Tracing the dynamic life story of a Bronze Age Female

YesAncient human mobility at the individual level is conventionally studied by the diverse application of suitable techniques (e.g. aDNA, radiogenic strontium isotopes, as well as oxygen and lead isotopes) to either hard and/or soft tissues. However, the limited preservation of coexisting hard and soft human tissues hampers the possibilities of investigating high-resolution diachronic mobility periods in the life of a single individual. Here, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study of an exceptionally well preserved circa 3.400-year old Danish Bronze Age female find, known as the Egtved Girl. We applied biomolecular, biochemical and geochemical analyses to reconstruct her mobility and diet. We demonstrate that she originated from a place outside present day Denmark (the island of Bornholm excluded), and that she travelled back and forth over large distances during the final months of her life, while consuming a terrestrial diet with intervals of reduced protein intake. We also provide evidence that all her garments were made of non-locally produced wool. Our study advocates the huge potential of combining biomolecular and biogeochemical provenance tracer analyses to hard and soft tissues of a single ancient individual for the reconstruction of high-resolution human mobility.The Danish National Research Foundation; The Carlsberg Foundation, L'Oreal Denmark-UNESCO; The ERC agreement no. 26944

Impact of meteorological variation on hospital visits of patients with tree pollen allergy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Climate change could affect allergic diseases, especially due to pollen. However, there has been no epidemiologic study to demonstrate the relationship between meteorological factors, pollen, and allergic patients. We aimed to investigate the association between meteorological variations and hospital visits of patients with tree pollen allergy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study subjects were adult patients who received skin prick tests between April and July from 1999 to 2008. We reviewed the medical records for the test results of 4,715 patients. Patients with tree pollen allergy were defined as those sensitized to more than 1 of 12 tree pollen allergens. We used monthly means of airborne tree pollen counts and meteorological factors: maximum/average/minimum temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation. We analyzed the correlations between meteorological variations, tree pollen counts, and the patient numbers. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the associations between meteorological factors and hospital visits of patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The minimum temperature in March was significantly and positively correlated with tree pollen counts in March/April and patient numbers from April through July. Pollen counts in March/April were also correlated with patient numbers from April through July. After adjusting for confounders, including air pollutants, there was a positive association between the minimum temperature in March and hospital visits of patients with tree pollen allergy from April to July(odds ratio, 1.14; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.25).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Higher temperatures could increase tree pollen counts, affecting the symptoms of patients with tree pollen allergy, thereby increasing the number of patients visiting hospitals.</p

Brain Stem Death as the Vital Determinant for Resumption of Spontaneous Circulation after Cardiac Arrest in Rats

BACKGROUND:Spontaneous circulation returns to less than half of adult cardiac arrest victims who received in-hospital resuscitation. One clue for this disheartening outcome arises from the prognosis that asystole invariably takes place, after a time lag, on diagnosis of brain stem death. The designation of brain stem death as the point of no return further suggests that permanent impairment of the brain stem cardiovascular regulatory machinery precedes death. It follows that a crucial determinant for successful revival of an arrested heart is that spontaneous circulation must resume before brain stem death commences. Here, we evaluated the hypothesis that maintained functional integrity of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), a neural substrate that is intimately related to brain stem death and central circulatory regulation, holds the key to the vital time-window between cardiac arrest and resumption of spontaneous circulation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:An animal model of brain stem death employing the pesticide mevinphos as the experimental insult in Sprague-Dawley rats was used. Intravenous administration of lethal doses of mevinphos elicited an abrupt cardiac arrest, accompanied by elevated systemic arterial pressure and anoxia, augmented neuronal excitability and enhanced microvascular perfusion in RVLM. This period represents the vital time-window between cardiac arrest and resumption of spontaneous circulation in our experimental model. Animals with restored spontaneous circulation exhibited maintained neuronal functionality in RVLM beyond this critical time-window, alongside resumption of baseline tissue oxygen and enhancement of local blood flow. Intriguingly, animals that subsequently died manifested sustained anoxia, diminished local blood flow, depressed mitochondrial electron transport activities and reduced ATP production, leading to necrotic cell death in RVLM. That amelioration of mitochondrial dysfunction and bioenergetic failure in RVLM by coenzyme Q10, the mobile electron carrier in mitochondrial respiratory chain, or oxygenation restored spontaneous circulation further established a causal relationship between functionality of RVLM and resumed spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We conclude that whereas necrotic cell death because of bioenergetic failure triggered by anoxia in RVLM, which precipitates brain stem death, negates resuscitation of an arrested heart, maintained functional integrity of this neural substrate holds the key to resumption of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest in rats

Pooled extracellular receptor-ligand interaction screening using CRISPR activation.

Extracellular interactions between cell surface receptors are necessary for signaling and adhesion but identifying them remains technically challenging. We describe a cell-based genome-wide approach employing CRISPR activation to identify receptors for a defined ligand. We show receptors for high-affinity antibodies and low-affinity ligands can be unambiguously identified when used in pools or as individual binding probes. We apply this technique to identify ligands for the adhesion G-protein-coupled receptors and show that the Nogo myelin-associated inhibitory proteins are ligands for ADGRB1. This method will enable extracellular receptor-ligand identification on a genome-wide scale

Endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy in well-developed countries. Biologically and clinicopathologically, endometrial carcinomas are divided into two types: type 1 or estrogen-dependent carcinomas and type 2 or estrogen-independent carcinomas. Type 1 cancers correspond mainly to endometrioid carcinomas and account for approximately 90 % of endometrial cancers, whereas type 2 cancers correspond to the majority of the other histopathological subtypes. The vast majority of endometrial cancers present as abnormal vaginal bleedings in postmenopausal women. Therefore, 75 % of cancers are diagnosed at an early stage, which makes the overall prognosis favorable. The first diagnostic step to evaluate women with an abnormal vaginal bleeding is the measurement of the endometrial thickness with transvaginal ultrasound. If endometrial thickening or heterogeneity is confirmed, a biopsy should be performed to establish a definite histopathological diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging is not considered in the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics staging system. Nonetheless it plays a relevant role in the preoperative staging of endometrial carcinoma, helping to define the best therapeutic management. Moreover, it is important in the diagnosis of treatment complications, in the surveillance of therapy response, and in the assessment of recurrent disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Visual recovery after perinatal stroke evidenced by functional and diffusion MRI: case report

BACKGROUND: After perinatal brain injury, clinico-anatomic correlations of functional deficits and brain plasticity remain difficult to evaluate clinically in the young infant. Thus, new non-invasive methods capable of early functional diagnosis are needed in young infants. CASE PRESENTATION: The visual system recovery in an infant with perinatal stroke is assessed by combining diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and event-related functional MRI (ER-fMRI). All experiments were done at 1.5T. A first DTI experiment was performed at 12 months of age. At 20 months of age, a second DTI experiment was performed and combined with an ER-fMRI experiment with visual stimuli (2 Hz visual flash). At 20 months of age, ER-fMRI showed significant negative activation in the visual cortex of the injured left hemisphere that was not previously observed in the same infant. DTI maps suggest recovery of the optic radiation in the vicinity of the lesion. Optic radiations in the injured hemisphere are more prominent in DTI at 20 months of age than in DTI at 12 months of age. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that functional cortical recovery is supported by structural modifications that concern major pathways of the visual system. These neuroimaging findings might contribute to elaborate a pertinent strategy in terms of diagnosis and rehabilitation

Bioenergetics Failure and Oxidative Stress in Brain Stem Mediates Cardiovascular Collapse Associated with Fatal Methamphetamine Intoxication

Background: Whereas sudden death, most often associated with cardiovascular collapse, occurs in abusers of the psychostimulant methamphetamine (METH), the underlying mechanism is much less understood. The demonstration that successful resuscitation of an arrested heart depends on maintained functionality of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM), which is responsible for the maintenance of stable blood pressure, suggests that failure of brain stem cardiovascular regulation, rather than the heart, holds the key to cardiovascular collapse. We tested the hypothesis that cessation of brain stem cardiovascular regulation because of a loss of functionality in RVLM mediated by bioenergetics failure and oxidative stress underlies the cardiovascular collapse elicited by lethal doses of METH. Methodology/Principal Findings: Survival rate, cardiovascular responses and biochemical or morphological changes in RVLM induced by intravenous administration of METH in Sprague-Dawley rats were investigated. High doses of METH induced significant mortality within 20 min that paralleled concomitant the collapse of arterial pressure or heart rate and loss of functionality in RVLM. There were concurrent increases in the concentration of METH in serum and ventrolateral medulla, along with tissue anoxia, cessation of microvascular perfusion and necrotic cell death in RVLM. Furthermore, mitochondrial respiratory chain enzyme activity or electron transport capacity and ATP production in RVLM were reduced, and mitochondria-derived superoxide anion level was augmented. All those detrimental physiological and biochemica

High plasma uric acid concentration: causes and consequences

High plasma uric acid (UA) is a precipitating factor for gout and renal calculi as well as a strong risk factor for Metabolic Syndrome and cardiovascular disease. The main causes for higher plasma UA are either lower excretion, higher synthesis or both. Higher waist circumference and the BMI are associated with higher insulin resistance and leptin production, and both reduce uric acid excretion. The synthesis of fatty acids (tryglicerides) in the liver is associated with the de novo synthesis of purine, accelerating UA production. The role played by diet on hyperuricemia has not yet been fully clarified, but high intake of fructose-rich industrialized food and high alcohol intake (particularly beer) seem to influence uricemia. It is not known whether UA would be a causal factor or an antioxidant protective response. Most authors do not consider the UA as a risk factor, but presenting antioxidant function. UA contributes to > 50% of the antioxidant capacity of the blood. There is still no consensus if UA is a protective or a risk factor, however, it seems that acute elevation is a protective factor, whereas chronic elevation a risk for disease

Disequilibrium, adaptation and the Norse settlement of Greenland

This research was supported by the University of Edinburgh ExEDE Doctoral Training Studentship and NSF grant numbers 1202692 and 1140106.There is increasing evidence to suggest that arctic cultures and ecosystems have followed non-linear responses to climate change. Norse Scandinavian farmers introduced agriculture to sub-arctic Greenland in the late tenth century, creating synanthropic landscapes and utilising seasonally abundant marine and terrestrial resources. Using a niche-construction framework and data from recent survey work, studies of diet, and regional-scale climate proxies we examine the potential mismatch between this imported agricultural niche and the constraints of the environment from the tenth to the fifteenth centuries. We argue that landscape modification conformed the Norse to a Scandinavian style of agriculture throughout settlement, structuring and limiting the efficacy of seasonal hunting strategies. Recent climate data provide evidence of sustained cooling from the mid thirteenth century and climate variation from the early fifteenth century. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Norse made incremental adjustments to the changing sub-arctic environment, but were limited by cultural adaptations made in past environments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe