OBJECTIVE: Age estimation plays a critical role in personal identification, especially when determining compliance with the age of consent for adolescents. The age of consent refers to the minimum age at which an individual is legally considered capable of providing informed consent for sexual activities. The purpose of this study is to determine whether adolescents meet the age of 14 or 18 by using dental development combined with machine learning.
METHODS: This study combines dental assessment and machine learning techniques to predict whether adolescents have reached the consent age of 14 or 18. Factors such as the staging of the third molar, the third molar index, and the visibility of the periodontal ligament of the second molar are evaluated.
RESULTS: Differences in performance metrics indicate that the posterior probabilities achieved by machine learning exceed 93% for the age of 14 and slightly lower for the age of 18.
CONCLUSIONS: This study provides valuable insights for forensic identification for adolescents in personal identification, emphasizing the potential to improve the accuracy of age determination within this population by combining traditional methods with machine learning. It underscores the importance of protecting and respecting the dignity of all individuals involved.

Having a reliable and feasible method to estimate whether an individual has reached 16 years of age would greatly benefit forensic analysis. The study of age using dental information has matured recently. In addition, machine learning (ML) is gradually being applied for dental age estimation.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the development of the third molar using the Demirjian method (Demirjian3M), measure the development index of the third molar (I3M) using the method by Cameriere, and assess the periodontal ligament development of the second molar (PL2M). This study aimed to predict whether Chinese adolescents have reached the age of criminal responsibility (16 years) by combining the above measurements with ML techniques.
A total of 665 Chinese adolescents aged between 12 and 20 years were recruited for this study. The development of the second and third molars was evaluated by taking orthopantomographs. ML algorithms, including random forests (RF), decision trees (DT), support vector machines (SVM), K-nearest neighbours (KNN), Bernoulli Naive Bayes (BNB), and logistic regression (LR), were used for training and testing to determine the dental age. This is the first study to combine ML with an evaluation of periodontal ligament and tooth development to predict whether individuals are over 16 years of age.
The study showed that SVM had the highest Bayesian posterior probability at 0.917 and a Youden index of 0.752. This finding provides an important reference for forensic identification, and the combination of traditional methods and ML is expected to improve the accuracy of age determination for this population, which is of substantial significance for criminal litigation.

This study proposes a rapid and non-destructive technique for determining the age of Potentilla griffithii individuals in the field by observing the sequence of leaf scars. Based on two- to three-year-old P. griffithii seedlings, planted in a common garden in the western Sichuan Plateau, China, the study found that the rates of basal leaf production were consistent, with leaves growing from March to April and falling off from October to December, leaving behind basal leaf scars. Thus, the age of individuals in situ could be determined by counting the leaf scars. Through this method, we determined the age structure and growth strategy of P. griffithii populations in two typical habitats in the western Sichuan Plateau. In open land habitats, the age structure of P. griffithii populations was relatively younger compared to understory habitats. In open land, P. griffithii tends to allocate more photosynthate terminal organs (leaves and fine roots) to absorbing more resources, as well as to its reproductive organs (flower stems and aggregate fruits), to expand the population. The P. griffithii population in the understory habitat is in its middle-age stage and concentrates more photosynthate in the coarse root part (e.g., the high coarse root mass fraction (FRMF)) to support the plant. Additionally, we found a significant correlation between P. griffithii plant age and various traits in open land habitats. Therefore, we conclude that plant age can be used as a good predictor of plant growth condition in open land. These results allow for predicting ecological processes, based on the ages and traits of P. griffithii plants, providing a theoretical basis to support the large-scale breeding of P. griffithii.

Apostichopus japonicus is a marine invertebrate with high economic value. Analysis of the effects of age on the structure of this species is important for understanding the status of the population and conservation. In this study, metabolite analysis of the body walls of A. japonicus of three different ages (1, 2, and 3 years) was performed using LC-MS/MS. Metabolite analysis was performed for the KEGG metabolic pathway. The partial least squares-discriminant analysis is clearly distinguished metabolites in the three groups of A. japonicus. A total of 59, 222, and 179 different metabolites were detected in the age 3 vs age 2, age 3 vs age 1, and age 2 vs age 1 controls, respectively (P < 0.05). These metabolic differences involved several metabolic pathways, including phenylalanine metabolism, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, sulfur metabolism et al. Thiamin, riboflavin, lipoic acid, acetyl l-carnitine levels increase with age, trans-10-heptadecenoic acid, stearic acid, pentadecanoic acid, dibutyl sebacate, and 8,15-diHETE levels decrease with age, which these metabolites can be used as potential markers to determine the age of A. japonicus. Our results provide the foundation for determining the age of A. japonicus and are important for the conservation of germplasm resources of A. japonicus.

An articulated pelvic region and additional isolated material of Varanops brevirostris, which are indistinguishable from those of the generotype from the Cacops bonebed, demonstrate the presence of this large varanopid at the Richards Spur locality. The articulated specimen includes lumbar, sacral, and anterior caudal vertebrae, partial pelvis, femur, and proximal part of tibia, confirming the autapomorphies previously suggested for this species. These include the presence of distinct blade-like shapes of the neural spines in the sacral region, the presence of deeply excavated pubis, and the presence of a distinct transverse ridge on the ventral surface of the femur distal to the intertrochanteric fossa. It has also been found that the transverse ridges and grooves become larger during ontogeny since the juvenile specimen did not exhibit a well-developed ridge. Histological analysis of isolated limb bones and neutron computed tomography (nCT) of the articulated specimen indicate that the latter likely belonged to an adult individual. This is in contrast to the other varanopid at Richards Spur, the significantly smaller, more gracile predator Mesenosaurus efremovi, which also shows the presence of growth lines and the external fundamental system with an estimated minimum age of fourteen.

Dental age estimation is important for developmental assessment and individual identification. The London Atlas, a recently proposed method for dental age estimation, has been reported to perform satisfactorily in various populations.
In this study, we assessed the reproducibility, repeatability and applicability of the London Atlas method in the East China population and compared it with the Demirjian method.
We assessed panoramic radiographs of 835 pediatric patients ages 6.0-19.9 years using the London Atlas and the Demirjian method. We employed the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis to evaluate reproducibility and repeatability, respectively. We assessed the agreement between dental age and chronological age and calculated 95% and 80% prediction intervals for each dental age stage. Sensitivity, specificity and predictive values were calculated to assess the performance of both methods for identifying threshold ages.
The London Atlas has better reproducibility and repeatability (intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.98 and 0.99; 95% limits of agreement: - 1.34 to 1.56 and - 1.22 to 0.88, respectively). Dental age estimated using the London Atlas was closer to chronological age in both genders (median absolute error = 0.58). The 95% prediction intervals for chronological age were wide (0.99 to 9.89 years).
The London Atlas has excellent reproducibility and repeatability. Thus, it might offer an alternative method for developmental assessment. We observed considerable variation in dental development in the East China population, which needs further research.

Age determination provides crucial data regarding the life history of a species. Skeletochronology is considered to be a reliable method for age determination but is seldom applied to the genus Phrynocephalus (Agamidae) as it requires careful bone histological analysis to determine the formation of the lines of arrested growth (LAGs). We analyzed LAGs in different bones of Phrynocephalus vlangalii, a small, high-altitude lizard, and demonstrated that the phalanges are the best materials for skeletochronology in this species. We also found that the proximal half of the phalangeal diaphysis exhibits the most complete LAGs because of the unidirectional longitudinal growth of the phalange. Histologically, as the embryo bone that developed during the embryonic period was preserved even in very old individuals, no LAGs were eroded by endosteal resorption in the phalanges. The maximum age was 4 years for males and 5 years for females. It was determined that the age at maturity was 3 years for males and 2 or 3 years for females. On the basis of age determination, the age structures of both sexes were compared, and age-specific growth differences between the sexes were also analyzed. No differences in the snout-vent length were observed between sexes in any age group. However, the tail length of males aged 3 and above was significantly longer than that of females. Thus, the use of phalanges in the age determination of P. vlangalii is effective and can be widely applied to the ecological studies of this species as well as other small lizards.

BACKGROUND: Whether an individual is over 8 years old is of great significance in clinical medicine and law. The Demirjian, Willems and Cameriere methods are one of the most widely used methods of dental age estimation, but neither method was suitable in Eastern China. And all of them are time-consuming for clinical work. A new and time-saving method for judging whether an individual is 8 years old is yet to be proposed on Eastern Chinese population.
OBJECTIVE: The paper proposes a method for judging whether an individual is 8 years old based on the relationship between age and the first premolar maturity index (I1PM), which is related to the measurement of the open apices of the first premolar.
METHODS: It is a retrospective study where orthopantomograms of 748 children (356 female and 392male) aged 5-13 years were collected and analyzed. Linear regression was used to infer the value of I1PM for eastern China. Furthermore, this method was compared to those based on Demirjian\'s stages F.
CONCLUSIONS: A cutoff value of I1PM = 0.35 was taken. The sensitivity of this test was 90.0% and specificity was 93.3%. Furthermore, the proportion of individuals with a correct classification was 90.9%. The results of the test showed that Demirjian\'s stage F performance was lightly better than I1pm < 0.35. However, the sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of both are greater than or equal to 90.0%, and the differences are not very significant.

The present paper contains two datasets; i) the growth band count (GBC) of mud crab, Scylla olivacea collected from Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu coastal water, East coast of Peninsular Malaysia and ii) the increment sizes of body weight (BW) and carapace width (CW) of immature S. olivace after molting. The datasets presented here were associated with the research articles entitled i) \"Study on carapace width growth band counts relationship of orange mud crab, S. olivacea (Herbst, 1796) from Terengganu Coastal Waters, Malaysia\" (Hasyima-Ismail et al. 2017) [1] and ii) \"Relationship between the carapace width and body weight increments and the confirmation of Stage 1 ovary after the molting of immature orange mud crabs, S. olivacea (Herbst, 1796), in captivity\" (Amin-Safwan et al. 2019-2020) [2], and provided here as raw data of Supplementary materials. Raw datasets for GBC in the wild were generated by examination of the thin cross sectioning process of the gastric mill of S. olivacea. The GBC were measured for each individual crab wherein band counts ranged from 1 to 3. The analysis provides evidence that the GBC of the crabs can be determined through both mesocardiac and zygocardiac ossicles. This data is of importance to researchers for estimation of stock assessment and improvement of fisheries management to further improve policy. For the BW-CW increment data, a total of 135 immature crabs were sampled from Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia, and were introduced to limb autotomy technique in order to induced molt. Crabs were reared until successful molting and immediately prior to hardened shell, before final measurement of body weight and carapace width determination. Recorded data was analyzed by calculating the increment sizes, along with correlation and regression analysis between body weight and carapace width of mud crabs.

OBJECTIVE: To search age-correlated facial features and construct an age estimation model based on the three-dimensional （3D） facial images of Xinjiang Uygur males, and to structure individual face images of old age and young age.
METHODS: Pretreatment was performed to collect 105 3D facial images of Xingjiang Uygur males aged between 17-57 years by Artec Studio software. The facial images were transferred to high-density 3D dot matrix data by FaceAnalysis software, and each image could be represented with 32 251 vertexes. Central correction of the facial images was done and all the data were aligned to a standard coordinate frame by generalized Procrustes analysis （GPA）. The age estimation model was established by partial least square regression （PLSR）. Furthermore, the changes of age-correlated facial features were presented on the heat map of average face, and the reconstruction of facial images at different ages was performed based on this model.
RESULTS: With age, the average faces showed a series of changes including the nasolabial sulcus deepening, cheek sinking, cheekbone protruding and eye corner drooping. The Pearson correlation coefficient （r） between estimated age and chronological age was 0.71. The mean absolute deviation （MAD） of age estimation was 6.37 years. The results of age estimation in >30-40 years group showed a best accuracy （MAD=4.27 years）, and the deviations increased with age after 40 years. The composite facial images represented a significant result with age on facial morphological features and aging.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study reveal the age-correlated facial features and aging markers in Uygur population, which help to construct a reliable age estimation model.
UNASSIGNED: 新疆维吾尔族男性三维人脸图像的年龄估计与年龄面貌重构.
UNASSIGNED: 基于新疆维吾尔族男性三维脸部图像寻找与年龄相关的脸部特征，构建年龄估计模型，重塑个体衰老及年轻时的脸部图像。.
UNASSIGNED: 使用Artec Studio软件对采集的105例17~57岁新疆维吾尔族男性人脸三维图像预处理。用FaceAnalysis软件将人脸图像转为高密度三维点阵数据，使每张图像可用32 251个点所表示。利用广义普鲁克分析法对人脸图像进行中心化校正并统一至同一坐标系。采用偏最小二乘回归法建立年龄估计模型。将年龄相关脸部形态特征的变化展现在平均脸的热图上，并基于该模型进行不同年龄的脸部图像重构。.
UNASSIGNED: 随着年龄的增长，平均脸会发生鼻唇沟加深、脸颊凹陷、颧骨突出、眼角下垂等变化。估计年龄和真实年龄之间的Pearson相关系数为0.71，估计年龄的平均绝对偏差（mean absolute deviation，MAD）为6.37岁，>30~40岁组的年龄估计结果最准确（MAD值为4.27岁），40岁以后偏差随年龄上升。合成的脸部图像随年龄增长脸部形态变化和衰老效果明显。.
UNASSIGNED: 本研究在维吾尔族人群中揭示了年龄相关的脸部特征和衰老标记，建立了可靠的年龄估计模型。.
UNASSIGNED: 法医人类学；成像，三维；面部；年龄测定；年龄面貌合成；新疆；维吾尔族.