Benefits of new tools in biotechnology to developing countries in south Asia: A perspective from UNESCO

South Asia, once considered as a laggard, has grown at about 6% on average over the past two decades and the current growth outlook is much brighter. However, this growth is not always well distributed and the challenges of institutionalising policies and mechanisms to ensure inclusive growth are now being seriously considered by these countries governments.The targets set by south Asian countries are primarily based on the investments in infrastructural sector with an objective to generate educated and skilled human resources. The other most important inclusive growth area is the core public services; Agriculture, Health, and Energy, which are increasingly becoming technology driven. Biotechnology has been increasingly seen now to be an area of technology that holds the greatest new potential to address problems arising from low productivity, overburdened health systems, high-cost unsustainable energy supplies and the need for developing new materials for industrial and environmental applications.This article attempts to highlight perspectives on some of the emerging areas of biotechnology that have good potential for economic development in the context of south Asia, as well as discuss briefly some of UNESCO's initiatives in biotechnology for that region.     

中亚河中地区青铜时代以来绿洲农业的演化与文明的交流

中亚河中地区是东西方文明交流的重要通道,当地干旱的气候对环境变化十分敏感,同时大量保存良好的考古遗迹使得该地区十分适合进行农业活动与文明交流的相关研究。本研究通过年代学与植物考古学方法,对阿姆河流域范围青铜时代晚期至萨珊波斯时期的考古遗址进行研究,尝试重建区内全新世人类农业活动的发展过程,并分析研究4000 BP以来人类的农业活动对环境变化的响应与适应。研究结果显示,河中地区农业的作物构成自4000 BP的青铜时代晚期就已表现出高度的复杂性。虽然在不同的时期不同类型作物的种植比例存在一定的差别,但当地的作物始终以大麦、小麦为主,辅以粟、黍、豆类等谷物及葡萄等果木,自青铜时代晚期形成后这种综合了东西方元素的绿洲农业便保持稳定;后期虽有水稻等作物加入但并没有对已有结构产生较大的影响。本研究为进一步了解中亚内陆干旱-半干旱地区绿洲农业的结构演化及其对环境变化的响应,以及探究不同起源地区作物在亚欧大陆的传播提供了基础资料和新的视角。     

内蒙古中南部地区青铜—早期铁器时代居民的龋病研究

本文对内蒙古中南部地区青铜—早期铁器时代5个考古地点出土人骨的龋病患病情况做了研究, 在与其他国内材料对比的基础上, 探讨了文化类型与龋病患病率之间的关系。龋病在以农业经济为主的人群中患病率最高, 在农牧兼营的人群中龋病率其次, 在以畜牧业为生的游牧人群中患病率最低。龋病是反映内蒙古地区该时段古代居民经济模式的一个有效指标。     

From the mouths of babes: Dental caries in infants and children and the intensification of agriculture in mainland Southeast Asia

Many bioarchaeological studies have established a link between increased dental caries prevalence and the intensification of agriculture. However, research in Southeast Asia challenges the global application of this theory. Although often overlooked, dental health of infants and children can provide a sensitive source of information concerning health and subsistence change. This article investigates the prevalence and location of caries in the dentition of infants and children (less than 15 years of age) from eight prehistoric mainland Southeast Asian sites collectively spanning the Neolithic to late Iron Age, during which time rice agriculture became an increasingly important subsistence mode. Caries prevalence varied among the sites but there was no correlation with chronological change. The absence of evidence of a decline in dental health over time can be attributed to the relative noncariogenicity of rice and retention of broad‐spectrum subsistence strategies. No differences in caries type indicating differences in dental health were found between the sites, apart from the Iron Age site of Muang Sema. There was a higher prevalence of caries in the deciduous dentition than the permanent dentition, likely due to a cariogenic weaning diet and the higher sensitivity of deciduous teeth to decay. The level of caries in the permanent dentition suggests an increased reliance on less cariogenic foods during childhood, including rice. The absence of a temporal decline in dental health of infants and children strengthens the argument that the relationship between caries and agricultural intensification in Southeast Asia was more complex than the general model suggests. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

河南渑池笃忠遗址仰韶晚期出土的人骨骨病研究

本文对河南省渑池笃忠遗址仰韶晚期灰坑出土人骨的骨病做了详细的观察.在牙病方面.对龋病、牙周病、牙釉质发育不全等情况做了记录和分析,应用两样本率差异的x2检验,比较了龋病在性别、年龄的差异.研究结果表明,笃忠组龋病的患齿率性别差异不显著,与年龄变化也没有明显的关系.此外,笃忠组人骨标本中还观察到错(牙合)畸形、骨瘤、退行...     

Flax in Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece: archaeobotanical evidence

This paper presents an overview of archaeobotanical finds of Linum usitatissimum from Neolithic and Bronze Age Greece, bringing together published records of this plant as well as some recently retrieved, unpublished finds. In addition, charred flax seed concentrations from five prehistoric sites from the region of Macedonia in northern Greece, are examined in detail. The Neolithic sites are Makriyalos, Mandalo, Arkadikos, Dikili Tash, dated to the Late and Final Neolithic and Archondiko, dated to the end of the Early Bronze Age. Archaeobotanical composition and contextual information are used in order to explore the cultivation and potential uses of flax at each site. By the 5th millennium b.c. a flax weed flora had probably developed in the region. The use of flax seed for oil extraction and flax stems for flax fibre preparation can only be speculated upon and these uses are discussed within the context of other archaeological finds related to plant oil production and weaving. It is also possible that flax may have been used for medicinal purposes. Despite a striking paucity in archaeobotanical remains from southern Greece, textual evidence available from the Mycenean palace archives in Linear B clearly documents the cultivation of flax and flax fibre production.     

Biological affinities and adaptations of Bronze Age Bactrians: III. An initial craniometric assessment

Discovery of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization (Oxus Civilization) centered on the oases of Central Asia immediately raised questions concerning the origin and interregional impacts of this civilization. Fifteen craniometric variables from 12 Bronze Age samples—encompassing 544 adults from Central Asia, Iran, the Indus Valley, and Anatolia—are compared to test which, if any, of the current hypotheses offered by archaeologists are best supported by the pattern of phenetic affinities possessed by the Oxus Civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Craniometric differences between samples are compared with Mahalanobis generalized distance, and patterns of phenetic affinity are assessed with two types of cluster analysis (WPGMA, neighbor-joining method), multidimensional scaling, and principal coordinates analysis. Results obtained by this analysis indicate that current hypotheses for both the origin and interregional impacts of Oxus Civilization populations are incomplete. Am J Phys Anthropol 106:329–348, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Dental and cranial affinities among populations of east Asia and the Pacific: the basic populations in east Asia, IV.

The origins of the four major geographical groups recognized as Australomelanesians, Micronesians, Polynesians, and East and Southeast Asians are still far from obvious. The earliest arrivals in Sahulland may have migrated from Sundaland about 40,000-50,000 years B.P. and begun the Australomelanesian lineage. The aboriginal populations in Southeast Asia may have originated in the tropical rain forest of Sundaland, and their direct descendants may be the modern Dayaks of Borneo and Negritos of Luzon. These populations, the so-called "Proto-Malays," are possible representatives of the lineage leading to not only modern Southeast Asians, but also the Neolithic Jomon populations in Japan. The present study suggests, moreover, that the Polynesians and western Micronesians have closer affinities with modern Southeast Asians than with Melanesians or Jomonese.     

Dental development in South African australopithecines. Part I: Problems of pattern and chronology

It is well known that humans take about twice as long as apes to mature. The traditional view that such delayed maturation was already present in australopithecines has been called into question during the past several years. We have approached this problem by looking at patterns of dental development in gracile and robust australopithecines from South Africa and comparing them to patterns found in extant humans and apes. We have employed both 2 and 3 dimensional computed tomography in our research. The dental growth patterns in these two australopithecine morphs differ, particularly in M1/I1 development. The robust australopithecines are more humanlike and the gracile australopithecines more apelike in this feature (“humanlike” and “apelike” are not used in any taxonomic sense). Pattern and chronology of dental development must be considered separately. Several major problem areas for future research are identified, most of which revolve around the issue of intra- versus interspecific variation.     

Biological affinities and adaptations of Bronze Age Bactrians: IV. A craniometric investigation of Bactrian origins

Discovery of a previously unknown Bronze Age civilization (Oxus civilization) centered on the oases of Central Asia revealed the presence of large, preplanned urban centers immediately above sterile soil. Given the absence of local antecedents, the sudden appearance and proliferation of these Oxus civilization urban centers in the oases of Bactria and Margiana immediately raised the issue of where the inhabitants of these urban centers came from. Three hypotheses have been offered by archaeologists to account for the origins of Oxus civilization populations. These include the early influence model, the late colonization model, and the trichotomy model. Eleven craniometric variables from 12 Aeneolithic and Bronze Age samples, encompassing 657 adults from Central Asia, Iran, and the Indus Valley, are compared to test which if any of these hypotheses are supported by the pattern of phenetic affinities possessed by the Oxus civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Craniometric differences between samples are compared with Mahalanobis generalized distance (d²), and patterns of phenetic affinity are assessed with two types of cluster analysis (WPGMA, neighbor-joining method), multidimensional scaling, and principal coordinates analysis. Results of this analysis provide no support for either the late colonization model or the trichotomy model but do offer some support for the early influence model. Nevertheless, it is clear that the early influence model fails to account for a shift in interregional contacts, perhaps from western China to the north around 2000 bc , that appears to have played a major role in the origins of the Oxus civilization inhabitants of the north Bactrian oasis. Am J Phys Anthropol 108:173–192, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Dental use wear in extinct lemurs: evidence of diet and niche differentiation

A new technique for molar use-wear analysis is applied to samples of all 16 species of extinct lemurs with known dentitions, as well as to a large comparative sample of extant primates. This technique, which relies on the light refractive properties of wear pits and scratches as seen under a standard stereoscopic microscope, has shown itself to be effective in distinguishing the diets of ungulates and extant primates. We draw dietary inferences for each of the 16 extinct lemur species in our database. There is a strong phylogenetic signal, with the Palaeopropithecidae showing use-wear signatures similar to those of the Indriidae; extinct lemurids (Pachylemur spp.) showing striking similarities to extant lemurids (except Hapalemur spp.); and Megaladapis showing similarities to Lepilemur spp. Only the Archaeolemuridae have dietary signatures unlike those of any extant lemurs, with the partial exception of Daubentonia. We conclude that the Archaeolemuridae were hard-object feeders; the Palaeopropithecidae were seed predators, consuming a mixed diet of foliage and fruit to varying degrees; Pachylemur was a fruit-dominated mixed feeder, but not a seed predator; and all Megaladapis were leaf browsers. There is no molar use wear evidence that any of the extinct lemurs relied on terrestrial foods (C4 grasses, tubers, rhizomes). This has possible implications for the role of the disappearance of wooded habitats in the extinction of lemurs.     

Reconstructing the Human Genetic History of Mainland Southeast Asia: Insights from Genome-Wide Data from Thailand and Laos

Thailand and Laos, located in the center of Mainland Southeast Asia (MSEA), harbor diverse ethnolinguistic groups encompassing all five language families of MSEA: Tai-Kadai (TK), Austroasiatic (AA), Sino-Tibetan (ST), Hmong-Mien (HM), and Austronesian (AN). Previous genetic studies of Thai/Lao populations have focused almost exclusively on uniparental markers and there is a paucity of genome-wide studies. We therefore generated genome-wide SNP data for 33 ethnolinguistic groups, belonging to the five MSEA language families from Thailand and Laos, and analyzed these together with data from modern Asian populations and SEA ancient samples. Overall, we find genetic structure according to language family, albeit with heterogeneity in the AA-, HM-, and ST-speaking groups, and in the hill tribes, that reflects both population interactions and genetic drift. For the TK speaking groups, we find localized genetic structure that is driven by different levels of interaction with other groups in the same geographic region. Several Thai groups exhibit admixture from South Asia, which we date to ∼600–1000 years ago, corresponding to a time of intensive international trade networks that had a major cultural impact on Thailand. An AN group from Southern Thailand shows both South Asian admixture as well as overall affinities with AA-speaking groups in the region, suggesting an impact of cultural diffusion. Overall, we provide the first detailed insights into the genetic profiles of Thai/Lao ethnolinguistic groups, which should be helpful for reconstructing human genetic history in MSEA and selecting populations for participation in ongoing whole genome sequence and biomedical studies.     

牛河梁红山文化人群龋齿的统计与分析

本文通过对牛河梁遗址出土的31例红山文化时期人类牙齿龋病的统计与分析, 获知: 1)牛河梁遗址男女两性的患龋率、龋齿率没有明显的性别差异; 2)他们的患龋率和龋齿率有随年龄增长逐步增高的趋势; 3)上颌的龋齿罹患率高于下颌; 4)龋齿的发生主要集中在臼齿,且以咬合面部位为主; 5)他们的患龋率和龋齿率均较低。牛河梁红山文化人群相对偏低的龋齿率可能暗示出他们的经济生活方式还处在以采集狩猎为主体的模式中, 农耕经济可能处于较低层次的状态。     

Quantifying the biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of changes in forest and agricultural land in South and Southeast Asia

South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) has been a hotspot for land use and land cover change (LULCC) in the past few decades. The identification and quantification of the drivers of LULCC are crucial for improving our understanding of LULCC trends. So far, the biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of forest change have not been quantified at the regional scale, particularly for SSEA. In this study, we quantify the biophysical and socioeconomic drivers of forest change on a country‐by‐country basis in SSEA using an integrated quantitative methodology, which systematically accounts for previously published driver information and regional datasets. We synthesize more than 200 publications to identify the drivers of the forest change at different spatial scales in SSEA. Subsequently, we collect spatially explicit proxy data to represent the identified drivers. We quantify the dynamics of forest and agricultural land from 1992 to 2015 using the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) land cover data developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). A geographically weighted regression method is employed to quantify the spatially heterogeneous drivers of forest change. Our results show that socioeconomic drivers are more important than biophysical drivers for the conversion of forest to agricultural land in South Asia and maritime Southeast Asia. In contrast, biophysical drivers are more important than socioeconomic drivers for the conversion of agricultural land to forest in maritime Southeast Asia and less important in South Asia. Both biophysical and socioeconomic drivers contribute approximately equally to both changes in the mainland Southeast Asia region. By quantifying the dynamics of forest and agricultural land and the spatially explicit drivers of their changes in SSEA, this study provides a solid foundation for LULCC modeling and projection.     

Hecabolomorpha n. gen., a new Asian genus from the tribe Hecabolini (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae)

A new Oriental genus Hecabolomorpha n. gen. with the type species H. asiatica n. sp. is described and illustrated from India and Central China. The position of this genus in the tribe Hecabolini and its relations with hecaboline genera are discussed.     

Dental enamel hypoplasias and health changes in the Middle Bronze Age - Early Iron Age transition at Pella in Jordan.

Dental enamel hypoplasias are increasingly being used in epidemiological studies as indicators of health within both modern and prehistoric populations. This symptom of growth disruption is used here to examine possible changes in health occurring at the transition between the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Jordan, through examination of enamel hypoplasias in skeletal remains from two tombs at the archaeological site of Pella. A small but not statistically significant difference in the prevalence and frequency of hypoplastic defects was found between the two time periods. These results suggest that the political and economic changes occurring at this time were not sufficiently stressful to cause a dramatic deterioration in health at the onset of the Early Iron Age.     

Breast cancer in South Asia: A Bangladeshi perspective

South Asian countries are facing a hidden breast cancer epidemic. A significant proportion of the breast cancer cases occur in premenopausal women. Knowledge of the various aspects of breast cancer in different geographical regions is limited in South Asia. In this article, we review the Bangladeshi perspective of the epidemiology, risk factors, pathology, diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. As in other developing countries, because of the lack of breast cancer awareness in Bangladeshi population and inadequate access to health care, most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease. Early detection has a crucial impact on overall treatment outcomes. To battle against breast cancer in resource-limited countries like Bangladesh, it is not feasible to set up a parallel health service system solely dedicated to cancer. Therefore, a cost-effective public health strategy is needed which could reach a large number of women in the country. Considering all these issues, we propose an innovative female-based primary healthcare approach focused on awareness, screening and early detection of breast cancer in Bangladesh. This preventive strategy could be a model for other resource-limited developing countries.     

Bronze Age olive domestication in the north Jordan valley: new morphological evidence for regional complexity in early arboricultural practice from Pella in Jordan

Recent research from the site of Pella in Jordan examines the process and timing of olive cultivation. The frequent presence of olive remains from the Pottery Neolithic, beginning in the Yarmoukian, suggests that exploitation of the olive dates from as early as c. 6200 cal bce, with evidence of oil pressing from at least c. 5200 cal bce. Morphometric data, spanning the Late Neolithic to the Middle Iron Age II, using the measurement of olive endocarp length and width, demonstrates a reduction in the size variation of olive endocarps through time, in addition to an increase in their length, likely the result of selection pressure on trees. At Pella, this change occurs sometime after the Chalcolithic and before the Late Bronze Age, probably post-dating the earliest phases of the Early Bronze Age. Domestication is thus later than Teleilat Ghassul (Jordan), which has the earliest morphological evidence for olive domestication, and suggests that olive domestication was a regionally and temporally diverse process.     

More than meets the eye: new archaeobotanical evidence on Bronze Age viticulture and wine making in the Peloponnese,Greece

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - Viticulture and wine making have been at the heart of discussions concerning the Mycenaean society with elite groups which emerged in the Mediterranean during...