The objective of the Dissertation was to describe, quantify and interpret to which degree the shape and size of the facial skeleton of people living in the territory of today's Czech Republic in the period from the Early Middle Ages to the present day, i.e. in the course of the approx. last 1200 years, have changed. In this time period, morphological differences between populations, changes in the sexual dimorphism, modularity and allometry of the facial skeleton were examined. The evaluation was based on CT-images of skulls from three historical populations, specifically from the Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages and the early modern period. The current population was represented by CT-images of living people. We studied the facial skeletons of a total of 329 individuals, of which 183 were men and 146 women. The CT- images were used as a base for the creation of virtual 3D surface models. The facial skeleton was divided into three morphological units, which were further examined. These were the skeleton of the upper face, lower jaw and palate. The statistical processing was carried out applying methods of geometric morphometrics allowing the separate studying of the shape and size variability of the examined units. When comparing the size and shape differences between studied populations it is...

Sex estimation is a challenging problem in both forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. Sexual dimorphism is most noticeably displayed by the pelvis; however in instances when it is not preserved, sex is estimated by skull. There is a multitude of approaches that use the skull, however, their population specificity and variable sexual dimorphism oscillation reduces their effectiveness (Bruzek and Murail, 2006). We base our contribution on the study by Abdel Fatah et al. (2014) that estimates sex based on exocranial and endocranial surfaces with a high success rate of 97%. Our approach uses anonymized CT scans of skulls from recent french population, from which the exocranial surface was segmented. On these surfaces, CPD-DCA (Dupej et al., 2014) was performed. We analyzed both form and shape (form after size normalization) of these surfaces in 104 skulls (53 males, 51 females) aged 18 to 92 years. The mean age was 58 years in females and 52.46 years in males. Classification was performed using support vector machines (SVM) with a radial kernel. Leave-one-out crossvalidation was also applied. The highest success rate (87.5 %) was achieved with the first 27 principal components of form. Classification of shape was less accurate by only 2 %. Even though our success rate was lower than that of Abdel...

This master's work was focused on the assessment of sexual dimorphism of external and internal morphology of frontal bone. Sexual diagnosis based on external surface of frontal bones and volume and surface of frontal sinuses was carried out using geometric morphometrics methods. Our approach used anonimized CT scans of 103 skulls from recent Czech population, from which 3D models of frontal bones and frontal sinuses were created. At first the analysis was aimed at studying form and shape of external surface of frontal bone. Our methodology is based on the work of Musilová et al. (2016) that estimates sex using exocranial surface of the entire skull. We analyzed variability and tested differences in males and females frontal bones. The main target of this work was sex classification. The highest success rate acquired 86,41 % with the first 20 main components of form. The following part of this study was focused on sex estimation using the methodology developed by Bulut et al. (2016), which was applied in Turkish population. This method classified Czech males and females with accuracy 70,87 %. In order to complete sex determination based on the frontal bone we also used classification of the radius of the frontal bone curvature with success rate of 77,66 %. The attention was also paid to studying...

This Master's thesis focuses on the influence of socioeconomic status on the morphology of the mandible of individuals from the early medieval burial area in Mikulčice. This hillfort was an important center of power of the Great Moravian Empire with a stratified society. This work compares 2 different approaches on how to divide the inhabitants. The first of them is the division of individuals according to the location of graves into individuals from the castle, sub-castle, and hinterland. The second approach is the division of individuals according to the richness of grave equipment into individuals with rich and poor grave equipment. A different social status is associated mainly with different diets. Therefore, the attachments of the masticatory muscles are the most affected areas. A total of 132 individuals (59 males and 73 females) were analyzed. The material was evaluated by methods of geometric morphometrics. The used methods were CDP DCA, GPA, two-sample t-test, PCA, MANOVA, and SVM. Sexual dimorphism was observed in all sub-groups of the Mikulčice population. Men have larger mandibles with rami wider apart. The biggest differences are between individuals from the castle, the smallest between individuals with rich grave equipment. The distribution of individuals based on the location of...

In addition to the interaction of evolutionary forces, the population history of the African Sahel and Arabia has been influenced by the spread of Neolithic cultural innovations. The reflection of these processes today is a very complex structured diversity of the current populations, which is presented here through the analysis of several genetic markers. The aim is to provide a comprehensive view of the history of demographic processes in the Sahel and Arabia, by combining genetic, linguistic, subsistence and geographical data obtained from local populations. A study of a large dataset of mtDNA sequences showed that Arabia was a major crossroads in gene flow, and although it was colonized by anatomically modern humans from East Africa, today's differentiation from Africa is greater than the differentiation between local populations in these regions. Even the Sahel was an important biocorridor in the past. Today, we encounter populations of various subsistence strategies (nomadic pastoralists and settled farmers), between which gene flow has been severely restricted. A comparison of uniparently inherited loci in both groups points to different migratory activity in the eastern and western parts of the Sahel. Analyzes of Alu elements, which indicated the inclination of West African herders (Fulbs)...

Structural and diffusion imaging patterns that can be evaluated using MRI in patients with cognitive deficits are the central theme of the proposed work. First, the clinical and neuroimaging background of dementias has been reviewed in a broader context, with a special focus on Alzheimer's disease (AD) and differential diagnoses. The second part of this thesis contains four consecutive experimental studies. The primary objective of the first two studies was to obtain structural and microstructural information on the neurodegenerative processes characteristic for AD on global and regional levels. For this purpose, several complementary approaches were used and the focus was shifted from grey to white matter (GM/WM). The following two studies focused on the differential context of WM microstructural alterations in normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) and distinctive patterns of WM disintegrity in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The most important conclusion of our studies is that structural and diffusion imaging proved to be useful in identifying regionally specific and disproportionate loss of brain volume and microstructure in several pathological processes underlying cognitive deterioration. The use of distinctive morphometric methods yielded complementary information on AD-related atrophy patterns,...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) is an effective symptomatic treatment for pharmacoresistant dystonic syndromes. The relationship between grey matter volume and intracortical inhibition of the primary motor cortex (MI) in regard to the effectiveness and the state (ON/OFF) of GPi DBS was analysed in the first study. The grey matter of chronically treated patients showed hypertrophy of the supplementary motor area and cerebellar vermis whereas this difference was more significant in patients with a better clinical outcome. The grey matter of the cerebellar hemispheres of the patients showed positive correlation with the improvement of an intracortical inhibition which was generally less effective in patients regardless of the GPi DBS state. Moreover, we showed the same level of SICI in the good responders as in the healthy controls, while in non-responders was the SICI decreased. In the second study, by using paired associative stimulation (PAS) we studied the influence of primary somatosensory cortex (SI) on the MI excitability in dystonia in regards to the effectiveness of GPi DBS. SI PAS decreased the MI excitability in the GPi DBS ON state while switching the stimulation off decreased an inhibitory effect of SI on MI excitability. Non-responders showed a...

Text in English and abstract in English, Afrikaans and isiZulu / This archaeozoological study was undertaken to distinguish between the two hare species of South Africa, Lepus capensis (Cape hare) and Lepus saxatilis (scrub hare), from fragmentary archaeological faunal remains. It was previously not possible to taxonomically differentiate between these species. The research focused on Lagomorpha remains previously identified in Later Stone Age assemblages from two rock shelters, Blydefontein and Meerkat, in the Karoo. Analyses of modern skeletal material housed in museum collections demonstrated that there are indeed morphological and morphometric differences between Lepus capensis and Lepus saxatilis. The Lagomorpha material from the two archaeological assemblages were then re-examined utilising the newly established protocols. The reanalyses proved that it is now possible to distinguish between the two hare species even when in fragmentary form. It is also possible to identify Pronolagus. The dietary and likely cultural roles of the Lagomorpha and other small mammals in archaeological contexts are also explored. / Hierdie argeosoölogiese studie is onderneem om te onderskei tussen die twee haasspesies in Suid-Afrika, Lepus capensis (vlakhaas) en Lepus saxatilis (kolhaas), aan die hand van gefragmenteerde argeologiese fauna-oorblyfsels. Dit was nie voorheen moontlik om hierdie spesies taksonomies van mekaar te onderskei nie. Die navorsing fokus op Lagomorpha-oorblyfsels wat voorheen geïdentifiseer is in rotsskuiling-versamelings wat uit die Laat Steentydperk dateer. Die genoemde rotsskuilings is gevind by Blydefontein en Meerkat in die Karoo. Ontledings van moderne skeletmateriaal in museumversamelings het getoon dat daar wel morfologiese en morfometriese verskille tussen Lepus capensis en Lepus saxatilis is. Lagomorpha-materiaal afkomstig van die twee argeologiese versamelings is toe herondersoek aan die hand van nuut gevestigde protokolle. Die herontledings het bewys dat dit nou moontlik is om te onderskei tussen die twee haasspesies, selfs indien hulle gefragmenteerd is. Dit is ook moontlik om Pronolagus te identifiseer. Die rolle wat die Lagomorpha en ander klein soogdiere in argeologiese kontekste in dieet en kultuur vervul het, is ook ondersoek. / Ucwaningo maqondana nezitho zomzimba ezisalayo uma isilwane sesifile lwenziwelwa ukuba kukwazeke ukuhlukanisa phakathi kwalezi zinhlobo ezimbili zonogwaja eNingizimu Afrika, okuyiLepus capensis kanye neLepus saxatilis ngokubheka izingcucu zezinsalela zazo. Kwakungelula kudala ukuhlukanisa lezi zinhlobo zesilwane ngokwamaqoqo okwakheka noma okwenza kwazo. Ucwaningo lugxile kwizinsalela zohlobo lweLagomorpha olwaluvame ukubonakala ngenkathi yakudala okwakusetshenziswa kuyo amatshe ukwakha izinto (iStone Age) emiphemeni emibili eyayakhiwe ngamadwala eyayihlangene eyayaziwa ngokuthi yiBlydefontein neMeerkat esigodini esisagwadule esiseNingizimu Afrika, iKaroo. Ukuhlaziywa kwezingebhezi zemizimba yezinto ezigcinwe kwizigcinamagugu lwaveza ukuthi impela ukhona umehluko ekwakhekeni kanye nasezilinganisweni zogebhezi lwekhanda ngokomumo kumbe ugebhezi lwesiqu somzimba phakathi konogwaja abawuhlobo lweLepus capensis neLepus sexatilis. Uhlobo lweLagomorpha lwasesakhiweni semipheme ehlangene lwabe seluhlolwa kabusha kusetshenziswa izinhlobo ezintsha eziseqophelweni. Ukuhlaziywa kabusha kwaveza ubufakazi bokuthi sekuyinto engenzeka kalula ukuhlukanisa phakathi kwalezi zinhlobo ezimbili zonogwaja ngisho ngabe sezitholakala sezingcezungcezu. Kuyinto engenzeka kalula futhi ukubona uhlobo lwePronolagus. Indlela yokudla kanye nemisebenzi ehambisana nosikompilo kohlobo lweLagomorpha kanye nezinye izilwane ezincelisayo nakho kuyabhekwa. / Anthropology and Archaeology / M.A. (Archaeology)

The diploma work was based on the evaluation of dental casts of patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP) with a mean age of 10. Patients consist of two groups, patients without defect in speech and with speech impairment (palatolaly). Palatolalies in the literature are primarily associated with velopharyngeal insufficiency. The study tested the working hypothesis that in the failure of speech is involved a different, specific in some way, palatal shape. Dental casts were scanned using a laser scanner and analyzed by 3-D geometric morphometry and multivariate statistics: principal component analysis (PCA), linear regression analysis and finite element analysis (FESA). Using linear regression it was found that the shape of the palate is affected in younger individuals by age, and so had to be 5 patients excluded for further analysis. Patients with palatolaly have lower variability the palatal shape than patients without palatolalie, so their palates are similar to each other and have a specific shape. Palates are wider and lower than in individuals without speech disorder and they have a characteristic deepening behind the anterior part of the palate. We assume that these features in palate morphology primarily the lower arch and the substantial deepening are most likely to affect the...