Reduced Head Research Articles

American Football Soft-Shell Helmet Covers Reduce Head Impact Severity: A Critically Appraised Topic

Focused Clinical Question: Do soft-shell helmet covers reduce head impact severity in American football helmets? Clinical Bottom Line: There is consistent SORT level C evidence to support that soft-shell helmet covers reduce measures of head impact severity and measures of linear and rotational acceleration. The impact reductions occurred at magnitudes less than the average reported concussive impact, which limits the application of the evidence with respect to concussion incidence or risk among American football players.

Giant, swimming mouths: oral dimensions of extant sharks do not accurately predict body size in Dunkleosteus terrelli (Placodermi: Arthrodira).

The size of Dunkleosteus and other late Devonian arthrodire placoderms has been a persistent problem in paleontology. The bony head and thoracic armor of these animals are typically the only elements preserved in the fossil record, with the rest of the body being lost during fossilization. Accurate length estimates of arthrodires are critical for reconstructing the paleobiology of these taxa and Devonian paleoecology more generally. Lengths of 5.3-8.8 m were proposed for Dunkleosteus based on allometric relationships between upper jaw perimeter and total length in extant large-bodied sharks. However, these methods were not statistically evaluated to determine if allometric relationships between body size and mouth size in sharks reliably predicted size in arthrodires. Several smaller arthrodire taxa are known from relatively complete remains, and can be used as independent case studies to test the accuracy of these methods. Length estimates for Dunkleosteus are evaluated through an examination of mouth proportions in complete arthrodires and fishes more generally. Currently accepted lengths of 5.3-8.8 m for D. terrelli are mathematically and biologically unlikely for three major reasons: (1) Arthrodires have larger mouths than sharks at similar body sizes. (2) upper jaw perimeter and mouth width produce extreme overestimates of body size (at least twice the actual value) in arthrodires known from complete remains. (3) Reconstructing Dunkleosteus using lengths predicted by upper jaw perimeter results in highly unusual body proportions, including extremely small, shrunken heads and hyper-anguilliform body plans, not seen in complete arthrodires or fishes more generally. Length estimates for arthrodires based on the mouth dimensions of extant sharks are not reliable. Arthrodires have proportionally larger mouths than sharks, more similar to catfishes (Siluriformes). The disproportionately large mouths of arthrodires suggest these animals may have consumed larger prey relative to their body size than extant macropredatory sharks, and thus the paleobiology and paleoecology of these two groups may not have been exactly analogous within their respective ecosystems.

Correlative tomography and authentication features of a shrunken head (tsantsa).

Museum personnel and the general public have become quite familiar with the presence of shrunken heads in museum collections, but the procedures to authenticate the history and origin of these unique cultural items are not yet reliable. These shrunken heads, called tsantsas, are meant to be the cultural material remains of ceremonies conducted by the Shuar and Achuar Peoples of South America. This project seeks to integrate the use of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning with methods used in previous studies (clinical computed tomography (CT) and visual inspections) to examine authentication procedures of shrunken heads (tsantsas) held in contemporary museum collections. We use a correlative tomographic approach using several scans at successively higher resolutions to determine whether a tsantsa was created from human remains, and if so, what key features can best contribute to its authentication. Conclusively, our correlative tomographic approaches provide new insights into the determination process of whether a tsantsa was created from real human remains or not. Also, this study questions whether the previously conceptualized dichotomy of ceremonial or commercial might be better thought of as a continuum of practice. Investigating and redefining the examination and authentication procedures of tsantsas is crucial for future ethical curation, management, and repatriation efforts of this unique cultural material of the Shuar and Achuar Peoples.

Homo Consumable: Human Trafficking and Waste in Fernando A. Flores's Tears of the Trufflepig

Fernando A. Flores’s 2019 work Tears of the Trufflepig deals with, among other topics, the commodification and fetishization of disenfranchised human beings. The novel describes how a previously extinct indigenous community, the Aranaña people, is being artificially brought back into existence to enrich and expand the global black market via the shrinking and selling of their heads. Through the analysis of how shrunken heads, or tsantsas, are depicted in the story, together with the examination of the portrayal of South Texas as a landfill (therefore implying that its inhabitants are, by extension, human waste), the aim of this paper is to describe the process through which those who are considered ‘redundant’ or even ‘disposable’ can easily be transformed into a product for consumption. Ultimately, in the context of neoliberal capitalism, the story seems to suggest that not only can the category of ‘waste’ be applied to human beings, but even worse, that this categorizationproves to be a social construct driven by purely economic factors.

Putative native South Amerindian origin of head lice clade F: evidence from head lice nits infesting human shrunken heads

The head louse, Pediculus humanus capitis, is a strictly obligate human ectoparasite with a long history of association with humans. Here, 17 ancient head lice nits were recovered from six shrunken human heads (known as tsantsas) of individuals from the Shuar/Jivaro tribe, a native Amazonian population from Ecuador, South America. Cytochrome b DNA analysis revealed the presence of three known mitochondrial clades. Clade A was the most frequent (52.94%), followed by F (35.29%), and B (11.76%). Eleven haplotypes were found in 17 samples, and nine of the haplotypes were novel, indicating an unusually high genetic diversity. In conclusion, we confirmed the presence of clades A, B and F in South Amerindian population. Moreover, the description of clade F, together with its previous reports in another Amerindian population from French Guiana, strongly support the hypothesis of a native South American origin for this clade, and probably derived from clade B which was carried to America by an ancestral Eurasian Beringian population. Further support to our conclusion and new insights might come from the analysis of a larger collection of modern and ancient native American lice.

Genetic characterization of a collection of Tsantsas from Ecuadorian museums

Tsantsas are shrunken human heads originally made for ceremonial purposes by Amazonian indigenous groups of the Shuar and Achuar family, previously called Jivaroan tribes. A significant demand of these objects during the first half of the 20th century led to the manufacture of counterfeit shrunken heads for commercial purposes. For museums where these collections are held, as well as for the indigenous groups who claim their ownership, it is important to identify the origin and authenticity of these tsantsas. We hypothesized that a collection of 14 tsantsas from 3 different museum collections in Ecuador are human and aimed to characterize their sex and potential origin. We amplified the amelogenin gene and performed a high resolution melting analysis to determine their human origin and characterize their sex. We also analyzed a fragment (16209–16402) from the HVR-1 region to identify the mtDNA haplogroups present in the tsantsa collection. Our exploratory results show that all the tsantsas are human and that the collection is comprised of 13 males and 1 female. A total of seven mtDNA haplogroups were found among the tsantsa collection using the mtDNA EMPOP database. These results show a predominance of the Amerindian mtDNA haplogroups B, C and D. Additional principal component analysis, genetic distance tree and haplotype network analyses suggest a relationship between the tsantsa specimens and Native American groups.

Melville and the "Woe that is Madness"

Melville and the "Woe that is Madness" Larry J. Reynolds (bio) I have turned to Moby-Dick (1851) many times during my career, and each time found myself moved by Melville's thought and art. The book, arguably the greatest novel ever written, is a vast symphony, with multiple themes—political, aesthetic, philosophical, religious—woven through its movements. It has been interpreted as an epic nature myth, a Shakespearean tragedy using American materials, a quarrel with God, a satire of Emersonian transcendentalism, a critique of industrial capitalism, an exploration of knowing and being, a study of fate and free will, a drama of race relations, an analysis of tyranny, and a celebration of American democracy. This last interpretation was the first that engaged me, many years ago, when I was a student in an undergraduate class at Ohio State University and was assigned the first "Knights and Squires" chapter to read. In it, Ishmael goes almost operatic, singing a paean to democracy worthy of Whitman. I still love the sentiments and music of the passage, which reads in part: Man, in the ideal, is so noble and so sparkling, such a grand and glowing creature, that over any ignominious blemish in him all his fellows should run to throw their costliest robes […] If then, to meanest mariners, and renegades and castaways, I shall hereafter ascribe high qualities, though dark; weave round them tragic graces; if even the most mournful, perchance the most abased, among them all, shall at times lift himself to the exalted mounts; if I shall touch that workman's arm with some ethereal light; if I shall spread a rainbow over his disastrous set of sun; then against all mortal critics bear me out in it, thou just Spirit of Equality, which hast spread one royal mantle of humanity over all my kind! Bear me out in it, thou great democratic God!1 I had little interest, at the time, in Ahab's insane pursuit of the white whale, but as a budding liberal, I thrilled to Ishmael's prayer. As a young man, I read the entire novel for the first time, and I was surprised and delighted to find the opening chapters light and humorous. One cannot help but laugh at Ishmael's shock at seeing Queequeg, the Maori tattooed South Sea Island harpooner, who returns to the Spouter [End Page 133] Inn (after peddling a shrunken head on the streets of New Bedford), worship his little black idol named Yojo, and jump into bed with the startled Ishmael. As you probably know, an interracial friendship develops between the two, and in Chapter 10, "The Bosom Friend," Ishmael even participates, by invitation, in Queequeg's worship of Yojo. He explains, Now Queequeg is my fellow man. And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me? Why, unite with me in my particular Presbyterian form of worship. Consequently, I must unite with him in his; ergo, I must turn idolater. So I kindled the shavings; helped prop up the innocent little idol; offered him burnt biscuit with Queequeg; salaamed before him twice or thrice; kissed his nose; and that done, we undressed and went to bed, at peace with our own consciences and all the world. But we did not go to sleep without some little chat. (58) The homosexual suggestiveness of the relationship is clear to the modern reader, but it was the example of democratic brotherhood that impressed me the most, especially in light of Melville's aristocratic sensibility. (Like Ishmael, Melville came from "an old established family in the land" [6]). I ended up writing my dissertation on the fascinating ambivalent politics of the novel, the way in which Melville combines what he calls, in a letter to Hawthorne, an unconditional democracy in all things, with a dislike to mankind in the mass. Later, as my interests became more interdisciplinary, I turned to the novel in admiration of its stunning aesthetics. Melville was a fan of J.M.W. Turner, especially those paintings of his that capture the sublimity of nature by means of obscure vortices of light, as in Snowstorm: Steamboat off a Harbour's Mouth (1842) and The...

Effectiveness of a Computerized Cognitive Training Program for Reducing Head Impact Kinematics in Youth Ice Hockey Players

Effectiveness of a Computerized Cognitive Training Program for Reducing Head Impact Kinematics in Youth Ice Hockey Players

Jagged Little Pill

Jagged Little Pill Phoebe Wagner (bio) and Brontë Wieland (bio) Oval Elvia Wilk Soft Skull Press www.softskull.com/dd-product/oval/ 352 Pages; Print, $16.95 Set in a near-future Berlin, Elvia Wilke’s Oval follows partners Anja and Louis as they navigate life under greenwashed turbocapitalism. The pair live on the Berg: an artificial mountain in Berlin, built by Finster Corp. as ground zero for their experiments in smart houses and sustainable urban living, experiments that seem to go sideways from the very start. When Louis returns from the United States after his mother’s funeral, Anja expects him to be grieving in a way she can understand, but instead he seeks normality, feigns unaffectedness, and dives back into his work as an artistic consultant for Basquiatt, a large nonprofit. Anja, once employed by the omnipresent and looming Finster Corp. as a researcher studying cartilage for biological homes, is sacked from her research division and rehired (along with her lab partner Michel) as a consultant — an indefinite, formless job that she suspects was created to pay for her silence on the suspiciously abrupt death of her research project. Communication continues to deteriorate between Anja and Louis, and their home on the Berg becomes increasingly unlivable until eventually the two separate; Anja stays with her friends (soon to be evicted by Finster), while Louis sleeps at his office, nose to the grindstone on a secret project. This secret project is the titular Oval, a newly developed drug that temporarily rewires one’s brain so that the act of giving induces intense pleasure. Louis wants to release Oval to the public [End Page 12] (the lower middle class particularly) in order to create a culture of giving, which he suspects will, among other things, fix the rampant houselessness in Berlin and ultimately save humanity from itself. Instead, to no reader’s surprise, the drug induces those who take it to give wantonly, without regard for need. Eventually, the drug’s popularity leads to a days-long rager in the heart of the city, and the party starts a blaze that burns Berlin to its foundations, which Anja only barely notices because she has isolated herself on the Berg and discovered that all of the mountain’s livability issues were part of Finster’s planned obsolescence scheme all along. The world these characters inhabit is one in which climate destabilization has made the weather so unpredictable that some have begun to suspect that the government’s wholly inaccurate meteorological reports are an elaborate lie meant to supersede reality. It’s a world in which the only work for artists is corporate-contracted consultant work, and those who fail to meet the terms of their agency’s contracts have their disembodied, shrunken heads put on display at lavish parties. It’s a world in which companies and non-profits trip over themselves to see who can make the most money off of “sustainability,” without fundamentally altering the consumption-dependent capitalist business model. The setting is clearly dystopic, but it is also not inconceivable. In fact, it’s familiar. Houselessness has spiked; the seasons are increasingly unrecognizable; the middle class averts their eyes from what’s below them and parties away the weekends on designer drugs; well-meaning individuals believe they can save the world from within powerful global systems invested in the status quo and find themselves disarmed, disinterested, or burnt out; and multinational businesses are still pumping out endless, resource-heavy consumer goods meant to be thrown away while claiming to be environmentally friendly. In Wilk’s near future Berlin, perhaps the scale of exploitation and control has grown, but the systems are very much the same, omnipresent in our contemporary lives. But despite this often-accurate portrayal of the path global capitalism is forcing us down, Oval ultimately offers little to the wider field of dystopian literature, neither illuminating a lurking threat to the prosperity of human and non-human life and liberty, nor portraying any methods of active resistance to oppressive power structures. Especially in environmental dystopias, these considerations are crucial. Throughout the novel, Wilk attempts to balance the story’s literary aspects — namely the evolving dynamics...

The Choice of Larson’s Translation Strategies and the Resulted Quality of Indonesian Translation of Hyperboles in The Shrunken Head Novel

In translating hyperboles, the effect of exaggerating something from the source text when translated literally into the target text can cause a strange meaning and less acceptable because the terms are not in accordance with the rules of the target language. This study aimed to analyze the translation strategies used by the translator in translating type of hyperboles and its translation quality in The Shrunken Head Novel. The descriptive qualitative research approach is used as a research design. The results of the study showed that there are two types of hyperboles found in this novel, namely overstatement of numbers and quantity and impossible description. Then, there are three strategies that used by translator to translated types of hyperbole in this novel, namely the sense of the word may be translated non-figuratively, retaining the word in the original but to add the sense of the word and substituting a figurative expression from SL to TL. The analysis on translation quality showed that 212 data of hyperboles (88%) considered as accurate, 207 data (86%) belongs to acceptable and 164 data (68%) are considered as high readability.

Shrunken heads: a curious strategy to survive winter

Shrunken heads: a curious strategy to survive winter

Shrinking the Mystery of Tsantsa Identification: Using Qualitative and Quantitative Measurements to Distinguish Natural and Imitation Shrunken Heads

INTRODUCTIONDuring the 17th through mid‐20th centuries, the Jivaro tribes of South America participated in ritual head shrinking as part of a religious ceremony following battle. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, travelers to South America took interest in these shrunken heads, known as tsantsas, and brought them back home as curios, inspiring the production of fake shrunken heads for the tourist trade. Numerous tsantsas, both real and fake, have ended up in museums or private collections worldwide. As many museums have very specific rules about repatriation of human remains, understanding differences between authentic and imitation tsantsas is imperative.GOALSThe purpose of this study was to qualitatively and quantitatively describe the five tsantsa specimens held in the Anthropology Collection curated at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS).METHODSFirst, each specimen was scored independently by two observers for 19 qualitative features typically associated with authentic tsantsas. Each observer also collected 29 standard facial measurements from four key locations (eye = 6, nose = 9, mouth = 4, ear = 10). Each facial measurement was size‐corrected using the geometric mean of all measurements for the specimen. The size‐corrected facial measurements were analyzed using principle component analysis (PCA).RESULTSInter‐observer agreement on scoring of the qualitative features was high, and analysis of the facial measurements revealed no significant differences between raters. The qualitative features suggested the presence of two distinct groups within the DMNS sample: A Probably‐Authentic Group (three specimens) exhibiting 15 or more out of the 19 authentic characteristics, and a Probably‐Imitation Group (two specimens) exhibiting 8 or fewer of the 19 characteristics. PCA of all size‐corrected variables identified two factors accounting for 78% of the variance in the sample (factor 1 = 47%; factor 2 = 31%). The PCA revealed that the five specimens clustered within two distinct groups, distinguished primarily along factor 1. The group composition determined by PCA was concurrent with the two groups indicated by the qualitative traits.CONCLUSIONSAgreement between analysis of qualitative tsantsa characteristics and facial morphometric measurements suggests the presence of three authentic and two imitation tsantsas in the DMNS collection. To affirm these findings, microscopic hair analysis is also performed to establish the presence of human hair. However, DNA analysis is needed to determine with confidence whether the DMNS tsantsas are human or fabricated.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Shrinking the Mystery of Tsantsa Identification: Hair Analysis of Shrunken Heads from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

INTRODUCTIONTribes in South America, such as the Jivaro, were historically known to perform shrinking of human heads as part of their war rituals. Although authentic shrunken heads (tsantsas) are of human origin, imitation tsantsas were later fabricated using animal or synthetic materials. Numerous tsantsas are held in museum collections worldwide, including five in the Anthropology Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS). A previous analysis of the tsantsas curated at the DMNS suggests that two specimens may be imitations.GOALSThe purpose of this study was to microscopically evaluate hairs from each of the five tsantsas in the Anthropology Collection at DMNS, and test the hypothesis that hairs from each specimen are human in origin.METHODSFive hairs from five different areas of the head (frontal, right and left temporal, vertex, occipital) were obtained for a total of 25 hairs per specimen. The hairs were mounted for microscopic analysis by researchers blinded to the origin of the samples. Using a brightfield microscope at 40x, images were collected using the Amscope image capture software and analyzed using ImageJ. The following qualitative characteristics were scored and compared to human norms: hair color, medulla features, cuticle thickness, pigment granule distribution, and the presence of scales. Measurements of hair shaft width and medulla width were also recorded for each hair and compared to human reference values for global populations.RESULTSThe qualitative analysis revealed that all of the hairs exhibited typical human characteristics. For each of the specimens, mean hair shaft and medulla width values were mostly within the normal range for human hair. However, a few exceptions were observed: 68% of sampled hairs from one specimen exhibited a medulla wider than expected for human hair, where the medulla is typically less than one‐third of the shaft width, and in another specimen, 72% of sampled hairs had shaft widths below the normal human range of 60–120um.CONCLUSIONWhen considering results from both the qualitative and quantitative analyses, the hairs from each of the DMNS tsantsas are likely to be human in origin. Previous analyses of the facial characteristics of the DMNS specimens suggested that two specimens may be imitations rather than authentic tsantsas. However, the hairs sampled from the two potential imitations appear to be human. It is possible that the genuine human hairs were manually imbedded into the scalp of the fabricated tsantsas; closer inspection of the internal scalp may provide insight. DNA analysis is needed to confirm the human origin of the tsantsas.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Facial preservation following extreme mummification: Shrunken heads

Shrunken heads are a mummification phenomenon unique to South America. Ceremonial tsantsa are ritually reduced heads from enemy victims of the Shuar, Achuar, Awajún (Aguaruna), Wampís (Huambisa), and Candoshi-Shapra cultures. Commercial shrunken heads are comparatively modern and fraudulently produced for the curio-market, often using stolen bodies from hospital mortuaries and graves. To achieve shrinkage and desiccation, heads undergo skinning, simmering (in water) and drying. Considering the intensive treatments applied, this research aims to identify how the facial structure can alter and impact identification using post-mortem depiction.Sixty-five human shrunken heads were assessed: 6 ceremonial, 36 commercial, and 23 ambiguous. Investigations included manual inspection, multi-detector computerised tomography, infrared reflectography, ultraviolet fluorescence and microscopic hair analysis.The mummification process disfigures the outer face, cheeks, nasal root and bridge form, including brow ridge, eyes, ears, mouth, and nose projection. Melanin depletion, epidermal degeneration, and any applied staining changes the natural skin complexion. Papillary and reticular dermis separation is possible. Normal hair structure (cuticle, cortex, medulla) is retained. Hair appears longer (unless cut) and more profuse following shrinkage. Significant features retained include skin defects, facial creases, hairlines and earlobe form. Hair conditions that only affect living scalps are preserved (e.g. nits, hair casts). Ear and nose cartilage helps to retain some morphological information. Commercial heads appear less distorted than ceremonial tsantsa, often presenting a definable eyebrow shape, vermillion lip shape, lip thickness (if mouth is open), philtrum form, and palpebral slit angle. Facial identification capabilities are considered limited, and only perceived possible for commercial heads.

A morphometric investigation into shrunken heads

Abstract This is a first time morphometric investigation into 65 shrunken heads from South America, comprising 6 ceremonial tsantsa, 36 commercial heads, and 23 ambiguous heads. Ceremonial tsantsa are heads ritually reduced by the Shuar, Achuar, Awajun (Aguaruna), Wampis (Huambisa) and Candoshi-Shapra, following a long-standing war trophy tradition. Commercial heads were produced solely for trade since c.1872. Ambiguous classified heads resemble ceremonial tsantsa, but demonstrate minor questionable anomalies in their design. Thirty-two dimensions were reliably collected utilizing a sliding caliper, soft measuring tape and multi-detection computerized tomography (MDCT). Box and whisker charts plot the range in dimensions identified for each shrunken head category, including collection total. Ceremonial tsantsa were most consistent in scale. Sample sizes were small, but the long-established and religious nature of applied techniques likely influenced this result. Ambiguous heads were closely affined, but wider ranging in scale to ceremonial tsantsa. Commercial heads, produced using irregular methods, demonstrated the strongest variation in scale. They were generally larger, but presented both the very largest and smallest heads in the collection. The largest heads (with c.7–8 mm visible tissue depth) were marked with mould, suggesting improper processing and desiccation; hair analysis confirmed the smallest (c.1.2–1.7 mm visible tissue depth) were of juveniles. Visible tissue depths, taken from skin lining the neck/head opening, was typically c.3–4 mm. MDCT analysis otherwise identified a tissue depth variance of 1.95–3.67 mm minimum (common in upper face and inferior to chin regions) and 3.49–10.09 mm maximum (at vertex). Ceremonial and ambiguous heads often presented moderately thicker, heavier skins to commercial heads, with evident papillary and reticular layer separation of the dermis, from an imbalanced heat application and pronounced manual manipulation during desiccation. To advance research findings, a greater sample size of ceremonial tsantsa is required to ideally identify morphometric parameters that definitively differentiate ceremonial and commercial heads.

Locking plate plus endosteal fibular allograft augmentation for proximal humeral fractures with com-minuted medial column

Objective To evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of locking plate plus endosteal fibular allograft augmentation for unstable proximal humeral fractures with comminuted medial col-umn. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the 48 patients who had been treated by locking plate plus endosteal fibular allograft augmentation and fully followed up for unstable proximal humeral fractures with comminuted medial column between June 2014 and March 2016. They were 12 men and 36 women, with an average age of 64.3 years (from 33 to 87 years). By the Neer classification, 7 cases were two-part fractures, 21 three-part fractures and 20 four-part fractures. Postoperative assessments included Constant-Murley scores, shoulder scores of Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (Quick DASH), Short Form Health Survey (SF12), humeral head height loss, change in humeral neck shaft angle, postoperative complications and revision rate. Results Their follow-ups averaged 16.7 months (from 12 to 30 months). Their final follow-ups showed a mean Constant score of 83.3 (from 67 to 98), a mean DASH shoulder score of 18.9 (from 6.6 to 49.9), and a mean SF12 of 82.8 (from 56 to 98). Postoperatively, the humeral head height loss averaged 1.2 mm (from 0.1 to 3.4 mm) and the neck-shaft angle 3.1° (from 0.1° to 9.1°). Compli-cations happened in 5 cases (10.4%): loss of reduction in one and screw penetration out of the articular surface in 4. Conclusion Locking plate along with endosteal fibular strut allograft augmentation is a promising technique for the treatment of proximal humeral fractures with comminuted medial column because fibular strut allograft may enhance mechanical stability of the humeral head, maintain fracture reduction, re-duce humeral head height loss and complications to ensure good clinical outcomes. Key words: Shoulder fractures; Fracture fixation, internal; Bone plates; Bone transplantation

Puerarin protected rats with traumatic brain injury through autophagy regulation via JNK pathway

Objective To explore the impact of puerarin treatment on autophagy in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the underlying mechanism. Methods Seventy five Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomized into 5 groups: sham group (S group, n=15), traumatic brain injury group (TBI group, n=15), TBI+ puerarin treatment group (TBI+ Pue group, n=15), TBI+ JNK inhibitor group (TBI+ SP group, n=15), and TBI+ JNK activator+ Pue (TBI+ An+ Pue group, n=15). Feeney method was applied to make rats with TBI model. After that, head water content and neurological deficit score (NDS) were measured and recorded at day 1, 3 and 7 in each group. Western blot was used to measure the JNK activity and autophagic marker proteins, including LC3B and Beclin1. Results Compared to S group, the head water content and NDS were decreased significantly among the others (P<0.05). The head water content and NDS in TBI+ Pue and TBI+ SP groups was decreased remarkably compared with TBI group. Combined with puerarin and animycin treatments failed to reduce head water content and NDS compared to the TBI+ Pue group. Activated autophagy could be observed in TBI group compared to S group. Compared to group S, LC3II, Beclin1 and P-JNK1 were increased significantly. Pue and SP could reduce their expressions, respectively. Combined with puerarin and animycin treatments failed to reduce LC3II, Beclin1 and P-JNK1 compared to TBI+ Pue group. Conclusions Puerarin could protect rats with TBI via inhibiting autophagy, JNK signal pathway could involve the process of puerarin regulating autophagy. Key words: PUERARIN/PD; Brain injuries/DT/ME/PA; Autophagy/DE; JNK mitogen-activated protein kinases/ME/DE; Signal transduction/DE

The genetic evidence for human origin of Jivaroan shrunken heads in collections from the Polish museums

Advances in forensic identification using molecular genetics are helpful in resolving some historical mysteries. The aim of this study was to confirm the authenticity of shrunken-head artifacts exhibited by two Polish museums. Shrunken heads, known as tsantsas, were headhunting trophies of South American Indians (Jivaroan). A special preparation preserved their hair and facial appearance. However, it was quite common to offer counterfeit shrunken heads of sloths or monkeys to collectors of curiosities. We sampled small skin specimens of four shrunken-head skin from the museum collection from Warsaw and Krakow, Poland. Following genomic DNA isolation, highly polymorphic short tandem repeats were genotyped using a commercial chemistry and DNA sequencing analyzer. Haplogroups of human Y chromosome were identified. We obtained an informative genetic profile of genomic short tandem repeats from all the samples of shrunken heads. Moreover, amplification of amelogenin loci allowed for sex determination. All four studied shrunken heads were of human origin. In two ones, a shared Y-chromosome haplogroup Q characteristic for Indigenous Americans was detected. Another artifact was counterfeited because Y-chromosome haplogroup I2 was found, characteristic for the Southeastern European origin. Commercial genetic methods of identification can be applied successfully in studies on the origin and authenticity of some unusual collection items.

Recently identified features that help to distinguish ceremonial tsantsa from commercial shrunken heads

This is an anthropological investigation into a collection of 65 shrunken human heads, to determine if new characteristics can be identified to facilitate the differentiation between ceremonial tsantsa and commercial shrunken heads. Ceremonial tsantsa refers to shrunken heads mummified as war trophies within the ancient traditions and rituals of the Amazonian Shuar, Achuar, Awajun/Aguaruna, Wampis/Huambisa and Candoshi-Shapra (SAAWC). Commercial shrunken heads are comparatively modern objects constructed specifically for the collector market of the past. Low earning individuals in South and Middle America, outwith the SAAWC culture, who had access to corpses and appropriate medical or taxidermy provisions, produced these for trade purposes. These heads were made in abundance and do not present the same historical value or heritage as ceremonial tsantsa. The relevance of an accurate provenance for heads may directly impact museums, with regard to identifying the authenticity of a specimen and how they should handle any potential requests to return such artefacts to their cultural homes. Complying with current anthropological standards, a total of 6 ceremonial tsantsa and 36 commercial heads were identified. Greater confidence is prescribed to the assignment of commercial heads as their morphological appearance is at odds with the highly standardised presentation of ceremonial tsantsa. Many indicated that the processor had access to modern resources such as gloves and fine suturing equipment, which were not typically available to the SAAWC. Since traders sometimes closely replicating ceremonial tsantsa when shrinking and decorating heads for trade, limited certainty can be prescribed to this category. Minor deviations in ceremonial design resulted in 23 heads being defined as ambiguous in origin. Each head was examined by manual inspection, infrared reflectography (IRR), CT and microscopic hair analysis, with ten new differentiating characteristics identified. © 2016.

Artichokes, and One of Many Moments

Artichokes, and One of Many Moments Durs Grünbein (bio) Translated by Karen Leeder (bio) Artichokes Best to peel them with your thumb, The spiny leaves of this covert fruit, Wrapped tightly ’round a distaff, Dragon scales, softer, more tender As you reach the innermost heart, Hidden by the tiny hairs of the choke. A basket full of heads at the market, Rich harvest of the guillotine. Necks Cut on long stalks like the throats of Honey-glazed geese in China. There they are: The shrunken heads of extraterrestrial Warriors, green chalices, stripped In search of the flesh, the meat, Armored umbels on their stem. The French ones are huge, carved In stone, the pride of the parapets At the Versailles Orangery, The Roman ones, smaller, without Thorns, they cleave to your palate Like a band of Mafiosi To their bloody clan. [End Page 41] One of Many Moments Dolorossa, Assunta, Concetta . . . An ambulance races past the tables At the street café and all the dogs In the district start to whine. Silence falls in the old people’s homes, An icy silence acknowledged by waiters And flower-sellers with a grin. The would-be beggars melt away, One guy floats off as if drawn by a thread. That was the city as it is—on the day That everything comes to pass: they do exist The luminous frescos in ancient churches, Madonnas in dismal funerary chapels. The clouds rimmed with gold, The swallows soaring in the updraft. The bones, the cold, the chalk— But there will be no resurrection. The scooters weave through the traffic Governed by some covert choreography. The shop windows reflect the very same scenes Tomorrow and yesterday. The usual suspects Standing at street corners. No matter what happens, All of it, all of it is back in place. Just a few girls shrieking, but Not because of this, not this. [End Page 42] Durs Grünbein Durs Grünbein, born in Dresden, has published more than thirty books of poetry and prose, most recently the poetry collection Cyrano oder Die Rückkehr vom Mond (Suhrkamp, 2014) and the volume of memoirs Die Jahre im Zoo: Ein Kaleidoskop (Suhrkamp, 2015). His many awards include the Georg Büchner Prize (1994), Premio Internazionale di Poesia Pier Paolo Pasolini (2006), the Great Cross of Merit with Star (2009), and the Tomas Tranströmer Prize (2012). He lives in Berlin and Rome. Karen Leeder Karen Leeder is a writer, critic, and translator, and is Professor of Modern German Literature at New College, Oxford. Recent publications include Volker Braun, Rubble Flora: Selected Poems (Seagull Books, 2014), with David Constantine, which was commended for the Popescu Poetry Prize in 2015, and the edited collection Rereading East Germany: The Literature and Film of the GDR (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Her translations of Durs Grünbein have appeared in a number of magazines including Poetry Review and Poetry. She was awarded the Stephen Spender Prize in 2013, an English PEN award, and an American PEN/Heim award in 2016. note Chosce, the Sicilian expression for the leaves of the artichoke, is also a synonym for the members of a mafia clan. Copyright © 2016 Middlebury College Publications