Pathogenesis of apical periodontal cysts: guidelines for diagnosis in palaeopathology

Apical periodontal cysts are benign lesions developing in relation to the apices of non‐vital teeth due to inflammatory response from the infective pulp. These are epithelium‐lined bony cavities containing fluid. Despite being widely reported in medical/dental literature, this common condition is poorly diagnosed and documented in the archaeological literature. We aim to clarify the correct terminology, demonstrate bony manifestations at different stages of pathogenesis of chronic periapical dental lesions into granuloma and apical periodontal cysts, and to describe diagnostic criteria which would provide practical guidelines for the diagnosis of these conditions. Three identified skulls from the International Exchange Collection, housed in the Anthropological Museum at the University of Coimbra, are used to identify the progression of this condition from a small periapical granuloma to a large apical periodontal cyst with expansion of alveolar and facial bones. The pathogenesis of this condition is described, together with its surgical management in the early 20^th century in Portugal, which is the period in which these individuals lived. Confusion resulting from the different terminologies can be avoided if the term periapical granuloma is used to define apical bony lesions smaller than 3 mm at their maximum intra‐bony diameter, and the term apical periodontal cysts for the larger lesions. We recommend that these terminologies and parameters be used as a standard in future studies. This will make inter‐observer and inter‐population comparisons more accurate. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation Techniques for the Seismic Response Assessment of Buildings Located in Historical Centers

ABSTRACT

It is an acknowledged fact that historical centers, given its significance from the cultural and architectural viewpoint, bring further challenges in terms of maintenance planning, survey, and safety assessment. The preparation of an adequate investigation plan and the extent of data to be collected is highly reliant on many aspects, such as the category of the architectonic asset, the importance of the heritage site, or the resources available, for example. In what regards the seismic response assessment of urban cultural heritage assets located in historical centers, the amount and detail of data also depend on this article, scale of assessment, and current state of conservation and occupation. Within this framework, this article provides an overview of the state of the art of investigation techniques currently used in survey operations, which are currently available for improving the knowledge level of urban cultural heritage assets within historical centers, as a supporting tool for the seismic response assessment of such singular assets. Finally, acknowledging the lack of accuracy when evaluating the seismic response of an asset enclosed in aggregate as an isolated structure, this article also focuses on the identification of the main particularities inherent to buildings enclosed in aggregate.     

Early Miocene bivalves from the Cape Melville Formation,King George Island,West Antarctica

Seven species of marine bivalves, including six new taxa, are described from the Cape early Miocene Melville Formation which crops out on the Melville Peninsula, King George Island, West Antarctica. The bivalve assemblage includes representatives of the families Nuculidae, Ennucula frigida sp. nov., E. musculosa sp. nov.; Malletidae, Neilo (Neilo) rongelii sp. nov.; Sareptidae, Yoldia peninsularis sp. nov.; Limopsidae, Limopsis psimolis sp. nov.; Hiatellidae, Panopea (Panopea) sp. cf. P. regularis; and Pholadomyoida (Periploma acuta sp. nov.). Species studied come from four sedimentary sections measured in the upper part of the unit. Detailed morphologic features of nucloid and arcoid species are exceptionally well preserved and allow for the first time reconstruction of muscle insertions as well as dentition patterns of Cenozoic taxa. Known geological distribution of the species is in agreement with the early Miocene age assigned to the Cape Melville Formation. The bivalve fauna from Cape Melville Formation is the best known from Antarctic Miocene rocks, a time of complex geologic, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic changes in the continent. The new fauna introduces new taxonomic and palaeogeographic data that bear on the question of opening of sea gateways and distribution of Cenozoic biota around Antarctica.     

The Idea of the Social Contract in the History of ‘Agreementism’

One of the recurrent motifs in political thought is the idea of the social contract, according to which a society, a government, or moral principles depend for their existence on agreements between voluntary agents. This association between the social contract and “agreementism” implies that there is nothing about the terminology of contracts that distinguishes it from that of other types of agreements constitutive of normativity. This essay tests this assumption by surveying the terminology of the social contract and by proposing two hypotheses. The first is that all attempts at analysing the idea of the social contract require a formal conceptual frame of reference that is distinguishable from agreementism. The second is that social contract theories can be grouped into four trends, even if the authors of each of these trends are unable to form a coherent body of doctrine. These trends are the Iberian Catholic version of the Counter-Reformation; the Protestant individualist trend of the Enlightenment; the quasi-dialectical trend of the radical Enlightenment; and the contemporary trend of public morality.     

The smelting quarter of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville,Spain): the specialised copper industry in a political centre of the Guadalquivir Valley during the Third millennium BC (2750–2500 BC)

The first specialized copper industry of the Iberian Peninsula was developed at the start of the Third millennium BC with the appearance of mining-metallurgical settlements in its main mining district (the Pyrite Belt of the south-western). Between 2750 and 2500 BC, however, and right at the centre of the Guadalquivir Valley, the great farming settlements that ranked the territory developed a new level of metallurgic intensification with the creation of the first industrial quarters. As a way of explaining this new situation, we present the results of the systematic research (microspatial analysis; radiocarbon dating; petrologic, geochemical, metallographic and isotopic study of minerals, slag and products, …) carried out in one of them, the one developed in the main and largest political centre of the Guadalquivir Valley during the first half of the Third millennium BC: Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain).     

Spatial and temporal dynamics of the urban heat island effect in a small Brazilian city

This study examined the spatial and temporal patterns of the canopy layer urban heat islands (UHI_UCL) in a small city in southeastern Brazil using the local climate zone (LCZ) system. We analysed the influence of weather conditions, LCZs characteristics, and local surface relief on the UHI_UCL magnitudes. Mobile traverses were used to measure air temperatures during representative nights of wet and dry seasons. Daily maximum magnitudes were observed in compact classes (LCZs 3 and 7) under ideal weather conditions (dry, clear skies, and calm) and higher anthropogenic heat release (weekdays). Seasonal effects on LCZ thermal differences were negligible. The peripheral landscapes were warmer than the city centre in both seasons. Among the warmer areas in the city, magnitudes in compact LCZs 3 and 7 were consistently higher than in LCZ 6. In general, representative sites of the main ‘built’ LCZs in the study area exhibit similar inter-zone temperature patterns to those reported for cities of different sizes from tropical and midlatitude regions. Thermal contrasts of ΔT_{LCZ 3 − D} in the study area reveal significant evidence that small cities can have as strong heat islands as bigger cities. These findings highlight the importance of the LCZ system to identify the main controlling factors driving such thermal differences and the need to extend the application of this approach in other South American cities to yield systematic data of UHI_UCL for urban planning given the coming challenges of climate change over the region.