Fate and preservation of the late pleistocene cave bears from Niedzwiedzia Cave in Poland, through taphonomy, pathology, and geochemistry.

This comprehensive study examines fossil remains from Niedzwiedzia Cave in the Eastern Sudetes, offering detailed insights into the palaeobiology and adversities encountered by the Pleistocene cave bear Ursus spelaeus ingressus. Emphasising habitual cave use for hibernation and a primarily herbivorous diet, the findings attribute mortality to resource scarcity during hibernation and habitat fragmentation amid climate shifts. Taphonomic analysis indicates that the cave was extensively used by successive generations of bears, virtually unexposed to the impact of predators. The study also reveals that alkaline conditions developed in the cave during the post-depositional taphonomic processes. Mortality patterns, notably among juveniles, imply dwindling resources, indicative of environmental instability. Skeletal examination reveals a high incidence of forelimb fractures, indicating risks during activities like digging or confrontations. Palaeopathological evidence unveils vulnerabilities to tuberculosis, abscesses, rickets, and injuries, elucidating mobility challenges. The cave's silts exhibit a high zinc concentration, potentially derived from successive bear generations consuming zinc-rich plants. This study illuminates the lives of late cave bears, elucidating unique environmental hurdles faced near their species' end.

Differential diagnosis of a calcified cyst found in an 18th century female burial site at St. Nicholas Church cemetery (Libkovice, Czechia).

During archaeological excavations in burial sites, sometimes stoned organic objects are found, in addition to human remains. Those objects might be of a different origin, depending on various factors influencing members of a community (i.e. diseases, trauma), which provides information about their living conditions. The St. Nicholas Church archaeological site (Libkovice, Czechia) in the 18th century horizon of the cemetery, yielded a maturus-senilis female skeleton with a stone object in the left iliac fossa. This object was an oviform cyst-like rough structure, measuring 54 mm in length, 35 mm in maximum diameter and 0.2-0.7 mm shell thickness. Within the object there were small fetal bones (long bones, i.e. femur and two tibias, two scapulas, three ribs, vertebrae and other tiny bone fragments). Methods utilized to analyze the outer and inner surface morphology of the cyst and its inside, included: X-ray, CT imaging, SEM, histological staining and EDS. The EDS analysis revealed the presence of primarily oxygen, calcium and phosphorus in bone samples, and oxygen and silicon, in stone shell. Based on the length of the femur (20.2 mm) and tibia (16 mm) shafts, the fetal age was determined as being in the 15-18 week of pregnancy. The differential diagnosis was conducted, including for the three most probable cases: fetiform teratoma (FT), fetus-in-fetu (FIF) and lithopedion. The possibility of fetiform teratoma was discounted due to the presence of an anatomically correct spine, long bones and the proportions of the find. Although the low calcium content in the shell (2.3% atom mass), the lack of skull bones and the better developed lower limbs indicate fetus-in-fetu rather than lithopedion, the analyses results are unable to conclusively identify the object under one of these two categories since there are insufficient such cases in excavation material with which to draw comparison.

Effects of obesity on pulmonary function considering the transition from obstructive to restrictive pattern from childhood to young adulthood.

Adults with obesity exhibit a restrictive pattern, whereas children with obesity exhibit an obstructive pattern. However, the transition process remains unclear. We performed a systematic search for studies reporting on body mass index and pulmonary function in children. The main outcomes were forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1 ), forced vital capacity (FVC), and their ratio (FEV1 /FVC). We compared individuals with overweight or with obesity with individuals with normal weight. Random-effects models were used to calculate pooled estimates. A total of 17 studies were included. Individuals with obesity had a lower FEV1 /FVC ratio (mean difference [MD] = -3.61%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -4.58%, -2.64%) and a higher percent-predicted FVC (MD = 3.33%; 95% CI = 0.79%, 5.88%) than those with normal weight. Obesity impaired pulmonary function in the obstructive pattern during childhood to young adulthood, and the maximum obstruction was observed at the age of 16 years in boys and 20 years in girls. The effects attenuated at approximately 30 years and then shifted to the restrictive pattern after 35 years of age in men and 40 years in women. The effects of obesity on pulmonary function change from the obstructive pattern in childhood to the restrictive pattern in adulthood.

A Model for Dental Age Verification Using Ultrastructural Imaging for Modern and Fossil Representatives of the Rhinocerotidae Family.

The analyses were performed on a right third premolar (P3) of a white rhinoceros female (Ceratotherium simum, Burchell 1817). The specimen was born in captivity at London Zoo (Zoological Society of London), then in the 1970s transferred to Kiev Zoo (Peremohy Avenue), Ukraine, and was kept there until it died at a documented chronological age of 48 years. The female died because of its age, which indicates it was kept in good conditions adequate to the requirements of this species. Photographs and micrographs with radiological documentation were taken on the said tooth. Its structural characteristics were determined, and on the occlusal surface areas and points of anatomical constitution of its crown were identified. The tooth was also histologically evaluated via sections taken horizontally in a mesial-distal plane through the crown, horizontally in a mesial-distal plane through the coronal portion of the root, and longitudinally in a lingual-buccal plane through the crown and the root. Preparations with ground sections were made and observed in white, polarized, and reflected light. In the subsequent stage X-ray and SEM imaging has also been used, for analysis of the distribution of annual growth layers of mineralized dental tissues of cement and dentine, counted from the root canal center to the buccal surface. An attempt was also made to confirm the annual season in which the animal died, based on cement growth lines. It was observed that the growth lines were visible in all the analyzed sections, in dentine and cement. In the cement, the lines were relatively few and did not represent the attested age of the animal. The analysis of the coloration of the cement lines indicated that the animal was regularly fed a diet that was not seasonally differentiated. From the X-ray examination comes a conclusion that the animal did not suffer from periodontal diseases. Visible growth lines were observed on the dentine. On the horizontal section through the crown growth lines in the dentine were few and unclear. On the longitudinal section, both on the caudal and rostral roots, these lines were clearly visible and much more numerous than expected considering the known age of the animal, as more than 50 were counted. On horizontal sections through the upper part of both roots, distinct growth lines were observed in the dentine, and their number-48 for both roots-corresponded precisely to the age of the animal. The results of our study indicate that this method has significant potential for application to verify the age at death for modern and fossil representatives of rhinoceros.

Frequency of appearance of transverse (Harris) lines reflects living conditions of the Pleistocene bear-Ursus ingressus-(Sudety Mts., Poland).

Transverse lines, called Harris Lines (HL), osteological markers of recovery from growth arrest episodes, are visible in radiograms of recent and Pleistocene fossil bones. Since on the one hand they mark stressful episodes in life, and on the other are mainly used to trace health fluctuations in prehistoric human communities, I used a cave bear population to check if the processes that could affect the specie' condition were in any way reflected in the bone structure. 392 bear bones from Bear Cave in Kletno (collection: Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wroclaw), dated as 32 100 ±1300 to >49 000 years BP, were radiologically examined. The bones were found in a non-anatomical position; morphological analysis indicated that they belonged to different individuals. HL shadows were observed on 9 tibiae and 3 radii: 8.8% out of the 59 tibiae and 77 radii and 3.1% of all the bones. At least 3 transverse lines were recognised in those cases; the specimens were histologically examined. The bear individuals in question experienced regular malnutrition periods during their ontogeny. Starvation resulting in growth inhibition involved young individuals, aged 1 to 4 years. Juveniles aged 6 months, i.e. before weaning, or younger, showed no signs of nutritional stress. Starvation periods associated with seasonal food deficit were not long or common and had no significant effect on the development and welfare of the species. This is the first description of the occurrence of transverse lines in the Pleistocene bear.

Symptoms, acceptance of illness and health-related quality of life in patients with atrial fibrillation.

INTRODUCTION: Acceptance of illness plays a key role, allowing the patient to adapt to the disease and its treatment, and to maintain their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) despite chronic conditions. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between severity of arrhythmia symptoms, acceptance of illness and HRQOL in patients with atrial fibrillation. METHODS: The study included 99 patients (mean age 64.6) treated for atrial fibrillation. Three standardized instruments were used: the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire, the Arrhythmia-Specific Questionnaire in Tachycardia and Arrhythmia (ASTA) and the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). RESULTS: Patients with high illness acceptance levels obtained better results in all WHOQoL-BREF domains: physical (57.0±8.9 vs. 51.1±12.5 vs. 42.0±6.2; p<0.001), social (62.6±19.8 vs. 52.5±20.0 vs. 45.7±16.0; p=0.019) and environmental (62.9±12.7 vs. 52.7±7.6 vs. 60.7±3.6; p<0.001), and in the ASTA HRQOL scale (10.5±5.4 vs. 16.1±7.6 vs. 20.3±0.5; p<0.001). Multiple-factor analysis showed AIS to be a statistically significant independent determinant of HRQOL in the physical domain of the WHOQoL (ß=0.242) and in the overall HRQOL assessment in the ASTA HRQOL scale (ß= -0.362). Other statistically significant independent predictors included: the negative impact of female sex on the physical (ß= -0.291) and social (ß= -0.284) domains of the WHOQOL-BREF, and the positive impact of urban residence on the physical WHOQOL-BREF domain and on symptom intensity in the ASTA symptom scale. CONCLUSIONS: Acceptance of illness is an important factor which has been shown to impact on HRQOL in atrial fibrillation. Female sex is a predictor of worse HRQOL, while urban residence improves HRQOL in the physical domain and decreases symptom intensity (ASTA symptom scale).

A biological stone from a medieval cemetery in Poland.

A review of the literature shows that origination of biological stones as well as their pathogenesis mostly depend on the environmental factors. As a result, the structural spectrum of such calculi and their chemical composition are highly diversified. It is well known that biological stones are formed mostly in the digestive and urinary tracts. However, it has been demonstrated that this kind of stony structure can be also, though rarely, found in circulatory and reproductive systems, skin, mucosa, and tear ducts. Although in palaeopathology, the list of biological stones is enriched by stony tumours and/or discharges, it is very difficult to uncover the small size deposits in excavation material. In the literature such findings, originating from different countries and centuries, are few. The described stone was found among the bones of an adult individual in the medieval cemetery of Gdansk (Poland). The SEM, X-ray spectrometer and chemical evaluation revealed that it was a bladder calculus.

Sinusitis in people living in the medieval ages.

Breathing vitally serves body homeostasis. The prevalence of upper airway infections is often taken as an indicator of overall health status of a population living at a given time. In the present study we examined the unearthed remains of skulls from the XIII-XV century inhabitants searching for signs of maxillary sinusitis. Maxillary sinuses of the skulls of 92 individuals were inspected macroscopically and, if necessary, endoscopically. Osseous changes, including the pitting and abnormal spicule formation were present in 69 cases (75.0 %). It was found that, overall, dental infection was a major cause of maxillary sinusitis (18.8 %). Severe bone changes were observed in the adults' skulls, but were also present in the sinus walls of children's skulls. Post-inflammatory changes were manifest as remodeling and damage to the sinus walls. The results indicate that both children and adults of the Middle Ages suffered from chronic sinusitis. These observations confirm that the climate, environment, and lifestyle of the medieval populations contributed to the morbidity of the upper respiratory tract.