Is Cam Morphology Found in Ancient and Medieval Populations in Addition to Modern Populations?

BACKGROUND: Cam morphology is thought to originate near puberty and reflects a response of the peripheral aspect of the proximal femoral physis to increased local load. Participation in particular sports activities has been associated with cam morphology in contemporary patient populations; however, it is unclear whether cam is a recent phenomenon. There are limited data regarding the frequency of its occurrence and the general deviations in femoral anatomy in different historical populations. Such information may help to understand the possible influence of lifestyle and diet on cam morphology. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate femoral morphology in three historical populations. We asked: (1) Was cam morphology present in the three study populations, did those populations differ, and were there differences between sexes? (2) Were there differences in neck-shaft angle, version, or inclination between and among the examined populations? METHODS: We examined 204 adult femurs from the Neolithic population from Iran (n = 37, 3000 BC to 1631 BC), medieval population from Poland (n = 135, 10th to 13th centuries), and contemporary Australian aborigines (n = 32, early 20th century), provided by the Open Research Scan Archive, Museum of the First Piasts at Lednica and the University of Wroclaw, respectively. All three human populations represent different chronologic periods and lifestyles. All bones were scanned using CT and then measured on their three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions in selected planes. Cam impingement was defined as an alpha angle > 55° measured on the inclination view. To evaluate the differences in anatomy between populations, we measured the true neck-shaft angle on the true AP view, apparent neck-shaft angle on the apparent AP view, the version angle on the version view, and the inclination angle on the inclination view. The prevalence of cam morphology and other anatomic parameters were compared among groups using chi-square test, one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey test, and paired t-test. RESULTS: Cam morphology was present in 5% of the Neolithic population from Iran, in 7% of the medieval population from Poland, and 3% of the contemporary Australian aborigine femurs (OR Neolithic population from Iran/the medieval population from Poland 0.7 [95% CI 0.2 to 3.4]; p = 0.67; OR Neolithic population from Iran/contemporary Australian aborigines 1.8 [95% CI 0.2 to 20.5]; p = 0.65; OR the medieval population from Poland/contemporary Australian aborigines 2.5 [95% CI 0.3 to 20.1]; p = 0.40). There were differences in the presence of cam morphology between the sexes in the medieval population from Poland with both femurs (females: 1% [1 of 76]; males: 15% [9 of 59]; p = 0.002). There was a difference in true neck-shaft angle between the Neolithic population from Iran (121° ± 6°) and contemporary Australian aborigines (131° ± 5°; mean difference 10° [95% CI 7° to 13°]; p < 0.001) and between the medieval population from Poland (124° ± 5°) and the contemporary Australian aborigines (mean difference 7° [95% CI 5° to 9°]; p < 0.001). Apparent neck-shaft angle differed between the Neolithic population from Iran (126° ± 6°) and the contemporary Australian aborigines (134° ± 5°; mean difference 8° [95% CI 6° to 11°]; p < 0.001), and between the medieval population from Poland (126° ± 6°) and the contemporary Australian aborigines (mean difference 9° [95% CI 7° to 11°]; p < 0.001). Moreover, we observed a difference in the version angle between the Neolithic population from Iran (19° ± 7°) and the medieval population from Poland (12° ± 9°; mean difference 7° [95% CI 4° to 10°]; p < 0.001] and in the inclination angle between aforementioned groups (18° ± 7° versus 11° ± 8°; mean difference 7° [95% CI 5° to 10°]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study found that cam morphology existed in historical populations at rates comparable with a contemporary population. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The presence of cam morphology in historical populations suggests that cam morphology can develop outside of the intense sports activity seen in modern adolescents. Further study will help elucidate the etiology of cam morphology, which may be useful in the development of preventive strategies.

The Development and Consumer Acceptance of Functional Fruit-Herbal Beverages.

The development of functional beverages often requires a compromise between the palatability and high content of bio-active compounds. The purpose of this study was to elaborate on the fruit-herbal beverages with defined pro-health functions and evaluate their consumer acceptance. The beverages contained 80% of juices obtained from the fruits of aronia, rugosa rose, acerola, sea buckthorn, and cranberry. Each beverage was supplemented with different plant extracts which enhanced the designed functions of the beverage. The beverages were sweetened with sugar or with steviol glycosides, and were preserved by thermal pasteurization. The main groups of bio-active compounds and antioxidant capacity using ABTS, DPPH, and ORAC methods were analysed before and after pasteurization. The sensory acceptance was tested by 60 adult consumers who assessed the desirability of taste, odour, colour, and overall quality. Each beverage contained substantial amounts of polyphenols, including anthocyanins; rosehip-acerola and sea buckthorn beverages were also sources of vitamin C and carotenoids. All these components were stable under thermal treatment. Rosehip-acerola beverages had the highest antioxidant capacity, which was measured using all three methods exhibited. The highest level of consumer acceptance and willingness to purchase went to aronia beverages, while the sea buckthorn gained the lowest. There was no significant difference between the acceptance of beverages sweetened with sugar and stevia. Women and the 25- to 34-year-old consumer group rated the overall acceptability of the beverages slightly higher, although this was not reflected in their inclination to buy them. Attitude toward proper body mass and health had no influence on overall acceptance and willingness to complete the purchases. The main motivation for purchasing the functional beverages was their sensory acceptance, even if the consumers were informed of their potential health benefits.

Extraction of Triterpenic Acids and Phytosterols from Apple Pomace with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: Impact of Process Parameters, Modelling of Kinetics, and Scaling-Up Study.

Apple pomace, a byproduct of juice production, is a rich source of bioactive compounds and nutrients. Supercritical fluid extraction was proposed as a method for a fast and selective extraction of hydrophobic compounds with a pharmaceutical potential from this matrix. Chromatographic analysis showed that the pomace contained significant amounts of such substances, the most abundant of them were ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, and ß-sitosterol. The solubility was chosen as a primary factor for a selection of the extraction conditions; the best results were acquired for a temperature of 80 °C and a pressure of 30 MPa. The equation proposed by Chrastil was applied for the description of the impact of the process parameters on the solubility of the analytes; the obtained values of coefficients of determination were satisfactory, despite the fact that the equation was developed for binary systems. The extraction curves obtained during the experiments were used for the description of the process kinetics using the Broken plus Intact Cell model. The impact of the temperature, pressure, and flow rate of carbon dioxide on the mass transfer phenomena was investigated. The data obtained allowed the prediction of the extraction curve for the process conducted on the larger scale.

Ursolic Acid--A Pentacyclic Triterpenoid with a Wide Spectrum of Pharmacological Activities.

Ursolic acid (UA) is a natural terpene compound exhibiting many pharmaceutical properties. In this review the current state of knowledge about the health-promoting properties of this widespread, biologically active compound, as well as information about its occurrence and biosynthesis are presented. Particular attention has been paid to the application of ursolic acid as an anti-cancer agent; it is worth noticing that clinical tests suggesting the possibility of practical use of UA have already been conducted. Amongst other pharmacological properties of UA one can mention protective effect on lungs, kidneys, liver and brain, anti-inflammatory properties, anabolic effects on skeletal muscles and the ability to suppress bone density loss leading to osteoporosis. Ursolic acid also exhibits anti-microbial features against numerous strains of bacteria, HIV and HCV viruses and Plasmodium protozoa causing malaria.

Influence of steviol glycosides on the stability of vitamin C and anthocyanins.

A high level of sweetness and health-promoting properties make steviol glycosides an interesting alternative to sugars or artificial sweeteners. The radical oxygen species scavenging activity of these compounds may influence the stability of labile particles present in food. Model buffer solutions containing steviol glycosides, a selected food antioxidant (vitamin C or anthocyanins), and preservative were analyzed during storage. The addition of steviol glycosides at concentrations of 50, 125, and 200 mg/L increased the stability of both ascorbic and dehydroascorbic acid (degradation rates decreased up to 3.4- and 4.5-fold, respectively); the effect was intensified by higher sweetener concentrations and higher acidity of the solutions. Glycosides used alone did not affect the stability of anthocyanins; however, they enhanced the protective effect of sugars; half-life times increased by ca. 33% in the presence of sucrose (100 g/L) and by ca. 52% when both sucrose (100 g/L) and glycosides (total 200 mg/L) were used. Steviol glycosides concentrations remained stable during experiments.