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

Török hódoltság kori idegen etnikumok összehasonlító embertani elemzése = Comparative anthropological analysis of foreign populations in Turkish occupation of Hungary

A 3 éves kutatási periódus ideje alatt 7 - antropológiai szempontból kevéssé ismert - 16-17. századi temető embertani vizsgálatát végeztük el. A koponya metrikus adataira alapozva klaszteranalízist alkalmaztunk, melynek eredményeiből kiderült, hogy a török hódoltság idején betelepült népességek az összehasonlításhoz felhasznált késő középkori magyar temetőktől jól elkülönülő csoportot alkotnak. A vizsgálatba bevont romániai és délszláv temetők közül csupán a dél-boszniai Raąka Gora mutatott párhuzamot a Magyarországon letelepedett idegen etnikumokkal. A csontvázleletek patológiai vizsgálatának eredménye rámutatott, hogy a vizsgált népességek életmódjukat tekintve 2 csoportba sorolhatók: egy békés körülmények közt élő földművelő-állattenyésztő és egy időnként harci tevékenységet is folytató csoportba. Az elemzett lelet együttesek körében megfigyelt nagyszámú, fertőzéses eredetre utaló kezdeti stádiumú csontelváltozás legyengült immunrendszerre utal. A magyar területen élő idegen eredetű népességek eltérő nyelvi és vallási kultúrája következményeként feltételezett endogámiát, a koponyacsontokon manifesztálódott fejlődési rendellenességek felhalmozódásával, a vizsgált temetők közül kettőnél igazoltuk. A kutatómunka eredményei alapul szolgálnak egy magyar, a paleohisztológiai rész pedig egy németországi PhD disszertáció elkészítéséhez, továbbá egy, a jövőben benyújtandó nemzetközi (magyar-német) pályázathoz. | A comparative anthropological examination of skeletal material dating from the Turkish occupation of Hungary (16th-17th centuries AD) belonging to 7 foreign ethnic groups was carried out during a 3-year research period. Cluster analyses were applied to find out the relationships between these non-Hungarian groups and the late medieval Hungarian populations, as well as the origin of the immigrated groups. Southern Slav and Romanian series were also used for comparison. Our results indicated that the foreign populations of this study are separated in a distinct group and revealed a close relationship with a southern Bosnian Raąka Gora. According to the results of our palaeopathological examinations, the analyzed populations could be classified into two groups: a quiet agro-pastoralist population and another group with a more violent lifestyle. The large number of chronic infectious bony lesions refers to the poor state of health of these populations. Endogamy was proved in two of the examined series by the high frequency of developmental anomalies on the skull. The main results of our study served as a basis for a PhD dissertation, and the palaeohistological results provided an important source for another PhD thesis. A new international project is also planned on the basis of our results