http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52288 Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:20:48 GMT 2026-04-09T21:20:48Z https://dspace.uni.lodz.pl:443/xmlui/bitstream/id/478c7932-4911-404b-a4a5-c506c702bd07/ http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52288 http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52297 Tuberculous spondylitis: Macromorphological and radiological studies on a skeleton from the Late Iron Age monument of Nor Armavir, Armenia Khudaverdyan, Anahit Yu.; Yengibaryan, Azat A.; Hmayakyan, Simon G.; Tiratsyan, Nvart G.; Hmayakyan, Margar S.; Vardanyan, Shota A.; Antonyan, Anna P.; Kocharyan, Vahan R. The skeleton in question derives from the Late Iron Age monument of Nor Armavir and was unearthed from burial No. 19. The deceased was buried in an unusual position. In this article, we characterize the pathological bony changes indicative of tuberculous spondylitis. The skeleton was subject to a detailed macroscopic investigation. Besides age at death estimation and sex determination, a careful palaeopathological evaluation was performed on the bone remains. In addition, volumetric (3D) computed tomography was carried out on four lumbar vertebrae (L2–5) to complement the macromorphology-based diagnosis. Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52297 2024-06-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52296 The presence of Homo in Sicily: evidence, hypotheses and uncorroborated ideas. An archaeo-anthropological perspective Portaro, Claudia; Varotto, Elena; Sineo, Luca; Galassi, Francesco M. This article summarises the main findings and data on the ancient peopling of the Mediterranean island of Sicily through an archaeo-anthropological perspective. The hypothesis surrounding the presence of the Lower Palaeolithic in Sicily with more ancestral species of Homo is also extensively reviewed and it is explained why there are not sufficient elements to maintain it. Finally, future multidisciplinary proposals are made to fill the gap on Sicilian cave archaeology. Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52296 2024-06-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52295 AI-generated faces show lower morphological diversity than real faces do Boudníková, Olga; Kleisner, Karel Some recent studies suggest that artificial intelligence can create realistic human faces subjectively unrecognizable from faces of real people. We have compared static facial photographs of 197 real men with a sample of 200 male faces generated by artificial intelligence to test whether they converge in basic morphological characteristic such as shape variation and bilateral asymmetry. Both datasets depicted standardized faces of European men with a neutral expression. Then we used geometric morphometrics to investigate their facial morphology and calculate the measures of shape variation and asymmetry. We found that the natural faces of real individuals were more variable in their facial shape than the artificially generated faces were. Moreover, the artificially synthesized faces showed lower levels of facial asymmetry than the control group. Despite the rapid development of generative adversarial networks, natural faces are thus still statistically distinguishable from the artificial ones by objective measurements. We recommend the researchers in face perception, that aim to use artificially generated faces as ecologically valid stimuli, to check whether their stimuli morphological variance is comparable with that of natural faces in a target population. Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52295 2024-06-03T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52294 Possible future evolutionary consequences to Homo as a result of the implementation of biotechnology Saniotis, Arthur; Galassi, Francesco M.; Henneberg, Maciej Biotechnology has become one of the most powerful forces on the planet, since it is capable of altering life processes at a molecular level. Since human bodies are dynamic biological systems, medicine requires to understand the evolutionary antecedents of Homo, especially in relation to neurohormonal regulation. Furthermore, increasing human dependence on biotechnology has led to relaxed natural selection in Homo, with subsequent increase of genetic load. In this paper, we speculate on the possible consequences of the application of parsimoniously derived biotechnologies onto the biological system of humans, with special attention to three areas: 1. human brain augmentation; 2. biotechnology and public health; 3. relaxed natural selection and genetic load. Human ability to manipulate and alter the structure and function of the body may not only make natural selection redundant but will be guided by a teleology whose purpose will seek to improve upon nature’s design. Mon, 03 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/11089/52294 2024-06-03T00:00:00Z