ObjectivesComplete and accurate human skeletal inventory is seldom possible in archaeological and forensic cases involving severe fragmentation. In such cases, skeletal mass comparisons with published references may be used as an alternative to assess skeletal completeness but they are too general for a case-by-case routine analysis. The objective is to solve this issue by creating linear regression equations to estimate the total mass of a skeleton based on the mass of individual bones. Material and MethodsTotal adult skeletal mass and individual mass of the clavicle, humerus, femur, patella, carpal, metacarpal, tarsal and metatarsal bones were recorded in a sample of 60 skeletons from the 21 st century identified skeletal collection (University of Coimbra). The sample included 32 females and 28 males with ages ranging from 31 to 96 years old (mean = 76.4; sd = 14.8). Skeletal mass linear regression equations were calculated based on this sample. ResultsThe mass of individual bones was successfully used to predict the approximate total mass of the adult skeleton. The femur, humerus, and second metacarpal were the best predictors of total skeletal mass with root mean squared errors ranging from 292.9 to 346.1 gm. DiscussionLinear regression was relatively successful at estimating adult skeletal mass. The non-normal distribution of the sample in terms of mass may have reduced the predictive power of the equations. These results have clear impact for bioanthropology, especially forensic anthropology, since this method may provide better estimates of the completeness of the skeleton or the minimum number of individuals.Keywords: bioarchaeology; forensic anthropology; bone mass; scattered remains; funerary practice.The objective of this paper is to investigate the potential of linear regression to estimate the mass of human adult skeletons based on the mass of individual bones. In some cases involving skeletal remains, it may be difficult to assess how complete the skeleton is due to fragmentation that prevents the anatomical identification of all skeletal elements. For example, it may be difficult to estimate the minimum number of individuals (MNI) or decide when to conclude forensic searches for the remains of victims when it is impossible to determine the amount of missing bones, especially if the remains are very fragmented, commingled and/or scattered. Such inventory problems are often more complicated still in cases involving burned skeletal remains. In the case of archaeological cremations, an exhaustive inventory is often impossible to accomplish due to the high number of anatomically unidentified fragments (Gonçalves et al, 2015). Therefore, unorthodox methods to assess skeletal completeness are worth exploration.To our knowledge, the only alternative method to assess skeleton completeness is by weighing remains to provide an estimate of skeletal mass. This is then compared with references obtained from samples of complete adult skeletons (e.g. Ingalls, 1931;Lowrance and Latimer, 1957;Silva et al.,...
The construction industry has one of the highest occupational accident incidence rates among all economic sectors. Currently, building information modelling (BIM) appears to be a valuable tool for analysing occupational safety issues throughout the construction life cycle of projects, helping to avoid hazards and risks and, consequently, increasing safety. This work investigates BIM methodology and the application of related technologies for building safety planning and demonstrates the potential of this technology for the integrated implementation of safety measures during the design phase and construction site management. The first step consisted of a literature review on applying BIM-related technologies for safety in the design and planning phases. Following this, to show the potentialities of construction simulation, a case study based on BIM 4D to prevent falls from height was developed. With BIM 4D, it is possible to follow the construction process over time, giving the construction safety technicians, designers, supervisors and managers the capability to analyse, in each phase, the potential risks and identify which safety measures should be implemented. BIM can effectively integrate safety measures from the design phase to the construction and use phase and enable integrated safety planning within construction planning, leading to reliable safety management throughout the construction process.
FcRn is a key player in several immunological and non-immunological processes, as it mediates maternal-fetal transfer of IgG, regulates the serum persistence of IgG and albumin, and transports both ligands between different cellular compartments. In addition, FcRn enhances antigen presentation. Thus, there is an intense interest in studies of how FcRn binds and transports its cargo within and across several types of cells, and FcRn detection reagents are in high demand. Here we report on phage display-selected Nanobodies that target human FcRn. The Nanobodies were obtained from a variable-domain repertoire library isolated from a llama immunized with recombinant human FcRn. One candidate, Nb218-H4, was shown to bind FcRn with high affinity at both acidic and neutral pH, without competing ligand binding and interfering with FcRn functions, such as transcytosis of IgG. Thus, Nb218-H4 can be used as a detection probe and as a tracker for visualization of FcRn-mediated cellular transport.
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