Variable nucleotide tandem repeat (VNTR) typing of two palaeopathological cases of lepromatous leprosy from Mediaeval England

Using ancient DNA methods, we have examined in detail two archaeological cases of leprosy from Mediaeval England. The first was a child skeleton with rhino-maxillary changes typical of lepromatous leprosy (LL). The second case was the skeleton of a male adult who showed both typical rhino-maxillary changes and osteitis/periostitis on the leg and foot bones. Bone powder was sampled from both cases and DNA extracts were prepared. These were subjected to a series of polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) specific for regions on the Mycobacterium leprae genome. The repetitive element RLEP was used for confirmation of M. leprae DNA and then three polymorphic regions were successfully amplified and sequenced to determine the number of variable nucleotide tandem repeats (vntr) at these loci. These were the microsatellite regions ML2344 and ML2172 and the minisatellite region ML0058. Genotyping data from the strains preserved within the skeletal remains were compared with those obtained for a reference strain of M. leprae. Variation at these three loci was found between both burials and the reference strain, indicating that vntr typing of LL cases from the archaeological record is a useful way of confirming disease and an additional means of authenticating aDNA data. This demonstrates the feasibility of targeting multiple loci for phylogenetic studies of leprosy strains from archival sources.     

DEVELOPMENT,FRENCH NEOCOLONIALISM,AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE TUBUAI ECONOMY

The contemporary structure of the rapidly modernizing Tubuai economy (French Polynesia) is examined and it is argued that specific local structures, notably a strong subsistence-oriented productive sector and a system of collective (familial) land holding, are not ‘traditional’ vestiges of the past, but are actively integrated components of the modern rural household economy. Their functions and utility to islanders are generated as external, neocolonial inputs and interact with local conditions and islanders' own goals and priorities. These internal structures play a significant role in negotiating islanders' particular adaptation to integration into the French/Territorial capitalist economy and to externally-planned ‘welfare and subsidy-oriented’ agricultural development programs.     

Discriminant function analyses in archaeology: are classification rates too good to be true?

The use of discriminant function analyses (DFA) in archaeological and related research is on the increase, however many of the assumptions of this method receive a mixed treatment in the literature. Statisticians frequently use complex statistical models to investigate analytical parameters, but such idealised datasets may be hard to relate to “real-life” examples and the literature difficult to assess. Using two faunal datasets that are more typical of archaeological and related research, one comprised of size-corrected linear measurements of bovid humeri and another of 3D geometric morphometric (GMM) shape data of African monkey skulls, and two simulated datasets, we illustrate some of the most important but often ignored issues of DFA. We specifically show why it is paramount to address “over-fitting” by cross-validation when applying this method and how the probability of correctly classifying cases by chance can be properly and explicitly taken into account.     

DO LOCATION‐BASED TAX INCENTIVES IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE AND QUALITY OF BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT?

We examine how location‐based tax incentives affect quality of life and business environment through changes in property values and equilibrium wages. Using the federal Empowerment Zone program, we determine whether offering tax incentives to firms improves the welfare of the citizens and attractiveness to firms. We demonstrate that quality of life methodologies can be applied using small geographically aggregated data, such as census block groups. We find that the tax incentives offered by the program notably enhances the quality of business environment for firms in the area while modestly improving the quality of life for the individuals living in the area.