Vitamin D status in post-medieval Northern England: Insights from dental histology and enamel peptide analysis at Coach Lane, North Shields (AD 1711-1857).

OBJECTIVES: The post-medieval period in Europe saw a dramatic increase in metabolic bone disease related to vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Recent paleopathological work has utilized interglobular dentin (IGD) as a proxy for poor vitamin D status during development, while enamel peptide analysis allows the identification of chromosomal sex in non-adult remains. Here we explore the relationship between sex, the presence of IGD, and macroscopic markers of VDD in an industrial era assemblage from Northeast England. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 25 individuals (9 females, 9 males, 9 unknown sex) from the cemetery site at Coach Lane, North Shields (1711-1857) were selected for paleopathological analysis, histological assessment of IGD, and enamel peptide determination of chromosomal sex. RESULTS: Ground tooth sections from 21 individuals were of suitable quality for detection of IGD, and enamel peptide analysis confirmed the chromosomal sex of ten individuals. Sixteen individuals (76.1%) exhibited ≥1 episode of IGD. Nine of these (42.8%) exhibited >1 episode and four (19%) exhibited ≥4 episodes in regular intervals. Male sex was significantly associated with the presence of IGD (p = 0.0351; 100% males vs. 54.5% females). Females were more likely to exhibit macroscopic evidence of VDD (45.5% females vs 30% males) but this was not statistically significant. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Periods of poor mineral metabolism during childhood appear much more prevalent at Coach Lane than macroscopic evidence suggests. Evidence of seasonal IGD episodes indicates that northern latitude played a major role in poor VD status in the Northeast of England. The significant association of IGD with male sex may be due to sex-related differences in dentinal mineralization or a higher risk of poor VD status in males aged <5 years. More work is needed to establish an evidence-based threshold for pathological levels of IGD before the presence of this feature can confidently be used as a biomarker for poor VD status.

The expendables: Bioarchaeological evidence for pauper apprentices in 19th century England and the health consequences of child labour.

Child labour is the most common form of child abuse in the world today, with almost half of child workers employed in hazardous industries. The large-scale employment of children during the rapid industrialisation of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in England is well documented. During this period, the removal of pauper children from workhouses in cities to work as apprentices in rural mills in the North of England was commonplace. Whilst the experiences of some of these children have been recorded historically, this study provides the first direct evidence of their lives through bioarchaeological analysis. The excavation of a rural churchyard cemetery in the village of Fewston, North Yorkshire, yielded the skeletal remains of 154 individuals, including an unusually large proportion of children aged between 8 to 20 years. A multi-method approach was undertaken, including osteological and palaeopathological examination, stable isotope and amelogenin peptide analysis. The bioarchaeological results were integrated with historical data regarding a local textile mill in operation during the 18th-19th centuries. The results for the children were compared to those obtained from contemporaneous individuals of known identity (from coffin plates) of comparable date. Most of the children exhibited distinctive 'non-local' isotope signatures and a diet low in animal protein when compared to the named local individuals. These children also showed severe growth delays and pathological lesions indicative of early life adversity, as well as respiratory disease, which is a known occupational hazard of mill work. This study has provided unique insights into the harrowing lives of these children; born into poverty and forced to work long hours in dangerous conditions. This analysis provides a stark testimony of the impacts of industrial labour on the health, growth and mortality risk of children, with implications for the present as well as our understanding of the past.

Robert Allen Gardner (1930-2021).

Memorializes Robert Allen Gardner (1930-2021). Gardner and his late wife and research partner, Beatrix "Trixie" Gardner, are best known for their ground-breaking cross-fostering project with the chimpanzee Washoe, the first nonhuman to learn a human language (American Sign Language). Between 1972 and 198, Allen and Trixie replicated their success with four additional infant chimpanzees. Allen cofounded and was a psychology fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies at the University of Nevada in Reno, and served as director from 1990 to 1993. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Sex estimation of teeth at different developmental stages using dimorphic enamel peptide analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study tests, for the first time, the applicability of a new method of sex estimation utilizing enamel peptides on a sample of deciduous and permanent teeth at different stages of mineralization, from nonadults of unknown sex, including perinates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 43 teeth from 29 nonadult individuals aged from 40 gestational weeks to 19 years old were analyzed. The sample included pairs of fully mineralized and just developing teeth from the same individual. The individuals were from four archaeological sites in England: Piddington (1st-2nd centuries AD), Coach Lane, Victoria Gate, and Fewston (all 18th-19th centuries). A method that identifies sex chromosome-linked isoforms of the peptide amelogenin from human tooth enamel was applied. The method utilizes a minimally destructive acid etching procedure and subsequent nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS: It was possible to determine the sex of 28 of the nonadult individuals sampled (males = 20, females = 8, undetermined = 1). Only one sample failed (CL9), due to insufficient mineralization of the sampled tooth enamel. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD021683. DISCUSSION: Sufficient peptide material to determine sex can be recovered even from the crowns of developing perinatal teeth that are not fully mineralized. The minimally destructive and inexpensive (compared to ancient DNA) nature of this procedure has significant implications for bioarchaeological studies of infancy and childhood.

More examples of chimpanzees teaching.

Darwinism is a principle of biological continuity. This commentary argues against any claim of discontinuity between humans and other animals that must be based on absence of evidence. Instead, we offer additional examples of active teaching by chimpanzees.

Pygmalion in the laboratory.

Testers and bystanders can inadvertently lead subjects to answers in laboratories and in classrooms, in face-to-face tests of human beings and other animals. Many modern investigators avoid leading by using blind tests scrupulously. This article shows how to design blind tests and illustrates common methodological errors that allow leading to confound experimental results. The object is to help experimenters, editors, and readers detect and avoid a common experimental error that often has profound theoretical implications.

Randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a primary health care liaison worker in promoting shared care for opiate users.

BACKGROUND: Recent national guidelines emphasize the requirement for all general practitioners to manage drug users within a shared care scheme and suggest that a primary health care liaison worker (PHCLW) may facilitate these arrangements. We undertook a group-randomized, randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of a PHCLW in promoting shared care. METHODS: Primary health care teams in Stockport Health Authority, North West England, were randomly allocated to either an intervention arm, who were offered the services of a PHCLW, or to a control arm, who were offered standard support from the community drug team (CDT). The proportion of CDT clients with a history of regular opiate misuse who were in shared care 12 months after randomization was compared across study arms. RESULTS: Eighteen (24.0 per cent) of the 75 CDT clients in the intervention arm but none of the 80 CDT clients in the control arm were in shared care at 12 months (chi2 = 9.37, df = 1, p < 0.01; 95 per cent confidence interval 8.6-39.4 per cent). CONCLUSION: A PHCLW can significantly increase the number of CDT clients in shared care arrangements.