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Human Specimens (human + specimen)
Selected AbstractsTechnical note: Forearm pronation efficiency analysis in skeletal remainsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Ignasi Galtés Abstract This work presents an original methodology for analyzing forearm-pronation efficiency from skeletal remains and its variation with regard to changes in the elbow position. The methodology is based on a biomechanical model that defines rotational efficiency as a mathematical function expressing a geometrical relationship between the origin and insertion of the pronator teres. The methodology uses humeral distal epiphysis photography, from which the geometrical parameters for the efficiency calculus can be obtained. Rotational efficiency is analyzed in a human specimen and in a living nonhuman hominoid (Symphalangus syndactylus) for a full elbow extension (180°) and an intermediate elbow position (90°). In both specimens, the results show that this rotational-efficiency parameter varies throughout the entire rotational range and show a dependency on the elbow joint position. The rotational efficiency of the siamang's pronator teres is less affected by flexion of the forearm than that of the human. The fact that forearm-pronation efficiency can be inferred, even quantified, allows us to interpret more precisely the functional and evolutionary significance of upper-limb skeletal design in extant and fossil primate taxa. Am J Phys Anthropol 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Histopathological analysis of human specimens removed from the injection area of expanded adipose-derived stem cellsHISTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 7 2010Mariano García-Arranz First page of article [source] Evidence of artificial cranial deformation from the later prehistory of the Acacus Mts. (southwestern Libya, Central Sahara)INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2008F. Ricci Abstract The 1999,2001 Italian,Libyan Archaeological Mission in the Acacus and Messak, southwestern Libya, resulted in the discovery of human specimens from the Wadi Tanezzuft Valley belonging to the Final Pastoral horizon (i.e. late Neolithic, about 3000 years bp). Some of these show clear traces of artificial cranial deformation. This practice, hitherto unrecorded in the central Sahara, is described and analysed in this paper. It represents an additional source of information about population movements and cultural connections in the area. It does not appear to be gender-related, and neither does it involve all individuals in the sample, suggesting some kind of social and/or cultural differentiation within the group. The pattern of cranial deformation described here is not directly related to types most commonly encountered among recent African populations and elsewhere. It may be considered a combination of antero-posterior and circumferential deformation and thus is referred to as a ,pseudo-circular type'. Archaeological and ethnographic literature related to Africa and southwestern Asia is investigated in order to identify a possible origin of such a custom and its pattern of diffusion. The evidence, according to other sources of information, contributes to interpret this area at the centre of the Sahara as a focal point of population movements and circulation of cultural traditions across North Africa in the latest phases of the Pastoral Neolithic. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Morphogenesis of the human excretory lacrimal systemJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 2 2006C. De La Cuadra-Blanco Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the principal developmental stages in the formation of the excretory lacrimal system in humans and to establish its morphogenetic period. The study was performed using light microscopy on serial sections of 51 human specimens: 33 embryos and 18 fetuses ranging from 8 to 137 mm crown,rump length (CR; 5,16 weeks of development). Three stages were identified in the morphogenesis of the excretory lacrimal system: (1) the formative stage of the lacrimal lamina (Carnegie stages 16,18); (2) the formative stage of the lacrimal cord (Carnegie stages 19,23); and (3) the maturative stage of the excretory lacrimal system, from the 9th week of development onward. A three-dimensional reconstruction of the excretory lacrimal system was performed from serial sections of an embryo at the end of the embryonic period (27 mm CR). [source] Use of the 1-mm micro-probe for metabolic analysis on small volume biological samplesJOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 8b 2009Natalie J. Serkova Abstract Endogenous metabolites are promising diagnostic end-points in cancer research. Clinical application of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy is often limited by extremely low volumes of human specimens. In the present study, the use of the Bruker 1-mm high-resolution TXI micro-probe was evaluated in the elucidation of metabolic profiles for three different clinical applications with limited sample sizes (body fluids, isolated cells and tissue biopsies). Sample preparation and 1H-NMR metabolite quantification protocols were optimized for following oncology-oriented applications: (i) to validate the absolute concentrations of citrate and spermine in human expressed prostatic specimens (EPS volumes 5 to 10 ,l: prostate cancer application); (ii) to establish the metabolic profile of isolated human lymphocytes (total cell count 4 = 106: chronic myelogenous leukaemia application); (iii) to assess the metabolic composition of human head-and-neck cancers from mouse xenografts (biopsy weights 20 to 70 mg: anti-cancer treatment application). In this study, the use of the Bruker 1-mm micro-probe provides a convenient way to measure and quantify endogenous metabolic profiles of samples with a very low volume/weight/cell count. [source] Novel rapid immunochromatographic test based on an enzyme immunoassay for detecting nucleocapsid antigen in SARS-associated coronavirusJOURNAL OF CLINICAL LABORATORY ANALYSIS, Issue 4 2005Hiroyuki Kogaki Abstract A novel severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has been discovered. The detection of both antigens and antibodies in SARS-CoV from human specimens with suspected SARS plays an important role in preventing infection. We developed a novel rapid immunochromatographic test (RICT) based on the sandwich format enzyme immunoassay (EIA) with an all-in-one device for detecting the native nucleocapsid antigen (N-Ag) of SARS-CoV using monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs), which we produced by immunizing recombinant N-Ag to mice. RICT is a qualitative assay for respiratory aspirates and serum specimens. With this assay, a positive result can be judged subjectively by the appearance of a blue line on the device 15 min after the sample is applied. RICT with several pairs of MoAbs showed a high sensitivity for the detection of recombinant N-Ag as well as viral N-Ag of SARS-CoV. rSN122 and rSN21-2 were the best MoAbs for immobilized antibody and enzyme labeling, respectively. With regard to analytical sensitivity, RICT detected N-Ag at 31 pg/mL for recombinant N-Ag, and at 1.99×102 TCID50/mL for SARS-CoV. The specificity of RICT was 100% when 150 human sera and 50 nasopharyngeal aspirates (NSPs) were used. RICT based on an EIA using the rSN122/rSN21-2 pair is a sensitive, specific, and reliable rapid assay for detecting N-Ag in SARS-CoV treated with either heat or Triton X-100. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 19:150,159, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Preclinical study of endoscopic ultrasonography with electronic radial scanning echoendoscopeJOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, Issue 7 2003KATSUSHI NIWA Background: To evaluate the imaging possibility of a newly designed electronic radial scanning echoendoscope (ER-ES). Methods: In the in vivo study of swine, we obtained B-mode endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) images of the gastric and gallbladder (GB) walls and checked the ability to detect Doppler signals using ER-ES and electronic linear array echoendoscope (EL-ES). Furthermore, in the ex vivo study of swine, B-mode EUS images of fixed gastric and GB wall specimens were obtained using ER-ES, EL-ES and mechanical radial scanning echoendoscope (MR-ES). In the study of resected human specimens, we obtained B-mode EUS images of five resected GB specimens (three normal GB, one cholecystitis and one cancerous) using the three types of echoendoscope. Results: In the in vivo study of swine, ER-ES and EL-ES depicted the gastric walls as five-layered, and the GB walls as single-layered structures. The ability to detect Doppler signals was equal between ER-ES and EL-ES. In the ex vivo study of swine, ER-ES, MR-ES and EL-ES equally delineated the gastric walls as five-layered and GB walls as three-layered structures. In the study of resected human specimens, results demonstrated the normal GB walls as three-layered, the cholecystitis as a combination of outer high-echoic and inner low-echoic layers, and the cancer as a protruded tumor. Conclusions: We conclude that ER-ES has faculties for making B-mode images as well as EL-ES and MR-ES. In addition, in the in vivo study, ER-ES can analyze blood flow information as well as EL-ES. © 2003 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd [source] Dual-mode reflectance and fluorescence near-video-rate confocal microscope for architectural, morphological and molecular imaging of tissueJOURNAL OF MICROSCOPY, Issue 1 2007ALICIA L. CARLSON Summary We have developed a near-video-rate dual-mode reflectance and fluorescence confocal microscope for the purpose of imaging ex vivo human specimens and in vivo animal models. The dual-mode confocal microscope (DCM) has light sources at 488, 664 and 784 nm, a frame rate of 15 frames per second, a maximum field of view of 300 × 250 ,m and a resolution limit of 0.31 ,m laterally and 1.37 ,m axially. The DCM can image tissue architecture and cellular morphology, as well as molecular properties of tissue, using reflective and fluorescent molecular-specific optical contrast agents. Images acquired with the DCM demonstrate that the system has the sub-cellular resolution needed to visualize the morphological and molecular changes associated with cancer progression and has the capability to image animal models of disease in vivo. In the hamster cheek pouch model of oral carcinogenesis, the DCM was used to image the epithelium and stroma of the cheek pouch; blood flow was visible and areas of dysplasia could be distinguished from normal epithelium using 6% acetic acid contrast. In human oral cavity tissue slices, DCM reflectance images showed an increase in the nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio and density of nuclei in neoplastic tissues as compared to normal tissue. After labelling tissue slices with fluorescent contrast agents targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor, an increase in epidermal growth factor receptor expression was detected in cancerous tissue as compared to normal tissue. The combination of reflectance and fluorescence imaging in a single system allowed imaging of two different parameters involved in neoplastic progression, providing information about both the morphological and molecular expression changes that occur with cancer progression. The dual-mode imaging capabilities of the DCM allow investigation of both morphological changes as well as molecular changes that occur in disease processes. Analyzing both factors simultaneously may be advantageous when trying to detect and diagnose disease. The DCM's high resolution and near-video-rate image acquisition and the growing inventory of molecular-specific contrast agents and disease-specific molecular markers holds significant promise for in vivo studies of disease processes such as carcinogenesis. [source] Which cranial regions reflect molecular distances reliably in humans?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Evidence from three-dimensional morphology Knowledge of the degree to which various subsets of morphological data reflect molecular relationships is crucial for studies attempting to estimate genetic relationships from patterns of morphological variation. This study assessed the phylogenetic utility of six different human cranial regions, plus the entire cranium. Three-dimensional landmark data were collected for 83 landmarks from samples of skulls from 14 modern human populations. The data were subsequently divided into anatomical regions: basicranium, upper face, mandible, temporal bone, upper jaw, cranial vault, and a subset of points from around the entire cranium. Depictions of population molecular distances were calculated using published data on microsatellites for the same or closely related populations. Distances based on morphological variation of each of the anatomical regions were compared with molecular distances, and the correlations assessed. The morphology of the basicranium, temporal bone, upper face, and entire cranium demonstrated the highest correlations with molecular distances. The morphology of the mandible, upper jaw, and cranial vault, as measured here, were not significantly correlated with molecular distances. As the three-dimensional morphology of the temporal bone, upper face, basicranium, and entire cranium appear to consistently reflect genetic relationships in humans, especially with more reliability than the cranial vault, it would be preferable to focus on these regions when attempting to determine the genetic relationships of human specimens with no molecular data. Am. J.Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Modern human cranial diversity in the Late Pleistocene of Africa and Eurasia: Evidence from Nazlet Khater, Pe,tera cu Oase, and HofmeyrAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Isabelle Crevecoeur Abstract The origin and evolutionary history of modern humans is of considerable interest to paleoanthropologists and geneticists alike. Paleontological evidence suggests that recent humans originated and expanded from an African lineage that may have undergone demographic crises in the Late Pleistocene according to archaeological and genetic data. This would suggest that extant human populations derive from, and perhaps sample a restricted part of the genetic and morphological variation that was present in the Late Pleistocene. Crania that date to Marine Isotope Stage 3 should yield information pertaining to the level of Late Pleistocene human phenotypic diversity and its evolution in modern humans. The Nazlet Khater (NK) and Hofmeyr (HOF) crania from Egypt and South Africa, together with penecontemporaneous specimens from the Pe,tera cu Oase in Romania, permit preliminary assessment of variation among modern humans from geographically disparate regions at this time. Morphometric and morphological comparisons with other Late Pleistocene modern human specimens, and with 23 recent human population samples, reveal that elevated levels of variation are present throughout the Late Pleistocene. Comparison of Holocene and Late Pleistocene craniometric variation through resampling analyses supports hypotheses derived from genetic data suggesting that present phenotypic variation may represent only a restricted part of Late Pleistocene human diversity. The Nazlet Khater, Hofmeyr, and Oase specimens provide a unique glimpse of that diversity. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||