A life less ordinary: analysis of the uniquely preserved tattooed dermal remains of an individual from 19th century France

‘Anthropologies of the Body’ often view the human form as a sort of text, onto which meanings and experiences are inscribed during people’s lives, rendering the body effectively as an artefact of material culture. Such ‘inscription’ is generally metaphorical; however, in the case of tattooing, aspects of the way people wish to be perceived are quite literally inscribed upon the body. The current article presents analysis of an unusual ‘artefact’ in the form of the major anterior portion of the preserved, tattooed skin of an adult male. The skin’s provenance was previously unknown, as was the reason why he had been subject to such treatment after death. The current project has progressed towards resolving these issues using multiple approaches, including CT scanning, multispectral light sources, infrared reflectography and spectroscopic dating. The latter technique produced a date range of 1861 ±15 years for the wood on which the skin was mounted. Multispectral and infrared light examination made it possible to discern many of the tattooed motifs much more clearly. The images and text that were made visible suggested this man had been French and had probably spent time overseas, possibly in naval service. Towards the end of his life, he may have been imprisoned and the date ‘1883’ was decipherable. The current analysis allowed the investigators to glean far more information than was initially expected, providing a considerably richer personal narrative of this individual through the content of his tattoos than is usually possible in biological anthropology

Interleukin-6 Attenuates Insulin-Mediated Increases in Endothelial Cell Signaling but Augments Skeletal Muscle Insulin Action via Differential Effects on Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Expression

OBJECTIVE: The cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) stimulates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and insulin signaling in skeletal muscle, both of which result in the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). We hypothesized that IL-6 promotes endothelial cell signaling and capillary recruitment in vivo, contributing to increased glucose uptake. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The effect of IL-6 with and without insulin on AMPK, insulin, and eNOS signaling in and nitric oxide (NO) release from human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) was examined. The physiological significance of these in vitro signaling events was assessed by measuring capillary recruitment in rats during control and euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps with or without IL-6 infusion. RESULTS: IL-6 blunted increases in insulin signaling, eNOS phosphorylation (Ser1177), and NO production and reduced phosphorylation of AMPK in HAEC in vitro and capillary recruitment in vivo. In contrast, IL-6 increased Akt phosphorylation (Ser473) in hindlimb skeletal muscle and enhanced whole-body glucose disappearance and glucose uptake during the clamp. The differences in endothelial cell and skeletal muscle signaling were mediated by the cell-specific, additive effects of IL-6 and insulin because this treatment markedly increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha protein expression in HAECs without any effect on TNF-alpha in skeletal muscle. When HAECs were incubated with a TNF-alpha-neutralizing antibody, the negative effects of IL-6 on eNOS signaling were abolished. CONCLUSIONS: In the presence of insulin, IL-6 contributes to aberrant endothelial cell signaling because of increased TNF-alpha expression

Relationship between health-related quality of life and respiratory health status among coal-based sponge iron plant workers in Barjora, India

Background: Many coal-based sponge iron plant workers have poor health-related quality of life in general, and specifically a poor respiratory health status. However, the relationship between their health-related quality of life and respiratory health status is unknown. Aim: This study investigated the relationship between health related quality of life, measured using the EuroQol- 5D (EQ5D), and respiratory health status, measured using the St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), among coal-based sponge iron plant workers in Barjora, India. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among coalbased sponge iron plant workers in Barjora, and complete data were available on 252 participants. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients were reported to show the strength of relationship between health-related quality of life and respiratory health status. Results and conclusion: Significant correlations were found between all EQ5D dimensions/visual analogue scale (VAS) and all SGRQ scores except between EQ5D-VAS and SGRQ-activity. A range of correlations was found. They were moderate between EQ5D-anxiety/depression and SGRQ-symptom, EQ5D-VAS and SGRQ-symptom, and EQ5D-anxiety/depression and SGRQ-total, but weak between all the other factors

The impact of submaximal exercise during heat and/or hypoxia on the cardiovascular and monocyte HSP72 responses to subsequent (post 24 h) exercise in hypoxia

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to describe the cellular stress response to prolonged endurance exercise in acute heat, hypoxia and the combination of heat and hypoxia and to determine whether prior acute exposure to these stressors improved cellular tolerance to a subsequent exercise bout in hypoxia 24 h later. METHODS: Twelve males (age 22 ± 4 years, height 1.77 ± 0.05 m, mass 79 ± 12.9 kg, VO(2) max 3.57 ± 0.7 L · min(-1)) completed four trials (30-min rest, 90-min cycling at 50% normoxic VO(2) max) in normothermic normoxia (NORM; 18°C, F(I)O(2) = 0.21), heat (HEAT; 40°C, 20% RH), hypoxia (HYP; F(I)O(2) = 0.14) or a combination of heat and hypoxia (COM; 40°C, 20% RH, F(I)O(2) = 0.14) separated by at least 7 days. Twenty-four hours after each trial, participants completed a hypoxic stress test (HST; 15-min rest, 60-min cycling at 50% normoxic VO(2) max, F(I)O(2) = 0.14). Monocyte heat shock protein 72 (mHSP72) was assessed immediately before and after each exercise bout. RESULTS: mHSP72 increased post exercise in NORM (107% ± 5.5%, p > 0.05), HYP (126% ± 16%, p < 0.01), HEAT (153% ± 14%, p < 0.01) and COM (161% ± 32%, p < 0.01). mHSP72 had returned to near-resting values 24 h after NORM (97% ± 8.6%) but was elevated after HEAT (130% ± 19%), HYP (118% ± 17%) and COM (131% ± 19%) (p < 0.05). mHSP72 increased from baseline after HST(NORM) (118% ± 12%, p < 0.05), but did not increase further in HST(HEAT), HST(HYP) and HST(COM). CONCLUSIONS: The prior induction of mHSP72 as a result of COM, HEAT and HYP attenuated further mHSP72 induction after HST and was indicative of conferred cellular tolerance

Fasting and surgery timing (FaST) audit

Background & aimsInternational guidance advocates the avoidance of prolonged preoperative fasting due to its negative impact on perioperative hydration. This study aimed to assess the adherence to these guidelines for fasting in patients undergoing elective and emergency surgery in the East Midlands region of the UK.MethodsThis prospective audit was performed over a two-month period at five National Health Service (NHS) Trusts across the East Midlands region of the UK. Demographic data, admission and operative details, and length of preoperative fasting were collected on adult patients listed for emergency and elective surgery.ResultsOf the 343 surgical patients included within the study, 50% (n = 172) were male, 78% (n = 266) had elective surgery and 22% (n = 77) underwent emergency surgery. Overall median fasting times (Q1, Q3) were 16.1 (13.0, 19.4) hours for food and 5.8 (3.5, 10.7) hours for clear fluids. Prolonged fasting >12 h was documented in 73% (n = 250) for food, and 21% (n = 71) for clear fluids. Median fasting times from clear fluids and food were longer in the those undergoing emergency surgery when compared with those undergoing elective surgery: 13.0 (6.4, 22.6) vs. 4.9 (3.3, 7.8) hours, and 22.0 (14.0, 37.4) vs. 15.6 (12.9, 17.8) hours respectively, p < 0.0001.ConclusionsDespite international consensus on the duration of preoperative fasting, patients continue to fast from clear fluids and food for prolonged lengths of time. Patients admitted for emergency surgery were more likely to fast for longer than those having elective surgery

Exercise therapy in Type 2 diabetes

Structured exercise is considered an important cornerstone to achieve good glycemic control and improve cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes. Current clinical guidelines acknowledge the therapeutic strength of exercise intervention. This paper reviews the wide pathophysiological problems associated with Type 2 diabetes and discusses the benefits of exercise therapy on phenotype characteristics, glycemic control and cardiovascular risk profile in Type 2 diabetes patients. Based on the currently available literature, it is concluded that Type 2 diabetes patients should be stimulated to participate in specifically designed exercise intervention programs. More attention should be paid to cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning as well as motivational factors to improve long-term treatment adherence and clinical efficacy. More clinical research is warranted to establish the efficacy of exercise intervention in a more differentiated approach for Type 2 diabetes subpopulations within different stages of the disease and various levels of co-morbidity