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Phytolith analysis on dental calculus, enamel surface, and burial soil: information about diet and paleoenvironment.

Silica phytoliths (microscopic remains originating in plant tissues) have been identified on the enamel surface and dental calculus of a sample of teeth selected from well preserved skeletons from a Late Roman necropolis in Tarragona (Spain). Phytoliths were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their siliceous nature was confirmed by X-ray microanalysis. The phytoliths were compared to those of soil samples from both the areas of the tombs corresponding to the abdomen and the periphery of the skeletons, and were classified taxonomically by comparison with a large collection of silica particles from modern plants in the Mediterranean area. Most of the phytoliths identified on the enamel and the dental calculus belong to the family of Poaceae, while the phytoliths from the abdominal area belong to Poaceae, Leguminosae, Cyperaceae, and Chenopodiaceae. Results are concordant with archaeological, ecological, and historical data from the same site, and with the human Mediterranean diet. If done properly, the study of phytoliths can provide direct information about the vegetable diet of past human populations, and could be applied to the study of human fossils.

Adult↗

Foreign elites from the Oxus civilization? A craniometric study of anomalous burials from Bronze Age Tepe Hissar.

Discovery of a small number of individuals in the Period III necropolis at the large northern Iranian Bronze Age site of Tepe Hissar directly associated with a complex of imported artifacts raises the question of whether these individuals represent elites who had access to these exotic commodities, or an imposed foreign elite that may have brought these unusual artifacts from their homelands. The source of the atypical objects is believed to be the Oxus civilization of central Asia. This study investigates the identity of these individuals by employing canonical discriminant function analysis of 20 craniometric variables among 174 adult males from Tepe Hissar Period III and Oxus civilization males from Sapalli tepe and Djarkutan. Dicriminant function analysis provides a strong separation between Tepe Hissar Period III males and Oxus civilization males and a high level of correct assignation by sample (95.8%). Imposition of the five males associated with imported central Asian artifacts from the Period III necropolis indicates that the majority (4/5) are phenetically indistinguishable from other Period III Tepe Hissar males. The results indicate that these individuals most likely represent local elite inhabitants of Tepe Hissar, rather than the presence of an imposed foreign elite. However, given the scarcity of crucial specimens, especially females, and comparative skeletal series, this conclusion must remain tentative.

Adult↗

Humerus varus deformity in Roman period burials from Kellis 2, Dakhleh, Egypt.

Humerus varus deformity (HVD) occurs unilaterally in a female (#85) skeleton and bilaterally in a male (#124) from Kellis 2, a Roman period cemetery (circa 300-450 AD) from Dakhleh, Egypt. The affected humeri were shortened, their glenohumeral joints deformed, and their upper diaphyses were angulated. The skeletons were otherwise normal. The severity of the changes suggests that the underlying growth disturbances occurred early in postnatal development. The differential diagnosis considers the mucopolysaccharidoses, thalassemia, infection, and birth trauma, with the latter being favored. Clinical data show limited morbidity or functional impairment in individuals with HVD, although radiographic analysis suggests that #85 may have favored her dominant arm. Ortner and Putschar (1981), and Hershkovitz et al (1991) describe the only other archaeological cases of HVD. These authors provide useful, though limited, information on the differential diagnosis of HVD in archaeological specimens. Future research should focus on documenting the prevalence and expressivity of HVD in Mediterranean population samples where thalassemia evolved. HVD is relatively common in thalassemics and this approach would be valuable for documenting the range of osseous responses characteristic of HVD.

Animals↗

[Stress deformations of skeletal remains from prehistoric cremation burials].

Vertebrae and parts of joints from long bones from prehistoric cremations of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age are presented, showing marked deformations caused by pressure during cremation when bones exposed to temperatures of 400 degrees-500 degrees Centigrade display minimal hardness. The vertebrae with deformation of the arcus parts are only from the lower vertebral column; on account of the weight of this body region, this suggests that the corpse lay in the dorsal position at the place of cremation. The fact that there were deformed arches only on one side might suggest an irregular structure of the surface on which the corpse lay. In the prone position, i.e. in the absence of pressure caused by body weight, all vertebrae should be unaltered; alternatively, if cremation wood was piled on top of the corpse, the arches of thoracic and cervical vertebrae are also likely to be deformed. Deformations resulting from weight bearing were found in the joints of extremities only, with flattening of the heads of joints as well as fissures in the external layers of bones and compression into folds. Some bones show distinct even grooves caused by direct pressure, possibly resulting from the fixation of joint regions for cremation? Evidently the deformations caused by the weighting down of different skeletal regions provide hints that may help in the recognition of cremation rites. It would be helpful if experimental cremations could be performed to establish the pressure necessary to cause deformations.

Biomechanical Phenomena↗

Methods of estimating seed banks with reference to long-term seed burial.

We compared two standard seed-bank estimation techniques using buried seed populations that had been covered to depths of >1 m by volcanic deposits for 20 years. Some seeds were germinated in a greenhouse (germination method [GM]), and other seeds were extracted by flotation using 50% K(2)CO(3) solution (flotation method [FM]). In total, FM could detect more species and seeds in the soils than GM. However, many species that were extracted by FM did not germinate by GM and smaller seeds were extracted to a lesser extent by FM. FM and GM have distinct advantages and disadvantages. We concluded that the application of a single method should be avoided in estimating seed banks, in particular for long-lived seed banks, because the seeds cannot be readily germinated and are structurally weak.

Agriculture↗

Suture burial technique in scleral fixation.

The end of a scleral fixation suture may erode through the conjunctiva and become exposed. To avoid this, a scleral flap, autologous cornea, dura mater, or fascia lata patches have been used to cover the ends, and rotation of the knot into the tissue has been reported. An alternative technique to bury the end of the suture is described.

Humans↗

90Sr migration to the geo-sphere from a waste burial in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Results are presented from an ongoing field-scale experimental study (namely the Chernobyl Pilot Site project) aimed at characterization of processes controlling (90)Sr releases from a shallow trench containing nuclear fuel particles, and subsequent radionuclide transport in the underlying sandy aquifer at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant site. Microscopic analyses of waste material and leaching experiments have shown that 10-30% of the radioactive inventory is associated with chemically extra-stable Zr-U-O particles. The largest fraction of (90)Sr activity in the trench ( approximately 30-60%) is currently associated with relatively slowly dissolving non-oxidized UO(2) matrix fuel particles. The (90)Sr migration velocity in the eolian sand aquifer is retarded by sorption to approximately 9% of groundwater flow velocity (K(d) approximately 2 ml/g). The dispersivity values for non-reactive solute transport in the aquifer predicted by geostatistics (i.e. 0.8 6 cm) were confirmed by a natural gradient tracer test using (36)Cl. The observed negative correlation between hydraulic conductivity and K(d) of aquifer sediments suggests that (90)Sr could be subjected to larger dispersion in the subsurface compared with (36)Cl.

Environmental Monitoring↗

Capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry and identification of substituted carboxylic acids in lipids extracted from a 4000-year-old Nubian burial.

Polar carboxylic acid fractions of lipids extracted from samples from a 4000-year-old Nubian mummy were investigated by capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry. They contain series of alpha,omega-dicarboxy, monohydroxy, dihydroxy and keto fatty acids, some of which were found for the first time outside the synthetic laboratory. Their chromatographic and mass spectrometric characteristic properties are reported.

Adult↗

O2 penetration and proton burial depth in proteins: applicability to fold family recognition.

Paramagnetically induced relaxation effects of O2 and the nitroxide 4-hydroxy TEMPO were measured for the amide protons of perdeuterated rubredoxin from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus and the mesophilic bacterium Clostridium pasteurianum. For both O2 and the impermeant nitroxide, the induced relaxation at the static solvent inaccessible amide sites is dominated by long-range interactions with the paramagnetic species in the bulk aqueous phase. The upper bound of O2 solubility in the internal matrix of the rubredoxins is one-tenth that of the bulk aqueous phase. Furthermore, the difference between the oxygen solubilities inside the two rubredoxins is at most 1% that of bulk water O2 solubility, suggesting that there are only modest differences in this measure of fluidity for the mesophile vs hyperthermophile protein interiors. Calculations based on the assumption of a paramagnet uniformly distributed on the protein exterior yield accurate predictions at nearly all amide sites for the minimum relaxation value observed from either the O2 or nitroxide data. Model calculations indicate that the readily obtained paramagnetically induced relaxation effects should prove effective in recognition of structural homology for proteins that are too widely diverged for sequence-based recognition.

Bacterial Proteins↗

Nitric oxide binding to nitrophorin 4 induces complete distal pocket burial.

The nitrophorins comprise an unusual family of proteins that use ferric (Fe(III)) heme to transport highly reactive nitric oxide (NO) from the salivary gland of a blood sucking bug to the victim, resulting in vasodilation and reduced blood coagulation. We have determined structures of nitrophorin 4 in complexes with H2O, cyanide and nitric oxide. These structures reveal a remarkable feature: the nitrophorins have a broadly open distal pocket in the absence of NO, but upon NO binding, three or more water molecules are expelled and two loops fold into the distal pocket, resulting in the packing of hydrophobic groups around the NO molecule and increased distortion of the heme. In this way, the protein apparently forms a 'hydrophobic trap' for the NO molecule. The structures are very accurate, ranging between 1.6 and 1.4 A resolutions.

Animals↗