Metallinilmaisimen käyttö inventoinnissa ennustavan mallin avulla Perämeren myöhäisrautakautisella rannikkoalueella

Pro gradu -tutkielmassani tutkin metallinilmaisimen käytettävyyttä myöhäisrautakauden kohteita inventoitaessa. Metallinilmaisinharrastajat ovat viime vuosina Suomessa löytäneet useita myöhäiselle rautakaudelle ajoittuvia löytöjä, mistä syystä oli tarvetta tutkia, voisivatko arkeologit käyttää metallinilmaisinta inventoinnin apuna. Valittu tutkimusalue on Perämeren rannikkoalue, jota aikaisemmin pidettiin vähälöytöisenä ja myöhäisrautakauden osalta epäselvänä alueena, kunnes 2010-luvulla metallinilmaisinharrastajat löysivät alueelta useita myöhäisrautakautisia esineitä. Tutkimuksissa kyseiset löydöt ovat osoittaneet Perämeren alueella olleen kiinteää asutusta ja ihmistoimintaa. Kohteiden sijainti viittaa myöhäisrautakautisen arkeologisen aineiston sijoittuvan jokisuiden saariin ja myöhäisrautakautisille rantatasoille. Inventointia kohdennetaan ennustavan mallin avulla, jonka perustana ovat jokisuut sekä myöhäisrautakautiset rantatasot. Yksittäisinä tarkastettavina kohteita toimivat satunnaispisteet, jotka jaettiin neljään eri luokkaan. Satunnaispisteiden lähiympäristöä haravoitiin metallinilmaisimen avulla. Inventoinnissa käytiin läpi yhteensä 96 satunnaispistettä. Inventoinnin aikana löydettiin useita epämääräisiä kuoppakohteita, joille ei voida antaa tarkkaa ajoitusta. Myöhäiselle rautakaudelle ajoittuvaa arkeologista aineistoa ei löytynyt. Inventoinnin tulosten perusteella metallinilmaisin on huono työkalu myöhäisrautakauden inventoinnissa. Metallinilmaisininventointi on varsin hidasta, johtuen sen pienestä kattavuusalueesta ja moderneista signaaleista, joiden tarkistamiseen voi kulua paljon aikaa. Ennustava malli ei myöskään ollut erityisen toimiva työkalu, sillä myöhäisrautakautisten kohteiden lukumäärä on hyvin pieni, mikä tekee toimivan ennustavan mallin rakentamisesta haastavaa

Improving anatomical stature estimation method:the relationship between living stature and intervertebral disc thickness

Abstract Anatomical stature estimation methods reconstruct stature for skeletal specimens by adding up the heights of skeletal elements contributing to stature. In addition, these estimations factor in a certain amount of soft tissue known as “soft tissue correction”. Our study focuses on the relationship between living stature and one of the major soft tissue contributors to stature: the intervertebral disc thickness/height. The purpose of this study was to clarify whether intervertebral disc thickness is greater in tall individuals and whether there is a linear correlation between stature and intervertebral disc height. To conduct this study, we utilized a subsample of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort of 1966 (n = 12,058) with known stature. We measured vertebral heights and intervertebral disc heights from low back MRI examination performed at the age of 46 years (n = 200). All subjects were considered healthy with no spinal injuries or pathologies. Our results clearly indicate that stature and intervertebral disc height have positive, statistically significant association. According to our results it is advisable to take into account the individual’s skeletal height when soft tissue corrections for anatomical stature estimations are performed. Further studies utilizing full body MRI are needed to produce more accurate soft tissue corrections

Chromosome Xq23 is associated with lower atherogenic lipid concentrations and favorable cardiometabolic indices

Abstract Autosomal genetic analyses of blood lipids have yielded key insights for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, X chromosome genetic variation is understudied for blood lipids in large sample sizes. We now analyze genetic and blood lipid data in a high-coverage whole X chromosome sequencing study of 65,322 multi-ancestry participants and perform replication among 456,893 European participants. Common alleles on chromosome Xq23 are strongly associated with reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (min P = 8.5 × 10−72), with similar effects for males and females. Chromosome Xq23 lipid-lowering alleles are associated with reduced odds for CHD among 42,545 cases and 591,247 controls (P = 1.7 × 10−4), and reduced odds for diabetes mellitus type 2 among 54,095 cases and 573,885 controls (P = 1.4 × 10−5). Although we observe an association with increased BMI, waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI is reduced, bioimpedance analyses indicate increased gluteofemoral fat, and abdominal MRI analyses indicate reduced visceral adiposity. Co-localization analyses strongly correlate increased CHRDL1 gene expression, particularly in adipose tissue, with reduced concentrations of blood lipids

Sleep apnoea is a risk factor for severe COVID-19

Background Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is associated with higher body mass index (BMI), diabetes, older age and male gender, which are all risk factors for severe COVID-19.We aimed to study if OSA is an independent risk factor for COVID-19 infection or for severe COVID-19.Methods OSA diagnosis and COVID-19 infection were extracted from the hospital discharge, causes of death and infectious diseases registries in individuals who participated in the FinnGen study (n=260 405). Severe COVID-19 was defined as COVID-19 requiring hospitalisation. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to examine association. Comorbidities for either COVID-19 or OSA were selected as covariates. We performed a meta-analysis with previous studies.Results We identified 445 individuals with COVID-19, and 38 (8.5%) of them with OSA of whom 19 out of 91 (20.9%) were hospitalised. OSA associated with COVID-19 hospitalisation independent from age, sex, BMI and comorbidities (p-unadjusted=5.13×10−5, OR-adjusted=2.93 (95% CI 1.02 to 8.39), p-adjusted=0.045). OSA was not associated with the risk of contracting COVID-19 (p=0.25). A meta-analysis of OSA and severe COVID-19 showed association across 15 835 COVID-19 positive controls, and n=1294 patients with OSA with severe COVID-19 (OR=2.37 (95% 1.14 to 4.95), p=0.021).Conclusion Risk for contracting COVID-19 was the same for patients with OSA and those without OSA. In contrast, among COVID-19 positive patients, OSA was associated with higher risk for hospitalisation. Our findings are in line with earlier works and suggest OSA as an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19