Lansing man: a half century later

One of the major fossil man finds from the Plains Area of the United States and one of the few from Kansas are the “Lansing Man” skeletons. The discovery was in February 1902 on the west bank of the Missouri River, south of Leavenworth near the town of Lansing, Kansas. Much was written about this skeleton following its discovery and Ale? Hrdli?ka's only trip to Kansas in October 1902 was to observe the skeletons and the site of its discovery. Numerous articles were written suggesting that “Lansing Man” was many thousands of years old. Geologists could not agree on an age of the skeletons, an adult male and a six to seven year old child, because they were discovered in deposits of slumped loess, confusing the geological picture. Hrdli?ka states that the skeletons were physically identical to Indians of that region at the period of historical contact. William Holmes had the skull sent to the U. S. National Museum and the remaining bones were placed in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas. While on the staff of the University of Kansas, I had Carbon-14 tests conducted on bones from the lower limbs by three separate laboratories. These dates range from 2660 to 5020 B.C. with an average date of four samples (1 each from Geochron Laboratories and the University of Michigan and two from the Smithsonian Institution) of 3579 B.C. This suggests that the “Lansing Man” skeletons are Early Middle Archaic and not Paleoindian. They do, however, represent the oldest known human skeletons from Kansas.     

Brief communication: Testing the usefulness of the basilar suture as a means to determine age in great ape skeletons

A fused/closed basilar suture is usually treated as an indication of old age in great apes. A sample, drawn from a variety of sources, of known-aged captive great ape skeletons was analyzed to test the usefulness of using the basilar suture to categorize adult skeletons as either "adult" or "old adult". The state of closure of the basilar suture was examined in 30 chimpanzees, 19 gorillas, and 15 orangutans, all of known age. The results show that the basilar suture demonstrates a high level of uniformity in rate of closure and is closed at an early age in virtually all known-aged individuals. Thus, an old adult category most likely includes individuals who are, in fact, relatively young. This indicates that using the basilar suture as a means to classify individual skeletons as adult or old adult is very imprecise. The homogenous nature of basilar suture closure appears to prevent meaningful application of suture status for categorizing adult ape skeletons by age groups.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clitopilus reticulosporus</Emphasis>, a new species with unique spore ornamentation,its phylogenetic affinities and implications on the spore evolution theory

Clitopilus reticulosporus (Entolomataceae, Agaricales) growing on rotting wood is described as a new species based on collections from Austria and Hungary. Multi-gene phylogenetic analysis of ITS, rpb2, LSU and mtSSU confirms the placement of C. reticulosporus in the Clitopilus-Rhodocybe clade in the Entolomataceae. It is nested within the subclade containing the species with clitopiloid spores (Clitopilus s. str.). Scanning electron microscopy studies demonstrate that the spores of this species have a peculiar reticulate ornamentation resembling an intermediate form between the clitopiloid type with longitudinal ribs, and the rhodocyboid type with irregular bumps and ridges. However, our ancestral character reconstruction suggests that (1) this character state is not an intermediate form and (2) the discovery of this new character state does not have a direct implication on the Entolomataceae spore evolution theory. Our phylogenetic reconstruction uncovered, at least, three distinct lineages in the Clitopilus s. str. clade, and suggest that sect. Clitopilus is monophyletic, while sect. Schyphoides and sect. Pleurotelloides are not.     

Sex determination of adolescent skeletons using the distal humerus

Accurate determination of the sex of immature skeletal remains is difficult in the absence of DNA, due to the fact that most sexually dimorphic features of the human skeleton develop as secondary sex characteristics during adolescence. Methods of assessment of adult skeletons cannot reliably be applied to adolescent skeletons because of the transitional nature of the skeleton at puberty and the variability of the adolescent growth spurt. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the accuracy of Rogers's method of morphological sex determination using the distal humerus (Rogers: J Forensic Sci 44 ( 1999 ) 55–59) to assess the sex of adolescent skeletons. The sample consists of 7 documented adolescent skeletons from the Christ Church Spitalfields collection at the British Museum of Natural History and 35 from the Luis Lopes skeletal collection housed in the National History Museum (Museu Bocage) of the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Ages range from 11 to 20 years. The technique achieved an accuracy of 81% on the combined sample of 42. This method can be applied to adolescent skeletons once the trochlea begins fusing to the humeral diaphysis, which occurred by age 11 years in the test samples. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Paleodontologic study of skeletal findings at Takht-i Suleiman, West Iran

Within this paleodontological study 26 Achemenid and 8 Islamic skeletons from the excavations at Tahkt-i Suleiman (Western Iran) were investigated. The diagnosis of age and sex was done repeatedly according to various methods. The adult Achemenids reached an average age of 54.4 years (n = 16; SD = +/- 9.9 y), while the Islamic adult individuals reached a lifespan of 36.9 (n = 8; SD = +/- 11.0 y). The skeletons of the Achemenid children had an average of 6.8 years (n = 9; SD = +/- 3.3 y). In the specific dental investigations the teeth of all skeletons were checked for missing teeth or dental diseases or alterations of the jaws. For the whole series intravital loss of 19.3% of the teeth was found. 21.6% of the teeth were lost postmortally. The intravital loss of single teeth was 21.9% in the Achemenid teeth, disregarding the wisdom tooth and Dentes decidui; the respective value was 12% in the Islamic skeletons. The investigation for caries yielded a morbidity of 50% in the Achemenid skeletons, and 57% in the Islamic teeth. The frequency of caries was 6.2% in Achemenids and 9% in Islamic individuals. In the Dentes decidui the frequency of caries was found to be 3.6%. Dental tartar was present in 44.8% of the teeth, 42% of Achemenid teeth and 58% of Islamic teeth being affected. 33% of all teeth showed garlands of dental tartar. Signs of parodontolysis were investigated considering the health of the individual and the preservation of the skeleton. All adult teeth showed age-dependent parodontolysis, the means of which were quantified.     

Vertebral arch defects in the lumbar vertebrae of pre-historic American Eskimos. A study of skeletons in the American Museum of Natural History,chieely from Point Hope,Alaska

The incidence of lumbar vertebral arch defects was studied in 295 Eskimo skeletons now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, which were obtained from adjacent burial grounds at Point Hope, Alaska. One burial ground containing 47 skeletons was used by the Ipiutak at about the start of the Christian era. The other burial ground was used by the Tigara a thousand years later and contained 248 skeletons. The lesion is a separation of the vertebral arch from the vertebral body. It usually involves the fifth lumbar vertebra but may involve others and more than one. The present incidence in the United States is about 7%. Among the Tigara the incidence was 45% and more than twice that of the Ipiutak, 21%. The youngest case was in a child of five and the deformity was uncommon before adult life. The incidence and extent of the lesion increased with age suggesting an hereditary weakness as an etiological factor. No other etiological factor could be determined although several were considered. The clinical disability could not be determined but it seemed to have no effect on longevity.     

Age and sex bias in the reconstruction of past population structures

Palaeodemographical studies are founded on the assumption that the sex and age distribution of the skeletal sample reflects the constitution of the original population. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that the type and amount of information that may be derived from osteoarchaeological collections are related to the state of preservation of remains. This work proposes a new method to evaluate bone preservation, to identify age and sex biases in the preservation of human skeletal remains, and to assess whether differences in preservation patterns are more dependent on factors intrinsic or extrinsic to anatomical features of human bones. Three osteological collections and over 600 skeletons were observed. The state of preservation of human bones was assessed using three preservation indexes: the anatomical preservation index (API), the bone representation index (BRI), and the qualitative bone index (QBI). The results suggest that subadult skeletons are generally more poorly preserved and with bones less well-represented than adult skeletons. Among subadults, female and male skeletons have different patterns of preservation according to their age. This pattern of preservation depends on intrinsic anatomical properties of bones themselves, while external factors can only increase these differences in the state of preservation and representation of osseous remains. It is concluded from this that failure to recognize these differences may lead to misleading interpretations of paleodemography of past human populations.     

Timing of fusion of the ischiopubic ramus from dry bone observations

There is little information about the age at which the ischiopubic ramus fuses derived from dry bone observations. This study documents the age ranges for union of the ischiopubic ramus in a sample of 148 known sex and age skeletons from Portugal, with ages ranging from birth to 20 years, using a three-stage scheme. The oldest female with an unfused ramus is 11 years old and the oldest male is 8 years old. The youngest male with a completely fused ramus is 7 years old, and the youngest female is 5 years old. Despite the relatively large sample size, partial fusion was a rare event to record as only two individuals were at this stage and these seemed relatively older than expected (12 and 14 years of age). The likely age interval for partial union of the ramus was subsequently estimated from logistic regression, for both sexes separated and combined. In the sex-pooled sample, the inter-quartile range (25th–75th percentile) for the median age of fusion is 7–11 years and the 10th–90th percentile range is 4–15 years. The scarcity of data on the age of ischiopubic fusion may be related to biases in the sample or to fusion occurring rapidly in this anatomical location. Additional studies may be required to assess the accuracy of the ages reported here, but at present this study provides the most comprehensive assessment of timing of fusion at the ischiopubic ramus from observations of dry bone specimens.     

Skeletal material from the house of C iulius polybius in Pompeii, 79 AD

Among partly mixed collection of skeletal remains excavated in the house called “Casa di Polibio” skeletons of 13 individuals were re-assembled and identified. There were 3 adult males, 3 adult females of various ages, 4 boys, 1 girl, child of unknown sex and one foetus in the last month of intrauterine life. The foetus was associated with the skeleton of a young (16–18 years) female whose bones are stained green-blue-black, probably by the jewellery or costume. Craniometric, odontometric, and osteometric data, together with reconstruction of stature are presented. Besides a mild case of torticollis in a young adult male no special pathologies were found. Enamel hypoplasia was frequent (87.5%). Presence of dental calculus on teeth of practically all individuals, frequent dental caries (63.6% of individuals), and moderate tooth wear indicate diet of well-cooked foods rich in carbohydrates. On grounds of age and biological characteristics it may be suggested that the group included older parents, their children, eldest son and his pregnant young wife plus a pair of domestics. Other possibilities include three adult couples: grandparents, parents and newlywed eldest daughter and her husband. Final resolution of family relationships must await full analysis of metric data and the DNA analysis. It seems that the group is representative of a Pompeian household: many children born approximately 3 years apart, early age at marriage, good food, relative freedom from disfiguring disease.     

Coral skeletons: storage and recovery of environmental information

Understanding the nature and causes of past global change is a key to understanding what may happen in the future. The discovery, nearly 25 years ago, of annual density bands in skeletons of long-lived, massive corals promised high-resolution proxy climate records for tropical oceans. The tropics are regions of major importance to the global climate system and they are poorly represented by high-resolution proxy climate records such as tree rings, ice cores and historical documents. In this review we examine the principles and procedures underlying routine recovery and interpretation of information from proxy environmental recorders. We summarize an extensive literature which indicates that coral skeletons are excellent archives for considerable and diverse environmental information. We show that this potential has not been fully realized, largely because corals seemed to yield inconsistent, sometimes conflicting, information. We discuss ways in which much of this confusion is resolved by new understanding of coral skeletal growth mechanisms. We also examine several records which indicate that corals can meet requirements for reconstruction of useful, reliable environmental information.     

Isotopic evidence of dietary variations and weaning practices in the Gaya cemetery at Yeanri,Gimhae, South Korea

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analyses were conducted to investigate dietary variation in human skeletons (n = 109) from the Gaya cemetery at Yeanri located near Gimhae City, South Korea. The cemetery contained three distinct grave types dating to 4th–7th century AD. The main purposes of this research were to reconstruct palaeodiet in the Gaya population and to explore correlations between stable isotope compositions and burial types, inferred age, and sex of these individuals. The isotopic data indicate that the people at Yeanri consumed a predominantly C₃‐based terrestrial diet supplemented with freshwater and/or marine resources. The comparison of isotopic results reveals significant differences in δ¹³C values among three adult burial types (wood‐cist coffin: ?18.5 ± 0.5‰, stone‐cist coffin: ?18.1 ± 0.6‰, mausoleum: ?17.8 ± 0.9‰). Males in wood‐cist and stone‐cist coffins have relatively more elevated mean δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values than females. The isotopic ratios from the two adult age groups (21–40 years and 40–60 years) indicate that there was no significant dietary change in individuals with age. The isotope data from the infants and children suggest the weaning was a gradual process that was completed between 3 and 4 years of age in the Gaya population. This evidence indicates that the dietary variations within the cemetery reflect social status, sex, and childhood consumption patterns. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

LifeMap Discovery?: The Embryonic Development,Stem Cells,and Regenerative Medicine Research Portal

LifeMap Discovery™ provides investigators with an integrated database of embryonic development, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The hand-curated reconstruction of cell ontology with stem cell biology; including molecular, cellular, anatomical and disease-related information, provides efficient and easy-to-use, searchable research tools. The database collates in vivo and in vitro gene expression and guides translation from in vitro data to the clinical utility, and thus can be utilized as a powerful tool for research and discovery in stem cell biology, developmental biology, disease mechanisms and therapeutic discovery. LifeMap Discovery is freely available to academic nonprofit institutions at http://discovery.lifemapsc.com     

Two Methods for reconstructing the empirical mortality profile

This paper goes one step beyond the age determination of the individual skeleton. It presents two methods for the reconstruction of the distribution of the age at death in a sample of skeletons. It is shown that the maximum likelihood method, in spite of certain weaknesses, is superior to the traditionally used proportional method, especially in situations when the analyzed sample consists of skeletons with very different conditions of preservation and thus age intervals of differing lengths. The maximum likelihood method eliminates a bias towards increased average age at death which is introduced by the proportional method. An analysis of an empirical example indicates that the difference between results obtained using the two methods increases with increasing age.     

The relative age structure and body masses of complete wild-captured colonies of two social mole-rats, the common mole-rat, Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus and the Damaraland mole-rat, Cryptomys damarensis

The relative ages of individuals in a complete wild-captured colony of 13 Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus and a complete wild-captured colony of 25 Cryptomys damarensis were determined by means of tooth wear and eruption patterns and through the degree of ossification of their skeletons.
From sequential tooth wear and eruption patterns four relative age classes were discerned in C. h. hottentotus and five in C. damarensis . These relative age class allocations were supported by the studies on the ossification of the skeletons.
In C. damarensis , older animals are not necessarily the larger-sized individuals. In C. h. hottentotus , however, older animals are usually the larger-sized individuals. The reproductive pair in each of the Cryptomys species are the oldest or amongst the oldest individuals in the colony.
Individuals in a second colony of C. damarensis kept under laboratory conditions for three years maintained greatly disparate body masses which were correlated with the role of the individual within the colony and not, where it was known, with the age of the animal.
An analysis of 13 body and skull measurements performed on a complete colony of 13 C. h. hottentotus and a complete colony of 25 C damarensis revealed that only C. damarensis showed sexual dimorphism. This dimorphism was apparent from an early age but became more pronounced in older animals.     

Brief communication: the collection of identified human skeletons housed at the Bocage Museum (National Museum of Natural History), Lisbon, Portugal

A large collection of identified human skeletons curated at the Bocage Museum (National Museum of Natural History, Lisbon, Portugal) has remained in relative anonymity since its collecting protocol was initiated in the 1980s. This collection originates from modern cemetery sources and is comprised of 1,692 skeletons with basic documentary data (age at death, place of birth, occupation, place of residence, and date and cause of death). At present, this information is more readily available for 699 individuals. The remaining 993 are in the process of being fully documented. The skeletons consist largely of Portuguese nationals who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries (1805-1975) in Lisbon. Both sexes are equally represented, and ages at death range from birth to 98 years, including 92 subadults (<20 years old).     

Factors associated with HIV/AIDS diagnostic disclosure to HIV infected children receiving HAART: a multi-center study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background

Diagnostic disclosure of HIV/AIDS to a child is becoming an increasingly common issue in clinical practice. Nevertheless, some parents and health care professionals are reluctant to inform children about their HIV infection status. The objective of this study was to identify the proportion of children who have knowledge of their serostatus and factors associated with disclosure in HIV-infected children receiving HAART in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in five hospitals in Addis Ababa from February 18, 2008–April 28, 2008. The study populations were parents/caretakers and children living with HIV/AIDS who were receiving Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) in selected hospitals in Addis Ababa. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were carried out using SPSS 12.0.1 statistical software.

Results

A total of 390 children/caretaker pairs were included in the study. Two hundred forty three children (62.3%) were between 6–9 years of age. HIV/AIDS status was known by 68 (17.4%) children, 93 (29%) caretakers reported knowing the child''s serostatus two years prior to our survey, 180 (46.2%) respondents said that the child should be told about his/her HIV/AIDS status when he/she is older than 14 years of age. Children less than 9 years of age and those living with educated caregivers are less likely to know their results than their counterparts. Children referred from hospital''s in-patient ward before attending the HIV clinic and private clinic were more likely to know their results than those from community clinic.

Conclusion

The proportion of disclosure of HIV/AIDS diagnosis to HIV-infected children is low. Strengthening referral linkage and health education tailored to educated caregivers are recommended to increase the rate of disclosure.     

Ovarian Function,Not Age,Predicts the Benefit from Ovarian Suppression or Ablation for Premenopausal Women with Breast Cancer

The role of adjuvant ovarian suppression or ablation (OS/OA) in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer remains controversial. The purpose of our study was to examine which patients might benefit from the addition of OS/OA to tamoxifen. We analyzed the data of 2065 premenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive invasive ductal carcinomas who were treated at Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center from 2000 to 2008. The five-year disease-free survival rate (DFSR) and overall survival rate (OSR) were compared by menstrual status and treatment. Compared with patients older than forty years of age, patients younger than forty years old had significant lower DFSRs and OSRs. The addition of OS/OA to tamoxifen increased the DFSR and OSR of patients with normal menstrual cycles after chemotherapy, regardless of their age at diagnosis. Patients with normal menstrual cycles after chemotherapy are the main beneficiaries of an adjuvant OS/OA.     

Genetic basis of stony coral biomineralization: History,trends and future prospects

Despite their simple body plan, stony corals (order Scleractinia, phylum Cnidaria) can produce massive and complex exoskeletal structures in shallow, tropical and subtropical regions of Earth’s oceans. The species-specific macromorphologies of their aragonite skeletons suggest a highly coordinated biomineralization process that is rooted in their genomes, and which has persisted across major climatic shifts over the past 400 + million years. The mechanisms by which stony corals produce their skeletons has been the subject of interest for at least the last 160 years, and the pace of understanding the process has increased dramatically in the past decade since the sequencing of the first coral genome in 2011. In this review, we detail what is known to date about the genetic basis of the stony coral biomineralization process, with a focus on advances in the last several years as well as ways that physical and chemical tools can be combined with genetics, and then propose next steps forward for the coming decade.     

Bone microstructure and its hidden information

Human bone micromorphology gives clues to a variety of life history parameters, such as individual age, health status, and physical activity. In the course of an ongoing study, thin cross sections of femoral compact bone from three skeletal series are investigated for different purposes. The first series consists of 103 adult skeletons excavated from a 19th century hospital graveyard in Basel, Switzerland. Several disease- and stress-markers, like layers of arrested growth or other conspicuous microstructural composition were observed. Another 36 individuals come from the dissection room of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich. These individuals have an average age at death of about 80 years and offer the possibility to investigate the micromorphological characteristics of individuals of very advanced age. Finally, 72 medieval subadult skeletons shall serve for the establishment of a relationship between individual age and bone microstructural parameters according to the different ontogenetic stages.     

Single-stage, autologous breast restoration

The skin-sparing mastectomy, when performed with immediate reconstruction, is a major advance in breast reconstruction. Traditionally, reconstruction of the nipple-areola complex is performed as a subsequent procedure. In this study, 17 patients (mean age, 43 years; range, 35 to 53 years) underwent one-stage breast and nipple-areola reconstruction over a 21-month period. In all cases of breast reconstruction, a buried transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap was used, and all patients had a simultaneous nipple-areola complex reconstruction performed. Nine patients had a Wise keyhole pattern used and contralateral reduction performed. Four patients retained all their breast skin, and a TRAM skin island was used in another four. It has recently been shown that patients with early-stage breast cancer and peripherally sited tumors have a very low risk of nipple-areola involvement. In 10 patients with early disease and peripheral tumors, the areola was retained (as a thin full-thickness graft), but more recently, in three patients with early-stage disease, the entire nipple-areola complex was used as a thin full-thickness graft. The thin full-thickness skin graft is removed from the breast in an apple-coring fashion, so that most of the ducts are retained as part of the mastectomy specimen. (There was histological confirmation of absence of tumor in the nipples of these patients.)One-stage autologous reconstruction should be considered for all patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction. In patients with early-stage disease and peripheral tumors, the nipple-areola complex may be retained through the use of a thin full-thickness graft that is applied to a deepithelialized CV flap on the TRAM flap. This allows the best method of nipple-areola complex reconstruction: by retaining the original breast envelope, the color match and texture in the reconstruction are ideal. Patient satisfaction in this study was high. Necrosis of the mastectomy flaps impaired the cosmetic results in some patients. A large multicenter study is required to confirm the effectiveness of this procedure.