Biomedical subjects
A T Chamberlain
Publications and source records attributed to A T Chamberlain.
Bone mineral change during experimental heating: an X-ray scattering investigation.
The effects of heating and burning on bone mineral have previously been studied using techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) with the aim of discerning a characteristic signature of crystal change. This would enable a better understanding of alteration to bone mineral during heating, which would in turn impact on the preparation and use of natural bone hydroxyapatite as a biomaterial resource. In addition, this knowledge could prove invaluable in the investigation of burned human remains from forensic and archaeological contexts in cremation and funerary practice. Here we describe a complementary method, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), to determine more accurately the changes to bone crystallite size and shape during an experimental heating regimen. Samples were subjected to controlled heating at 500 degrees C, 700 degrees C, or 900 degrees C for 15 or 45 min. Our results show bone crystallites begin to alter in the first 15 min of heating to 500 degrees C or above. They then appear to stabilise to a temperature-specific thickness and shape with prolonged heating. While the samples heated to lower temperatures or for shorter periods produce XRD traces showing little alteration to the apatite, corresponding information obtained from SAXS shows an early, subtle change in crystal parameters.
Age estimation from the auricular surface of the ilium: a revised method.
A revised method for estimating adult age at death using the auricular surface of the ilium has been developed. It is based on the existing auricular surface aging method of Lovejoy et al. ([1985] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 68:15-28), but the revised technique is easier to apply, and has low levels of inter- and intraobserver error. The new method records age-related stages for different features of the auricular surface, which are then combined to provide a composite score from which an estimate of age at death is obtained. Blind tests of the method were carried out on a known-age skeletal collection from Christ Church, Spitalfields, London. These tests showed that the dispersion of age at death for a given morphological stage was large, particularly after the first decade of adult life. Statistical analysis showed that the age-related changes in auricular surface are not significantly different for males and females. The scores from the revised method have a slightly higher correlation with age than do the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis stages. Considering the higher survival rates of the auricular surface compared with the pubic symphysis, this method promises to be useful for biological anthropology and forensic science.
Microfocus small angle X-ray scattering reveals structural features in archaeological bone samples: detection of changes in bone mineral habit and size.
Microfocus X-ray scattering provides a powerful nondestructive technique capable of providing important information about the size, habit, and arrangement of mineral crystals in bone. The technique is capable of probing textural differences in a sample at a micron scale resolution. The study presented here involved the analysis of a number of archaeological bones by microfocus X-ray scattering at the ESRF Grenoble in order to determine local changes in mineral durability. The results showed that regions of bone with a modified microscopic morphology contained a greater dispersion of crystal shape when compared with more intact regions and control contemporary bone samples, but the crystal thickness values showed similar consistency. We speculate that the persistence of collagen in the archaeological bone may allow diagenetic remodeling of bone in terms of crystallite shape but defines the size of remodelled crystallites. The ability to detect such local changes in texture has wide potential for determining crystal characteristics in healthy and diseased bone samples.
Genetic evidence for Near-Eastern origins of European cattle.
The limited ranges of the wild progenitors of many of the primary European domestic species point to their origins further east in Anatolia or the fertile crescent. The wild ox (Bos primigenius), however, ranged widely and it is unknown whether it was domesticated within Europe as one feature of a local contribution to the farming economy. Here we examine mitochondrial DNA control-region sequence variation from 392 extant animals sampled from Europe, Africa and the Near East, and compare this with data from four extinct British wild oxen. The ancient sequences cluster tightly in a phylogenetic analysis and are clearly distinct from modern cattle. Network analysis of modern Bos taurus identifies four star-like clusters of haplotypes, with intra-cluster diversities that approximate to that expected from the time depth of domestic history. Notably, one of these clusters predominates in Europe and is one of three encountered at substantial frequency in the Near East. In contrast, African diversity is almost exclusively composed of a separate haplogroup, which is encountered only rarely elsewhere. These data provide strong support for a derived Near-Eastern origin for European cattle.
Neanderthal DNA. Not just old but old and cold?
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Non-metric trait evidence for modern human affinities and the distinctiveness of Neanderthals.
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The incidence of dorsal sulci of the scapula in a modern human population from Ensay, Scotland.
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Forensic three-dimensional facial reconstruction: historical review and contemporary developments.
Despite varied attempts to achieve standardization in traditional techniques and the promotion of some newly developed ones, facial reconstruction remains on the threshold between art and science. It is the point at which science ends and the medical illustrator takes over that has led to most reservations over this branch of forensic anthropology. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that many techniques of facial reconstruction are prima facie questionable and to illustrate some possible solutions to the problems which are currently being explored by the Facial Reconstruction Project at the University of Sheffield (UK). The review includes 15 responses to a questionnaire which was offered to facial reconstruction experts and related specialists. The use of 3D color laser scanning equipment, collection of tissue depth measurements from CT scans and the development of a computer system for 3D forensic facial reconstruction, are described.
Extraction of single-copy nuclear DNA from forensic specimens with a variety of postmortem histories.
Specimens of human bone, teeth and dried blood spots from 3 months to 91 years old, with a variety of postmortem histories, were used in a comparative study of recovery of single-copy nuclear DNA sequences from forensic material. Sequences of the amelogenin and HLA-DPB1 genes were chosen for their value in sexing and identification. Sequences of the mitochondrial non-coding region V were also amplified to compare the recovery of mitochondrial and single-copy nuclear DNA. A variation of the silica method for DNA extraction was refined for application to the forensic specimens in this sample. Single-copy nuclear DNA was amplified from 100% of recent postoperative bone specimens (n = 6), 80% of forensic teeth and bone specimens (n = 10), 78% of recently extracted teeth (n = 18), 78% of exhumed bone up to 91 years old (n = 37) and 69% of 15 year old bone specimens fixed in 10% formalin (n = 20). Amelogenin sexing was correct in 85% of cases (n = 74) in which the sex of the donor had been recorded. There was no correlation between the age of the specimen and the extent of DNA preservation.
Sib competition and sperm competitiveness: an answer to 'why so many sperms?' and the recombination/sperm number correlation.
Sperm, or inter-ejaculate, competition leads to the evolution of many sperm per ejaculate. However, sperm competition theory does not predict the correlation between sperm number and chiasma, or that between sperm number and haploid chromosome number. Firstly, we show that phylogenetic inertia cannot account for at least the latter relation, and secondly, a model is presented which incorporates sib competition (intra-ejaculate competition) and sperm competitiveness to explain the relation between sperm numbers and recombination and the question 'Why so many sperms?'. It is argued that if there are deleterious mutations which affect sperm competitiveness this will lead to sib or intra-ejaculate competition. If inter-ejaculate competition also exists, then there will be selection for increased recombination. A chiasmate male heterozygous for n mutations which reduce sperm competitiveness can produce gametes with 0...n mutations. The proportion of gametes with 0 mutations per ejaculate is s = 0.5n, which is a small fraction. This means that to ensure on average one sperm with 0 mutations per ejaculate, a chiasmate male must produce 1/s sperm. We may therefore expect that 1/s will be positively correlated with sperm numbers. If inter-ejaculate competition leads to an optimum sperm number of x, then the optimum number of sperm per ejaculate is x/s. Sperm numbers will be increased by: (i) the number of loci which affect sperm competitiveness in the haploid state; (ii) the mutation rate; and (iii) the recombination rate. A correlation between recombination rates and sperm numbers is therefore to be expected.
Fluctuating asymmetry in gorilla canines: a sensitive indicator of environmental stress.
Populations of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) have decreased markedly as a result of human encroachment. The species is therefore likely to have been exposed to substantial environmental stress. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is one measure of environmental stress. We examined the expression of FA in the canines and second premolars of the upper jaw of western lowland gorillas. The canines had patterns of FA typical of secondary sexual characters, whereas the expression of premolar FA was typical of non-sexually selected traits. We found that FA in male canines was positively correlated with year of collection (YOC) or year of collection and acquisition (YOCA) of the specimen. This suggested a sustained environmental deterioration. However, there was no relation between FA and YOC, or FA and YOCA, in female canines. There was a correlation between FA and YOC in male premolars, but this was relatively weak and disappeared when FA and YOCA were considered. There was no correlation between FA and YOC or YOCA in the premolars of females. We conclude that these patterns of FA support the argument that sexually selected structures are sensitive to environmental stress but non-sexually selected structures are not.
Fluctuating asymmetry, sexual selection and canine teeth in primates.
Fluctuating asymmetry arises as small deviations from symmetry which can be expressed on either side of the body. Increases in fluctuating asymmetry can suggest genomic stress such as results from directional selection. It has been argued that epigamic structures and weapons should show high levels of fluctuating asymmetry because sexual selection is essentially directional in nature. We tested this prediction by examining the expression of fluctuating asymmetry in the upper canines of 21 species of Old World primates. We found, for males but not for females, that asymmetry was correlated with measures of sexual selection including canine dimorphism, canine size, mass dimorphism, and intra-male competition. However, there was no significant correlation with diet type and body mass, which are only weakly associated with sexual selection. Phylogenetic inertia did not account for the association between fluctuating asymmetry and sexual selection. We also found that species with high values of canine dimorphism and intra-male competition tended to have a negative correlation between asymmetry and mean canine height, and this latter effect was present in both males and females. The implications of these findings for sexual selection theory are discussed.
A chronological framework for human origins.
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Character phylogeny of the primate forelimb superficial venous system.
The ontogeny and comparative anatomy of the forelimb superficial veins were investigated in humans, non-human primates and other mammals. Adult humans and the orangutan (Pongo) possess two autonomous forelimb veins, one on the lateral (preaxial) margin of the limb, the other on the medial (postaxial) margin. All other adult primates and mammals examined possess a lateral vein alone. In African apes (Pan and Gorilla) and in 24% of human forelimbs the lateral vein is short, being essentially confined to the antebrachial region, whereas in other mammals and in 76% of human limbs the lateral vein runs from the carpus to the clavicular region. In humans the medial vein develops before the lateral vein, whereas in the rabbit and the pig the medial vein is present in early embryos but is subsequently lost. We propose that in humans, and probably also in the orangutan, the possession of a medial vein is a neotenic retention of a primitive tetrapod condition. These animals, which retain their medial vein, are united by losing a late stage in their ontogeny. Other animals subsequently pass through a stage in which the medial vein is lost, but Pongo and Homo retain this vein to adulthood. The loss of an ontogenetic stage can arise independently, and the presence of a medial vein therefore affords only weak evidence for a close phylogenetic relationship between humans and the orangutan. The polymorphic lateral vein of humans may be a character state that is intermediate between the derived (short) lateral vein of the African apes and the primitive long lateral vein of other non-human primates and mammals.
The comparative anatomy of the forelimb veins of primates.
One hundred and thirteen forelimbs taken from 62 individuals belonging to 17 primate genera were dissected to reveal the entire course of the superficial venous system. The course of the deep venous system was also documented in at least one forelimb of each primate genus, and the number and location of perforating veins was recorded in 18 human and 45 non-human primate limbs. In Pan, Gorilla and in about 25% of human specimens the lateral superficial vein was confined to the forearm, while in all other primates, and in the majority of humans, this vein extended from the carpus to the clavicular region. Only Pongo and humans exhibited a second main superficial vein on the medial side of the forearm. In all primates the deep veins of the forelimb usually accompanied the arteries. Thus variation in the deep venous system reflected the different arterial patterns exhibited by these primates. The number of perforating veins in the forelimb was related to the length of the limb. Primate genera with longer forelimbs had more perforators, though not as many as would be expected if the number of perforators scaled linearly with limb length.
Paget's disease of bone in South Africa.
A survey of Paget's disease of bone in Johannesburg South Africa, has revealed a prevalence of 2.4% in whites aged 55 years and over, which is similar to some centres in Europe; it has also revealed an unexpectedly high prevalence of 1.3% among blacks. These findings are discussed in relation to recent concepts of the pathogenesis of Paget's disease.
Nicotine and cigarette smoking: an alternative hypothesis.
A new hypothesis is presented to explain some aspects of human smoking behaviour. While acknowledging the importance of the nicotine self-titration phenomenon, changes in puffing intensity during the smoking of a single cigarette are related not to the control of nicotine uptake but to the modification of cigarette smoke composition prior to inhalation. It is suggested that nicotine, in addition to its central effects, has the local action of reducing the acute airway response to irritant components of cigarette smoke. The new hypothesis explains some of the 'anomalous' results of smoking behaviour research, and has implications both for cigarette design and for the recommendations made to smokers by statutory health agencies.