Dental size and shape in the Roman imperial age: Two examples from the area of Rome

Different socioeconomic strata of Roman imperial age are represented by two large dental samples recovered from archaeological excavations near Rome, Italy. Teeth are investigated for crown dimensions and morphological variants. One sample, comprising 1,465 permanent teeth, represents the rural town of Lucus Feroniae (LFR) and is mainly composed of slaves and war veterans. The other, comprising 734 teeth from the Isola Sacra necropolis at Portus Romae (NIS), represents the “middle class” segment of an urban population. Both series show small dental dimensions and fit at the lower end of the trend toward dental reduction in Europe from the Upper Paleolithic to the historical times. The urban sample is less variable metrically and less sexually dimorphic than the rural one. The analysis of discrete crown traits shows absence of rare phenotypic variants in both series. The urban sample is also less variable in this last respect, suggesting that the gene pool of this particular “stratum” of the NIS population was more homogeneous than that of LFR. The occurrence of enamel hypoplasia indicates that metabolic stress during growth and development was similar in LFR and NIS. The overall set of available data is evaluated in the light of the history of the two Roman sites and the composition of each population. Am J Phys Anthropol 102:469–479, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The Primary Lower Gypsum in the Mediterranean: A new facies interpretation for the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis

The detailed facies and physical stratigraphic analysis of the Primary Lower Gypsum in the Mediterranean indicates a surprising bed-by-bed correlation at basin-scale (Spain, Italy, Hellenic arc and Cyprus arc), that is tuned to the orbital calibration for the first stage of the Messinian salinity crisis from 5.96 to 5.61 Ma ago. A total of 16, precessionally-controlled, gypsum cycles were deposited rapidly in less than 350 ka, forming sequences up to 300 m thick. The lack of subaerial exposure features and the common facies associations and stacking pattern for sections located thousands of kilometers apart in different geological settings indicates a modest depositional depth, not extremely shallow. Selenite deposition occurred only at the bottom of restricted marginal basins less than 200 m deep, while no gypsum could precipitate in the deeper euxinic Mediterranean portions where only thin and barren shale/dolostone couplets formed. The lowermost selenite beds pass laterally to dolomite-rich limestones interbedded with barren euxinic shales in poorly oxygenated settings, indicating that the gypsum sedimentation was diachronous and did not necessarily mark the onset on the Messinian salinity crisis.Evaporite facies sequences (EF1 to 8) within individual gypsum beds show small-scale, subaqueous sedimentary cycles that mimic regressive-transgressive cycles: a) initial evaporite precipitation at relatively low supersaturation produced the massive selenite (facies EF3) in a relatively deep setting; b) continuous evaporation and drawdown by oscillating brine level formed the banded selenite (EF4) at the aridity acme of the precessionally-controlled cycle; c) general progressive brine level rise with strong brine flow led to the formation of large selenite supercones branching laterally (supercones in Spain and branching selenite, EF5, in the rest of the Mediterranean); and d) flooding by undersaturated continental water terminated gypsum precipitation with the deposition of argillaceous sediments (EF1, Northern Apennines), and/or limestone (EF2, Sicily and Spain) during the humid phase in the precession climate cycle.The stacking pattern and selenite facies associations suggest an overall shallowing-upward trend with a basin-wide hydrologic change starting from the 6th cycle (5.84 Ma), which is marked by the appearance of the branching selenite facies (supercones) in Spain and indicates that the brines became current-dominated. The Sr-isotope stratigraphy suggests that in the Northern Apennines the brines were strongly modified by continental waters (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.708893 to 0.708998), and received direct pulses of Atlantic seawater (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70900 to 0.709024) only in the upper part of the section. In areas away from the mainland, such as Sicily, the continental input was by far less important.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: The effect of marathon on mRNA expression of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic proteins and sirtuins family in male recreational long-distance runners

Background  

A large body of evidence shows that a single bout of strenuous exercise induces oxidative stress in circulating human lymphocytes leading to lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, mitochondrial perturbations, and protein oxidation.     

Genome skimming and plastid microsatellite profiling of alder trees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alnus</Emphasis> spp., Betulaceae): phylogenetic and phylogeographical prospects

Alders (Alnus spp.) represent keystone species trees of riparian and mountainous habitats of the northern hemisphere. Previous genetic studies have suggested a complex intrageneric diversification with numerous events of interspecific hybridization and polyploidization. Here, we first aim to test the present taxonomical treatment of Alnus by generating phylogenetic hypotheses based on plastid and nuclear data obtained from species belonging to the three main alder subgenera (Alnus, Alnobetula, and Clethropsis). A genome-skimming strategy was used to assemble the complete plastome and the nuclear ribosomal DNA cluster of 22 Eurasian and American alder individuals. Phylogenies based on these data strongly support an early diverging subgenus Alnobetula, while members of the subgenus Clethropsis do not constitute a monophyletic clade and are embedded within the subgenus Alnus. Incongruent topologies also sustain reticulate evolution within this group. Our results thus suggest considering the subgenera Clethropsis and Alnus within the same taxonomical unit. Our second aim is to test for the utility of highly variable plastid markers (microsatellites) to investigate the phylogeographic patterns of Eurasian alder species. Fifty-two polymorphic plastid microsatellite markers were developed and tested on 33 populations of the subgenus Alnus in western Eurasia. On average, 4.3 alleles per locus were revealed in 131 individuals of Alnus glutinosa, allowing the identification of 30 chlorotypes (multiloci profiles). Strong phylogeographic signals and recurrent cytoplasmic captures between co-occurring species are revealed, demonstrating that our plastid microsatellite profiling method is suitable for tracing the post-glacial spread of maternal lineages among alder species. All these results finally support the use of nuclear genomic regions for species identification and of plastid markers for phylogeographic aspects and origin certification in genetic resource management.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>3-polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid induces immunogenic cell death in human cancer cell lines via pre-apoptotic calreticulin exposure

Some anticancer chemotherapeutics, such as anthracyclines and oxaliplatin, elicit immunogenic apoptosis, meaning that dying cancer cells are engulfed by dendritic cells and tumor antigens are efficiently presented to CD8+ T cells, which control residual tumor cells. Immunogenic apoptosis is characterized by pre-apoptotic cell surface exposure of calreticulin (CRT), which usually resides into the endoplasmic reticulum. We investigated the ability of the n3-polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n3, DHA) to induce pre-apoptotic CRT exposure on the surface of the human PaCa-44 pancreatic and EJ bladder cancer cell lines. Cells were treated with 150 μM DHA for different time periods, and, by immunoblot and immunofluorescence, we showed that DHA induced CRT exposure, before the apoptosis-associated phosphatidylserine exposure. As for the known immunogenic compounds, CRT exposure was inhibited by the antioxidant GSH, the pan-caspase zVAD-FMK, and caspase-8 IETD-FMK inhibitor. We provide the first evidence that DHA induces CRT exposure, representing thus a novel potential anticancer immunogenic chemotherapeutic agent.     

Impact of local forest composition on soil fungal communities in a mixed boreal forest

Plant and Soil - While fungi are key drivers of the carbon cycle and obligate symbionts of trees, the link between plant-fungal interactions and landscape vegetation changes has been largely...     

Evaluation of different alpha-Galactosyl glycoconjugates for use in xenotransplantation

Porcine organs are rapidly rejected after transplantation into primate recipients due to the presence of preexisting immunoglobulins that bind to terminal galactose alpha1,3 galactose residues (alpha-galactosyl) present on porcine glycoproteins and glycolipids. Currently available immunosuppressive reagents have been largely ineffective at controlling the synthesis of these anti-Gal antibodies. Nonantigenic hapten polymers have been shown to be effective materials for blocking humoral immune responses in various model systems. We have developed a series of alpha-galactosyl glycoconjugate polymers and tested their ability to block anti-Gal antibody binding in vitro and in vivo. A galactose alpha1,3 galactose beta 1,4 GlcNAc trisaccharide free acid (TRFA) with a hexanoic acid spacer, containing five methylene groups and a carboxylic acid, was produced and coupled to a variety of polymeric backbones including dextran, branched poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), and poly-L-lysine. The ability of monomeric TRFA and the alpha-galactosyl conjugates to block anti-Gal IgG and IgM binding was determined using a competition ELISA assay on defined HSA-Gal glycoconjugates and porcine microvascular endothelial cell substrates. We show that branched PEG carriers, with a TRFA sugar attached to each branch, exhibit enhanced antibody blocking ability compared to TRFA, but at higher target antigen densities these simple PEG conjugates are no more effective then an equivalent amount of TRFA in blocking anti-Gal IgM antibody interactions. In contrast, polymers of the branched PEG conjugates and linear conjugates made using dextran and poly-L-lysine were 2000 to 70000-fold more effective inhibitors of anti-Gal antibodies. In a study using nonhuman primates, a single dose infusion of polymeric PEG or dextran glycoconjugates dramatically reduced the level of circulating anti-Gal antibodies in cynomologus monkeys for at least 72 h. Glycoconjugates similar to these might be useful both to block anti-Gal interactions in vivo and to specifically control the induced anti-Gal immune response.