Hypercementosis in Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens fossils from Klasies River Main Site, South Africa.

Objective: To examine early Homo sapiens fossils from the Late Pleistocene site of Klasies River Main Site, South Africa for evidence of hypercementosis. The specimens represent seven adult individuals dated to between 119,000 and 58,000 years ago. These observations are contextualized in relation to the incidences of hypercementosis among recent human populations and fossil human samples and the potential etiologies of hypercementosis.

Arsenic in induced hair of the rat and its relation to the content in various organs during chronic exposure.

The behaviour of the rate of transfer of arsenic to hair induced at various times during a long-term exposure experiment was examined in rats supplied with 3 mg arsenic per litre of drinking water in the form of chloride. The arsenic was supplied during a period of 560 days. At the beginning a sharp increase was seen in the rate of transfer of arsenic to induced hair, as well as in the content of arsenic in the various organs.

[The effect of increased copper supplements in feed on the development of cadmium residues in swine].

In commercial pig fattening copper is added to the feed at a concentration exceeding the requirement by a factor of more than ten. This improves the weight gain of the pigs during the first three months remarkably. In order to study the influence of copper supplementation on cadmium retention, 4 groups of male castrated weanling crossbred pigs (Deutsche Landrasse x Pietrain) received for 3 months a diet containing 1 mg Cd per kg feed, given as CdCl2, as well as 0, 50, 100 or 200 mg Cu per kg feed, given as CuSO4.

Cadmium in induced hair of the rat and its relation to the level in the diet and in the major organs during long-term exposure to cadmium in the subtoxic and toxic range.

Induced hair of the rat was used to examine the suitability of hair analysis as an indicator of cadmium ingestion and for assessing its content in the kidneys or the liver. At an exposure to 3 mg per litre drinking water the transfer to hair exhibited a widely irregular fluctuation during the 50 weeks of the experiment, with a mean which was only slightly higher than that of the "unexposed" controls. The content in the liver increased at the beginning and attained a steady state within 3 weeks, that in the kidneys increased up to the end of the experiment.

Whole body content and turnover of Cs and K.

In persons who had accumulated radiocesium from the fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, the amount of radiocesium and radiopotassium was measured in the total body and in urine. The stable Cs content in the urine was determined at the same time by instrumental nuclear activation analysis. From the data obtained, the total body Cs pool was calculated to be 1500 micrograms, that of K 110 g.