Malignant tumors in osteoarchaeological samples from Hungary

According to our current knowledge, tumors are the same age as mankind itself. The prevalence of tumorous diseases, however, was seemingly relatively low in the past and apparently increased dramatically in modern times. This theory is based on scattered case studies. However, the majority of these investigations were not carried out using modern diagnostic techniques. The scarcity of data concerning the antiquity of cancer demands new investigations in this field. Future paleopathological discoveries and the application of improved diagnostic techniques may enable „paleo-oncology” to make further contributions to our understanding of cancer. In this study, we present data on the occurrence of malignant bone tumors in 12 anthropological series (3967 individuals) from Hungary dated to the 3rd -16th centuries AD. All skeletons were subjected to a careful macroscopic investigation, complemented by radiological examination and in special case scanning electron-microscopic and histological analyses, too. We identified 13 cases of malignant bone tumors. In most instances, multiple osteolytic lesions with slight osteoblastic reactions, in characteristic skeletal distributions, were strongly suggestive of metastatic carcinoma. However, in some cases multiple myeloma cannot be excluded. A mature male with pronounced osteoblastic reactions, particularly on the hip bones, seemed to be most compatible with the diagnosis metastatic prostate cancer. These observations indicate that carcinomas were present in human populations living on the territory of present-day Hungary over the last two millennia

The Paleopathology of specific infectious diseases from Southeastern Hungary: a brief overview

The purpose of this study is to review the evidence for the presence of specific infectious diseases in past Hungarian populations. As for treponemal diseases, only few paleopathological cases had been published until relatively recently. New discoveries from the medieval Szeged furnished evidences for the Pre-Columbian occurrence of the disease in this area. Among mycobacterial infections, paleopathological analyses of thousands of skeletons provided a relatively high number of observations of ’classical’ skeletal tuberculosis (TB) cases, and some cases of leprosy until the end of the 1990’s. The use of DNA assays and the study of early stage traces of mycobacterial skeletal infections highly increased the number of observations during the last ten years. Unfortunately, these results present several biases of the classical osteoarcheological studies, such as the differentiation between the taphonomic and paleodemographic conditions of the series. The evolution of the paleopathological diagnostical methods necessitates the complete re-evaluation of the previously studied materials in order that we can obtain a more realistic paleoepidemiological picture of these diseases

What qualities do government-owned venture capital investors seek in a new venture? A comparison of investment criteria across pre-seed, seed, and expansion stage startups

Private venture capital (VC) investors usually do not invest in early life-cycle stage startups such as seed and pre-seed companies, since investment size typically doesn’t reach investment thresholds. The entry of governments with fund managers to venture capital markets presents seed and pre-seed companies with the opportunity to receive funding. This paper examines the main investment preferences of Hungarian government-owned venture capital investors regarding pre-seed, seed, and expansion stage startups. Verbal protocol analysis enabled examination of the screening process in real-time in all three life-cycle stages. It is found that governmental VC funds mostly value financial indicators followed by market-related qualities while private VCs value these characteristics in alternate formation. However, in the pre-seed stage, the financial acumen and capabilities of management teams form the main criteria in similarity to angel investors. Governmental VCs also greatly seek innovational value in target firms

Iskolára hangolás játékkal, drámajátékkal

Games which essence lies not in the objects play an important role in a child’s life. When children start school they already have some knowledge about their direct and wider environment, their learning experience is expanding. We must bear in mind that the nursery school students are confident, independent and we must not turn them into exhausted, uncertain primary school ones. This age group is very active, playful; their attention is engaged only by interesting things. Within the framework of institutionalized learning drama games can be used to actively involve lower primary school students in learning