Homo-Journal of Comparative Human Biology最新文献

It has been suggested that the inner ear attains its final morphology already in utero and that environmental factors do not influence its size or shape after birth. Thus, direct comparison between the adult and the subadult bony labyrinths can be made. Herein, this hypothesis was tested in a sample of 170 subadult individuals. Three-dimensional (3D) models of the labyrinths were created for 170 French and Greek juveniles. Ten linear measurements of the 3D models were taken and the labyrinthine shape was evaluated by calculating 10 shape indices. All variables were subsequently analyzed in the context of postnatal development. Significant positive correlation between the chronological age and several variables was noted suggesting that age-related changes of the bony labyrinth occur in the postnatal period. Our findings contradict the simplified assumption that the bony labyrinth retains a stable morphology after birth. Further research should concentrate on evaluating postnatal changes to the temporal bone and their influence on the labyrinthine morphology.

Introduction: Discoveries concerning the role of connective tissue and myofascial chains require a change in thinking about the functioning of the human body and verification of the approach to correcting posture defects. The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the shape of the spine in the sagittal plane and longitudinal arching of the feet. Material and methods: 271 girls and 241 boys aged 10-12 years were examined. Height and body weight were measured. The BMI was calculated and the status of body weight was estimated. The depth of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis as well as the sagittal trunk inclination were assessed using the Zebris Pointer ultrasound system. Arching of the feet was determined on the basis of the Arch Index on BTS P-walk platform. Statistica v13 software was used to analyse the data. Results: Both sexes showed a tendency to have deeper thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis. About 15% of the participants had flatfeet. Hollow and correct arching of the feet was observed with a similar frequency (38-43%). Hollow feet arching was accompanied by shallower lumbar lordosis and a shift of the body's general centre of gravity backwards. The participants with flat foot arching tend to have deeper lumbar lordosis. A greater depth of physiological curvatures of the spine and lower longitudinal arching of the feet were observed in boys. BMI was positively correlated with decreased arching of the feet and deepened lumbar lordosis. Conclusions: Longitudinal arching of the feet significantly correlates with the depth of lumbar lordosis and trunk balance.

Purpose: Osteoporosis is the most widespread systemic disease of the skeleton. According to estimated data for Poland, it affects ca. 3 million people. Although the disease is multifactorial, with significant influence of environmental factors on the increase of the risk of its occurrence, genetic factors play an important role in its pathogenesis. The aim of this study was an analysis of the relation of the ApaI, BsmI and TaqI polymorphisms of the VDR gene, with bone mineral density measured in lumbar spine and/or in proximal femur in a group of polish women. Methods: The study included 135 women at the postmenopausal age from the area of central Poland. BMD was measured at the hip and/or at the lumbar spine, using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The influence of the selected VDR genotypes on bone mineral density was studied using the ApaI, the BsmI and the TaqI restriction enzymes. Lifestyle information was obtained via questionnaire. Results: Women with the 'bb' genotype showed lower BMD values of the hip (Total BMD value) comparing to patients with 'BB' or 'Bb' genotypes. We did not observe similar correlation for the lumbar spine. The remaining polymorphisms (ApaI and TaqI) did not demonstrate a significant relation with the differentiation of the mean BMD values obtained from the hip nor from lumbar vertebrae. Conclusion: The present study has demonstrated that the BsmI polymorphism of the vitamin D receptor gene is a factor of bone mineral density changes in postmenopausal women from Poland.

The University of Cape Town (UCT) Human Skeletal Repository began in 1913 and its composition a century later reflects the history of biological anthropology at the University, in South Africa and internationally. It consists of 1059 skeletons from archaeological (472; 44%), cadaveric (372; 36%) and forensic contexts (160; 14%). They are used for educational and research purposes to provide engaged scholarship and experiential learning for undergraduate and postgraduate students from a variety of disciplines including health professionals. The cadaveric remains help build population specific standards, forensic cases assist to address social and criminal justice, and the archaeological discoveries to preserve African culture and heritage. Overall, the repository provides a distinct contribution to knowledge locally and globally. The new management approach of the repository is presented. Ethical considerations and management policies are discussed. Stewardship of these individuals is facing several challenges and there are areas that continue to require attention. UCT is committed to address past unethical procurement of remains through engaging with the relevant interested and affected parties in restitution and repatriation.

Determination of the age of majority is of critical importance in forensic and legal practice. This study aimed to assess the mandibular third molar maturation stage in discriminating adults and minors in an Egyptian population sample using two methods: Cameriere's third molar maturity index (I_3M) and Demirjian's stage of maturation; further, the I_3M cut-off value of < 0.08 for age 18 years and older was tested. The study included 350 digital panoramic radiographs of 14-24 years old participants. The effectiveness of I_3M < 0.08 and Demirjian's stages were assessed using sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, post-test probability, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to detect the overall effectiveness of I_3M and Demirjian's stages to determine adults. I_3M < 0.08 showed accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, post-test probability, positive and negative likelihood ratios of 88.65%, 91.74%, 83.67%, 90.6%, 5.62 and 0.10 respectively in males, and 82.76%, 80.16%, 87.04%, 91.03%, 6.18 and 0.23 in females. Stage H showed the best specificity and post-test probability within Demirjian stages; 91.84% and 94.06% in males and 90.74% and 91.84% in females. Both I_3M and Demirjian's stage H of the mandibular third molar were useful indicators for discriminating between Egyptian adults and minors. The cut-off value of I_3M < 0.0625 in males and I_3M < 0.104 in females showed a better discrimination performance than I_3M < 0.08 among Egyptians.

3D analysis of skeletal volumes has become an important field in digital anthropology studies. The volume of the mastoid process has been proposed to display significant sexual dimorphism, but it has a complex shape and to date no study has quantified the full mastoid volume for sex estimation purposes. In this study we compared three different ways to isolate the volume of the mastoid process from digital 3D models of dry crania, and then evaluated the performance of the three different volume definitions for sex estimation purposes. A total of 170 crania (86 male, 84 females) excavated from five medieval Croatian sites were CT-scanned and used to produce 3D stereolitographic models. The three different isolation techniques were based on various anatomical landmarks and planes, as well as the anatomy of the mastoid process itself. Measurements of the three different mastoid volumes yielded different accuracies and precisions. Interestingly, anatomical structures were sometimes more useful than classical landmarks as demarcators of mastoid volume. For all three volume definitions, male mastoid volumes were significantly larger than female volumes, in both relative and absolute numbers. Sex estimation based on mastoid volume showed a slightly higher precision and better accuracy (71% correct classifications) than visual scoring techniques (67%) and linear distance measurements (69%) of the mastoid process. Sex estimation based on cranial size performed even better (78%), and multifactorial analysis (cranium size + mastoid volume) reached up to 81% accuracy. These results show that measurements of the mastoid volume represent a promising metric to be used in multifactorial approaches for sex estimation of human remains.

Objectives: The integration patterns of the asymmetric components of the skull can be informative, especially in the diagnosis and surgical treatment planning of patients. This research aims to explore the interactions of the asymmetric components between the mandible, the basicranium, and the upper face. Material and methods: The sample comprises 100 skulls of Greek adults and the three-dimensional coordinates of 35 landmarks, extracted from the cranial and mandibular virtual 3D bones, were analyzed using the generalized least-squares Procrustes method. The integration patterns of the asymmetric components of the shapes of the specific structures were evaluated through partial least-squares correlation analysis with a two-blocks approach. Results: When handling the skull regions separately, there is statistically significant integration of the asymmetric components between the mandible and the basicranium as well as between the mandible and the upper face. Furthermore, the mandible and the basicranium exhibit the strongest interaction among the three pairs examined. Conclusions: The asymmetric variation of the skull regions should be taken into consideration for surgical treatment planning. However, comparing our findings with other studies revealed that the utilization of the skull regions in the context of a structure as a whole while running the analysis, as well as different landmark combinations, may lead to different results. Furthermore, there might be population-specificity to certain integration patterns of the asymmetric component of the total shape variation among skull regions. Hence, surgical bone restoration, especially in the mandible, should consider overall skull asymmetry and population-specific data to ensure optimal integration.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationship between the condition of bone mineral density and body composition and the adapted physical activity, the number of past fractures and selected somatic characteristics of girls with myelomeningocele (MMC). The study examined 37 girls with myelomeningocele (MMC) at the age of 11.9 ± 1.8 years. Bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the forearm were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Anthropometric measurements were also made and selected anthropological indices were calculated. A percentage of body fat, fat mass (FM in kg) and fat-free body mass (FFM in kg) were calculated, whereas the incidence of fractures of lower and upper limbs was evaluated during interviews. Underestimated BMD characteristic for osteopenia occurred only in physically inactive girls. Low % age-matched was observed in all physically inactive girls, whereas it was less pronounced in physically active girls. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between BMD and: body height, sitting height, body weight, BMI, fat mass and fat-free mass. Regardless of physical activity, significantly higher Z-score values (F = 12.9; p ≤ 0.001) were observed in girls who had not suffered from fractures compared to their peers who reported one or more past fractures in different skeletal locations. Active participation in physical activity of children with MMC may be a factor determining good bone tissue condition. The prevention of fractures in children in wheelchairs can be an important part of maintaining healthy bone tissue and a better quality of life.

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in adults is thought to reflect specific types of developmental stress. If true, adult FA may be a proxy for developmental stress in past as well as current populations. To date, studies of the link between development and adult FA have produced ambiguous results due to insufficient measurement data for childhood environments. This study seeks to overcome this limitation using a structural equation modeling approach to evaluate the relationship between 29 measures of developmental environments and precise measures of adult FA. Sociodemographic information and 3D facial photographs were collected from 80 adult New Mexicans. Facial FA was measured from the photographs using geometric morphometric analysis of 12 facial landmarks. Each participant responded to a questionnaire addressing the developmental environment, including childhood home environment, family SES, health, and dietary quality. We used structural equation models to examine predictive relationships between latent variables constructed from questionnaire responses and adult facial FA. Childhood dietary quality was negatively associated with adult FA scores, meaning that poorer diets predict higher FA (standardized path coefficient -0.174, p = 0.039). Factors that loaded positively on the dietary quality construct were a diet quality index, the frequency of homemade meals, and the frequency of homemade breakfast, while the frequency of fast-food meals loaded negatively. No other latent variable predicted adult facial FA. We posit that the negative relationship between dietary quality and FA reflects a negative energy balance experienced during development. Insufficient nutrition results in a reduced capacity to buffer against environmental perturbations, with increased FA as evidence. Given previously established links between FA and adult health outcomes in humans, this finding also underscores the importance of dietary quality during development for ensuring health and wellbeing later in life. These results indicate that FA in facial shape may signal the relative quality of dietary conditions during development.

The style and degree of cranial vault modification (CVM) can have a significant impact on the reliability of assigning crania into operational categories and correlates. These issues can, in turn, influence the interpretation of cultural practices in the archaeological record. If we intend to deploy head shape as a meaningful unit of analysis to address issues of anthropological significance, we need a reliable way to demarcate discrete categories. Here we employ 3D geometric morphometrics to study head shape variation and improve classification accuracy. The present study rendered 3D models of 52 crania (8 unmodified, 44 modified annular) affiliated with the prehispanic Chanka Culture (AD 1000-1400) of south-central Peru. A combination of landmarks and semi-landmarks captured the shape and curves of sampled crania. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed clusters of shape categories, and agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis quantified the spectrum of variation. Our methods found four categories of circumferential head shape: annular erect, annular oblique, unmodified, and a new operational category termed slight. This last category was most prone to misclassification through gross inspection. We argue that differences in head shape are due to diverse modes of babywearing and childcare in the late prehistoric Andes. This study provides 3D geometric morphometric techniques that can help alleviate some of the classification errors that have long confounded practicing bioarchaeologists.