Unterseen. Die reformierte Pfarrkirche. Die Ergebnisse der archäologischen Forschungen von 1985 (mit Ergänzungen von 1998/2000)

Die Grabung 1985 in der Pfarrkirche von Unterseen, die aus dem 19. Jh. stammt, wurde durch die Innenrestaurierungen ausgelöst. Mit den Untersuchungen liess sich aufzeigen, dass die erste Kirche im 13./14. Jh. erbaut und gegen Ende des 15. Jh. umgebaut wurde. Die Publikation umfasst nach einer Einführung in den historischen Hintergrund eine detaillierte archäologische und anthropologische Auswertung der Baubefunde inklusive der Bestattungen, die in der Kirche zu Tage gekommen waren, sowie eine Fundvorlage (Keramik, Metallfunde, Münzen)

Schwarzenburg «Käppeli». Dorfkapelle. Die Ergebnisse der Bauforschung von 1987

Die Restaurierungen und insbesondere der Einbau einer Bodenheizung in der Kapelle von Schwarzenburg führten 1987 zu archäologischen Untersuchungen, deren Ergebnisse mit dieser Publikation vorliegen. Sie umfasst eine Analyse der Vorgängerbauten, eine umfassende, mit historischen Überlieferungen in Verbindung gebrachte Einführung in die Bauforschung sowie die anthropologischen Ergebnisse eines Kinderskelettes

Lauenen. Reformierte Pfarrkirche. Ergebnisse der Bauforschungen von 1983/84

Restaurierungsarbeiten an der Kirche von Lauenen veranlassten, in verschiedenen Etappen zwischen Sommer 1983 und Januar 1984 archäologische und baugeschichtliche Untersuchungen durchzuführen. Die Publikation umfasst die Ergebnisse zu den Funden und Befunden der Vorgängerkirche aus dem 16. Jh. und deren Veränderungen seit der Reformation. Es fügen sich die Auswertung der Münzen und ihrer Bedeutung für die Datierung sowie die Resultate der anthropologischen Untersuchungen an den Skeletten an

Worb, Pfarrkirche. Die Ergebnisse der Bauforschungen von 1983

Im Vorfeld der Gesamtrestaurierung der Pfarrkirche von Worb konnten in den Jahren 1983/84 die Baugeschichte der Kirche und ihrer Vorgänger erforscht werden. Es fanden sich Rest von insgesamt sieben Anlagen, die bis ins 7./8. Jh. zurückgehen. In der Publikation werden diese Bauten, die zugehörigen Gräber sowie einzelne Elemente der aktuellen Ausstattung (Wand- und Glasmalereien) präsentiert. Eine anthropologische Besonderheit sind die Gräber des 18. Jh. im Chor, die sich teils den auf den bereits bekannten Grabplatten genannten Angehörigen der Worber Herrschaftsfamilie zuweisen liessen. Die Publikation beleuchtet die Baugeschichte der Kirche, die erstmals 1236 schriftlich erwähnt wird, und präsentiert die Resultate der anthropologischen Untersuchungen

Estimation of sex and age of "virtual skeletons”-a feasibility study

This article presents a feasibility study with the objective of investigating the potential of multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) to estimate the bone age and sex of deceased persons. To obtain virtual skeletons, the bodies of 22 deceased persons with known age at death were scanned by MDCT using a special protocol that consisted of high-resolution imaging of the skull, shoulder girdle (including the upper half of the humeri), the symphysis pubis and the upper halves of the femora. Bone and soft-tissue reconstructions were performed in two and three dimensions. The resulting data were investigated by three anthropologists with different professional experience. Sex was determined by investigating three-dimensional models of the skull and pelvis. As a basic orientation for the age estimation, the complex method according to Nemeskéri and co-workers was applied. The final estimation was effected using additional parameters like the state of dentition, degeneration of the spine, etc., which where chosen individually by the three observers according to their experience. The results of the study show that the estimation of sex and age is possible by the use of MDCT. Virtual skeletons present an ideal collection for anthropological studies, because they are obtained in a non-invasive way and can be investigated ad infinitu

Analytical study of waterlogged ivory from the Bajo de la campana site (Murcia, Spain)

[EN] This work reports an analytical study conducted prior to the conservation intervention of a collection of elephant tusks excavated from a wreck site of a 600-500 BC Phoenician trading vessel in Bajo de la campana (Murcia, Spain). The conservation state of ivory, determined by prolongated immersion in a marine environment, was established by a multi-technique methodology: light microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy X-ray microanalysis (FESEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), spectrophotometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The analyses demonstrated that the structure and composition of both tusk parts, namely the inner ivory and outer cementum, were altered due to characteristic diagenetic processes of a marine environment. Ca enrichment was observed in both tusk parts, which gave higher Ca/P molar ratio values than for ideal hydroxyapatite. Mg leaching was observed, together with uptake of exogenous elements (F, Cl, Si, Al, S, Na, Fe, Cu, Sr, Pb, Sn, Ag, V, Ni, Cd and Zn), which were prevalently identified in the external tusk part. Uptake of S and Fe was associated with the neoformation of pyrite framboids. The high carbonate content measured by FTIR, which agreed with the higher Ca/P ratios found in the archaeological tusk, was ascribed to the carbonate substitution of phosphate groups (type-B) in the bioapatite accompanied by some authigenic calcium carbonate that infilled ivory. An increased degree of crystallinity was observed when comparing the values of several crystallinity indices found in the archaeological bioapatite with those of a modern tusk, used as the reference material. Increased crystallinity prevalently took place in the cementurn. In accordance with increased crystallinity, the HPO42- content index indicated that the hydrated layer of bioapatite nanocrystals diminished in the archaeological tusk, and prevalently in the cementum. All these changes correlated with the significant organic matter loss reported for the archaeological tusk. Interestingly, remaining collagenous matter noticeably altered with enrichment in glycine and depletion in acid amino acids. Changes in the secondary structure of proteins were also recognised and associated with collagen gelatinisation. In addition to proteinaceous materials, small amounts of long-chain fatty acids, monoglycerides and cholesteryl oleate were identified by GC-MS. Cholesteryl oleate was associated with blood, which could have precipitated at the time of specimen death. The identification of large amounts of pyrite framboids and the high oleic acid/palmitic acid ratio in the archaeological tusk suggested minimal oxidative degradation processes, probably due to the slightly anoxic conditions of the underwater Bajo de la campana site environment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The authors wish to thank CITES Espana and Direccion General de Bienes Culturales y Ensenanzas Artisticas, de la Consejeria de Educacion, Cultura y Universidades de la Comunidad Autonoma de la Region de Murcia, Museo Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica. Financial support is gratefully acknowledged from Spanish "I + D + I MINECO" projects CTQ2011-28079-CO3-01 and 02 and CTQ2014-53736-C3-1-P supported by ERDEF funds. The authors also wish to thank Mr. Manuel Planes and Dr. Jose Luis Moya, technical supervisors of the Electron Microscopy Service of the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Domenech Carbo, MT.; Buendía Ortuño, MDM.; Pasies Oviedo, T.; Osete Cortina, L. (2016). Analytical study of waterlogged ivory from the Bajo de la campana site (Murcia, Spain). Microchemical Journal. 126:381-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2015.12.022S38140512

National trends in total cholesterol obscure heterogeneous changes in HDL and non-HDL cholesterol and total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio : a pooled analysis of 458 population-based studies in Asian and Western countries

Background: Although high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and non-HDL cholesterol have opposite associations with coronary heart disease, multi-country reports of lipid trends only use total cholesterol (TC). Our aim was to compare trends in total, HDL and nonHDL cholesterol and the total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio in Asian and Western countries. Methods: We pooled 458 population-based studies with 82.1 million participants in 23 Asian and Western countries. We estimated changes in mean total, HDL and non-HDL cholesterol and mean total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio by country, sex and age group. Results: Since similar to 1980, mean TC increased in Asian countries. In Japan and South Korea, the TC rise was due to rising HDL cholesterol, which increased by up to 0.17 mmol/L per decade in Japanese women; in China, it was due to rising non-HDL cholesterol. TC declined in Western countries, except in Polish men. The decline was largest in Finland and Norway, at similar to 0.4 mmol/L per decade. The decline in TC in most Western countries was the net effect of an increase in HDL cholesterol and a decline in non-HDL cholesterol, with the HDL cholesterol increase largest in New Zealand and Switzerland. Mean total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio declined in Japan, South Korea and most Western countries, by as much as similar to 0.7 per decade in Swiss men (equivalent to similar to 26% decline in coronary heart disease risk per decade). The ratio increased in China. Conclusions: HDL cholesterol has risen and the total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio has declined in many Western countries, Japan and South Korea, with only a weak correlation with changes in TC or non-HDL cholesterol.Peer reviewe

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol

High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries(1,2). However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world(3) and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health(4,5). However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low- and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Malta in 1980 to those in Asia and the Pacific, such as Tokelau, Malaysia, The Philippines and Thailand. In 2017, high non-HDL cholesterol was responsible for an estimated 3.9 million (95% credible interval 3.7 million-4.2 million) worldwide deaths, half of which occurred in east, southeast and south Asia. The global repositioning of lipid-related risk, with non-optimal cholesterol shifting from a distinct feature of high-income countries in northwestern Europe, north America and Australasia to one that affects countries in east and southeast Asia and Oceania should motivate the use of population-based policies and personal interventions to improve nutrition and enhance access to treatment throughout the world.Peer reviewe