Implications of the prevalence of Ascaris sp. in the funerary context of a Late Antique population (5th-7th c.) in Granada (Spain).

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasites in human remains from Late Antiquity (5th - 7th c.) Granada (Spain).

Materials: The study included pelvic and cranial control samples from 17 skeletons from the archaeological sites of Los Mondragones (n = 13) and Rafael Guillén (n = 4).

Microsecond Electrical Breakdown in Water: Advances Using Emission Analysis and Cavitation Bubble Theory.

Electrical discharges in water are a subject of major interest because of both the wide range of potential applications and the complexity of the processes. This paper aimed to provide significant insights to better understand processes involved during a microsecond electrical discharge in water, especially during the propagation and the breakdown phases. Two different approaches were considered.

Non-autonomous regulation of germline stem cell proliferation by somatic MPK-1/MAPK activity in C. elegans.

Extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is a major positive regulator of cell proliferation, which is often upregulated in cancer. However, few studies have addressed ERK/MAPK regulation of proliferation within a complete organism. The Caenorhabditis elegans ERK/MAPK ortholog MPK-1 is best known for its control of somatic organogenesis and germline differentiation, but it also stimulates germline stem cell proliferation.

Paleoparasitology of Merovingian Corpses Buried in Stone Sarcophagi in the Saint-Martin-au-Val Church (Chartres, France).

Paleoparasitological analysis was carried on 4 Merovingian skeletons, dated from the late-5th to the late-9th centuries, and recovered in the church of Saint-Martin-au-Val in Chartres (Center region, France). The corpses were buried in stone sarcophagi, which were still sealed at the time of excavation. Parasite marker extraction was conducted on sediment samples taken from the abdominal and pelvic regions, but also on samples taken from under the head and the feet as control samples.

Theta-band EEG Activity over Sensorimotor Regions is Modulated by Expected Visual Reafferent Feedback During Reach Planning.

Activity in the primary motor cortex (M1) during reach planning is known to be correlated with the upcoming kinetics and kinematics of the hand. Yet recent work using visual-motor dissociation tasks suggests that M1 activity is also correlated with the visual consequences of an action, independent of the actual hand displacement. The goal of the present work was to investigate whether oscillatory activity over sensorimotor regions is modulated by the expectancy of visual reafferent feedback during reach planning.

A First Case of Human Trichuriasis from a Roman Lead Coffin in France.

A paleoparasitological study was carried out on 2 lead coffins recovered from the Roman site of Jaunay-Clan (near Poitiers, France). For the first time, this particular type of burial gave positive parasitological results, and eggs of the whipworm were identified in 1 individual. In the present case, thanatomorphose associated with funerary practices may explain the scarcity of the recovered eggs.

Archaeological occurrences and historical review of the human amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica, over the past 6000years.

Understanding parasite history and the evolution of host/parasite relationships is one of the most important aspects of paleoparasitology. Within the framework of this research topic, this paper focuses on the human pathogenic amoeba, Entamoeba histolytica. The compilation of all the available archaeological data concerning this parasite leads to a first glimpse of the history of this parasite of current medical importance.

The horse pinworm (Oxyuris equi) in archaeology during the Holocene: Review of past records and new data.

This paper focuses on the horse pinworm, Oxyuris equi, in archaeology during the Holocene period, and presents an overview of past published occurrences, early mentions in texts, and new data from our paleoparasitology research. This original compilation shows that the most ancient record of the horse pinworm dates to ca. 2500 years before present (ybp) in Central Asia and to ca.

Intestinal parasites in First World War German soldiers from "Kilianstollen", Carspach, France.

Paleoparasitological investigations revealed the presence of intestinal helminths in samples taken from the abdominal cavities of two German soldiers, recovered in the First World War site named "Kilianstollen" in Carspach, France. Eggs from roundworm, whipworm, tapeworm and capillariids were identified. The morphological and morphometrical comparison, followed by statistical analyses, showed that the Carspach capillariid eggs are similar to rodent parasites.

Testing new parasite egg extraction methods in paleoparasitology and an attempt at quantification.

In order to improve paleoparasitological analyses, we tested different acid (hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids) and base (sodium hydroxide) combinations for parasite egg extraction in archaeological sediments. We used a method of egg counting to compare these results to those obtained with the standard paleo-parasitological RHM extraction protocol (rehydration-homogenization-micro-sieving). Tests show that the use of hydrochloric acid results in a concentration of some taxa like Ascaris sp.