STUDIO ANTROPOLOGICO E PALEONUTRIZIONALE DEI RESTI OSSEI UMANI CREMATI PROVENIENTI DALLA NECROPOLI ROMANA DELLA STAZIONE CENTRALE DI BOLOGNA.

In this anthropological study 144 cremation burials, from bi-ritual Roman Central Station of Bologna necropolis(I-III century AD), were analysed. Despite the limitations imposed by the conditions of the bones, it was possible to evaluate the number of individuals, sex and age at death, metric skeletal indicators, abnormalities and diseases. Different aspects of the funerary ritual were also evaluated, as the temperature of combustion, the degree of bone fragmentation, the rapresentativeness of the anatomical districts, the presence of animal bones and botanical remains. The reconstruction showed a demographic profile of the typical ancient Roman society of the First Imperial Age with a high mortality during early childhood and in adulthood (35-40 years old). The paleonutritional analysis is carried out on a cremated and a buried samples through different analytical methods (ICP-MS, XRF). The study examined the concentration levels of major nutrient elements (Sr, Zn, Ba). The analysis revealed a pattern of a different proportion of carbs/meat between the two samples. This confirmed the link between lower consumption of cereal and increased access to meat consumption in people with higher social status

Age at Menarche, Growth Velocity, and Adiposity Indices in Italian Girls Aged 10 to 14

Age at menarche (AAM) is an effective marker of puberty timing but its onset could be influenced by several intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This study aimed to assess the AAM in a sample of Italian adolescents and to investigate its association with anthropometric variables. Considering the rise in overweight/obesity worldwide, special attention was paid to a possible decrease in AAM as adiposity indices increase. A longitudinal study was carried out on 117 middle school girls in Northern Italy. Data concerning menarche and anthropometric traits (standing and sitting height, weight, waist circumference, and skinfold thicknesses) were directly collected. Lower limb length and indices of adiposity and growth were calculated. The median AAM was 11.66 (95% IC: 11.31-11.68). Age-adjusted ANCOVA between mature and non-mature girls showed significant differences in growth-related traits and WHtR. No preponderance of overweight/obesity among mature participants was found. AAM was not significantly associated with weight or the growth velocity of adiposity indices in a subsample of maturers. Moreover, the median AAM of our sample was similar to that found in women born about 60 years ago in the same region. In conclusion, in addition to a stabilization of AAM since the 1960s, our results suggest that there is no significant correlation between increased adiposity and early AAM

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Prevention Measures on Adolescent Growth in Italy

COVID-19 infection has caused increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. Several strategies have been adopted around the world to prevent its spread. Italy underwent a long lockdown for face-to-face educational activities, which were replaced with online classes. This longitudinal study aimed to analyze the effects of COVID-19 prevention measures on physical growth and body image perception in a sample of Italian adolescents who experienced the pandemic-induced lockdown in 2020. In particular, we wished to ascertain how lifestyle changes had affected their growth rates and health. Special attention was paid to increases in adiposity indicators (BMI, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio) and weight caused by reduced physical activity, and consequent possible dissatisfaction with body image. We assessed the impact of school closures by comparing the annual growth rate and body image perception changes of adolescents (n = 60; age = 11.3 & PLUSMN; 0.4 years) who experienced this isolation with those in the following years who did not experience these restrictions (n = 68; age = 11.4 & PLUSMN; 0.3 years). As a consequence of the lockdown, our results indicate a greater annual growth rate in weight and other indices of adiposity (p < 0.05). As the virus is continuing to evolve and propagate, larger population studies can verify and confirm our findings. In promoting health policy to prevent the ongoing prevalence of obesity in adolescents, an accurate assessment of whether the increase in obesity rates during the pandemic is to be considered a temporary trend is highly recommended

A Moderate Walking Test Predicts Survival in Women With Cardiovascular Disease

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the principal cause of death in U.S. women. Peak oxygen uptake is strongly related to mortality and CVD. This study aimed to investigate the association between estimated peak oxygen uptake, determined using a moderate 1-km walking test, and all-cause mortality in female patients with stable CVD. Methods: Of the 482 women in our registry between 1997 and 2020, we included 430 participants in the analysis (aged 67 [34-88] years). A Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the variables significantly associated with mortality. On the basis of the peak oxygen uptake estimated using the 1-km walking test, the sample was subdivided into tertiles, and mortality risk was calculated. The discriminatory accuracy of peak oxygen uptake in estimating survival was assessed by receiver operating characteristic curves. All results were adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates. Results: A total of 135 deaths from any cause occurred over a median of 10.4 years (IQR=4.4-16.4), with an average annual mortality of 4.2%. Estimated peak oxygen uptake was a stronger predictor of all-cause mortality than demographic and clinical variables (c-statistic-0.767; 95% CI=0.72, 0.81; p<0.0001). The survival rate decreased from the highest tertile of fitness to the lowest. Compared with the lowest group, hazard ratios (95% CIs) for the second and third tertiles were 0.55 (0.37, 0.83) and 0.29 (0.16, 0.51), respectively (p for trend <0.0001). Conclusions: Higher peak oxygen uptake levels were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. The indirect estimation of peak oxygen uptake using the 1-km walking test is feasible and can be applied for risk stratification among female patients undergoing secondary prevention programs

Impact of Improvement in Walking Speed on Hospitalization and Mortality in Females with Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the principal cause of death in women. Walking speed (WS) is strongly related with mortality and CVD. The rate of all-cause hospitalization or death was assessed in 290 female outpatients with CVD after participation in a cardiac rehabilitation/secondary prevention program (CR/SP) and associated with the WS maintained during a moderate 1 km treadmill-walk. Three-year mortality rates were 57%, 44%, and 29% for the slow (2.1 ± 0.4 km/h), moderate (3.1 ± 0.3 km/h), and fast (4.3 ± 0.6 km/h) walkers, respectively, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.78 (p = 0.24) and 0.55 (p = 0.03) for moderate and fast walkers compared to the slow walkers. In addition, hospitalization or death was examined four to six years after enrollment as a function of the change in the WS of 176 patients re-assessed during the third year after baseline. The rates of hospitalization or death were higher across tertiles of reduced WS, with 35%, 50%, and 53% for the high (1.5 ± 0.3 km/h), intermediate (0.7 ± 0.2 km/h), and low tertiles (0.2 ± 0.2 km/h). Adjusted HRs were 0.79 (p = 0.38) for the intermediate and 0.47 (p = 0.02) for the high tertile compared to the low improvement tertile. Improved walking speed was associated with a graded decrease in hospitalization or death from any cause in women undergoing CR/SP

Evolução do perfil lipídico, glicêmico e pressórico de prematuros: estudo longitudinal

Objetivo: Relacionar a evolução do perfil lipídico, glicêmico e pressórico de prematuro do nascimento aos 2 anos de idade corrigida com a classificação de peso ao nascer e sexo. Metodologia: Estudo longitudinal, amostra inicial de 71 prematuros, destes, 31 completaram o acompanhamento ambulatorial. Avaliados ao nascer, alta, 6 meses e 2 anos de idade corrigida (peso, idade gestacional, perfil lipídico, glicêmico, pressão arterial). Resultados: Glicemia, colesterol total, pressão arterial e triglicerídeos, não foram estatisticamente significantes em relação ao peso ao nascer e ao longo do seguimento. Colesterol total (p=0,18) e glicemia sofreram efeito de interação com o sexo. Pressão arterial acima do esperado aos 2 anos. Crescimento foi uniforme independente do sexo. Conclusão: O perfil lipídico, glicêmico e pressórico dos prematuros ao longo do acompanhamento não foi influenciado pela classificação de peso ao nascer. O sexo influenciou as concentrações de colesterol e a glicemia

Valutazione degli aspetti tafonomici nei resti ossei umani combusti

I processi di trasformazione che si verificano dal momento della morte dell’individuo sono denominati tafonomici e sono dovuti all’intervento di vari fattori ambientali, tra i quali l’utilizzo del fuoco come elemento di distruzione del cadavere. Quando un osso viene esposto ad alte temperature le sue proprietà chimiche si alterano e la sua integrità strutturale è compromessa, ciò è dovuto all’evaporazione, alla degradazione organica e alle trasformazioni della matrice inorganica. Il tempo di esposizione al fuoco e la temperatura di combustione agiscono sull’osso provocando modificazioni cromatiche, fratture, fessurazioni, deformazioni e contrazioni. Gli effetti della combustione sull’osso umano sono rappresentati da fenomeni simultanei di shrinkage, hardening e whitening. Nel caso di cremazioni a cadavere fresco la fratturazione e la deformazione sono dovute alla rapida disidratazione del tessuto osseo che produce delle fratture concoidi e delle deformazioni tipiche, mentre la cremazione dell’osso secco produce sulla superficie fessure longitudinali o a reticolo. La variazione nel colore è indicatrice del progressivo danneggiamento termico dell’osso. Il riconoscimento dei colori di combustione è perciò indicativo dell’intervallo di temperature alle quali l’osso è stato sottoposto. La valutazione dei diversi aspetti tafonomici intervenuti può quindi essere indispensabile al fine della successiva interpretazione e ricostruzione degli eventi in ambito forense

Metodologie di identificazione da resti umani combusti

L’azione del fuoco su di un corpo umano è in genere distruttiva, anche se numerose sono le variabili che influenzano questo processo e ne condizionano gli effetti. Attraverso l’analisi dei resti combusti è possibile giungere alla ricostruzione del profilo biologico dell’individuo con determinazione del sesso, età di morte e caratteristiche utili all’identificazione personale. Le informazioni fornite da questo materiale dipendono dalle circostanze di conservazione, dal grado di fratturazione e di shrinkage dell’osso. L’identificazione sessuale si basa sui criteri antropologici tradizionali di tipo morfo-metrico; inoltre, notevole importanza assumono gli spessori del cranio e della corticale medio-diafisaria delle ossa lunghe, i diametri della testa omerale e femorale e misure angolari del meato acustico interno in relazione all’età del soggetto. La diagnosi di età è basata sulla valutazione degli stadi di accrescimento osseo e di fusione delle epifisi, nonché sul grado di obliterazione delle suture craniche i cui margini sono messi in evidenza dal processo di cracking. L’identificazione personale in alcuni casi può inoltre essere favorita dal ritrovamento di protesi dentarie ed ossee o chiodi endomidollari resistenti alle alte temperature, importanti per una comparazione con i dati ante mortem ricavabili da eventuali radiografie dei distretti ossei relativi al soggetto da identificare