SlovAntropol 2019

Changes in the foot arch between 1st and 2nd trimester among pregnant women from Moravia (Czech Republic). The aim of the study was to ascertain the effect of pregnancy on the foot arches amongst pregnant women in the 1st and 2nd trimester. The sample comprised of 40 primiparas aged 18.00 to 40.99 years (average age 31.74). The measurements took place in gynaecological offices in Kroměříž, Olomouc, Přerov and Centrum Radmila pro ženu a dítě in Zlín between 2016 and 2018. Women were selected on voluntary basis and consent to participate in the longitudinal observation. Using standardised anthropometric methods, the following characteristics were measured: height and weight, foot width and length; besides this a static imprint of the foot arch was made using indexed method by Chippaux-Šmiřák. A comparison of somatic parameters in women in the 1^st and 2^nd trimester showed that the body height remains the same, but there is a statistically significant increase in body weight 5.54 kg on average. No significant changes were detected in the width, length and foot arch between the 1st and 2nd trimester. The findings indicate that weight gain up to 6 kg in women between the 1st and 2nd trimester had no proven effect on the foot arch in either right or left foot. We assume that the course of pregnancy could cause a change in the foot arch due to weight gain, so we continue to follow the sample. Preliminary results of the longitudinal observation suggest that regular anthropometric measurements are important throughout the pregnancy.

Morphograms of body parameters and indices of the Slovak patients treated with growth hormone. The study evaluated morphograms of body parameters and indices of the Slovak patients with growth retardation treated with growth hormone and compared it with dimensions of a healthy population. The monitored group consisting of 97 patients aged 6–16 years is divided into three groups according to the patient’s diagnosis with hypopituitarism, intrauterine growth retardation, and Turner syndrome. The proportionality is evaluated from morphograms. All body parameters and indices of patients were evaluated from morphograms, while for comparison of body height before and during treatment a paired t-test was used. This test demonstrated only significant differences in all parameters before and during growth hormone therapy in boys and girls with hypopituitarism and the intrauterine growth retardation.

Effect of 24-hour fasting on physiological parameters – blood, glucose and pH in urine – in probands from the Prešov Region (Slovakia). Short-term fasting causes important changes in clinical and biochemical parameters. After 24 hours of starvation, decreases in glucose concentrations, systolic and diastolic blood pressure have been observed in studied probands (n=35). There were statistically significant changes in urinary pH (p<0.0001) and blood pressure (p<0.0001). These metabolic changes may be the basis for the benefits seen in individuals such as lower risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There were no gender differences. We found significant differences in glucose level between a group of individuals who started fasting in the morning and a group of individuals who started fasting in the evening (p=0.0321).

Assessment of cardiometabolic abnormality indexes in Slovak patients with cardiologic complications. The cardiovascular diseases are the most common health complications associated with mortality. Individual approach to patient status with the implication of new cardiometabolic markers can improve the management of patients and prevention strategies. In our study, we analysed 300 individuals (50.0% patients with cardiometabolic complications and 50.0% healthy controls) from East Slovakia for Pearson correlation coefficient between body fat percentage (%TT) and indexes indicated cardiometabolic complications calculated from main anthropological characteristics (high, weight, waist circumference, and hip circumference). We confirmed a statistically significant correlation in ~78.0% of cases. The highest confirmed correlation has been established between %TT and indexes BMI and BAI (r >0.75; p<0.001 and r2 =0.56). Differences between mean values of calculated indexes in patients and controls were statistically significant in all cases. Our study points to the potential use and importance of new indices in the assessment of cardiometabolic complications and the prevention of cardiovascular risk.

Cremation graves from the locality of Bratislava-Devín, Záhrady site (Slovakia, 9th century BC). The burned skeletal remains from three urns deposited in Objects 70 and 71 were analysed. We examined the volume and weight of the skeletal remains, the size of bone fragments and degree of burning. We assume that only one individual was buried in Object 70. In Object 71, the situation is more complicated. Since the burned bones were found in two urns, it is possible that the remains belonged to one individual but have been stored in two vessels. However, the remains could belong to two or more individuals. In all three urns, small quantities of minute to medium sized burned bone fragments were present. Perfect to chalk, respectively perfect degree of burn prevailed. Sex and the age at death could not be estimated in any individual.

Detection of polymorphisms rs429358 and rs7412 of APOE gene in patients with obesity and selected cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in East Slovakia. APOE gene (rs429358 and rs7412) was one of the first genes studied and associated with cardiovasc ular disease. APOE gene influence s lipoprotein metabolism and plasma concentration (LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, triacidglycerols) and its mutations can disrupted function of these mechanisms. The aim of our study was to analyse polymorphisms rs4293 58 and r7412 of APOE gene in two groups: patients with obesity and selected cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (N= 147) and healthy controls (N= 152). We found significant difference in allele frequency (p=0.0000) and distribution of genotypes (p=0.0000) of APOE gene. Frequenc y of alleles APOE gene was in controls ε2=0.07, ε3=0.85, ε4=0.08 and in patients ε2=0.01, ε3=0.80, ε4=0.19. After comparison of selected cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in sense of genotypes between patients w e found significant difference between arterial hypertension (p=0.0000). With re spect to allele frequency of APOE gene in our study, we can consider that the risk allele.

Risk factors related to endometriosis development in women from eastern Slovakia. Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease affecting approximately 10% of pre-menopausal women. Common symptoms are infertility, pelvic pain, and menstrual cycle disorders. In the present study we aimed to the occurrence of individual types and degrees of endometriosis as well as clinical signs in women with diagnosed endometriosis. The aim of study was to assess factors that may play an important role in the development of endometriosis. We included 67 women with diagnosed endometriosis. In all women, the disease was diagnosed at reproductive age. The most common type was ovarian endometriosis, while none of the women were diagnosed with severe disease. Based on the results, it can be confirmed that endometriosis most often affects women of reproductive age. Smoking and physical activity are factors affecting the development of endometriosis.

Analysis of health status and phthalate exposure in association with ectopic pregnancy in females from Slovakia. The aim of our work was to analyze ectopic pregnancy (EG) in a cohort of females (Nitra, Slovakia, N=15) in connection with potential key factors for this condition. We observed higher concentration of the mono-n-butyl-phthalate (MnBP; median 71.196 ng/ml, p≤0.05) in probands diagnosed with EP compared to control group (females with intrauterine gravidity, Nitra, Slovakia, N=15; median 38.680 ng/ml). We also found a higher concentration of MnBP and monoethyl phthalate (MEP) in comparison to other worldwide studies. Our results also indicate that higher age, obesity, previous EG, surgery in the pelvic region, previous inflammation and smoking can be considered as a potential risk factor for the development of EG. We did not observe any statistically significant associations between consumer practices of probands and the concentrations of analyzed phthalate metabolites.

Spectrum of sequence variants detected in patients with cardiomyopathy from Eastern Slovakia. Cardiomyopathies represent a heterogeneous group of myocardial disorders including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy of the (right) ventricle. The development of the new laboratory diagnostics technologies presents new applications for clinical practice. The aim of our study was to perform next genetration sequencing (NGS) analyzes of 14 patients (nine males, five females, mean age 57.5±11.9 years) with a clinical diagnosis of cardiomyopathy. NGS analyzes revealed a total of 2,729 sequence variants of 37 different genes including non-synonymous substitutions, synonymous substitutions, insertions, and deletions. 9.5 % of the detected sequence variants based on prediction software were classified as potentially pathogenic variants. Our results of NGS analyzes confirm the assumption that multiple mutations.

Genotype and allele frequencies of rs1544410 VDR gene polymorphism in relation to osteoporosis in women from Slovakia. Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease with a significant proportion of genetic factors involved in the etiopathogenesis. VDR gene encoding the vitamin D receptor is one of the candidate genes of osteoporosis. The aim of our study was to determine genotype and allele frequencies of rs1544410 polymorphism of VDR gene and to test the association with fracture risk in the group of 86 Slovak postmenopausal women with diagnosed osteoporosis/osteopenia and the control group of 86 healthy postmenopausal women. Genomic DNA was isolated using a commercial NucleoSpin®Blood kit from peripheral blood. Analyses of rs1544410 VDR gene polymorphism were performed by real-time PCR using the 7500 Fast Real-Time PCR System and the Step One Real-Time PCR System using the TaqMan®SNP Genotyping Assay. We detected the following distribution of rs1544410 VDR gene genotypes and alleles: CC – 44.2%, CT – 55.8%, TT – 0.0%; C – 72.1%, T – 27.9%. The following genotype and allele frequencies were detected in the control group: CC – 41.9%, CT – 58.1%, TT – 0.0%, C – 70.9%, T – 29.1%. The differences in the frequencies of genotypes and alleles of the BsmI polymorphism of VDR gene were not statistically significant.

Prediction of genetic risk in Slovak patients with metabolic syndrome. The main aim of this study was to analyze selected anthropometric parameters in patients with diagnosed metabolic syndrome and identify the genotypic structures of patients by detecting single nucleotide polymorphism rs9939609 FTO gene and assess its impact on the anthropometric indicators. Anthropometric screenings in a sample of patients were carried out by standard methods. Subsequently, DNA isolation was done from the collected blood samples and then genotypic analysis of polymorphism rs9939609 FTO gene was done by Real-Time PCR method. All statistical tests were implemented in statistical software SPSS for Windows, version 19.0. The criterion for statistical significance was p-value 0.05. In the study group of 69 patients, we detected 29.0% of individuals homozygous for the protective allele T, 52.2% of individuals with heterozygous genotype AT and 18.2% of subjects with two copies of the risk allele A in the genotype. We found higher mean values of anthropometric parameters in patients – men with genotypes AA and AT except body height. We also recorded higher mean values of monitored parameters in women with genotype AA and AT compared to the genotype TT. In both cases, the differences were not statistically significant.

Analysis of the body composition in Slovak female university students. Physical activity can provide health benefits and reduce the risk of complications from obesity and improve mental well-being. The aims of this study were to analyse the selected body composition features in relation to physical activity of cohort of females, students of the Constantine Philosopher University in Nitra (N=152). InBody 230 composition analyser was used to determine body composition parameters. Students who achieved adequate physical activity reached higher average values of Total Body Water (TBW; p≤0.05), Fat Free Mass (FFM; p≤0.05), content of minerals and proteins (p≤0.05), higher InBody Score (p≤0.05) and Basal Metabolic Rate value (BMR; p≤0.05), than women with inadequate physical activity. Higher average values of the Percent of Body Fat on right and left arms (p≤0.05) were found in women with inadequate physical activity in comparison with women with adequate physical activity. Our results confirm the positive relationship between meeting the recommended physical activity level and its impact on body composition health risk indicators.

Traumatic lesions in skeletal remains of the Three Košice Martyrs. We analysed skeletal remains of Stephen Pongracz, Melchior Grodziecki and Marko Krizin, and confirmed that the remains belonged to male individuals. On the basis of the age at death estimation, we found that some bones of the postcranial skeleton of Melchior Grodziecki (stored in Trnava) and Marko Krizin (stored in Esztergom) were probably exchanged in the past. Pathological lesions found on skeletal remains are likely to be the result of torture and may indicate the cause of death of the martyrs. We consider that Stephen Pongracz could have died due to stabbing in the left side of his neck where carotid could have been cut. As regards the decapitation of Melchior Grodziecki, mentioned in historical documents, we tend to believe that the head was cut off post-mortem. On the right scapula of Marko Krizin, we found a fissure that could have occurred after a halberd stabbing in the chest.

Dental caries in juvenile and adult individuals from the cemetery in Pata (Galanta district, Slovakia) dated to the Únětice culture. The odontological analysis was carried out on 134 individuals (54 males, 69 females and 11 individuals of undetermined sex). Altogether, 1,986 alveoli and 2,385 teeth were examined (Comparative Alveolar Index CAI=45.0, Comparative Dental Index CDI=55.6). The caries frequency (F-CE) came up to 53.7%. The caries intensity (I-CE), consisting of the frequency of carious teeth (% C=5.2%) and ante-mortem tooth loss (% E=8.1%), reached 13.3%. In average, there were 2.1 carious or lost teeth in each individual. Both the F-CE and I-CE have positively growing tendency with increasing age. No statistically significant intersexual differences in the caries frequency and the caries intensity were found.

Periapical inflammatory processes in individuals from the cemetery at Pata (Galanta district, Slovakia) dated to the Únětice culture. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of periapical inflammatory lesions in individuals buried in the Early Bronze Age cemetery. From the total number of 134 examined individuals, 28 (20.9%) individuals were affected by an inflammatory process. Males and females were affected approximately equally, the intersexual differences were not significant (p=0.8267). In 28 affected individuals, 62 alveoli were changed by the inflammation, which represents 3.1% of the total number of examined alveoli. The abscess/osteomyelitis was the most frequent (61.3%), followed by periapical granuloma (24.2%) and radicular cysts (14.5%). The frequency of affected individuals in Pata was significantly lower than at most compared cemeteries localized in Western Slovakia.

Association between aggressiveness and second and fourth finger of the upper limb and BMI of students of CPU in Nitra (Slovakia). The length of the index finger (2D) and ring finger (4D) is a typical feature of sexual dimorphism. While males generally have a shorter index finger than a ring, females have these fingers of the same length or their index finger is longer. This property as well as the 2D:4D ratio is considered to be a marker of prenatal sex hormone exposure; inter alia it was associated with aggressiveness. The aim of our study was to investigate possible connections between aggressiveness and BMI with the length 2D, 4D and digit ratio realized in a group of 50 probands. We observed a statistically significant difference in the case of physical aggression (p=0.009), hostile attitudes (p=0.04) and the total score achieved (p=0.02) between the genders when the males achieved a higher score. With the increasing observation of physical aggression throughout the cohort, we observed an increase in ring length (p ≤0.05), but an affinity for sex did not confirm this binding. In the case of physical aggression, we observed an association with the length of the left ring at the limit of statistical value (p=0.07). From the point of view of hostile attitudes of probands, we observed an association with the BMI of females (r=0.41, p≤0.05).

Forensic-expert assessment of the legal age of undocumented migrants: Recommended methods and procedures. The article deals with the problem of forensic age assessment in cases of young migrants-refugees without personal documents for legal purposes. An overview of methods for biological age assessments of adolescents and young adults are presented here. Those are the medical history and physical examination, X-ray examination of the hand, dental examination, and examination of the medial clavicular epiphyses development. The minimum-age concept is recommended to prevent the erroneous classification of under-aged as legal adults.