Identificazione dei corpi senza nome in Lazio: odontologia e antropologia forense, medicina legale e genetica forense

Secondo un protocollo elaborato dal Ministero dell'Interno, a partire dal 2017, alcuni corpi censiti nel Registro Generale dei Cadaveri Non Identificati sono stati analizzati con l'intento di raccogliere adeguatamente dati post mortem derivanti da analisi antropologiche, odontologiche, campioni biologici e indagini documentali, per compiere un tentativo di identificazione secondo i moderni protocolli di analisi. 18 corpi sepolti presso il Cimitero di Roma, sono stati analizzati con un approccio multidisciplinare: 18 sono stati oggetto di esumazione più 1, ancora inumato, ma presente nel Registro. Un approccio antropologico e odontologico tradizionale è stato utilizzato per i resti umani completamente scheletrizzati, mentre per i corpi indecomposti si è proceduto a scansione TC e autopsia dento-scheletrica virtuale. Alcuni corpi, per i quali non è stato possibile procedere alle suddette analisi, sono stati profilati attraverso un’indagine documentale. Per tutti è stato delineato un profilo antropologico, definendo popolazione di appartenenza, sesso, età, statura unitamente alle caratteristiche dentali, degli effetti personali e qualsiasi altra informazione potenzialmente utile a fini identificativi. Tutti i dati relativi al precedente recupero della salma sono stati acquisiti dagli Archivi del Tribunale e presso la P.G. operante. L’insieme delle informazioni sono state poi utilizzate per ricercare fra le persone scomparse i sospetti di identità, da approfondire per una possibile identificazione. In quattro casi, si è potuto rintracciare alcune persone scomparse compatibili che, grazie al confronto 1 a 1 hanno permesso l’identificazione dei corpi e la restituzione alle rispettive famiglie. I dati dei corpi rimasti non identificati sono stati inseriti nella relativa banca dati nazionale. Il processo con miglior rapporto costi-benefici si è rivelato essere quello in parte già proposto dall’Interpol che vede come metodi identificativi la dattiloscopia, l’odontoiatria forense e il DNA. Il presente lavoro ha permesso di accentuare l’importanza del seguire quest’ordine di applicazione delle diverse metodologie, unitamente ad una esperienza specifica degli operatori nel settore identificativo. Ciò risulta controcorrente rispetto a quanto avviene oggi in Italia nella maggioranza dei casi giudiziari che vedono al primo posto, invece, l’estrazione del DNA come metodo prioritario e privilegiato

Stature estimation based on vertebral morphometry by dual energy X-rays absorptiometry imaging in Italian females.

Anthropological profile in forensic context includes the assessment of parameters as ancestry, sex, age and stature of an individual by the analysis of skeletal remains. Stature can be estimated from decomposed and fully or partially skeletonized remains by means of anatomical or mathematical methods applied on the whole skeleton or single bones. Many authors calculated regression formulae for the living stature estimation by these methods, in particular based on a population similar to the remains recovered. Long bones are commonly used for stature estimation, but, when they are missing, methods involving different parts of the skeleton are needed. In this preliminary study we measured heights of the vertebral bodies in a female Caucasian Italian population, evaluated by images of morphometric X-ray absorptiometry based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in living subjects investigated for routine diagnostic purposes. Thoracic and lumbar segments of the spine were measured and statistical analysis was performed, thus obtaining regression formulae for estimated living stature from thoraco-lumbar spine segments (T₆-T₁₂, L₁-L₄ and T₆-L₄). We propose this method for stature evaluation in physical or forensic anthropology when the spine is available and long bones are missing

Risultati preliminari delle indagini scientifiche sul corpo del Beato Antonio da Fano (m. 1435)

The Blessed Antonio da Fano was a Franciscan friar dead in 1435, after being Confessor to the King Alphonso V of Aragon and Ambassador to the Holy See. His body, re-cently discovered in the church of Santa Maria Nuova in Fano, underwent external inspection, radiologic examina-tion, and subsequent laboratory investigations. The well-preserved, partially skeletonized mummy showed signs of obesity, atherosclerosis, and dental caries, leading us to hypothesize that Antonio had access to a diet rich in sugar and fats. The anthropometric study estimated a height of 168 cm. The study of occupational activities revealed moderate and symmetrical stress of the lower limbs with much less overload of the upper district. Rare osteoarthrit-ic processes affected thoracic and lumbar spine. The cra-nial cavity contained amorphous material, bony remnants of rodents, and textile fragments belonging to the subject’s primary burial. The facial reconstruction was carried out by computed tomography scanning.Il Beato Antonio da Fano era un frate francescano decedu-to nel 1435, dopo essere stato confessore del re d’Aragona Alfonso V e ambasciatore presso la Santa Sede. Il suo cor-po, recentemente rinvenuto nella chiesa di Santa Maria Nuova in Fano, è stato sottoposto ad ispezione esterna, esami radiologici e successive indagini di laboratorio. La mummia, ben conservata e parzialmente scheletrizzata, mostrava evidenza di obesità, aterosclerosi e carie dentale, lasciando ipotizzare una dieta ricca di zuccheri e grassi. L’antropometria indicava un’altezza di 168 cm. Lo studio ergo-nomico mostrava un impegno moderato e simmetrico degli arti inferiori con un carico assai minore del distretto superiore. I rari processi artrosici riguardavano la colonna toracica e lombare. La cavità cranica conteneva materiale amorfo, resti ossei di roditori e frammenti di tessili relativi alla prima sepoltura. La ricostruzione facciale è stata effet-tuata mediante tomografia computerizzata

An Educational and Physical Program to Reduce Headache, Neck/Shoulder Pain in a Working Community: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Noninvasive physical management is often prescribed for headache and neck pain. Systematic reviews, however, indicate that the evidence of its efficacy is limited. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a workplace educational and physical program in reducing headache and neck/shoulder pain. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cluster-randomized controlled trial. All municipal workers of the City of Turin, Italy, were invited to participate. Those who agreed were randomly assigned, according to their departments, to the intervention group (IG) or to the control group and were given diaries for the daily recording of pain episodes for 1 month (baseline). Subsequently, only the IG (119 departments, 923 workers) began the physical and educational program, whereas the control group (117 departments, 990 workers) did not receive any intervention. All participants were again given diaries for the daily recording of pain episodes after 6 months of intervention. The primary outcome was the change in the frequency of headache (expressed as the proportion of subjects with a 6550% reduction of frequency; responder rate); among the secondary outcomes there were the absolute reduction of the number of days per month with headache and neck/shoulder pain. Differences between the two groups were evaluated using mixed-effect regression models. The IG showed a higher responder rate [risk ratio, 95% confidence interval (CI)] for headache (1.58; 1.28 to 1.92) and for neck/shoulder pain (1.53; 1.27 to 1.82), and a larger reduction of the days per month (95% CI) with headache (-1.72; -2.40 to -1.04) and with neck/shoulder pain (-2.51; -3.56 to -1.47). Conclusions: The program effectively reduced headache and neck/shoulder pain in a large working community and appears to be easily transferable to primary-care settings. Further trials are needed to investigate the program effectiveness in a clinical setting, for highly selected patients suffering from specific headache types. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00551980. \ua9 2012 Mongini et al

Efficacy of a workplace relaxation exercise program on muscle tenderness in a working community with headache and neck pain: a longitudinal, controlled study

Pericranial muscle tenderness shows a remarkable prevalence not only in tension-type headache, but also in migraine, both episodic and chronic. Neck pain is a common disorder and leads to a high rate of work disability; its prevalence increases for headache

Effectiveness of an educational and physical program in reducing accompanying symptoms in subjects with head and neck pain: A workplace controlled trial

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational and physical program in reducing behavioral or somatic symptoms along with headache, neck and shoulder pain in a working community. A controlled, non-randomized trial was carried out in a working community and 384 employees were enrolled and divided into a study group (Group 1) and a control group (Group 2). The Group 1 received a physical and educational intervention, consisting of relaxation and posture exercises and the use of visual feedback. After 6 months, the intervention was administered to the Group 2. Both groups were then followed for an additional 6 months until the end of the trial. The presence of accompanying symptoms was investigated with a semi-structured interview using a checklist of 20 items, along with headache, neck, and shoulder pain parameters and the prevalence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression, in three clinical examinations at baseline, after 6 months and after 12 months. For each symptom, as well as the presence of any type of symptom, the differences between groups in the prevalence at the clinical examinations following the baseline were evaluated by applying logistic models. After 6 months, the probability of the presence of any type of symptom was significantly lower in the Group 1 (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.56-0.85) with respect to the Group 2. After 12 months, the pooled estimation did not show any significant difference of symptom prevalence between groups (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.64-1.00). In conclusion, this is the first longitudinal study relative to accompanying symptoms. Its results suggest the effectiveness of this cognitive program in reducing the burden of physical and psychiatric complaints in a large, working population. \ua9 2011 The Author(s)

Personality profiles and subjective perception of pain in head pain patients

Little or no information is available regarding the effect of the personality characteristics of headache sufferers on the quality of pain perception. The aim of this study is to investigate, in head pain sufferers, the relationship between the personality profile, assessed by the MMPI, and the different dimensions of pain (sensory, affective and evaluative), as assessed by the MPQ. Three hundred and seventeen patients with Migraine and/or tension-type headache (episodic or chronic) and myogenic facial pain were included. The Italian versions of the MMPI-2 and MPQ were administered, and the pain level was measured by the VAS. Cluster analysis based on the clinical scales of MMPI identified four personality profiles closely corresponding to the MMPI profiles obtained by the previous researchers: "depressive" (Dep.), "emotionally overwhelmed" (Emot.), "conversive" (Conv.) and "Coper". Differences in MPQ scales between personality profiles were investigated by means of a general linear model (GLM), adjusting for sex, age and pain level and type. Results of GLM analysis showed that the affective dimension was significantly higher in cluster Emot. than in Dep. (p = 0.027), Conv. (p = 0.002) and Coper (p = 0.003). Total PRI was significantly higher in Emot. than in Conv. (p = 0.010). The findings of the present study suggest that a specific personality profile (Emot.), characterized by a heavy emotional burden, may increase the affective dimension of pain with respect to a depressive profile (Dep.), a conversive profile (Conv.) or a normal profile (Coper), independent of sex, age and pain level and type. \ua9 2009 International Association for the Study of Pain

Further evidence of the positive effects of an educational and physical program on headache, neck and shoulder pain in a working community

In a controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a simple educational and physical program administered to a large cohort of public servants, we previously found that 6 months following treatment the monthly frequency of headache and neck and shoulder pain and drug intake was reduced by 40% in the experimental compared with controls. These results were stable at a 12-month follow up. The program consists of brief shoulder and neck exercises to be performed several times a day, a relaxation exercise, and instructions on how to reduce parafunction and hyperfunction of the craniofacial and neck muscles during the day. The purpose of this work was to investigate whether the data previously obtained could be confirmed also in the group of 192 subjects that served as controls in first phase of the study and received the intervention in the second phase of the study. The primary endpoint was the change in frequency of headache and neck and shoulder pain expressed as the number of days per month with pain, and as the proportion of subjects with a ≥50% reduction of frequency (responder rate) at the last 2 months of the 6-month intervention period compared to the 2 months preceding the intervention (baseline). The number of days of analgesic drug consumption was also recorded. Days per month with headache at the baseline and at the end of intervention period were 6.40 and 4.58 (mean change −1.81, p < 0.0001), respectively; days with neck and shoulder pain were 7.48 and 6.18 (mean change −1.30, p = 0.0179); days of analgesic consumption were 1.67 and 1.17 (mean change −0.50, p = 0.0222). The responder rate was 42.3% for headache, 42% for neck and shoulder pain and 58.3% for drug consumption. In conclusion, this study adds further evidence on the efficacy of our program and its high acceptability in a large, unselected, working population

Retrieving Surface Snowfall With the GPM Microwave Imager: A New Module for the SLALOM Algorithm

In this study, we present a new module for the Snow retrievaL ALgorithm fOr gMi (SLALOM) that retrieves surface snowfall rate using Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager measurements together with humidity and temperature vertical profiles. This module, named Surface Snowfall Rate Module, is tuned using colocated surface snowfall observations of the Cloud Profiling Radar onboard CloudSat. Using this new module, the SLALOM algorithm is able to predict surface snowfall rate with a relative bias of −13%, a root-mean-square error of 0.08 mm/hr, and a correlation coefficient of 0.7. Surface Snowfall Rate Module is then used to retrieve snowfall rate for three case studies and to provide a unique, 70°S to 70°N high-resolution distribution of average surface snowfall rate from 2014 to 2017. This new product will be useful for surface precipitation analyses, global water budget estimation, and climatological analyses