Analysis of sexual dimorphism in adults through skull measurements

Orientador: Eduardo Daruge JúniorDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Odontologia de PiracicabaResumo: A determinação sexual é fundamental para se estabelecer a identificação de pessoas através de restos ósseos, e juntamente com a estatura, a idade e a ancestralidade, fornecem os parâmetros do perfil biológico dos indivíduos. A pelve, o crânio, e os ossos longos são os locais em que os dimorfismos mais se fazem presentes. Desta maneira, a necessidade de métodos confiáveis para se distinguir homens e mulheres baseados nesses conjuntos de ossos torna-se evidente. Objetivo: O presente estudo propôs uma análise antropológica de crânios brasileiros, do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, através de mensurações de pontos craniométricos na busca de determinismo sexual e seu valor pericial como critério adicional na identificação humana. Metodologia: Foram analisados 216 crânios humanos (113 masculinos e 103 femininos), com idade superior a 22 anos à data da morte, íntegros, sem sinais de traumatismos ou anomalias notórias. Foram realizadas um total de onze medidas lineares em cada crânio e foram submetidas a tratamento estatístico para avaliação de dimorfismo sexual. Resultados: Com a exceção das medidas largura nasal e násio-bregma, todas as demais mostraram diferenças estatísticas significantes entre os sexos. Dentre elas, a que se apresentou mais dimórfica foi a distância bizigomática. Foram propostas quatro funções discriminantes neste trabalho, alcançando uma probabilidade de acerto quanto ao sexo de 90% quando foram utilizadas as seguintes medidas: nasio-espinha nasal anterior, bizigomática e násio-ponto E. Conclusão: Através das medidas testadas e das funções propostas foi possível determinar o sexo dos indivíduos com um alto grau de confiabilidadeAbstract: The discrimination of sex is central to the process of establishing a personal identification from human skeletal remains and in conjunction with stature, age and ancestry provides parameters of biological profile of the deceased. The pelvis, skull, and assorted long bones, generally provide the most accurate sex allocations. The need for reliable methods distinguishing males from females based upon these skeletal elements is evident. Objective: The present study was an anthropological analysis of brazilians skulls, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, through measurements of craniometric points in search of sexual determinism and its value as an additional criterion in forensic human identification. Methodology: A total of 216 human skulls (113 male and 103 female), older than 22 years old at the time of death, undamaged and out of signs of trauma or noticeable abnormalities, were used in this study. A total of eleven linear variables were taken from the skulls and they were submitted to statistical tests to evaluate sexual dimorphism. Results: Except for the nasal width and nasion to bregma distance, all other measurements showed significant statistical differences between male and female. The best single parameter discrimination was the bizygomatic width. From these measures, were proposed four discriminant functions analysis. The best discrimination was achieved with the combination of three measurements: nasion to anterior nasal spine, bizygomatic width and nasion to point L, reaching an accuracy of 90% to determine sex of the sample. Conclusion: Using these measures and proposed functions was possible to determine sex of individuals with high degree of reliabilityMestradoOdontologia Legal e DeontologiaMestre em Biologia Buco-Denta

Analysis Of The Fluorescence Of Body Fluids On Different Surfaces And Times.

The use of screening techniques, such as an alternative light source (ALS), is important for finding biological evidence at a crime scene. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether biological fluid (blood, semen, saliva, and urine) deposited on different surfaces changes as a function of the age of the sample. Stains were illuminated with a Megamaxx™ ALS System and photographed with a Canon EOS Utility™ camera. Adobe Photoshop™ was utilized to prepare photographs for analysis, and then ImageJ™ was used to record the brightness values of pixels in the images. Data were submitted to analysis of variance using a generalized linear mixed model with two fixed effects (surface and fluid). Time was treated as a random effect (through repeated measures) with a first-order autoregressive covariance structure. Means of significant effects were compared by the Tukey test. The fluorescence of the analyzed biological material varied depending on the age of the sample. Fluorescence was lower when the samples were moist. Fluorescence remained constant when the sample was dry, up to the maximum period analyzed (60 days), independent of the substrate on which the fluid was deposited, showing the novelty of this study. Therefore, the forensic expert can detect biological fluids at the crime scene using an ALS even several days after a crime has occurred.54427-3

Trends in the valuation of injury involving the face: an analysis on trial in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

ABSTRACT Introduction Facial injuries may change, considerably, people’s quality of life. To measure the damage, the assessment of the bodily harm is required. Objective To analyze jurisprudential characteristics involving the valuation of the damage related to facial trauma, highlighting trends Methods It was analyzed secondary data, which are public domain, of the precedents of the Court of Justice of Rio Grande do Sul State from 2008 to 2016. The sample consisted of 43 lawsuits in cases related to traffic accidents, falls or physicalaggression that affected the face. Results It was found that 86% of authors and defendants of the lawsuits analyzed are male. In 62.7% of cases physical aggression was the form of trauma that caused more injuries and the most common damage was dental fractures with 53.49%. The monetary restitution for moral damages ranged from R$1,500.00 to R$20,340.00, and for aesthetic damage ranged from R$2,000.00 to R$20,000.00. Conclusion The analyzed jurisprudence involving facial trauma allows us to verifythe trend of need and value of the dentist expert to quantify damage involving the maxillofacial complex

Administrative and clinical denials by a large dental insurance provider

The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and the type of claim denials (administrative, clinical or both) made by a large dental insurance plan. This was a cross-sectional, observational study, which retrospectively collected data from the claims and denial reports of a dental insurance company. The sample consisted of the payment claims submitted by network dentists, based on their procedure reports, reviewed in the third trimester of 2012. The denials were classified and grouped into &#8216;administrative&#8217;, &#8216;clinical&#8217; or &#8216;both&#8217;. The data were tabulated and submitted to uni- and bivariate analyses. The confidence intervals were 95% and the level of significance was set at 5%. The overall frequency of denials was 8.2% of the total number of procedures performed. The frequency of administrative denials was 72.88%, whereas that of technical denials was 25.95% and that of both, 1.17% (p < 0.05). It was concluded that the overall prevalence of denials in the studied sample was low. Administrative denials were the most prevalent. This type of denial could be reduced if all dental insurance providers had unified clinical and administrative protocols, and if dentists submitted all of the required documentation in accordance with these protocols