The Early Royal Society and Visual Culture

Recent studies have fruitfully examined the intersection between early modern science and visual culture by elucidating the functions of images in shaping and disseminating scientific knowledge. Given its rich archival sources, it is possible to extend this line of research in the case of the Royal Society to an examination of attitudes towards images as artefacts –manufactured objects worth commissioning, collecting and studying. Drawing on existing scholarship and material from the Royal Society Archives, I discuss Fellows’ interests in prints, drawings, varnishes, colorants, images made out of unusual materials, and methods of identifying the painter from a painting. Knowledge of production processes of images was important to members of the Royal Society, not only as connoisseurs and collectors, but also as those interested in a Baconian mastery of material processes, including a “history of trades”. Their antiquarian interests led to discussion of painters’ styles, and they gradually developed a visual memorial to an institution through portraits and other visual records.AH/M001938/1 (AHRC

Carbon sequestration potential of second-growth forest regeneration in the Latin American tropics

Regrowth of tropical secondary forests following complete or nearly complete removal of forest vegetation actively stores carbon in aboveground biomass, partially counterbalancing carbon emissions from deforestation, forest degradation, burning of fossil fuels, and other anthropogenic sources. We estimate the age and spatial extent of lowland second-growth forests in the Latin American tropics and model their potential aboveground carbon accumulation over four decades. Our model shows that, in 2008, second-growth forests (1 to 60 years old) covered 2.4 million km2 of land (28.1%of the total study area).Over 40 years, these lands can potentially accumulate a total aboveground carbon stock of 8.48 Pg C (petagrams of carbon) in aboveground biomass via low-cost natural regeneration or assisted regeneration, corresponding to a total CO2 sequestration of 31.09 Pg CO2. This total is equivalent to carbon emissions from fossil fuel use and industrial processes in all of Latin America and the Caribbean from1993 to 2014. Ten countries account for 95% of this carbon storage potential, led by Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. We model future land-use scenarios to guide national carbon mitigation policies. Permitting natural regeneration on 40% of lowland pastures potentially stores an additional 2.0 Pg C over 40 years. Our study provides information and maps to guide national-level forest-based carbon mitigation plans on the basis of estimated rates of natural regeneration and pasture abandonment. Coupled with avoided deforestation and sustainable forestmanagement, natural regeneration of second-growth forests provides a low-costmechanism that yields a high carbon sequestration potential with multiple benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services. © 2016 The Authors

Hindlimb skeletal allometry in plio-pleistocene hominids with special reference to AL-288-1 ("Lucy")

Summary. — The relative length of the femur in AL-288-1 («Lucy») and other Plio-Pleistocene hominids is evaluated using a new measure of trunk height (for Lucy), and body weight (for all fossils) as reference variables. Human and ape allometric lines of femoral length on body size indicators converge in the smaller size range, making it impossible to reliably separate smaller early hominids from either group. Larger hominids, however, (including specimens assigned to Australopithecus boisei) are differentiated from the apes. These data suggest that relative leg elongation in hominids is largely body size dependent, and that this elongation most occurred within Australopithecus.Résumé. — La longueur relative du fémur de AL-288-1 («Lucy») et d'autres hominidés du Plio-Pleistocène est réexaminée en utilisant, pour une mesure de référence, une nouvelle estimation de la longueur du corps (pour Lucy) et du poids corporel (pour tous les fossiles). Les deux lignes allométriques entre la longueur fémorale et les mesures de grandeur corporelle pour les échantillons des hommes et des grands singes se placent parmi les individus de petite taille. Donc, il est impossible de déterminer si les hominidés Plio-Pleistocènes de petite taille se séparent d'un groupe ou l'autre. Mais, les hominidés Plio-Pleistocènes de grande taille (y compris les individus ď Australopithecus boisei) se séparent des grands singes. Ces données indiquent donc que la longueur relative de la jambe des hominidés dépend en grande partie de la taille de l'individu, et que cet allongement a eu lieu probablement dans le genre Australopithecus.Franciscus Robert G., Holliday T. W. Hindlimb skeletal allometry in plio-pleistocene hominids with special reference to AL-288-1 ("Lucy"). In: Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris, Nouvelle Série. Tome 4 fascicule 1-2, 1992. pp. 5-20

A Reconstruction of the Shanidar 4 Facial Skeleton.

We have reconstructed the anterior craniofacial morphology of the probably last inter glacial Shanidar 4 hominid based on the midlines of the frontal and mandible, with the maxillae and the left zygomatic region aligned between them. reconstruction provides a frontal with a flat sagittal arc and a projecting mid-supraorbital torus. Shanidar 4 has a prognathic absolutely and relative to body size, combined with a zygomaxillary region that is prominent, angled and anterior relative to dental arcade. The infraorbital region is moderately concave. The Shanidar 4 craniofacial skeleton therefore presents one feature (frontal flatness - shared with Shanidar I and 5), one "Neandertal" feature (a projecting glabellar region - shared with "classic" Neandertals) and one more archaic complex (full-facial prognathism - shared with Middle Pleistocene and interglacial archaic humans).Nous avons reconstitué la morphologie crânio-faciale antérieure de Shanidar 4, hominidé fossile datant du dernier interglaciaire, sur la base des lignes médianes du frontal et de la mandibule, le maxillaire et la région gauche étant alignés entre elles. La reconstitution proposée offre un frontal à arc sagittal aplati et à torus supra-orbitaire dans sa partie médiane. Shanidar 4 présente, de manière absolue et relative par rapport à la taille du corps, une face combinée à une région zygomaticо-maxillaire proéminente, angulaire et antérieure par rapport à l'arcade dentaire. La infra-orbitaire est modérément concave. La partie crâno-faciale du squelette Shanidar 4 présente donc un trait caractéristique Shanidar (l'aplatissement du front, qu il partage avec Shanidar 1 et 5), un trait néandertalien (la projection de la région qu'il partage avec les Néandertaliens "classiques" ) et un ensemble de caractères plus archaïques (le prognathisme facial) partage avec les hommes archaïques du Pleistocene moyen et du dernier interglaciaire .Trinkaus Erik, Arter David D., Franciscus Robert G. A Reconstruction of the Shanidar 4 Facial Skeleton.. In: Paléorient, 1996, vol. 22, n°1. pp. 51-66

Development of the mandibular curve of spee and maxillary compensating curve: A finite element model.

The curved planes of the human dentition seen in the sagittal view, the mandibular curve of Spee and the maxillary compensating curve, have clinical importance to modern dentistry and potential relevance to the craniofacial evolution of hominins. However, the mechanism providing the formation of these curved planes is poorly understood. To explore this further, we use a simplified finite element model, consisting of maxillary and mandibular "blocks", developed to simulate tooth eruption, and forces opposing eruption, during simplified masticatory function. We test our hypothesis that curved occlusal planes develop from interplay between tooth eruption, occlusal load, and mandibular movement. Our results indicate that our simulation of rhythmic chewing movement, tooth eruption, and tooth eruption inhibition, applied concurrently, results in a transformation of the contacting maxillary and mandibular block surfaces from flat to curved. The depth of the curvature appears to be dependent on the radius length of the rotating (chewing) movement of the mandibular block. Our results suggest mandibular function and maxillo-mandibular spatial relationship may contribute to the development of human occlusal curvature

The mesosternum of the Regourdou 1 Neandertal revisited

Fossil hominin mesosterna, while scarce, can provide useful morphological data in addition to rib remains regarding aspects of thoracic size and shape. These data, in turn, can address hypotheses related to respiratory dynamics, climatic adaptation, and ecogeographical patterning. In this study, we re-evaluate the anatomical representation of the mesosternum of the Regourdou 1 Neandertal individual that alters key aspects of the original description of the fossil remains. We compare this specimen together with the mesosterna of the Kebara 2 Neandertal male individual and the Tabun C1 Neandertal female individual to a large extant modern sample. Our study shows that the current evidence available for Neandertals indicates longer mesosterna, reflecting larger thorax sizes among Neandertals, in comparison with extant humans. Additionally, while this study weakens previous suggestions of ecogeographically mediated differences in the size and shape of upper thorax between Neandertals from the Mediterranean Levant and those deriving from Western Europe, we cannot unambiguously disprove the notion of such clinal differences

Kebara 2: new insights regarding the most complete Neandertal thorax

In this study, we present a new analysis of the costal skeleton of the Kebara 2 Neandertal that challenges the original description of the fossil remains. In addition to correcting an erroneous rib rejoin, we document that Kebara 2 shows significant metric and morphological differences in comparison to a wide range of modern human comparative samples. Moreover, Kebara 2's thorax is large, but it is not an isometrically scaled version of a modern human thorax. We also present updated information regarding additional Neandertal rib remains that weakens the case for previous speculations regarding marked ecogeographical patterning in the Neandertal upper thorax. From these results, in combination with various other lines of evidence, we hypothesize that the large chest of Neandertals, while different from modern humans, is not autapomorphic but instead related to a “primitive body bauplan”: wide bodies with high body mass. A large thorax in pre-modern Homo, indicating a large vital capacity, would be consistent with the idea of increased oxygen consumption derived from higher energetic demands of a larger body and higher activity levels when compared to modern industrial samples. The likely presence of larger chests in the large bodied individuals from the middle Pleistocene of Eurasia and Africa (and even from the African lower Pleistocene) calls into question cold climate adaptation as a primary force for this skeletal morphology in Neandertals

Patterns of Hearing Loss in Irradiated Survivors of Head and Neck Rhabdomyosarcoma

Purpose: The frequency and patterns of HL in a HNRMS survivor cohort were investigated. A dose–effect relationship between the dose to the cochlea and HL was explored. Methods: Dutch survivors treated for HNRMS between 1993 and 2017 with no relapse and at least two years after the end of treatment were eligible for inclusion. The survivors were evaluated for HL with pure-tone audiometry. HL was graded according to the Muenster, Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.03 and International Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) classification. We defined deleterious HL as Muenster ≥ 2b, CTCAE ≥ 2, and SIOP ≥ 2. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to search for the dose–effect relationship between the irradiation dose to the cochlea and the occurrence of HL. Results: Forty-two HNRMS survivors underwent pure-tone audiometry. The Muenster, CTCAE and SIOP classification showed that 19.0% (n = 8), 14.2% (n = 6) and 11.9% (n = 5) of survivors suffered from HL, respectively. A low-frequency HL pattern with normal hearing or milder hearing loss in the higher frequencies was seen in four survivors. The maximum cochlear irradiation dose was significantly associated with HL (≥Muenster 2b) (p = 0.047). In our series, HL (≥Muenster 2b) was especially observed when the maximum dose to the cochlea exceeded 19 Gy. Conclusion: HL occurred in up to 19% of survivors of HNRMS. More research is needed on HL patterns in HNRMS survivors and on radiotherapy dose–effect relationships