Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Detection Of Giardia Duodenalis Antigen In Coprolites Using A Commercially Available Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Marcelo Luiz Carvalho Gonçalves, Adauto Araújo, Rosemere Duarte, Joaquim Pereira Da Silva, Karl Reinhard, Françoise Bouchet, Luis Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

The objective of this experiment was to assess the utility of a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for diagnosis of giardiasis in archaeological human remains. The kit, a monoclonal antibody assay, is used to detect the presence of Giardia-specific antigen 65 (GSA65) in human feces. We utilized the assay in ancient fecal material. The material included desiccated feces found in mummies or in archaeological sites, and sediments from latrines. A total of 83 specimens, previously examined microscopically for parasites, were examined. The ELISA detected 3 positive samples, dated to about 1200 AD, 1600 AD, and 1700 AD. …

Multidisciplinary Coprolite Analysis, Karl Reinhard, Dennis R. Danielson, Mark Daniels, Sérgio Augusto De Miranda Chaves

Karl Reinhard Publications

Coprolite analysis, as reviewed by Reinhard and Bryant (1992), contributes unique and detailed information regarding diet and parasitic disease. We present here an analysis of dietary components of coprolites from Bighorn Cave using macroscopic remains, pollen concentrations, and phytoliths. In addition, we analyzed Bighorn Cave coprolites for evidence of parasitic organisms, especially intestinal worms. Such analyses of coprolites have become important methods for reconstructing past dietary and medicinal practices. Pollen concentration and phytolith quantification techniques have recently been developed, but until this report no known attempt has been made to synthesize pollen, macroscopic, and phytolith data from a single coprolite …

Over A Decade Of Comparative Risk Analysis: A Review Of The Human Health Rankings, David M. Konisky

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The author reviews a method for undertaking a cross-project comparison of comparative risk analyses to understand which environmental problem areas have been cited most as often posing the severest risks.

How To Achieve Public Participation In Nuclear Waste Decisions: Public Relations Or Transparent Adversary Science, Judy Treichel

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

[Excerpt] "Commercial nuclear reactors in the United States have been producing electricity and highly radioactive wastes for more than forty years. Originally, reluctant utilities built reactors at the urging of Congress, acting in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act. The Act called for promotion of nuclear technology and also provided a shield of secrecy allowing for extensive power to classify information. Wiretapping and other surveillance techniques were allowable if nuclear secrets or interference with nuclear programs were involved. During this time the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) provided films and comic books, and gave speeches in a public relations campaign designed …

Frequency Of Use And Perceived Credibility Of Information Sources And Variations By Socioeconomic Factors Among Savannah River Stakeholders, Bryan L. Williams, Alex Vallei, Sylvia Brown, Michael Greenberg

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors examine the factors effecting credibility of risk communication in the communities surrounding the Savannah River Nuclear Weapons Site.

Response To Critique Of The Claim Of Cannibalism At Cowboy Wash, Patricia M. Lambert, Banks L. Leonard, Brian R. Billman, Richard A. Marlar, Margaret E. Newman, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The original authors of Billman et af. (2000) are joined by three other analysts from the Cowboy Wash research team to respond to the critique of this article by Dongoske et af. (2000). Dongoske and his coauthors state that Billman et af. (2000) failed to test alternative hypotheses or to consider alternative explanations for the findings at 5MTJOOJO and similar sites. The original authors point out that alternative hypotheses were examined and rejected, leaving a violent episode of cannibalism as the most plausible explanation for the remains found at 5MTJOOJO. Dongoske et af. also question many aspects of the osteological, …

Managing Population-Environment Systems: Problems Of Institutional Design, Geoffrey Mcnicoll

Poverty, Gender, and Youth

In population–environment systems human activity is inherently part of the system rather than something to be minimized in order to maintain or restore “natural” environmental conditions. Issues arising in managing such systems are discussed in this paper. The system’s boundaries must be identified, defining its human participants and its ecological content. Procedures for monitoring demographic and environmental change in the system must be set up and consensus must be reached on how to evaluate that change.

Recognition Of Treponematoses In Post Repatriation X Ray And Cd Rom Nebraska Record, Karl J. Reinhard, Bruce Rothschild, Christine Rothschild, Larry Martin

Karl Reinhard Publications

Repatriation has compromised the opportunity to directly examine skeletons and to apply new diagnostic criteria and techniques. Pre-repatriation approaches to non-metric data acquisition, must make a number of assumptions: ( I ) Phenomena must be correctly identitied and segregated; (2) Criteria for severity must be specific to the phenomena studied; and (3) As criteria for disease rewgnition may change with time, it is valuable only as long as the raw data is also recorded. As part of data preservation, x-rays and CD-ROM images were recorded for skeletons trom Nebraska sites undergoing repatriation. This report concentrates on four of them 250K …

The Role Of Mummy Studies In Paleoparasitology, Adauto Araujo, Karl J. Reinhard, Luiz Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Paieoparasitology has advance during the past decade to the status of a statistically based science focused on problems of disease ecology and geographic distribution of parasitism. For most of its development, paleoparasitology has focused on the analysis of coprolites and latrine sediments. During the past few years, mummies have been increasingly included in paleoparasitology studies. We evaluate in this paper the interpretive value of mummies relative to other sources of paleoparasitological data.

EI estudio de la paleoparasitologia ha logrado transformarse, en esta ultima decada, en una ciencia basada en la estadistica, enfocada a temas tales como la ecologia de enfermedades …

Paleopharmacology, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

An emerging field devoted to the exploration of the archaeological record for evidence of medicinal plants.

In the future, archaeology will have a role in pharmaceutical research. In the late twentieth century, much of the world’s pharmaceutical research has been based on ethnographic documentation of tribally recognized medicinal plants. Once the active chemical compounds in the plants are identified, they are either extracted or synthesized for commercial use. The American film Medicine Man depicts this approach. As shown in the film, such pharmacological research is threatened by declining tribal populations with loss of traditional herbal knowledge coupled with declining biodiversity. …

Archaeoparasitology, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The field devoted to the identification of parasite remains in the archaeological record and the reconstruction of past human-parasite interactions. Parasitic disease has always been a major problem. Recent summaries of the prevalence of parasitic diseases in the world today show that there are 4.5 billion infections with all species of parasitic worm, 1 billion infections with giant intestinal roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), 750,000,000 infections with whipworms (Trichuris trichiura), 900,000,000 infections with hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), 657,000,000 infections with filarial worms, 200,000,000 with blood flukes (schistosome species), and 489,000,000 infections with malaria. These infections cause between 1,590,000 to 3,130,000 …

Coprolite Analysis: The Analysis Of Ancient Human Feces For Dietary Data, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Although archaeological fieldwork is hot and dirty, the most “earthy” side of the discipline is the laboratory analysis of coprolites. Each coprolite contains the remains of one to several actual meals eaten in prehistory, and analysis of many coprolites provides a picture of ancient diet that is unique in accuracy.

The term coprolite originally referred to fossilized feces in paleontological context. In archaeology, the term broadened to refer to any formed fecal mass, including mineralized, desiccated, or frozen feces and even the intestinal contents of mummies. Coprolites contain the remains of animals (parasites) that lived in the humans, the foods …

Media Coverage Of Epa's Draft Dioxin Reassessment Report, Sharon M. Friedman, Megan A. Fitzpatrick, Brenda P. Egolf

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using content analysis, the authors examine the utility of news media in democratic decision making.

Housing And Population Health: A Review Of The Literature, Stephen Hwang, Esme Fuller-Thomson, J. David Hurlchanski, Toba Bryant, Youssef Habib, Wendy C. Regoeczi

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Research into the relationship between housing and health has frequently been narrowly focused, fragmented, and of marginal practical relevance to either housing or health studies. Population health research, in its reference to the importance of the social and physical environment, rarely mentions housing. While it has been recognized for some time that there is a need for the development of a co-ordinated, integrated and cumulative body of housing and health research, there is still very little formal co-ordination between housing policy and population health policy. More attention needs to be paid to measuring the nature and extent to which better …

Nuclear Waste And Native America: The Mrs Siting Exercise, M. V. Rajeev Gowda, Doug Easterling

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Drs. Gowda & Easterling provide cross-cultural perspectives on issues of risk perception, equity and policy as they affect nuclear waste storage on Native American sites.

Human Dental Microwear Caused By Calcium Oxalate Phytoliths In Prehistoric Diet Of The Lower Pecos Region, Texas, Dennis Danielson, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Recent research demonstrates that silica phytoliths of dietary origin are associated with microwear of human teeth. Previous research has shown that severe enamel microwear and dental wear characterizes Archaic hunter-gatherers in the lower Pecos region of west Texas. Calcium oxalate crystals are especially common in Archaic coprolites. The vast majority are derived from prickly pear and agave, which were the dietary staples in west Texas for 6,000 years. The calcium oxalate phytoliths are harder than enamel. Therefore, calcium oxalate crystals are the most likely source of previously documented dental microwear and wear in the lower Pecos region.Am J Phys Anthropol …

Mummies And Mummification Practices In The Southern And Southwestern United States, Mahmoud Y. El-Najjar, Thomas M. J. Mulinski, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Mummification was not intentional for most North American prehistoric cultures. Natural mummification occurred in the dry areas of North America, where mummies have been recovered from rock shelters, caves, and overhangs. In these places, corpses desiccated and spontaneously mummified. In North America, mummies are recovered from four main regions: the southern and southwestern United States, the Aleutian Islands, and the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. This chapter is limited to a discussion of burial practices and a tabulation of the location of mummies in the southwestern United States with some comments on mummies of the southern United States, including the Ozarks.

Variation In Environmental Risk Perceptions And Information Sources Among Three Communities In El Paso, Theresa L. Byrd, James Vanderslice, Susan K. Peterson

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors report the results of a pilot study of environmental risk and sources of environmental information in three socio-economically and culturally distinct communities in Texas.

Condom Availability In New York City Public High Schools: Relationships To Condom Use And Sexual Behavior, Sally Guttmacher, Lisa D. Lieberman, David Ward, Nick Freudenberg, Alice Radosh, Don Des Jarlais

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

OBJECTIVES: This study examines the impact of the condom availability program in New York City public high schools by comparing rates of sexual activity and condom use for New York students and similar students in Chicago. METHODS: A total of 7119 students from 12 randomly selected New York schools and 5738 students from 10 Chicago schools participated in a cross-sectional survey. RESULTS: New York students, compared with Chicago students, reported equal rates of sexual activity but higher rates of condom use at last intercourse (odds ratio [OR] = 1.36). For higher-risk students (those with three or more sexual partners in …

Analytical Perspectives On A Protohistoric Cache Of Ceramic Jars From The Lower Colorado Desert, James M. Bayman, Richard H. Hevly, Boma Johnson, Karl J. Reinhard, Richard Ryan

Karl Reinhard Publications

A cache of hermetically sealed ceramic jars found in the Lower Colorado Desert was examined using chronometric dating, pollen and macrofossil extraction, design analysis, and water retention experimentation. The cache apparently dates to the protohistoricfifteenth through seventeenth centuries. Findings from these studies contribute to knowledge in four problem areas: (1) ceramic jar function and use-history; (2) storage technology and caching behavior; (3) ceramic dating and chronology; and (4) symbolic iconography. Biotic remains from inside the jars document their use for transporting a variety of riverine and desert plants, before they were finally filled with flowers and seeds, and placed in …

Cluster Analysis Of The Coprolites From Antelope House: Implications For Anasazi Diet And Cuisine, Mark Q. Sutton, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

This paper reports on a cluster analysis of 155 coprolites from Antelope House, a prehistoric Anasazi site in Canyon de Chelly, Arizona. The analysis revealed three primary clusters; whole kernel maize, milled maize, and nonmaize, which we believe to represent seasonal- and preference-related cuisine. Protein residue analysis on a subsample of the specimens added depth to the analysis.

Mapping--The Missing Link In Reducing Risk Under Sara Iii, Ute J. Dymon

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Dymon explains how maps can, e.g., hasten effective community responses to natural and artificial hazards and laments widespread failure to prepare and use hazard maps more extensively.

The Media, Risk Assessment And Numbers: They Don't Add Up, Sharon M. Friedman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Friedman argues that, for risks to be reported accurately, journalism educators must help their students understand science, numbers and statistics.

A Case Study Of Health Risk Communication: What The Public Wants And What It Gets, Jeannette M. Trauth

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Trauth presents a content analysis of 40 years of coverage of a major local source of air pollution by a Pittsburgh newspaper. She also summarizes the results of a survey conducted to determine the extent to which citizens of most likely affected communities, e.g., understand health risks and desire further information.

Introduction (Environmental Threats In Egypt: Perceptions And Actions), Salwa Sharawi Gomaa

Faculty Book Chapters

[abstract not provided]

Pollution And People In Cairo, Nicholas S. Hopkins, Sohair Mehanna, Tamer Abdelkader, Noha Abu Gazia, Samer El-Karanshawy, Inas Tewfik

Faculty Book Chapters

[abstract not provided]

Trade, Contact, And Female Health In Northeast Nebraska, Karl Reinhard, Larry Tieszen, Karin L. Sandness, Lynae M. Beiningen, Elizabeth Miller, A. Mohammad Ghazi, Christiana E. Miewald, Sandra V. Barnum

Karl Reinhard Publications

Most scholars are understandably preoccupied with the impact of Europeans on native peoples who were passive, unwilling, or resistant participants in that contact. We present in this chapter a different case. The Missouri River tribes, including the Omaha and Ponca, willingly engaged in relations with Euramericans, especially in the fur trade that dominated interaction in this region. The time frame for this study is 1780- 1820, a period when interaction between individual traders and Native Americans was replaced by the dominance of the American Fur Company in organized exploitation of the Missouri River lands and peoples. This involvement later contributed …

Sanitation And Parasitism At Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

One focus of historical archaeology at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia, is tracing the development of sanitation at the town through the 1800s and 1900s. Historical documentation indicates that there was a degree of resistance to the modernization of village sanitation. This study attempts to verify this resistance through examination of privy soils for parasites indicative of fecalborne disease, specifically the helminth species Ascaris lumbricoides and Trichuris trichiura. The presence of these parasites in the early 1900s would indicate that fecal-borne disease due to poor sanitation continued to be an aspect of town life. The analysis revealed the …

Otitis Media, Mastoiditis, And Infracranial Lesions In Two Plains Indian Children, Robert W. Mann, Douglas W. Owsley, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

One disease condition that is common to nearly all children is otitis media, also known as middle ear disease. Although most people speak of it as a middle ear "infection," other causes such as neoplasm (tumor) can result in manifestations and symptoms mimicking an infectious process. This paper presents findings related to osseous lesions in two Indian children, approximately three to five years of age, who died with otitis media and infracranial lesions. Through macroscopic and radiographic analysis, it is possible to show that one child probably suffered from tuberculosis and the other from histiocytosis X. From an epidemiological and …

The Nuclear Contamination Of Kazakhstan, Rebecca Marie Matter

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis studies the radioactive contamination of Kazakhstan's environment, concentrating on the period between February 1989 and January 1993. For each type of nuclear degradation in Kazakhstan the thesis asks the questions: what is its cause and extent, what are its consequences for humans, and what are the human responses. The main causes of Kazakhstan's nuclear devastation are atomic weapons' tests, uranium mining, manufacturing of uranium fuel, and the operation of a fast breeder reactor power generator unit. The amount of radioactive contamination is colossal. The consequences for the health of the population, especially at Semey, are severe. The human …