Dataset Information

Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record.

ABSTRACT: The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological contexts and to explore the preservation of microstructural alterations of the cereal grains. The experimentally germinated and charred grains showed clearly degraded (thinned) aleurone cell walls. The histological alterations of the cereal grains were observed and quantified using reflected light and scanning electron microscopy and supported using morphometric and statistical analyses. In order to verify the experimental observations of histological alterations, amorphous charred objects (ACO) containing cereal remains originating from five archaeological sites dating to the 4th millennium BCE were considered: two sites were archaeologically recognisable brewing installations from Predynastic Egypt, while the three broadly contemporary central European lakeshore settlements lack specific contexts for their cereal-based food remains. The aleurone cell wall thinning known from food technological research and observed in our own experimental material was indeed also recorded in the archaeological finds. The Egyptian materials derive from beer production with certainty, supported by ample contextual and artefactual data. The Neolithic lakeshore settlement finds currently represent the oldest traces of malting in central Europe, while a bowl-shaped bread-like object from Hornstaad-Hörnle possibly even points towards early beer production in central Europe. One major further implication of our study is that the cell wall breakdown in the grain's aleurone layer can be used as a general marker for malting processes with relevance to a wide range of charred archaeological finds of cereal products.

SUBMITTER: Heiss AG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7205394 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record.

Heiss Andreas G AG Azorín Marian Berihuete MB Antolín Ferran F Kubiak-Martens Lucy L Marinova Elena E Arendt Elke K EK Biliaderis Costas G CG Kretschmer Hermann H Lazaridou Athina A Stika Hans-Peter HP Zarnkow Martin M Baba Masahiro M Bleicher Niels N Ciałowicz Krzysztof M KM Chłodnicki Marek M Matuschik Irenäus I Schlichtherle Helmut H Valamoti Soultana Maria SM

PloS one 20200507 5

The detection of direct archaeological remains of alcoholic beverages and their production is still a challenge to archaeological science, as most of the markers known up to now are either not durable or diagnostic enough to be used as secure proof. The current study addresses this question by experimental work reproducing the malting processes and subsequent charring of the resulting products under laboratory conditions in order to simulate their preservation (by charring) in archaeological con ...[more]

PMID: 32379784

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Project description:BackgroundEarly Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis is vital for development of disease-modifying therapies. Prior to significant brain tissue atrophy, several microstructural changes take place as a result of Alzheimer's pathology. These include deposition of amyloid, tau and iron, as well as altered water homeostasis in tissue and some cell death. T2 relaxation time, a quantitative MRI measure, is sensitive to these changes and may be a useful non-invasive, early marker of tissue integrity which could predict conversion to dementia. We propose that different microstructural changes affect T2 in opposing ways, such that average 'midpoint' measures of T2 are less sensitive than measuring distribution width (heterogeneity). T2 heterogeneity in the brain may present a sensitive early marker of AD pathology.MethodsIn this cohort study, we tested 97 healthy older controls, 49 people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 10 with a clinical diagnosis of AD. All participants underwent structural MRI including a multi-echo sequence for quantitative T2 assessment. Cognitive change over 1 year was assessed in 20 participants with MCI. T2 distributions were modelled in the hippocampus and thalamus using log-logistic distribution giving measures of log-median value (midpoint; T2?) and distribution width (heterogeneity; T2?).ResultsWe show an increase in T2 heterogeneity (T2?; p?<?.0001) in MCI compared to healthy controls, which was not seen with midpoint (T2?; p?=?.149) in the hippocampus and thalamus. Hippocampal T2 heterogeneity predicted cognitive decline over 1 year in MCI participants (p?=?.018), but midpoint (p?=?.132) and volume (p?=?.315) did not. Age affects T2, but the effects described here are significant even after correcting for age.ConclusionsWe show that T2 heterogeneity can identify subtle changes in microstructural integrity of brain tissue in MCI and predict cognitive decline over a year. We describe a new model that considers the competing effects of factors that both increase and decrease T2. These two opposing forces suggest that previous conclusions based on T2 midpoint may have obscured the true potential of T2 as a marker of subtle neuropathology. We propose that T2 heterogeneity reflects microstructural integrity with potential to be a widely used early biomarker of conditions such as AD.

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Dataset Information

Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record.

Publications

Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust. Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record.

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