Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans

Farming and sedentism first appeared in southwestern Asia during the early Holocene and later spread to neighboring regions, including Europe, along multiple dispersal routes. Conspicuous uncertainties remain about the relative roles of migration, cultural diffusion, and admixture with local foragers in the early Neolithization of Europe. Here we present paleogenomic data for five Neolithic individuals from northern Greece and northwestern Turkey spanning the time and region of the earliest spread of farming into Europe. We use a novel approach to recalibrate raw reads and call genotypes from ancient DNA and observe striking genetic similarity both among Aegean early farmers and with those from across Europe. Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia

Palpable Mass on the Head after Minor Trauma

Temporal artery is superficially exhibited and easily traumatized. Rarely, a minor and blunt trauma, especially in elderly who are under anticoagulants, can cause a pseudoaneurysm. Diagnosis should be based, primarily, on history and physical examination and secondarily on duplex ultrasound scanning which will lead to confirmation and preoperative planning. The therapeutical plan consists of surgical ligation and excision of the aneurysm. Surgery can be performed under local anesthesia with no postoperative major or minor complications. Endovascular approach consists of catheter embolization and remains a second option due to the risk of complications and the inconclusive results. On this review, authors present a case of an 80-year-old male with a pseudoaneurysm of superficial temporal artery

Indications of embalming in Roman Greece by physical, chemical and histological analysis

The partially mummified remains of a high-status female (ca. 1700 BP, Thessaloniki, Greece) were found inside a Roman-type marble sarcophagus containing a lead coffin. The individual was positioned on a wooden pallet, wrapped in bandages, and covered with a gold-embroidered purple silk cloth. Besides the clothes, remnants of soft tissue as well as the individual's original hair style and eyebrows were exceptionally well preserved. In addition to the macroscopic examination, microscopic and biochemical analyses were undertaken. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were applied to examine the tissue preservation and probable mechanisms of mummification. The presence of chemical components, such as sesquiterpenes, triterpenoids, and diterpenoids, originating from coniferous and pistacia resins, myrrh, and other spices, verify ancient information on preparation methods of the dead in Greek and Roman times. These chemical components are thought to have played a prominent role in the mummification mechanism in this particular case. The potential effect of the lead coffin in the mummification process was also examined. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis failed to detect lead penetration into the tissues, suggesting that the coffin played a limited role in the preservation of soft tissue

Virtual anthropology: A comparison between the performance of conventional X-ray and MDCT in investigating the trabecular structure of long bones.

Recently, modern cross-sectional imaging techniques such as multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) have pioneered post mortem investigations, especially in forensic medicine. Such approaches can also be used to investigate bones non-invasively for anthropological purposes. Long bones are often examined in forensic cases because they are frequently discovered and transferred to medico-legal departments for investigation. To estimate their age, the trabecular structure must be examined. This study aimed to compare the performance of MDCT with conventional X-rays to investigate the trabecular structure of long bones. Fifty-two dry bones (24 humeri and 28 femora) from anthropological collections were first examined by conventional X-ray, and then by MDCT. Trabecular structure was evaluated by seven observers (two experienced and five inexperienced in anthropology) who analyzed images obtained by radiological methods. Analyses contained the measurement of one quantitative parameter (caput diameter of humerus and femur) and staging the trabecular structure of each bone. Preciseness of each technique was indicated by describing areas of trabecular destruction and particularities of the bones, such as pathological changes. Concerning quantitative parameters, the measurements demonstrate comparable results for the MDCT and conventional X-ray techniques. In contrast, the overall inter-observer reliability of the staging was low with MDCT and conventional X-ray. Reliability increased significantly when only the results of the staging performed by the two experienced observers were compared, particularly regarding the MDCT analysis. Our results also indicate that MDCT appears to be better suited to a detailed examination of the trabecular structure. In our opinion, MDCT is an adequate tool with which to examine the trabecular structure of long bones. However, adequate methods should be developed or existing methods should be adapted to MDCT

ATHsENSe: An experiment in translating urban data to multisensory immersive artistic experiences in public space

This paper presents ATHsENSe, a multisensory interactive installation art project employing ubiquitous computing technologies, various sensors, virtual reality interfaces, multi-channel audio displays and interactive light structures. The project explores the concept of a smart city, through creatively translating the urban data produced by the environment of Athens and by its citizens. ATHsENSe is implemented through ubiquitous computing infrastructure, combining the use of sensors, location-based technology and mobile devices, in order to form a network of human and non-human sensors across the city. This structure enables the acquisition of rich urban data, which are eventually creatively translated in different artistic multisensory representations, displayed in physical and virtual space. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Ancient mitochondrial diversity reveals population homogeneity in Neolithic Greece and identifies population dynamics along the Danubian expansion axis

The aim of the study is to investigate mitochondrial diversity in Neolithic Greece and its relation to hunter-gatherers and farmers who populated the Danubian Neolithic expansion axis. We sequenced 42 mitochondrial palaeogenomes from Greece and analysed them together with European set of 328 mtDNA sequences dating from the Early to the Final Neolithic and 319 modern sequences. To test for population continuity through time in Greece, we use an original structured population continuity test that simulates DNA from different periods by explicitly considering the spatial and temporal dynamics of populations. We explore specific scenarios of the mode and tempo of the European Neolithic expansion along the Danubian axis applying spatially explicit simulations coupled with Approximate Bayesian Computation. We observe a striking genetic homogeneity for the maternal line throughout the Neolithic in Greece whereas population continuity is rejected between the Neolithic and present-day Greeks. Along the Danubian expansion axis, our best-fitting scenario supports a substantial decrease in mobility and an increasing local hunter-gatherer contribution to the gene-pool of farmers following the initial rapid Neolithic expansion. Οur original simulation approach models key demographic parameters rather than inferring them from fragmentary data leading to a better understanding of this important process in European prehistory