The evolution of man : a popular exposition of the principal points of human ontogeny and phylogeny / From the German of Ernst Haeckel.

2

The evolution of man : a popular exposition of the principal points of human ontogeny and phylogeny / From the German of Ernst Haeckel.

1

The evolution of man: a popular exposition of the principal points of human ontogney phylogeny / From the German of Ernst Haeckel.

1

Bolivian phlebotomines. II Psychodopygus Yucumensis n.sp., a new man-biting phlebotomine sandfly from subandean region (Diptera, Psychodidae)

Psychodopygus yucumensis n.sp., a new species of Phlebotomine sandfly belonging in genus Psychodopygus mang., is described from specimens collected from human bait, in Beni dept., Bolivia. The male is characteristic of the series panamensis, but the female, closely related to P. carrerai carrerai, can be confused with this species ("cryptic species"). Isozyme characterization can determine any specimen of either species, while morphometric analysis shows statistical differences between the two species. P. yucumensis is strongly anthropophilic. A Leishmania braziliensis braziliensis stock was isolated from this new species, indicating that it is one of the vectors of mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis in the lowland subandean area.

Mediterranean populations of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens group): an unexpected puzzle of Pleistocene survivors and prehistoric introductions.

An earlier study revealed the strong phylogeographical structure of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens group) within the northern Palaearctic. Here, we aim to reconstruct the colonization history of Mediterranean islands and to clarify the biogeography and phylogeographical relationships of the poorly documented Middle East region with the northern Palaearctic. We performed analyses on 998-bp-long haplotypes of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of 143 samples collected around the Mediterranean basin, including islands and the Middle East. The analyses suggest that the Cypriot shrew belongs to the rare group of relict insular Pleistocene mammal taxa that have survived to the present day. In contrast, the Cretan, Corsican and Menorcan populations were independently introduced from the Middle East during the Holocene. The phylogeographical structure of this temperate Palaearctic species within the Middle East appears to be complex and rich in diversity, probably reflecting fragmentation of the area by numerous mountain chains. Four deeply divergent clades of the C. suaveolens group occur in the area, meaning that a hypothetical contact zone remains to be located in central western Iran.

Specific treatment of advanced Schistosomiasis liver disease in man: favourable results

One hundred eighty-four patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni from the northeast of Brazil were studied. All were treated with a single dose of Oxamniquine or Praziquantel, and were observed over 6 to 12 months. Special attention was given to the evolution of severe hepatopathy. Favourable results were obtained, particularly with the compensated hepatosplenic form. Hepatic function showed great improvement. Hepatomegaly and splenomegaly were significantly reduced in size, to a greater or lesser extent, in the great majority of patients. The implications of the results obtained are considered below.

Soll man in der klinischen Praxis Frailty abschätzen?

Frailty, ein geriatrisches Syndrom mit altersbedingter Gebrechlichkeit assoziiert, heisst Verlust physiologischer Reserven verschiedener Organe. Die Folge ist eine erhöhte Verletzlichkeit durch Stress. Eine allseits anerkannte Definition fehlt, und die Abschätzung erfolgt hauptsächlich aufgrund zweier Modelle: des Phänotyps nach Fried und des Index nach Rockwood. Frailty bringt ein deutlich erhöhtes Risiko für funktionelle Hilfebedürftigkeit, Hospitalisation oder Einweisung in eine Institution für Langzeitpflege sowie Tod mit sich. Der Spontanverlauf ist progressiv, kann aber auch reversibel sein, und daher könnte Prävention grundsätzlich in Frage kommen. Unsere Kenntnisse sind derzeit aber immer noch zu lückenhaft, als dass wir gezielt gegen Frailty angehen könnten. Klinische Forschung über Frailty wird erst seit kurzem betrieben. Die Empfehlung, den Frailtygrad durch Leistungsmessung (wie Ganggeschwindigkeit, Griffkraft etc.) zu evaluieren, stützt sich auf die Beobachtung eines Zusammenhangs mit einer späteren ungünstigen Entwicklung, und nicht darauf, dass wir wirksam eingreifen könnten. Klinische und epidemiologische Studien über Frailty sind wichtig. Da die Babyboomer nun älter werden, ist die Gefahr einer Epidemie funktioneller Hilfebedürftigkeit Mitte des Jahrhunderts absehbar, und somit stellt das Problem der Frailty eine grosse Herausforderung dar.

The Child is father of the man: implications for the demographic transition

We propose a new theory of the demographic transition based on the evidence that body development during childhood is an important predictor of adult life expectancy. This theory is embodied in an OLG framework where fertility, longevity and education all result from individual decisions. The model displays different regimes, allowing the economy to move slowly from an initial Malthusian regime towards the Modern era. The dynamics reproduces the key features of the demographic transition, including the permanent increase in life expectancy, resulting from improvements in body development, the hump in both population growth and fertility, and a late increase in secondary educational attainments.

Development of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs from females eliminated after chemotherapy in man

The development of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs obtained from females eliminated after treatment of infected individuals with a single oral dose of the antihelminthic drugs thiabendazole (50 mg/kg - 33 patients) or levamisole (250 mg - independent of body weigth - 20 patients) was studied. Every female eliminated up to 72 h after treatment were dissected, the uterus isolated and sectioned into small fragments. The eggs were transferred to plastics tubes and incubated at 28 degrees centigrades in 0.1 N H2 SO4 for 100 days. Every 20 days, starting from the 20 th up to the 100 th day, the extent of egg embryonation ratio was determined. The culture of A. lumbricoides eggs obtained from females from patients treated with thiabendazole did not contain embryonated eggs until the final period of observation. In contrast, the eggs obtained from females eliminated by patients treated with levamisole (control) presented an embryonation rate of 0.0 - 98.0% in the same period.

Effect of somatostatin on duodenal glucose absorption in man.

OBJECTIVE: The hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp technique using intraduodenally infused glucose is an attractive tool for studying postprandial glucose metabolism under strictly controlled conditions. Because it requires the use of somatostatin (SST), we examined, in this study, the effect of SST on intestinal glucose absorption. CONTEXT: Twenty-six normal volunteers were given a constant 3-h intraduodenal infusion of glucose (6 mg.kg(-1).min(-1)) labeled with [2-(3)H]glucose for glucose absorption measurement. During glucose infusion, 19 subjects received iv SST at doses of 10-100 ng.kg(-1).min(-1) plus insulin and glucagon, and seven subjects were studied under control conditions. In the controls, glucose was absorbed at a rate that, after a 20-min lag period, equaled the infusion rate. RESULTS: With all the doses of SST tested, absorption was considerably delayed but equaled the rate of infusion after 3 h. At that time, only 5 +/- 2% of the total amount of infused glucose was unabsorbed in the control subjects vs. 36 +/- 2% (P < 0.001) in the SST-infused subjects. In the latter, the intraluminal residue was almost totally absorbed within 40 min of the cessation of SST infusion. At the lowest dose of SST tested (10 ng.kg(-1).min(-1)), suppression of insulin secretion was incomplete. CONCLUSION: These properties of SST hamper the use of intraduodenal hyperglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamps as a tool for exploring postprandial glucose metabolism.

Morphological features of collagen degradation in advanced hepatic schistosomiasis of man

Optical and electron microscopical evidences of focal matrix degradation were frequently seen in liver sections taken from patients with periportal ("pipe-stem") fibrosis caused by schistosomiasis mansoni. Besides present of focal areas of rarefaction, fragmentation and dispersion of collagen fibers, the enlargend portal spaces also showed hyperplasia of elastic tisue and disarray of smooth muscle fibers following the destrution of portal vein branches. Ultrastructural cahnges represented by focal lytic and/or electron dense alterations of colagen fibrils were similar to those first seen in experimental material and designated as "chronic collagen degradation". Elastin and related microfibrils were also affected by focal condensation, fragmentation, distorsion and dissolution. Schistosome eggs were scanty in the tissue sections examined. Matrix degradation represented involuting changes related to the progressive diminution of parasite aggression, which occurs spontaneously with age or after cure by chemotherapy. Changes of focal matrix degradation now being described represent the basic morphological counterpart of periportal fibrosis involution documented clinically, especially by ultrasonography, in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis submitted to curative chemotherapy.

Twenty-four-hour energy expenditure and thermogenesis: response to progressive carbohydrate overfeeding in man.

Short-term overfeeding with carbohydrate induced a marked stimulation of energy expenditure, amounting to 33 per cent of the excess energy intake on the 7th day of overfeeding. This value is larger than that previously reported in man. Stimulation of lipogenesis and increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system seem to be the two major mechanisms which account for the stimulation of energy expenditure during carbohydrate overfeeding.