Pregnancy and birth cohorts in Europe

A birth cohort study is a form of study that uses expectant mothers and newborn as research subjects. This form of research is suitable for epidemiological studies, which pregnancy and birth cohort studies generally are. Data is collected in order to identify health consequences and overall health outcomes. The main aim of this paper is to review and summarize all cohort studies that have been carried out or are still being conducted in Europe, as well as general information such as aim of the study, number of participants and duration of follow-up. Gathering information was made easier by websites such as Birthcohorts, CHICOS and LifeCycle, where many of the cohorts and their sources are listed. The remaining data was found by searching Google Scholar, PubMed and similar webpages, using keywords ‘birth and pregnancy cohorts’, ‘infants’, ‘pregnancies’, ‘allergies’ and ‘childhood obesity’. Overall, 137 cohorts in 27 countries were found. They are a great and important source of information and for the most part, concentrate on general health and wellbeing of mothers and children. Collaboration between different birth cohorts is crucial for further harmonization of collected data and their use in the public health systems worldwide

A possible case of Gigantism and/or Acromegaly in a 15th-17th century woman from Đurine Ćelije, Serbia

Endocrine disorders during growth and development that occur due to the secretion of excessive growth hormones are very rare in archaeological and modern populations. The human skeletal remains analyzed in this paper belong to an unusually tall woman, approximately 35-40 years of age, buried at the Đurine ćelije site (15th-17th century) in Serbia, who may have suffered from overgrowth syndrome. Individuals with this condition have an unusually tall stature and accompanying pathological changes related to organ systems and joint diseases. The aim of this paper is to show how the aforementioneddisorder affected the health status of an individual (grave No. 7a) and the performance of daily activities, but also the attitude of the community towards deformities during life and after death. Differential diagnosis was performed since otherdiseases tend to lead to similar skeletal changes. During the analysis, changes in growth were noticed, and her stature was determined to be 186.42 cm. Compared to the documented stature of post-medieval population from this period, theskeletal remains show a significant deviation from the average, especially when it comes to female individuals. Other pathological changes observed in this woman are osteoarthritis, spondyloarthropathy, and periosteal new bone formation.

The case of hip dysplasia of an adult from the Roman Period site of Velebit (Serbia)

Objective: This study is designed to reveal the diagnosis of a rare hip condition with an estimation of the possible cause of death. Materials: Archaeological site of Velebit dated between the 3rd and 4th century AD is located in northern Serbia. Grave No 24 differs from others in the unusual position of the skeletal remains in situ. Methods: The bioanthropological analyses included an estimation of skeletal preservation, cranial and postcranial skeletal measurements, estimation of sex and age at the moment of death, dental analysis and a paleopathological examination. This skeleton was analysed for signs of bone disease, using diagnostic paleopathological procedures comprising gross examination and CT scanning. Results: The results revealed that the analysed male individual was 40 to 55 years of age. The bioanthropological analyses showed two deformities of the pelvic bones, each on the outer surface, located posteriorly and superiorly of the acetabular area. The observed lesions were characterised as type 4 of developmental dysplasia of the hip. In addition, a sharp lesion was observed in the right posterior region of squama of the occipital bone. Conclusions: Our results clearly suggest that this individual had been suffering from hip dysplasia. The possible cause of death could be the observed head lesion. In addition, there is no skeletal conformation of unfavourable living conditions related to physiological stress and diet.

A case of bipartite patella and vastus notch from Kneževići hillfort - Malo Libinje, Croatia

Here we present six adult patellae with superolateral concave defects observed amongst the remains of at least 28 individuals retrieved from four Late Iron Age burials from Kneževići hillfort - Malo Libinje, Croatia. The right patella of an adult individual displays a rough-edged concave defect on superolateral side of the bone called bipartite patella. Other five patellae show concave defects with smooth edges also located on superolateral side; a defect known as vastus notch. Though physically similar, the two conditions are etiologically distinct. A large amount of observed cases of vastus notch in this assemblage may indicate that these individuals frequently performed activities involving kneeling and/or squatting. This is the first documented case of joint occurrence of bipartite patella and vastus notch in a Croatian skeletal assemblage, but also the largest amount of patellae with vastus notch in an archaeological population from Croatia recorded so far.

Phenotypic association of seven observed traits of hand complex

This paper provides an overview of the seven possible hand-related traits, with an idea to estimate the statistical phenotypic association between them. The traits observed in this study were: midphalangeal hair, Hitchhiker’s thumb, extensibility of proximal joint of thumb, digital index, nail shape, crooked fifth finger and hand clasping. The mentioned characteristics were observed in 7431 unrelated subjects, with approximately equal gender distribution. For each case, three groups were formed: total, male and female. The subjects were evenly distributed throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina’s various geographical regions, and they properly represent the country’s national and ethnic composition. The Chi-squared test was used to determine the statistical significance of the association between these traits, while Fisher’s exact test was utilized as an extra test to analyze the association between each pair of observed features. Also, Chi-squared test was applied for observing differences in the frequencies of the phenotypic characteristics of the hand between the genders. Following traits were shown to have a statistically significant association: midphalangeal hair-Hitchhiker’s thumb, midphalangeal hair – digital index, midphalangeal hair – nail shape, midphalangeal hair – crooked fifth finger, Hitchhiker’s thumb- extensibility of proximal joint of thumb, digital index – nail shape, digital index -crooked fifth finger, midphalangeal hair – hand clasping, crooked fifth finger – hand clasping. Analysis of differences in the frequencies of the observed phenotypic traits of the hand according to the genders showed statistical significance for D, Dht, Ref and Lf.

Reconstructing the childhood diet of the individuals from the Middle Late Bronze Age Bezdanjača Cave, Croatia (ca. 1430 1290 BCE) using stable C and N isotope analysis of dentin collagen

This paper investigates the childhood diet of 16 individuals from the Middle Late Bronze Age (1430 1290 BCE) Bezdanjača Cave (Lika region, Croatia) using stable isotope analysis of dentin collagen from permanent first molars. Results from the analysis reveal that the individuals from Bezdanjača consumed notable quantities of C4 plants during their childhood. The most common C4 plant is millet, whose spread throughout Southern Europe was recently dated to the second half of the 2nd millennium BCE, which agrees with the results obtained in this research. Comparisons between the data collected for the individuals from Bezdanjača and other Middle and Late Bronze Age sites in Croatia suggest that only the individuals from the site of Veliki Vital (Middle Bronze Age, inland Croatia) exhibit similar isotopic values to those from Bezdanjača. Human isotopic values from coastal sites, however, reveal that during the Middle and Late Bronze Age people from the coast had diet that still predominantly contained C3 plant-based foods, which appears to suggest that the dispersion of this crop in Croatia during the Bronze Age followed an east-west trajectory, appearing earlier (Middle and Late Bronze Age) in inland settlements such as Veliki Vital and Bezdanjača and only later (Late Bronze Age and mostly Iron Age) in coastal sites.

Variation in Selection Intensities among the Western Coastal Populations of India

Selection is continuously occurring on the living beings and the fittest who are able to reproduce will survive. To measure this selection, the data from 954 women was obtained who belong to different ethnic groups of Gujarat and Maharashtra and various index and components were computed using Crow`s Index and Johnston and Kensinger`s Index. The Crow`s total index value was found to be 0.539. The mortality component was found to be 0.130 and fertility component was found to be 0.363. The contribution of fertility component was greater than the mortality component according to Crow`s Index. Value of total selection index computed using Johnston and Kensinger`s Index is 0.639. The index of selection due to pre‐natal mortality and post‐natal mortality was observed to be 0.064 and 0.130 respectively. Therefore, it is found that among coastal populations of Gujarat and Maharashtra the selection trend is more due to fertility component than mortality component.

Syphilis in London’s Children’s Hospitals (1852 - 1921)

Establishing the palaeoepidemiology of diseases in children is a difficult task due to limited written and physical evidence. Historic admissions records from children’s hospitals can provide large data sets allowing insights into this area, rather than just case studies which are what most commonly appear within the palaeopathological literature. An oft ignored aspect of childhood illness is venereal disease due to the social taboo surrounding this topic. This study aimed to investigate the extent of syphilis within Victorian and Edwardian London’s children’s hospitals and explore the socioeconomic context this disease was occurring within. This was achieved by examining digitised hospital admissions data covering the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth centuries for three children’s hospitals. These records revealed a significant spike in admissions for congenital syphilis following World War One. This was likely due to the return of troops from the warfront who had been infected whilst in mainland Europe. It was also found that the upper levels of the working classes accounted for the majority of the admissions, despite these institutions being created to aid the children from the lowest socioeconomic groups. Finally, this paper highlights the need for researchers to also consider the possibility of children having acquired syphilis rather than congenital syphilis when examining such records