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Pietrobelli A, Sorrentino R, Durante S, Marchi D, Benazzi S, Belcastro MG. Sexual Dimorphism in the Fibular Extremities of Italians and South Africans of Identified Modern Human Skeletal Collections: A Geometric Morphometric Approach. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:1079. [PMID: 36101455 PMCID: PMC9312998 DOI: 10.3390/biology11071079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Fibular metric variations have revealed their potential in distinguishing between males and females; however the fibula remains scarcely analyzed in studies of sexual dimorphism. This work aims at investigating sexually dimorphic features in fibular proximal and distal epiphyses through geometric morphometrics methods. A total of 136 left fibulae, from two Italian and one South African identified skeletal collections were virtually acquired through CT and laser scanning and analyzed using geometric morphometric methods. Statistical analyses were performed on shape, form, and size variables. Results show that fibular epiphyses are smaller with narrower articular surfaces in females than in males in both extremities. Relevant sexual differences emerge in fibular form and size for the two Italian samples but not for the South African one, likely for its small sample size. Discriminant analysis on form principal components (PCs) offers accuracy above 80% when the samples are pooled, and reaches accuracy of 80-93% when the Italian samples are considered separately. However, our method on form PCs was not successful for the South African sample (50-53% accuracy), possibly due to the small sample size. These results show relevant morphological variation in relation to fibular form and size, with a degree of accuracy that indicates the utility of the present method for sexing human fibulae in both forensic and bioarchaeological contexts for Italian samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalisa Pietrobelli
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (R.S.); (M.G.B.)
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (R.S.); (M.G.B.)
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy;
| | - Stefano Durante
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, 40138 Bologna, Italy;
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy;
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa, 56011 Calci, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, 48121 Ravenna, Italy;
| | - Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (R.S.); (M.G.B.)
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Bruce OL, Baggaley M, Welte L, Rainbow MJ, Edwards WB. A statistical shape model of the tibia-fibula complex: sexual dimorphism and effects of age on reconstruction accuracy from anatomical landmarks. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2021; 25:875-886. [PMID: 34730046 DOI: 10.1080/10255842.2021.1985111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
A statistical shape model was created for a young adult population and used to predict tibia and fibula geometries from bony landmarks. Reconstruction errors with respect to CT data were quantified and compared to isometric scaling. Shape differences existed between sexes. The statistical shape model estimated tibia-fibula geometries from landmarks with high accuracy (RMSE = 1.51-1.62 mm), improving upon isometric scaling (RMSE = 1.78 mm). Reconstruction errors increased when the model was applied to older adults (RMSE = 2.11-2.17 mm). Improvements in geometric accuracy with shape model reconstruction changed hamstring moment arms 25-35% (1.0-1.3 mm) in young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia L Bruce
- Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Michael Baggaley
- Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Lauren Welte
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael J Rainbow
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - W Brent Edwards
- Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,Biomedical Engineering Graduate Program, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.,McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Sorrentino R, Belcastro MG, Figus C, Stephens NB, Turley K, Harcourt-Smith W, Ryan TM, Benazzi S. Exploring sexual dimorphism of the modern human talus through geometric morphometric methods. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229255. [PMID: 32059040 PMCID: PMC7021319 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Sex determination is a pivotal step in forensic and bioarchaeological fields. Generally, scholars focus on metric or qualitative morphological features, but in the last few years several contributions have applied geometric-morphometric (GM) techniques to overcome limitations of traditional approaches. In this study, we explore sexual dimorphism in modern human tali from three early 20th century populations (Sassari and Bologna, Italy; New York, USA) at intra- and interspecific population levels using geometric morphometric (GM) methods. Statistical analyses were performed using shape, form, and size variables. Our results do not show significant differences in shape between males and females, either considering the pooled sample or the individual populations. Differences in talar morphology due to sexual dimorphism are mainly related to allometry, i.e. size-related changes of morphological traits. Discriminant function analysis using form space Principal Components and centroid size correctly classify between 87.7% and 97.2% of the individuals. The result is similar using the pooled sample or the individual population, except for a diminished outcome for the New York group (from 73.9% to 78.2%). Finally, a talus from the Bologna sample (not included in the previous analysis) with known sex was selected to run a virtual resection, followed by two digital reconstructions based on the mean shape of both the pooled sample and the Bologna sample, respectively. The reconstructed talus was correctly classified with a Ppost between 99.9% and 100%, demonstrating that GM is a valuable tool to cope with fragmentary tali, which is a common occurrence in forensic and bioarchaeological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- ADES, UMR 7268 CNRS/Aix-Marseille Université/EFS, Aix-Marseille Université, Bd Pierre Dramard, France
| | - Carla Figus
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Nicholas B. Stephens
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States of America
| | - Kevin Turley
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America
| | - William Harcourt-Smith
- Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, United States of America
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, New York, NY, United States of America
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Timothy M. Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, United States of America
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Hora M, Sládek V. Population specificity of sex estimation from vertebrae. Forensic Sci Int 2018; 291:279.e1-279.e12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2018.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Ubelaker DH, DeGaglia CM. Population variation in skeletal sexual dimorphism. Forensic Sci Int 2017; 278:407.e1-407.e7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 06/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Brzobohatá H, Krajíček V, Horák Z, Sedlak P, Velemínská J. Diachronic changes in size and shape of human proximal tibia in Central Europe during the latest 1200 years. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2016; 67:433-446. [PMID: 27890319 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2016.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
During the past twelve centuries, the stature of Central European inhabitants has increased significantly with corresponding changes in the size of lower limb bones. The aim of our study was to determine whether these changes have occurred strictly in relation to size or if the shape of skeletal structures has been altered simultaneously. Diachronic size and shape changes in the proximal part of tibia in a Central European population (Czech Republic) were studied using geometric morphometrics (principal components analysis, Hotelling's test, linear discriminant analysis). The study sample consisted of 183 three-dimensional (3D) models of adult tibiae dating to the early Middle Ages (N=65), early 20th century (N=60), and from a modern Czech population (N=57). A positive secular trend in size manifested only between the two modern Czech populations (the 20th century vs. the 21st century), a time range shorter than one century. By contrast, landmark-based shape analyses revealed significant differences in tibial morphology over the three periods covered in the study. In particular, progressive changes were observed in the position of tibial tuberosity (shifted medially), the inclination of the line connecting tuberosity with anterior edge of the tibial plateau (sloped down), the reshaping of the lower back condyle boundary (shifted posteriorly), and reshaping of the medial contour of the medial condyle (shifted anteriorly). Changes in the shape of the proximal tibial extremity across the chronologically distinct groups indicated the existence of discreet but convincing microevolutionary trends involving this anatomical structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Brzobohatá
- Department of Prehistorical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, Letenská 4, 118 01 Prague, Czechia.
| | - V Krajíček
- Department of Software and Computer Science Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Malostranské náměstí 25, 118 01 Prague, Czechia
| | - Z Horák
- Department of Technical Studies, College of Polytechnics, Tolstého 16, 586 01 Jihlava, Czechia
| | - P Sedlak
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czechia
| | - J Velemínská
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague, Czechia
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Brzobohatá H, Krajíček V, Horák Z, Velemínská J. Sexual Dimorphism of the Human Tibia through Time: Insights into Shape Variation Using a Surface-Based Approach. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0166461. [PMID: 27846265 PMCID: PMC5112946 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In this paper we present a three-dimensional (3D) morphometrical assessment of human tibia sexual dimorphism based on whole bone digital representation. To detect shape-size and shape differences between sexes, we used geometric morphometric tools and colour-coded surface deviation maps. The surface-based methodology enabled analysis of sexually dimorphic features throughout the shaft and articular ends of the tibia. The overall study dataset consisted of 183 3D models of adult tibiae from three Czech population subsets, dating to the early medieval (9-10th century) (N = 65), early 20th century (N = 61) and 21st-century (N = 57). The time gap between the chronologically most distant and contemporary datasets was more than 1200 years. The results showed that, in all three datasets, sexual dimorphism was pronounced. There were some sex-dimorphic characteristics common to all three samples, such as tuberosity protrusion, anteriorly bowed shaft and relatively larger articular ends in males. Diachronic comparisons also revealed substantial shape variation related to the most dimorphic area. Male/female distinctions showed a consistent temporal trend regarding the location of dimorphic areas (shifting distally with time), while the maximal deviation between male and female digitized surfaces fluctuated and reached the lowest level in the 21st-century sample. Sex determination on a whole-surface basis yielded the lowest return of correct sex assignment in the 20th-century group, which represented the lowest socioeconomic status. The temporal variation could be attributed to changes in living conditions, the decreasing lower limb loading/labour division in the last 12 centuries having the greatest effect. Overall, the results showed that a surface-based approach is successful for analysing complex long bone geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Brzobohatá
- Department of Prehistorical Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Krajíček
- Department of Software and Computer Science Education, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdeněk Horák
- Laboratory of Biomechanics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Velemínská
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
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Kotěrová A, Velemínská J, Dupej J, Brzobohatá H, Pilný A, Brůžek J. Disregarding population specificity: its influence on the sex assessment methods from the tibia. Int J Legal Med 2016; 131:251-261. [DOI: 10.1007/s00414-016-1413-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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