Age estimation using the radiographic visibility of the periodontal ligament in lower third molars in a Portuguese population

Objectives: The mineralization of third molars has been used repeatedly as a method of forensic age estimation. However, this procedure is of little use beyond age 18, especially to determinate if an individual is older than 21 years of age; thus, the development of new approaches is essential. The visibility of the periodontal ligament has been suggested for this purpose. The aim of this work was to determine the usefulness of this methodology in a Portuguese population. Study Design: Periodontal ligament visibility was assessed in the lower third molars, using a sample of 487 orthopantomograms, 228 of which belonging to females and 259 to males, from a Portuguese population aged 17 to 31 years. A classification of four stages based on the visual phenomenon of disappearance of the periodontal ligament of fully mineralized third molars was used. For each stage, median, variance, minimal and maximal age were assessed. Results: The relationship between age and stage of periodontal ligament had a statistical significance for both sexes. In this population, stage 3 can be used to state that a male person is over 21 years-old; for females, another marker should be used. Conclusions: This technique can be useful for determining age over 21, particularly in males. Differences between studies are evident, suggesting that specific population standards should be used when applying this technique

Trajetórias da Educomunicação nas Políticas Públicas e a Formação de seus Profissionais

Esta obra é composta com os trabalhos apresentados no primeiro subtema, TRAJETÓRIA – Educação para a Comunicação como Política pública, nas perspectivas da Educomunicação e da Mídia-Educação, do II Congresso Internacional de Comunicação e Educação. Os artigos pretendem propiciar trocas de informações e produzir reflexões com os leitores sobre os caminhos percorridos, e ainda a percorrer, tendo como meta a expansão e a legitimação das práticas educomunicativas e/ou mídia-educativas como política pública para o atendimento à formação de crianças, adolescentes, jovens e adultos, no Brasil e no mundo

EXCELÊNCIA ACADÉMICA FUNDAMENTOS PARA UMA ABORDAGEM MULTIDIMENSIONAL

Historically the study of excellence has focused on the constructs of intelligence, talent, creativity, giftedness and motivation. A careful review of the state of the art in this field identifies a variety of theoretical models that focus within and between components that can define or substantiate performance at a high level. In this paper we propose to go beyond the perspectives about the concept of excellence based in only one model or perspective. We suggest that excellent performance results from a complex interaction of factors within and between individuals and their analysis should take into account the existence of paths and trails, learning and achievement. So after a discussion based on some of the theoretical models of reference for academic excellence, we propose a conceptual option to a multidimensional concept and directed to understanding the excellent individual.Historicamente o estudo da excelência tem-se focado nos constructos da inteligência, talento, criatividade, sobredotação e motivação. Uma revisão atenta do estado da arte neste domínio identifica uma diversidade de modelos teóricos que focalizam componentes inter e intrapsicológicos distintos que podem definir ou fundamentar o desempenho a alto nível. Neste trabalho defendemos que não se deverá fazer depender o conceito de excelência de apenas um modelo ou perspetiva. Pelo contrário, o desempenho excelente decorre de uma complexa interação de fatores intra e inter-individuais e a sua análise deve tomar em consideração as trajetórias e percursos de existência, aprendizagem e realização. Assim depois de uma discussão baseada em alguns dos modelos teóricos de referência para definir excelência académica, sustentamos uma opção conceptual ao conceito muldimensional e direcionada para a compreensão do indivíduo excelente

The Portuguese Association of Forensic Sciences Model for Forensic Expert Certification: An Urgent Need and Regulation Proposal

A certification for Forensic Specialists is urgently needed. Indeed, with the “CSI Effect”, assorted education in this field flourished in many countries, resulting in discrepancies in experts’ skills and quality that may compromise judicial decisions. Our technical proposal aims to pragmatically establish a Regulation of the Professional Practice of Forensic Specialists (RPPFS) by defining the general requirements for its recognition, which must include appropriate experience/training/pedagogical processes for each of the five certification levels. This regulation has been approved by the Portuguese Association of Forensic Sciences and is advocated and recommended to reduce divergence among experts’ skills. This general regulation can be easily applied to major forensic specialties such as clinical forensic and basic medicine and those working within the framework and intersections of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, among others. Further guidelines for certification must be produced for each forensic area

Orofacial Injuries in Children and Adolescents (2009-2013): A 5-Year Study In Porto, Portugal

The aim of this study was to verify the prevalence of acts of aggression to the head, face and neck towards victims of Physical Violence against Children and Adolescents (PVCA) who were examined at the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences Delegation North (INMLCF-DN) in Porto, Portugal. A study was carried out on 2,148 complaints of physical aggression against children and adolescents (0 to less than 18 years old) occurred between 2009 and 2013 and which were retrieved from information about violence held on INMLCF-DN data files. Continuous variables were described and the association between them was verified by Chi-square or Fischer's Exact tests with 5% significance level. Within the 5-year timespan, 1,380 cases were identified with clinical relation with physical aggression. Most subjects evaluated were male adolescents and the most affected body region was the face, to which 747 injuries (24.7%) were recorded, with statistically significant association between sex and region (head and face). Victims in 15-17-year-old age group are more susceptible to violence than those in the 0-14-year-old age range. Dentists routinely examine the face, neck and skull, which make them the most appropriate health professionals to identify cases of aggression early.O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a prevalência de atos de agressão à cabeça, face e pescoço em relação às vítimas de Violência Física contra Crianças e Adolescentes (PVCA) que foram examinadas no Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Delegação de Ciências Forenses Norte (INMLCF -DN) no Porto, Portugal. Um estudo foi realizado em 2.148 queixas de agressão física contra crianças e adolescentes [0 a menores de 18 anos] ocorridas entre 2009 e 2013 e que foram recuperadas de informações sobre violência mantidas em arquivos de dados do INMLCF-DN. Variáveis contínuas foram descritas para verificar a suas correlações foram usados os testes do Chi-Quadrado e o Teste Exato de Fisher em um nível de significância de 5%. Nestes 5 anos, foram detectados 1.380 casos que apresentam nexo clínico com agressão física. As vítimas mais acometidas eram adolescentes do sexo masculino, a região do corpo mais atingida foi a face com 747 das lesões (24,7%) registradas. Há significância estatística no teste do qui-quadrado de Pearson na relação de gênero com a cabeça e o rosto. Dentistas rotineiramente examinam o crânio, rosto e pescoço que os torna os profissionais mais adequados para identificar casos de agressão precoce. Os adolescentes são mais suscetíveis à violência do que as crianças menores de 12 anos