The effect of the supply chain exerting physical stress on the microbiological status of bottled natural mineral water

Mineral water consumption increased dramatically in the last 30 years. One reason for this change lies in the changing consumer behaviour: consumers are increasingly recognizing the importance of healthy nutrition and appreciate the beneficial nutritional physiological properties of mineral water. Local mineral water harmonizes well with imported waters. Bottled mineral water may travel several hundred kilometres until it reaches consumers. In the present study, the dynamic mechanical vibration caused by transporting on public roads was simulated in laboratory vibration tests then samples were subjected to microbiological examinations in compliance with legislations currently in force. Due to this vibration, the initial microbe count increased by two orders of magnitude, while after terminating the 4-hour mechanical action it decreased gradually. Growing dynamics of microbes constituting the total germ count at 22 °C and 37 °C were almost similar

Three-dimensional microarchitecture of entheseal changes: preliminary study of human radial tuberosity

Entheseal changes (EC), alterations at insertion sites on the bones, may be related to mechanical stress among other causes, and are thus used for decades to reconstruct the activities of human past populations. They can be characterised by focal changes in robusticity and variable pattern of osteolysis and osteoformation observable on dry bone. This preliminary study aims to analyse the microstructural characteristics of the underlying bone to clarify the nature of the changes in bone microarchitecture reflecting the macroscopic changes identifiable on the surface of the enthesis. We studied the right radii of two Saharian adult individuals, dating from Neolithic (Hassi-el-Abiod, Mali, 7 000 years BP). One has a morphologically normal bicipital tuberosity while the second one shows EC. Micro-computed tomodensitometric acquisitions and 3D reconstructions were performed to characterise cancellous and cortical bone microarchitecture of these two entheses. 3D imaging appears relevant for studying microstructure of EC among past populations. Our methodology reveals at this preliminary step clear differences of canal network organisation of cortical bone between the two studied entheses. This work comes preliminary to a broader study on a historically and archaeologically documented population of Hungarian horse archers of the Honfoglalás or Conquest period (Xth century)

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

White plague among the “forgotten people” from the Barbaricum of the Carpathian Basin–Cases with tuberculosis from the Sarmatian-period (3rd–4th centuries CE) archaeological site of Hódmezővásárhely–Kenyere-ér, Bereczki-tanya (Hungary)

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that is well-known in the palaeopathological record because it can affect the skeleton and consequently leaves readily identifiable macroscopic alterations. Palaeopathological case studies provide invaluable information about the spatio-temporal distribution of TB in the past. This is true for those archaeological periods and geographical regions from when and where no or very few TB cases have been published until now–as in the Sarmatian period (1 st –5 th centuries CE) in the Barbaricum of the Carpathian Basin. The aim of our paper is to discuss five newly discovered TB cases ( HK199 , HK201 , HK225 , HK253 , and HK309 ) from the Sarmatian-period archaeological site of Hódmezővásárhely–Kenyere-ér, Bereczki-tanya (Csongrád-Csanád county, Hungary). Detailed macromorphological evaluation of the skeletons focused on the detection of bony changes likely associated with different forms of TB. In all five cases, the presence of endocranial alterations (especially TB-specific granular impressions) suggests that these individuals suffered from TB meningitis. Furthermore, the skeletal lesions observed in the spine and both hip joints of HK225 indicate that this juvenile also had multifocal osteoarticular TB. Thanks to the discovery of HK199 , HK201 , HK225 , HK253 , and HK309 , the number of TB cases known from the Sarmatian-period Carpathian Basin doubled, implying that the disease was likely more frequent in the Barbaricum than previously thought. Without the application of granular impressions, the diagnosis of TB could not have been established in these five cases. Thus, the identification of TB in these individuals highlights the importance of diagnostics development, especially the refinement of diagnostic criteria. Based on the above, the systematic macromorphological (re-)evaluation of osteoarchaeological series from the Sarmatian-period Carpathian Basin would be advantageous to provide a more accurate picture of how TB may have impacted the ancestral human communities of the Barbaricum