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Background: A fundamental step in the race to design a rapid diagnostic test for antimicrobial resistance is the separation of bacteria from their matrix. Many recent studies have been focused on the development of systems capable of separating and capturing bacteria from liquid environments. Methods: Herein, we introduce a new approach to this issue by using the natural bacteria tendency to accumulate at naturally-occurring interfaces, such as liquid-gas and liquid-solid interfaces, where also organic molecules like lipids, proteins, and polysaccharides accumulate. This bacterial behavior leads to the formation of a superficial layer close to the interface rich in bacteria, from which it is possible to capture a consistent amount of bacteria by means of surfaces with high chemical affinity to the outer bacteria surface. Results: This paper demonstrates how to capture bacteria from contaminated urine samples, by means of commercial microscope slides coated with positively charged biomolecules, without the utilization of the bacterial culture step for multiplying the bacteria. Conclusions: This approach is an easy, quick and economical method to concentrate living bacteria in a well-defined position onto a microscope slide, thus making them easily available for further diagnostic investigations.

The concept of the human oral microbiome was applied to understand health and disease, lifestyles, and dietary habits throughout part of human history. In the present study, we augment the understanding of ancient oral microbiomes by characterizing human dental calculus samples recovered from the ancient Abbey of Badia Pozzeveri (central Italy), with differences in socioeconomic status, time period, burial type, and sex. Samples dating from the Middle Ages (11th century) to the Industrial Revolution era (19th century) were characterized using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene V4 region. Consistent with previous studies, individuals from Badia Pozzeveri possessed commensal oral bacteria that resembled modern oral microbiomes. These results suggest that members of the oral microbiome are ubiquitous despite differences in geographical regions, time period, sex, and socioeconomic status. The presence of fecal bacteria could be in agreement with poor hygiene practices, consistent with the time period. Respiratory tract, nosocomial, and other rare pathogens detected in the dental calculus samples are intriguing and could suggest subject-specific comorbidities that could be reflected in the oral microbiome.

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ∼12,000 y B.P. This shift is hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a decline in physiological health as inferred from skeletal remains. Here, we consider osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to study human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared “predicted” genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and “achieved” adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements for 167 individuals across Europe spanning the Upper Paleolithic to Iron Age (∼38,000 to 2,400 B.P.). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of −3.82 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P = 0.040) and −2.21 cm shorter relative to post-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.068), with osteological vs. expected stature steadily increasing across the Copper (+1.95 cm relative to the Neolithic), Bronze (+2.70 cm), and Iron (+3.27 cm) Ages. These results were attenuated when we additionally accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation: for example, with Neolithic individuals −2.82 cm shorter than expected on average relative to pre-Neolithic individuals (P = 0.120). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of nonspecific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory.

Food preparation is of key importance in the medieval period where the manner of preparing ingredients had major sociocultural significance. We examine sex- and status-based differences in dental occlusal microwear from a human skeletal population from medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy, to assess intrapopulation differences in food preparation. We compare microwear results with previously reported stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data to determine the extent to which these two methods for dietary reconstruction correspond. Epoxy casts of second molars from 27 males and females of high- and low-status from medieval Trino Vercellese, Italy, were studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy. Feature tally, pit percentage, pit width, and striation width are compared between subgroups. Whereas previous isotopic data identified low-status males as outliers, dental microwear analysis indicates no differences in diet between the four sex- and status-based subgroups. However, the percentage of pitting is statistically different between males and females when status groups are pooled, with males exhibiting significantly higher values ( p  = 0.017). When sexes are pooled, low-status individuals are found to have significantly more features compared with high-status individuals ( p  = 0.030). This study demonstrates the applicability of dental microwear analysis for uncovering intra-group dietary patterns in socially stratified societies.

Variation in stature and body proportions across the globe is generally explained in terms of climatic adaptations and as resulting from overall life conditions experienced during growth. Based on growth heterochrony, different life histories should result in different adult stature and body proportions. It is nonetheless unclear to which extent such changes in growth outcomes take place at the intrapopulation level. This study explores variation in stature and body proportions at the inter and intrapopulation level by addressing four research questions in both living and archaeological populations. Specifically, this research investigates the existence of differences in growth outcomes within populations in relation to sex, severe growth retardation, and differential access to resources. Additionally, this study examines whether stature and body proportions allow us to differentiate between populations exposed to different environmental conditions. Variation in stature and segmental body proportions is examined in three living populations from South America and in two European medieval populations for a total of 2389 individuals. Anthropometric (height, sitting height, and leg length) and osteometric (skull height, long bones lenghts, skeletal trunk height, and skeletal height) data are analyzed and interpreted in the context of biocultural information available for each population included in the study. The statistical methods employed to address the research questions include the “Quick-Test” (Tsutakawa and Hewett, 1977), Monte Carlo analyses, principal component analyses, non-parametric analyses of variance and correlation analyses. Statistical significance is defined as p > 0.05. The results of this study reveal that: (1) Significant sex-related differences in body proportions are found in the majority of the populations examined, but the direction of such differences is extremely variable and appears to be due different sensitivity to environmental stress, cultural practices favoring one sex over the other, and the different selective pressures associated with female reproduction; (2) Severe growth retardation is associated with a reduction in relative leg length only in urban settings, while growth retardation appears to be accompanied by isometric changes in body size among rural Amazonians; (3) There is evidence in support of a positive relationship between differential access to resources and growth outcomes in both living and archaeological populations. However, no differences are found in one population, likely because of the inadequacy of the variable used as a proxy for resource access; (4) Significant interpopulation differences in stature and proportions are found among both living and archaeological populations, suggesting that growth outcomes reflect the unique set of life conditions experienced by each population, even within the same broad ecogeographic zone. Thanks to an innovative approch that combines the examination of biological variation in living and bioarchaeological populations in tandem, this study demonstrates that the pattern of variation variation in stature and body proportions across time and space is more complex than previously posited. Future research should further explore how growth outcomes are affected by specific biocultural factors such as differential offspring treatment, individual female reproductive histories, and different stressors associated with specific settlement types.

Human culture, biology, and health were shaped dramatically by the onset of agriculture ~12,000 years before present (BP). Subsistence shifts from hunting and gathering to agriculture are hypothesized to have resulted in increased individual fitness and population growth as evidenced by archaeological and population genomic data alongside a simultaneous decline in physiological health as inferred from paleopathological analyses and stature reconstructions of skeletal remains. A key component of the health decline inference is that relatively shorter statures observed for early farmers may (at least partly) reflect higher childhood disease burdens and poorer nutrition. However, while such stresses can indeed result in growth stunting, height is also highly heritable, and substantial inter-individual variation in the height genetic component within a population is typical. Moreover, extensive migration and gene flow were characteristics of multiple agricultural transitions worldwide. Here, we consider both osteological and ancient DNA data from the same prehistoric individuals to comprehensively study the trajectory of human stature variation as a proxy for health across a transition to agriculture. Specifically, we compared \"predicted\" genetic contributions to height from paleogenomic data and \"achieved\" adult osteological height estimated from long bone measurements on a per-individual basis for n=160 ancient Europeans from sites spanning the Upper Paleolithic to the Iron Age (~38,000-2,400 BP). We found that individuals from the Neolithic were shorter than expected (given their individual polygenic height scores) by an average of -4.47 cm relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P=0.016). The average osteological vs. expected stature then increased relative to the Neolithic over the Copper (+2.67 cm, P=0.052), Bronze (+3.33 cm, P=0.032), and Iron Ages (+3.95 cm, P=0.094). These results were partly attenuated when we accounted for genome-wide genetic ancestry variation in our sample (which we note is partly duplicative with the individual polygenic score information). For example, in this secondary analysis Neolithic individuals were -3.48 cm shorter than expected on average relative to individuals from the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic (P=0.056). We also incorporated observations of paleopathological indicators of non-specific stress that can persist from childhood to adulthood in skeletal remains (linear enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, and porotic hyperostosis) into our model. Overall, our work highlights the potential of integrating disparate datasets to explore proxies of health in prehistory. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

To assess the association between confined placental mosaicism (CPM) and adverse pregnancy outcome. A retrospective cohort study was carried out evaluating the outcome of pregnancies with and without CPM involving a rare autosomal trisomy (RAT) or tetraploidy. Birthweight, gestational age at delivery, fetal growth restriction (FGR), Apgar score, neonatal intensive care admission, preterm delivery, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy were considered. Overall 181 pregnancies with CPM and 757 controls were recruited. Outcome information was available for 69% of cases (n = 124) and 62% of controls (n = 468). CPM involving trisomy 16 (T16) was associated with increased incidence of birthweight <3rd centile (P = 0.007, odds ratio [OR] = 11.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.7–47.1) and preterm delivery (P = 0.029, OR = 10.2, 95% CI = 1.9–54.7). For the other RATs, an association with prenatally diagnosed FGR was not supported by birthweight data and there were no other strong associations with adverse outcomes. Excluding T16, the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes for pregnancies carrying a CPM is low. RATs can also be identified through genome-wide cell-free DNA screening. Because most of these will be attributable to CPMs, we conclude that this screening is of minimal benefit.

The present study aims to investigate clinical and patient-centered outcomes after the implant-supported rehabilitation of narrow ridges using a novel wedge-shaped implant. Forty-four patients were treated with the insertion of 59 tissue-level wedge implants (1.8 mm bucco-lingual width) in horizontally atrophic ridges (mean bone width 3.8 ± 0.4 mm). The main outcome measures were: implant stability quotient (ISQ), marginal bone loss (MBL) and patient morbidity. Fifty-eight implants were functioning satisfactorily after one year of loading (98.3% survival rate). ISQ values measured in the mesio-distal direction resulted significantly higher than those in the bucco-lingual direction at all time points (p < 0.001). Both mesio-distal and bucco-lingual ISQ values at 6-month follow-up resulted significantly higher than at 4-month follow-up (p < 0.001 for both). Mean MBL was 0.38 ± 0.48 mm at prosthesis delivery (6 months after implant insertion) and 0.60 ± 0.52 mm after one year of functional loading. The majority of patients reported slight discomfort related to the surgical procedure. Postoperative pain score was classified as mild pain on the day of surgery and the first postoperative day and no pain over the following five days. Within the limitations of the present study, the device investigated showed low morbidity and positive short-term clinical results in narrow ridges treatment.