tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52694887773125775642024-02-06T21:12:44.275-08:00Flesh and BonesJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-79626217968920614272013-05-26T10:21:00.000-07:002013-05-26T12:49:48.080-07:00I WANT TO TOLERIZE ALL NIGHT (AND LIGATE EVERY DAY)<div>
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In preparation for the start of my MPH program (specialty: infectious disease), I've been brushing up on various subjects for which I lack formal academic training, in particular parasitology, virology, and immunology. The latter is probably my weakest subject, and so I'm studying intensely to make up for lost time. I'm quickly finding that immunology is incredibly fascinating, and had I known the subject possessed so much intrigue, I might have pursued it as an undergraduate. I'm astounded by the complexity with which our immune systems function, and the armchair military historian in me is impressed by the multiform stratagems our bodies have evolved to battle invaders.</div>
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To achieve a firm grasp on the fundamentals of immunology, I'm drawing from two textbooks:</div>
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- The University of South Carolina School of Medicine's online <i>Microbiology and Immunology</i></div>
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(a thorough, excellent resource available at <a href="http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/ghaffar/innate.htm">http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/ghaffar/innate.htm</a>) </div>
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- <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Immune-System-Works-Blackwells/dp/140516221X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369587269&sr=8-2&keywords=how+the+immune+system+works">How the Immune System Works</a></u> (3rd Ed., Lauren Sompayrac). This slim text is brilliant. It reads like a collection of lectures, meant to be completed in the course of a few days. The author breaks the material down into easily-digestible chunks, replete with helpful illustrations, and yet still imparts enough solid information to build a sound foundational knowledge of immunology.<br />
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In addition to textual sources, I'm utilizing a wide array of freely-available animated content.<br />
McGraw-Hill's online components for its <u>Human Anatomy</u> textbook include many useful explanatory animations, like <a href="http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072495855/student_view0/chapter2/animation__phagocytosis.html">this one on phagocytosis</a>. </div>
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YouTube also has an abundance of material, like this video detailing respiratory burst:<br />
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Animation is a wonderful tool for the immunology student, as it so easily and clearly conveys what are otherwise complex and recondite processes. It is simple to understand how C3b or IgG works when you see it modeled in action, when on paper the fundament can be lost in a sea of associations and interactions with endless other acronyms. </div>
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JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-82910919452314367892013-05-11T15:31:00.001-07:002013-05-11T19:04:58.503-07:00KDE: 1854 LONDON CHOLERA OUTBREAK<div style="text-align: justify;">
Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), also known as a "heatmap," is a wonderful way to graphically convey epidemiological data for outbreaks of infectious disease. At a glance, one can discern likely points of origin, routes of transmission, and density by area. KDE maps are attractive and fairly easy to render in QGIS, but it <i>can</i> be exceedingly difficult to obtain spatial point data, which is necessary for creating the nodes used by the software to model density. For this KDE, the underlying raster image is John Snow's original 1854 map, with vector overlays of spatial point data showing water pumps and cholera deaths. The proportional mortality is most densely concentrated around the Broad Street pump (the source of infection as deduced by John Snow). For proper viewing, click <a href="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/1052/snowkdemap1854res120don.jpg">HERE to enlarge.</a><br />
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Density radius: 30m<br />
Decay rate: 0<br />
Cell size X,Y: ~1,1<br />
Global transparency: 20%<br />
Pseudocolor
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Snow's original map is available in a high resolution format here:<br />
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Snow-cholera-map-1.jpg">http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Snow-cholera-map-1.jpg</a><br />
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Unfortunately I did not bookmark the site which offered the spatial point data for download, but if I can locate it again, I'll be sure to give appropriate credit here.<br />
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-56702153549249076982013-05-08T07:55:00.000-07:002013-05-08T14:35:36.053-07:00BABESIA MICROTI<br />
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Here in Ohio, spring is in full swing. Trees are budding fervently, reptiles can be spotted basking in the midday sun, and the forest floors are beginning to grow a healthy layer of undergrowth to cover last autumn's leaf litter. Hiking is presently a joy, as the mosquitoes have not yet made their presence felt, and the days of high humidity and sweltering temperatures are still a few months away. I've been spending an abundance of time outside and, although it is only early May, have already noticed an unusual pervasiveness of a certain arachnid: <i>Dermacentor variabilis</i> -- the wood tick. In the last week I've found them in my car, on my dog, and even in the house. I'm not particularly worried, as <i>D. variabilis</i> isn't regarded as a particularly competent vector for serious human disease (especially in Ohio), but the sightings do make me wonder if this will be a bad summer for another species of tick, <i>Ixodes scapularis</i>--the deer (or black-legged) tick. </div>
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<i>Ixodes scapularis</i> is of serious concern to humans for a variety of reasons. First of all, it is much smaller than the wood tick, and is far more likely to feed unnoticed by the host. The black-legged tick is also a more efficient vector of human pathogens, including Lyme disease. While nearly everyone has heard of Lyme disease, and its notoriety has been enhanced by media and pop culture, the opposite is true of <i>Babesia microti</i> and <i>babesiosis</i>. Apart from parasitologists, <i>Babesia</i> is virtually unknown. Although mammalian infection with this parasite is ubiquitous, human infection is less common, and many cases are asymptomatic.</div>
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<i>B. microti</i> is a piroplasm, a protozoal parasite, that bears some similarity to malaria, causing hemolytic disease which results in generalized "flu-like" symptoms that are often difficult to accurately diagnose. These include headaches, body aches or pains, diarrhea, fatigue, lethargy, chills, and fever. In severe cases of infection where parasitic load is high, more serious symptoms/complications like jaundice, hemolytic anemia, respiratory failure, renal failure, and congestive heart failure can occur. The risks of <i>Babesiosis</i> are greatly increased for patients who have had the spleen removed or are otherwise immunocompromised.<i> </i></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Babesia_life_cycle_human_en.svg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="634" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Babesia_life_cycle_human_en.svg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Life cycle of <i>Babesia microti.</i></div>
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1. Despommier, Gwadz, Hotez, Knirsch. <u>Parasitic Diseases</u> (5th Ed.), Apple Trees Productions, LLC. New York: New York (2005).<br />
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2. Centers for Disease Control, Parasites - <i>Babesia</i>. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/">http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/</a></div>
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JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-57716463048644672582013-05-06T14:55:00.000-07:002013-05-06T14:56:17.420-07:00H7N9 CHOROPLETHAfter an extended hiatus, I've again taken to toying with QGIS. Below is a choropleth map that I made last week. It illustrates all reported cases of H7N9 in China, by province, as of 05/03/13. (Click to enlarge.) <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-TinUTmPBY/UYgmXZm4u8I/AAAAAAAAA6U/m4WEwFzcglM/s1600/H7N9_China_Choropleth1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L-TinUTmPBY/UYgmXZm4u8I/AAAAAAAAA6U/m4WEwFzcglM/s640/H7N9_China_Choropleth1.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-38482937962900156722013-04-29T17:25:00.000-07:002013-04-29T17:25:15.956-07:00PORK TAPEWORM AND NEUROCYSTICERCOSIS<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bb32g02IIs8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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From the CDC[1]:</div>
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Neurocysticercosis is a preventable parasitic infection caused by larval cysts
(enclosed sacs containing the immature stage of a parasite) of the pork tapeworm
(Taenia solium). The larval cysts can infect various parts of the body causing
a condition known as cysticercosis. Larval cysts in the brain cause a form of
cysticercosis called neurocysticercosis which can lead to seizures.
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A person acquires neurocysticercosis from unknowingly ingesting microscopic eggs
excreted by a person who has an intestinal pork tapeworm.
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From Epilepsy Currents[2]:</div>
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Neurocysticercosis is a leading cause of seizures and epilepsy in the developing world and is an increasingly important health issue in the United States. Recent results from the Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru provide new evidence supporting the use of antiparasitic agents in highly selected patients with active cysts and seizures.</blockquote>
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1. Neglected Parasitic Infections in the United States - Neurocysticercosis. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/resources/pdf/npi_cysticercosis.pdf <br />
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2. <i>Neurocysticercosis</i>. Epilepsy Curr. 2004 May; 4(3): 107–111. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1176337/
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<br />JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-14336318704901957772012-09-23T16:33:00.003-07:002012-09-23T16:34:07.545-07:00AN APHORISM<div>
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There is an aphorism in medical science which says: "You see what you look for; you look for what you know." It can work positively or negatively. If you know something exists but is hidden from view, you may be able to espy clues that thereafter will lead you to it. Thus, discoveries in diagnostic method may be made. On the other hand, if you know something exists in some instances and generalize it to be of significance in all, you may be right--or you may gravely mislead yourself and others.</div>
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Williams, Greer. <i>The Plague Killers</i>. Charles Scribners Sons, New York: 1969.JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-40991223205917856782012-09-09T07:57:00.000-07:002012-09-09T07:58:17.715-07:00PROTEIN (MIS)FOLDING<div style="text-align: justify;">
An excellent, insightful lecture by Susan Lindquist on the process of protein folding, prions, and related diseases:</div>
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JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-5136372257379251802012-08-24T20:15:00.001-07:002012-08-24T20:22:30.056-07:00PECULIAR SUICIDE<div style="text-align: justify;">
The September 2012 issue of <i>Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology</i> contains <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22227791">an interesting article</a> by Hejna, <i>et al</i>., analyzing a case of complex suicide. The article defines complex suicide as one "in which more than one suicide method is applied
either simultaneously or successively (one after the other)" and distinguishes complex suicides by two variations: <i>planned</i>, where two or more methods of suicide are combined simultaneously; and <i>unplanned</i>, where a second method of suicide is attempted to compensate for some unsatisfactory aspect of the first, i.e. unbearable pain, or inadequate severity.</div>
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This particular case was an instance of planned complex suicide, with the 39 year-old victim employing both a firearm and hanging. While this combination tends to be the most common in planned complex suicides, what makes this case salient is the use of a black-powder derringer. In what was likely an attempt to improve lethality, the gun was loaded with a powder charge far exceeding manufacturer specifications. This resulted in instantaneous death and atypical markings circumscribing the ballistic entrance wound. The effectiveness of the shooting rendered the secondary method of suicide ineffectual, as evidenced by the lack of indicators which are normally present in hanging deaths (such as bleeding into the intevertebral discs).</div>
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Hejna, <i>et al.</i> conclude with five key points for forensic investigators to take away from this case:</div>
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"1. The combination of hanging and gunshot injury is the
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2. Injuries and fatalities resulting from the use of black
powder handguns are relatively rare compared to other
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3. Black powder weapons produce entrance wounds with
extensive sooting and powder tattooing (in close range
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4. The wounds from black powder firearms may have a
characteristic sulfurous odor and the soot deposits may
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5. The atypical morphology of the entrance wound with
extensive back spatter in this presented case was
conditioned by the excessively short barrel of the
derringer, a higher amount of black powder charge and
by artificial incision of the projectile ogive."</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuIeA8bOPio/UDg-tuxP1DI/AAAAAAAAA5M/IqmQEmYTZ7I/s1600/Complex_Suicide1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vuIeA8bOPio/UDg-tuxP1DI/AAAAAAAAA5M/IqmQEmYTZ7I/s1600/Complex_Suicide1.jpg" /></a></div>
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View of the victim as found, with prominent atypical entrance wound. [Hejna, Fig. 2]</div>
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"The handgun used– black powder muzzle loading doublebarreled derringer." [Hejna, Fig. 6]</div>
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Hejna, Petr; Šafr, Miroslav; Zátopková, Lenka; Straka, Luboš. Complex suicide with black powder muzzle loading derringer. <i style="text-align: justify;">Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology </i><span style="text-align: justify;">(2012) 8: 296-300. </span>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-48334637596892793242012-08-19T07:11:00.001-07:002012-08-23T06:18:23.927-07:00POX<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm through about 25% of Deborah Hayden's book, <i>POX: Genius, Madness, and the Mysteries of Syphilis</i>. Thus far, the work is riveting. Competing theories on the biological evolution and epidemiology of syphilis are weaved throughout a cogent narrative, flavored with notable excerpts from historical records. Apart from the Great Mortality, I can't think of another disease which was so widely personified by poetic mythos and dark imagination as was syphilis. Consider this lurid description by 19th Century French poet Théophile Gautier:</div>
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"There is a splendid American pox here, as pure as at the time of Francis I. The entire French army has been laid up with it; boils are exploding in groins like shells, and purulent jets of clap vie with the fountains in the Piazza Navona . . . tibias are exfoliating in extoses like ancient columns of greenery in a Roman ruin . . . lieutenants walking in the streets look like leopards, they are so dotted and speckled with roseola, freckles, coffee-colored marks, warty excrescences, horny and cryptogamic verruccae and other secondary and tertiary manifestations which appear here after a fortnight." [1]</blockquote>
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1. Hayden, Deborah. <i>Pox: Genius, Madness, and the Mysteries of Syphilis. </i>Basic Books, New York: 2003. Quoting Claude Quétel: <i>History of Syphilis</i> (1990). JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-91162938695042108382012-08-13T17:41:00.005-07:002012-09-29T08:45:24.880-07:00EERIE EAREY<div style="text-align: justify;">
Today a coworker told me of a story that has recently featured in the news, wherein a Chinese woman checked into Changsha Central Hospital after days of intense irritation and itching in her ear. Further investigation with a video scope revealed that a small jumping spider had taken up residence in the woman's external auditory canal, yielding some pretty neat pictures and endless nightmares for arachnophobes the world over:</div>
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This account sparked some mental catalysis, and I began to chatter internally. <i>This is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg; surely Deh interwebs must play host to a plethora of nauseating ear-canal discoveries! </i>And boy do they ever. </div>
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I quickly stumbled upon the <a href="http://www.entusa.com/external_ear_canal.htm">ENT USA</a> site, which is both informative and chock-full of revolting photos depicting objects in the ear canal -- objects that, by all rights, should not be there. I've inserted a few, um... <i>favorites</i> (?!) below. </div>
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You've heard of the infamous deer tick, now witness the glory of the EAR tick!</div>
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It might not infect you with lyme disease, but it is extremely lethal to your sex life. </div>
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I'm voting to replace the old adage "packed like a can of sardines" with the endearing quip, </div>
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"all tucked-in like a warm bundle of ear maggots." Who's with me?</div>
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"This ear ache is killing me! What to do, what to do?... I know!--I'll grab one of my ciprofloxacin tablets, grind it up, and toss the powder in there. <i>That</i> outta make me right as rain!"</div>
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That's just a small sample of the fun in the ENT gallery, which includes among many other entries, photos of mastoid fistula, adenocystic carcinoma, and fungal infections of the ear. It's enough to make the most stoic Ferengi go wobbly in the knees with abject horror and despair. Enjoy now, thank me later. </div>
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<br />JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-35346657521043824922012-08-10T20:07:00.000-07:002012-08-25T18:51:14.945-07:00SMALLPOX IS SUCH A BORING BREAKFAST...<div style="text-align: justify;">
Who hasn't wondered what it would be like to work as a plague doctor -- that secretive scientist who tampers with the biological dark arts, manipulating viral agents to discover new ways of improving delivery, rendering a strain impervious to traditional responses, or selectively tweaking a bug's lethality? It wouldn't be a job for the faint of heart, and I can imagine the paranoia and guilt which accompanied nuclear scientists in the Forties and Fifties might pale in comparison. </div>
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I'm not sure if there will ever be a point where human curiosity is trumped by legitimate danger--a threshold that, being too dangerous to cross, incurs a general consensus response of "<i>screw that!</i>" If such an occassion ever does arise, I suspect it will be rooted in the microscopic. The most dangerous things are invariably very small: a split atom, a bundle of seven structural proteins, a stubbornly self-replicating nanobot with a penchant for ecophagy. </div>
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Certainly, the plague doctors toe this precipice daily, and for them it's business as usual. I'm not sure I'd have the balls to engage in such work, even if I were to pretend I possessed any inclination for it.</div>
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"One scientist from Sandakchiev's Vector Laboratories, Deputy Director Sergei Netesov, appeared one day in 1987 at Obolensk with a new idea for plague: he proposed taking the entire viral genome of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE), perforating the plague cell membrane, and planting the virus inside plague cells like another plasmid. At Vector, Netesov had made a career of proposing such devices. Popov, quoting Alibek, identifies Netesov as the originator of the whole concept of chimeras: genetically engineered viruses made of two component parts---smallpox and VEE, smallpox and ebola. Apparently on the strength of these novelties, Netesov had been promoted to deputy director of Vector at Novosibirsk. The name of the program he directed was <i>Okhotnik---</i>Hunter. His proposed plague-VEE chimera, fiendishly simple in design, but ferocious in concept, is probably the first time anyone had proposed putting together a bacterium and a virus. A victim of this chimera would be treated for plague with the appropriate antibiotics, which would kill the plague bacteria. But shattering the bacterial cell walls would release VEE into the lymph or the bloodstream; the invading virus would have already bypassed much of the immune system, and it would make straight for the brain. Within a week or ten days, the victim would be dead of encephalitis." [1]</blockquote>
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1. Orent, Wendy. <i>Plague: the Mysterious Past and Terrifying Future of the World's Most Dangerous Disease</i>. Free Press, New York: 2004.JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-77943218496221408042012-05-17T18:09:00.001-07:002012-05-17T18:17:09.406-07:00WORMBOOK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blog.neuinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/celegans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://blog.neuinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/celegans.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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An excellent online resource for studying <i>C. elegans</i> and other nematodes: </div>
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<a href="http://www.wormbook.org/">http://www.wormbook.org/</a>
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<br />JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-27241711641378208252012-05-10T17:59:00.000-07:002012-05-10T18:01:29.543-07:00GREULICH-PYLE APPLICABILITY<div style="text-align: justify;">
The May 2012 issue of the <i>Journal of Forensic Sciences</i> has an article assessing the Greulich-Pyle method of skeletal age estimation. The study, by Cantekin, <i>et al</i>., analyzed left hand/wrist roentgenograms (x-ray photographs) for a sample of 767 Caucasian eastern Turkish sub-adults, aged 7 through 17, with known chronological age and gender. Although some unacceptably high standard deviations occurred in individual age groups, the difference between bone age mean and chronological age mean for males and females was not statistically significant. These findings reinforce the utility of GP estimation.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfMlTzjdqB4/T6xjFtJGsMI/AAAAAAAAA3c/SSUgFkz9lT0/s1600/Cantekin_BA_scatterplot_girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FfMlTzjdqB4/T6xjFtJGsMI/AAAAAAAAA3c/SSUgFkz9lT0/s1600/Cantekin_BA_scatterplot_girls.jpg" /></a></div>
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"FIG 1--<i>Scatter plot of bone age versus chronological age in girls</i>"</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N-Qov9LPUvY/T6xjFJEge-I/AAAAAAAAA3U/iySI-2_0ITE/s1600/Cantekin_BA_scatterplot_boys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N-Qov9LPUvY/T6xjFJEge-I/AAAAAAAAA3U/iySI-2_0ITE/s1600/Cantekin_BA_scatterplot_boys.jpg" /></a></div>
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"FIG 2--<i>Scatter plot of bone age versus chronological age in boys</i>"</div>
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<i>Bone Age Assessment: The Applicability of the
Greulich–Pyle Method in Eastern Turkish
Children</i><br />
J Forensic Sci, May 2012, Vol. 57, No. 3
doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.02035.x<br />
Available online at: onlinelibrary.wiley.comJPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-21969746291979983792012-04-28T18:42:00.000-07:002012-04-28T18:47:43.501-07:00LEARNING GIS<div style="text-align: justify;">
I figure that it's about time I get my feet wet with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The eventual goal is to render original choropleth maps and compile epidemiological data in a graphic and useful way. Below are a couple of very rudimentary maps I authored with ArcGIS Online. The public feature layer sets seem pretty limited, so I'll probably just start making my own once I learn the software and acquire some relevant samples. I'm also playing around with Quantum GIS, GeoDa, and R. Details to follow. </div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="520" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/embedViewer.html?webmap=1647e833b87d4f1098d2c2179a3e188d&extent=-81.7948,41.4613,-81.6174,41.5306" width="650"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=1647e833b87d4f1098d2c2179a3e188d&extent=-81.7948,41.4613,-81.6174,41.5306" style="color: blue; text-align: left;" target="_blank">View Larger Map</a></small>
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Map 1: Greater Cleveland Area, USA Crime Index</div>
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="520" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/embedViewer.html?webmap=756b8133bce6489894007282888417bb&extent=-81.7948,41.4597,-81.6174,41.529" width="650"></iframe><br />
<small><a href="http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=756b8133bce6489894007282888417bb&extent=-81.7948,41.4597,-81.6174,41.529" style="color: blue; text-align: left;" target="_blank">View Larger Map</a></small><br />
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Map 2: Greater Cleveland Area, Populations of Individuals Aged 25+ who Lack College Degree</div>
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<br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-72834292841246736292012-04-14T15:20:00.000-07:002012-04-14T15:20:47.840-07:00EPIVENTURE<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists <a href="http://www.cste.org/dnn/ProgramsandActivities/InfectiousDiseases/tabid/67/Default.aspx">website</a> has posted a prototype educational module, developed with funding by the CDC, called "<i>EpiVenture: Outbreak Investigation</i>." This software lesson is very similar to proprietary training modules we use in the pharmacy, and it is a very effective tool. The course comprises a mixture of text outlines and terms, with multiple-choice tests and interactive case studies interspersed throughout. I found the prototype version of EpiVenture to be both informative and engaging. Hopefully the CDC/CSTE continue to develop and release new lesson modules for EpiVenture.</div>
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Try this self-instructional web course out for yourself:<br />
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<a href="http://www.cste.org/epiventure/index.html">http://www.cste.org/epiventure/index.html</a><br />
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-52052095853410166182012-04-04T19:40:00.003-07:002012-04-09T16:37:13.341-07:00DEMIRJIAN'S METHOD<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8HEzZn7D6E/T30F2ZGlunI/AAAAAAAAA2w/__8XidiJMLE/s1600/demirjian_teeth.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u8HEzZn7D6E/T30F2ZGlunI/AAAAAAAAA2w/__8XidiJMLE/s1600/demirjian_teeth.gif" /></a></div>
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One of the most widely used methods of forensic age estimation via dentition was derived in 1973 by Demirjian, Goldstein, and Tanner.<sup>[1]</sup> Commonly referred to as "Demirjian's Technique," the changes from initial calcium deposition to complete apex are divided into eight observable stages. Each stage is further characterized by up to three additional qualifying criteria (a,b,c). If only criterion (a) is listed, then it must be met. If (a) and (b) are listed, then at least (a) must be satisfied. If (a), (b), and (c) are listed, then both (a) and (b) must be met. Additionally, "at each stage . . . the criteria for the <i>previous</i> stage must be satisfied" <sup>[ibid]</sup>. The technique is applied to 7 observed teeth, with the individual "score" from each tooth being added. The resulting sum is then referenced on a corresponding conversion chart with ages ranging from 3 to 17 years, in increments of one-tenth. </div>
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Though the Demirjian method worked well with the original French Canadian subject sample, more recent studies have questioned its effectiveness when applied to sample groups of varied descent. A 2007 study by Tunc and Koyuturk revealed that the technique was less accurate with regard to sampled Turkish children, who displayed more advanced dental maturity.<sup>[2]</sup> </div>
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A 2001 article using Belgian children as the sample group confirmed popular findings that the Demirjian method has a tendency to result in over-estimation of age, but employed new adaptations to the scoring system to achieve an increase in accuracy.<sup>[3]</sup> </div>
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The Demirjian technique remains a well-regarded forensic tool for determining age in sub-adults. As with all estimation methods, there is a discernible margin of error, but overall the technique still provides advantages over other dentition methods, especially those based on tooth eruption, which can be highly influenced by health and environmental factors. It should be remembered that in practical application, a synthesis of various age-estimation methods generally yields the best overall results. </div>
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REFERENCES:</div>
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1. Demirjian, A., et al. A New System of Dental Age Assessment. <i>Human Biology</i> 45(2): 211. 1973.</div>
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<a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmm/team/hg/full-publications/1973/dental-age-assessment.pdf">http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmm/team/hg/full-publications/1973/dental-age-assessment.pdf</a></div>
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2. Tunc, E.S.; Koyuturk, A.E. Dental age assessment using Demirjian's method on northern Turkish <br />
children. <i>Forensic Science International</i>. 175(1): 23-26. 2008.<br />
<a href="http://www.mendeley.com/research/dental-age-assessment-using-demirjians-method-on-northern-turkish-children/">http://www.mendeley.com/research/dental-age-assessment-using-demirjians-method-on-northern-turkish-</a><br />
<a href="http://www.mendeley.com/research/dental-age-assessment-using-demirjians-method-on-northern-turkish-children/">children/</a><br />
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3. Willems G., et al. Dental Age Estimation in Belgian Children:
Demirjian’s Technique Revisited.<br />
<i>Journal of</i> <i>Forensic Science</i> 46(4): 893-895. 2001.<br />
<i> </i><a href="http://www.kuleuven.be/fortand/MFO/articles/01_JFS_Willems_demirjian.pdf">http://www.kuleuven.be/fortand/MFO/articles/01_JFS_Willems_demirjian.pdf</a><i> </i><br />
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<i><br /></i></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-50142957712388138112012-04-01T07:53:00.001-07:002012-04-01T07:53:39.138-07:00HAITI<div style="text-align: justify;">
Haiti, with all of its misfortune -- the atrocious sanitary conditions, profound socioeconomic disparity, and recent natural disasters -- serves as an ideal case study for epidemiologists. The U.N.'s ongoing role there provides an example of how organizational interaction can severely affect the health of a population, for better or worse. </div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&src=ig">Global Failures on a Haitian Epidemic</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.gideononline.com/2010/01/28/e-book-the-infectious-diseases-of-haiti-by-gideon/">Infectious Diseases of Haiti (E-Book)</a><br />
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<br />JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-36359108640056665872012-03-27T20:25:00.000-07:002012-03-27T20:25:36.496-07:00SOME PITHY TITLE ALLUDING TO WINDS OF CHANGE, BLA BLA BLA<div style="text-align: justify;">
I haven't been posting as much as I would like, but some exciting developments are underway. I'm currently finishing my last semester as an Anthropology/Linguistics undergrad, and have decided to forego law school to pursue an MPH in Epidemiology. Of course, this rather recent decision means my plans have been eviscerated. Instead of the LSAT, I need to prepare (rather tardily) for the GRE, and I'm scrambling to put my admissions material together in time to meet application deadlines. All this on top of composing my senior project on Native land rights in the Americas. Still, I haven't been this excited about the future for years, and I'm standing firmly behind my gut feeling on this decision. Though I'm versed in some rudimentary science and statistics through formal coursework and personal study, I've got a long path ahead of me. As I immerse myself in this academic pursuit, expect the postings to reflect continued exploration of subjects like biostatistics, public health concerns, and infectious diseases, in addition to the topics already covered. I'm not sure where this new direction will spit me out, but I'm certain it will be one hell of an interesting ride!</div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-15255162248947687282012-03-16T20:10:00.000-07:002012-03-16T20:12:37.013-07:00NEW HUMAN SPECIES?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJQcREtl0AU/T2QAVcRW80I/AAAAAAAAA1M/qxq9uQgVrrg/s1600/new_species.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kJQcREtl0AU/T2QAVcRW80I/AAAAAAAAA1M/qxq9uQgVrrg/s400/new_species.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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A new PLoS ONE journal article studies recently-discovered humanoid remains which may be an evolutionary offshoot of <i>Homo sapiens</i>. The skeletons, discovered in caverns in the South-west of China, feature large jaws (absent chin) and molars, eminent brow ridges, robust bone structure, and flat faces. Caches of fossilized remains from giant prehistoric deer suggest that venison comprised a significant portion of these early humans' diet. The big question now is one of taxonomy: will the "red deer cave people" be classified as a phenotypic anomaly, or a new human species? </div>
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Read the full journal article here:<br />
<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0031918">Human Remains from the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition of Southwest China Suggest a Complex Evolutionary History for East Asians</a><br />
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Related secondary sources:<br />
<a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/03/120314-new-human-species-chinese-plos-science-red-deer-cave/">National Geographic</a><br />
<a href="http://www.livescience.com/19038-photos-human-species.html">Live Science</a><br />
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-68731905214165032142012-02-29T12:23:00.000-08:002012-02-29T12:24:28.755-08:00MUMMIES OF GUANAJUATO<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <i>Museo de las Momias </i>in Guanajuato, Mexico, features a 56-body collection of incredibly well-preserved mummies. Most of the mummies date to around 1833, when they were "accidentally" interred during an outbreak of disease, most likely cholera. The collection has captivated artists and writers, including Werner Herzog and Ray Bradbury. The latter wrote of his visit, "The experience so wounded and terrified me, I could hardly wait to flee Mexico. I had nightmares about dying and having to remain in the halls of the dead with those propped and wired bodies. In order to purge my terror, instantly, I wrote 'The Next in Line.' One of the few times that an experience yielded results almost on the spot."</div>
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<br /></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-10441486975644653102012-02-24T10:26:00.000-08:002012-02-24T10:31:47.771-08:00MY FRIEND DAHMER<div class="separator tr_bq" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Cleveland's own Derf Backderf has penned a new graphic novel which is certain to draw the interest of those fascinated by psychology and serial killers alike. </span><i style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">My Friend Dahmer</i><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"> reflects upon Derf's own interactions with an adolescent Jeffrey Dahmer, the latter's growing pains, and the horrific consequences of human frailty. </span>
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"MY FRIEND DAHMER is the haunting, new graphic novel by Derf Backderf, an award-winning cartoonist and comix creator. In these pages, Backderf tries to make sense of the iconic monster who he shared the same school hallways, cafeterias, libraries, and compulsive car rides. What emerges is a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a disturbed young man struggling helplessly against the ghastly urges bubbling up from the deep recesses of his psyche. The Dahmer recounted here, universally regarded as an inhuman monster by the rest of the world, is a lonely oddball who, in reality, is all too human. A shy kid who is sucked inexorably into madness while the adults in his life fail to notice. </div>
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We all know what Dahmer did, but in MY FRIEND DAHMER, Backderf provides, from his unique vantage point, profound (and at times, even strangely comic) insight into how, and more importantly, why Jeffrey Dahmer transformed from a high school nerd into a depraved fiend as notorious as Jack the Ripper. </div>
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In MY FRIEND DAHMER, Derf comes as close as anyone yet has to explaining the seemingly unexplainable phenomenon of one Jeffrey Dahmer, Revere High School, Class of 1978."</div>
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You can pre-order a copy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/My-Friend-Dahmer-Derf-Backderf/dp/1419702165/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325535044&sr=8-1">HERE</a>.<br />
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-35636680749861828882012-02-22T19:30:00.000-08:002012-02-22T19:30:00.950-08:00SALIVA AS A PREDICTOR OF AGE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcvtrpNcwYA/T0VB4rBcEkI/AAAAAAAAAzc/ZcOtoc0vINM/s1600/saliva.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GcvtrpNcwYA/T0VB4rBcEkI/AAAAAAAAAzc/ZcOtoc0vINM/s1600/saliva.jpg" /></a></div>
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Promising research now shows that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylation">DNA Methylation</a> of human saliva can be utilized to predict a person's age with a modest degree of accuracy. No doubt the technique will improve with refinement and ongoing technological advances. Inferential methods like this are invaluable, because they allow forensic investigators to build a suspect's profile without having to rely on database matches (as is the case with fingerprints, DNA, etc.).</div>
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Read a summary of the research here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-06/saliva-science-new-forensics-tool-can-determine-age-suspects-spit">http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-06/saliva-science-new-forensics-tool-can-determine-age-suspects-spit</a>
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Then check out the genuine research publication on PLoS ONE:</div>
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<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014821">http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0014821</a>
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ABSTRACT:</div>
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From the moment of conception, we begin to age. A decay of cellular structures, gene regulation, and DNA sequence ages cells and organisms. DNA methylation patterns change with increasing age and contribute to age related disease. Here we identify 88 sites in or near 80 genes for which the degree of cytosine methylation is significantly correlated with age in saliva of 34 male identical twin pairs between 21 and 55 years of age. Furthermore, we validated sites in the promoters of three genes and replicated our results in a general population sample of 31 males and 29 females between 18 and 70 years of age. The methylation of three sites—in the promoters of the EDARADD, TOM1L1, and NPTX2 genes—is linear with age over a range of five decades. Using just two cytosines from these loci, we built a regression model that explained 73% of the variance in age, and is able to predict the age of an individual with an average accuracy of 5.2 years. In forensic science, such a model could estimate the age of a person, based on a biological sample alone. Furthermore, a measurement of relevant sites in the genome could be a tool in routine medical screening to predict the risk of age-related diseases and to tailor interventions based on the epigenetic bio-age instead of the chronological age.</div>
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-49491465884088614642012-02-22T11:10:00.000-08:002012-02-22T11:44:39.566-08:00HERE WE GO AGAIN<br />
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Visitors to <i>Flesh and Bones</i> will no doubt have noticed that the author has been on lengthy hiatus; Alas, life waits for no man. Pending graduation and a fairly easy final semester now leave me with some much-appreciated spare time, and new posts will be arriving in short order. </div>
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I'll be simultaneously authoring my other latest blogging endeavor, <a href="http://olioetcetera.blogspot.com/">Olio / Etcetera</a>, and I encourage anyone interested to check it out and subscribe. The blog is an eclectic collection of my researches and clippings, mental blurbs, book excerpts, academic work, essays, and photography. The underlying theme, if any, is "man the animal." Special emphasis will be placed on history, anthropology and language systems, but any subject is fair game. Enjoy, and thank you for your interest!</div>
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></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-46277028137796026332010-10-03T08:43:00.000-07:002010-10-03T08:43:15.468-07:00A VIKING MYSTERY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.smithsonianmag.com/images/Vikings-mass-grave-388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://media.smithsonianmag.com/images/Vikings-mass-grave-388.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Quite an interesting find on the Oxford grounds. It's fortunate when such archaeological discoveries can be corroborated by written historical accounts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/A-Viking-Mystery.html?c=y&page=4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">A Viking Mystery</span></a><br />
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>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5269488777312577564.post-11660905321952124892010-09-17T00:33:00.000-07:002010-09-17T00:33:00.619-07:00ADIPOCERE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.glogster.com/media/1/6/61/62/6616265.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://www.glogster.com/media/1/6/61/62/6616265.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
From <a href="http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/adipocere">Lerner</a> [1]:<br />
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<blockquote>Also known as "grave wax," adipocere (from the Latin, adipo for fat and cera for wax) is a grayish-white postmortem (after death) matter caused by fat <a href="http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/decomposition"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">decomposition</span></a>, which results from hydrolysis and hydrogenation of the lipids (fatty cells) that compose subcutaneous (under the skin) fat tissues.</blockquote><blockquote>Although decomposition of fatty tissues starts almost immediately after death, adipocere formation time may vary from two weeks to one or two months, on average, due to several factors, such as temperature, embalming and burial conditions, and materials surrounding the corpse. For instance, the subcutaneous adipose (fatty) tissue of corpses immersed in cold water or kept in plastic bags may undergo a uniform adipocere formation with the superficial layers of skin slipping off.</blockquote><blockquote>Several studies have been conducted in the last ten years to understand and determine the rate of adipocere formation under different conditions. Other studies also investigated the influence of some bacteria and chemicals, present in grave <a href="http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science/soils"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">soils</span></a>, in adipocere decomposition. Although this issue remains a challenging one, the purpose of such studies is to establish standard parameters for possible application in forensic analysis, such as the estimation of time elapsed since death when insect activity is not present. In forensics, adipocere is also important because preserved body remains may offer other clues associated either with the circumstances surrounding or the <a href="http://www.enotes.com/videohound-reviews/cause-death-1990"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">cause of death</span></a>. The ability of adipocere to preserve a body has been well illustrated in exhumed corpses, even after a century.</blockquote><blockquote>Adipose cells are rich in glycerol molecules and are formed by triglycerols (or triglycerides). Bacterial activity releases enzymes that break these triglycerides into a mixture of saturated and unsaturated free fatty acids, a process known as hydrolysis. In the presence of enough water and enzymes, triglycerol hydrolysis will proceed until all molecules are reduced to free fatty acids. Unsaturated free fatty acids, such as palmitoleic and linoleic acids, react with hydrogen to form hydroxystearic, hydroxypalmitic acids and other stearic compounds, a process known as saponification, or turning into soap.</blockquote><blockquote>This final product of fat decomposition, or adipocere, can be stable for long periods of time due to its considerable resistance to bacterial action. This resistance allows for slower decomposition of those areas of a corpse where adipose tissues are present, such as cheeks, thighs, and buttocks. When a corpse is exposed to insects, however, adipocere probably will not be formed, as body decomposition will be much faster because of the insects' action. Animal scavenging of a dead body will also prevent adipocere formation.</blockquote><br />
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Also worth a read is Ruttan and Marshall's 1917 piece,<br />
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<a href="http://www.jbc.org/content/29/2/319.full.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">The Composition of Adipocere</span></a>.<br />
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<u><b>NOTES:</b></u><br />
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1. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">"Adipocere."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><u>World of Forensic Science</u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">. Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Gale Cengage, 2006.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><u>eNotes.com</u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">. 2006. 16 Sep, 2010 <http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science></http://www.enotes.com/forensic-science></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">adipocere></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">~</span></span></div>JPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10504900473927363287noreply@blogger.com0