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PubMed1995

Stable isotopes of lead for source identification.

Lead is unique among all the metals in having variations among mining districts in the relative abundances of its stable (non-radioactive) isotopes. Since first described in 1927, many applications have been reported, mostly for geological uses. More recently archeological, environmental, bio-kinetic and public health uses have been found. The abundances of the four stable isotopes are usually determined with specialized mass spectrometry using rapid mass scanning cycles or multiple collectors. The relative abundances are commonly expressed as 206/204, 206/207, and 206/208 atomic ratios. Precision of 0.5% for 206/204 and even better (0.03%) for the other pairs are obtainable. The three ratios co-vary strongly and depend on when the ore was formed. This provides a tracer for following a particular batch of lead, since the ratio can only change when the lead is mixed with a different lead. A major limitation of this method is that it is useful only to those problems where the potential sources are isotopically distinct and few in number. The covariance of the ratios usually allows for only two sources to be considered. Potential sources can often be ruled out.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Early settlements in Newfoundland and the scourge of scurvy.

Two important archeological investigations currently underway in the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, at Cupids (established 1610) and Ferryland (1621), help to focus questions on health and health care in early seventeenth-century English settlements. This review looks at one aspect only, the problem of scurvy and what treatments were tried. In adding to our understanding of early colonial settlements and on how new medicinal plants were "discovered," the Newfoundland story reveals a considerable interest in local plants as substitutes for scurvy grass. Suggestions are offered on how they may have been chosen and the rationales behind their use.

Archaeology↗
PubMed1998

Estimation of the amount of telomere molecules in different human age groups and the telomere increasing effect of acupuncture and shiatsu on St.36, using synthesized basic units of the human telomere molecules as reference control substances for the bi-digital O-ring test resonance phenomenon.

It is well established that the telomeres at the ends of chromosomes are composed of long arrays of (TTAGGG)n x (CCCTAA)n that form a nucleoprotein complex required for the replication and protection of chromosome ends. Throughout the cell cycle, telomeres also contain a protein component related to the proto-oncogene Myb that is known as TRF1 (telomere TTAGGG repeat binding factor 1) that binds to the duplex array of TTAGGG repeats in the telomere. Previous studies have shown that TRF1 appears to play a role in controlling the length of telomeres by acting as an inhibitor of telomerase. The amount of each of the TRF1(C-19) & TRF1(N-19) was identical to the amount of telomere of the same organ of the same apparently normal individual. Using synthesized basic unit of TTAGGG, as well as CCCTAA, as separate reference control substances for the Bi-Digital O-Ring Test of Resonance Phenomenon between 2 identical substances, we were able to non-invasively measure the approximate amount of TTAGGG and CCCTAA units, in both normal and cancerous human cells. We examined about 30 apparently normal subjects (both Asian and Caucasian in both sex). The subjects' ages ranged from infancy to 76 years. Each subject was first examined using TTAGGG as a control substance and then examined using CCCTAA as a control substance. The amount of telomere in various cancer tissues are almost always higher than that of normal tissue of the same organ. The measured amounts of both TTAGGG and CCCTAA were found to be in an average of 1500-1600 ng for human fetus or infancy and decreased with the advance of age in both sex with the exception of the heart, brain, eyes (retina), testes, and ovaries, which usually remain at the level of the infant, or reduced very little. Individuals in the same age group had a similar range of amounts of both TTAGGG and CCCTAA in the same organ of the same individual, (except for those with unusually low telomeres often had chronic degenerative diseases, and those who had exceptionally high telomere levels often had excellent physical conditions or mental acumen). The amounts of measured TTAGGG and CCCTAA molecules before and after acupuncture on St. 36 in adenocarcinomas and small cell carcinoma coexisting in the lung of a 54-yr.-old Asian male were: telomere in adenocarcinoma decreased from 950 ng to 750 ng and telomere in small cell carcinoma decreased from 770 ng to 600 ng. When the cancer treatment is effective, the amount of telomere is reduced towards the value of the normal internal organ. We found that acupuncture on St.36 on apparently normal subjects increased the telomere levels up to a maximum of more than 2 times their telomere levels prior to the treatment, depending on the method of treatment, but frequently increases were between 60% to 100%. Strong Shiatsu performed on St. 36 produced a somewhat lesser effect than acupuncture. We also determined the amounts of TTAGGG and CCCTAA molecules non-invasively in 3 mummified Egyptian sisters from the 8th Century BC on exhibit at the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy in order to estimate their approximate ages (at the time of death). The amounts of body telomere were 500 ng, 550 ng, and 750 ng. For the prehistoric Iceman (about 3350 B.C. to 3310 B.C) discovered in 1991 in the Italian Otzal Alps at about 3,200 meters altitude, estimated body telomere was about 400 ng and telomere in brain and heart was 1600 ng, similar to that of a contemporary human being. Although these studies are preliminary, the findings may have potential applications not only in anti-aging, cancer treatments, and pathophysiology of brain and heart, but also for the estimation of the difference in the ages of cadavers studied in archeology and forensic medicine.

Acupressure↗
PubMed1997

Bartonellosis in Ecuador: serosurvey and current status of cutaneous verrucous disease.

Human bartonellosis is a classically biphasic disease caused by infection with the alpha-2 Proteobacteria Bartonella bacilliformis, which is phylogenetically related to the etiologic agents of cat scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis, and trench fever. In Ecuador, typical bartonellosis has remained endemic for the past century in highland provinces near the Peruvian border. During the past six years, public health officials have noted an increasing number of atypical cases in which monophasic verrucous cutaneous disease is the only clinical manifestation. Epidemiologic, immunologic, histopathologic, and molecular biological studies have confirmed the presence of sporadic, atypical bartonellosis in residents of the lowland province of Manabi, where archeologic evidence exists of bartonellosis in pre-Colombian times. Between 1987 and 1995, 11 cases of cutaneous bartonellosis were investigated and serologic studies were done on 224 persons from five villages, two lowland and three highland. In the lowland village of Pajan in the province of Manabi, there was a 21% seropositivity proportion in contacts of index cases. These combined data suggest that bartonellosis is significantly under-reported due to the existence of mild clinical disease, possibly associated with less virulent bacterial strains, which are now disseminating or re-emerging in previously disease-free areas.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1999

Helminth eggs in animal coprolites from a Middle Pleistocene site in Europe.

This paper reports on the discovery of dicrocoelid eggs in a coprolite collected in an archeological layer dated earlier than 550,000 yr BP (before present) from the Caune de l'Arago cave (Tautavel, Pyrénées-Orientales, France). It is the first trematode egg finding in an isolated coprolite from the Middle Pleistocene context.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intra-oral temperatures in man with special reference to involvement of the central incisors and premaxillary alveolar process in lepromatous leprosy.

The predilection of lepromatous leprosy for body sites substantially below core temperature is well known, and within the oral cavity the premaxillary alveolar process and upper central incisor teeth are especially affected. In this study, intra-oral temperatures were recorded by means of a series of thermistor probes applied to the teeth and labial surfaces of the gums of normal subjects. The temperature distribution established showed a close correlation with the known pattern of involvement of teeth and supporting structures derived from clinical, pathological and archeological data. Relatively low temperature of the premaxillary alveolar process was demonstrated, a factor which may be of prime importance for the localization of disease in this region, as it is for other tissues in the lepromatous patient.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Iberia: population genetics, anthropology, and linguistics.

Basques, Portuguese, Spaniards, and Algerians have been studied for HLA and mitochondrial DNA markers, and the data analysis suggests that pre-Neolithic gene flow into Iberia came from ancient white North Africans (Hamites). The Basque language has also been used to translate the Iberian-Tartesian language and also Etruscan and Minoan Linear A. Physical anthropometry of Iberian Mesolithic and Neolithic skeletons does not support the demic replacement in Iberia of preexisting Mesolithic people by Neolithic people bearing new farming technologies from Europe and the Middle East. Also, the presence of cardial impressed pottery in western Mediterranean Europe and across the Maghreb (North Africa) coasts at the beginning of the Neolithic provides good evidence of pre-Neolithic circum-Mediterranean contacts by sea. In addition, pre-dynastic Egyptian El-Badari culture (4,500 years ago) is similar to southern Iberian Neolithic settlements with regard to pottery and animal domestication. Taking the genetic, linguistic, anthropological, and archeological evidence together with the documented Saharan area desiccation starting about 10,000 years ago, we believe that it is possible that a genetic and cultural pre-Neolithic flow coming from southern Mediterranean coasts existed toward northern Mediterranean areas, including at least Iberia and some Mediterranean islands. This model would substitute for the demic diffusion model put forward to explain Neolithic innovations in Western Europe.

Anthropology↗
PubMed2000

[Growth and developmental patterns in Neandertals].

Growth and development in Neandertals have been focused on in terms of the appearance of the human growth pattern in hominid evolution. Recently, more attention has been drawn to the aspects of growth in human evolution, although their significance was recognized from long before. One recently refined method is to use the perikymata counts on the enamel surface, which provide an absolute duration time of tooth crown development and therefore make possible comparisons in timings of developmental events. Another is to evaluate the relative timing and speed of developmental events from teeth, skull, and postcranial bones. In general, the hominid growth pattern would change from ape-like to human-like during the evolutionary process. It is still uncertain, however, when and where the exact event happened and the developmental pattern changed. As for the growth in Neandertals, it has been suggested that they would have grown relatively slowly in their childhood as modern humans do, while the appearance of the adolescent growth spurt and the duration time of their adolescence or childhood period are still obscure. More concrete and precise data are needed for a reasonable understanding of evolution of hominid growth for both modern humans and fossil hominids, in terms of: 1. more data of individual morphological traits applicable to fossil hominids, which increase the number of available fossil specimens; 2. variation of the traits in modern and archeological specimens, particularly in relation to environmental stress; 3. interaction or interrelationship between dental, cranial and postcranial development.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Remedies used in Hellenic history.

A large number of remedies known as "pharmaca" in Greek used for treating a disease or for other problems in medical practice have been traced back to the Hellenic period of history. Archeological data as well as literary and scientific texts suggest that the ancient Greek physicians knew how to use many remedies from herbs and plants, metals and minerals, and animals. These remedies were given per os, in liquid form (katapotia in Greek), in poultice form, or in the form of ointments and eye-drops (collyria). The main problem of ancient pharmacology was that chemistry had not yet become a science to help physicians individually distinguish each of the substances used as remedies and to estimate the exact effect they could cause to the human organism. However, especially during the classical period (Sth-4th century BC) and from the end of the Hellenic period and thereafter, remedies would be the combinations of substances presented clearly and in detail in prescriptions, giving medicine a more scientific profile of their workings.

Greece, Ancient↗
PubMed2000

Strontium isotope composition of skeletal material can determine the birth place and geographic mobility of humans and animals.

The Sr isotope composition measured in skeletal elements (e.g., bone, teeth, or antlers) can be used to infer the geographic region that an animal or human inhabited, because different regions tend to have distinct Sr isotope compositions, and natural variations in the relative abundance of Sr isotopes are not changed as Sr is processed through the food chain. Therefore, an organism that ingests Sr from one region can have a Sr isotope composition that is different than that of an organism that ingests Sr from another region. The Sr isotope composition of skeletal elements is a reflection of the concentration-weighted average of dietary Sr that was ingested while that skeletal element was produced. Because different skeletal elements grow and exchange Sr at different stages during the life times of organisms, Sr isotope analysis of different skeletal elements can be used to infer changes in geographic location at different stages in an organism's life. The Sr isotope composition measured in human teeth will reflect the average Sr isotope composition that was ingested as a child, due to the immobile nature of Sr and Ca in teeth after formation, whereas the Sr isotope composition of bone will reflect the average isotopic composition over the last ten years of life, due to continuous biological processing of Sr and Ca in bone. Inferring the average isotopic composition of dietary Sr is best done by analyzing skeletal fragments from control groups, which might be animals that have the same feeding habits as the animal in question, or, in the case of humans, analysis of close family relatives. In cases where it is not possible to construct a Sr isotope database from control groups, it becomes necessary to estimate the isotopic composition of dietary Sr based on geologic principles. We present three case studies from our research that illustrate a range of approaches: (1) results from a criminal case where a deer was illegally harvested and the location of the deer was important to establish, (2) a pilot study of commingled human remains from a burial in Vietnam, associated with the Vietnam Conflict, and (3) a study of 13th and 14th century migration of peo ple from an archeological site in the Southwest United States.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[Sixty years of study on Chinese medical history].

The sixty years of Chinese Society of Medical History since its establishment is an important period of from young to maturity, experiencing vicissitude of its indepth development. Overcoming numerous difficulties, the Chinese Journal of Medical History has been recognized by scholars, domestic and foreign, as a journal of high academic level with new messages and materials. In the field of theoretical study, all relevant problems, including origin of medicine, division of historical periods, appraisal of medical figures, relationship between the inner law of medical development and cultural background, have been explored actively, profoundly and objectively. Study on general medical history has been more popularized and comprehensive. The studies on the history of diseases, history of medical disciplines, modern history , excavation and systematization in the fields of archeology and medical literatures, laid down a basis for further development of research work.

China↗
PubMed1996

[Sixty years of study on history of diseases].

The study of history of diseases includes research on archeology, ancient medical works and systematic study on the history of diseases. By reviewing the process of 60 years, the paper points out that the process includes two approaches. On the one hand, it is defined by modern disease titles, offering historical background to cosmopolitan medicine and integrated Chinese and western medicine, and retifying the positive role of Chinese ancient medical workers' contribution to mankind. On the other hand, it also defined by traditional Chinese disease-syndrome titles, offering experiences for the development of Chinese medical academy and realization of modernization of Chinese medicine. Both approaches are mutually promoted, infiltrated, thus stimulated the deeper development for the study of history of diseases.

China↗
PubMed1995

Public health and children's well-being and health during antiquity.

The health and well-being of children depends on many factors. These factors may include: 1) geographic location, 2) genetic composition of the population, 3) existence of parasites and their hosts, 4) previous history of diseases (e.g. immunity) and 5) socio-economic structure (Grmek 1989). During the last two centuries, industrialized societies have successfully manipulated several of these factors for the benefit of children. But what were the possibilities in pre-industrial societies to improve public health and to promote the health of children? The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between public health and the health and well-being of children during Antiquity (roughly 500 B.C.-500 A.D.). To realize this aim, both written and archeological evidence was considered. Unfortunately both types of sources are biased, their data being defective with regard to children. Public health was not a major topic of interest for ancient authors (medical or others). There are few archaeological studies which have concentrated on public health aspects (e.g. water supply, sewers, housing conditions) of ancient societies.

Child↗
PubMed1995

[Alexandre Vallaury and two of the buildings he constructed].

A. Vallaury appears in the Ottoman society as an architect and an educator with his remarkable personality in the late XIX. century. In this essay two buildings designed by Vallaury, "Mekteb-i Tibbiye-i Sâhâne" and "Büyükada Greek Orphanage" are described. This study consists of three parts, Vallaury's life story, his works and contribution to the Ottoman architecture. Vallaury was born in Istanbul on April 2, 1850. His parents were of Levantin and French origin. He went to Paris for higher education and attended the School of Fine Arts. On returning to Istanbul, he worked as a teacher of architecture at the "Sanayi-i Nefise Mekteb-i Alisi", (today's Mimar Sinan University) from March 2, 1883 to August 10, 1908. He was rewarded with Legion d'Honneur in 1896. He died in Istanbul on May 2, 1921. Vallaury's works may be classified as, commercial, cultural, educational, residential and religious buildings. Some of his works may be exemplified as such: Afif Pasha Yalisi (Seaside Residence) at Istinye, Mecid Efendi Kiosk at Bağlarbasşi, Ottoman Bank at Galata and Eminönü, Dümayûn-i (Royal Museum of Archeology) at Sultanahmet, School of Medicine at Haydarpasha, and Greek Orphanage at Büyükada. A. Vallaury fused Ottoman culture and Western forms together in his works. He also designed buildings of free articulation, new measurement and novel proportions. He was a respected Ottoman intellectual, as well.

Architecture↗
PubMed1997

[Nicolas and Camille Husson, chemists, archeologists, researchers ... in toul, during the second part of the 19th century].

Nicolas Husson (1814-1890) was chemist in Toul from 1843-1844 to 1875-1876. He was also a member of the town council and deputy of the mayor, in charge of questions interesting education and attendance. Collector, author of some 40 papers, he was very interested in archeology, geology and hygiene in the neighbourhood of Toul. He explored there holes such "Les Trous de Sainte-Reine" and "Le Trou des Celtes". His son Camille (1843-1886) was first a military chemist but he joined soon his father. He was essentially an independant researcher in chemical and alimentary analysis, toxicology and hygiene. Also the author of numerous papers and archeologist, he became national correspondent of the Academy of medicine and chairman of the "Société de pharmacie de Lorraine".

Archaeology↗
PubMed1999

[Rudolf Virchow 1821-1902. Physician, politician, historian and anthropologist].

Rudolf Virchow was born in Pomerania in 1821 in Prussia/Germany. His father was a cashier. He started his medical studies in 1839 and finished them in 1843. He became one of the most famous physicians of the 19th century, as he founded the "Cellular pathology" theory. This claims that disease and pathological change start in the cell and nowhere else. The ruling medical dogma at that time the "humoral pathology" stated that "body fluids" were in inbalance when a person got sick. Virchow's studies cleaned this out and the hallmark of the "cellular pathology" sounded "omnis cellula e cellula" ("behind every cell there is another cell"). Virchow was a Professor of Anathomy, Pathology and Physiology and was about the first medical doctor to introduce leukemia, embolus, trombosis and cancerous lymphoid glands into our vocabulary. He worked most of his time in Berlin. He was also a famous and powerful politician throughout his entire life, fighting for political rights, universal suffrage, economic reforms and loosening of the grip of the church. He was also struggling for peace and international understanding. Moreover he was engaged in Anthropology and active as an Archeologist-Historian. He was married and had 6 children. Rudolf Virchow is one of the most famous scientist of the nineteenth-century, referred to as a person of most authority by, among others, Darwin and Nietsche. He was the writer of numerous medical books, the founder of medical journals and the leader of several scientifical organizations. He died in 1902 in Berlin in the aftermath of a tramway-accident when he was on his way to an archeological scientific meeting, at 81 years of age.

Anthropology↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of radiological and gross examination for detection of cancer in de-fleshed skeletons.

The reliability of visual examination of de-fleshed bones was assessed for detection of postcranial metastatic disease in individuals known to have had cancer. This was compared with standard clinical radiological techniques. The skeletons of 128 diagnosed cancer patients from an early 20th century autopsied skeletal collection (Hamann-Todd Collection) were examined. Radiological examination detected evidence of metastatic disease in 33 individuals, compared to 11 by visual examination of the postcranial skeletons. Four of these cases were detected by both techniques. Blastic lesions were most commonly overlooked on visual examination, because they were localized to trabecular (internal bone) structures. The ilium was the most commonly affected bone, with lytic or blastic lesions detected in 30 out of 33 individuals. While the proximal femur was affected in only nine individuals, X-ray of the proximal femur and ilium detected all individuals with postcranial evidence of metastatic disease. Skeletal distribution of metastases provides no clue to the location of origin or histological subtype of the cancer. A survey of archeological human remains for metastatic cancer requires radiological examination. Such skeletal surveys should X-ray at least the ilia and femora.

Autopsy↗