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M Piperno

Publications and source records attributed to M Piperno.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Human remains of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis from the pleistocene deposit of Santa [corrected] Croce Cave, Bisceglie (Apulia), Italy.

The paper deals with a Neanderthal human femur, recovered during excavations in Santa [corrected] Croce Cave, Bisceglie. The cave also yielded Mousterian lithic industry and fauna indicating a paleoclimate condition with dry-warm tendency and savannah landscape. Metrical, morphometrical, and morphological analysis, and the comparison with Neanderthal specimens show that the femur belonged to an adult individual. It particularly shows great affinities with the analogous specimens from La Ferrassie 1 and 2, Spy 2, and Fond de Forêt, which are similar in size and, above all, show similar archaic morphological traits.

Femur↗

Plasma lipid fatty acids and platelet function during continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in type I diabetes.

Eleven insulin-dependent diabetics exhibiting a fair but less than ideal diabetic control (HbA1 = 10.0 +/- 0.6%) were submitted in a random order to two 6 week-study periods of: continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) and optimized conventional insulin therapy. Plasma lipids, fatty acids in plasma lipids and platelet function were estimated at baseline and at the end of each study period. Declines in HbA1 were observed at the end of either CSII or conventional period compared with baseline, but the differences were only significant under CSII (P less than 0.02). Plasma lipids and apoproteins remained unchanged at the end of the two study periods compared with baseline. Both CSII and optimized conventional treatment were followed by a significant increase of arachidonate in plasma lipids. A deterioration of the platelet function estimated from ADP or epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation and TxB2 generation by platelets was found under optimized conventional treatment while the platelet function appears to be normal at baseline and under CSII. These data indicate that slight but not sufficient improvements of diabetic control can result in deterioration of the platelet function. It seems that these deleterious effects are mediated through an increased production of arachidonate and in turn of TxB2.

Adult↗

Neanderthal parietal, vertebrate fauna, and stone artifacts from the Upper Pleistocene deposits of Contrada Ianní di San Calogero (Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy).

Human skeletal remains recovered at a new archaeological site, dating back to the Italian Mousterian age are analyzed. The finds consist of a left parietal of a child about 2-3 years old. The metrical, morphometrical, and morphological traits of this parietal are compared to those of other Neanderthal children. The geological features of the site, its fauna, and stone artifacts recovered there during quarry operations are also analyzed.

Archaeology↗

[Induced hyperlipemia test during femur head osteonecrosis].

The authors studied disturbances of lipid clearance in cases of aseptic osteonecrosis of the femoral head by means of an induced intravenous hyperlipemia test. With reference to investigations in 19 patients, the authors first draw attention to the frequency of ethylism and of fatty degeneration of the liver (13 patients). A significant decrease was noted in the coefficient of lipid clearance in the 19 patients. This was particularly marked when fatty degeneration of the liver was present. The etiological role of these anomalies should be considered, as fatty degeneration and hyperlipaemia may also be found in other pathological conditions responsible for primary osteonecrosis of the femoral head (corticotherapy).

Adult↗

Insulinoma with hypoglycemia and normal immunoreactive insulin but with an insulin-like activity restricted to the portal vein.

In a 46-year old Caucasian woman, the authors report a B-cell adenoma with plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) ranging from 10 to 32 microunits/ml, despite severe spontaneous hypoglycemia. In a peroperative sample withdrawn from the portal vein, normal IRI (40 micromicron/ml) in the presence of high insulin-like activity (290 microunits/ml) was observed by using a biological assay performed on rat epididymal fat tissue. Furthermore, this material did not cross-react with insulin antibodies and was undetectable in systemic venous samples. Although further identification by chromatographic extraction was not performed, the substance secreted by the tumor is probably identical to the non-suppressible insulin-like activity (NSILA) isolated by Froesch and responsible for hypoglycemia in a few cases of extrapancreatic tumors. The absence of this material in systemic samples indicates an immediate removal by a single passage through the liver.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗