Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis can be a useful tool in bacterial disease diagnosis in human remains. However, while the recovery of Mycobacterium spp. has been widely successful, several authors report unsuccessful results regarding ancient treponemal DNA, casting doubts on the usefulness of this technique for the diagnosis of ancient syphilis. Here, we present results from an analysis of four newborn specimens recovered from the crypt of “La Ermita de la Soledad” (XVI–XVII centuries), located in the province of Huelva in the southwest of Spain. We extracted and analyzed aDNA in three independent laboratories, following specific procedures generally practiced in the aDNA field, including cloning of the amplified DNA fragments and sequencing of several clones. This is the most ancient case, reported to date, from which detection of DNA from T. pallidum subspecies pallidum has been successful in more than one individual, and we put forward a hypothesis to explain this result, taking into account the course of the disease in neonate individuals.

Ancient populations have commonly been thought to have lived in small groups where extreme endogamy was the norm. To contribute to this debate, a genetic analysis has been carried out on a collective burial with eight primary inhumations from Montanissell Cave in the Catalan pre-Pyrenees. Radiocarbon dating clearly placed the burial in the Bronze Age, around 3200 BP. The composition of the group-two adults (one male, one female), one young woman, and five children from both sexes-seemed to represent the structure of a typical nuclear family. The genetic evidence proves this assumption to be wrong. In fact, at least five out of the eight mitochondrial haplotypes were different, denying the possibility of a common maternal ancestor for all of them. Nevertheless, 50% of the inhumations shared haplogroup J, so the possibility of a maternal relationship cannot be ruled out. Actually, combining different analyses performed using ancient and living populations, the probability of having four related J individuals in Montanissell Cave would range from 0.9884 to 0.9999. Owing to the particularities of this singular collective burial (small number of bodies placed altogether in a hidden cave, the evidence of non-simultaneous interments, close dating and unusual grave goods), we suggest that it might represent a small group with a patrilocal mating system.

We characterized five Balearic necropolises in the context of their geographic and cultural characteristics. The similarity between ancient Balearic and ancient Catalan gene pools reinforces their known historic interactions, while the lack of a consistent genetic continuity with Ancient Sardinians suggests that Talaiotic and Nuragic cultures arose in differentiated populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 29:e22883, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An 84 base pair sequence of the Streptococcus mutans virulence factor, known as dextranase, has been obtained from 10 individuals from the Bronze Age to the Modern Era in Europe and from before and after the colonization in America. Modern samples show four polymorphic sites that have not been found in the ancient samples studied so far. The nucleotide and haplotype diversity of this region have increased over time, which could be reflecting the footprint of a population expansion. While this segment has apparently evolved according to neutral evolution, we have been able to detect one site that is under positive selection pressure both in present and past populations. This study is a first step to study the evolution of this microorganism, analysed using direct evidence obtained from ancient remains.

El objetivo de este trabajo se centra análisis morfogeométrico del paladar duro y el agujero palatino mayor en cráneos de dos cementerios prehispánicos del Valle de Quíbor-Venezuela por medio de un análisis multivariante. Los resultados que se presentan apoyan la teoría del poblamiento venezolano a través de las redes fluviales del río Orinoco, así como, la continuidad biológica de los individuos enterrados en ambos cementerios.

Introducción: En la especie humana, las diferencias obedecen a variaciones biológicas ligadas a los caracteres sexuales, conducta socio-cultural y epigenética en cada grupo poblacional. Estas variaciones biológicas entre sexos se analizan desde el punto de vista morfológico. Algunos estudios refieren que la morfometría, relacionando el tamaño y forma del esqueleto humano, conduce a resultados más fidedignos y reproducibles. Objetivo: comparar los caracteres morfológicos y morfométricos de los detalles anatómicos propios de la rama mandibular para determinar el sexo en mandíbulas humanas, en dos poblaciones venezolanas. Materiales e métodos: la muestra fue 16 mandíbulas encontradas como hallazgo fortuito en el 2004 (Población A) y 08 mandíbulas humanas procedentes de la Colección de paleodemográfica, constituida por restos óseos de la población del yacimiento del Valle de Quíbor (Edo. Lara) (Población B). Posteriormente, fueron analizadas morfológico y métricamente, empleando los puntos de referencia anatómicos o PAR/Lamarck, y valoradas en el paquete estadístico SSPS (versión 19). Resultados: la rama mandibular es una muestra confiable para la discriminación sexual, después del análisis morfológico y métrico, de los 16 individuos procedentes de la población A, 07 corresponden con los criterios femeninos y 09 a masculinos. En la muestra de 08 individuos procedente de la población B, se identificaron 03 individuos femeninos y 05 masculinos. Conclusiones: el uso de métodos morfológico e morfométrico siguen siendo necesarios como primer paso para el reconocimiento de individuos en las ciencias forenses. No obstante, fue más efectivo la discriminación sexual mediante los parámetros morfométricos en relación al método morfológico.

RESUMENAntecedentes: Las enfermedades degenerativas representan en la actualidad un problema de salud pública; de ahí que el desarrollo y aplicación de estrategias que permitan restituir parcial o totalmente los tejidos afectados tenga un especial interés en el campo biomédico. Una de las estrategias terapéuticas se basa en el uso de células madre estromales, en particular las provenientes de la pulpa dental. Propósito: Desarrollar un cultivo de células madre estromales a partir de pulpa dental de dientes primarios. Métodos: Se incluyó el aislamiento de células madre estromales de la pulpa dental de dos caninos deciduos extraídos con indicaciones terapéuticas y cultivo en medio D-MEM con SFB al 20 % a 37 o C, y 5% CO 2 , realizando cambios de medio de cultivo cada 3 días y observando cada 7 días. La confluencia del 80-90 % se logró luego de tres semanas. Se realizó la tinción con DAPI y STRO-1 y análisis mediante citometría de flujo y microscopia de fluorescencia. Resultados: Los análisis muestran células adherentes purificadas con morfología fusiforme similar a fibroblastos y aparición de conglomerados semejantes a unidades formadoras de colonias (UFC). El total de la población mostró un 17 % de positividad al STRO-1, mientras que la población de mayor tamaño y más compleja mostró una positividad del 26 %. Asimismo, STRO-1 se localizó preferencialmente en las UFC. Conclusiones: Con el protocolo descrito se logró un cultivo de células madre estromales extraídas de pulpa dental en dientes primarios, como punto de partida para futuros ensayos terapéuticos y su aplicación en la regeneración tisular. PALABRAS CLAVE células cultivadas; células madre; diente primario ÁREAS TEMÁTICAS ingeniería de los tejidos; cultivo de células ABSTRACTBackground: Currently, degenerative diseases represent a public health problem; therefore, the development and implementation of strategies to fully or partially recover of damaged tissues has a special interest in the biomedical field. Therapeutic strategies based on mesenchymal stem cells transplantation from dental pulp have been proposed as an alternative. Purpose: To develop a mesenchymal stem cells culture isolated from dental pulp of deciduous teeth. Methods: The mesenchymal stem cells isolation was performed from dental pulp of two deciduous canines, freshly extracted with therapeutic indication. Specimens were cultured in D-MEM medium with 20% FBS at 37 °C and 5% CO 2 . The medium was changed every three days. 80-90% confluence was achieved after three weeks. Cells were stained with DAPI and STRO-1 and analyzed through flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Results: The analysis showed that adherent cells had a fusiform fibroblast-like morphology and colony forming units (CFUs) were observed. 17% of the whole population was STRO-1+ and 26% of the larger and more complex population was positive to this antigen. Additionally, STRO-1+ cells were localized preferential in UFCs. Conclusions: The protocol described here could be used to enriching mesenchymal stem cells from dent...