A morphoscopic exploration of cranial sexual dimorphism among modern South Africans using computed tomography scans.

Continual re-evaluation of standards for forensic anthropological analyses are necessary, particularly as new methods are explored or as populations change. Indian South Africans are not a new addition to the South African population; however, a paucity of skeletal material is available for analysis from medical school collections, which has resulted in a lack of information on the sexual dimorphism in the crania. For comparable data, computed tomography scans of modern Black, Coloured and White South Africans were included in addition to Indian South Africans.

Sex differences in radioulnar contrasts of the finger ridge counts across 21 human population samples.

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the existence of uniform sexual dimorphism in some between different finger ridge counts within the same hand in a large set of populations, thus confirming the universal nature of this dimorphism in humans. We analysed individual finger ridge counts (10 values on each hand) of both hands from archival sources (mainly the Brehme-Jantz database). In total, these included 4412 adults from 21 population samples covering all permanently inhabited continents and encompassing very different and geographically distant human populations.

How Physical and Molecular Anthropology Interplay in the Creation of Biological Profiles of Unidentified Migrants.

The skeletal sex and ancestry of unidentified human crania can be inferred both from physical and from molecular features. This paper depicts and discusses the experiences of physical and molecular anthropologists on a set of commingled crania from the largest Mediterranean shipwreck disaster on 18 April 2015, in order to facilitate identification of human crania. Twenty-one disarticulated crania that were recovered from the above-mentioned shipwreck were analyzed to estimate skeletal sex and ancestry, following a physical and a molecular pipeline.

Survivability versus rate of recovery for skeletal elements in forensic anthropology.

Survivability, the ability of a skeletal element to withstand taphonomic processes, is often equated to recoverability, the probability that an element will be recovered in a forensic context, and further misused to infer the likelihood that a forensic anthropologist will recover a particular element at a scene. Consequently, researchers have utilized notions of survivability to infer that a skeletal element may be recovered when justifying the necessity of various research endeavors. This is problematic because the factors impacting survivability are not always applicable in a forensic context; the ability of a bone to survive taphonomic processes may not align with the likelihood of recovery.

Finger ridge-counts correlate with the second to fourth digit ratio (2d:4d).

Objectives: This study examines the relationship of finger ridge-counts to second to fourth digit ratio, which has not yet been definitively demonstrated. The related question of sex dimorphism in finger ridge-counts is further elucidated.

Methods: A sample of Germans, including 1134 males and 1031 females, was examined for sex dimorphism in the finger ridge-counts.

Measuring the Tibia: Trotter's Error Revisited.

In Trotter and Gleser's (Am J Phys Anthropol 1952;10:463) classic study of stature estimation, a definition of the tibia length measurement is given that agrees with the standard condylar-malleolar length. That Trotter did not in fact measure according to her definition, but rather omitted the malleolus, has been well documented by Jantz et al. (J Forensic Sci 1995;40:758).

Population specific data improves Fordisc's performance in Italians.

Using discriminant functions based on morphometric data is one of the most approved methods for sex and ancestry estimation on skeletons. Nevertheless, population data from various parts of the world is needed in order to reliably classify an individual into a group. Due to population variation even sex estimation is biased when there is a lack of adequate data.

Evaluating Nubian Population Structure from Cranial Nonmetric Traits: Gene Flow, Genetic Drift, and Population History of the Nubian Nile Valley.

Paleolithic archaeological and skeletal remains from the Nile Valley have yielded a complex picture of life along the river. Sociocultural and sociopolitical events during this time frame shaped population structure, while gene flow and genetic drift further developed it. In this study, we took a population genetics approach to modeling Nubian biological relationships in an effort to describe how an accumulation of events formed Nubian population structure.

Data for validation of osteometric methods in forensic anthropology.

Many techniques in forensic anthropology employ osteometric data, although little work has been done to investigate the intrinsic error in these measurements. These data were collected to quantify the reliability of osteometric data used in forensic anthropology research and case analyses. Osteometric data (n = 99 measurements) were collected on a random sample of William M.

Error quantification of osteometric data in forensic anthropology.

This study evaluates the reliability of osteometric data commonly used in forensic case analyses, with specific reference to the measurements in Data Collection Procedures 2.0 (DCP 2.0).

Cranial secular change from the nineteenth to the twentieth century in modern German individuals compared to modern Euro-American individuals.

Studying secular changes on human skulls is a central issue in anthropological research, which is however insufficiently investigated for modern German populations. With our study, we focus on morphological cranial variations within Germans during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. To study this, we recorded different facial landmarks from a cohort study of about 540 German individuals of different age and sex by calculating their cranial size, shape dimensions, and cranial module and cranial capacity to get information about variations occurring during the decades.

Limb bone allometry in modern Euro-Americans.

Objectives: The pattern of static and secular allometry was examined in a time series of limb bone lengths from individuals with birth years ranging from 1840 to 1989. The main hypothesis investigated was that secular changes in limb proportions, as seen in changes in the brachial and crural indices, can be explained by allometric responses to increasing size.

Materials And Methods: Maximum lengths of humerus, radius, femur, and tibia were obtained from 19th and 20th centuries identified skeletons.

Secular change of sexually dimorphic cranial variables in Euro-Americans and Germans.

Crania are a reliable source for sex estimation in Euro-Americans, Europeans, and most other populations. Besides morphological assessments, the application of Fordisc® has become a useful tool within the last two decades, creating discriminant functions from morphometric data. Unfortunately, until now, white populations are mostly represented by measurements of American individuals.

Secular Changes in the Postcranial Skeleton of American Whites.

Secular change in height has been extensively investigated, but size and shape of the postcranial skeleton much less so. The availability of large, documented collections of nineteenth- and twentieth-century skeletons makes it possible to examine changes in skeletal structure over the past 150 years. We examined secular changes in long bone lengths and proportions, their allometric relationship to stature, and crosssectional properties of long bone shafts.

The Remarkable Change in Euro-American Cranial Shape and Size.

Secular changes in stature, weight, or other components of the body that can be obtained from historical records have been extensively studied. Cranial change has been central to anthropology for more than a century, but the focus has normally been on change measured in centuries or millennia. Cranial change measured in decades, normally considered to result from plastic response to the environment, has been less studied.

An Examination of the Differential Effects of the Modern Epidemiological Transition on Cranial Morphology in the United States and Portugal.

This research examines the pattern of secular change in the cranial morphology of two populations experiencing the epidemiological transition associated with decreased mortality rates in children, followed by declines in infant mortality and subsequent increases in adult longevity. The two samples examined in this study come from US and Portuguese individuals. The epidemiological transition occurred at different times in the United States and Portugal, with Portugal entering into the transition later than the United States.

Misclassifications of Hispanics Using Fordisc 3.1: Comparing Cranial Morphology in Asian and Hispanic Populations.

It has been brought to the attention of the authors of Fordisc 3.1 that Hispanic samples will often misclassify as Japanese when Asian population samples are included. This study examined this problem in an effort to better document the occurrence and deduce possible causes via comparative analyses.

Ancestry Estimation in Forensic Anthropology: Geometric Morphometric versus Standard and Nonstandard Interlandmark Distances.

Standard cranial measurements are commonly used for ancestry estimation; however, 3D digitizers have made cranial landmark data collection and geometric morphometric (GM) analyses more popular within forensic anthropology. Yet there has been little focus on which data type works best. The goal of the present research is to test the discrimination ability of standard and nonstandard craniometric measurements and data derived from GM analysis.

A study of mobile phone use among patients with noncommunicable diseases in La Paz, Bolivia: implications for mHealth research and development.

Background: While global momentum supporting mobile health (mHealth) research and development is increasing, it is imperative to assess the potential fit of mHealth programs in local settings. We describe the penetration of mobile technologies among Bolivian patients with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) to inform research on mHealth interventions for the Andean region as well as low- and middle-income countries more generally.

Methods: Five-hundred and fifty-nine NCD patients were identified from outpatient clinics affiliated with four hospitals in the cities of La Paz and El Alto.

Establishing an independent mobile health program for chronic disease self-management support in bolivia.

Background: Mobile health (m-health) work in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) mainly consists of small pilot programs with an unclear path to scaling and dissemination. We describe the deployment and testing of an m-health platform for non-communicable disease (NCD) self-management support in Bolivia.

Methods: Three hundred sixty-four primary care patients in La Paz with diabetes or hypertension completed surveys about their use of mobile phones, health and access to care.

Secular trends in Cherokee cranial morphology: Eastern vs Western bands.

Background: The research objective was to examine if secular trends can be identified for cranial data commissioned by Boas in 1892, specifically for cranial breadth and cranial length of the Eastern and Western band Cherokee who experienced environmental hardships.

Materials And Methods: Multiple regression analysis was used to test the degree of relationship between each of the cranial measures: cranial length, cranial breadth and cephalic index, along with predictor variables (year-of-birth, location, sex, admixture); the model revealed a significant difference for all craniometric variables. Additional regression analysis was performed with smoothing Loess plots to observe cranial length and cranial breadth change over time (year-of-birth) separately for Eastern and Western Cherokee band females and males born between 1783-1874.

Improving sex estimation from crania using a novel three-dimensional quantitative method.

This study utilizes an innovative 3D approach to discover metric variables that obtain the highest classification rates for sex estimation from the cranium. Models were constructed from 222 cranial CT scans of U.S.

Secular changes in craniofacial morphology of the Portuguese using geometric morphometrics.

This study examines patterns of secular change in cranial morphology in the New Lisbon collection, a documented skeletal collection from Lisbon, Portugal with birth years from 1806 to 1954. This period represents a time when Lisbon was undergoing increased urbanization and population growth, as well as changes in mortality and fertility patterns. Previous studies from the U.

Anthropometric variation among Bering Sea natives.

Recent research indicates that anthropometrics can be used to study microevolutionary forces acting on humans. We examine the use of morphological traits in reconstructing the population history of Aleuts and Eskimos of the Bering Sea. From 1979 to 1981, W.