Predictors of gallstone composition in 1025 symptomatic gallstones from Northern Germany

BACKGROUND: Gallstones represent a prevalent and costly health problem. The changing epidemiology and the emerging non-surgical interventions for gallstone disease necessitate the definition of target populations for future therapies. This study aimed to define patterns of gallstone composition and identify demographic predictors of gallstone composition in a large sample of symptomatic gallstones from Northern Germany. METHODS: One thousand and seventy-four post-cholecystectomy gallstone specimens were obtained. Demographic and clinical information was provided by questionnaire (N = 1025 independent individuals with complete information). Two samples from each gallstone were analyzed using Fourier transformed infrared spectrometry. RESULTS: The most prevalent substance was cholesterol, which was detected in 95.0% of gallstone specimens. Bilirubin and bilirubinate were present in 30.0% and calcium was detected in 10.0% of the spectra. Ninety-two percent of measurements from the same stone yielded the same "main" substances, indicating a homogenous stone composition in most cases. Female sex and higher body mass index (BMI) were associated with the presence of cholesterol as a main substance in the gallstones (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The changing epidemiology of gallstone disease is reflected by a marked shift in stone composition: Only two percent of stones in this study were pigment stones as compared to 91% percent of stones containing cholesterol as a main substance. Obese individuals from Germany with a BMI > 30 kg/m(2 )have in 95% cholesterol-dominant gallstones and represent a potential target population for non-surgical interventions for the prevention or treatment of cholesterol stones

The arch of Galba at Tarragona and dynastic portraiture on Roman arches

Follows

Review of "Leisure and Luxury in the Age of Nero: The Villas of Oplontis Near Pompeii" by John R. Clarke and Elaine K. Gazda.

Published versio

The arch of Galba at Tarragona and dynastic portraiture on Roman arches

Follows

Two Romans Provençal portrait reliefs

Diana E. E. et Fred S. Kleiner, Two Bomano-Provencal Portrait Reliefs, p. 243-257. Two Augustan funerary reliefs with family portraits from «St.-Julien-les-Martigues» and «Les Baux» are discussed. The St.-Julien relief has been variously described, but the authors believe that it depicts a scene of leaveta-king which has close parallels on Hellenistic Etruscan cinerary urns. The rock-cut relief at Les Baux depicts two waist-length figures within a horizontal frame. Comparable funerary portraits may be found in the area around Benevento. The two reliefs are cited as evidence for the migration of Italian artists to Gaul under Augustus.Kleiner Fred S., Kleiner Diana E. Two Romans Provençal portrait reliefs. In: Mélanges de l'École française de Rome. Antiquité, tome 88, n°1. 1976. pp. 243-257

The Trophy on the Bridge and the Roman Triumph over Nature

The use of trophies on Roman bridges is examined in the light of contemporary literary celebrations of bridge- and road-building in the heroic terms of military victory, with the Roman emperor as the conqueror and Nature herself as the defeated foe. The focus of the discussion is Trajan's bridge over the Danube and Domitian's bridge over the Volturnus River, but other examples of triumphal imagery on bridges are cited from Augustus to Septimius Severus.Kleiner Fred S. The Trophy on the Bridge and the Roman Triumph over Nature. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 60, 1991. pp. 182-192

Galba imperator augustus P(opuli) R(omani)

Résumé. — An apparently unique plated denarius of Galba is discussed. Its legend is inconsistent with the official titulature of the emperor at any period and it is concluded that the coin is an ancient forgery. The reverse (triumphal arch) is a crude reproduction of the same type on official Neronian sestertii and is linked to a unique Neronian denarius, also a forgery. By substituting a new obverse portrait but retaining Nero's generic reverse, the forger responded quickly to the political developments of the civil war of A.D. 68.Kleiner Fred S. Galba imperator augustus P(opuli) R(omani). In: Revue numismatique, 6e série - Tome 32, année 1990 pp. 72-84