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Emken S, Witzel C, Kierdorf U, Frölich K, Kierdorf H. Characterization of short-period and long-period incremental markings in porcine enamel and dentine-Results of a fluorochrome labelling study in wild boar and domestic pigs. J Anat 2021; 239:1207-1220. [PMID: 34240412 PMCID: PMC8546513 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian dental hard tissues exhibit incremental markings that reflect the periodic variation of appositional growth rates. In order to use these markings to characterize dental growth processes and to infer life‐history traits, an unequivocal identification of their periodicities is required. We performed a fluorochrome labelling study on forming enamel and dentine in molar teeth of wild boar and domestic pigs to establish the periodicity and temporal correspondence of incremental markings in enamel and dentine. The dominant incremental markings in enamel (laminations) and dentine (von Ebner lines) recorded in the pig teeth are of a daily nature. In addition, long‐period incremental markings with a periodicity of 2 days were recorded in enamel (striae of Retzius) and dentine (Andresen lines). The 2‐day growth rhythm was also expressed at the lateral crown surface, as evidenced by the pattern of perikymata. In enamel, also markings with a sub‐daily periodicity, representing an ultradian growth rhythm, were observed. Our study provides experimental evidence for the periodicity of incremental markings in porcine enamel and dentine. The findings correct previous misconceptions on incremental markings in dental hard tissues of pigs and other ungulates that had led to erroneous conclusions regarding crown formation parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Emken
- Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
| | - Carsten Witzel
- Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
| | - Uwe Kierdorf
- Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
| | - Kai Frölich
- Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany.,Tierpark Arche Warder e.V, Warder, Germany
| | - Horst Kierdorf
- Department of Biology, University of Hildesheim, Hildesheim, Germany
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McFarlane G, Guatelli-Steinberg D, Loch C, White S, Bayle P, Floyd B, Pitfield R, Mahoney P. An inconstant biorhythm: The changing pace of Retzius periodicity in human permanent teeth. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 175:172-186. [PMID: 33368148 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Human tooth enamel retains evidence of growth in the form of Retzius lines. The number of daily growth increments between the regularly occurring lines defines their repeat interval, or periodicity. Retzius periodicity is often incorporated into enamel formation times, age-at-death reconstructions, or used to provide a basis from which to explore an underlying biorhythm. Biological anthropologists typically assume that RP remains constant within an individual and does not vary along the tooth-row. Here, we test that assumption. MATERIALS AND METHODS RP was calculated from n = 223 thin sections of human permanent teeth from individuals of British and southern African origin. Forty individuals provided multiple teeth (n = 102 teeth) and a further 121 individuals each provided a single tooth. RESULTS We report first evidence that RP of permanent teeth does not always remain constant within an individual. Of those individuals that provided multiple teeth, 42% (n = 17/40) demonstrated a decrease in RP along the tooth row, with most shifting by two or more days (n = 11). Across the entire sample, mean RP of anterior teeth was significantly higher than molars. Mean premolar RP tended to be intermediate between anterior teeth and molars. DISCUSSION Our data do not support the assumption that RP invariably remains constant within the permanent teeth of an individual. Transferring RP from molars to incisors within an individual can result in a miscalculation of formation time and age-at-death by up to 1 year. Implications for biological anthropologists and the source of the underlying long period biorhythm are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina McFarlane
- Human Osteology Lab, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg
- Human Osteology Lab, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.,Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Carolina Loch
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, New Zealand
| | - Sophie White
- Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, New Zealand
| | | | - Bruce Floyd
- School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Rosie Pitfield
- Human Osteology Lab, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Patrick Mahoney
- Human Osteology Lab, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
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A comprehensive survey of Retzius periodicities in fossil hominins and great apes. J Hum Evol 2020; 149:102896. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Mahoney P, McFarlane G, Pitfield R, O'Hara MC, Miszkiewicz JJ, Deter C, Seal H, Guatelli-Steinberg D. A structural biorhythm related to human sexual dimorphism. J Struct Biol 2020; 211:107550. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2020.107550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
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Button K, You H, Kirkland JI, Zanno L. Incremental growth of therizinosaurian dental tissues: implications for dietary transitions in Theropoda. PeerJ 2017; 5:e4129. [PMID: 29250467 PMCID: PMC5729821 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous investigations document functional and phylogenetic signals in the histology of dinosaur teeth. In particular, incremental lines in dentin have been used to determine tooth growth and replacement rates in several dinosaurian clades. However, to date, few studies have investigated the dental microstructure of theropods in the omnivory/herbivory spectrum. Here we examine dental histology of Therizinosauria, a clade of large-bodied theropods bearing significant morphological evidence for herbivory, by examining the teeth of the early-diverging therizinosaurian Falcarius utahensis, and an isolated tooth referred to Suzhousaurus megatherioides, a highly specialized large-bodied representative. Despite attaining some of the largest body masses among maniraptoran theropod dinosaurs, therizinosaurian teeth are diminutive, measuring no more than 0.90 cm in crown height (CH) and 0.38 cm in crown base length (CBL). Comparisons with other theropods and non-theropodan herbivorous dinosaurs reveals that when controlling for estimated body mass, crown volume in therizinosaurians plots most closely with dinosaurs of similar dietary strategy as opposed to phylogenetic heritage. Analysis of incremental growth lines in dentin, observed in thin sections of therizinosaurian teeth, demonstrates that tooth growth rates fall within the range of other archosaurs, conforming to hypothesized physiological limitations on the production of dental tissues. Despite dietary differences between therizinosaurians and hypercarnivorous theropods, the types of enamel crystallites present and their spatial distribution—i.e., the schmelzmuster of both taxa—is limited to parallel enamel crystallites, the simplest form of enamel and the plesiomorphic condition for Theropoda. This finding supports previous hypotheses that dental microstructure is strongly influenced by phylogeny, yet equally supports suggestions of reduced reliance on oral processing in omnivorous/herbivorous theropods rather than the microstructural specializations to diet exhibited by non-theropodan herbivorous dinosaurs. Finally, although our sample is limited, we document a significant reduction in the rate of enamel apposition contrasted with increased relative enamel thickness between early and later diverging therizinosaurians that coincides with anatomical evidence for increased specializations to herbivory in the clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khai Button
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America.,Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, United States of America
| | - Hailu You
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - James I Kirkland
- Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America
| | - Lindsay Zanno
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States of America.,Paleontology, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, United States of America
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Modeling Metabolism and Disease in Bioarcheology. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:548704. [PMID: 26347356 PMCID: PMC4545410 DOI: 10.1155/2015/548704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
We examine two important measures that can be made in bioarcheology on the remains of human and vertebrate animals. These remains consist of bone, teeth, or hair; each shows growth increments and each can be assayed for isotope ratios and other chemicals in equal intervals along the direction of growth. In each case, the central data is a time series of measurements. The first important measures are spectral estimates in spectral analyses and linear system analyses; we emphasize calculation of periodicities and growth rates as well as the comparison of power in bands. A low frequency band relates to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) control of metabolism and thus provides information about the life history of the individual of archeological interest. Turning to nonlinear system analysis, we discuss the calculation of SM Pinus' approximate entropy (ApEn) for short or moderate length time series. Like the concept that regular heart R-R interval data may indicate lack of health, low values of ApEn may indicate disrupted metabolism in individuals of archeological interest and even that a tipping point in deteriorating metabolism may have been reached just before death. This adds to the list of causes of death that can be determined from minimal data.
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Five hundred years of mercury exposure and adaptation. J Biomed Biotechnol 2012; 2012:472858. [PMID: 22910643 PMCID: PMC3403783 DOI: 10.1155/2012/472858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2012] [Revised: 05/13/2012] [Accepted: 05/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Mercury is added to the biosphere by anthropogenic activities raising the question of whether changes in the human chromatin, induced by mercury, in a parental generation could allow adaptation of their descendants to mercury. We review the history of Andean mining since pre-Hispanic times in Huancavelica, Peru. Despite the persistent degradation of the biosphere today, no overt signs of mercury toxicity could be discerned in present day inhabitants. However, mercury is especially toxic to the autonomic nervous system (ANS). We, therefore, tested ANS function and biologic rhythms, under the control of the ANS, in 5 Huancavelicans and examined the metal content in their hair. Mercury levels varied from none to 1.014 ppm, significantly less than accepted standards. This was confirmed by microfocused synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis. Biologic rhythms were abnormal and hair growth rate per year, also under ANS control, was reduced (P < 0.001). Thus, evidence of mercury's toxicity in ANS function was found without other signs of intoxication. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis of partial transgenerational inheritance of tolerance to mercury in Huancavelica, Peru. This would generally benefit survival in the Anthropocene, the man-made world, we now live in.
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8
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Primate enamel evinces long period biological timing and regulation of life history. J Theor Biol 2012; 305:131-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2012.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2012] [Revised: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 04/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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9
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Galli A, Barbic F, Borella M, Costantino G, Perego F, Dipaola F, Casella F, Duca PG, Diedrich A, Raj S, Robertson D, Porta A, Furlan R. Influence of climate on emergency department visits for syncope: role of air temperature variability. PLoS One 2011; 6:e22719. [PMID: 21818372 PMCID: PMC3144938 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2011] [Accepted: 06/29/2011] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Syncope is a clinical event characterized by a transient loss of consciousness, estimated to affect 6.2/1000 person-years, resulting in remarkable health care and social costs. Human pathophysiology suggests that heat may promote syncope during standing. We tested the hypothesis that the increase of air temperatures from January to July would be accompanied by an increased rate of syncope resulting in a higher frequency of Emergency Department (ED) visits. We also evaluated the role of maximal temperature variability in affecting ED visits for syncope. Methodology/Principal Findings We included 770 of 2775 consecutive subjects who were seen for syncope at four EDs between January and July 2004. This period was subdivided into three epochs of similar length: 23 January–31 March, 1 April–31 May and 1 June–31 July. Spectral techniques were used to analyze oscillatory components of day by day maximal temperature and syncope variability and assess their linear relationship. There was no correlation between daily maximum temperatures and number of syncope. ED visits for syncope were lower in June and July when maximal temperature variability declined although the maximal temperatures themselves were higher. Frequency analysis of day by day maximal temperature variability showed a major non-random fluctuation characterized by a ∼23-day period and two minor oscillations with ∼3- and ∼7-day periods. This latter oscillation was correlated with a similar ∼7-day fluctuation in ED visits for syncope. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that ED visits for syncope were not predicted by daily maximal temperature but were associated with increased temperature variability. A ∼7-day rhythm characterized both maximal temperatures and ED visits for syncope variability suggesting that climate changes may have a significant effect on the mode of syncope occurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Galli
- Emergency Department, Vimercate Hospital, Vimercate, Milan, Italy
| | - Franca Barbic
- Neuroscience Research Association, Internal Medicine, “Bolognini” Hospital, Seriate, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Marta Borella
- Internal Medicine 2, “L. Sacco” Hospital, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | - Franca Dipaola
- Internal Medicine, Sesto S. Giovanni Hospital, Sesto S. Giovanni, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Pier Giorgio Duca
- Medical Statistics, Institute of Clinical Science “L.Sacco”, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrè Diedrich
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Autonomic Dysfunction Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Satish Raj
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Autonomic Dysfunction Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - David Robertson
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Autonomic Dysfunction Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Alberto Porta
- Department of Technologies for Health, Galeazzi Orthopaedic Institute, Milan, Italy
- University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Raffaello Furlan
- Neuroscience Research Association, Internal Medicine, “Bolognini” Hospital, Seriate, Bergamo, Italy
- University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- * E-mail:
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Alfonso-Durruty MP. Experimental assessment of nutrition and bone growth's velocity effects on Harris lines formation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2011; 145:169-80. [PMID: 21469071 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2010] [Accepted: 11/30/2010] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Harris lines (HL) are radio-opaque transverse lines traditionally associated with stressors that halt or decelerate growth in humans. Harris lines' status as a stress marker is, however, questionable because their association to illness and deficient growth is low and they commonly form in the absence of stress during periods of accelerated growth. To assess Harris line's reliability as a stress marker, this study examined their association with nutritional status and bone growth velocity through an experimental study in rabbits. Forty-five New Zealand White rabbits were divided into: Control (normal laboratory conditions), Experimental-1 (moderately undernourished), and Experimental-2 (periodically fasted) groups during their growth. Variables analyzed included weight, forelimb length, humeral diaphyseal length, diaphyseal growth velocity, and number of Harris lines. Fewer lines were observed by the end of the study among Experimental-1 animals. More Harris lines formed during periods of rapid growth in the absence of nutritional stress. Accordingly, Harris lines are a poor marker of stress. Intrinsic limitations to paleopathological studies can be overcome, but even the most careful attentiveness to multiple stress markers and cultural context will go amiss if the markers used are unreliable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta P Alfonso-Durruty
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.
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11
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Sander PM, Christian A, Clauss M, Fechner R, Gee CT, Griebeler EM, Gunga HC, Hummel J, Mallison H, Perry SF, Preuschoft H, Rauhut OWM, Remes K, Tütken T, Wings O, Witzel U. Biology of the sauropod dinosaurs: the evolution of gigantism. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 86:117-55. [PMID: 21251189 PMCID: PMC3045712 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2010.00137.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 168] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2009] [Revised: 03/13/2010] [Accepted: 03/16/2010] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The herbivorous sauropod dinosaurs of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods were the largest terrestrial animals ever, surpassing the largest herbivorous mammals by an order of magnitude in body mass. Several evolutionary lineages among Sauropoda produced giants with body masses in excess of 50 metric tonnes by conservative estimates. With body mass increase driven by the selective advantages of large body size, animal lineages will increase in body size until they reach the limit determined by the interplay of bauplan, biology, and resource availability. There is no evidence, however, that resource availability and global physicochemical parameters were different enough in the Mesozoic to have led to sauropod gigantism. We review the biology of sauropod dinosaurs in detail and posit that sauropod gigantism was made possible by a specific combination of plesiomorphic characters (phylogenetic heritage) and evolutionary innovations at different levels which triggered a remarkable evolutionary cascade. Of these key innovations, the most important probably was the very long neck, the most conspicuous feature of the sauropod bauplan. Compared to other herbivores, the long neck allowed more efficient food uptake than in other large herbivores by covering a much larger feeding envelope and making food accessible that was out of the reach of other herbivores. Sauropods thus must have been able to take up more energy from their environment than other herbivores. The long neck, in turn, could only evolve because of the small head and the extensive pneumatization of the sauropod axial skeleton, lightening the neck. The small head was possible because food was ingested without mastication. Both mastication and a gastric mill would have limited food uptake rate. Scaling relationships between gastrointestinal tract size and basal metabolic rate (BMR) suggest that sauropods compensated for the lack of particle reduction with long retention times, even at high uptake rates. The extensive pneumatization of the axial skeleton resulted from the evolution of an avian-style respiratory system, presumably at the base of Saurischia. An avian-style respiratory system would also have lowered the cost of breathing, reduced specific gravity, and may have been important in removing excess body heat. Another crucial innovation inherited from basal dinosaurs was a high BMR. This is required for fueling the high growth rate necessary for a multi-tonne animal to survive to reproductive maturity. The retention of the plesiomorphic oviparous mode of reproduction appears to have been critical as well, allowing much faster population recovery than in megaherbivore mammals. Sauropods produced numerous but small offspring each season while land mammals show a negative correlation of reproductive output to body size. This permitted lower population densities in sauropods than in megaherbivore mammals but larger individuals. Our work on sauropod dinosaurs thus informs us about evolutionary limits to body size in other groups of herbivorous terrestrial tetrapods. Ectothermic reptiles are strongly limited by their low BMR, remaining small. Mammals are limited by their extensive mastication and their vivipary, while ornithsichian dinosaurs were only limited by their extensive mastication, having greater average body sizes than mammals.
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Bromage TG, Lacruz RS, Hogg R, Goldman HM, McFarlin SC, Warshaw J, Dirks W, Perez-Ochoa A, Smolyar I, Enlow DH, Boyde A. Lamellar bone is an incremental tissue reconciling enamel rhythms, body size, and organismal life history. Calcif Tissue Int 2009; 84:388-404. [PMID: 19234658 DOI: 10.1007/s00223-009-9221-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2008] [Accepted: 01/18/2009] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian enamel formation is periodic, including fluctuations attributable to the daily biological clock as well as longer-period oscillations that enigmatically correlate with body mass. Because the scaling of bone mass to body mass is an axiom of vertebrate hard tissue biology, we consider that long-period enamel formation rhythms may reflect corresponding and heretofore unrecognized rhythms in bone growth. The principal aim of this study is to seek a rhythm in bone growth demonstrably related to enamel oscillatory development. Our analytical approach is based in morphology, using a variety of hard tissue microscopy techniques. We first ascertain the relationship among long-period enamel rhythms, the striae of Retzius, and body mass using a large sample of mammalian taxa. In addition, we test whether osteocyte lacuna density (a surrogate for rates of cell proliferation) in bone is correlated with mammalian body mass. Finally, using fluorescently labeled developing bone tissues, we investigate whether the bone lamella, a fundamental microanatomical unit of bone, relates to rhythmic enamel growth increments. Our results confirm a positive correlation between long-period enamel rhythms and body mass and a negative correlation between osteocyte density and body mass. We also confirm that lamellar bone is an incremental tissue, one lamella formed in the species-specific time dependency of striae of Retzius formation. We conclude by contextualizing our morphological research with a current understanding of autonomic regulatory control of the skeleton and body mass, suggesting a central contribution to the coordination of organismal life history and body mass.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy G Bromage
- Departments of Biomaterials and Biomimetics and Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, NY 10010, USA.
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Taylor JA, Studinger P. Point: cardiovascular variability is/is not an index of autonomic control of circulation. J Appl Physiol (1985) 2006; 101:678-81; discussion 681. [PMID: 16892500 DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00446.2006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 235] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE POINT:COUNTERPOINT DEBATES This series of debates was initiated for the Journal of Applied Physiology because we believe an important means of searching for truth is through debate where contradictory viewpoints are put forward. This dialectic process whereby a thesis is advanced, then opposed by an antithesis, with a synthesis subsequently arrived at, is a powerful and often entertaining method for gaining knowledge and for understanding the source of a controversy. Before reading these Point:Counterpoint manuscripts or preparing a brief commentary on their content (see below for instructions), the reader should understand that authors on each side of the debate are expected to advance a polarized viewpoint and to select the most convincing data to support their position. This approach differs markedly from the review article where the reader expects the author to present balanced coverage of the topic. Each of the authors has been strictly limited in the lengths of both the manuscript (1,200 words) and the rebuttal (400). The number of references to publications is also limited to 30, and citation of unpublished findings is prohibited.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Andrew Taylor
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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