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The Radochowska Cave is known primarily from the find of a cave bear skull, intended to be placed intentionally by Palaeolithic hunters in a 'stone cage'. This find was supposed to be proof of the existence of the cult of bear hunters at this site. Critical analysis did not give a clear answer to its occurrence or a clear negation of this phenomenon. Research is not facilitated by the fact that a large part of the collection was lost after World War II. The found part, especially numerously represented by predatory mammals, made it possible to verify the old lists of fauna and extend them with a number of new species, often unknown from the Polish Sudetes, such as Cuon alpinus europaeus or Panthera pardus. The analysis showed the presence of two main faunistic associations. The older one, dated to MIS 3, is represented by a number of cold-loving forms. Remains of Holocene species and those from the very end of the last glaciation represent the second faunal assemblage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to specify the method with the highest probability of correct sex identification based on lip furrow pattern. Three methods were verified: Vahanwala’s method, identification based on the mid-section of lower lip print and our own method. The examined group included 242 persons aged 15-30 years, 68.6% females and 31.4% males. Cheilograms were taken with the method proposed by Vanahwala, modified in such a way that the prints of lower and upper lips were taken separately. The lip furrow patterns were classified according to Suzuki and Tsuchihashi, modified to include horizontal furrows which were considered by Renaud. In all the quadrants patterns II, III and VI prevailed among males and patterns I, I’ and II among females. Females were more frequently diagnosed correctly than males. Our method in which all the lip print was analysed without division into quadrants was the most effective, while Vahanwala’s method was the least so.

Since the foramina provide important reference points to radiologists and surgeons, and because their shape and size may affect the blood supply to the cerebellum and the brainstem, the knowledge of the variation of foramina transversaria is essential from the medical point of view. The variation in the number, size and shape of foramina transversaria was studied based on 129 skeletons (68 male, 61 female, total of 1065 foramina) from the environs of Sypniewo. In both sexes single foramina were the most frequent (ca. 70%); in females no double foramina were observed, while triple foramina appeared only twice. In males double foramina formed ca. 40% and triple foramina were very rare. The shape and size of foramina depended to the same extent on the position of the vertebra and on the body side.

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 (β=0.242) and in the overall HRQOL assessment in the ASTA HRQOL scale (β= −0.362). Other statistically significant independent predictors included: the negative impact of female sex on the physical (β= −0.291) and social (β= −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). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to specify the method with the highest probability of correct sex identification based on lip furrow pattern. Three methods were verified: Vahanwala's method, identification based on the mid-section of lower lip print and our own method. The examined group included 242 persons aged 15- 30 years, 68.6% females and 31.4% males. Cheilograms were taken with the method proposed by Vanahwala, modified in such a way that the prints of lower and upper lips were taken separately. The lip furrow patterns were classified according to Suzuki and Tsuchihashi, modified to include horizontal furrows which were considered by Renaud. In all the quadrants patterns II, III and VI prevailed among males and patterns I, I' and II among females. Females were more frequently diagnosed correctly than males. Our method in which all the lip print was analysed without division into quadrants was the most effective, while Vahanwala's method was the least so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analyzed specimen was found in the 1930s by Zotz, in Wschodnia cave (German name Hellmichhöhle, now W Sudeten Mts, Poland). Currently, it is housed in the Archaeological Museum of Wrocław. It is a well preserved splanchnocranium with teeth of an adult Eurasian brown bear. Integral part of the skull is also an intact mandible. Several postcranial skeletal bones were also found for this specimen, including one rib with a human-drilled hole. For the above-mentioned specimen, three C14 datings were made using the AMS method. All three dates gave similar results, allowing the age of the find (after calibration) to be estimated at 14.8-13.8 KY BC, i.e. the Bølling phase of relatively older Dryas. Taxonomic assignation, based on the morphometrical analysis, was confirmed by DNA analysis. It represents subclade 1b, recently identified in Carpathian Mts. The degree of wear of his tooth crowns, especially his incisors and canines, is remarkable, which is completely inadequate to the wear of the remaining teeth and to the individual's age. German researchers suggested that the procedure was performed by a human for ritual purposes. However, the anthropological nature of this find was questioned by Polish researchers, who said that the process was natural and that the abrasion of the front teeth was the result of a malocclusion. Our analyses confirm the earlier assumptions of German scientists that the pathologies visible on the teeth are the result of anthropogenic effects, which was the aim of our research. It is also indirect evidence of the presence of Homo sapiens in the Late Pleistocene of the Sudeten areas of Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the St. Nicholas Church archaeological site (Libkovice, Czechia; the 18th century cemetery) a female skeleton with a stone object in the left iliac fossa was found. It was a cyst-like structure. The measures of it were 54 mm in length and 35 mm in maximum diameter. Within the object fetal bones (long bones, i.e. femur and two tibias, two scapulas, three ribs, vertebrae and other tiny bone fragments) were revealed. The methods used for the analysis were intended to describe the external and internal morphology of the object and its content: 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. The measurements of the femur (20.2 mm) and tibia (16 mm) shafts allowed to estimate the fetal age as the 15-18 week of pregnancy. During the differential diagnosis three most likely cases were taken into account: fetiform teratoma (FT), fetus-in-fetu (FIF) and lithopedion. FT was excluded due to the presence of long bones and their proportions, and due to the presence of an anatomically correct spine. Of the other two possible variants, fetus-in-fetu is more likely than lithopedion, due to the lack of a skull, better development of lower limbs, and low calcium content in the shell. The results do not allow to clearly answer the question which of these two cases is the object due to the insufficient number of similar discoveries in the excavation material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]