Dos nuevas especies de Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la Argentina

Se describen dos nuevas especies de Pogonomyrmex Mayr para la Argentina: P. mendozanus sp. nov. y P. kusnezovi sp. nov. Se presenta una lista actualizada de las especies de Pogonomyrmex de la Argentina junto con datos de distribución, comentarios sobre la biología de las especies nuevas y figuras. Se ofrece una clave revisada, basada en obreras, para todas las especies del género citadas para la Argentina.Two new species of Pogonomyrmex Mayr from Argentina, P. mendozanus sp. nov. and P. kusnezovi sp. nov., are described. An updated list of species of Pogonomyrmex from Argentina is provided, as well as distributional data, comments on the biology of new species, and figures. A revised key of the known species for Argentina based on workers is offered.Fil: Cuezzo, Fabiana del Carmen. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Claver, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentin

Palatal rugae patterns in Australian Aborigines and Caucasians

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.The purpose of this study was to determine whether rugae patterns change with age and to compare the number and pattern of rugae in Australian Aborigines with those of Caucasians. For the longitudinal part of the study, serial dental casts of ten Aborigines, from 6 to 20 years of age, were examined and rugae patterns were recorded. To enable comparisons to be made between different ethnic groups an additional 100 dental casts of Australian Aborigines and 200 casts of Caucasians, ranging in age from 13 to 17 years, were examined. Characteristics observed were number, length, shape, direction and unification of rugae. The length of rugae increased significantly with age but the total number of rugae remained constant. Thirty-two per cent of rugae showed changes in shape, while 28 per cent displayed a change in orientation. In contrast to studies suggesting that rugae move forward with age, the majority of Aboriginal rugae that changed direction moved posteriorly. Changes in rugae patterns have been assumed to result from pala al growth but alterations in pattern were observed in the Aboriginal sample even after palatal growth had ceased. The mean number of primary rugae in Aborigines was higher than in Caucasians, although more primary rugae in Caucasians exceeded 10 mm in length than in Aborigines. The most common shapes in both ethnic groups were wavy and curved forms, whereas straight and circular types were least common. There was a statistically significant association between rugae forms and ethnicity, straight forms being more common in Caucasians whereas wavy forms were more common in Aborigines.Sunita Kapali, Grant Townsend, Lindsay Richards, Tracey Paris

The medico-legal importance of establishing human identity by palatal rugoscopy: evaluation of the immutability and individuality of palatal rugae under the influence of ante mortem orthodontic treatment

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited."Introduction: The palatal rugae can be an alternative method of forensic identification. Through the years, several investigations focused on the effect of orthodontic treatment in the palatal rugae pattern. Objectives: Evaluate the concepts of immutability and individuality of the palatal rugae in a Portuguese adult population submitted to orthodontic treatment, for the purpose of medico-legal identification through Thomas and Kotze classification system. Additionally, we wanted to establish comparison of the palatal rugae of each subject, and between genders. Materials and Methods: Thirty three pairs of study dental casts, from thirty three patients submitted to orthodontic treatment in the Department of Orthodontics in College of Dentistry - University of Lisbon, were photographed and classified according to the classification system described by Thomas and Kotze. We proceeded to a statistical analysis running SPSS for Windows, version 20.0, using descriptive analysis and tests, with an inclusion level p <0.05. The tests applied were normality tests and T Student for paired samples. Results: The number and length of primary rugae remain identical when comparing the situation before and after orthodontic treatment. The number of secondary rugae decreases after orthodontic treatment. The variation of the angle of divergence was not statistically significant. The area of primary rugae presented statistically significant reduction after orthodontic treatment. There has no statistically significant differences between genders for total number number of rugae or average length of primary rugae (p <0.05). Discussion and Conclusion: The palatal rugae pattern does not remain stable after orthodontic treatment, and this refutes the supposed long term stability of the palatal rugae pattern. Therefore, it influences the ability to establish a positive medico-legal identification of a recent copse, if the person was submitted to ante mortem orthodontic treatment. The identification might still be possible if we possess a last ante mortem palatal record in these situations, to allow identification based on positive individual characteristics, through comparison with the post-mortem record. Considering gender, no statistically significant differences were found. This subject remains controversial and deserves further research.

A taxonomic revision of Camptocerus Dejean (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

The Neotropical ambrosia beetle genus Camptocerus Dejean was revised. Monophyly of the genus was tested using 66 morphological characters in a cladistic analysis. Camptocerus was recovered as monophyletic and 31 species were recognized. Six new synonyms were discovered: C. auricomus Blandford 1896 (= C. striatulus Hagedorn 1905), C. inoblitus (Schedl) 1939 (= C. morio (Schedl) 1952), C. niger (Fabricius) 1801 (= C. tectus Eggers 1943), C. opacicollis (Eggers) 1929 (= C. infidelis Wood 1969; = C. uniseriatus Schedl 1972), C. suturalis (Fabricius) 1801 (= C. cinctus Chapuis 1869). Two species were removed from synonymy: C. charpentierae Schedl and C. hirtipennis Schedl. Twelve new species of Camptocerus were described: C. coccoformus (Brazil, Ecuador), C. distinctus (Ecuador), C. doleae (Ecuador), C. igniculus (Brazil), C. mallopterus (Ecuador), C. noel (widely distributed across Amazonia), C. petrovi (Ecuador), C. pilifrons (Ecuador), C. pseudoangustior (widely distributed across Amazonia), C. satyrus (Brazil), C. unicornus (Brazil) and C. zucca (Ecuador). Lectotypes are here designated for the following species: Camptocerus auricomus Blandford, Camptocerus squammiger Chapuis, Hylesinus gibbus Fabricius, Hylesinus suturalis Fabricius, Hylesinus fasciatus Fabricius. A key, diagnosis, distribution, host records and images were provided for each species

Forensic dentistry in human identification: A review of the literature

An update is provided of the literature on the role of odontology in human identification, based on a PubMed-Medline search of the last 5 years and using the terms: 'forensic dentistry' (n = 464 articles), 'forensic odontology' (n = 141 articles) and 'forensic dentistry identification' (n = 169 articles). Apart from these initial 774 articles, others considered to be important and which were generated by a manual search and cited as references in review articles were also included. Forensic dentistry requires interdisciplinary knowledge, since the data obtained from the oral cavity can contribute to identify an individual or provide information needed in a legal process. Furthermore, the data obtained from the oral cavity can narrow the search range of an individual and play a key role in the victim identification process following mass disasters or catastrophes. This literature search covering the last 5 years describes the novelties referred to buccodental studies in comparative identification, buccodental evaluation in reconstructive identification, human bites as a method for identifying the aggressor, and the role of DNA in dental identification. The oral cavity is a rich and noninvasive source of DNA, and can be used to solve problems of a social, economic or legal nature

Oral Examination

The oral cavity is the first component of the digestive tract, which is delimited by the lips anteriorly and the oropharynx posteriorly. The oral cavity functions as a protective barrier and is an essential component for speech and swallowing, mastication, digestion, and taste sensation. The oral examination comprises a uniform and consistent inspection of the head and neck and an intraoral evaluation of the hard and soft tissues (see the images below) in conjunction with a thorough medical and dental history. The entire mouth should be inspected regardless of the patient’s chief complaint and reasons for the visit. [1, 2] Good patient’s history and careful examination are important to establish the correct diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment. The physical examination begins with an extraoral examination to identify possible lesions (such as rash, erythema, and pigmentation), swelling or facial asymmetry. The head and neck should be palpated to identify any tenderness, masses and lymphadenopathy. All muscles of mastication and temporomandibular joint should be palpated for tenderness; patients should be asked to open and close the mouth multiple times to evaluate any limited opening, deviations or asymmetries. The cranial nerve examination should be performed to assess possible neurosensory and neuromuscular deficits. A good light source is fundamental for a good intraoral examination. Any intraoral lesion should be described with respect to size, extent, thickness, color, texture, consistency, and tenderness

Palatal Rugae Pattern Identification to Determine Family Lineage in Minangkabau, West Sumatera, Indonesia

This paper discusses the use of palatal rugae patterns and their contribution in the identification of individuals and the determination of family lineage in West Sumatera, Indonesia. Identifying an individual is a prerequisite for the issuance of the death certificate and for personal, social and legal reasons. The most common techniques used in this context are dental records, fingerprint and DNA comparisons. However, under certain circumstances, these cannot always be used. But interestingly palatal rugae patterns are preserved and can be used as alternatives. This paper argues that the study of palatal rugae (rugoscopy) can help reveal a person’s identity and determine family lineage