Vedat Onar

Morphometric analysis of the foramen magnum in German Shepherd dogs (Alsatians)

In this study, a total of 32 skulls from German Shepherd (Alsatian) puppies were used. These animals were divided into two groups and examined individually. Group 1 included the puppies of between 43-60 days old. Group 2 included the puppies of between 61-107 days old. We based our study on the changes in shape and size of the foramen magnum and the correlation of normal craniometric measurements in the German Shepherd puppies. In group 1, a maximum width of the foramen magnum of 15.55 mm, a height of the foramen magnum of 14.38 mm and a foramen magnum index of 92.67 were observed. In group 2, a maximum width of the foramen magnum of 17.49 mm, a height of the foramen magnum of 16.34 mm and a foramen magnum index of 93.51 were measured. A high positive correlation was found between the maximum width and height of the foramen magnum, the maximum width of the occipital condyles, the maximum width of the bases of the jugular processes, the skull height, the height of the occipital triangle, the skull length from prosthion to basion and the skull length from prosthion to the caudal borders of the occipital condyles. A negative correlation was observed between the width and height of the foramen magnum and indices. Although there was no relation between the foramen magnum index and the age of the animals, an important difference was found between groups 1 and 2. A negative correlation was observed between the foramen magnum index and the rate of increase in the cranial volume. In all the animals examined, the dorsal bone of the foramen magnum was closed, therefore any extension or dorsal notch was not seen. Such an extension or dorsal notch of the foramen magnum in the German Shepherd puppies may therefore be the result of a pathological condition.

Correlation analysis of the skull and long bone measurements of the dog.

In this study, a heterogeneous population of 42 dogs was examined for correlation between skull and long bone measurements. For this purpose, 17 craniometric measurements were carried out and used to calculate 12 indices and ratios. These indices and ratios were then subjected to a correlation analysis with long bone measurements. While a high significant negative correlation of p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively was found for skull, cranial and facial I1, I2, LLI-2, BI and BI-1 indices, and the CFO and CFO-1 ratios respectively with respect to the non-indexed long bone measurements, a high positive correlation was found to exist between those indices and ratios, and the long bone indices (p < 0.01). The correlation coefficients for the skull indices and ratios to long bone measurements proved to be very similar for the long bones of front and hind legs. As a result of the correlation analysis, it was found that with an increase in skull tendency towards the dolichocephalic type, the long bone parameters also increase, while with the skull tending towards the brachycephalic type, the long bone parameters decrease. This finding of a long bone-related increase in dimensions and morphological skull expression favours the assumption of a close relation to the skull typology.

Morphological analysis of the foramen magnum of dogs from the Iron Age.

The investigations were carried out on 37 skulls from the Van‐Yoncatepe early Iron Age necropolis (in eastern Anatolia) (first group) and 11 skulls from the scythians castle from Bileskoje Iron Age (second group). The major distance between both occipital condyles and both bases of the jugular processes, the major width of the foramen magnum, height of the foramen magnum, height of the skull, height of the occipital triangle and the length of the dorsal notch were measured. A dorsal notch was present in seven dogs (six male and one female) from Van‐Yoncatepe. The average length of the dorsal notch was 2.5 mm. The investigation states that the dorsal notch occurred in dogs from the Iron Age. This anatomical formation had no association with their death.

TRACHEAL RECONSTRUCTION WITH POROUS HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE TRACHEAL PROSTHESIS

The variety of methods used for the treatment of severe tracheal stenosis and the occasional failure to obtain lasting and consistent relief are measures of the difficulty of the problem. Presently, several surgical approaches are used for reconstructing large defects of the cervical trachea, reminding us that no single technique has gained wide clinical acceptance. We resected a U-shaped cartilage from 6 to 8 rings of the trachea of 10 New Zealand rabbits. We used a porous high-density polyethylene (PHDP) prosthesis to reconstruct the cervical trachea, and did not perform a tracheotomy during this operation. We followed up the rabbits for 4 to 10 months. One of the rabbits died in the second month because of respiratory distress; another was lost in the fourth month of the study while delivering young. The others continued to thrive; in fact, one of them gave birth 3 times after our study and was well able to take care of her young. At the end of the study, the rabbits were painlessly sacrificed in order to remove the larynx and trachea and examine them histopathologically. In the histopathologic examinations, the prostheses were incorporated into the native trachea and adhered to the surrounding organs, especially to the esophagus. No mucosal irregularities were seen on the surface of the prosthesis, and all the surfaces appeared to be covered with ciliated pseudostratified epithelium. This tracheal prosthesis provides good results in rabbit tracheal reconstruction, and appears very promising for the clinical repair of tracheal defects.

The Reconstruction of Nasal Septal Perforation with High Density Porous Polyethylene Covered with Fascia Lata: An Experimental Study on Rabbit Model

Objectives Evaluation of a new material, high-density porous polyethylene (HDPP), which is covered with fascia lata, for experimental nasal septal perforation closure. Methods Twenty New Zealand albino rabbits were included and divided into study and control groups. A lateral incision was made from the lateral aspect of the left nares to the incisura nasomaxillaris. After exposure of the cavum nasi, the nasal mucoperichondrium was elevated bilaterally. A full-thickness 0.5×0.5-cm perforation was created over the septum nasi with a No. 11 surgical blade. A fascia lata graft was used for the study group. The HDPP was covered with fascia lata and placed under the elevated mucosa. HDPP without a fascial covering was used in the control group. Four months after the procedure, magnetic resonance imaging was performed to evaluate resorption of the material. The animals were sacrificed, and the nasal septum was completely removed. Macroscopic and histopathological examinations were performed on the nasal septum. Results All rabbits had survived after the 4-month period. Macroscopically, nine of 10 (90%) perforations were closed in the fascia lata-covered HDPP group. Histopathological examination of these nine rabbits revealed that the continuity of cartilage was disturbed in the perforation areas. Granulation tissue was inverted in areas in which the cartilage continuity was disturbed. The HDPP had remained intact at the edge of the perforation. In the HDPP group, six of 10 implants were still perforated (60%) and four (40%) were closed. The fascia lata-covered HDPP implant had a significantly higher perforation closure rate than that of the HDPP implant alone (P<0.05). Conclusion In cases of septal perforation, it is better to cover the HDPP implant with fascia lata. This covered implant can be used for the repair of nasal septal perforations. HDPP implants are easy to work with and avoid the increased operative time and morbidity associated with harvesting autografts.

Morphometric Examination of Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) from the Van-Yoncatepe Necropolis in Eastern Anatolia

En la cripta mortuoria M4 del cementerioVan-Yoncatepe en Anatolia del Este, se encontraron restos de zorro y humanos que datan de mil anos aC. Los restos de zorro corresponden a 2 craneos y variados huesos postcraniales. Los estudios de dicho material nos lleva a concluir que, hubo 5 zorros enterrados en la cripta. Conjuntamente, se realizaron examenes craniometricos y mediciones osteometricas, estimaciones de altura de hombro y calculo de peso corporal. Las evaluaciones cuantitativa y cualitativa de la informacion obtenida y las comparaciones realizadas con especies de zorros modernos, permiten concluir que dichos hallazgos corresponden a zorro rojo (Vulpes vulpes)

Ancient genomes revisit the ancestry of domestic and Przewalski’s horses

Revisiting the origins of modern horses The domestication of horses was very important in the history of humankind. However, the ancestry of modern horses and the location and timing of their emergence remain unclear. Gaunitz et al. generated 42 ancient-horse genomes. Their source samples included the Botai archaeological site in Central Asia, considered to include the earliest domesticated horses. Unexpectedly, Botai horses were the ancestors not of modern domestic horses, but rather of modern Przewalskis horses. Thus, in contrast to current thinking on horse domestication, modern horses may have been domesticated in other, more Western, centers of origin. Science, this issue p. 111 The earliest herded horses were ancestors of feral Przewalski’s horses but not of modern domesticated horses. The Eneolithic Botai culture of the Central Asian steppes provides the earliest archaeological evidence for horse husbandry, ~5500 years ago, but the exact nature of early horse domestication remains controversial. We generated 42 ancient-horse genomes, including 20 from Botai. Compared to 46 published ancient- and modern-horse genomes, our data indicate that Przewalski’s horses are the feral descendants of horses herded at Botai and not truly wild horses. All domestic horses dated from ~4000 years ago to present only show ~2.7% of Botai-related ancestry. This indicates that a massive genomic turnover underpins the expansion of the horse stock that gave rise to modern domesticates, which coincides with large-scale human population expansions during the Early Bronze Age.

Skull typology of Byzantine dogs from the Theodosius Harbour at Yenikapi, Istanbul.

This study presents the results of craniometric analysis of 500 Byzantine Era dog skulls from the ancient site of the Theodosius Harbour in Istanbul (modern Yenikapı neighbourhood). To determine the typology of the skulls, up to 36 craniometric measurements were taken on each specimen. Fourteen indices and ratios were calculated from the measurements. Results show that the majority (97%) of the Byzantine dogs from the Yenikapı excavations were of mesocephalic type. Only 15 of the analysed skulls (3%) were of the dolichocephalic type. Only one dog skeleton has been recovered in situ during the excavations; analysis indicates that this individual belonged to a mesocephalic type dog. Brachycephalic dog skulls were absent in the samples studied from Byzantine Yenikapı. The results give important insight in continuities and discontinuities in dog‐breeding traditions from the Roman to the Byzantine Eras, and between the West and the East during Medieval times.

The shoulder height estimation in dogs based on the internal dimension of cranial cavity using mathematical formula.

The investigations were carried out on 91 dogs of various breeds. Using the mathematical formula Hestmd = 1.016 ×D − 31.2 (Hestmd, estimated value of the shoulder height; D, internal dimension of the cranial cavity Ethmoideum‐Basion) the shoulder height was calculated. Evaluated results were compared with the shoulder height values measured by authors and coming from papers. The results proved the high accuracy of the implemented mathematical formula.

Did the historical range of the European bison (Bison bonasus L.) extend further south?—a new finding from the Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray excavation, Turkey

The origin of the European bison (Bison bonasus, Linnaeus, 1758) has been widely discussed and investigated in recent years. The species had a wide historic geographic distribution throughout the European continent during the middle and late Holocene, ranging from France in the west to the Caucasus in the east. However, archaeological evidence is needed to resolve the southern extent of the European bison distribution. We discovered one bison skull fragment during archaeological excavations in 2008 in the area of Yenikapı Metro and Marmaray (Turkey). Radiocarbon dating indicated the skull was deposited during the Byzantine period (seventh to eighth century AD). Mitochondrial genome analyses provided clear evidence that the skull was from a European bison. This is the first unambiguous evidence of the presence of this species in southeastern Europe during Byzantine times, which validates the historical written records of a potentially wider range of the European bison in historical times.