International Journal of Legal Medicine最新文献

{"title":"Predictive models for sex Estimation based on alveolar measurements in a contemporary Italian sample.","authors":"Carmen Tanga, Joan Viciano","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03555-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-025-03555-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Teeth play a significant role in reconstructive identification, aiding in the estimation of an individual's biological profile, such as population affinity, sex, and age at death. However, when teeth are lost postmortem-a common occurrence in forensic contexts-alternative methods are required. This study aimed to develop predictive models for sex estimation using alveolar measurements and to evaluate their reliability with a validation sample. Mesiodistal and buccolingual alveolar diameters from both arches were measured in 127 adults (64 males, 63 females) from the Certosa Cemetery osteological collection in Bologna. Binary logistic regression models were developed using a training subsample and tested on a hold-out subsample. The results indicated that the canine alveoli in both arches exhibited the highest sexual dimorphism, followed by those of the central incisor, first premolar, lateral incisor, and second premolar. In the training subsample, univariate predictive models achieved sex classification accuracy ranging from 57.3 to 83.9%, while multivariate models ranged from 68.0 to 91.3%. In the hold-out subsample of 19 individuals, sex was accurately estimated in 89.5% of cases, with a match rate of 63.2% compared with known biological sex. This study highlights the potential of alveolar measurements as a reliable alternative in forensic anthropology, offering a viable method for sex estimation when teeth are unavailable for measurement.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144540145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of different dental age estimation methods with deep learning: Willems, Cameriere-European, London Atlas.","authors":"Betul Sen Yavuz, Omer Ekmekcioglu, Handan Ankarali","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03452-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03452-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to compare dental age estimates using Willems, Cameriere-Europe, London Atlas, and deep learning methods on panoramic radiographs of Turkish children. The dental ages of 1169 children (613 girls, 556 boys) who agreed to participate in the study were determined by 4 different methods. The Convolutional Neural Network models examined were implemented in the TensorFlow library. Simple correlations and intraclass correlations between children's chronological ages and dental age estimates were calculated. Goodness-of-fit criteria were calculated based on the errors in dental age estimates and the smallest possible values for the Akaike Information Criterion, the Bayesian-Schwarz Criterion, the Root Mean Squared Error, and the coefficient of determination value. Simple correlations were observed between dental age and chronological ages in all four methods (p < 0.001). However, there was a statistically significant difference between the average dental age estimates of methods other than the London Atlas for boys (p = 0.179) and the four methods for girls (p < 0.001). The intra-class correlation between chronological age and methods was examined, and almost perfect agreement was observed in all methods. Moreover, the predictions of all methods were similar to each other in each gender and overall (Intraclass correlation [ICC_W] = 0.92, ICC_CE=0.94, ICC_LA=0.95, ICC_DL=0.89 for all children). The London Atlas is only suitable for boys in predicting the age of Turkish children, Willems, Cameriere-Europe formulas, and deep learning methods need revision.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1661-1672"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170674/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143448969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From traditional to innovative: implications of cranial non-metric traits in personal identification.","authors":"Andrea Palamenghi, Antonio Aragon-Molina, Giulia Caccia, Debora Mazzarelli, Sofia Alemanno, Ruggero Donida Labati, Fabio Scotti, Vincenzo Piuri, Carlo Pietro Campobasso, Cristina Cattaneo, Danilo De Angelis, Daniele Gibelli","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03462-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03462-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In forensic anthropology, personal identification is mainly performed through a qualitative assessment and comparison of morphological bone and dental features between antemortem and postmortem data. Although non-metric traits have been traditionally considered as individualizing features, their potential has been limitedly investigated. Indeed, frequencies of variants can represent an additional tool to provide probabilities and likelihood ratios that an individual presents a combination of traits, hence quantifying a possible identification. This study investigates the potential of cranial non-metric traits as individualizing features in personal identification, and it describes the application of this probabilistic approach to a sample from a mass fatality which occurred in 2015. 119 crania of males were assessed for scoring 35 non-metric traits by presence and absence. For each cranium, the compound frequencies of independent traits, probabilities and likelihood ratios that a cranium presents a specific blend of traits were calculated. Over 70% of the likelihood ratios exceeded 1,000,000, providing extremely strong evidence that a specific set of traits corresponds to a cranium. Probabilities to find an individual with the set of traits within a group of 528 people (corresponding to the recovered bodies for this case) were extremely low (e.g., 0.006 people out of 528). The considerably high likelihood ratios and low probabilities suggest that combinations of cranial non-metric traits are extremely specific to the single individual, hence they represent valuable individualizing features. Despite this approach does not seem immediately applicable for the resolution of this case because of the dearth of appropriate antemortem images, collecting cranial non-metric frequencies may be worth of further investigation as a supplementary tool to screen potential identities and provide quantitative evidence to the investigators and the judge.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1941-1951"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170784/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143541799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bone age and dental age to assess criminal responsibility: Part I.","authors":"Cristiana Palmela Pereira, Maria Vitória Lameiro, Ana Rodrigues, Francisco Salvado, Rui Santos","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03451-z","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03451-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Age estimation in forensic science plays a crucial role in determining legal and criminal responsibilities for living individuals. When the age of an individual is uncertain, a forensic age estimation examination is required, typically involving radiographic evaluation of bone and dental development. This study aimed to estimate and classify bone and dental ages in a Portuguese population aged 6 to 21 years, using the Baccetti and Moorrees, Fanning, and Hunt methods. The results were compared to chronological age and between methods for medico-legal purposes, utilizing lateral cephalograms and orthopantomograms.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>A total of 466 lateral cephalograms and 767 orthopantomograms were analyzed. Baccetti stages were assigned to the lateral cephalograms, and cephalometric analysis was performed using ImageJ® software. For orthopantomograms, each tooth in the third quadrant was assigned a stage based on the MFH method.</p><p><strong>Results and discussion: </strong>Cohen's weighted kappa coefficients were 0.987 (intra-observer) and 0.977 (inter-observer) for the Baccetti method. Moorrees, Fanning, and Hunt method validations ranged from 0.655 to 1.00. Correlation coefficients for dental and bone regressions were 0.894 and 0.907, with adjusted determination coefficients of 0.798 and 0.822, respectively. The dental regression underestimated age, unlike the bone regression. The methods' accuracy and reliability varied based on the age being classified.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Both regressions accurately estimated age, but the dental method was more appropriate due to its tendency to underestimate, high precision and consistency of results. No significant differences were found between males and females, and both methods, dental and bone, may be used together to classify legal ages.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1691-1705"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143531531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Are pre-analytical factors fully considered in forensic FFPE molecular analyses? A systematic review reveals the need for standardised procedures.","authors":"Carlo Previderè, Serena Bonin, Calogero Cuttaia, Gianmarco Argentiero, Tommaso Livieri, Giovanni Cecchetto, Antonio Oliva, Paolo Fattorini","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03480-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03480-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The need for molecular analyses has become increasingly common in the forensic sciences, particularly in forensic pathology, to better shape the causes of death. This approach is called the \"molecular autopsy,\" where conventional medico-legal findings are often enhanced with specific molecular tests to provide reliable clinical and forensic diagnoses. In this context, FFPE (Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded) tissue samples collected during forensic autopsies are the only available specimens in retrospective studies for molecular DNA and/or RNA analyses. It is well known that pre-analytical parameters such as the agonal time, the PMI (Post-Mortem Interval), the fixation procedures, and the FFPE ageing and storage conditions can deeply impact the quality and quantity of the recovered nucleic acids, thus influencing the reliability of the downstream molecular tests. In the present study, we reviewed the recent forensic literature to establish whether these parameters are reported. Our survey showed that up to 34.9% and 40.5% of the 50 selected studies on DNA and RNA, respectively, reported the pre-analytical parameters mentioned above. Many publications did not report the length of agony (if any), which is an important parameter in RNA-based studies and estimations of the PMI; in addition, even relevant information on formalin tissue fixation procedures was often missing, thus impairing any critical evaluation of the PCR-based results. To address these issues, we propose the use of a simple form we set up to be filled out by Forensic Pathologists, where each pre-analytical step concerning the tissue samples collected during autopsy is accurately described and reported. In our opinion, this standardization will help the forensic community compare and evaluate the results of different molecular tests, thus increasing the reliability of the molecular results in forensics.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1439-1452"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170738/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143763610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Determination of DNA recovery from human teeth exposed to various acids.","authors":"Tuğba Ünsal Sapan, Nejla Karaboğa","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03445-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03445-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Forensic sciences encompass a comprehensive application of various scientific disciplines working together to solve crimes. In forensic cases, identification is the primary procedure. Due to the variety of crimes, difficulties can arise in identification. The ability to extract DNA from all types of biological tissues has made DNA analysis one of the most frequently used and reliable methods in identification. Teeth, which are noted for their relatively low degradation over long periods despite exposure to environmental, physical, and chemical factors, and their ability to securely preserve DNA material, are among the most used samples in DNA analysis. With the evolution of crime and methods of concealing it, body integrity-threatening procedures such as exposure to acids are frequently used by perpetrators. However, several studies have shown that DNA can still be recovered from dental samples exposed to various chemicals for specific durations. This study aimed to recover DNA from teeth exposed to strong acids. Dental samples obtained from volunteers were exposed to strong acids, including HCl, HNO₃, and H₂SO₄, for 8, 12, and 120 hours, respectively, with each duration parameter tested separately. Following exposure, DNA isolation was performed, and the amount of DNA was assessed. Samples deemed suitable for identification underwent PCR and electrophoresis to obtain DNA profiles. The results showed that it was possible to successfully obtain a full DNA profile from molars exposed to sulfuric, hydrochloric, and nitric acid for up to 24 h, while it was possible to obtain a partial DNA profile from molars exposed to sulfuric acid for up to 120 h.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1453-1463"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143440884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic facial reconstruction: A computer tomography study of facial soft tissue thickness in Nigerian adult male multi-ethnic population.","authors":"Nurudeen Adegbite, Manuela Mura, Haliru Shafiu, Christopher Avery, Waqar Ahmed","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03455-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03455-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT) was measured from computer tomography scans of 55 Nigeria adult males. Forensic facial reconstruction (FFR) with own population FSTT values can be vital in recognition of skeletal remains and has been used as an adjunct in forensic science.There are no published FSTT values for this population. Measurements were obtained at 12 mid-sagittal and 19 bilateral points totalling 50 and by use of a software package called RadiAnt. In comparison to previous studies in Africa, measurements were taken from more points and with a diverse age of 18 to 100 years. Mean FSTT values were determined for these combined Nigerian male ethnicities. These values will suffice in FFR for this population and for the Hausa adult male. This population homogenously showed more soft tissue volumes on the left than the right side at all FSTT points with the most relative difference at the frontal eminence and the least at the mid-point of the masseter muscle. The low relative difference at the mid-masseters may relate with the soft floury diets of this population. These combined Nigerian male ethnicities midline FSTT values showed significant differences in the lower third of the face when compared with other population data. The values for the right side of the face shows even more substantial differences at multiple points when compared with published data of other populations. The change with age compares well with other studies. These data will be applicable for FFR in the CNME than data of other populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1953-1970"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170741/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fatal gunshots in the Tri-City metropolitan area, Poland between 1998 and 2021.","authors":"Karol Karnecki, Adrian Wrocławski, Michał Kaliszan, Tomasz Gos","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03459-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03459-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study analyzes 92 firearm fatalities, including 54 suicides and 26 homicides, in the Tri-City area, Poland between 1998 and 2021. The firearm-related death rate was 0.44 per 100,000 residents, which is more than double the published rate for Poland (0.20). During the period under examination, there was an upward trend in the number of suicides and a decline in the number of homicides. In addition, the decrease in gun homicides was associated with rising GDP per capita over the study period, along with other noteworthy-but not statistically significant-interactions between homicides, suicides, and various economic or gun-related factors. Most victims were males (90.2%), who were older on average than the female victims. In 66 cases, there was a single gunshot wound, which was more common in suicides (92.6%) than in homicides (33.3%). The remaining cases, which included 4 suicides and 16 homicides, involved multiple gunshot wounds. In suicides, gunshot wounds to the head were predominant (77.8%) and most often to the right temporal region or mouth. Gunshot wounds to the head were less common in homicides (37.5%) than in suicides but most often located at the left temporal region, the back of the head, or the face. A higher proportion of gunshot wounds to the chest was observed in homicides (34.7%). Short-barreled firearms, most often a semi-automatic pistol, predominated in the analyzed material.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1851-1861"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597016","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Quantitative investigation of diatom dispersion in lung tissue of confirmed drowning incidents.","authors":"Dominik Hagen, Astrid Obermayer, Walter Stoiber, Peter Steinbacher, Jian Zhao, Fabio C Monticelli, Stefan Pittner","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03441-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03441-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The diagnosis of drowning represents a considerable challenge in forensic practice. Typically, it is made by excluding other potential causes of death while concurrently identifying key signs of drowning. However, in cases with a prolonged postmortem interval, these characteristic signs are often absent. To support drowning diagnoses, various supplementary methods have been introduced over time, prominently including qualitative and quantitative diatom tests. One such approach involves comparing diatom concentrations in the drowning medium (immersion water) and in the lung tissue to determine lung-to-drowning medium (L/D) ratios. L/D-ratios above 2 are thereby seen as safe indicators of drowning, as higher diatom concentrations in the lungs than in the drowning medium can only be explained by active water aspiration. Previous studies typically investigated diatom concentrations in the tip of the lung's left superior lobe, as this region is thought to generally experience the lowest physiological pressure. However, no experimental data have yet confirmed the relevance of this in drowning incidents. It is also still unclear how diatoms are distributed within the lung during aspiration and how L/D-ratios could vary if samples from other lung regions are used for L/D-ratio calculations. To address these uncertainties, we conducted a study assessing diatom concentrations across seven positions from all pulmonary lobes in 25 drowning cases. Our aim was to identify the lung regions with the lowest probability of diatom uptake, thereby maximizing the reliability of L/D-ratios as a forensic tool. Our findings show that the left superior lung lobe is indeed the site of the lowest diatom accumulation and thus optimal for L/D-ratio related drowning diagnosis. Nonetheless, due to the higher sensitivity for diatom uptake, inclusion of other lung positions may also be recommended to strengthen diagnostic accuracy, especially in cases with generally low L/D-ratios.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1597-1607"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170756/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A crime case involving a mixture of three individuals solved using a sample from the daughter of the person of interest.","authors":"Nelly Alexandra Gómez, Ana Patricia Robles Nieto, Ginna Chacón, Rocio Lizarazo, Thore Egeland","doi":"10.1007/s00414-025-03472-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00414-025-03472-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A forensic genetics laboratory may well receive requests that are out of the ordinary and pose challenges like the one presented in this case. A mixture from three individuals was analysed from a crime scene. Reference samples were obtained from two individuals. The Person Of Interest (POI) was not available, only a putative daughter. The analysis of Y and X-STR markers indicated that the contributors to the bloodstain mixture were two males and one female. The hypotheses for the calculation of the Likelihood Ratio (LR) were specified and evaluated using autosomal STR markers. The calculations were done using the open and freely available programs relMix and EuroFormix. The software relMix can deal with arbitrary family relationships between contributors while EuroFormix only accommodates pairwise relationships. In this case both programs were applicable. EuroFormix models peak heights resulting in higher LR, as expected. Ultimately, results from both programs identified the POI, leading to the resolution of the case.</p>","PeriodicalId":14071,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","volume":" ","pages":"1569-1574"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12170655/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}