OBJECTIVES: Justinian plague and its subsequent outbreaks were major events influencing Early Medieval Europe. One of the affected communities was the population of Saint-Doulchard in France, where plague victim burials were concentrated in a cemetery enclosure ditch. This study aimed to obtain more information about their life-histories using the tools of isotope analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Dietary analysis using carbon and nitrogen isotopes was conducted on 97 individuals buried at Le Pressoir in Saint-Doulchard, with 36 of those originating from the enclosure ditch. This sample set includes all individuals analyzed for plague DNA in a previous study. Mobility analysis using strontium isotope analysis supplements the dietary study, with 47 analyzed humans. The results are supported by a reference sample set of 31 animal specimens for dietary analysis and 9 for mobility analysis. RESULTS: The dietary analysis results showed significantly different dietary behavior in individuals from the ditch burials, with better access to higher quality foods richer in animal protein. 87Sr/86Sr ratios are similar for both studied groups and indicate a shared or similar area of origin. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the ditch burials contain an urban population from the nearby city of Bourges, which overall had a better diet than the rural population from Saint-Doulchard. It is implied that city's population might have been subjected to high mortality rates during the plague outbreak(s), which led to their interment in nearby rural cemeteries.
- MeSH
- History, Medieval MeSH
- Diet * adverse effects history MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Cemeteries MeSH
- Nitrogen Isotopes * analysis MeSH
- Strontium Isotopes analysis MeSH
- Carbon Isotopes * analysis MeSH
- Infant MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Plague * history epidemiology mortality MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- History, Medieval MeSH
- Child MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Infant MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Adolescent MeSH
- Young Adult MeSH
- Male MeSH
- Child, Preschool MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Historical Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- France MeSH
Barium and strontium are often used as proxies of marine productivity in palaeoceanographic reconstructions of global climate. However, long-searched biological drivers for such correlations remain unknown. Here, we report that taxa within one of the most abundant groups of marine planktonic protists, diplonemids (Euglenozoa), are potent accumulators of intracellular barite (BaSO4), celestite (SrSO4), and strontiobarite (Ba,Sr)SO4. In culture, Namystinia karyoxenos accumulates Ba2+ and Sr2+ 42,000 and 10,000 times higher than the surrounding medium, forming barite and celestite representing 90% of the dry weight, the greatest concentration in biomass known to date. As heterotrophs, diplonemids are not restricted to the photic zone, and they are widespread in the oceans in astonishing abundance and diversity, as their distribution correlates with environmental particulate barite and celestite, prevailing in the mesopelagic zone. We found diplonemid predators, the filter-feeding zooplankton that produces fecal pellets containing the undigested celestite from diplonemids, facilitating its deposition on the seafloor. To the best of our knowledge, evidence for diplonemid biomineralization presents the strongest explanation for the occurrence of particulate barite and celestite in the marine environment. Both structures of the crystals and their variable chemical compositions found in diplonemids fit the properties of environmentally sampled particulate barite and celestite. Finally, we propose that diplonemids, which emerged during the Neoproterozoic era, qualify as impactful players in Ba2+/Sr2+ cycling in the ocean that has possibly contributed to sedimentary rock formation over long geological periods. IMPORTANCE We have identified that diplonemids, an abundant group of marine planktonic protists, accumulate conspicuous amounts of Sr2+ and Ba2+ in the form of intracellular barite and celestite crystals, in concentrations that greatly exceed those of the most efficient Ba/Sr-accumulating organisms known to date. We propose that diplonemids are potential players in Ba2+/Sr2+ cycling in the ocean and have possibly contributed to sedimentary rock formation over long geological periods. These organisms emerged during the Neoproterozoic era (590 to 900 million years ago), prior to known coccolithophore carbonate biomineralization (~200 million years ago). Based on reported data, the distribution of diplonemids in the oceans is correlated with the occurrence of particulate barite and celestite. Finally, diplonemids may provide new insights into the long-questioned biogenic origin of particulate barite and celestite and bring more understanding of the observed spatial-temporal correlation of the minerals with marine productivity used in reconstructions of past global climate.
- MeSH
- Barium MeSH
- Minerals MeSH
- Oceans and Seas MeSH
- Plankton MeSH
- Barium Sulfate * MeSH
- Strontium * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Oceans and Seas MeSH
It has been 36 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant catastrophe, but the consumption of wild mushrooms in Ukrainian Polissya is still dangerous since its territory is heavily contaminated by radionuclides. The aim of this study was to estimate 137Cs and 90Sr uptake in wild mushrooms from locations with contrast radioactive loads (Zhytomyr Polissya, Ukraine). In mushroom samples collected from Drevlyanskyi Nature Reserve since 2013 (average levels of soil surface contamination with 137Cs are 555-1480 kBq m-2), the highest levels of 137Cs were observed in symbiotroph species - Imleria badia (≤ 2680 kBq kg-1 dry mass [dm]), Tricholoma equestre (≤ 1420 kBq kg-1 dm), Lactarius rufus (≤ 602 kBq kg-1 dm), Sarcodon imbricatus (≤ 464 kBq kg-1 dm), Leccinum scabrum (≤ 117 kBq kg-1 dm), Suillus bovinus (≤ 118 kBq kg-1 dm), and Boletus edulis (≤ 96 kBq kg-1 dm). 90Sr activity was significantly lower, with the highest levels detected in Russula emetica (193 Bq kg-1 dm), Daedaleopsis confragosa (145 Bq kg-1 dm), and Hypholoma fasciculare (141 Bq kg-1 dm). The 137Cs/90Sr ratio in fruiting bodies in samples ranged from 6.1 (Bovistella utriformis) to 28,979 (T. equestre). Activity concentrations in mushrooms from locations with relatively low contamination with 137Cs (18.5-27.75 kBq m-2) also reached the highest values in symbiotroph species I. badia (7698 Bq kg-1 dm), Lactarius vellereus (6072 Bq kg-1 dm), and S. luteus (1448 Bq kg-1 dm). Potential calculated annual effective doses due to mushroom consumption by adults, considering only the effect of 137Cs, reached 0.311 and 8.71 mSv in B. edulis and I. badia from highly contaminated locations, respectively, and 0.0014 and 0.009 mSv in these species from low contaminated ones.
- MeSH
- Agaricales * MeSH
- Chernobyl Nuclear Accident * MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Nuclear Power Plants MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Soil Pollutants, Radioactive * analysis MeSH
- Cesium Radioisotopes MeSH
- Strontium Radioisotopes MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Ukraine MeSH
The increasing incidence of trauma in medicine brings with it new demands on the materials used for the surgical treatment of bone fractures. Titanium, its alloys, and steel are used worldwide in the treatment of skeletal injuries. These metallic materials, although inert, are often removed after the injured bone has healed. The second-stage procedure-the removal of the plates and screws-can overwhelm patients and overload healthcare systems. The development of suitable absorbable metallic materials would help us to overcome these issues. In this experimental study, we analyzed an extruded Zn-0.8Mg-0.2Sr (wt.%) alloy on a rabbit model. From this alloy we developed screws which were implanted into the rabbit tibia. After 120, 240, and 360 days, we tested the toxicity at the site of implantation and also within the vital organs: the liver, kidneys, and brain. The results were compared with a control group, implanted with a Ti-based screw and sacrificed after 360 days. The samples were analyzed using X-ray, micro-CT, and a scanning electron microscope. Chemical analysis revealed only small concentrations of zinc, strontium, and magnesium in the liver, kidneys, and brain. Histologically, the alloy was verified to possess very good biocompatibility after 360 days, without any signs of toxicity at the site of implantation. We did not observe raised levels of Sr, Zn, or Mg in any of the vital organs when compared with the Ti group at 360 days. The material was found to slowly degrade in vivo, forming solid corrosion products on its surface.
- MeSH
- Tibial Fractures * metabolism surgery MeSH
- Magnesium chemistry pharmacokinetics pharmacology MeSH
- Rabbits MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Alloys * chemistry pharmacokinetics pharmacology MeSH
- Strontium chemistry pharmacokinetics pharmacology MeSH
- Materials Testing * MeSH
- Tibia metabolism pathology MeSH
- Absorbable Implants * MeSH
- Zinc chemistry pharmacokinetics pharmacology MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Rabbits MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
The complexity of Neolithic population movements and their interpretation through material culture have been the subject of archaeological research for decades. One of the dominant narratives proposes that groups from the Starčevo-Körös-Criş complex spread from the central towards the northern Balkans in the Early Neolithic and eventually brought the Neolithic lifestyle into present-day Hungary. Broad geographical migrations were considered to shape the continuous expansion of Neolithic groups and individuals. However, recent archaeological research, aDNA, and isotope analyses challenged the synchronous appearance of specific material culture distributions and human movement dynamics through emphasizing communication networks and socio-cultural transformation processes. This paper seeks to retrace the complexity of Neolithic mobility patterns across Hungary by means of strontium and oxygen stable isotope analyses, which were performed on a total of 718 human dental enamel samples from 55 Neolithic sites spanning the period from the Starčevo to the Balaton-Lasinja culture in Transdanubia and from the Körös to the Tiszapolgár cultural groups on the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld). This study presents the largest strontium and oxygen isotope sample size for the Neolithic Carpathian Basin and discusses human mobility patterns on various geographical scales and throughout archaeological cultures, chronological periods, and sex and gender categories in a multiproxy analysis. Based on our results, we discuss the main stages of the Neolithisation processes and particularly trace individual movement behaviour such as exogamy patterns within extensive social networks. Furthermore, this paper presents an innovative differentiation between mobility patterns on small, micro-regional, and supra-regional scales, which provides new insights into the complex organisation of Neolithic communities.
- MeSH
- Time Factors MeSH
- Isotope Labeling * MeSH
- Oxygen Isotopes analysis MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Strontium analysis MeSH
- Sample Size MeSH
- Geography MeSH
- Dental Enamel chemistry MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Hungary MeSH
Strontium and lead stable isotopes, and element concentrations were measured in 12 uncremated skeletons from the Roman Stettfeld site (ca 150–300 CE; Baden-Württemberg, FRG). Samples were taken from three to five skeletal parts per individual that precipitated and/or accumulated trace elements at different ontogenetic stages, namely enamel of different permanent teeth, compact and trabecular bone, and new bone formations such as active periostitis or fracture callus. Six out of the 12 skeletons turned out to be immigrants to the site according to enamel and/or bone 87Sr/86Sr isotopic ratios. By use of enamel precipitation data, bone remodeling and strontium clearance rates from the skeleton, individual age at migration could be refined and showed that residence change took place during infancy or juvenile ages. One female skeleton exhibited negative turnover rates indicating a negative calcium balance. Together with a conspicuous sulcus praeauricularis and her young age-at-death, this is most plausibly interpreted as death shortly after pregnancy and birth. While the residence change of this female could have been due to exogamy, migration during childhood or juvenile age indicates movement of (family) groups of people. In Roman times, also slavery cannot be excluded. With regard to the geological variability at the site, catchment area of the immigrants should however have been small and was most probably restricted to the Black Forest and nearest surroundings. Rich ore deposits of the region, and the dependency of the Roman society from silver and lead, constituted a strong pull-factor that time. All but two individuals that had been identified as immigrants by 87Sr/86Sr exhibited skeletal lead stable isotopic ratios that are compatible with this region.
- MeSH
- History, Ancient MeSH
- Strontium Isotopes analysis MeSH
- Isotopes * analysis MeSH
- Clinical Laboratory Techniques methods MeSH
- Skeleton MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Human Migration MeSH
- Lead analysis MeSH
- Statistics as Topic MeSH
- Age Determination by Skeleton * MeSH
- Dental Enamel MeSH
- Check Tag
- History, Ancient MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Historical Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Germany MeSH
The paper presents results and interpretation of long-term monitoring of occurrence and behaviour of radioisotopes 3H, 90Sr, and 137Cs in the vicinity of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant. 3H, 90Sr, and 137Cs originate predominantly from residual contamination due to atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and the Chernobyl disaster in the last century. Monitoring of radionuclides comprised surface waters, river sediments, aquatic plants, and fish. This enables an up-to-date appraisal of the Temelín Nuclear Power Plant impact on the hydrosphere in all indicators at standard power plant operation, as well as at critical situations. The time and spatial variability of these radionuclide concentrations were monitored in the hydrosphere at in- and out-flow of the Orlík Water Reservoir. The basic evaluated radioecological characteristics can be used in assessing the long-term kinetics of decline and behaviour of radionuclides and their potential release into the environment. A very slow decline in 3H concentration at unaffected sites was observed. At sites downstream from the power plant the 3H concentrations were significantly higher, an evident impact of the power plant operation. A decline in 90Sr and 137Cs concentrations was observed in all the monitored indicators. Also, the characteristic effective and ecological half-lives were evaluated.
- MeSH
- Nuclear Power Plants MeSH
- Radiation Monitoring * MeSH
- Half-Life MeSH
- Water Pollutants, Radioactive analysis MeSH
- Cesium Radioisotopes analysis MeSH
- Strontium Radioisotopes analysis MeSH
- Rivers chemistry MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Czech Republic MeSH
BACKGROUND: There is little reliable information on human exposure to the metals platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh), despite their use in enormous quantities in catalytic converters for automobile exhaust systems. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate blood concentrations of Pt (B-Pt), Pd (B-Pd) and Rh (B-Rh) in women from six European and three non-European countries, and to identify potentially influential factors. In addition, molybdenum (Mo) and strontium (Sr) were analysed. METHODS: Blood from 248 women aged 47-61 was analysed by high resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry under strict quality control. RESULTS: The medians were: B-Pt 0.8 (range <0.6-5.2), B-Pd <5 (<5-9.3), B-Rh <0.4 (<0.4-3.6)ng/L and B-Mo 2.0 (0.2-16) and B-Sr 16.6 (3.5-49) μg/L. Two women with highly elevated B-Pt (242 and 60ng/L), previously cancer treated with cis-platinum, were not included in the data analysis. All elements varied geographically (2-3 times) (B-Pd P=0.05; all other elements P<0.001); variations within each area were generally 5-10 times. Traffic was not associated with increased concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: General population blood concentrations of Pt, Pd and Rh are within or below the single digit ng/L range, much lower than in most previous reports. This is probably due to improved analytical performance, allowing for more reliable information at ultra-trace levels. In general, Mo and Sr agreed with previously reported concentrations. All elements showed geographical and inter-individual variations, but no convincing relationships with self-reported traffic intensity were found. Pt from the antineoplastic drug cis-platinum is retained in the body for years.
- MeSH
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Molybdenum blood MeSH
- Environmental Monitoring * MeSH
- Palladium blood MeSH
- Platinum blood MeSH
- Rhodium blood MeSH
- Strontium blood MeSH
- Metals, Heavy blood MeSH
- Cities MeSH
- Check Tag
- Middle Aged MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Geographicals
- Cities MeSH
Rapid determination of selected gross alpha and beta emitters in environmental matrices by solid-state scintillation technique is discussed. This method is based on sample treatment using microwave reactor and direct measurement of digested products using powder scintillator and alkaline solution as a substitute for traditional liquid scintillation cocktail. The selected group of radionuclides was chosen with respect to their use in nuclear industry, high radiotoxicity, and the possibility of potential misuse. The work aimed at verifying the connection of microwave decomposition using alkaline solution with solid-state scintillation using a powder scintillator YAP:Ce together with an alkaline medium.
