Evidence of surgical trephinations in infants from the 7th-9th centuries AD burial site of Kiskundorozsma-Kettőshatár

The authors found 3 infant skulls with cranial lesions in the 7th-9th centuries AD (Avar Age) burial site of Szeged-Kiskundorozsma-Kettôshatár. The remains were examined with standard macromorphological methods of bioarcheology. The most presumable diagnosis of the lesions is surgical trephination. Infants and Avar Age findings were formerly underrepresented in the otherwise abundant and internationally significant amount of paleopathological cases with cranial interventions found in Hungary. Thus, these findings may alter the assumption we formerly had of the cranial surgery of the Avars. During the search for trephined lesions, signs of severe inflammation of the meninges were found in one case and slight hydrocephalus occurred in another implying possible skeletal tuberculosis that put forward interesting questions in connection with healing practices and believes of this era. Together with other Avar Age findings formerly known from the nearby areas these results refine our knowledge of Avar Age medical practices and also the general picture of the medical history of the Carpathian Basin

Cryptogenic postpartum stroke

An estimated 25–40% of ischemic strokes are classified as cryptogenic, which means the cause of the cerebral infarction remains unidentified. One of the potential pathomechanisms – especially among young patients with no cardiovascular risk factors – is paradoxical embolism through a patent foramen ovale. Pregnancy, cesarean delivery and the postpartum period are associated with an increased risk of cerebrovascular events. Factors that may contribute to ischemic strokes during gestation and puerperium include classic cardiovascular risk factors, changes in hemostaseology/hemodynamics, and pregnancy-specific disorders such as pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, postpartum cerebral angiopathy or peripartum cardiomyopathy. In this case report, we present a 36-year-old thrombolysis candidate undergoing mechanical thrombectomy 3 weeks after a cesarean section due to HELLP-syndrome. After evaluation of anamnestic and diagnostic parameters, closure of the patent foramen ovale has been performed. In the absence of specific guidelines, diagnostic work-up for cryptogenic stroke should be oriented after the suspected pathomechanism based on patient history and clinical picture. As long as definite evidences emerge, management of cryptogenic stroke patients with pathogenic right-to-left shunt remains individual based on the mutual decision of the patient and the multidisciplinary medical team

7000 éves dél-magyarországi tuberkulózis esetek oszteológiai és molekuláris biológiai vizsgálata

This study derives from the macroscopic analysis of a Late Neolithic population from southern Hungary. Remains were recovered from a tell settlement at Hódmezővásárhely-Gorzsa from graves within the settlement as well as pits, ditches, houses and as stray finds. Pathological analysis of the 71 individuals revealed numerous cases of infections and non-specific stress indicators, metabolic diseases, and evidence of trauma and mechanical changes. Several cases showed potential signs of tuberculosis and further analyses were undertaken, including biomolecular studies. The five individuals were all very young adults and included a striking case of hypertrophic pulmonary osteopathy. The initial macroscopic diagnosis of these five cases was confirmed by lipid biomarker analyses, and three of them were corroborated by DNA analysis. At present, these 7000-year-old individuals are among the oldest palaeopathological and palaeomicrobiological cases of tuberculosis worldwide

Examination of the human remains from the medieval cemetery of Bátmonostor-Pusztafalu in Hungary

This paper summarizes the results of the physical anthropological examinations carried out on the remains of 3783 individuals from the medieval cemetery of Bátmonostor- Pusztafalu in Hungary. Distributions of sex and age at death are described along with the observations made concerning anatomical variations, developmental anomalies, pathological alterations and taxonomic features. This study is the shorter version of a more detailed paper to be published in Opuscula Hungáriáé

Különleges formájú jelképes trepanációk a Dél-Alföldről

Symbolic trephinations of unusual shape from the Southern Great Plain. Symbolic trephinations are very common in the 9th-11th century AD skeletal material in Hungary. During the compilation of a database of regional cranial modification data, the authors found several new cases in Late Avar and Conquest Period series. In this study, the symbolic trephinations of 14 skulls are described from the 8th-11th centuries AD in the Southern Great Plain of Hungary, and special emphasis is given to the almond shaped lesions of the sample. The authors also give account of the possible sexual symbolism and the application of these special shapes among the more abundant small round symbolic trepahinations. The new findings may strengthen the theory of close cultural connections of Late Avar and Early Hungarian populations

Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton - preliminary results

In this paper we introduce the preliminary results of an anthropological investigation of archery-induced stress markers on the skeletons of a Hungarian Conquest Period cemetery. According to historical and archaeological data the bow was a common weapon in this era. Our main question is whether anthropological data also reflect this fact, or not. We focused on entheseal changes that occur on the skeleton as a result of physical stress. Macroscopic analysis was performed of the scapulas, claviculas, humeruses, radiuses and ulnas of the “archer” graves and the unarmed adult male graves. We found hypertrophy at the attachment of a wide scale of muscles of the upper body and a few of them - such as m. deltoideus, m. pectoralis major, m. latissimus dorsi, m. brachialis and m. biceps brachii - appear in high frequency. As a preliminary result we can state that the anthropological and archaeological data do support each other concerning the application of archery in the population in question

Roll with the fear: environment and state dependence of pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare) personalities

Most studies on animal personality evaluate individual mean behaviour to describe individual behavioural strategy, while often neglecting behavioural variability on the within-individual level. However, within-individual behavioural plasticity (variation induced by environment) and within-individual residual variation (regulatory behavioural precision) are recognized as biologically valid components of individual behaviour, but the evolutionary ecology of these components is still less understood. Here, we tested whether behaviour of common pill bugs (Armadillidium vulgare) differs on the among- and within-individual level and whether it is affected by various individual specific state-related traits (sex, size and Wolbachia infection). To this aim, we assayed risk-taking in familiar vs. unfamiliar environments 30 times along 38 days and applied double modelling statistical technique to handle the complex hierarchical structure for both individual-specific trait means and variances. We found that there are significant among-individual differences not only in mean risk-taking behaviour but also in environment- and time-induced behavioural plasticity and residual variation. Wolbachia-infected individuals took less risk than healthy conspecifics; in addition, individuals became more risk-averse with time. Residual variation decreased with time, and individuals expressed higher residual variation in the unfamiliar environment. Further, sensitization was stronger in females and in larger individuals in general. Our results suggest that among-individual variation, behavioural plasticity and residual variation are all (i) biologically relevant components of an individual’s behavioural strategy and (ii) responsive to changes in environment or labile state variables. We propose pill bugs as promising models for personality research due to the relative ease of getting repeated behavioural measurements

Comparison of different preparation techniques of dried blood spot quality controls in newborn screening for congenital adrenal hyperplasia

In newborn screening, samples suspected for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), a potentially lethal inborn error of steroid biosynthesis, need to be confirmed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Daily quality controls (QCs) for the 2(nd)-tier CAH assay are not commercially available and are therefore generally prepared within the laboratory. For the first time, we aimed to compare five different QC preparation approaches used in routine diagnostics for CAH on the concentrations of cortisol, 21-deoxycortisol, 11-deoxycortisol, 4-androstenedione and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in dried blood spots. The techniques from Prep1 to Prep5 were tested at two analyte concentrations by spiking aliquots of a steroid-depleted blood, derived from washed erythrocyte suspension and steroid-depleted serum. The preparation processes differed in the sequence of the preparation steps and whether freeze-thaw cycles were used to facilitate blood homogeneity. The five types of dried blood spot QCs were assayed and quantitated in duplicate on five different days using a single calibration row per day. Inter-assay variations less than 15% and concentrations within +/- 15% of the nominal values were considered acceptable. Results obtained by means of the four dried blood spot QC preparation techniques (Prep1, Prep2, Prep4 and Prep5) were statistically similar and remained within the +/- 15% ranges in terms of both reproducibility and nominal values. However, concentration results for Prep3 (spiking prior to three freeze-thaw cycles) were significantly lower than the nominal values in this setting, with differences exceeding the +/- 15% range in many cases despite acceptable inter-assay variations. These findings have implications for the in-house preparation of QC samples in laboratory developed tests for CAH, including 2(nd)-tier assays in newborn screening