Evaluate the collective function of references cited together in a given text segment.
Classify their combined role into one of the following categories: 'method', 'background', or 'result'.

Text:A similar increase in Zn was observed in the cortex and the hilus of the hippocampus (Table 2) and indicates that increased Zn (and not Fe or Cu) is a late-stage effect of advanced disease pathology (Religa et al., 2006).
Category: