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The first archaeological case of multiple myeloma (MM) from historic period North America is presented. Only 49 cases of MM have been reported from archaeological contexts and recent reviews have alternately rejected either 24 of the cases or all 49 cases and found them all to more likely be cases of metastatic carcinoma (MC). The trend in the debate over the interpretation of these cancers is that MC is an ancient disease while MM is likely a disease of modernity. MM was first recognized as a distinct form of cancer in 1873 with only 17 cases reported by 1900. The first North American clinically identified case of MM was reported in 1894. This study supports the suggestion that MM is a disease of modernity with the etiology likely linked to industrialization. The archaeological case presented here was interred circa 1880, in the same time frame that MM is recognized as a distinct disease and briefly predates the clinical reporting of MM in the US. Of note, the individual is associated with an institution that served societal dependents. As catchall warehouses for dependency it is not surprising to find conditions reflective of senescence. Such institutions provided hospice care for the terminally ill and can serve, as in this case, to align the archaeological and clinical records.

Dental caries is the most prevalent chronic infectious disease during childhood both in historical and contemporary times, but research focused on the oral health of non-adults from the past is still scant. As such, this study proposes a multidisciplinary approach to the differential diagnosis of severe dental lesions in a medieval non-adult skeleton. The skeleton of a three-year-old child recovered in the medieval necropolis of Cacela Velha (Portugal) was studied through macroscopic, radiological, elemental and stable isotope analyses. This individual exhibited enamel destruction and dentine exposure in both the maxillary and mandibular teeth, with the latter also showing changes in coloration. Elemental analysis showed that his skull presented lower values of Si, Cl, and Ca and higher of Cu compared to the control, while the concentration of P and S were significantly lower in the teeth. Early childhood caries is the most probable diagnosis for the dental lesions observed, apparently stemming from a reticulate of factors that include potential malnutrition, and the consumption of sugars in complementary feeding - even though historical sources point to the scarcity of sugar in Portugal during most of the Middle Ages.

We present a presumptive case of metastatic carcinoma in an individual from the 11^th/12^th century CE from Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein. The skeleton exhibits extensive new bone formation in the axial skeleton and the proximal humerus and femur. Radiological examinations revealed further sclerotic lesions in the clavicles, the manubrium, the sternum, the femoral diaphysis, and possibly the frontal. The pelvic bones and the sacrum, as well as the spine, are the most heavily affected skeletal regions. The newly formed bone in some lesions has a "sun-burst" appearance. The sex and age at death of the individual, the distribution and the osteoblastic nature of the lesions suggest that prostate carcinoma is the most likely primary tumor.

This study analyzed the paleopathological conditions of a 30-year-old male unearthed at the site of Ya'amun in northern Jordan. The skeleton was dated back to Iron age. The paleopathological examinations were performed using macroscopic and radiological analyses. The results revealed multiple significant bone lesions, including periosteal osteosarcoma of the right femur, plagiocephaly, asymmetry of the sacrum, vertebral fractures, anemia, and osteoarthritis. This case represents the first example of neoplasm and plagiocephaly in the Iron Age of the region. Despite enduring severe health conditions, the individual managed to reach the third decade while facing the demands of strenuous daily activities that exemplified the harsh living and subsistence conditions characteristic of the Iron Age.

The Cortijo Coracho archaeological site dates from the Late Antiquity period, from the 5^th to the 8^th century AD. During this period, a number of populations settled in the area (Germanic peoples until Visigothic rule, Byzantine until the arrival of the Arabs, etc.), each of them concentrating the historical characteristics in the Sub-Baetic that are currently known. The Cortijo Coracho archaeological site is currently located in the city of Lucena (Cordoba, Spain), found after the works on the A-45 motorway. The necropolis consists of 294 inhumations and the remains of a basilica, although after a series of surveys it is estimated that there are around 700 additional burials, which would make it the largest necropolis with ad sancti burials surrounding a martyrial basilica dating back to the 4^th century AD. Among the burials, 397 subjects were recovered, which implies a large presence of shared and/or reused burials. These subjects were transferred to the city's museum, where they were examined, reorganised and classified. At this point, subjects of scientific interest were found, as is the case of subject 204, the topic of this article. This individual, described as an adult male, is an example of the living conditions of this period, since despite his injury on the left lower extremity, a double fracture aggravated by a chronic osteomyelitis infection, he continued to use that limb. This paper will give the details of that distinctive lesion and the possible hypotheses underlying it.

The analysis of stable isotopes in archaeological human and animal skeletal finds is a routine method in the field of archaeometry. Multi-dimensional datasets are this way easily generated what, however, demands new interpretive approaches. Cluster analyses are capable of detecting multi-dimensional similarities among the isotopic signatures and are thus superior over traditional uni- and bivariate evaluations. This study aims to demonstrate the potential of Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering for palaeodiet reconstruction. We reevaluate previously published isotopic datasets obtained on early medieval skeletal finds from Upper Bavaria (Germany), also including some individuals from "special burials", e.g., from separated burial sites or circular enclosures. This manageable and easy-to-understand dataset contains four-dimensional isotope signatures (δ¹³C_collagen, δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C_carbonate, δ¹⁸O_carbonate) of 27 individuals. We illustrate the iterative process of cluster analysis and the additional benefit of its outcome for the interpretation of the data. This includes the recognition of noisy isotope data and of those isotope systems that are essential. In our example, three isotope systems were required for a correct palaeodiet reconstruction. While δ¹³C_collagen and δ¹⁵N values are commonly used for palaeodiet reconstructions, δ¹³C_carbonate values, including additional information on dietary carbohydrates and fats, are required for a meaningful cluster separation and, thus, the interpretation of the individuals' diet. No general correlation between dietary quality and grave goods was detectable.

The study aimed to determine the frequency of the alleles associated with hereditary immune response in 16 historical populations and assess which evolutionary forces may have contributed to the observed frequency fluctuation. The analysed polymorphic sites are located in three genes - CCR5, CCR2 and SDF 1 (CXCL12). Protein products are involved in the innate immune response and are also involved in various types of infections, autoimmune diseases and tumours. The frequency of the alleles found in the DNA of the studied individuals was determined by the Sanger methodology and was compared with the data obtained for modern populations. To confirm the authenticity of the obtained results, mtDNA HVRI haplotypes of all the studied samples were obtained and compared with the genetic database of the laboratory personnel who came into contact with the studied material. Based on the variability of allele frequency, advanced biostatistical analysis was used to distinguish the effect of natural selection from genetic drift, i.e. the forces operating on the polymorphic sites studied. All procedures were performed according to the guidelines for working with ancient DNA to avoid contamination with modern DNA molecules. 681 samples from 39 archaeological sites in Poland and Lithuania dated to the 40^th century BC and the 19^th century were studied. The biostatistical analysis showed that the fluctuations in the frequency of CCR5Δ32 in the analysed time interval could be mainly the effect of genetic drift. Nevertheless, for CCR2-64I and SDF 1-3'A, the results confirm the suggestion of negative selection as the mechanism involved. Since all the polymorphic sites encode the elements of innate immune response that are indirectly associated with the process of an HPV infection and the development of cervical cancer, the human papillomavirus may be a good candidate for a selection coefficient affecting the frequency of CCR2-64I and SDF 1-3'A. However, for CCR5Δ32, selection was not detected despite its proven role in the molecular mechanism involved in the response to an HPV infection. The presented work seems to be the first in which the problem of the pattern of CCR5Δ32, CCR2-64I and SDF 1-3'A frequency fluctuations in a temporal perspective was discussed, proposing HPV as a factor influencing the occurrence of the CCR2 and SDF1 alleles.

Stature estimation is central in forensic anthropology and very important in bioarchaeology. For this reason, several different methods have been proposed, employing different skeletal elements and statistical approaches. A major issue with skeletonized individuals is that their bones are often found fragmented, a taphonomic parameter that limits the application of many available methods. As a result, attempts have been made to create equations to predict either directly stature or long bone length (which can then be used with current stature prediction equations) from bone fragments. The current paper is a contribution in this direction. The femur, tibia and humerus of 76 individuals from a modern Greek skeletal collection were divided into different segments using a landmark approach. Subsequently, univariate and multivariate equations were created to predict both maximum long bone length and stature from the "bone fragments". The models varied in performance depending on the specific bone fragment used, the number of variables simultaneously employed for prediction and the sex of the individuals. Although the models used to directly predict stature from bone fragment dimensions should be treated cautiously because the stature of the assemblage from the Athens Collection had itself been anatomically estimated, the results are valuable towards highlighting the complex association between bone dimensions, long bone length and living/estimated stature.

This study aimed to analyse differences in the profile of subcutaneous fat between Black and Caucasian athletes of both sexes. An anthropometric study was performed on 303 athletes (202 White and 101 Black). The protocol included: weight, height, sitting height, arm span, circumference of waist and hip, and nine skinfold measurements. The sums of skinfolds and fat percentage were calculated by different equations: athlete-specific (Withers 1987, cited by Norton 1996), generalised (Durning-Womersley 1974; Jackson-Pollock 1985) and according to ethnic group (Davidson 2011; Evans 2005). Black males had less subcutaneous fat in pectoral, triceps and lower limb and more in subscapularis. Meanwhile Black women had less in anterior thigh and more in subscapularis in relation to Caucasian women. In both sexes, Black athletes had a greater ratio of sum of upper limb/lower limb and lesser ratio of sum of anterior/posterior zone. The fat percentage for Black men was less in three of the equations and less for women in the Evans equation. The highest degree of agreement between the fat estimated by Evans and the other equations was with Withers and Jackson-Pollock. This sexual and racial dimorphism in the anthropometric profile must be considered in assessment.

This paper aimed to investigate the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity among children and adolescents in China in 2010, 2014 and 2019. A total of 590,836 Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-17 years (295,602 boys) were included in the Chinese National Surveillance on Students' Constitution and Health surveys in 2010, 2014, and 2019. Weight categories were based on sex- and age-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off values developed by the Working Group on Obesity in China. Prevalence estimates of overweight always include obesity. The chi-square test was used to estimate differences in detection rates across survey years. Height and BMI increased from 149.4 cm and 18.3 kg/m² in 2010 to 151.6 cm and 19.2 kg/m² in 2019, respectively. Trends in height and BMI slowed, but trends in BMI among girls accelerated. The prevalence of underweight among Chinese children and adolescents aged 7-17 years continued to decrease from 9.7% in 2010 to 7.5% in 2019 (p < 0.05). The prevalence of overweight and obesity progressively increased from 14.9% and 5.2% to 24.6% and 10.5%, respectively. The trends for the prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity decreased, but for the prevalence of obesity among girls increased. The trends for the prevalence of overweight and obesity decreased in younger children but increased in older adolescents. Future policies and preventive interventions should prioritize girls and adolescents, especially older girls.