Disproportionate mortality of males in a population of springbok (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)

The hypothesis that an imbalanced sex ratio, favouring females, in populations of springbok (Anti-dorcas marsupialis) is the result of disproportionate mortality of males is tested by comparing the sex ratio in a sample of 50 carcasses with that in a population of live springbok from the same geographical area. The results are consistent with this pypothesis. A suggested refinement of the hypothesis is that the disproportionate male mortality falls most heavily on young adult males which are in close association with springbok territories. Possible causes of this age- and sex-linked mortality are discussed

Prevalence of Moderate to Severe Periodontitis in an 18–19th Century Sample—St. Bride’s Lower Churchyard (London, UK)

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of moderate to severe periodontitis in 18–19th century skulls in the St Bride’s Lower Churchyard in London, UK. Materials and methods: A total of 105 adult skulls (66 M: F 39) from the Museum of London collection were examined for evidence of dental disease. The primary method was to measure the presence of moderate to severe periodontitis. Other dental pathologies were recorded such as tooth wear, calculus, and caries. Results: Overall, the prevalence of moderate to severe periodontitis in the sample was 21–24%. Males were observed to be more susceptible to periodontal disease than females. The severity of bone loss in the skull collection also increased with age. There was no significant difference in the amount of calculus deposition when comparing either age or sex. A total of 14% of the individuals in the sample showed signs of smoking. Conclusion: The results of the study indicated that the prevalence of moderate to severe periodontitis in an 18–19th century skull sample was 21–24%, which was higher than in previous studies. This may be due to the lack of basic personal mouth care and professional dental treatment as well as known risk factors such as smoking, stress, low socioeconomic status, and malnutrition

Arthropods and helminths in springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) at Benfontein, Kimberley

From July 1979 - December 1980, 48 springbok were culled for a parasite survey at Benfontein. Lice were the dominant parasites and reached a peak in September. Damalinia antidorcus, Linognathus antidorcitis, Linognathus armatus and Linognathus euchore were the most prevalent species, nymphs in most cases outnumbering adults. During the winter months, 2nd and 3rd instar Rhinoestrus antidorcitis and R. vanzyli (nasal botflies) were present. The number of helminths reached a peak in January and then fell, secondary peaks being recorded through autumn, winter and spring, but a rise in numbers occurred the following December. Paracooperia serrata, Trichostrongylus spp., Strongyloides spp., Cooperioides antidorca and Longistrongylus sabie adults were dominant. Fourth stage larvae (L₄) of Ostertagia outnumbered adult Ostertagia hamata, but L₄ of Trichostrongylus spp. were less plentiful than adults of this genus. Good spring and summer rains (414,6 mm from October-March) were probably responsible for mean total burdens exceeding 10 000 in January and April.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Council for Scientific and Industrial Researc

Malnutrition Has No Effect on the Timing of Human Tooth Formation

The effect of nutrition on the timing of human tooth formation is poorly understood. Delays and advancements in dental maturation have all been reported as well as no effect. We investigated the effect of severe malnutrition on the timing of human tooth formation in a large representative sample of North Sudanese children. The sample (1102 males, 1013 females) consisted of stratified randomly selected healthy individuals in Khartoum, Sudan, aged 2-22 years using a cross-sectional design following the STROBE statement. Nutritional status was defined using WHO criteria of height and weight. Body mass index Z-scores and height for age Z-scores of ≤-2 (cut-off) were used to identify the malnourished group (N = 474) while the normal was defined by Z-scores of ≥0 (N = 799). Clinical and radiographic examination of individuals, with known ages of birth was performed including height and weight measurements. Mandibular left permanent teeth were assessed using eight crown and seven root established tooth formation stages. Mean age at entry and mean age within tooth stages were calculated for each available tooth stage in each group and compared using a t-test. Results show the mean age at entry and mean age within tooth stages were not significantly different between groups affected by severe malnutrition and normal children (p>0.05). This remarkable finding was evident across the span of dental development. We demonstrate that there is little measurable effect of sustained malnutrition on the average timing of tooth formation. This noteworthy finding supports the notion that teeth have substantial biological stability and are insulated from extreme nutritional conditions compared to other maturing body systems

Response to Comment on "The growth pattern of Neandertals, reconstructed from a juvenile skeleton from El Sidrón (Spain)".

This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Rosas, A., et al. (2018). "Response to Comment on “The growth pattern of Neandertals, reconstructed from a juvenile skeleton from El Sidrón (Spain)”." Science 359(6380). on Science 09 Mar 2018: Vol. 359, Issue 6380, eaar3820, DOI: 10.1126/science.aar3820The comment by DeSilva challenges our suggestion that brain growth of the El Sidrón J1 Neandertal was still incomplete at 7.7 years of age. Evidence suggests that endocranial volume is likely to represent less than 90% adult size at El Sidrón as well as Neandertal male plus Krapina samples, in line with further evidence from endocranial surface histology and dural sinus groove size

Architectures of control in consumer product design

Copyright @ 2005 Social Services Research GroupThe idea of architectures of control is introduced through examples ranging from urban planning to digital rights management, and the intentions behind their use in consumer products are examined, with reference to case studies of printer cartridges and proposed 'optimum lifetime products.' The reactions of the technical community and consumers themselves are also explored, along with some wider implications for society

Controlled Crystallization of the Lipophilic Drug Fenofibrate During Freeze-Drying: Elucidation of the Mechanism by In-Line Raman Spectroscopy

We developed a novel process, “controlled crystallization during freeze-drying” to produce drug nanocrystals of poorly water-soluble drugs. This process involves freeze-drying at a relatively high temperature of a drug and a matrix material from a mixture of tertiary butyl alcohol and water, resulting in drug nanocrystals incorporated in a matrix. The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanisms that determine the size of the drug crystals. Fenofibrate was used as a model lipophilic drug. To monitor the crystallization during freeze-drying, a Raman probe was placed just above the sample in the freeze-dryer. These in-line Raman spectroscopy measurements clearly revealed when the different components crystallized during freeze-drying. The solvents crystallized only during the freezing step, while the solutes only crystallized after the temperature was increased, but before drying started. Although the solutes crystallized only after the freezing step, both the freezing rate and the shelf temperature were critical parameters that determined the final crystal size. At a higher freezing rate, smaller interstitial spaces containing the freeze-concentrated fraction were formed, resulting in smaller drug crystals (based on dissolution data). On the other hand, when the solutes crystallized at a lower shelf temperature, the degree of supersaturation is higher, resulting in a higher nucleation rate and consequently more and therefore smaller crystals. In conclusion, for the model drug fenofibrate, a high freezing rate and a relatively low crystallization temperature resulted in the smallest crystals and therefore the highest dissolution rate

Mechanisms of leukocyte migration across the blood–retina barrier

Immune-mediated inflammation in the retina is regulated by a combination of anatomical, physiological and immuno-regulatory mechanisms, referred to as the blood–retina barrier (BRB). The BRB is thought to be part of the specialised ocular microenvironment that confers protection or “immune privilege” by deviating or suppressing destructive inflammation. The barrier between the blood circulation and the retina is maintained at two separate anatomical sites. These are the endothelial cells of the inner retinal vasculature and the retinal pigment epithelial cells on Bruch’s membrane between the fenestrated choroidal vessels and the outer retina. The structure and regulation of the tight junctions forming the physical barrier are described. For leukocyte migration across the BRB to occur, changes are needed in both the leukocytes themselves and the cells forming the barrier. We review how the blood–retina barrier is compromised in various inflammatory diseases and discuss the mechanisms controlling leukocyte subset migration into the retina in uveoretinitis in more detail. In particular, we examine the relative roles of selectins and integrins in leukocyte interactions with the vascular endothelium and the pivotal role of chemokines in selective recruitment of leukocyte subsets, triggering adhesion, diapedesis and migration of inflammatory cells into the retinal tissue

Comparison of In vitro Nanoparticles Uptake in Various Cell Lines and In vivo Pulmonary Cellular Transport in Intratracheally Dosed Rat Model

In present study, the potential drug delivery of nanoformulations was validated via the comparison of cellular uptake of nanoparticles in various cell lines and in vivo pulmonary cellular uptake in intratracheally (IT) dosed rat model. Nanoparticles were prepared by a bench scale wet milling device and incubated with a series of cell lines, including Caco-2, RAW, MDCK and MDCK transfected MDR1 cells. IT dosed rats were examined for the pulmonary cellular uptake of nanoparticles. The processes of nanoparticle preparation did not alter the crystalline state of the material. The uptake of nanoparticles was observed most extensively in RAW cells and the least in Caco-2 cells. Efflux transporter P-gp did not prevent cell from nanoparticles uptake. The cellular uptake of nanoparticles was also confirmed in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cells and in bronchiolar epithelial cells, type II alveolar epithelial cells in the intratracheally administrated rats. The nanoparticles uptake in MDCK, RAW cells and in vivo lung epithelial cells indicated the potential applications of nanoformulation for poorly soluble compounds. The observed limited direct uptake of nanoparticles in Caco-2 cells suggests that the improvement in oral bioavailability by particle size reduction is via increased dissolution rate rather than direct uptake