ObjectivesOur primary objective was to establish preliminary normal reference curves for ultrasound–dermal thickness and skin stiffness in the 17 Rodnan skin sites, considering the effect of gender and age on these measures. As an exploratory objective, we investigated the effect of body mass index and the menopause on skin ultrasound measures.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted involving 140 healthy volunteers, aged 20–79 years. Recruitment was stratified by gender and age (10-year categories). Ultrasound–dermal thickness and skin stiffness were assessed by high-frequency ultrasound and shear-wave elastography, respectively, at the 17 Rodnan skin sites. Outcomes were evaluated through a mixed linear model, univariate and multivariate regressions. Normal reference curves were derived for both ultrasound measures in each skin site. An online calculator of the percentiles of skin ultrasound measures was developed.ResultsUltrasound–dermal thickness and stiffness measures were higher in men than women in all Rodnan skin sites (except in chest for ultrasound–dermal thickness). Age had also a significant impact in both ultrasound measures, but only in some skin sites. Gender and age percentile curves (97.5th, 95th, 75th, 50th, 25th, 5th, 2.5th) were plotted for each of the measures in each skin site.ConclusionsGender and age are strongly associated with skin ultrasound parameters, imposing the need for gender-specific and age-specific reference values. Normal reference percentile curves are provided as a basis for future cooperative work to strengthen its evidence basis, representativeness and refinement regarding potentially influential factors.

This paper examines writing and orthography in the work of Latin grammarians and spelling variants in epigraphic texts. It focuses on the uses of the letter H and the spelling of the word sepulchrum. The word’s spelling seems to be connected to the spelling of other words through the adjective pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum. The analysis indicates that the teaching and learning of orthography had a limited influence on epigraphic texts, but there is evidence of the consistently high frequency of the spelling sepulcrum. The paper also shows how data on Latin orthography can help in understanding the chronology of the evolution of spelling in epigraphic texts.

The aim of this paper is to bring into discussion some data concerning early Christian inscriptions from the Iberian Peninsula on the differentiation of Vulgar Latin, focusing on the several methods and procedures of collecting data (in corpora and databases), and the interpretation as regards Latin dialectology. The low number of specific dialectal traits in early Christian funerary epigraphy contrasts with specific local features that can be found when we put the epigraphic texts into their social and cultural context. We may conclude that Latin dialectal evidence in Late Antiquity should be evaluated according to its context. We can understand both common and specific traits of the written language from this perspective.

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An analysis of the lexical choices between words with close or similar meanings in Latin epigraphy is one way to understand lexical variation in the language. This study focuses on formal, semantic and other reasons for the use of the words maritus, mariti (m.) and marita, maritae (f.) and their distribution in time and space in Latin epigraphy. This will allow us to better understand the relation between the juridical sense of these words and their usage in other contexts, such as poetry. This analysis of the use of maritus/marita can help us to understand semantic changes in Latin and the lexical change of the words, for instance their change into onomastic elements such as the name Marita. Also of interest is how the distribution of these words in epigraphic texts relates to the Romance languages, such as Portuguese, in which the masculine form maritus has been preserved but the feminine marita has been left behind. In this paper I approach variation in Latin through the analysis of lexical variation. I focus on epigraphic texts and assess the relevance of the data with respect to lexical choices among words that have the same or close meanings. Furthermore, I examine whether there is any connection between literary lexical choices and the other linguistic/grammatical traits of the texts.