ABSTRACT
Stone tools stratified in alluvium and loess at Korolevo, western Ukraine, have been studied by several research groups1-3 since the discovery of the site in the 1970s. Although Korolevo's importance to the European Palaeolithic is widely acknowledged, age constraints on the lowermost lithic artefacts have yet to be determined conclusively. Here, using two methods of burial dating with cosmogenic nuclides4,5, we report ages of 1.42 ± 0.10 million years and 1.42 ± 0.28 million years for the sedimentary unit that contains Mode-1-type lithic artefacts. Korolevo represents, to our knowledge, the earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe, and bridges the spatial and temporal gap between the Caucasus (around 1.85-1.78 million years ago)6 and southwestern Europe (around 1.2-1.1 million years ago)7,8. Our findings advance the hypothesis that Europe was colonized from the east, and our analysis of habitat suitability9 suggests that early hominins exploited warm interglacial periods to disperse into higher latitudes and relatively continental sites-such as Korolevo-well before the Middle Pleistocene Transition.
Subject(s)
Burial , Human Migration , Radiometric Dating , Humans , Archaeology , Burial/history , Europe , Fossils , History, Ancient , Human Migration/history , Reproducibility of Results , Ukraine , Time FactorsABSTRACT
We studied the frequency of venereal disease in 329 prostitutes working at massage parlours in Santiago. The mean age was 24 years and half of them had high school or university studies. In spite of frequent sexual contacts averaging 2.8 per day, the prevalence of significant venereal disease was not high in this group. Notably, AIDS infection was not detected. Vaginitis due to Trichomonas or Candida infection was the commonest problem and this was half as frequent among gum preservative users. Marital condition, age, obstetrical history and other variables were not related to genital infection.
PIP: A sample of 329 prostitutes from the eastern area of Santiago, Chile, who attended the Dermatology Service of the Salvador Hospital in January-February 1988 were studied to determine the current incidence of sexually transmitted disease among prostitutes. Approximately 600 prostitutes attend the service for required monthly health examinations. The 329 women worked in established locales such as saunas, massage parlors, and nightclubs. None were uncontrolled street prostitutes. The average age was 24.3 years. 68% were single, 17% were separated, and 15% were married. Only 14% had no more than primary education, and half had high school or college educations. The average parity was 1.52. 83% used contraception. 31% used oral contraceptives (OCs), 21% used injectables, 24% used IUDs, and 7% used other methods. The average number of sexual contacts per day was 2.87. 54% always used condoms, 36% occasionally did so, and 10% never did so. The estimated number of monthly sexual contracts/woman was 65. 22% of the women had some sort of genital pathology. No cases of HIV infection were seen. 9.7% were diagnosed with trichomonas, 4.6% with unspecified vulvovaginitis, 3.3% with candidiasis, 1.8% with syphilis, 1.5% with gonorrhea, .9% with condyloma acuminata, and .3% with active herpes. The frequency of vaginitis did no appear to be associated with the number of sexual contacts, but other pathologies were more common in women with more partners. Women who always used condoms were only half as likely to have genital pathologies or vaginitis as women who never used condoms.
Subject(s)
Sex Work , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/epidemiology , Adult , Chile/epidemiology , Contraceptive Devices, Male , Cross-Sectional Studies , Educational Status , Female , Humans , Sexually Transmitted Diseases/prevention & control , Vaginitis/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Persistent unexplained lymphadenopathy (LAS) with intermittent fever, weight loss, night sweats and malaise was observed from March to October 1983 in 16 of 133 intravenous drug addicts who had been followed for at least two years in a Center for Drug Addicts Assistance in Milan, Italy. All the subjects lived in a restricted suburban area and indulged in frequent toxicomanic practices and mutual sexual intercourse. The subjects showed immunological alterations such as lymphopenia (50%), decreased T helper/T suppressor ratio (93%), both these abnormalities (43%), decreased T helper cells (75%), increased T suppressor cytotoxic cells (81%), decreased natural killer (NK) activity (77%), anergy (50%) or hypoergy (43%) to recall skin testing and elevated levels of IgG (87%). Anti-HTLV III antibodies were found in 14 of 16 (87%) patients with LAS and in 3 of 11 (27%) symptom-free drug addicts belonging to the same group. It will be important to assess in the future whether this clinical and immunological picture results in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in an area so far untouched by this disease.
Subject(s)
Lymphatic Diseases/complications , Substance-Related Disorders/complications , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/etiology , Adolescent , Adult , Antibodies, Viral/isolation & purification , Deltaretrovirus/immunology , Disease Outbreaks , Female , Humans , Italy , Lymphatic Diseases/immunology , Lymphatic Diseases/pathology , Male , T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer/immunology , T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory/immunologyABSTRACT
In opiate addicts specific and unspecific immune responses were examined, before and after methadone treatment. Anomalous immune responses were characterized by compromised cellular immunity (functional deficits of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and T-lymphocytes) in association with efficient production of antibodies. After methadone treatment an elevation of leukocyte functions was noted. The presence of elevated titres of circulating immune complexes observed in all the patients tested could bring about a functional exhaustion of neutrophils. The defects of cellular immunity can be considered important risk factors in the pathogenesis of infectious diseases in addicts.
Subject(s)
Antibody Formation/drug effects , Heroin Dependence/immunology , Immunity, Cellular/drug effects , Methadone/therapeutic use , Adolescent , Adult , Antigen-Antibody Complex/immunology , Bacterial Infections/immunology , Female , Heroin Dependence/rehabilitation , Humans , Immunoglobulins/metabolism , Leukocyte Count , Male , Neutrophils/drug effects , Phagocytosis/drug effects , T-Lymphocytes/drug effectsABSTRACT
Se estudio un grupo de pacientes con disfonia, constituido por 49 profesores que consultaron por problemas de voz, de los cuales 13 eran portadores de disfonia organica y 36 de disfonia funcional. Como disfonia organica pura habia 3 casos de sulcus cordal congenito, siendo el resto de las patologias de base funcional (8 nodulos, 1 polipo, 1 laringitis cronica, 19 con tecnica vocal deficiente, 7 hipocineticas, 6 psicogenas y 4 hipercineticas).El compromiso psiquico existia en un tercio de los pacientes, no siendo diferente conotros grupos de pacientes disfonicos. Alrededor del 80% presentaban incapacidad laboral parcial o total relacionada con el grado de disfonia presentado. Estos pacientes fueron tratados fonoaudiologicamente, abandonando dicho tratamiento un tercio de ellos y del resto de los pacientes tratados se obtuvieron resultados exitosos en mas de un 95%, normalizando su voz y su tecnica vocal y/o llegando a una mejoria parcial suficiente para un mejor desempeno laboral
Subject(s)
Adult , Middle Aged , Humans , Voice Disorders , Occupational DiseasesSubject(s)
Child, Preschool , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Humans , Male , Female , Voice Disorders , Patient Care TeamSubject(s)
Neurons/metabolism , Serotonin/metabolism , Animals , Cell Line , Clomipramine/pharmacology , Female , Fluoxetine/pharmacology , Kinetics , Mice , PregnancyABSTRACT
Se presenta una descripcion breve sobre el gato como huesped completo y definitivo de Toxoplasma gondii y sobre la importancia epidemiologica de los ooquistes esporulados del parasito como fuente de infeccion para toxoplasmosis humana. Un estudio serologico preliminar, practicado mediante reaccion de Sabin y Feldman, en 32 gatos no seleccionados de Santiago, presento resultados positivos (a titulos: 1/16) en 19 casos (59,3%). La demostracion de anticuerpos contra toxoplasma en el 59,3% de los gatos, indica la necesidad de seguir el estudio de la toxoplasmosis en gatos con el fin de precisar la importancia de la transmision del T. gondii a traves del fecalismo en nuestro medio
