Human Identification via Lateral Patella Radiographs: A Validation Study,

Successful identification of skeletonized remains often relies upon DNA analyses, frequently focusing on the mid-diaphysis of weight-bearing long bones. This study explored intra-bone DNA variability using bovine and porcine femora, along with calcanei and tali. DNA from fresh and short-term environmentally exposed bone was extracted utilizing demineralization and standard lysis buffer protocols, and DNA quantity and quality were measured. Overall, femoral epiphyses, metaphyses, and the tarsals had more nuclear and mitochondrial DNA than did the femoral diaphyses. DNA loss was much more rapid in buried bones than in surface exposed bones, while DNA quality differed based on environment, but not bone region/element. The demineralization protocol generated more DNA in some bone regions, while the standard lysis was more effective in others, and neither significantly affected DNA quality. Taken together, these findings reinforce the importance of considering inter- and intra-bone heterogeneity when sampling skeletal material for forensic DNA-based identifications.

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Intra‐ and Inter‐Element Variability in Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA from Fresh and Environmentally Exposed Skeletal Remains,

Antinick

Foran

2018

“…Shape and form analyses have become more popular in physical and forensic anthropology (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) with a few studies focused on matching algorithms (6,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). With the adoption of shape analysis, the literature on osteological sorting has started to shift from linear metric approaches (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) to shape and form approaches (10)(11)(12).…”

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confidence: 99%

An Automated Two‐dimensional Pairwise form Registration Method for Pair‐matching of Fragmented Skeletal Remains

Lynch

2018

This study introduces an automated pairwise method for osteological pair-matching of fragmented skeletal remains using two-dimensional fragmented outlines extracted from photographs. The form data are used in pairwise iterative closest point registrations with rigid transformations. A modified version of the average Hausdorff distance is calculated to remove any coordinate correspondences with outline fracture margins, which allow the distance analysis of fragmented outlines. A dilation modification to the Hausdorff distance is proposed creating a greater separation between true- and false-pairs. The sample consists of 122 calcanei (61 pairs) from the UI-Stanford collection. Performance statistics are provided for simulated fragmented and complete assemblages. Results indicate up to 98% accuracy for fragmented and complete assemblages. The dilated Hausdorff distance performed similarly across assemblages, but showed a slight decrease in performance for the complete assemblage. This approach provides a useful short listing tool to reduce the number of visual comparisons required in large commingled assemblages.

“…Shape analysis has become commonplace in biological fields (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10), such as physical anthropology (11,12), and more recently forensic anthropology (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). However, much of the existing literature relies on methods designed for analyzing shapes in a different manner than is required for pair-matching.…”

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confidence: 99%

An Automated Two‐Dimensional Form Registration Method for Osteological Pair‐Matching

Lynch¹

2017

This study introduces an automated method for osteological pair-matching using two-dimensional outline form data extracted from photographs. A procedure for acquiring photographs that improve the differentiation of specimens from the background is presented along with an extraction procedure that allows the capture of form data from photographs. The raw form data are used in a two-dimensional registration procedure, which combines iterative closest point, K-nearest neighbor search, and iterations around an estimated mean. Form data are used in optimized distance calculations that minimize true-pair difference and maximize false-pair difference. The sample consists of 122 calcanei and 110 tali from the UI-Stanford collection. Performance statistics are provided for the maximum and average Segmented-Hausdorff, Hausdorff, and Procrustes distances to show the comparative statistical results for matching. Results indicate 98.36% and 98.2% accuracy in pinpointing true-pairs for the calcanei and tali, respectively, using a shortlist of one-lowest-distance.