Extraction Protocol for Parallel Analysis of Proteins and DNA from Ancient Teeth and Dental Calculus.

Dental calculus is becoming a crucial material in the study of past populations with increasing interest in its proteomic and genomic content. Here, we suggest further development of a protocol for analysis of ancient proteins and a combined approach for subsequent ancient DNA extraction. We tested the protocol on recent teeth, and the optimized protocol was applied to ancient tooth to limit the destruction of calculus as it is a precious and irreplaceable source of dietary, microbiological, and ecological information in the archeological context.

Cost-effective straightforward method for captured whole mitogenome sequencing of ancient DNA.

Working with mitochondrial DNA from highly degraded samples is challenging. We present a whole mitogenome Illumina-based sequencing method suitable for highly degraded samples. The method makes use of double-stranded library preparation with hybridization-based target enrichment.

A very rare case of possible actinomycosis of the mandible from the Middle Ages.

Objective: Documented cases of actinomycosis in archaeological skeletons are very rare, especially from Central Europe. Our contribution will help facilitate the differential diagnosis of this disease for other paleopathologists.

Material: This paper describes a pathological finding of the skeleton of a 40-year-old male from a burial ground in Sady-Špitálky (Czech Republic) dated to the 10th-12th century.

The Application of Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) in Ancient Dental Calculus for the Reconstruction of Human Habits.

The great potential of scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) is in detection of unusual chemical elements included in ancient human dental calculus to verify hypotheses about life and burial habits of historic populations and individuals. Elemental spectra were performed from archeological samples of three chosen individuals from different time periods. The unusual presence of magnesium, aluminum, and silicon in the first sample could confirm the hypothesis of high degree of dental abrasion caused by particles from grinding stones in flour.

Interaction of Heavy Metal Ions with Carbon and Iron Based Particles.

Due to the rapid development of industry and associated production of toxic waste, especially heavy metals, there is a great interest in creating and upgrading new sorption materials to remove these pollutants from the environment. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of different carbon forms (graphene, expanded carbon, multi-wall nanotubes) and paramagnetic particles (Fe₂O₃) for adsorption of cadmium(II), lead(II), and copper(II) on its surface, with different interaction time from 1 min to 24 h. The main attention is paid to the detection of these metals using differential pulse voltammetry.

Influence of Magnetic Microparticles Isolation on Adenine Homonucleotides Structure.

The electroactivity of purine and pyrimidine bases is the most important property of nucleic acids that is very useful for determining oligonucleotides using square wave voltammetry. This study was focused on the electrochemical behavior of adenine-containing oligonucleotides before and after their isolation using paramagnetic particles. Two peaks were detected-peak A related to the reduction of adenine base and another peak B involved in the interactions between individual adenine strands and contributes to the formation of various spatial structures.