium Rhodizonate test were applied to skin samples taken from two groups of victims, whose cause of death was not related to gunshot wounds: group A included 25 corpses found in open spaces after a long time; group B included 16 corpses exhumed after a period of 11 years. The use of these histochemical tests to skin samples from these two groups did not show metal debris histochemically similar to the lead present in GSR. These tests were confirmed to be specific in highlighting the GSR coming from gunshot, without being affected by the potential environmental contamination of the heavy metal pollutants, coming from air or soil.