Construction of a Standardized Tongue Image Database for Diagnostic Education: Development of a Tongue Diagnosis e-Learning System

Tongue examination is an important diagnostic method for judging pathological conditions in Kampo (traditional Japanese medicine), but it is not easy for beginners to learn the diagnostic technique. One reason is that there are few objective diagnostic criteria for tongue examination findings, and the educational method for tongue examination is not standardized in Japan, warranting the need for a tongue image database for e-learning systems that could dramatically improve the efficiency of education. Therefore, we constructed a database comprising tongue images whose findings were determined on the basis of votes given by five Kampo medicine specialists (KMSs) and confirmed the educational usefulness of the database for tongue diagnosis e-learning systems. The study was conducted in the following five steps: development of a tongue imaging collection system, collection of tongue images, evaluation and annotation of tongue images, development of a tongue diagnosis e-learning system, and verification of the educational usefulness of this system. Five KMSs evaluated the tongue images obtained from 125 participants in the following eight aspects: (i) tongue body size, (ii) tongue body color, (iii) tongue body dryness and wetness, (iv) tooth marks on the edge of the tongue, (v) cracks on the surface of the tongue, (vi) thickness of tongue coating, (vii) color of tongue coating, and (viii) dryness and wetness of tongue coating. Medical students (MSs) were given a tongue diagnosis test using an e-learning system after a lecture on tongue diagnosis. The cumulative and individual match rates (%) (individual match rates of 100% (5/5), 80% (4/5), and 60% (3/5) are shown in parentheses, respectively) were as follows: (i) tongue body size: 92.8 (26.4/26.4/40.0); (ii) tongue body color: 83.2 (10.4/20.8/52.0); (iii) tongue body dryness and wetness: 88.8 (13.6/34.4/40.8); (iv) tooth marks on the edge of the tongue: 88.8 (6.4/35.2/47.2); (v) cracks on the surface of the tongue: 96.8 (24.0/35.2/37.6); (vi) thickness of tongue coating: 84.8 (7.2/21.6/56.0); (vii) color of tongue coating: 88.0 (15.2/37.6/35.2); and (viii) dryness and wetness of tongue coating: 74.4 (4.8/19.2/50.4). The test showed that the tongue diagnosis ability of MSs who attended a lecture on tongue diagnosis was almost the same as that of KMSs. We successfully constructed a tongue image database standardized for training specialists on tongue diagnosis and confirmed the educational usefulness of the e-learning system using a database. This database will contribute to the standardization and popularization of Kampo education.

Who Killed the Small Mammals of Ittenheim? An Integrative Approach and New Taphonomic Data for Investigating Bone Assemblages Accumulated by Small Carnivores

Small carnivores are susceptible to regularly accumulating small- to medium-sized mammal remains in both natural and archaeological sites. However, compared to nocturnal birds of prey, these accumulations are still poorly documented and are generally based on a limited number of samples, including those of relatively small size. Here, we present an analysis of European hamster remains from Ittenheim, which were recovered from an infilled burrow, 3m below the current surface. The remains are well preserved and exhibit large proportions of tooth marks. Comparisons with a new and existing reference collection combined with an analysis of all recovered faunal remains suggest the accumulation reflects the action of young red foxes. This is supported by the fact that, although these young individuals leave teeth mark, they do not necessarily consume all parts of medium-sized prey species, including the European hamster. Conversely, the remains of smaller rodents, such as microtine, show distinct patterns of digestion and tooth marks. Carnivore bone accumulations from scats are generally poorly preserved; however, our results demonstrate prey size plays a major role, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in skeletal representation, bone preservation, and bone surface modifications. The present paper underlines the need for more diversified taphonomic reference collections based on an integrative approach designed to evaluate multi-taxa accumulations.

Animal consumption and social change: the vertebrates from Ditch 7 in the context of a diachronic approach to the faunal remains at Perdigões enclosure (3400-2000 BC)

The results from the study of the faunal assemblage from ditch 7 of the Perdigões enclosure (Reguengos de Monsaraz, Portugal) are presented. Dated to the Chalcolithic and the transition to the early Bronze Age it comprises a total of 3380 remains. Results show the rele- vance of swine, caprines, cervids, bovines and equids and their diachronic oscillation. Indicators of butchering and consumption were recorded, comprising cutmarks, anthropogenic breakage, thermo-alterations and tooth marks, the latter mainly of a carnivore origin. The spectra obtained were compared within the scope of the Perdigões chronology, from the late Middle Neolithic to the transition to the early Bronze Age (3400-2000 BC), thus representing a first approach to the diachronic behaviour of vertebrate consumption at the site. Domesticated species are prevalent but changes in the domesticated/wild ratio are evident with a wild input, mainly from red deer, of significance in the late Middle Neolithic and in the transition to the early Bronze Age, whereas the Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods have a growth in the domesticated component.

Zooarchaeology and Taphonomic Aspects of Later Stone Age Faunal Assemblage from Loiyangalani Site in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

The paper presents detailed zooarchaeological and taphonomic results on the Later Stone Age (LSA) faunal assemblage. The contributions of various taphonomic agents in the formation of the assemblage are accentuated. The assemblage is well-preserved and the majority of specimens are not highly weathered. Fluvial disturbance did not play a significant role and can be ruled out as a significant taphonomic agent in the formation. Results indicate that LSA humans exploited high-quality nutritional resources mainly of the large-sized animals and aquatic resources as extra sources of meat and fat. The assemblage preserves stone tools butchery marks (cut marks and percussion marks) and carnivore marks (tooth marks) albeit few. Overall, the faunal assemblage exhibits high anthropogenic inputs and marginal carnivore involvement. Keywords: Zooarchaeology; Taphonomy; Later Stone Age; Serengeti National Park; Loiyangalani; Tanzania

3D Insights into the Effects of Captivity on Wolf Mastication and Their Tooth Marks; Implications in Ecological Studies of Both the Past and Present

Human populations have been known to develop complex relationships with large carnivore species throughout time, with evidence of both competition and collaboration to obtain resources throughout the Pleistocene. From this perspective, many archaeological and palaeontological sites present evidence of carnivore modifications to bone. In response to this, specialists in the study of microscopic bone surface modifications have resorted to the use of 3D modeling and data science techniques for the inspection of these elements, reaching novel limits for the discerning of carnivore agencies. The present research analyzes the tooth mark variability produced by multiple Iberian wolf individuals, with the aim of studying how captivity may affect the nature of tooth marks left on bone. In addition to this, four different populations of both wild and captive Iberian wolves are also compared for a more in-depth comparison of intra-species variability. This research statistically shows that large canid tooth pits are the least affected by captivity, while tooth scores appear more superficial when produced by captive wolves. The superficial nature of captive wolf tooth scores is additionally seen to correlate with other metric features, thus influencing overall mark morphologies. In light of this, the present study opens a new dialogue on the reasons behind this, advising caution when using tooth scores for carnivore identification and contemplating how elements such as stress may be affecting the wolves under study.

Shark–seal interaction off South Africa’s west coast during the early Pliocene (5 Ma)

A study of the Mio-Pliocene marine palaeoenvironment on South Africa’s west coast revealed aspects of the biology and behaviour of fossil marine mammals. Close examination showed that seals from Langebaanweg suffered from pathologies and bore marks of marine carnivore activity. This study adds to our knowledge of shark feeding behaviour in the geological past and is one of a few studies of sharks feeding on seals in the fossil record. Two incomplete seal humeri with shark tooth marks are the first documented evidence from South Africa’s Mio-Pliocene of such behaviour. These injuries show no healing, which suggests that the animals were most likely scavenged.

A 3D taphonomic model of long bone modification by lions in medium-sized ungulate carcasses

Here, we present the first three-dimensional taphonomic analysis of a carnivore-modified assemblage at the anatomical scale of the appendicular skeleton. A sample of ten carcasses composed of two taxa (zebra and wildebeest) consumed by wild lions in the Tarangire National Park (Tanzania) has been used to determine element-specific lion damage patterns. This study presents a novel software for the 3D spatial documentation of bone surface modifications at the anatomical level. Combined with spatial statistics, the present analysis has been able to conclude that despite variable degrees of competition during carcass consumption, lions generate bilateral patterning consisting of substantial damage of proximal ends of stylopodials and zeugopodials, moderate damage of the distal ends of femora and marginal damage of distal ends of humeri and zeugopodials. Of special interest is, specifically, the patterning of tooth marks on shafts according to element, since these are crucial to determine not only the type of carnivore involved in any given bone assemblage, but also the interaction with other agents (namely, hominins, in the past). Lions leave few tooth marks on mid-shaft sections, mostly concentrated on certain sections and orientations of stylopodials and, to a lesser extent, of the proximal tibia. Redundant occurrence of tooth marks on certain bone sections renders them as crucial to attest lion agency in carcass initial consumption. Indirectly, this can also be used to determine whether hominins ever acquired carcasses at lion kills.

Predation of the giant Miocene caiman Purussaurus on a mylodontid ground sloth in the wetlands of proto-Amazonia

Thirteen million years ago in South America, the Pebas Mega-Wetland System sheltered multi-taxon crocodylian assemblages, with the giant caiman Purussaurus as the top predator. In these Miocene swamps where reptiles and mammals coexisted, evidence of their agonistic interactions is extremely rare. Here, we report a tibia of the mylodontid sloth Pseudoprepotherium bearing 46 predation tooth marks. The combination of round and bisected, shallow pits and large punctures that collapsed extensive portions of cortical bone points to a young or sub-adult Purussaurus (approx. 4 m in total length) as the perpetrator. Other known crocodylians of the Pebas System were either too small at adulthood or had discordant feeding anatomy to be considered. The pattern of tooth marks suggests that the perpetrator attacked and captured the ground sloth from the lower hind limb, yet an attempt of dismembering cannot be ruled out. This discovery from the Peruvian Amazonia provides an unusual snapshot of the dietary preferences of Purussaurus and reveals that prior to reaching its giant size, young individuals might have fed upon terrestrial mammals of about the size of a capybara.