Bone-mineral density (BMD) is a measure of the inorganic mineral content in bone, and is one of the more informative assessments of bone quality in both clinical studies and forensic investigations. Several factors, such as age, sex, disease, genetics, and lifestyle, affect BMD measurements, and normative standards must be applied for specific groups and individuals. One of the most common disorders associated with low BMD is osteoporosis and increased fracture risk, due to a decrease in bone strength and an increase in bone fragility. Medical conditions like diabetes or hyperthyroidism and other parameters like peak bone mass and postmenopausal estrogen deficiency also impact BMD. Single- and dual-energy photon absorptiometry, quantitative computet tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging are some of the technological modalities for BMD quantification, and each presents distinct advantages and limitations, depending on the purpose of the analysis, the specific characteristics of the individual, the bone site under examination, and the equipment and trained personnel available. Recently, BMD values were applied to forensic medicine in a variety of scenarios ranging from age and sex estimation to the assessment of malnutrition and the use of finite-element modelling. Despite technical and methodological inconsistencies reported in the literature on BMD readings, there is scope for expanding the use of this variable in forensic settings.

The estimation of ancestry is an essential benchmark for positive identification of heavily decomposed bodies that are recovered in a variety of death and crime scenes. This is especially true when reconstructing the biological profile of the deceased as most methods for sex, age and stature estimation are population-specific. Ancestry estimation methods vary from traditional morphological assessment of cranial features and biometric quantification to computer-aided shape analysis and classification with specialised software. The current paper aims to explore population differences between three neighbouring countries (Greece, Cyprus and Turkey) that have been in constant interaction through conflicts and population movements from the ancient past to the present day, through cranial measurements. The sample consists of 160 dry crania of Greek origin, 137 dry crania of Greek-Cypriot of origin Cyprus and 380 CT scans from Turks individuals. Twelve measurements were taken in both dry and virtual skulls. Data were submitted to principal component analysis and discriminant function analysis. Intra- and inter-observer error as well as the measurement error between virtual and physical measurements were quantified using TEM, rTEM and R. Measurement error was very low in all cases. Classification accuracy for cross-validated data ranged from 74.1 to 97.9%. The highest accuracy was obtained for the Turks sample both in males and females. The results are in accordance with genetic data on the three populations. These results create great confidence in the application of the produced functions in forensic cases requiring ancestry estimation in Cyprus, specifically to unidentified individuals from the 1974 conflict. In addition, these standards can be applied in other forensic situations where ethnicity is an issue but the geographic area of origin is limited to the area encompassing Turkey, Cyprus and Greece.

Sex estimation is an essential step in the identification process of unknown heavily decomposed human remains as it eliminates all possible matches of the opposite sex from the missing person's database. Osteometric methods constitute a reliable approach for sex estimation and considering the variation of sexual dimorphism between and within populations; standards for specific populations are required to ensure accurate results. The current study aspires to contribute osteometric data on the tibia from contemporary Greek-Cypriots to assist the identification process. A secondary goal involves osteometric comparison with data from Crete, a Greek island with similar cultural and dietary customs and environmental conditions. Left tibiae from one hundred and thirty-two skeletons (70 males and 62 females) of Greek-Cypriots and one hundred and fifty-seven skeletons (85 males, 72 females) of Cretans were measured. Seven standard metric variables including Maximum length (ML), Upper epiphyseal breadth (UB), Nutrient foramen anteroposterior diameter (NFap), Nutrient Foramen transverse diameter (NFtrsv), Nutrient foramen circumference (NFCirc), Minimum circumference (MinCirc) and Lower epiphyseal breadth (LB) were compared between sexes and populations. Univariate and multivariate discriminant functions were developed and posterior probabilities were calculated for each sample. Results confirmed the existence of sexual dimorphism of the tibia in both samples as well as the pooled sample. Classification accuracy for univariate functions ranged from 78% to 85% for Greek-Cypriots and from 69% to 83% for Cretans. The best multivariate equations after cross-validation resulted in 87% for Greek-Cypriots and 90% accuracy for Cretans. When the samples were pooled accuracy reached 87% with over 95% confidence for about one third of the population. Estimates with over 95% of posterior probability can be considered reliable while any less than 80% should be treated with caution. This work constitutes the initial step towards the creation of an osteometric database for Greek-Cypriots and we hope it can contribute to the biological profiling and identification of the missing and to potential forensic cases of unknown skeletal remains both in Cyprus and Crete.

Histology of dry bone tissue has many scientific applications. The histological analysis of bone requires the production of good quality thin sections. Many researchers have developed new histological techniques and/or they have refined existing ones. In this paper, we describe a revision of histological techniques for obtaining thin sections from modern dry bone. The method is easy to apply and the equipment required is commonly found in a histology laboratory. In comparison to other techniques presented in the literature, this adapted method reduces the number of consumables and steps, thereby improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the procedure.

The utilization of computed tomography is beneficial for the analysis of skeletal remains and it has important advantages for anthropometric studies. The present study investigated morphometry of left tibia using CT images of a contemporary Turkish population. Seven parameters were measured on 203 individuals (124 males and 79 females) within the 19-92-years age group. The first objective of this study was to provide population-specific sex estimation equations for the contemporary Turkish population based on CT images. A second objective was to test the sex estimation formulae on Southern Europeans by Kranioti and Apostol (2015). Univariate discriminant functions resulted in classification accuracy that ranged from 66 to 86%. The best single variable was found to be upper epiphyseal breadth (86%) followed by lower epiphyseal breadth (85%). Multivariate discriminant functions resulted in classification accuracy for cross-validated data ranged from 79 to 86%. Applying the multivariate sex estimation formulae on Southern Europeans (SE) by Kranioti and Apostol in our sample resulted in very high classification accuracy ranging from 81 to 88%. In addition, 35.5-47% of the total Turkish sample is correctly classified with over 95% posterior probability, which is actually higher than the one reported for the original sample (25-43%). We conclude that the tibia is a very useful bone for sex estimation in the contemporary Turkish population. Moreover, our test results support the hypothesis that the SE formulae are sufficient for the contemporary Turkish population and they can be used safely for criminal investigations when posterior probabilities are over 95%.

Most age estimation methods are proven problematic when applied in highly fragmented skeletal remains. Rib histomorphometry is advantageous in such cases; yet it is vital to test and revise existing techniques particularly when used in legal settings (Crowder and Rosella, 2007). This study tested Stout & Paine (1992) and Stout et al. (1994) histological age estimation methods on a Modern Greek sample using different sampling sites. Six left 4th ribs of known age and sex were selected from a modern skeletal collection. Each rib was cut into three equal segments. Two thin sections were acquired from each segment. A total of 36 thin sections were prepared and analysed. Four variables (cortical area, intact and fragmented osteon density and osteon population density) were calculated for each section and age was estimated according to Stout & Paine (1992) and Stout et al. (1994). The results showed that both methods produced a systemic underestimation of the individuals (to a maximum of 43 years) although a general improvement in accuracy levels was observed when applying the Stout et al. (1994) formula. There is an increase of error rates with increasing age with the oldest individual showing extreme differences between real age and estimated age. Comparison of the different sampling sites showed small differences between the estimated ages suggesting that any fragment of the rib could be used without introducing significant error. Yet, a larger sample should be used to confirm these results.