73 research outputs found
Dietary reconstruction of the El Sidrón Neandertal familial group (Spain) in the context of other Neandertal and modern hunter-gatherer groups. A molar microwear texture analysis
No full textHere, we present the analysis of occlusal molar microwear textures of eight individuals from the El Sidrón Neandertal group (Spain). The aims of the study were: 1) to document potential age-, sex-, and maternal lineage-related differences in diet within a Neandertal familial group, and 2) to place the diet of El Sidrón individuals in the context of those of other Neandertal groups. This study also offers an interpretation of the diet of the El Sidrón Neandertals by comparing their microwear signatures to those of recent hunter-gatherer populations with diverse but known diets. The intra-group examination of the microwear signatures are consistent with the females of the El Sidrón group having had more abrasive diets or having used their teeth in more para-masticatory activities than did the males. Aside from the potential sex-related differences in diet, no additional intra-group dietary separation, such as by age group or maternal lineage, was observed. In comparison to other Neandertals, El Sidrón individuals, as a group, have microwear signatures most similar to those of other Neandertals from wooded habitats and different from those that lived in more open habitats. This result is expected based on the available paleoenvironmental reconstructions from El Sidrón Cave. The diet of the El Sidrón Neandertals, just like their Neandertal counterparts from similar wooded habitats, is interpreted as having been mixed, consisting of both meat and vegetable foods.This research was funded by the local Government of the Principado de Asturias and by the Spanish Government (Project CGL2012-36682), and the European Community Research Infrastructure Action (SYNTHESYS Project; http://www.synthesys.info, to S. El Zaatari).Peer Reviewe
The diets of the Ipiutak and Tigara (Point Hope, Alaska): Evidence from occlusal molar microwear texture analysis
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Ecogeographic Variation in Neandertal Dietary Habits: Evidence From Microwear Texture Analysis
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Ecogeographic Variation in Neandertal Dietary Habits: Evidence From Microwear Texture Analysis
No full textStony Brook University Libraries.
Department of Anthropology.
Lawrence Martin (Dean of Graduate School), Frederick E. Grine (Professor Dissertation Advisor Department of Anthropology), William L. Jungers (Chairperson of Defense Department of Anatomical Sciences), John J. Shea (Associate Professor Member Department of Anthropology), Peter S. Unger (Professor Outside Member University of Arkansas Department of Anthropology), Jean-Jacques Hublin (Professor Outside Member Max-Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Department of Human Evolution)
Ecogeographic variation in Neandertal dietary habits: Evidence from microwear texture analysis
No full textFor over 100,000 years, Neandertals inhabited a variety of ecological zones across western Eurasia, between glacial and interglacial conditions. To elucidate the still poorly understood effects of climatic change and variability, and possible competition on the Neandertal subsistence patterns, this study employed dental microwear texture analysis to reconstruct the dietary habits of 54 Neandertal, Pre-Neandertal, and early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) modern human specimens from 28 sites in western Eurasia. Microwear signatures of seven modern hunter-gatherer groups (n = 155) of known and diverse diets were analyzed for comparative purposes. Microwear signatures of Neandertals and Pre-Neandertals are correlated with variation in vegetation-cover, such that individuals from cold-steppe/tundra vegetation had less complex microwear surfaces than those from forested environments. The microwear pattern of the EUP fossils did not differ significantly from those of the Pre-Neandertal groups and northern and central European Neandertals, which suggests that the former had a more varied diet. However, significant differences in microwear signatures were found between the southern European Neandertals and the EUP fossils. In accord with the stable isotope results, microwear analysis classifies Neandertals as top-level carnivores. However, dental microwear analysis detected some subtle dietary differences. Thus, the microwear signatures of Neandertals and Pre-Neandertals from steppe/tundra vegetation are similar to meat-eating Fuegians from comparable habitats, whereas those of Neandertals and pre-Neandertals from forested environments resemble the Chumash, who inhabited a Mediterranean-like environment. Neandertals from the deciduous forests of southern Europe have a microwear signature that falls within the ranges of Australian and African aborigines with mixed diets. EUP fossils have microwear signatures that resemble those of both the modern Chumash and Fuegians
Occult hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-infected Lebanese patients with isolated antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen
No full textThe presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) serological markers have been investigated in 101 Lebanese patients (69 men, 32 women; mean age 32.7 ± 1.7 years) infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Seven patients (6.9percent) were HBsAg carriers compared with 54 patients (53.5percent) who had no evidence of exposure to HBV infection. Twenty-four patients (23.8percent) had anti-HBc alone as a serological marker compared with four patients who were positive for anti-HBs alone and 12 patients (11.9percent) who were anti-HBc and anti-HBs-positive. Occult HBV infection (presence of HBV DNA in the absence of HBsAg) is found to be relatively high (28.7percent) in HIV-infected Lebanese patients and the overwhelming majority (83.3percent) of those who were positive for anti-HBc alone had a detectable HBV DNA in their serum. However, none of our HIV-positive patients with occult HBV infection had abnormal alanine aminotrasferase level, which also raises the question as to whether occult HBV plays a role in the aetiology of liver disease in HIV-infected patients. Further, studies on the association between HBV DNA levels and markers of liver function in addition to data on liver biopsy would help in answering this question.ALTER MJ, 1994, GASTROENTEROL CLIN N, V23, P437; Brechot C, 2001, HEPATOLOGY, V34, P194, DOI 10.1053-jhep.2001.25172; Burnett RJ, 2005, LIVER INT, V25, P201, DOI 10.1111-j.1478-3231.2005.01054.x; Cacciola I, 1999, NEW ENGL J MED, V341, P22, DOI 10.1056-NEJM199907013410104; Carman WF, 1997, J VIRAL HEPATITIS, V4, P11, DOI 10.1111-j.1365-2893.1997.tb00155.x; CHAN HLY, 1999, CLIN LIVER DIS, V3, P291, DOI 10.1016-S1089-3261(05)70069-6; Conjeevaram H, 2001, HEPATOLOGY, V34, P204, DOI 10.1053-jhep.2001.25225; Coursaget P, 1991, FEMS Microbiol Lett, V67, P35; El-Zaatari M, 2007, J HOSP INFECT, V66, P278, DOI 10.1016-j.jhin.2007.04.010; Fukuda R, 1999, J MED VIROL, V58, P201, DOI 10.1002-(SICI)1096-9071(199907)58:3201::AID-JMV33.0.CO;2-2; Gomes SA, 1996, ACTA VIROL, V40, P133; Grob P, 2000, J MED VIROL, V62, P450, DOI 10.1002-1096-9071(200012)62:4450::AID-JMV93.0.CO;2-Y; Hu KQ, 2002, J VIRAL HEPATITIS, V9, P243, DOI 10.1046-j.1365-2893.2002.00344.x; Lee WM, 1997, NEW ENGL J MED, V337, P1733, DOI 10.1056-NEJM199712113372406; Lindh M, 1997, J INFECT DIS, V175, P1285; LUO KX, 1991, J MED VIROL, V35, P55, DOI 10.1002-jmv.1890350112; Neau D, 2005, CLIN INFECT DIS, V40, P750, DOI 10.1086-427882; Nunez M, 2002, AIDS, V16, P2099, DOI 10.1097-00002030-200210180-00024; Osborn MK, 2007, HIV MED, V8, P271, DOI 10.1111-j.1468-1293.2007.00469.x; Palella FJ, 1998, NEW ENGL J MED, V338, P853, DOI 10.1056-NEJM199803263381301; Piroth L, 2002, J HEPATOL, V36, P681, DOI 10.1016-S0168-8278(02)00019-3; Raimondo G, 2005, LANCET, V365, P638; RAMIA S, 2007, EPIDEMIOL INFECT, V133, P695; RAMIA S, 2007, IN PRESS EUR J CLIN; Santos EA, 2003, EUR J CLIN MICROBIOL, V22, P92, DOI 10.1007-s10096-002-0868-0; Shire NJ, 2004, JAIDS-J ACQ IMM DEF, V36, P869, DOI 10.1097-00126334-200407010-00015; Wagner AA, 2004, AIDS, V18, P569, DOI 10.1097-01.aids.0000111449.61782.49; WANG JT, 1990, J MED VIROL, V32, P83, DOI 10.1002-jmv.1890320203; Weber B, 2001, J MED VIROL, V64, P312, DOI 10.1002-jmv.1052; Zuckerman AJ, 2000, LANCET, V355, P1382, DOI 10.1016-S0140-6736(00)02132-268
Monoclonal antibodies produced against isoelectrically focused nocardia asteroides proteins and characterized by the immunoelectro-transfer blot technique, 1984
No full textNocardiosis is one of the most difficult bronchiopulmonary infection to diagnose because of its close morphological, physiological and antigenic resemblance as well as its coexistence with other bacteria which cause chronic pulmonary diseases, especially Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The objective of this work is to apply improved techniques to the delineation of the antigenic specificity of Nocardia asteroides which may provide early diagnosis to detect specific antibodies in the sera of nocardiosis patients. Nocardia asteroides B1042 was grown in modified Sauton's medium in liquid shake culture at 35C for 4 and 6 weeks. Culture filtrates (CF) and homogenates (H) were prepared and concentrated. The protein content of the CF and H was estimated. Rabbits were immunized with the CF and H antigens in incomplete Freund Adjuvant. These antigens were analyzed by Immunoelectrophoresis (IEP), isoelectric focusing (IEF) and an immunoelectro-transfer blot technique modified for use with pH gradient polyacrylamide gels. Rabbit antisera to the CF and H antigens demonstrated consistency in antibody production with the maximum number of precipitin arcs observed after 8 to 12 weeks of immunization. The isofocused patterns of the CF and H proteins were similar with only quantitative differences in the respective components. An exception was that one band at 3.5 pH was present in the CF, but not in the H antigenic complex. Each pattern revealed at least 20 protein components having isoelectric points (pis) in the range of pi 4.0 to 5.4. The modified immunoelectro-transfer blot technique was optimized and combined with the sensitivity afforded by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). These combined techniques showed that most of the proteins of the isofocused patterns reacted as antigens against rabbit antisera, and at least 8 of them also reacted with sera from nocardiosis and tuberculosis patients. A specific antigen with a pi 4.68 reacted with 47% of the sera from nocardiosis cases and not with those from tuberculosis patients. Three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed against three of these anti-genic factors (1,6 and 8), located at pis 4.0, 4.43 and 4.68 respectively, were produced. Two of these MAbs showed specificity to Nocardia because they did not react with the typical Mycobacterium tuberculosis sonicated cell extract. The potential use of these MAbs will facilitate the further evaluation of specific IN. asteroides antigens and may even provide a rapid serological test for nocardiosis
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