Geometric Morphometric Study and Cluster Analysis of Late Byzantine and Modern Human Crania

Inter-population variation of cranial morphology, which plays an important role in human evolution studies and biological research, can be studied morphologically and metrically. Geometric morphometry compares body forms using specific landmarks determined by anatomical prominences. The aim of this study was to identify cranial shape differences between the crania of Byzantium period humans and modern humans. Variability in cranial shape was examined using the geometric morphometric technique based on landmark coordinates. Landmark coordinate data were collected from two-dimensional digital photogrammetry and were analyzed using generalized Procrustes analysis, hierarchical clustering and thin-plate spline analysis

Geometric Morphometric Study and Cluster Analysis of Late Byzantine and Modern Human Crania

Inter-population variation of cranial morphology, which plays an important role in human evolution studies and biological research, can be studied morphologically and metrically. Geometric morphometry compares body forms using specific landmarks determined by anatomical prominences. The aim of this study was to identify cranial shape differences between the crania of Byzantium period humans and modern humans. Variability in cranial shape was examined using the geometric morphometric technique based on landmark coordinates. Landmark coordinate data were collected from two-dimensional digital photogrammetry and were analyzed using generalized Procrustes analysis, hierarchical clustering and thin-plate spline analysis

Ten millennia of hepatitis B virus evolution

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been infecting humans for millennia and remains a global health problem, but its past diversity and dispersal routes are largely unknown. We generated HBV genomic data from 137 Eurasians and Native Americans dated between ~10,500 and ~400 years ago. We date the most recent common ancestor of all HBV lineages to between ~20,000 and 12,000 years ago, with the virus present in European and South American hunter-gatherers during the early Holocene. After the European Neolithic transition, Mesolithic HBV strains were replaced by a lineage likely disseminated by early farmers that prevailed throughout western Eurasia for ~4000 years, declining around the end of the 2nd millennium BCE. The only remnant of this prehistoric HBV diversity is the rare genotype G, which appears to have reemerged during the HIV pandemic

Arsenic accumulation on the bones in the Early Bronze Age Ikiztepe Population, Turkey

In this study, arsenic, copper and lead content of a group of human and animal bones recovered from the Early Bronze Age Ikiztepe site have been analyzed using ICP-MS method Average arsenic value of 90 femur bones of a human was found to be 15.0 +/- 5.79 ppm which was varied among age and sex groups, and among species Origin of arsenic accumulation in bones was diagenetic because overall the groups were highly variable The distribution of metallic items among the burials had a big affect on the arsenic uptake of the bones Copper and lead values supported the diagenetic arsenic accumulation in the bones as well Their values on the bones were not as high as those for the individuals Involved in metal working activities in the ancient world. Judging from these data, It is concluded that Ikiztepe people did not produce the manufactured metallic items using arsenical copper but might have been imported from the other sites (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Handling dead bodies: Investigating the formation process of a collective burial from Neolithic Tepecik-Ciftlik, Central Anatolia (Turkey)

There are only a few collective burials that include a large number of individuals during the PPN (Pre-Pottery Neolithic) and PN (Pottery Neolithic) settlements of the Near East. However, analyses of this type of burial are highly important since they provide enormous information about a variety of cultural and biological aspects of a society. In this study, a large collective burial from Tepecik-Ciftlik is evaluated. The main goal of this study is to examine and understand the formation process of this burial. Following excavation, the human skeletal remains were curated and analyzed. In this analysis, at least 42 individuals were documented in the burial. A calculation of the Most Likely Number of Individuals (MLNI) has indicated there may be as many as 47 individuals present. The burial includes both sexes and all age groups, with the exception of infants below the age of 1.5 years. In summary, we argue that the final stage of the burial was formed through multiple factors and the reasons behind the complexity of this assemblage include successive burials over time, movement of the primary burials by human agents, and the secondary deposition of several individuals

BAG-1 expression in hyperplastic and neoplastic prostate tissue: Is there any relationship with BCL-related proteins and androgen receptor status?

Batislam, Ertan/0000-0002-7493-4573WOS: 000237442700015PubMed: 16457154Aims and background: To evaluate the function and distribution of BAG-1 protein in hyperplastic and neoplastic prostate tissue and establish the relationship between this protein and BCL-related proteins (BCL-2 and BAX), androgen receptor (AR) expression and chromogranin A. Methods: Twenty-eight prostatic adenocarcinomas and 16 prostate hyperplasias were included in this retrospective study. BAG-1, BCL-2, BAX, androgen receptor and chromogranin A immunostaining was performed by means of standard avidin-biotin peroxidase methods. The M30 antibody was used to identify preapoptotic and apoptotic cells. The immunohistochemical histological score (HSCORE) semi-quantative system was used to evaluate immunohistochemical staining. Results: Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in HSCOREs of BAX, M30 and AR between the carcinoma and hyperplasia groups. Carcinomas expressed higher HSCOREs of these markers than hyperplasias. There were significant differences in nuclear and cytoplasmic BAG-1 positivity between high and low-grade carcinomas. BAG-1 expression was higher in low-grade carcinomas. In the carcinoma group there was a positive correlation (Pearson) between BCL-2 and cytoplasmic/nuclear BAG-1. In the hyperplasia group there was a negative correlation between BAX and BCL-2, and between AR and M30. We also detected a positive correlation between AR and nuclear/cytoplasmic BAG-1 and between nuclear and cytoplasmic BAG-1 in hyperplasias. BAG-1 showed the same specific basal cell localization as BCL-2 in hyperplastic and normal glands. Conclusions: The BAG-1 protein showed a distinct distribution pattern in hyperplastic and neoplastic prostate. BAG-1 in association with BCL-2 inhibits apoptosis and may prolong the life of neoplastic cells and give them a chance to gain new oncogenic features in early carcinogenesis

The impact of the transition from broad-spectrum hunting to sheep herding on human meat consumption: Multi-isotopic analyses of human bone collagen at Asikli Hoyuk, Turkey

At Asikli Hoyuk, one of the earliest Pre-pottery Neolithic mound sites in Central Anatolia, a shift in animal utilization from broad-spectrum exploitation of diverse animal species to a concentration on managed caprines has been observed. Changes in the balance of meat to plant foods over the same time frame remain an open question. In this study, carbon and nitrogen isotopic analyses of bulk collagen and compound-specific nitrogen isotopic analysis of amino acids were undertaken for the human remains to elucidate the dietary impact of the hunting to herding transition over a span of about 1000 years. The results showed that animal protein consumption did not change very much as managed sheep became the main source of meat. The contribution of animal protein to the total human diet at Asikli Hoyuk is similar to comparison data on later Neolithic farmers in Anatolia measured in previous studies. The early development of ungulate management and the increasing focus on just a few prey species do not appear to have forced drastic changes in the extent human carnivory from the early Pre-pottery Neolithic to the early Pottery Neolithic. However, human individuals showed similar isotopic compositions within the same buildings at Asikli, suggesting variation in food consumption by household