Massive Bones Research Articles

Mongolian gazelle (Procapra cf. gutturosa Pallas, 1777) in the Pleistocene of Transbaikalia and Altai

More than 1500 bones of the skull and postcranial skeleton of the Mongolian gazelle (Procapra cf. gutturosa Pallas, 1777) from 4 Paleolithic sites of Western Transbaikalia (Varvarina Gora, Kamenka, Khotyk, Tolbaga) and 3 cave localities of the northwestern Altai (Denisova, Strashnaya, Kaminnaya) were studied. For comparison, a large collection of skeletal bones from 56 individuals of modern P. gutturosa, collected on the territory of the “Dzeren Valley” nature reserve, was used. A number of morphometric differences in the structure of the lower jaw and bones of the postcranial skeleton between modern and fossil Mongolian gazelle have been revealed. Pleistocene P. cf. gutturosa had shorter and relatively massive limb bones and was significantly smaller in body size than the modern one. At the sites of Transbaikalia, Mongolian gazelle bones can account for up to half of all megafauna remains, in the Middle-Late Pleistocene layers of Altai caves, up to 3–4%. During the periods of glaciation, the Mongolian gazelles of Transbaikalia and Altai lived in conditions of cold, dry and little snow steppe or mountain-steppe landscapes. In the interglacial and interstadials, they continued to live here in the conditions of steppe or forest-steppe landscapes.

Archaeological and Anthropological Analysis of New Materials from the Mayak Burial Ground in the Samara Region

The article introduces new paleoanthropological materials from the Mayak burial ground near Sidelkino village in the Samara region into scientific discourse. The materials were obtained as a result of excavations in 1995 and only recently was it possible to date them. As a result of AMS analysis fulfilled by the authors, human remains from two burials were dated back to the Early Mesolithic. The analysis was carried out taking into account the influence of the “reservoir effect.Despite the rather poor preservation of individuals from the two described burials, the authors carried out an osteological analysis of an adult male from the second burial. He turned out to be quite tall, with elongated legs, shortened forearms, saber-shaped tibia and relatively massive bones of the lower limbs. In burial 3, the remains of an adult woman and a child of 7–10 years old were found. Comparing the osteological indicators of the man from the second burial with materials from the same burial ground of excavations in 2002, the authors came to the conclusion that the people whose remains were found on the hill Mayak in 1995 and in 2002 probably belong to the same population. Similar morphological characteristics are proof of this.

Human bone and amniotic membrane banking in Bangladesh for grafting: the impact of the international atomic energy agency (IAEA) programme.

The idea of establishing a human tissue bank in Bangladesh was started in 1985. However, in 2003, with the active cooperation of international atomic energy agency (IAEA) and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, a tissue bank laboratory was upgraded as a unit for tissue banking and research. Due to increasing demand of allograft, this unit was transformed as an independent institute "Institute of Tissue Banking and Biomaterial Research (ITBBR)" in 2016. This is the only human tissue bank in Bangladesh, which processes human bone and amniotic membrane to provide safe and cost-effective allografts for transplantation. Importantly, banking of human cranial bone as autograft has also started at ITBBR. These processed grafts are sterilized using gamma radiation according to the IAEA Code of Practice for the radiation sterilization of tissues allografts. The amount of grafts produced by the ITBBR from 2007 to 2018 were 120,800cc of bone chips, 45,420cm2 of amniotic membranes, 277 vials of de-mineralized bone granules (DMB), 95 pieces of massive bones, and 134 pieces of cranial bones. Overall, 112,748cc of bone chips, 40,339cm2 of amniotic membranes, 174 vials of DMB, 44 pieces of massive bones, and 64 pieces of cranial bones were transplanted successfully. Nevertheless, to cope up with the modern advanced concepts of cell and tissue banking for therapeutic purpose, ITBBR is working to set up facilities for skin banking, stem cells banking including amniotic and cord blood derived stem cells and scaffold designing. To ensure the quality, safety, ethical and regulatory issues are sustainable in cell and tissue banking practices, ITBBR always works with the Government of Bangladesh for enhancing the national tissue transplantation programme within the contemporary facilities.

Diagenetic evolution of the upper Devonian phosphorites, Alborz Mountain Range, northern Iran

The upper Devonian, mixed siliciclastic‑carbonate stratigraphic succession of the Geirud Formation in the Alborz Mountain Range, north of Iran, hosts numerous phosphorites and phosphatic rocks. These phosphorites, which represent one of the most globally important deposits in the Devonian, have gained little attention regarding their genesis and diagenetic evolution. This study focuses mainly on the post-depositional changes that occurred during shallow to deep burial diagenetic evolution and subaerial weathering of the Geirud phosphorites. The phosphorites consist of phosphatic massive mudclasts, detritus-rich lithoclasts, bioclasts and bones formed by several stages of phosphogenesis and erosion, reworking, winnowing and condensation associated with Famennian sea level changes. The phosphatic clasts consist of early diagenetic, poorly crystalline, carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) and pyrite cementing detrital quartz, illite, muscovite, rutile and zircon. Phosphatic clasts are intensely compacted with sutured grain contacts, along which dissolution and reprecipitation of chemically-refined, well crystalline CFA with a bright blue cathodoluminescence and illite occurred during deep burial diagenesis. Similarly, quartz shows deformation planar features; overgrowth cement was developed as a result of pressure dissolution in phosphatic sandstones, followed by precipitation of ferroan dolomite, ankerite and chlorite in secondary porosity. Subaerial weathering led to oxidation of pyrite and generation of acidic pH condition, under which Ca and P from phosphates, Fe and S from pyrite, Fe, Ca, Mg and Mn from ferroan carbonates and Al and Si from aluminosilicates were released to form goethite, psilomelane, calcite, gypsum and crandallite.The PAAS-normalized rare earth elements (REEs) show bell-shaped patterns with middle (REEs) enrichment, positive Eu anomaly and a weak negative Ce anomaly. This implies recrystallization of CFA in phosphorites and phosphatic rocks during deep burial diagenesis, deviating from the modern seawater-like REE patterns. In this regard, deep burial diagenesis affecting the upper Devonian Geirud phosphorites is possibly a common process in the Proterozoic-Paleozoic phosphorites in northern Iran and elsewhere in the world.

A comparative laboratory study of the preservation of different rodent bones in pellets of Strigiformes

Studies of variation in preservation of different skeletal elements in the pellets of birds of prey helps us understand which bones should be used for effective and reliable diet analyses. The preservation of cranial and postcranial elements of skeletons of laboratory mice was studied in owl pellets. The research was conducted with three male individuals of three species: Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl and Pygmy Owl. The owls were fed with adult and immature mice in laboratory conditions. The preservation of bones was defined as the ratio of the number of whole specimens of a certain bone to the total number of bones which were contained in the body of one mouse. The largest and the most massive bones had a high preservation. The upper part of cranium and the large bones of limb girdles had the highest preservation in the owl pellets. The bones of immature mice had higher preservation in the pellets of Pygmy Owl compared to Long-eared and Tawny Owl. Age differences in bone size and thickness were explained the variation in preservation of immature and adult mouse bones.

Oro-Periodontal Manifestations of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (Eosinophilic Granuloma)

Oro-Periodontal Manifestations of Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (Eosinophilic Granuloma) A 25-years-old man suffering from tooth mobility and dental loss was seen at the Clinic of the Department of oral medicine and Periodontology, faculty of dentistry, Mansoura university, Egypt. Investigated revealed clinical and radiographic with radiolucent images massive diffuse alveolar bones around of both molar and premolar areas in the mandible, mirror-like image and the posterior teeth gave an image of floating teeth.

Unexpected microanatomical variation among Eocene Antarctic stem penguins (Aves: Sphenisciformes)

The microanatomical and histological structure of Eocene Antarctic stem penguin tarsometatarsi is examined in order to characterise the bone microstructure. Eight adult tarsometatarsi belonging to eight fossil species (Palaeeudyptes gunnari, Palaeeudyptes klekowskii, Anthropornis grandis, Anthropornis nordenskjoeldi, Archaeospheniscus wimani, Marambiornis exilis, Delphinornis arctowskii and Delphinornis larseni) collected from the Antarctic A. nordenskjoeldi Biozone (La Meseta Formation, ∼34.2 Ma) were examined. The thin sections revealed a distinctive microanatomical variation among taxa. Whereas Anthropornis spp., A. wimani and P. gunnari possess massive, clearly osteosclerotic bones (medullary cavities absent or strongly reduced), the bones of Delphinornis spp., P. klekowski and M. exilis exhibit well-developed medullary cavities. The cortical bone in all the specimens consists of primary, well-vascularised fibro-lamellar bone and variable amounts of secondary bone. Medullary cavities are coated by a thick layer of lamellar bone tissue and coarse compacted cancellous bone. Although several causes can explain the striking microanatomical variation (e.g. ontogeny), we interpret that such variation is related to differential adaptations to the aquatic life, for which taxa with more massive bones were possibly adapted to deeper and more prolonged diving excursions.

Europe's first Upper Pleistocene Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) skeleton from the Koněprusy Caves: a hyena cave prey depot site in the Bohemian Karst (Czech Republic)

One of the Europe's most complete Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) skeletons from the Konĕprusy Caves, Bohemian Karst (Czech Republic) is an older pathological (hindlimb arthritis) and possibly smaller female individual. Few other cannibalistically scavenged hyena remains of older animals demonstrate a ‘small population’ that used the Main Dome area as a den site, which was marked well by faecal pellets. A large amount of megafauna prey was accumulated, and bones were further damaged or cracked. These hyenas hunted Przewalski horses dominantly, as has been documented all over the Bohemian Karst at several Late Pleistocene hyena den caves. The mammoth was mostly absent, instead the woolly rhinoceros was one of the meat colossi with indestructible bones also found in the Main Dome. These are the best indicators for hyena den sites identifications in general. Those massive bones found are left in repeating damaged ways and mainly as shafts and exposed best with bite marks in the bone spongiosa. Rhinoceros carcass body parts were removed by hyenas from the scavenging sites of the nearby surroundings, which they deported to the ‘prey storage den’-type site in the Main Dome area of the Konĕprusy Caves.

Late Pleistocene Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss 1823) populations from the Emscher River terrace open air hyena den near Bottrop and other sites in NW Germany: Their bone accumulations along rivers in lowland mammoth steppe environments and scavenging activities on woolly rhinoceros

Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) remains (NISP = 50) are present in the early to middle Upper Pleistocene Emscher River terrace open air den site along the Rhine–Herne Canal near Bottrop (Westphalia, NW Germany). The population includes bones from cubs and bones with pathological features from old animals but is predominantly made up of adult hyenas (NISP = 3820) found within the glacial mammoth steppe fauna of the Münsterland Bay Lowlands. A larger quantity of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) bones (NISP = 1601) are present than in other bone-rich open air hyena den sites, of which about 67% are damaged. This damage can be shown to have resulted mainly from hyena activities, and shows repetitions of the same three stages of destruction on the massive woolly rhinoceros bones. Those bone shafts that the hyenas were unable to break were left with irregular jagged margins. The taphonomy of bones from the Bottrop open air site indicates that the rhinoceros body parts had only been transported over short distances, in contrast to those from the Perick Caves hyena den where longer transport distances resulted in a higher proportion of limbs compared to other body parts. The large woolly rhinoceros was an important second megafauna prey for hyenas in the lowland areas (after the woolly mammoth), in contrast to the nearby Sauerland Karst mountain areas that are rich in hyena dens and their associated bone assemblages, although the higher proportions of rhinoceros bones present is also to some extent a result of the incomplete destruction of their massive bones. The proportions of woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros remains in the hyena prey bone assemblages gradually decrease from the lowlands towards the nearby Sauerland Karst mountain regions. In these mountainous boreal forest regions cave bears were instead the main food source for hyenas, as result of the scarcity or absence of mammoth steppe fauna. The large bone accumulations along the Emscher River terraces near Bottrop can mostly be attributed to the activities of hyenas, which were responsible for the repeated incomplete state of bone preservation. The bone accumulations are predominantly of leg bones and include a relatively high proportion of hyena bones which, together with the faunal composition and the size of the accumulations, indicate a mixed long-term use of the terraces along the Emscher River as an extensive communal hyena den and prey storage site, and also probably somewhere in the area, as a birth den. Some of the bone material may also have been accumulated by natural processes, or even by Neanderthals.

Modelling human osteosarcoma in the mouse

Modelling human osteosarcoma in the mouse

Mechanisms underlying the fatal attraction of prostate cancer to bone

Mechanisms underlying the fatal attraction of prostate cancer to bone

K. Thomson 2008. The Legacy of the Mastodon. The Golden Age of Fossils in America. xvii + 386 pp. New Haven, London: Yale University Press. Price £22.50 (hard covers). ISBN 9780 300 11704 2.

Those who perhaps have had only a fleeting association with any form of vertebrate palaeontology should not be dissuaded by the title of this book. Thomson carefully uses the initial discoveries of the massive fossil bones from the saline springs of Big Bone Lick, Kentucky in the 1750s to begin the chronology of many of the major North American vertebrate fossil finds up until the late 1890s. These were the bones which were only later referred to as those of the Mastodon (Mammut americanum). The resultant timeline not only charts the development of this branch of palaeontology in the fledgling American West, but introduces some key historic figures in the context of their expeditionary travels, institutional affiliations (or otherwise) and their inter-relationships (friends, foes, buyers and sellers). With far fewer active proponents of the science then than now, the boundaries between adherents of vertebrate and invertebrate palaeontology and palaeobotany were not nearly as proscriptive. Of course this did not prevent monumental rivalries between some competing figures, keen to make and retain their name with their scientific discoveries. Consequently, over half the book is given over to the detailing of the expeditions, rivalries and eventual feuds of the dinosaur hunters Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh.

Fast collision detection based on nose augmentation virtual surgery

Collision detection is the key technology in nose augmentation surgery simulation system, which can avoid incorrect intersection between bones and the implant model. In this paper, we present a sphere-tree-based hierarchical collision detection algorithm (STHCD) for surgery simulation. Each model is represented as a clustered hierarchy of sphere tree (CHST). Graphics processing unit (GPU)-based occlusion queries were used for fast collision culling between massive models. Furthermore, we are able to generate these hierarchies and perform collision queries using out-of-core techniques on all triangulated models. Experimental results show that STHCD performs real-time collision detection between massive bones and implant models, consisting of millions of triangles at interactive rates on a commodity PC.

THE CLASSIC: Penicillin: Its Practical Application in Orthopaedic Surgery and Fractures

THE CLASSIC: Penicillin: Its Practical Application in Orthopaedic Surgery and Fractures

Interferon alpha 2b treatment in an eleven‐year‐old boy with disseminated lymphangiomatosis

Disseminated lymphangiomatosis is a rare disease mostly observed in children and young adults. If no surgical removal can be achieved, the prognosis is poor, especially for patients with thoracic localization and pleural effusions. Next to pleural drainage, therapeutic options include radiotherapy, local, and systemic pharmacotherapy. An 11-year-old boy presented with disseminated lymphangiomatosis involving thorax with massive pleural effusions, retroperitoneum, and bones. In immunohistochemical analysis, the tissue biopsy stained positive for vascular endothelial growth factor-receptor 3 (VEGFR-3). The patient has been treated with interferon alpha 2b for 2 years, and achieved a good clinical and radiological response.

Intralocality Variation in Feeding Biomechanics and Prey Use in Archosargus probatocephalus (Teleostei, Sparidae), with Implications for the Ecomorphology of Fishes

Archosargus probatocephalusin a Florida estuary was investigated to explore intraspecific variation in prey utilization and jaw biomechanics. Volumetric contribution of major prey types and seven biomechanical features of the oral jaws that characterize prey-capture and processing performance were contrasted between two locations within the estuary. At Mosquito Lagoon, where A. probatocephalusinhabited mostly oyster beds, mangroves and salt marshes, fish consumed mostly thick-shelled bivalves, gastropods, crabs, and tubiculous polychaetes and amphipods. In contrast, conspecifics at Indian River Lagoon that inhabited mostly seagrass beds and algal turf consumed predominantly algae, seagrass, epiphytic invertebrates and small bivalves and gastropods. Difference in magnitude of durophagy between locations was associated with differences in oral-jaw biomechanics. Analyses of covariance indicated that A. probatocephalusat Mosquito Lagoon had more massive jaw muscles and bones, than conspecifics at Indian River Lagoon. Variations in lever ratios for jaw-opening and jaw-closing between locations were not significant. It is hypothesized that intralocality differences in food habits have induced the development of feeding morphologies that enhance the ability of A. probatocephalusto successfully exploit locally dominant prey resources within the estuary. Plasticity of the feeding mechanism of A. probatocephalusmay buffer the species from the adverse effects of settling on heterogeneous habitats that contain variable prey resources such as those found within estuaries.

Ecomorphological relationships among Caribbean tetraodontiform fishes

The anatomy of the oral jaw apparatus, lever‐arm mechanics and the diet of six species of Caribbean fishes in the order Tetraodontiformes were investigated to explore the relationships between trophic morphology and feeding habit in these fishes. Tetraodontiforms use their oral jaw apparatus to capture and reduce a broad range of prey types such as plankton, polychaete worms, holothuroids, sea urchins, crabs, molluscs, gorgonians and algae. The different feeding habits of tetraodontiforms are reflected by differences in the morphological and biomechanical features of their oral jaw apparatus that appear to enhance their abilities to feed on hard prey organisms. Species that bite and crush hard, benthic prey organisms had more massive bones and muscles, longer jaw‐opening in‐levers, and higher jaw‐closing lever ratios than the planktivorous, suction‐feeding species. Masses of the jaw and suspensorium bones and lower jaw adductor muscles as well as the jaw‐opening in‐levers and jaw‐closing lever ratios of crushers were greater than those of biters. In contrast, the mass of the adductor muscle of the upper jaw did not vary among species with different diets, indicating that this muscle may not be central to the factors that determine patterns of prey use in these fishes. The diversity of feeding behaviours and the wide range of feeding habits among fishes in the order Tetraodontiformes illustrate the versatility of the oral jaw apparatus as a single functional feeding system in fishes.

The rodentsPseudotomusandQuadratomusand the content of the tribe manitshini (Paramyinae, Ischyromyidae)

ABSTRACT All genera previously referred to the Manitshini are reviewed. Ischyrotomus Matthew is synonymized with Pseudotomus Cope, and the tribe Manitshini is restricted to this latter genus and the Chadronian Manitsha. Pseudotomus is represented by three Bridgerian species, four Uintan species, and one Duchesnean and Chadronian species. Quadratomus Korth is removed from the Manitshini and included in the Paramyini based on morphologic characters of the mandible and dentitions. The massive postcranial bones of Quadratomus are interpreted as convergent on those of the manitshines. In addition to the type species, two other species of Quadratomus are recognized, Q. sundelli (Eaton) from the later Bridgerian, and a new species, Q. grossus from the early Bridgerian. A massive postcranial skeleton evolved three times in Eocene ischyromyids, in the Manitshini (Pseudotomus), in the Paramyini (Quadratomus), and in the Pseudoparamyinae (Plesiarctomys).