Morpho-chemical characterization of individual ancient starches retrieved on ground stone tools from Palaeolithic sites in the Pontic steppe.

Despite the extensive literature on the retrieval of digestible starches from archaeological contexts, there are still significant concerns regarding their genuine origin and durability. Here, we propose a multi-analytical strategy to identify the authenticity of ancient starches retrieved from macrolithic tools excavated at Upper Paleolithic sites in the Pontic steppe. This strategy integrates the morphological discrimination of starches through optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with single starch chemo-profiling using Fourier transform infrared imaging and microscopy. We obtained evidence of aging and biomineralization in the use-related starches from Palaeolithic sites, providing a methodology to establish their ancient origin, assess their preservation status, and attempt their identification. The pivotal application of this multidisciplinar approach demonstrates that the macrolithic tools, from which starches were dislodged, were used for food-processing across the Pontic Steppe around 40,000 years ago during the earliest colonization of Eurasia by Homo sapiens.

[Impact of anthelminthic therapy for opisthorchiasis on the biochemical parameters of hepatic function]. / Effekt terapii na biokhimicheskie pokazateli funktsii pecheni pri opistorkhoze.

A response of a complex of biochemical parameters of hepatic function to therapeutic exposures was studied at different stages of development of Opisthorchis invasion. The activity of AST, ALT, GGT, GGT, AP, AM, and CE and the concentration of bilirubin, cholesterol, and glucose in the sera from 232 patients with acute or chronic opisthorchiasis were studied. Their study was conducted in several steps: before treatment, after a course of pathogenetic therapy, 1-3 days after antihelminthic therapy with bilthricide and azinox, in early (following 1-3 months) and late (following more than 6 months) residual periods. Pathogenetic therapy was found to alleviate an acute inflammatory process in the liver, but without eliminating cholestasis completely. Antihelminthic therapy improved the results of hepatic tests in different periods after treatment for acute or chronic opisthorchiasis in relation to the rate of compensation of structural lesions. By and large, after pathogenetic and antihelminthic therapy for opisthorchiasis the parameters characterizing the cytolytic syndrome became more rapidly than those that reflect the biliary system. However, there was no complete recovery of impaired hepatic and pancreatic functions throughout the follow-up.

[Biochemical characteristics of hepatic functions in different clinical forms of chronic opisthorchiasis]. / Biokhimicheskaia kharakteristika funktsii pecheni pri razlichnykh klinicheskikh formakh khronicheskogo opistorkhoza.

The main biochemical indices of hepatic functions (the activities of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, alpha-amylase, choline esterase and the concentrations of total bilirubin, cholesterol, and glucose) were studied in the sera of 256 patients with chronic opisthorchiasis. It was found that with diseases manifested in different clinical forms (cholangitis, cholecystitis, cholangiocholecystitis, cholangiohepatitis, cholecystitis in combination with pancreatitis), most study indices are within the normal ranges, but significantly differ from the means in a group of apparently healthy individuals. The findings suggest that such clinical forms of opisthorchiais as cholangiocholecystitis and cholangiohepatitis are characterized by manifestations of cytolysis and cholestasis, as cholecystitis is manifested by cytolysis, as cholecystitis in combination with pancreatitis, by cholestasis, and as cholangitis, by cholestasis and hepatic cell insufficiency. It is possible that further studies will provide evidence for how to correct detected disorders during pathogenetic therapy.