Visible signs of illness from the 14th to the 20th century: systematic review of portraits.

OBJECTIVES: To see whether a collection of portraits depicting inhabitants of a defined geographical region and covering several centuries is a useful source for studying the sociocultural significance and epidemiology of particular visible diseases, such as goitre, which is known to have been common in this region. DESIGN: Systematic review of portraits and description of visible signs of illness. SETTING: The Burgerbibliothek (archives of the burghers' community) in Berne, Switzerland. DATA SOURCES: 3615 portraits; 2989 of individuals whose identity is known and 626 of individuals whose identity is unknown. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Visible signs of illness evaluated by means of a standardised visual assessment. RESULTS: Visible signs of illness in portraits were common and appeared in up to 82% (451/553) of paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The most common findings were signs of goitre in women and overweight in men. In only the portraits where the neck region could be evaluated, 41% of women with known identities (139/343) had goitre compared with 24% of men with known identities (21/86). The prevalence of goitre was even higher in sitters whose identities were unknown: 63% in men (5/8) and 68% in women (82/121). Overweight in people with known identities was more common in men than in women (30%, 346/1145 v 44%, 811/1844). Overweight was most common in sitters aged >40 than in those aged 40 or younger. Other conditions, such as missing teeth, amputated limbs, or osteoarthritic deformations were surprisingly rare in the portraits under evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Goitre and other diseases are under-represented in the people depicted in these portraits. Artistic idealisation is a likely explanation for this observation: what was reproduced depended on what was considered pathological or shameful at the time, and therefore depended on age and sex. Stigmatising details may have been omitted. Further, artistic skills and contemporary fashion may have influenced the way in which people were reproduced. People depicted are possibly not representative of the general Bernese population as they constituted a socioeconomically advantaged group.

The effect of growth in 99.8 deuterium oxide on the ultrastructure of winter rye.

A preliminary report dealing with the ultrastructural effects of culture in a 99.8% D(2)O (deuterium oxide) environment on winter rye (Secale cereale L. cv. Winter) is presented. In general, the cells of D(2)O-cultured seedlings appeared similar to the cells of H(2)O-cultured seedlings. However, differences were found in chloroplast and dictyosome morphology, and ribosome number.

The promotion of indole-3-acetic acid oxidation in pea buds by gibberellic acid and treatment.

Terminal buds of dark-grown pea (Pisum sativum) seedlings have an indole-3-acetic acid oxidase which does not require Mn(2+) and 2,4-dichlorophenol as cofactors. Oxidase activity is at least 50 times higher in buds of tall peas than in dwarf seedlings. Administration of gibberellic acid to dwarf peas stimulates both growth and indoleacetic acid oxidase activity to the same levels as in tall seedlings. By contrast, indoleacetic acid oxidation assayed in the presence of Mn(2+) and 2,4-dichlorophenol proceeds at similar rates regardless of gibberellin application. Treatment of tall peas with the growth retardant AMO-1618 reduces growth and oxidase activity. Such treated seedlings are indistinguishably dwarf. The enzyme does not appear to be polyphenol oxidase, nor do the results suggest that reduced activity in dwarf buds is due to higher levels of a dialyzable inhibitor. The peroxidative nature of the oxidase is probable.