Measurement of eyeball protrusion and its application in facial reconstruction

The estimation of eyeball protrusion from the bony orbit has traditionally relied upon Wolff's theory (1976) that the cornea will be tangental to a line taken from the superior to the inferior orbital margin. This study tested this theory by taking measurements from MRI cranial images of 78 eyes of white adult subjects. Orbital depth had a significant negative linear correlation with eyeball protrusion, and protrusion of the eyeball was determined by the following standard: eyeball protrusion = 18.3 - (0.4 x orbit depth). Current eyeball position determination was shown to be as much as 3.9 mm too deep in the socket, and a practical application of this result to facial reconstruction is discussed.     

Estimating height and weight from size of footprints

In the mid 1800s, Topinard proposed a simple formula for estimating a person's height: maximum foot length divided by 0.15 reveals the stature of most individuals. In addition to corroborating Topinard's findings, the author has developed formulas to serve as predictive models for estimating both height and weight when only a subject's footprint dimensions are known. The formulas are presented with a discussion of the data from which they are derived.     

Analysis of jumping/falling distance from a height

The kinematic motion analysis of 50 jumps from a height of 5m demonstrated distinguishable maxima of jumping distances between passive and active jumps (1.0-3.4 and 3.7-7.1 m, respectively). The variation of several parameters concerning the 'take-off' mechanism showed less influence regarding the jumping distances. The congruence of the trajectory of the 'free-flight' domains of the jumps and the simple model for the parabola of an inclined throw has been proven. Thus, a prediction of the distance range for heights up to 20 m was extrapolated.     

放射影像学方法测量活体女性颈椎推算身高

目的测量颈椎高度建立四川汉族女性人群的身高推算方程，为法医学个人识别提供帮助。方法应用计算机X线摄影放射学方法，在209例四川汉族女性颈椎CR片上测量C3～C7椎体高度，并准确测量身高。按年龄是否大于45岁进行分组，对各颈椎的测量数据与身高进行线性回归分析，建立颈椎推算身高的回归方程。结果共建立一元回归方程36个，多元回归方程12个，所有回归方程经线性回归模型假设检验，均有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。所建立的回归方程的复相关系数（r）在0．628～0．280范围内，回归方程的标准误在4．03～5．03cm范围内。结论本研究所建立的回归方程，可用于四川汉族女性颈椎的身高推算。     

利用足迹特征分析身高时应注意的问题

利用足迹进行遗留足迹人的身高分析是一项经常使用的足迹检验技术,本文针对不同的身高分析方法,探讨在这些方法的使用过程中应注意的一些问题,以期提高利用足迹进行身高分析的准确率,充分发挥这一检验技术在侦查工作中的作用。     

Determining body height by the femur and femoral fragments

Using a forensic series of human specimens, the reliability of frequently-cited formulas applied to estimate body height on the basis of the femur was examined with regard to their accuracy. Very few proved reliable enough to render accurate results. In most cases, less than half of the actual body heights were found to have predicted within the single estimation interval. The method to be used for such estimations must therefore be selected with great care. Even with partial femur measures, it is possible to estimate reliably body height. In particular, the circumference of the diaphysis centre correlates well with body height. The regression equations calculated in the present study, however, reveal greater errors in estimates than the formulas worked out using the total femur length.     

青少年骨龄标准身高、体重和体重指数生长图表

目的制订青少年骨龄标准身高、体重和体重指数生长图表,为年龄推测时评价青少年基本发育状况提供参考。方法研究样本为2005年中国5城市抽取的3-19岁汉族正常青少年和儿童16570名（男8282,女8288）。应用RUS-CHN法评价受试者手腕部骨龄,由Box-Cox幂指数分布（Box-Cox power exponential distribution,BCPE）模型估价以骨龄分组的身高、体重和体重指数（Body mass index,BMI）百分位数。结果根据最小Akaike信息准测（Akaike Information Criterion,AIC）和广义AIC（Generalized AIC）选择了身高、体重和BMI BCPE模型μ,σ,ν,τ参数的自由度,依据BCPE模型所估价的百分位数曲线下样本例数的百分数与理论期望值相差在0.01%-1.21%之间。结论所选择的BCPE模型符合青少年儿童样本以骨龄分组的身高、体重和BMI数据的实际分布,所提出的生长图表可用于年龄推测中青少年基本生长发育状况的评价。     

Obtaining confidence intervals and Likelihood Ratios for body height estimations in images

In forensic practice, height estimations on perpetrators visible in video footage from surveillance cameras are regularly requested. There are several ways to do this. Insight is gained into the difference between actual and measured heights by taking validation measurements of a number of test persons. Variation between actual and measured heights is decomposed into a systematic part (because of height loss by pose, 3D modeling of the scene of crime, operator biases) and a random part (due to natural variation). On this basis a method is described for obtaining confidence intervals for the height, including head- and footwear, of questioned persons in images. Since the number of test persons is usually limited, the result is in terms of the Student's t distribution. In addition, for cases in which a suspect is available, an expression is obtained for the Likelihood Ratio (LR), measuring the strength of evidence of resemblance of actual height of the suspect and measured height of the perpetrator. The Likelihood Ratio depends both on the rarity of the estimated perpetrator's height and its closeness to the suspect's height. Technical theorems included may be relevant for other forensic areas as well.     

Suicides by fall from height in Geneva,Switzerland, from 1991 to 2000

Suicides due to fall from height in Geneva from 1991 to 2000 were reviewed. Scene investigations, autopsy findings, psychiatric histories, and toxicology results were examined. There were 197 of these suicides, an incidence of five cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year or one fourth of all suicides in Geneva per year. Autopsies were performed on 33%, the rest had external examinations. Of the victims, 56% were female and 44% were male. The age distribution peaked at 20-29 years in men and 60-69 years in women. Most of the victims jumped from their home, the range of 2 to 7 stories being the most frequent height. Major injury sites, in decreasing frequency, were the thorax, abdomen, skull, vertebrae, pelvis and limbs. Psychiatric illness was reported in 38% of the cases. Toxicological analysis was performed in 25% of the cases and showed that the main drugs present were benzodiazepines, cannabis and antidepressant.     

数字X线摄影测量活体脊柱胸段推算身高

目的建立人脊柱胸段长度推算身高的方法。方法应用数字X线摄影技术（DR）摄制514例中国四川汉族人群的胸部DR片，测其脊柱胸段长度，同时准确测量被研究者身高，对测量获得的脊柱胸段长度与身高数据分组进行线性回归分析，建立胸段长度推算身高的回归方程。结果建立了混合组、男性组、女性组、20—45岁男性组、大于45岁男性组、20～45岁女性组和大于45岁女性组7个回归方程，经显著性检验，均有统计学意义（P〈0．01），复相关系数（R）范围0．834～0．624，回归系数（b）范围0．259～0．389，回归方程估计值的标准误在3．88～4．72cm范围内。结论利用人类脊柱胸段长度推算身高的方法在法医学个人识别中具有重要价值。     

Estimating age in Maori, Pacific Island, and European children from New Zealand

The islands of New Zealand are populated by persons of European, Maori, and Pacific Island extraction. The purpose of this research is to quantify the levels of dental maturation of each of these three populations, in order to obtain data that will be useful in forensic identification and age estimation. The sample consisted of 1383 orthopantomographs (660 males, 723 females) of 477 Maori, 762 European, and 144 Pacific Island children between the ages of 3 and 14 years. Each radiograph was digitized and the stages of mineralization of the seven left mandibular permanent teeth were assessed using the eight stages described by Demirjian. Values for 1, 3, 5, 50, 95, 97, and 99% confidence intervals are listed for each maturity score. Intra-observer reliability was evaluated using Bland-Altman's method on data from re-scoring one out of every 20 radiographs and standard dental maturation curves were constructed for the three populations by means of a quantile regression method. Despite the fact that quantile regression analysis showed that across the age group investigated there were differences between boys and girls, knowledge of the sex does not increase the accuracy of the age estimate, simply because the magnitude of the error of age estimation is greater than the difference between the sexes. Our analysis also shows that population divergence is most marked after the age of 9 years, with a peak difference seen at age 10.     

Fatal descent from height in New York City

All deaths due to descent from height that underwent autopsy at the Manhattan Office of Chief Medical Examiner of New York City over a two year period (1997-1999) were reviewed. The scene and autopsy findings, psychiatric history, and toxicology results were examined. There were 120 deaths: 77 suicides, 36 accidents, 5 undetermined, and 2 homicides. Psychiatric illness was reported in 86% of suicides. The toxicological detection of psychiatric medications supports the high percentage of psychiatric disease in the suicide group. In the accidental group, the detection of ethanol and illicit drugs was higher (36%) than expected from the case investigation and similar to the suicide group (29%). Accidental falls by women made up fewer than 3% of all manners. Due to the variation in the extent of injuries, it is unwise to attempt to conclude how high a person descended based on the autopsy findings. Descents into water commonly have minimal findings on external examination with marked internal injuries. The methods of investigation and criteria for death certification using the study results are discussed.     

The placement of the human eyeball and canthi in craniofacial identification

An accurate understanding of the spatial relationships between the deep and superficial structures of the head is essential for anthropological methods concerned with the comparison of faces to skulls (superimposition) or the prediction of faces from them (facial approximation). However, differences of opinion exist concerning: (i) the position of the eyeball in planes other than the anteroposterior plane and (ii) the canthi positions relative to the bony orbital margins. This study attempts to clarify the above relationships by dissection of a small sample of adult human cadavers (N = 4, mean age = 83 years, s = 12 years). The most notable finding was that the eyeballs were not centrally positioned within the orbits as the more recent craniofacial identification literature expounds. Rather, the eyeballs were consistently positioned closer to the orbital roof and lateral orbital wall (by 1-2 mm on average); a finding consistent with the earlier anatomical literature. While these estimation errors are small ipsilaterally, several factors make them meaningful: (i) the orbital region is heavily used for facial recognition; (ii) the width error is doubled because the eyes are bilateral structures; (iii) the eyes are sometimes used to predict/assess other soft tissue facial structures; and (iv) the net error in facial approximation rapidly accumulates with the subsequent prediction of each independent facial feature. While the small sample size of this study limits conclusive generalizations, the new data presented here nonetheless have immediate application to craniofacial identification practice because the results are evidence based. In contrast, metric data have never been published to support the use of the central positioning guideline. Clearly, this study warrants further quantification of the eyeball position in larger samples and preferably of younger individuals.     

Sequential angulation,spatial dispersion and consistency of distance attack patterns from home in serial murder,rape and burglary

Abstract

Three related measures of spatial movement (sequential angulation, spatial dispersion and consistency of distance in attack target) were compared across three serial offence types: serial homicide (n=35), serial rape (n=41) and serial burglary (n=30). In each case, each offender had committed at least five offences. “Spatial dispersion”, defined as the extent to which an offender distributes his offences across either a focused or relatively more evenly distributed area, revealed that burglary was less evenly distributed (i.e. more focused) than rape and murder. “Sequential angulation”, defined as the degree of rotational movement around the home of the offender from one offence to the next, revealed that serial murderers have higher angulation scores than do rapists who, in turn, have higher angulation scores than burglars. Lastly, a comparison of the offender's consistency in the relative distance travelled from home to each attack site (“consistency of distance in attack target”) was relatively similar across the three groups. This was despite the comparison of different serial offence types from disparate geographical areas. The supposition that differences in dispersion and sequential angulation scores across crime types are related to the perceived risk of the crime has been confirmed. The specificity and the mobility of the targets are also discussed.     

胶东半岛地区成年男性颅骨、肩胛骨、髋骨与身高的关系

目的研究胶东半岛地区成年男性的颅骨、肩胛骨、髋骨与身高的关系,评价其在法医学应用中的价值。方法收集近年在胶东半岛地区的95具成年男性完整骸骨,测量个样本颅围、肩胛骨、髋骨相关测量指标。对测量所得数据进行统计学回归分析,并进行显著性检验。结果所有指标的相关系数在0.297-0.626之间;相关系数为0.297时,P〈0.01,其余均为P〈0.001;对各指标数值分别进行回归分析,得出7个回归方程;其中颅围的标准误差最大（4.62）,髋骨误差最小（3.97-4.02）;髋骨和肩胛骨的左侧分别比其相应右侧和左右侧平均值标准误差更小,尤以髋骨左侧的标准估计误差为甚（3.97）。回归系数的t值在3.479-6.547之间,t值为3.479时,P〈0.01,其余均为P〈0.001。结论本文建立头颅或肩胛骨或髋骨相关测量指标回归方程具有一定的实用价值,可在实际办案中选用。     

中国汉族男性肩胛骨测量值与身长的关系

目的　探讨中国汉族男性肩胛骨测量值与身长的关系。方法　测量了 2 0 7例已知身长的中国汉族男性肩胛骨的 14项指标 ,用测得的数据输入计算机 ,分 3个年龄段 ,运用多元线性回归分析法 ,求出肩胛骨测量值推算身长的方程式。结果　建立了用男性肩胛骨推算身长的 9个方程式 ,其复相关系数在 0 65 99至 0 5 192之间 ,标准差在 5 13 45至 6 3 93 1之间。结论　中国汉族男性肩胛骨测量值与身长呈现一定的相关关系。