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- Adult skeletal age-at-death estimation through deep random neural networks: a new method and its computational analysisPublication . Navega, D; Costa, Ernesto; Cunha, EAge-at-death assessment is a crucial step in the identification process of skeletal human remains. Nonetheless, in adult individuals this task is particularly difficult to achieve with reasonable accuracy due to high variability in the senescence processes. To improve the accuracy of age-at-estimation, in this work we propose a new method based on a multifactorial macroscopic analysis and deep random neural network models. A sample of 500 identified skeletons was used to establish a reference dataset (age-at-death: 19–101 years old, 250 males and 250 females). A total of 64 skeletal traits are covered in the proposed macroscopic technique. Age-at-death estimation is tackled from a function approximation perspective and a regression approach is used to infer both point and prediction interval estimates. Based on cross-validation and computational experiments, our results demonstrate that age estimation from skeletal remains can be accurately (~6 years mean absolute error) inferred across the entire adult age span and informative estimates and prediction intervals can be obtained for the elderly population. A novel software tool, DRNNAGE, was made available to the community
- Advances on Bioanalysis: Recent Approaches in the Determination of Biomarkers, Drugs of Abuse and Medicines (editorial)Publication . Barroso, Mário; Gallardo, Eugenia; Passarinha, Luís A.
- All that glitters is not gold: X-ray fluorescence analysis of a fixed dental prosthesis from Colecção de Esqueletos Identificados Século XXI, Portugal (CEI/XXI)Publication . Oliveira-Santos, Inês; Gomes, Ricardo A.M.P.; Coelho, Catarina; Gil, Francisco; Cunha, Eugénia; Baptista, Isabel Poiares; Ferreira, Maria TeresaAccess to better health care anticipates that more medical devices can be found alongside skeletal remains. Those employed in oral rehabilitation, with available brands or batch/series, can prove useful in the identification process. A previous study in the Colecção de Esqueletos Identificados Século XXI described macroscopically the dental prostheses. An unusual case of a dental device with chromatic alterations demonstrated to require a more detailed analysis. The individual, a 53-year-old male, exhibited, at both arches, a fixed tooth-supported rehabilitation, with gold colouring classified initially as a gold-palladium alloy. Simultaneously, a green pigmentation deposit was observable in bone and prosthesis. This investigation aimed to verify the elemental composition of the dental prosthesis alloy. Elemental analysis was performed by X-ray fluorescence in two regions (labial surface of the prosthetic crown and the root surface of the lower right lateral incisor). Both the spectra and the qualitative results found higher levels of copper and aluminium, followed by nickel, iron, zinc, and manganese. No gold or palladium was detected. The most probable assumption is that a copper-aluminium alloy was used, as its elemental concentration corresponds to those measured in similar devices. Dental prostheses of copper-aluminium alloys have been made popular since the 1980s, particularly in the USA, Japan, and Eastern Europe. Apart from the biographical information, it was also known that the individual's place of birth was an Eastern European country, which highlighted the usefulness of this type of information when dealing with missing people cases.
- Allele frequencies and haplotypes of 8 Y-chromosomal STRs in the Santa Catarina population of southern BrazilPublication . Cainé, Laura; Real, F. Corte; Vieira, Duarte Nuno; Carvalho, Mónica; Serra, Armando; Lopes, Virgı́nia; Vide, Maria C.Allele frequencies and haplotypes of eight Y-chromosomal short tandem repeats (STRs), DYS19, DYS385, DYS389 I, DYS389 II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392 and DYS393 were determined in a sample of 109 males from Santa Catarina. The origin of this southern Brazilian population is mainly from Portuguese people, namely from Azores archipelago.
- Allele frequencies and population data for 17 Y-STR loci (AmpFℓSTR® Y-filer™) in a Northern Portuguese population samplePublication . Pontes, Lurdes; Cainé, Laura; Abrantes, David; Lima, Gabriela; Pinheiro, Maria de FátimaAllele frequencies and population data for 17 Y-STR loci included in a new commercial kit that has recently been available, the AmpFlSTR Y-filer PCR amplification kit (Applied Biosystems), that permits the simultaneous amplification of all the markers included in the actually used European "extended haplotype", DYS19, DYS189I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385I/II, DYS438, DYS439 and also DYS437, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and Y GATA H4, were obtained from a sample of 175 healthy unrelated males and 45 father-son pairs from the North of Portugal. A total of 171 haplotypes were identified, of which 167 were unique and 4 were found in 2 individuals. The haplotype diversity (99.97%) and discrimination capacity (95.43%) were calculated. We report some non-standard situations, such as allele duplications and mutations. We also report a case of disputed paternity in which duplicated alleles plus an inconsistency of the transmitted alleles appeared.
- Allele Frequencies of 15 Loci Using AmpFℓSTR Identifiler Kit in a Northern Portuguese PopulationPublication . Abrantes, David; Lima, Gabriela; Cainé, Laura; Pontes, Lurdes; Pinheiro, Fátima250 unrelated and healthy individuals from Portugal.
- Allele frequencies of six miniSTR loci in the population of Northern PortugalPublication . Lagoa, Arlindo M.; Martins, Teresa V.; Cainé, Laura; Pinheiro, M. Fátima
- Allele frequencies of sixteen STRs in the population of Northern PortugalPublication . Pinheiro, M.F.; Cainé, Laura; Pontes, Lurdes; Abrantes, David; Lima, Gabriela; Pereira, Maria J.; Rezende, PedroAllele frequencies of sixteen autossomal short tandem repeats (STRs), D3S1358, VWA, D16S539, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, TH01, FGA, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, TPOX, CSF1PO, Penta D, Penta E (included in the PowerPlex 16 kit), and the SE33 (PowerPlex ES Monoplex System SE33) were determined in a sample of 200 healthy unrelated individuals from the north of Portugal.
- An Assessment of Intra- and Interobserver Error in Luminol Chemiluminescence as a Presumptive Test for Postmortem Interval EstimationPublication . Ermida, Catarina; Rosa, Joana; Cunha, Eugénia; Ferreira, Maria TeresaPostmortem interval (PMI) estimation constitutes a challenge for forensic anthropologists.The application of the luminol technique as a preliminary test for PMI estimation is considered easy to use and inexpensive. The objective of our study is to validate luminol chemiluminescence testing through the assessment of intra- and interobserver error. Our sample included 266 human clavicles, with known PMIs ranging between 2655 days and 450 years. After sample preparation, luminol was applied, and the results were observed by two different observers. The intensity of the reaction was measured using a binary scale and a 5-level scale, according to the increasing degree of chemiluminescence. The Kappa statistic was used for the assessment of the intra- and interobserver agreement. The obtained results showed total interobserver error agreement regarding the binary scale and a K = 0.98 (95% CI: 0.97–0.99) regarding the 5-level scale. Additionally, Observer 1 and Observer 2 obtained a 100% agreement concerning the binary scale and a K = 1 (95%CI 0.99–1) and K = 0.99 (95% CI 0.99–1), respectively, concerning the 5-level scale. According to our research, it is possible to conclude that luminol chemiluminescence testing is suitable as a rapid diagnostic test, revealing this method as practically independent of observation error