Notes

Impulsivity Scale-12 and its particular usage within alcohol consumption disorder.
Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a complex group of anthropogenic compounds with exceptional properties. Due to their high persistence and mobility, they have caused ubiquitous environmental contamination and in part accumulate in the food chain. In the general population, diet is the main source of PFAS exposure, with the important sources fish and meat. As a vegan diet implies the complete exclusion of any animal products, it might be expected that vegans have lower blood levels of PFAS compared to omnivores. Furthermore, lower levels of cholesterol is one of the well-documented nutritional effects in vegans, but cholesterol levels were also found to be associated with higher PFAS levels in epidemiological studies. To examine the relations of internal PFAS levels and the levels of cholesterol in vegans and omnivores, the cross-sectional "Risks and Benefits of a Vegan Diet" (RBVD) study was used involving 36 vegans and 36 omnivores from Berlin/Germany. Nine perfluoroalkyl substances were quantified in plasma using a triple-stage quadrupole mass spectrometer. Lower median plasma concentrations were found in vegans compared to omnivores for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) (2.31 vs. 3.57 ng/ml, respectively; p = 0.02) and for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) ( 0.05) at the low exposure level of this study. According to the results of our study, a vegan diet may be related to lower PFAS levels in plasma. We highlight the importance of the adjustment of dietary factors like a vegan diet in case of epidemiological studies dealing with the impact of PFAS on the levels of blood lipids.Smooth muscle contraction of the epididymis plays an important role in sperm transport. Although PDGFRα-positive interstitial cells (PDGFRα (+) ICs) are thought to be involved in controlling smooth muscle movement via intercellular signaling, they have not yet been reported to date in the epididymis. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the morphological characteristics of PDGFRα (+) ICs in the interstitial space of the murine epididymis. Immunohistochemistry showed that PDGFRα (+) ICs co-labeled with CD34 (PDGFRα (+) CD34 (+) ICs were distributed in the interstitial space of the murine epididymis from the initial segment (IS) to the cauda of the epididymis. PDGFRα (+) ICs that were not co-labeled with CD34 (PDGFRα (+) CD34 (-) ICs) were observed just beneath the epithelium from the corpus to the cauda but not in the IS. Both types of PDGFRα (+) ICs were in close proximity to each other as well as the surrounding nerves and macrophages. In addition, PDGFRα (+) CD34 (-) ICs beneath the epithelium were also in close proximity to the basal cells. Using transmission electron microscopy, we identified ICs that possessed elongated and woven cellular processes and were in close proximity to each other, surrounding the cells in the interstitial space. In the murine epididymis, it is suggested that there are two subtypes of ICs that show different distribution patterns depending on the segment, which may reflect segmental differences in mechanisms of sperm transport, forming a cellular network by physical interactions in the murine epididymis.
This study aims to place trepanation in a medieval therapeutic context by addressing its medical use in neurological disorders and by testing the existence of particular dietary care for the sick.

Six cases of trepanation found at the St. Cosme priory (La Riche, France) dated from the 12th-15th centuries.

Neurological health was explored by geometric morphometrics by comparing the six cases to 68 skulls and 67 endocraniums belonging to individuals from the same period and geographical area. Trepanned diet was investigated by carbon and nitrogen isotopes and compared to 49 individuals from the same site.

The study of shapes suggests a possible pathological state for four subjects. The diet of the trepanned is not different from the rest of the population.

The treatment of neurological disorders emerges as the main therapeutic motivation in the corpus, contrary to the reports from the ancient surgical treatises. A specific diet for the sick is not highlighted.

Geometric morphometrics is rarely used in paleopathology and the results suggest a potential of this type of analysis in the identification of pathological cases. The results on therapeutic motivations and diet do not fit the descriptions from ancient medical sources.

The study of forms did not lead to definitive diagnosis. The isotopic study does not allow us to appreciate all the aspects of the diet.

A geometric morphometric study of the skulls and endocraniums of individuals with a known neurological condition would allow a better appreciation of the link between shapes and pathologies.
A geometric morphometric study of the skulls and endocraniums of individuals with a known neurological condition would allow a better appreciation of the link between shapes and pathologies.
To determine the degree of similarity of biologically related individuals according to the occurrence of skeletal developmental anomalies (SDA), to see whether these anomalies reflect documented biological relationships.

The sample consists of the skeletal remains of seven members of the noble Swéerts-Sporck family from the 17th-20th centuries. NIKSMI1 Eighty-nine SDA were examined using morphological assessment, X-ray and CT. The degree of similarity was calculated using a similarity coefficient (Cvrček et al., 2018).

There were three shared SDA in the sample (cranial shift at the C-T border, cervical ribs, hypoplasia of rib 12), and another fifteen individual SDA were reported. The degree of similarity between individuals supports their documented relationships. The greatest similarity was found in closely related individuals such as father/son or siblings, and the least between unrelated individuals.

SDA can be used as a supportive tool for detecting family relationships. The results correspond to the conclusions of earlier analyses of non-metric traits and frontal sinuses in the same sample the smaller the biological distance between individuals, the greater the degree of their similarity.

Using unique human skeletal collections, this communication contributes to the expansion of knowledge about the familial occurrence of SDA.

The small number of individuals limits the use of statistical approaches.

The results call for research on this topic using a larger sample with known genealogical data and the same approaches, to confirm our conclusions.
The results call for research on this topic using a larger sample with known genealogical data and the same approaches, to confirm our conclusions.
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