The exhumation of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was performed in 2010 to verify speculative views on the cause of his death. Previous analyses of skeletal and hair remains recovered from ...his grave refuted the presumption that he died from poisoning. These studies also outlined the possibility that he actually died from an acute illness, echoing the rather vague and inaccurate testimony of some historical records. We performed a detailed paleopathological analysis of Tycho Brahe's skeletal remains, along with a reconstruction of his diet based on carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analysis and an estimate of his physical status (relative body fat) based on medullar and cortical dimensions of the femoral shaft. The astronomer's remains exhibit bone changes indicative of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). The study further allows us to classify him as obese (100% reliability according to our decision tree designed from Danish males), and points out his rich diet (high input of animal protein and/or marine resources) and high social status. Comorbidities of DISH and obesity are reviewed, and their influence on health status is discussed. We further consider some conditions associated with metabolic syndrome as possible causes of Tycho Brahe's final symptoms (urinary retention, renal failure and coma), including diabetes, alcoholic ketoacidosis and benign prostatic hypertrophy. Although a definite and specific diagnosis cannot be established, our study points to today's civilization diseases often associated with DISH and metabolic syndrome as the possible cause of death of Tycho Brahe.
Skleněné číše s choboty, prakticky nepoužitelné, tvoří nečetnou skupinu mezi nálezy skla ve střední Evropě 15.–17. století. Tento příspěvek je věnován zejména novým nálezům ze sídlištních lokalit v ...České republice. Analýza chemického složení skel číší s choboty ukazuje na shodu některých exemplářů se složením skla vyráběného v českých sklárnách, složení skla dalších číší odpovídá okruhu skláren v Tyrolsku nebo severních Alpách a produkci skláren v západní části Německa.
The study deals with the issues of the early medieval iron production and working on the territory of the Prague settlement agglomeration of the 9th–13th centuries. The main starting points of the ...work are the results of salvage archaeological surveys. Attention is devoted primarily to the chronology and dislocation of the production and treatment of iron, the question of the raw-material resources and the identification of the paleometallurgical material, including the technological functions of the objects found.
•The 3D computerized facial approximation of the astronomer Tycho Brahe was performed.•Due to a poorly preserved facial skeleton missing data was statistically estimated.•Impact of the missing data ...estimation was evaluated visually from 10 test-subjects.•The procedure is an alternative to traditional methods of facial approximation.
The virtual approach in physical and forensic anthropology is increasingly used to further analyze human remains, but also to propose new didactic means for visualization and dissemination of scientific results. Computerized facial approximation (FA) offers an alternative to manual methods, but usually requires a complete facial skeleton to allow for the estimation of the facial appearance of an individual. This paper presents the case of Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer born during the XVIth century, whose remains were reanalyzed at the occasion of a short exhumation in 2010. Cranial remains of Brahe were poorly preserved, with only a partial facial skeleton, and virtual anthropology tools were used to estimate the missing parts of his skull. This 3D restoration was followed by a FA using TIVMI-AFA3D, subsequently textured with graphic tools. The result provided an interesting estimate that was compared with portraits of the astronomer. The impact of the missing data estimation was investigated by performing FAs on 10 complete test subjects and the same 10 subjects after cropping and estimating 50% of the landmarks (reproducing the preservation state of Tycho Brahe’s cranial remains). The comparison between the FA based on the complete and incomplete skulls of the same subject produced a visual assessment of the estimation impact on FAs which is relatively low. This procedure is an alternative to manual methods and offers a reproducible estimate of a face based on incomplete cranial remains. Although the case report concerns a historical individual, the robust automatic estimation of missing landmarks followed by a FA has value for forensic caseworks as a support to the identification process.
Praha - Staré Město – stavba repliky Mariánského sloupu, Staroměstské náměstí, ppč. 1090.
Prague - Old Town - the construction of a replica of the Marian Column, Old Town Square, ppč. 1090.
Praha - ...Staré Město – stavba repliky Mariánského sloupu, Staroměstské náměstí, ppč. 1090.
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