<h3>Introduction</h3> On the back of recent randomised trials, there has been a paradigm shift in the management of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), towards conservative and ambulatory treatment options. Due to the clinical equipoise between different options, it is important that patients are actively involved in the management plan and have appropriate information resources available at the time to aid decision making. It is important to ensure patients are involved in the production of such information r…

Both the forensic science and biometrics ‘strategy’ documents lacked detail, underlying principles, and indeed, any discernible ‘strategy’. Adequate governance and oversight of both forensic science and biometrics is urgent. The importance of creating a transparent and accountable regime for the use of biometrics, and forensic science, that is simultaneously legally justifiable, socially acceptable and ethically sound, has been the core message of multiple reports and publications for many years. There remain seri…

The study of facial growth is explored in many fields of science, including anatomy, genetics, and forensics. In the field of forensics, it acts as a valuable tool for combating child pornography. The present research proposes a new method, based on relative measurements and fixed references of the human face-specifically considering measurements of the diameter of the iris (iris ratio)-for the analysis of facial growth in association with age in children and sub-adults. The experimental sample consisted of digita…

Exhumation may be defined as the legally sanctioned excavation and recovery of the remains of lawfully buried or – occasionally – cremated individuals, as distinct from forensic excavations of clandestinely buried remains conducted as part of a criminal investigation and from unlawful disinterment of human remains, commonly referred to as bodysnatching. The aim of this article is to review the role of exhumation – so defined – in the activities of CEMEL, the Medico-Legal Centre of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School…

Truth commissions are widely recognised tools used in negotiation following political repression. Their work may be underpinned by formal scientific investigation of human remains. This paper presents an analysis of the role of forensic investigations in the transition to democracy following the Brazilian military governments of 1964–85. It considers practices during the dictatorship and in the period following, making reference to analyses of truth commission work in jurisdictions other than Brazil, including tho…