New skeletal tuberculosis cases in past populations from Western Hungary (Transdanubia)

The distribution, antiquity and epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) have previously been studied in osteoarchaeological material in the eastern part of Hungary, mainly on the Great Plain. The purpose of this study is to map the occurrence of skeletal TB in different centuries in the western part of Hungary, Transdanubia, and to present new cases we have found. Palaeopathological analysis was carried out using macroscopic observation supported by radiographic and molecular methods. A large human osteoarchaeological sample (n = 5684) from Transdanubian archaeological sites ranging from the 2nd to the 18th centuries served as a source of material. Spinal TB was observed in seven individuals (in three specimens with Pott's disease two of which also had cold abscess) and hip TB was assumed in one case. The results of DNA for Mycobacterium tuberculosis were positive in seven of the eight cases identified by paleopathology, and negative in the assumed case of hip TB. However, the molecular results are consistent with highly fragmented DNA, which limited further analysis. Based on the present study and previously published cases, osteotuberculosis was found in Transdanubia mainly during the 9th–13th centuries. However, there are no signs of TB in many other 9th–13th century sites, even in those that lie geographically close to those where osteotuberculous cases were found. This may be due to a true absence of TB caused by the different living conditions, way of life, or origin of these populations. An alternative explanation is that TB was present in some individuals with no typical paleopathology, but that death occurred before skeletal morphological features could develop

Effects of Magnetic Field on Josephson Current in SNS System

The effect of a magnetic field on Josephson current has been studied for a superconductor/normal-metal/superconductor (SNS) system, where N is a two-dimensional electron gas in a confining potential. It is found that the dependence of Josephson currents on the magnetic field are sensitive to the width of the normal metal. If the normal metal is wide and contains many channels (subbands), the current on a weak magnetic field shows a dependence similar to a Fraunhofer-pattern in SIS system and, as the field gets strong, it shows another type of oscillatory dependence on the field resulting from the Aharonov-Bohm interference between the edge states. As the number of channels decreases (i.e. normal metal gets narrower), however, the dependence in the region of the weak field deviates from a clear Fraunhofer pattern and the amplitude of the oscillatory dependence in the region of the strong field is reduced.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Representation of finite graphs as difference graphs of S-units, I

In part I of the present paper the following problem was investigated. Let G be a finite simple graph, and S be a finite set of primes. We say that G is representable with S if it is possible to attach rational numbers to the vertices of G such that the vertices v_1,v_2 are connected by an edge if and only if the difference of the attached values is an S-unit. In part I we gave several results concerning the representability of graphs in the above sense.In the present paper we extend the results from paper I to the algebraic number field case and make some of them effective. Besides we prove some new theorems: we prove that G is infinitely representable with S if and only if it has a degenerate representation with S, and we also deal with the representability with S of the union of two graphs of which at least one is finitely representable with S.p, li { white-space: pre-wrap; }</style

A case of spinal tuberculosis from the Middle Ages in Transylvania (Romania)

Study Design: Case report. Objective: To characterise the paleopathology presented in the skeleton of a 45-50-year-old male indicative of tuberculous spondylitis and to confirm by the detection of ancient DNA. Summary of Background Data: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease prevalent in both present and ancient human populations. The disease is primarily located within the lungs, so although characacteristic bone lesions can lead to a clear diagnosis, skeletal TB occurs in only 5-6% of TB infections, even in historical cases. In addition, the visual appearance of human skeletal remains may be influenced by the environmental conditions at the burial site. However, it is important to recognise ancient skeletal TB, because this can provide important data on the history of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and gives an unique opportunity for physicians to observe the natural outcome of the infection from the pre-antibiotic era. Methods: Paleopathological analysis was carried out using careful visual observation supported by ancient DNA analysis. Approximately 60 mg of bone powder from rib fragments was examined and DNA from the M. tuberculosis complex was detected by PCR targeting specific genetic loci of the IS6110 and IS1081 regions. Results: The skeleton is part of a human osteoarchaeological collection (n=274) from the 12th-13th century Transylvanian archaeological site of Peteni, in modern-day Romania. The individual, a 45-50-year-old male, showed gross pathology typical of tuberculous spondylitis. The paleopathological diagnosis was supported by analysis for M. tuberculosis complex ancient DNA. Conclusions: This case demonstrates that TB was present in Transylvania (Romania) during the 12-13th century and adds to the growing body of knowledge on the history of this disease

Ancient genomes reveal origin and rapid trans-Eurasian migration of 7^th century Avar elites

The Avars settled the Carpathian Basin in 567/68 CE, establishing an empire lasting over 200 years. Who they were and where they came from is highly debated. Contemporaries have disagreed about whether they were, as they claimed, the direct successors of the Mongolian Steppe Rouran empire that was destroyed by the Turks in ∼550 CE. Here, we analyze new genome-wide data from 66 pre-Avar and Avar-period Carpathian Basin individuals, including the 8 richest Avar-period burials and further elite sites from Avar’s empire core region. Our results provide support for a rapid long-distance trans-Eurasian migration of Avar-period elites. These individuals carried Northeast Asian ancestry matching the profile of preceding Mongolian Steppe populations, particularly a genome available from the Rouran period. Some of the later elite individuals carried an additional non-local ancestry component broadly matching the steppe, which could point to a later migration or reflect greater genetic diversity within the initial migrant population.- Introduction - Results -- Ancient DNA dataset and quality control -- The genomic structure of the pre-Avar-period population -- The genomic structure of the Avar-period population -- Modeling the eastern steppe ancestry of the elites in the core of the Avar empire -- The heterogeneous ancestry in the regions surrounding the Avar empire’s core - Discussion -- Limitations of the study - Star Method

Antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals: results from the second point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use, 2016 to 2017

Antimicrobial agents used to treat infections are life-saving. Overuse may result in more frequent adverse effects and emergence of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. In 2016-17, we performed the second point-prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals. We included 1,209 hospitals and 310,755 patients in 28 of 31 European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries. The weighted prevalence of antimicrobial use in the EU/EEA was 30.5% (95% CI: 29.2-31.9%). The most common indication for prescribing antimicrobials was treatment of a community-acquired infection, followed by treatment of HAI and surgical prophylaxis. Over half (54.2%) of antimicrobials for surgical prophylaxis were prescribed for more than 1 day. The most common infections treated by antimicrobials were respiratory tract infections and the most commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents were penicillins with beta-lactamase inhibitors. There was wide variation of patients on antimicrobials, in the selection of antimicrobial agents and in antimicrobial stewardship resources and activities across the participating countries. The results of the PPS provide detailed information on antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals, enable comparisons between countries and hospitals, and highlight key areas for national and European action that will support efforts towards prudent use of antimicrobials

Tunneling decay in a magnetic field

We provide a semiclassical theory of tunneling decay in a magnetic field and a three-dimensional potential of a general form. Because of broken time-reversal symmetry, the standard WKB technique has to be modified. The decay rate is found from the analysis of the set of the particle Hamiltonian trajectories in complex phase space and time. In a magnetic field, the tunneling particle comes out from the barrier with a finite velocity and behind the boundary of the classically allowed region. The exit location is obtained by matching the decaying and outgoing WKB waves at a caustic in complex configuration space. Different branches of the WKB wave function match on the switching surface in real space, where the slope of the wave function sharply changes. The theory is not limited to tunneling from potential wells which are parabolic near the minimum. For parabolic wells, we provide a bounce-type formulation in a magnetic field. The theory is applied to specific models which are relevant to tunneling from correlated two-dimensional electron systems in a magnetic field parallel to the electron layer.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure

State-dependent distributed-delay model of orthogonal cutting

In this paper we present a model of turning operations with state-dependent distributed time delay. We apply the theory of regenerative machine tool chat- ter and describe the dynamics of the tool-workpiece sys- tem during cutting by delay-diferential equations. We model the cutting-force as the resultant of a force sys- tem distributed along the rake face of the tool, which results in a short distributed delay in the governing equation superimposed on the large regenerative de- lay. According to the literature on stress distribution along the rake face, the length of the chip-tool inter- face, where the distributed cutting-force system is act- ing, is function of the chip thickness, which depends on the vibrations of the tool-workpiece system due to the regenerative efect. Therefore, the additional short de- lay is state-dependent. It is shown that involving state- dependent delay in the model does not afect linear sta- bility properties, but does afect the nonlinear dynamics of the cutting process. Namely, the sense of the Hopf bi- furcation along the stability boundaries may turn from sub- to supercritical at certain spindle speed regions