Population characteristics of extinct hominid endocranial volume

Distribution and variation statistics of hominid endocranial volume (ECV) have been investigated. Within the interpretative constraints imposed by (very) small sample sizes, the requirements for normality are met, as are those for heteroscedasticity. A significant difference in means can be demonstrated for only two comparisons. With one exception, overall distribution characteristics differ significantly in pairwise comparisons between taxa. The coefficient of variation of ECV that characterizes a group composed of all Plio-Pleistocene gracile hominids does not support a single polytypic species interpretation of this assemblage. Significant differences in the coefficient of variation exist between all possible pairs of taxa with the exception of Homo habilis and Homo erectus.     

A uniquely modern human pattern of endocranial development. Insights from a new cranial reconstruction of the Neandertal newborn from Mezmaiskaya

The globular braincase of modern humans is distinct from all fossil human species, including our closest extinct relatives, the Neandertals. Such adult shape differences must ultimately be rooted in different developmental patterns, but it is unclear at which point during ontogeny these group characteristics emerge.Here we compared internal shape changes of the braincase from birth to adulthood in Neandertals (N = 10), modern humans (N = 62), and chimpanzees (N = 62). Incomplete fossil specimens, including the two Neandertal newborns from Le Moustier 2 and Mezmaiskaya, were reconstructed using reference-based estimation methods. We used 3D geometric morphometrics to statistically compare shapes of virtual endocasts extracted from computed-tomographic scans. Throughout the analysis, we kept track of possible uncertainties due to the missing data values and small fossil sample sizes.We find that some aspects of endocranial development are shared by the three species. However, in the first year of life, modern humans depart from this presumably ancestral pattern of development. Newborn Neandertals and newborn modern humans have elongated braincases, and similar endocranial volumes. During a ‘globularization-phase’ modern human endocasts change to the globular shape that is characteristic for Homo sapiens. This phase of early development is unique to modern humans, and absent from chimpanzees and Neandertals.Our results support the notion that Neandertals and modern humans reach comparable adult brain sizes via different developmental pathways. The differences between these two human groups are most prominent directly after birth, a critical phase for cognitive development.     

A reconsideration of the Archi 1 Neandertal mandible

A reassessment of the early last glacial immature Neandertal mandibular corpus from Archi indicates a series of features in which it closely resembles other pre-adolescent Neandertal mandibles and contrasts with those of similarly aged recent humans. These are in the context of a re-aging of the specimen to ca. 3 years on the basis of deciduous dental eruption and attrition and permanent dental calcification. The Archi 1 mandible resembles other immature Neandertals in having a “retreating” symphyseal profile in the context of moderate development of mental trigone features. It is relatively robust in the development of lateral and basilar corpus features and some increased symphyseal and lateral corpus thickness. And it exhibits, along with other Middle Paleolithic immature mandibles, anteriorly wide dental arcades, probably due to large developing anterior permanent tooth crowns.     

Structure-function relationships in glucagon. Re-evaluation of glucagon-(1-21)

Glucagon-(1-21) was prepared fully synthetically as well as by carboxypeptidase A digestion of natural porcine glucagon. Neither of the two preparations had glucagon agonistic effects with regard to receptor binding or adenylate cyclase activation in purified rat liver plasma membranes. Nor did these preparations contain lipolytic activity in isolated free fat cells. A preliminary batch of glucagon-(1-21) prepared by carboxypeptidase A digestion did, however, contain 1-2% glucagon bioactivity. This activity was separated from glucagon-(1-21) by high-performance liquid chromatography and quantitatively recovered in four minor hind peaks which eluted close to but not in a position identical to the elution position of native glucagon.     

New Neandertal remains from Cova Negra (Valencia, Spain)

New Neandertal fossils from the Mousterian site of Cova Negra in the Valencia region of Spain are described, and a comprehensive study of the entire human fossil sample is provided. The new specimens significantly augment the sample of human remains from this site and make Cova Negra one of the richest human paleontological sites on the Iberian Peninsula. The new specimens include cranial and postcranial elements from immature individuals and provide an opportunity to study the ontogenetic appearance of adult Neandertal characteristics in this Pleistocene population. Children younger than 10 years of age constitute four of the seven minimum number of individuals in the sample, and this relative abundance of children at Cova Negra is similar that in to other Neandertal sites in Europe and southwest Asia. The recognition of diagnostic Neandertal features in several of the specimens, as well as their western European context and late Pleistocene age, suggests that all the human remains from Cova Negra represent Neandertals. The archaeological evidence from Cova Negra indicates sporadic, short-term occupations of the site, suggesting a high degree of mobility among Neandertals.     

A note on chironomids (diptera) of temporary pools in the National Park of Circeo,Central Italy

Preliminary observations on chironomid assemblages in 9 temporary pools of the National Park of Circeo (Central Italy) are reported. A total of 15 genera or species groups (6 Orthocladiinae, 3 Tanypodinae, 1 Tanytarsini and 5 Chironomini) were recorded during March and April, 1986.Psectrotanypus varius, Polypedilum nubeculosum gr.,Chironomus thummi gr. andC. plumosus gr. were the most abundant and frequent taxa in the nine pools. Almost all chironomids collected are eurytopic and widely distributed in Europe, including Italian waters. Only the finding ofGymnometriocnemus is reported in this paper as a new record for Central Italy. Similarity among pools and among taxa (coefficient of Jaccard) shows a major occurrence of aquatic Orthocladiinae in smaller pools and of Chironomini in larger pools. This relationship between chironomid assemblages and pool sizes can be partly related to the duration of the wet phase which affects chironomid species according to their survival strategies.     

A Neandertal mandible from the Cova del Gegant (Sitges, Barcelona, Spain)

A human mandible from the site of Cova del Gegant is described here for the first time and compared with other Middle and Upper Pleistocene representatives of the genus Homo from Europe and Southwest Asia. The specimen was recovered from sediments which also yielded Mousterian stone tools and Pleistocene fauna. The preserved morphology of the mandible, particularly in the region of the mental foramen, clearly aligns it with the Neandertals, making the Cova del Gegant the only known site in Catalonia documenting diagnostic human skeletal remains in association with Middle Paleolithic stone tools. This represents an important new addition to the human fossil record from the Iberian Peninsula and joins the Ba?olas mandible in documenting the course of human evolution in the northern Mediterranean region of Spain.     

Lower limb entheseal morphology in the Neandertal Krapina population (Croatia, 130,000 BP)

Although the Neandertal locomotor system has been shown to differ from Homo sapiens, characteristics of Neandertal entheses, the skeletal attachments for muscles, tendons, ligaments and joint capsules, have never been specifically investigated. Here, we analyse lower limb entheses of the Krapina Neandertal bones (Croatia, 130,000 BP) with the aim of determining how they compare with modern humans, using a standard developed by our research group for describing modern human entheseal variability. The entheses examined are those of the gluteus maximus, iliopsoas and vastus medialis on the femur, the quadriceps tendon on the patella, and soleus on the tibia. For the entheses showing a different morphological pattern from H. sapiens, we discuss the possibility of recognising genetic versus environmental causes. Our results indicate that only the gluteus maximus enthesis (the gluteal tuberosity), falls out of the modern human range of variation. It displays morphological features that could imply histological differences from modern humans, in particular the presence of fibrocartilage. In both H. sapiens and the Krapina Neandertals, the morphological pattern of this enthesis is the same in adult and immature femurs. These results can be interpreted in light of genetic differences between the two hominins. The possibility of functional adaptations to higher levels of mechanical load during life in the Neandertals seems less likely. The particular morphology and large dimensions of the Krapina enthesis, and perhaps its fibrocartilaginous nature, could have been selected for in association with other pelvic and lower limb characteristics, even if genetic drift cannot be ruled out.     

流感病毒裂解疫苗上市后再评价研究

目的评价流感病毒裂解疫苗上市后在较大范围人群中接种的安全性和免疫原性。方法回顾分析2013年和2015年分别在四川省和湖北省开展的安全性再评价中收集的疑似预防接种异常反应(adverse events following immunization, AEFI)数据,分析AEFI报告发生率。分析2007年和2015年分别在江苏省盐城市和湖北省汉川市开展的免疫原性再评价,招募≥6月龄健康受试者,接种流感病毒裂解疫苗,检测受试者免疫前及全程免疫后28 d血清H1N1、H3N2和B型流感病毒血凝抑制(haemagglutination inhibition, HI)抗体,进行免疫原性分析。结果 2013年四川省安全性再评价中,AEFI报告发生率为11.78/10万;其中,一般反应、异常反应、偶合症的发生率分别为8.50/10万、2.62/10万、0.65/10万;2015年湖北省安全性再评价中,AEFI报告发生率为7.46/10万;其中,一般反应、异常反应的发生率分别为5.70/10万、1.76/10万;无偶合症未发现可疑的罕见严重不良反应;2次免疫原性再评价中,2007年盐城市319名受试者免疫后H1N1、H3N2和B型流感病毒HI抗体阳转率分别为95.0%、87.1%、88.1%,抗体几何平均滴度(geometric mean titer, GMT)分别比免疫前增加33.3、7.8、26.0倍,抗体保护率分别为100.0%、99.7%、98.4%;2015年汉川市591名受试者免疫后H1N1、H3N2和B型流感病毒HI抗体阳转率分别为73.3%、86.3%、65.8%,抗体GMT分别比免疫前增加10.9、20.2、8.0倍,抗体保护率分别为97.5%、100.0%、96.6%。结论流感病毒裂解疫苗具有良好的安全性和免疫原性,可用于相关人群的流感免疫预防。     

An unrecorded specimen of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

An hitherto unpuhlicized specimen of the Javan (Sondaic) rhinoceros in the Manchester Museum is briefly described.