Search results for "Lithic"
showing 10 items of 392 documents
Evolution of lactase persistence: an example of human niche construction
2011
Niche construction is the process by which organisms construct important components of their local environment in ways that introduce novel selection pressures. Lactase persistence is one of the clearest examples of niche construction in humans. Lactase is the enzyme responsible for the digestion of the milk sugar lactose and its production decreases after the weaning phase in most mammals, including most humans. Some humans, however, continue to produce lactase throughout adulthood, a trait known as lactase persistence. In European populations, a single mutation (−13910*T) explains the distribution of the phenotype, whereas several mutations are associated with it in Africa and the Middle …
Ageing‐related changes in the cortical processing of otolith information in humans
2017
Acoustic short tone bursts (STB) trigger ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs/cVEMPs) by activating irregular otolith afferents. Simultaneously, STBs introduce an artificial net acceleration signal of otolith origin into the vestibular network. VEMP parameters as diagnostic otolith processing markers have been shown to decline after the age of thirty. To delineate the differential effects of healthy ageing on the cortical vestibular subnetwork processing otolith information, we measured cVEMPs and the differential effects of unilateral STB in three age groups (20-40, 40-60 and 60+; n = 42) using functional neuroimaging. STB evoked responses in the main vestibula…
Morphological variability of Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic skulls from Sicily
2020
Scenarios for the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe and in the Mediterranean basin have been uncertain, given the scarceness of osteological samples and the simplicity of the proposed archaeologically-based settlement hypotheses. According to available data, the first anatomically modern humans entered Sicily during the Late Pleistocene, coming from the Italian peninsula. A presumably small Late Epigravettian population colonised coastal sites. Later, North-Western archaeological horizons gave hospitality to a significant Mesolithic expansion. In order to verify a hypothesis of continuity in the peopling of the island, we analyzed Sicilian skulls from the Late Epigravettian site …
Motion sickness induced by otolith stimulation is correlated with otolith-induced eye movements
2008
International audience; This article addresses the relationships between motion sickness (MS) and three-dimensional (3D) ocular responses during otolith stimulation. A group of 19 healthy subjects was tested for motion sickness during a 16 min otolith stimulation induced by off-vertical axis rotation (OVAR) (constant velocity 60 degrees /s, frequency 0.16 Hz). For each subject, the MS induced during the session was quantified, and based on this quantification, the subjects were divided into two groups of less susceptible (MS-), and more susceptible (MS+) subjects. The angular eye velocity induced by the otolith stimulation was analyzed in order to identify a possible correlation between sus…
Evidence of unilateral isolated utricular hypofunction
2010
The findings demonstrate that an enduring unilateral utricular dysfunction, possibly together with canal hypofunction, can occur after labyrinthine disease or injury. They also suggest that unilateral, isolated utricular dysfunction - or utricle paresis - can occur, representing a novel entity in the differential diagnosis of peripheral vestibular function. The occurrence of subjective visual vertical (SVV) asymmetry in the presence of symmetric vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) also confirms that the information from the utricles, rather than the saccules, dominates SVV estimation.To determine the incidence of unilateral utricular hypofunction.The retrospective clinical study d…
Clinical verification of a unilateral otolith test.
1992
Abstract In a previous study13 we reported promising results for a new test to differentiate in vivo unilateral otolith functions. That study pointed to a need for further validation on known pathological cases. In this presentation we will detail the results gathered on a group of clinically verified vestibular defectives (verum) and a normal (control) group. The subjects in the verum group were former patients of the ENT clinic of the university hospital. These subjects had usually suffered from neurinoma of the VIIth cranial nerve or inner ear infections. All had required surgical intervention including removal of the vestibular system. The patients were contacted usually two or more yea…
Testing utricular function by means of on-axis rotation
2005
Subjective visual vertical (SVV) estimation during on-axis rotation provides an efficient screening test of utricle function. The survey demonstrates that isolated disorders of peripheral utricular function can occur while SCC function appears normal.The present study aimed to investigate estimation of SVV during constant velocity yaw rotation (with the head held on-axis--to enhance any asymmetry between right and left utricular responses), as a useful screening test.In all, 230 patients were recruited from the dizziness clinic. For each patient, the SVV was estimated (a) while held stationary, and (b) during constant angular velocity (240 degrees/s), with the head centred on-axis. Bitherma…
Treatment of Ménière's disease by low-dosage intratympanic gentamicin application: effect on otolith function.
2007
Objectives: The intratympanic application of a low dosage of gentamicin is increasingly favored as treatment for Meniere's disease. While posttreatment observations have confirmed a long-term success of the therapy of vertigo attacks, clear differences in the posttreatment recovery interval can be observed. In addition to differences in central-vestibular compensation, the degree of peripheral vestibular damage, i.e., to the saccule, utricle, and semicircular canal ampullae, varies among patients. This study provides comprehensive pre- and posttreatment results from unilateral functional tests of the individual vestibular receptors and of the cochlea in patients with Meniere's disease. Stud…
The origins of agriculture in Iberia: a computational model
2015
Here we discuss the importance of using the rich and growing database of high-precision, audited radiocarbon dates for high-resolution bottom-up modelling to focus on problems concerning the spread of the Neolithic in the Iberia. We also compare the spread of the Late Mesolithic (so-called Geometric) and the Early Neolithic using our modelling environment. Our results suggest that the source of radiocarbon data used to evaluate alternative hypotheses plays an important role in the results and open up new lines of research for the future.
Nuevos datos sobre el uso de materia colorante durante el Neolítico antiguo en las comarcas centrales valencianas
2006
La caracterización mineralógica de materias colorantes procedentes de los yacimientos valencianos de la Cova de l'Or, la Cova de la Sarna y la Cova Fosca de la Vall d'Ebo demuestra el uso de dos tipos de materia colorante durante el Neolítico Antiguo: Hematites y Cinabrio. Las características y distribución geográfica de cada una de ellas nos remiten a dos estrategias distintas de obtención y. probablemente. de utilización de las mismas.