Fracture patterns at the Medieval Leper Hospital in Chichester

Humans are constantly at risk of bone fractures, not only when threatened by personal violence, but also by the challenge of daily living. Because fractures are a cross-cultural phenomenon and are one of the more commonly observed skeletal lesions in archaeological collections, their presence provides a unique opportunity to compare living conditions, and thereby assess fracture risk in coexisting cultures. This study analyzed long bone fracture patterns of 212 sexed adults from the medieval leper hospital of St. James and St. Mary Magdalene in Chichester, England. The comparison of this hospital sample to other British medieval skeletal samples examined the level of health manifest in fracture etiology. The fracture frequency for this sample was 15.1%, with males accounting for 85.4% of the fractures. The fracture frequencies from the samples not affiliated with hospitals ranged from 3.3 to 5.6%. Because medieval urban lifestyle was notoriously difficult due to inadequate sanitation and living conditions, the overall health of the population at large was inferior, placing all at similar fracture risk. Therefore, more specific complications associated with the fractures were examined. Osseous modifications of the skeletons due to lepromatous leprosy were associated with 28% of individuals sustaining fractures. However, persons with the milder tuberculoid leprosy do not exhibit skeletal lesions, but are more prone to accident due to the earlier loss of sensory perception and visual impairment. It is argued that the presence of leprosy is underestimated in archaeological populations and may be a major contributing factor to the prevalence of fracture resulting from accidental falls. Am J Phys Anthropol 105:43–55, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sutural effects of fronto-occipital cranial modification

Maya adult crania from the site of Lamanai, Belize provide a retrospective means of examining growth processes in the cranial vault. The Lamanai population practiced fronto-occipital deformation which is found to be significantly associated with premature sagittal synostosis and wormian bones of the lambdoidal suture. The undeformed members of the population also exhibit an abnormally high frequency of sagittal synostosis, but a significantly lower frequency than the deformed sample. It is suggested that the deforming apparatus creates tensile forces on the sagittal suture during the peak period of growth of the parietals, and that these forces might induce an adaptive response important in producing premature sagittal synostosis. The undeformed sample may have an increased congenital risk of sagittal synostosis created by their natural brachycephalic morphology in utero. The frequency patterning of wormian bones suggests a mixture of genetic and environmental causes in which tensile forces may also play a role. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Epithelial Na+ channel and ion transport in human nasal polyp and paranasal sinus mucosa

The purpose of the present study is to characterize the ENaC-mediated Na+ absorption in human upper airway epithelia, nasal cavity, and paranasal sinus. To perform the purpose, we obtained epithelial cells from human nasal polyp (NP) and paranasal sinus mucosa (PSM) by endoscopic surgery. We measured the short-circuit current (I(sc)) sensitive to benzamil (a specific ENaC blocker). The benzamil-sensitive I(sc) (Na+ absorption) in NP was larger than that in PSM. The mRNA expression of three subunits of ENaC was as follows: alpha>beta>gamma in both tissue, NP and MS. The mRNA expression of gamma subunit of ENaC in NP was larger than that in PSM, but no difference of mRNA expression of alpha or beta ENaC subunit between NP and PSM was detected. We found correlation of the Na+ absorption to mRNA expression of gamma ENaC in NP and PSM. Forskolin diminished the Na+ absorption associated with an increase in Cl- secretion. These observations suggest that: (1) human NP absorbs more ENaC-mediated Na+ than PSM, (2) expression of gamma ENaC in plays a key role in the ENaC-mediated Na+ absorption in NP and PSM, and (3) cAMP diminishes the ENaC-mediated Na+ absorption by stimulating Cl- secretion (diminution of driving force for Na+ absorption) in NP and PSM.     

Albumin preservation in fossil bones and systematics of Malpaisomys insularis (Muridae,Rodentia), an extinct rodent of the Canary Islands

Collagen and albumin were extracted from subfossil bones of the extinct rodent Malpaisomys insularis; the radiocarbon age of the sample was at least 1.73 Ka. Electrophoretic and immunological techniques indicate the preservation of albumin while collagen is revealed as degraded fragments. Immunological comparisons between Malpaisomys albumin and albumin antisera of four extant rodents indicate that Malpaisomys is more closely related to Mus than to Acomys and Uranomys and that Cavia is the most divergent taxon studied. The branching order of the fossil and the extant rodents is discussed with respect to the relationships derived from morphological criteria.     

Subnasal alveolar morphology and the systematic position of Sivapithecus

Recent collecting in the Potwar Plateau of Pakistan has produced several new maxillae attributable to Sivapithecus. Since the subnasal region is preserved in most of these specimens, comparisons with early Miocene hominoid and Pliocene hominid maxillae become possible. On the basis of these comparisons, it has become clear that subnasal/premaxillary morphology distinguishes Asian and African hominoids. Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus share with Pongo an "Asian" subnasal pattern. The Proconsul species from the early Miocene of western Kenya and Australopithecus afarensis from the Hadar Formation of Ethiopia present two subsets of an "African" subnasal pattern. We think it likely that Ramapithecus and Sivapithecus represent a lineage that postdates the last common ancestor of African and Asian hominoids.     

枯草杆菌二联活菌制剂鼻饲给药治疗昏迷患者抗生素相关性腹泻的疗效观察

目的：研究枯草杆菌二联活菌制剂经鼻饲给药治疗昏迷患者抗生素相关性腹泻的临床疗效。方法：收集以2011 年1 月至 2014 年1 月本院确诊的76 例患抗生素相关性腹泻的昏迷患者作为研究对象,按随机数字表法分为对照组(38 例)和试验组(38 例),对照组在基础治疗的基础上给予鼻饲蒙脱石散收敛止泻治疗,而试验组在对照组的基础上,同时给予枯草杆菌二联活菌胶囊 （美常安）鼻饲给药治疗。对比治疗前后两组患者的症状改善情况以及粪便实验室检查指标,记录两组不良反应。结果：除治疗过 程中死亡4 例、意识转清停止鼻饲8 例外,试验组33 例,对照组31 例完成试验。试验组治疗有效率明显高于对照组的(X2=2.627, P <0.05)。给药第6d 试验组的白细胞转阴率为81.8%,明显高于对照组的30%(P<0.05),给药第6 d 及治疗后试验组的肠道菌群纠 正率分别为84.2%、94.7%,明显高于对照组的41.2%、64.7%,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。对照组患者不良反应的发生率明显高 于试验组（P<0.05）。结论：枯草杆菌二联活菌制剂鼻饲给药可显著改善昏迷患者抗生素相关性腹泻的症状,使肠道菌群更快得以 纠正、缓解使肠道炎症,且安全性高,值得临床推广使用。     

从巢县人年代争议谈钟乳石、骨化石铀系定年——与陈铁梅先生商榷

从巢县人年代争议谈钟乳石、骨化石铀系定年─—与陈铁梅先生商榷沈冠军,房迎三（贵州大学化学系,贵阳５５００２５）（安徽省文物考古研究所,合肥２３００６１）《人类学学报》第１４卷第２期发表了陈铁梅（１９９５）先生的文章（下称陈文）,对不久前也在该刊发表的...     

Development of a computational fluid dynamics model for mucociliary clearance in the nasal cavity

Intranasal drug delivery has attracted significant attention because of the opportunity to deliver systemic drugs directly to the blood stream. However, the mucociliary clearance poses a challenge in gaining high efficacy of intranasal drug delivery because cilia continuously carry the mucus blanket towards the laryngeal region. To better understand mucus flow behaviour on the human nasal cavity wall, we present computational model development, and evaluation of mucus motion on a realistic nasal cavity model reconstructed from CT-scans. The model development involved two approaches based on the actual nasal cavity geometry namely: (i) unwrapped-surface model in 2D domain and (ii) 3D-shell model. Conservation equations of fluid motion were applied to the domains, where a mucus production source term was used to initiate the mucus motion. The analysis included mucus flow patterns, virtual saccharin tests and quantitative velocity magnitude analysis, which demonstrated that the 3D-shell model results provided better agreement with experimental data. The unwrapped-surface model also suffered from mesh-deformations during the unwrapping stage and this led to higher mucus velocity compared to experimental data. Therefore, the 3D-shell model was recommended for future mucus flow simulations. As a first step towards mucus motion modelling this study provides important information that accurately simulates a mucus velocity field on a human nasal cavity wall, for assessment of toxicology and efficacy of intranasal drug delivery.     

内镜揭盖术与唇齿沟径路切除术治疗鼻前庭囊肿患者的疗效及对炎性因子的影响

目的:研究内镜揭盖术(ER)与唇齿沟径路切除术(LSPR)治疗鼻前庭囊肿(NVC)患者的临床疗效及对炎性因子的影响。方法:选择2015年7月至2017年6月来我院就诊的NVC患者106例,依据随机数字表法分别纳入ER组(53例)及LSPR组(53例)。ER组行ER治疗,LSPR组行唇齿沟径路切除术。观察两组术中出血量、手术时间、术后创口愈合时间、术后24 h疼痛评分及上皮化时间,两组术前、术后7 d白细胞介素-6(IL-6)、白细胞介素-8(IL-8)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、C-反应蛋白(CRP)水平,两组术后并发症及复发情况。结果:ER组术中出血量、手术时间、术后创口愈合时间、术后24h疼痛评分及上皮化时间等手术指标均低于LSPR组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);术后7 d,两组IL-6、IL-8、TNF-α及CRP水平均低于治疗前,且ER组低于LSPR组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);ER组术后并发症发生率7.55%、术后复发率3.77%,均低于LSPR组的22.64%、20.75%,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论:与LSPR相比较,ER治疗NVC创伤小,恢复快,可有效降低术后炎性因子水平,术后并发症及复发率低,值得临床应用。     

Bone calcification rate as a factor of craniofacial transformations in salmonid fish: Insights from an experiment with hormonal treatment of calcium metabolism

Adaptation to different environments can be achieved by physiological shifts throughout development. Hormonal regulators shape the physiological and morphological traits of the evolving animals making them fit for the particular ecological surroundings. We hypothesized that the artificially induced hypersynthesis of calcitonin and parathyroid hormone mutually influencing calcium metabolism could affect bone formation during early ontogeny in fish imitating the heterochrony in craniofacial ossification in natural adaptive morphs. Conducting an experiment, we found that the long-standing treatment of salmonid juveniles with high doses of both hormones irreversibly shifts the corresponding hormone status for a period well beyond the time scale for total degradation of the injected hormone. The hormones program the ossification of the jaw suspension bones and neurocranial elements in a specific manner affecting the jaws position and pharingo-branchial area stretching. These morphological shifts resemble the adaptive variants found in sympatric pelagic and demersal morphs of salmonids. We conclude that solitary deviations in the regulators of calcium metabolism could determine functional morphological traits via transformations in skeletal development.