Search results for "anthropology"
showing 10 items of 1877 documents
The impact of in-canopy wind profile formulations on heat flux estimation in an open orchard using the remote sensing-based two-source model
2010
Abstract. For open orchard and vineyard canopies containing significant fractions of exposed soil (>50%), typical of Mediterranean agricultural regions, the energy balance of the vegetation elements is strongly influenced by heat exchange with the bare soil/substrate. For these agricultural systems a "two-source" approach, where radiation and turbulent exchange between the soil and canopy elements are explicitly modelled, appears to be the only suitable methodology for reliably assessing energy fluxes. In strongly clumped canopies, the effective wind speed profile inside and below the canopy layer can strongly influence the partitioning of energy fluxes between the soil and vegetation co…
Comparison of bipolar and tetrapolar impedance techniques for assessing fat mass.
2004
Whole body fat mass (BF) can be predicted by different bioimpedance (BIA) techniques measuring the whole body (tetrapolar hand-to-foot technique, HF), lower body (bipolar foot-to-foot technique, FF), or upper body (bipolar hand-to-hand technique, HH). This study analyzed 146 healthy volunteers (age 18-84 years) for whether these three techniques differ in their estimates of BF, and whether sex and age of the subjects influence estimates of BF. Reproducibility of the techniques was tested by calculating the technical error (TE). Effects of BIA technique, sex, and age on predicted BF were analyzed with ANOVA for repeated measurements in a mixed effect design. Results showed high reproducibili…
The utility of 3D medical imaging techniques for obtaining a reliable differential diagnosis of metastatic cancer in an Iron Age skull.
2018
Abstract In this report we present a case of neoplastic disease affecting an Iron Age skull that provides some of the earliest evidence of metastatic cancer (MC) in Western Europe. The cranium comes from the indigenous site of Baucina (Palermo, Sicily) and was recovered in a multiple burial context dated to the 6th–5th centuries BCE. The skull was attributed to an adult female and was characterized by numerous perforating lytic lesions. CT and 3D imaging analyses were crucial for obtaining a diagnosis of MC. Based on the morphology of the lytic lesions and the biological profile of our specimen, we can tentatively suggest breast carcinoma as the primary origin of the clinical manifestations…
Use of needles and syringes in Miami and Valencia: observations of high and low availability.
2000
Two studies engaged in gathering data on injecting drug users (IDUs) employed supplementary resources to enhance their ethnographic components and compare patterns of use of needles/syringes (n/s) in two geographically similar but culturally distinct cities. Despite its policy of making n/s highly available at fair prices, Valencia, Spain, has markedly higher rates of HIV seroprevalence among its IDUs than does Miami, Florida, where possession of n/s is illegal. Ethnographically based models that track IDUs through choices of injection venues help to explain this difference. Inability of IDUs in Valencia to use their own domiciles as venues for injection contrasts sharply with problems of M…
Rib lesions in skeletons from early neolithic sites in Central Germany: On the trail of tuberculosis at the onset of agriculture
2012
As an infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Paleopathological and paleomicrobiological studies indicate a long standing association of the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its human host. Since the occurrence and the epidemic spread of this pathogen seem to be closely linked to social and biological factors, it is of particular interest to understand better the role of TB during periods of social and nutritional change such as the Neolithic. In this study, 118 individuals from three sites in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany) dating to the Linear Pottery Culture (5400-4800 BC) were examined macroscopically to identify TB related bone lesions…
Advancing beyond the system: telemedicine nurses' clinical reasoning using a computerised decision support system for patients with COPD - an ethnogr…
2017
Abstract Background Telemedicine is changing traditional nursing care, and entails nurses performing advanced and complex care within a new clinical environment, and monitoring patients at a distance. Telemedicine practice requires complex disease management, advocating that the nurses’ reasoning and decision-making processes are supported. Computerised decision support systems are being used increasingly to assist reasoning and decision-making in different situations. However, little research has focused on the clinical reasoning of nurses using a computerised decision support system in a telemedicine setting. Therefore, the objective of the study is to explore the process of telemedicine …
Body mass index, waist to hip ratio and waist/height in adult Polish women in relation to their education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol co…
2008
Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disorder that develops from genotype and environmental interactions. The aim of this study is to describe the variability of body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height (W/Ht) in adult Polish women, and to determine relationships between these variables and factors such as education, place of residence, smoking and alcohol drinking. The tested group consisted of 10,254 women aged 25-95 years, who voluntarily filled in questionnaires and participated in anthropometric measurements (body height and mass, waist and hip circumferences). The BMI, WHR and W/Ht values were calculated based on these measurements. The participants were dif…
Blunt force trauma: an exceptional example of an ancient Egyptian mummy head
2019
In the course of a scientific cooperation between the German Mummy Project at the Reiss-Engelhorn-Museen, Mannheim (Germany) and the Musée National d'Histoire et d'Art Luxembourg (Luxembourg), an ancient Egyptian mummy head was analyzed using a multidisciplinary approach including radiocarbon dating, ultra-high resolution computed tomography, physical anthropology, forensic medicine and Egyptology. Dated to the Roman Period, the mummy head belonged to an upper-class woman between 25 and 35 years of age. Computed tomography revealed a lethal blunt force trauma affecting the dorsal parts of the parietal bones, below the intact overlaying soft tissue. Moreover, ancient medical treatment was ev…
Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age.
2008
In 2005 four outstanding multiple burials were discovered near Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (radiogenic isotopes), and molecular genetic (ancient DNA) methods were applied to these unique burials. Using autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosomal markers, we identified genetic kinship among the individuals. A direct child-parent relationship was detected in one burial, providing the oldest mol…
Human voice pitch measures are robust across a variety of speech recordings: methodological and theoretical implications
2021
Fundamental frequency ( f o ), perceived as voice pitch, is the most sexually dimorphic, perceptually salient and intensively studied voice parameter in human nonverbal communication. Thousands of studies have linked human f o to biological and social speaker traits and life outcomes, from reproductive to economic. Critically, researchers have used myriad speech stimuli to measure f o and infer its functional relevance, from individual vowels to longer bouts of spontaneous speech. Here, we acoustically analysed f o in nearly 1000 affectively neutral speech utterances (vowels, words, counting, greetings, read paragraphs and free spontaneous speech) produced by the same 154 men and women, ag…