Humanitarian action in academic institutions: a case study in the ethical stewardship of unidentified forensic cases.

Forensic anthropologists are often responsible for the management of long-term unidentified individuals. Others have contextualised these decedents-many of whom likely belonged to socially, politically, and/or economically marginalised groups in life-as part of a larger identification crisis in the US. However, there has been little discussion surrounding how this humanitarian crisis has manifested in academic institutions, where anthropologists often provide medicolegal consultation and act as long-term stewards of the unidentified. The Identification & Repatriation Initiative was created at the Forensic Anthropology Centre at Texas State University (FACTS) to recognise and investigate unidentified human remains in long-term storage. Our paper outlines common challenges that were encountered during our initial reassessment of unidentified cases at FACTS, emphasising the detrimental impacts of inconsistent procedures, loss of context, and case fatigue. It is likely that other academic institutions face similar challenges, and by highlighting these issues we hope to help initiate a larger conversation concerning ethical stewardship of human remains in these settings. By incorporating humanitarian perspectives into forensic casework, anthropologists in academia can better advocate for the long-term unidentified.Key pointsForensic anthropologists at academic institutions are qualified to act as consultants on forensic casework when requested by jurisdictional authorities and are often responsible for the long-term management of unidentified human remains.The long-term unidentified represent a vulnerable population and academic institutions are not exempt from calls for humanitarian approaches to identification.The Identification and Repatriation Initiative was created at the Forensic Anthropology Centre at Texas State University to acknowledge and investigate unidentified human remains in long-term storage.This paper considers possible ways for humanitarian action to be incorporated into academic settings and suggests anthropologists can better advocate for the unidentified through procedural standardisation, institutional and interagency collaboration and ethical stewardship.

Estimating postmortem interval for human cadavers in a sub-tropical climate using UV-Vis-near-infrared Spectroscopy.

Estimating postmortem interval (PMI) of surface found skeletal remains is challenging. This novel study used UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy to scan soil collected from cadaver decomposition islands (CDIs) ranging from 15- to 963-d postmortem and control soils. A decomposition product spectra model (DPS model) was constructed by deducting the control soil spectra from the CDI soil spectra for the estimation of postmortem indices: PMI (d), ADD4 , ADD10 , and ADD20 . The DPS model (n = 55) was calibrated and subjected to a full cross-validation. Calibration R2 and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 and from 6.1 to 9.9, respectively, for the four postmortem interval indices. Validation R2 and RPD for the DPS model ranged from 0.73 to 0.80 and from 1.9 to 2.2, respectively. The DPS model estimated postmortem intervals for three test CDIs in a clay soil under perennial grassland (test set 1; n = 3) and six CDIs in a sandy soil under a loblolly pine forest (test set 2; n = 6). Test set 1 had PMI prediction ranges from -69 to -117 days, -796 to +832 ADD4 , +552 to +2672 ADD10 , and -478 to -20 ADD20 of observed PMI. Test set 2 PMI prediction ranged from -198 to -65 days, -9923 to +2629 ADD4 , -6724 to +1321 ADD10 , and -2850 to +540 ADD20 of observed PMI. Test set 2 had poor predictions for two CDIs, for all measures of postmortem indices resulting in discussion of sampling depth, effect of body mass index (BMI), and scavenging.

Understanding the Relationship between Genetic Markers and Skeletal Remains: Implications for Forensic Anthropology and Phenotype-Genotype Studies.

Human identification techniques have been a leading tool to hold perpetrators accountable, give families closure, and approximate faces on skulls. This project is a pilot study to critically examine three disciplines that fall under the human identification umbrella: forensic anthropology, forensic genetics, and forensic art. Current facial research in genetics focuses on data from living individuals, identifying specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence specific regions of the face. This study assesses the translation of these regions to craniometric dimensions (interlandmark distances) of the underlying skull itself. The goal of this project is to provide information regarding the correlation of craniometric measurements and SNPs, as well as to encourage interdisciplinary work within the forensic sciences. We examined a selection of candidate SNPs currently identified in the literature to examine correlations between interlandmark distances and these SNPs within the same individual. A series of 99 craniometric landmarks were collected from 17 documented skulls from the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection using a three-dimensional Microscribe digitizer. Criteria for inclusion in this study included European American ancestry, presence of intact skulls, and presence of associated donor blood cards collected at the time of body donation. Using these blood cards, DNA from each individual was extracted, amplified, and sequenced through next-generation sequencing for the chosen SNPs. Bioinformatics tests were then applied to observe the presence or absence of the major or minor alleles in specific locations on the genome. After determining the presence or absence of an SNP (minor allele), a set of statistical tests were performed, including Spearman's correlation between the craniometric measurements and the individual's genetic data variables; two-way hierarchical clustering and bootstrap forest modeling between variables that demonstrated significant correlation; a principal components analysis on the craniometric data (interlandmark measurements) and genetic data (SNP presence/absence) to check homogeneity of each data set; and a pairwise Procrustes analysis on the correlation of the two data sets as different groups. The results indicate correlations of varying degrees between the targeted craniofacial regions and the targeted SNPs. Eleven SNPs showed significant correlation (p < 0.05), but the correlations were not as expected and showed some interesting results. By group level there was no significant correlation, but there was correlation at the individual level. While some SNPs affected the soft tissues only, others showed correlations with the skull (hard tissue), a finding not previously reported. Combining craniometric and DNA analyses to leverage genotype-phenotype associations has great potential to expand the discourse of current facial approximation and thereby to provide new investigative tools for human identification in forensic anthropology.

Spatial patterning of vulture scavenged human remains.

This article presents the results of a pilot study on the effects of vulture modification to human remains. A donated body from the Willed Body Donation Program was placed at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF), an outdoor human decomposition laboratory located at Texas State University-San Marcos. The effects of vulture scavenging on the timing and sequence, and the rate of skeletonization, disarticulation, and dispersal were observed via a motion sensing camera and direct observation. Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and GPS (Global Positioning System) technologies and spatial analytical methods, the transport of skeletal elements was mapped in order to analyze dispersal and terrain-influenced patterns of active vulture scavenging. Results showed that the initial scavenging took place 37 days after placement at FARF. This delay in scavenging differs from previous research. After the initial appearance of the vultures, the body was reduced from a fully-fleshed individual to a skeleton within only 5h. This underscores the potential for errors in postmortem interval estimations made at vulture scavenged scenes. Additionally, spatial analysis showed that skeletal elements were dispersed by vultures to lower elevations, and that the disarticulation and dispersal of the skeletal elements occurs early in the scavenging sequence.

A novel protocol for streamlined IRB review of Practice-based Research Network (PBRN) card studies.

PURPOSE: The "card study," in which clinicians record brief information about patient visits during usual clinical care, has long been a rapid method for conducting descriptive studies in practice-based research networks. Because an increasingly stringent regulatory environment has made conducting card studies difficult, we developed a streamlined method for obtaining card study institutional review board (IRB) approval. METHODS: We developed a protocol for a study of the card study method, allowing new card study proposals of specific research questions to be submitted as addenda to the approved Card Study Protocol. RESULTS: Seven card studies were proposed and approved under the Card Study Protocol during the first year after implementation, contrasted with one-card study proposed in the previous year. New card study ideas submitted as addenda to an approved protocol appeared to increase IRB comfort with the card study as a minimal risk method while reducing the hurdles to developing new study ideas. CONCLUSIONS: A Card Study Protocol allowing new study questions to be submitted as addenda decreases time between idea generation and IRB approval. Shortened turn-around times may be useful for translating ideas into action while reducing regulatory burden.