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A total of 101 cattle teeth and bones from 13 archaeological sites between 1000 to 9000 years old were assessed for the presence of verifiable mitochondrial sequences. It was possible to reproducibly amplify and sequence mitochondrial control region DNA extracted from twelve of the samples. The results were compared with published extant data by constructing phylogenetic networks. The sequences obtained from the cattle specimens were either identical to the reference sequence for modern cattle or closely related to it. They included three sequences not previously documented. The network analysis of the ancient data highlights the proximity of the ancient DNA cattle sequences to modern Near Eastern, European and African Bos taurus, as well as regional continuity.

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Excavations at several archaeological sites in and around Gao have resulted in the recovery of thousands of glass beads presumed to have been acquired from glass bead-producing centers through trade. The bead assemblages cover the period from the eighth to the fourteenth century CE. Here we report on the results of compositional analysis by LA-ICP-MS of 100 beads, permitting comparison with the growing corpus of chemical analyses for glass from African and Near Eastern sites. In this analysis, several compositional groupings are recognized. These include two types of plant-ash soda-lime-silica glass (v-Na-Ca), a mineral soda-lime-silica glass (m-Na-Ca), a high-lime high-alumina (HLHA) glass, a mineral soda-high alumina (m-Na-Al), glass, a plant ash soda-high alumina (v-Na-Al) glass and a high lead composition glass. The reconstruction and dating of depositional contexts suggests a shift in glass sources at the end of the tenth century CE. The issue of source identification is discussed and occurrences at other African sites are mapped, providing new data towards an understanding of trade and exchange networks.

The aims of this study were (i) to examine the association between preoperative and postoperative anxiety, and (ii) to examine the association between preoperative anxiety and postoperative recovery, following day surgery under general anaesthesia. Day surgery has become more commonplace owing to advances in pharmacology, anaesthetic and surgical techniques, as it has recognized benefits, such as lower costs and reduced incidence of infection. Recent years have seen increased complexity of day surgery undertaken on a broader range of patients, but with reduced pre-surgery contact with the hospital environment. These recent service changes might have had an effect on the preparation of patients for day surgery, and this in turn might have affected their postoperative recovery. This pilot study used survey methods to examine potential associations between preoperative and postoperative anxiety, and between preoperative anxiety and postoperative recovery. Data were collected in 2008 from a convenience sample of 54 day surgery patients. The instruments used were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Recovery Score (QoR-40). There was a statistically significant relationship between preoperative and postoperative anxiety (χ(2) =11.899, d.f.=1, P=0.001). The T-test showed a statistically significant difference in the mean scores for QoR-40 score for gender, and for the postoperative anxiety and QoR-40. A relationship between preoperative anxiety and postoperative recovery was not shown. Although challenging to implement in view of restricted timescales, appraisal and revision of pre-assessment processes to incorporate an anxiety measurement tool, such as the HADS, should be considered.