A Comparative Approach to the Development of Ancient Copper Supply Networks in Oman and Obsidian Supply Networks in Ethiopia

This dissertation adopts a comparative framework to the study of ancient raw material supply networks of copper in Oman (ca. 2500 BCE – 1800 CE) and obsidian in Ethiopia (ca. 800 BCE – 825 CE). A Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach is used to reveal the structures of supply networks, charting their diachronic developments and identifying fluctuations in the network positions of individual nodes as well as alterations in network sub-groups. Using formal centrality and centralization measures (e.g. degree, betweenness, closeness) this study reveals largely decentralized networks of production in both study areas. These findings can tentatively be used to argue against the notion of elite control over production. Additionally, the longitudinal dataset reveals remarkable stability in network structures over time. In the absence of evidence of elite control of this economic sector, one must identify the mechanisms that would have engendered the trust necessary for the reproduction of this economic system and for the maintenance of social order. This dissertation turns to social networks, and social relationships themselves, as the mechanisms that integrated economic interactions, bringing about social order and maintaining stability. Counter to both formalist and substantivist economic theories, social network theories conceptualize exchange not in terms of atomized decision-making, driven either by a pursuit of utility maximization or solely by internalized patterns of behavior, but rather in terms of ever-changing interactions embedded within networks of ongoing personal relationships. Where these relationships are concerned, it is not merely economic gains that are the focus of economic interactions, but also social gains, such as a good reputation. These social gains are understood as deterrents against malfeasance, as individuals would have a vested interest to operate fairly to maintain reputations for trustworthiness. A final aim of this dissertation is to understand the spatial dimensions of the productive resources that form the basis of the case studies being investigated. To this end, high-resolution geological resource maps were created for the study regions in Oman and Ethiopia through analysis of Hyperion hyperspectral satellite imagery. Advisor: Michael J. Harrower Second Reader: Glenn M. Schwartz Committee Chair: Benjamin Zaitchik Readers: Marian Feldman, Matthew Peeple

Microbiota: the missing link in the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease

Within its twisted and tight walls, where a hostile and arid environment prevails, the lumen of the digestive tract nests a true microuniverse called the microbiota. The existing relationship between humans and these microorganisms is one in which both benefit, creating a condition called Eubiosis. The dynamic relationship existing between the microbiota and the human body can be affected at various times, leading to an imbalance that may have important implications on health and generating a condition called Disbiosis. Recent studies have highlighted possible links between several diseases with incompletely elucidated etiology and disturbances of the microbiota. In this review we aim to analyze the existing relationship between the imbalances of the gastrointestinal flora and the etiopathogeny inflammatory bowel diseases, a group of diseases whose incidence has increased considerably in recent years

The burden of clostridium difficile infection in patients with liver cirrhosis

Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) has registered a dramatically increasing incidence in the general population over the past decades. Nowadays, Clostridium Difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in Europe and North America. Liver cirrhosis is the final stage of any chronic liver disease (CLD). The most common causes are chronic hepatitis C or B and viral co-infections, alcohol misuse, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). CLD and cirrhosis are listed among the ten leading causes of death in the US. Cirrhosis due to any etiology disrupts the homeostatic role of the liver in the body. Cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID) leads to alterations in both inherited and acquired systemic and local liver immunity. CAID is caused by increased systemic inflammation and immunodeficiency and it is responsible for 30% of mortality rates all over the world. Clostridium Difficile infection frequently affects patients suffering from liver cirrhosis because of the high number of prolonged hospitalizations, regular use of antibiotics for the prevention or treatment of SBP, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, and an overall immunocompromised state. Clostridium Difficile is a Gram-positive bacterium responsible for the high morbidity and mortality rates in patients with cirrhosis, with an essential increase in a 30-day mortality

Ethical aspects in managing patients diagnosed with digestive cancers; a review of literature

Numerous bioethical recommendations are now available in the complex process of communication with cancer patients. In this review, we have focused on the complex process of managing patients with different types of oncologic digestive diseases, immediately after the diagnosis is made. We have analyzed the literature data on the topic. MEDSCAPE and PubMed databases have been studied. Issues such as telling the truth to patients with digestive cancer, the physician\u27s responsibility in the psychological management of patients and their relatives, the nurses’ duties, the consented death, the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as well as the clinical research have been the main targets of our study

Microbiota: the missing link in the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease

Within its twisted and tight walls, where a hostile and arid environment prevails, the lumen of the digestive tract nests a true microuniverse called the microbiota. The existing relationship between humans and these microorganisms is one in which both benefit, creating a condition called Eubiosis. The dynamic relationship existing between the microbiota and the human body can be affected at various times, leading to an imbalance that may have important implications on health and generating a condition called Disbiosis. Recent studies have highlighted possible links between several diseases with incompletely elucidated etiology and disturbances of the microbiota. In this review we aim to analyze the existing relationship between the imbalances of the gastrointestinal flora and the etiopathogeny inflammatory bowel diseases, a group of diseases whose incidence has increased considerably in recent years

The burden of clostridium difficile infection in patients with liver cirrhosis

Clostridium Difficile Infection (CDI) has registered a dramatically increasing incidence in the general population over the past decades. Nowadays, Clostridium Difficile is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in Europe and North America. Liver cirrhosis is the final stage of any chronic liver disease (CLD). The most common causes are chronic hepatitis C or B and viral co-infections, alcohol misuse, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). CLD and cirrhosis are listed among the ten leading causes of death in the US. Cirrhosis due to any etiology disrupts the homeostatic role of the liver in the body. Cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction (CAID) leads to alterations in both inherited and acquired systemic and local liver immunity. CAID is caused by increased systemic inflammation and immunodeficiency and it is responsible for 30% of mortality rates all over the world. Clostridium Difficile infection frequently affects patients suffering from liver cirrhosis because of the high number of prolonged hospitalizations, regular use of antibiotics for the prevention or treatment of SBP, proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use, and an overall immunocompromised state. Clostridium Difficile is a Gram-positive bacterium responsible for the high morbidity and mortality rates in patients with cirrhosis, with an essential increase in a 30-day mortality

Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, more than a simple hepatic disease – A brief review of the risk factors associated with alcohol abuse

Liver cirrhosis is a significant public health problem, being an important cause of mortality and morbidity, responsible for approximately 1.8% of the total number of deaths in Europe. Chronic alcohol consumption is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in developed countries. Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption among all the global World Health Organisation (WHO) regions. In this paper, we briefly review major factors leading to excessive alcohol consumption in order to draw attention to the fact that alcoholic liver cirrhosis is more than a simple liver disease, and if those risk/causal factors can be prevented, the incidence of this disease could be reduced greatly. Although excessive alcohol consumption is regarded as the cause of alcoholic liver cirrhosis, the etiology is complex, involving multiple factors that act in synchrony, and which, if prevented, could greatly reduce the incidence of this disease. Children of addicts are likely to develop an alcohol-related mental disorder; however, there is no “gene for alcoholism”

Ethical aspects in managing patients diagnosed with digestive cancers; a review of literature

Numerous bioethical recommendations are now available in the complex process of communication with cancer patients. In this review, we have focused on the complex process of managing patients with different types of oncologic digestive diseases, immediately after the diagnosis is made. We have analyzed the literature data on the topic. MEDSCAPE and PubMed databases have been studied. Issues such as telling the truth to patients with digestive cancer, the physician\u27s responsibility in the psychological management of patients and their relatives, the nurses’ duties, the consented death, the practice of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) as well as the clinical research have been the main targets of our study

Is a Fecal Microbiota Transplant Useful for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease represent the major groups of idiopathic disorders in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The etiology includes environmental factors, genetic factors, and immune responses. The pathogenesis is diversified; however, no guaranteed curative therapeutic regimen has been developed so far. This review contains information related to pathophysiology and current treatment options for IBD. It is known that IBD is caused by tissue-disruptive inflammatory reactions of the gut wall; that is why downregulation of the immune responses allows the healing of the damaged mucosa and allows the resetting of the physiological functions of the gut back to normal. The main treatment options are still corticosteroids, immunomodulators, antibiotics, probiotics, and a series of new agents. Their effects include modulation of cytokines, neutrophil-derived factors, adhesion molecules, and reactive oxygen/nitrogen metabolites. The monoclonal antitumor necrosis factor as infliximab recombinant anti-inflammatory cytokines or related gene therapy is also used nowadays. Still, the fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is considered to revolutionize the therapy in IBD, considering the abnormal inflammatory response due to the complicated relationship between microbiota and the immune system. It is imperative to mention the critical role dysbiosis may have in the pathogenesis of IBDs. This review summarizes the available literature concerning the efficacy of FMT in IBDs

Hepatitis C virus: host, environmental and viral factors promoting spontaneous clearance

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a pathogenic entity which determines inflammation and liver damage through complex immune mechanisms. Although progress has been made in managing the disease course, chronic infection still remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality to this day. Because both acute and chronic infection are often asymptomatic, chronic infection is frequently diagnosed when its complications have developed. In a small proportion of cases, the chronic infection does not develop, the immune system managing to cleanse the body from this silent pathogen in the absence of specific treatment, a process called spontaneous viral clearance, which occurs rarely, in about 20-30 % of cases. A competent immune response that manages to eliminate the virus from the organism was associated with IL-28B genetic polymorphism, female gender, young age, which often lead to clinical manifestations of acute hepatitis after initial exposure. Environmental factors such as limited viral exposure also play an important role. These factors and the mechanisms underlying spontaneous clearance are not fully understood but their action is complementary. In this paper, we review the concept of spontaneous clearance of HCV and assess the factors that have been associated with this clinical outcome of the infection