The archaeological assemblage recovered from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) levels in Blombos Cave, South Africa, is central to our understanding of the development of early modern humans. Here, we demonstrate that the cultural and technological innovations inferred from the Blombos Cave MSA record also correlate with significant shifts in site use and occupational intensity. Through a comprehensive geoarchaeological investigation of three MSA occupation phases, we identified distinct diachronic trends in the frequency of visits and the modes of occupation. During the earliest phases (ca. 88–82 ka), humans inhabited the cave for more extended periods, but cave visits were not frequent. During the later phases (ca. 77–72 ka), the cave was more regularly visited but for shorter periods each time. We argue that these changes in local occupational intensity, which also coincide with shifts in vegetation, sea levels, and subsistence, can best be explained by broader changes in hunter-gatherer mobility strategies and occupation patterns. Fundamental changes in regional settlement dynamics during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 5b-4 would have significantly affected the nature and frequency of social interaction within and between prehistoric populations living in the southern Cape, a scenario that ultimately may explain some of the social and technological advances that occurred there during this time frame.

Introduction: The incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in school is approximately 2.1 for 100,000 per year. Although rare, it is a devastating event for the local community. Schools with public access to automated external defibrillators (AED) and an emergency response plan have demonstrated increased survival rates of up to 70% for students who suffer cardiac arrest. Previous studies identified numerous barriers to successful cardiac resuscitation in public school systems. The main objectives of this study were to identify those barriers in the Quebec region elementary school system and to assess the impacts of an AED focused training session. Methods: A previously validated survey focused on the potential barriers to successful defibrillation in OHCA and on demographic variables was sent to 139 elementary schools. Later, 92 employees within three elementary schools who responded to the survey were evaluated before and after receiving training on the use of AED in a mock cardiac arrest scenario. The primary outcome was the time to first shock and the secondary outcomes included correct AED pad placement and safety of the procedure. Results: Survey response rate was 53%, which is comparable to previous studies assaying barriers to cardiac resuscitation in public school systems. 95% of school respondents reported the presence of an AED on the school premises but 46% stated that no formal AED training course was provided to employees. Out of the four schools who reported a previous OHCA, only one had access to an AED at the time of the event. Following focused AED training, 92% of school workers successfully completed a defibrillation sequence in a mock scenario, from 53% before (p < 0.001, McNemar test). The time to first shock went from 66 seconds (95% CI 63-70) to 47 seconds (95% CI 45-49; -29%, p < 0.001). Proper pad placement was the most problematic step for participants and personnel who reported previous training had better performance (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.33-7.42, p = 0.009). Conclusion: Most elementary schools in the Quebec region have access to AEDs. However, inadequate AED training represents a significant barrier to successful defibrillation in the event of an OHCA. Our results showed that a simple focused AED training could improve the performance of school workers and optimize the chain of survival.

Over the last decade, the frequency of emergency room (ER) visits for pediatric psychiatric disorders has increased in the most western countries. Although data available in France is scarce, a similar trend was observed concerning violent or runaway youth. There is no medical consensus on the status and care management of disruptive behavior (DB) in children and adolescents in ER. Seclusion and physical restraint are often requested to treat violence. With a blur lawful framework for minors, such coercive measures raise ethical issues while contradicting the idea of the patients’ autonomy and well-being. Moreover, consulting in the ER for such situations could lead to an inappropriate use of the healthcare system, a poor assessment of associated psychiatric disorders or comorbidities and an underestimation of suicide risk. Thus, the ER visit for a disruptive child or adolescent is characterized by its uncertainty. It represents a situation of heterogeneity in care management as well as a stake of social exclusion and of dangerous behavior.

The study aims to:.

– analyze these uncertainties by presenting a multidisciplinary and integrative research methodology through combining clinical evidence and social sciences comprehension;

– to implement a cohort to describe children and adolescents admitted to the ER for DB (aggressiveness, violence, fugue or theft), their care management and their social and clinical outcome;

– to pool these clinical data with an ethnographic fieldwork focused on DB as a “trouble” experienced by various professionals in the ER.

We will focus our presentation on these methodological considerations.

Objectives: To evaluate prospective and retrospective memory abilities in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) Veterans with and without a self-reported history of blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Methods: Sixty-one OEF/OIF/OND Veterans, including Veterans with a self-reported history of blast-related mTBI (mTBI group; n=42) and Veterans without a self-reported history of TBI (control group; n=19) completed the Memory for Intentions Test, a measure of prospective memory (PM), and two measures of retrospective memory (RM), the California Verbal Learning Test-II and the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised. Results: Veterans in the mTBI group exhibited significantly lower PM performance than the control group, but the groups did not differ in their performance on RM measures. Further analysis revealed that Veterans in the mTBI group with current PTSD (mTBI/PTSD+) demonstrated significantly lower performance on the PM measure than Veterans in the control group. PM performance by Veterans in the mTBI group without current PTSD (mTBI/PTSD-) was intermediate between the mTBI/PTSD+ and control groups, and results for the mTBI/PTSD- group were not significantly different from either of the other two groups. Conclusions: Results suggest that PM performance may be a sensitive marker of cognitive dysfunction among OEF/OIF/OND Veterans with a history of self-reported blast-related mTBI and comorbid PTSD. Reduced PM may account, in part, for complaints of cognitive difficulties in this Veteran cohort, even years post-injury. (JINS, 2018, 24, 324–334)

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is the most widely used instrument to assess self-esteem. In light of the absence of adaptations in Colombia, this study seeks to validate and adapt this scale in the Colombian population, and perform factorial equivalence with the Spanish version. A total of 1,139 seniors (633 Colombians and 506 Spaniards) were evaluated; the individuals answered the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and sexual self-esteem scale. The average score of the items was similar to the questionnaire’s theoretical average, and standard deviations were close to one. The psychometric properties of the items are generally adequate with alphas of .83 and .86 and significant (CI = .95) and correlations with the sexual self-esteem scale ranging from .31 and .41. Factorial equivalence was confirmed by means of a structural equation model (CFI = .912 and RMSEA = .079), thus showing a strong level of invariance.

Breed risk status assessment methods are key components of country-based early warning and response systems. In this study, a multi-indicator method was developed to assess the risk status of livestock populations. Six indicators were used: (i) the current number of breeding females; (ii) the change in the number of breeding females over the last 5 years or generations (depending on the species); (iii) percentage of cross-breeding; (iv) effective population size; (v) breeders organization and technical support; and (vi) socio-economic context. To make these indicators comparable, observed values were converted into scores on a six-point scale (from 0 = no threat to 5 = maximum threat); a specific conversion method was used for each indicator. For each breed, the different scores were analysed graphically and an overall score was calculated by averaging the six separate indicator scores. This approach was applied to 178 French local breeds, belonging to ten different species: horse, donkey, goat, pig, chicken, turkey, goose and Pekin duck. A large percentage of local breeds were found to be at risk to be lost for farming, although the results were species dependent. All local equine and pig breeds, as well as almost all local poultry breeds appeared to be endangered. About 80 percent of local goat and cattle breeds, and half local sheep breeds were also found to be at risk. The usefulness of this method with regards to conservation strategies and public policy is discussed.

Expose is a multi-user instrument for astrobiological and astrochemical experiments in space. Installed at the outer surface of the International Space Station, it enables investigators to study the impact of the open space environment on biological and biochemical test samples. Two Expose missions have been completed so far, designated as Expose-E (Rabbow et al. 2012) and Expose-R (Rabbow et al. this issue). One of the space-unique environmental factors offered by Expose is full-spectrum, ultraviolet (UV)-rich electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. This paper describes and analyses how on Expose-R, access of the test samples to Solar radiation degraded during space exposure in an unpredicted way. Several windows in front of the Sun-exposed test samples acquired a brown shade, resulting in a reduced transparency in visible light, UV and vacuum UV (VUV). Post-flight investigations revealed the discolouration to be caused by a homogenous film of cross-linked organic polymers at the inside of the windows. The chemical signature varied per sample carrier. No such films were found on windows from sealed, pressurized compartments, or on windows that had been kept out of the Sun. This suggests that volatile compounds originating from the interior of the Expose facility were cross-linked and photo-fixed by Solar irradiation at the rear side of the windows. The origin of the volatiles was not fully identified; most probably there was a variety of sources involved including the biological test samples, adhesives, plastics and printed circuit boards. The outer surface of the windows (pointing into space) was chemically impacted as well, with a probable effect on the transparency in VUV. The reported analysis of the window contamination on Expose-R is expected to help the interpretation of the scientific results and offers possibilities to mitigate this problem on future missions – in particular Expose-R2, the direct successor of Expose-R.

The study of the evolution of organic matter subjected to space conditions, and more specifically to Solar photons in the vacuum ultraviolet range (120–200 nm) has been undertaken in low-Earth orbit since the 1990s, and implemented on various space platforms. This paper describes a photochemistry experiment called AMINO, conducted during 22 months between 2009 and 2011 on the EXPOSE-R ESA facility, outside the International Space Station. Samples with relevance to astrobiology (connected to comets, carbonaceous meteorites and micrometeorites, the atmosphere of Titan and RNA world hypothesis) have been selected and exposed to space environment. They have been analysed after return to the Earth. This paper is not discussing the results of the experiment, but rather gives a general overview of the project, the details of the hardware used, its configuration and recent developments to enable long-duration exposure of gaseous samples in tight closed cells enabling for the first time to derive quantitative results from gaseous phase samples exposed in space.

Interventional cardiologists (ICs) are repeatedly exposed to scattered ionising radiationduring the cardiac procedures they perform, and radiation protection is an important issuefor these medical professionals. The use of radiation protection tools is particularlyrelevant to this population. SISERI (Système d’Information de la Surveillance del’Exposition aux Rayonnement Ionisants, that is, an information system for monitoringexposure to ionising radiation) is a register that stores personal dosimeter readings fordosimetric monitoring. This paper, based on data for a sample of French ICs from theO’CLOC epidemiological study, aims to provide an overview of the use of radiationprotection equipment and dosimetric devices reported by ICs in a specific questionnaire aswell as the dosimetric information found in the SISERI database for this population.Material and Methods − Annual information on interventional cardiology activity for theperiod from 01/01/2005 to 31/12/2009 was collected in an occupational questionnaire. ICswere asked to report the frequency in which they used individual dosimeter and radiationprotection tools (lead apron, thyroid shield, eyewear or face shield, ceiling-suspendedshield) as follows: never (0% of the time), occasionally (<50%), regularly (>50%), always (100%). We retrieved theirmedical radiation exposure information (monitored status and monthly effective doses) fromthe SISERI database for the period 2005−2009. Results – Information for 132 ICs (mean age in2005 = 46 ± 7 years) wasavailable. All ICs reported routine use of lead aprons, in contrast to their occasionaluse of lead eyewear or face shields. During the study period, 49% reported systematic useof personal dosimeters, and 21% more regular use. On the other hand, 18% never used adosimeter during this period. The SISTERI database included 92% of our population, 73% ofwhom had complete annual dose monitoring in SISERI (corresponding to at least 11 monthsper year of recorded data). Conclusion − ICs must improve their regular use ofradiation protection tools and systematic use of personal dosimeters. The SISERI databaseis an appropriate tool for flagging those medical professionals exposed to ionisingradiation. Better awareness of the importance of radiation protection rules in thispopulation, in particular, systematic dosimeter use, remains an important issue.

Deoxynivalenol (DON) and fumonisins (FB) are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium species, which naturally co-occur in animal diets. The gastrointestinal tract represents the first barrier met by exogenous food/feed compounds. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of DON and FB, alone and in combination, on some intestinal parameters, including morphology, histology, expression of cytokines and junction proteins. A total of twenty-four 5-week-old piglets were randomly assigned to four different groups, receiving separate diets for 5 weeks: a control diet; a diet contaminated with either DON (3 mg/kg) or FB (6 mg/kg); or both toxins. Chronic ingestion of these contaminated diets induced morphological and histological changes, as shown by the atrophy and fusion of villi, the decreased villi height and cell proliferation in the jejunum, and by the reduced number of goblet cells and lymphocytes. At the end of the experiment, the expression levels of several cytokines were measured by RT-PCR and some of them (TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-10) were significantly up-regulated in the ileum or the jejunum. In addition, the ingestion of contaminated diets reduced the expression of the adherent junction protein E-cadherin and the tight junction protein occludin in the intestine. When animals were fed with a co-contaminated diet (DON+FB), several types of interactions were observed depending on the parameters and segments assessed: synergistic (immune cells); additive (cytokines and junction protein expression); less than additive (histological lesions and cytokine expression); antagonistic (immune cells and cytokine expression). Taken together, the present data provide strong evidence that chronic ingestion of low doses of mycotoxins alters the intestine, and thus may predispose animals to infections by enteric pathogens.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the leading nosocomial pathogens. The question of the respective contribution of endogenous and exogenous sources remains controversial. In this study, we shed new light on this issue by means of a multilevel logistic regression analysis which allowed a simultaneous investigation of factors associated with prevalence of patients infected with P. aeruginosa at two levels: patient and healthcare facility (HCF) in the eastern regions of France. A total of 25 533 in-patients from 51 HCFs were included in the analysis. The overall prevalence was 0·37% (range 0–1·65%). Multilevel modelling estimated that <14% of total variability of the outcome variable was explained by differences between HCFs and that after adjusting for patient-level variables, which explained 52% of HCF-level variance, the latter became non-significantly different from zero. A compositional effect (patient factors), rather than a contextual effect (ecological factors), explains heterogeneity of the prevalence of patients infected with P. aeruginosa in the eastern HCFs of France.

We describe three space experiments designed to expose to space conditions, and more specifically to solar UV radiation, selected samples of organic and mineral material.

The Schrödinger equation describes the motion of a particle in a statistical sense. It consequently possesses the two main properties of the Vlasov equation (dynamic and statistic) and can replace this last equation provided we take sophisticated initial conditions. The scheme must be considered as a new attempt to discretize intelligently the amount of information contained in the phase space distribution and to stop, without destroying it, the flow of information which usually goes to high wavenumbers in velocity space. The method is applied to the breaking of highly nonlinear waves in a cold plasma (usually treated by the Lagrangian method) and to double beam instability. It is shown that such an Eulerian scheme works quite well with a much smaller number of discretized functions than are required in the regular Fourier—Fourier or Fourier-Hermite methods. The central point is the introduction of the phase space Wigner distribution function which is a useful mathematical tool in spite of its poor physical properties.

The complete second-order theory of the multiple water-bag model is developed for one-dimensional collisionless electrostatic waves, in terms of the initial value problem. Nonlinear frequency spectra are obtained in Van Kampen's formulation, and a new pole, already predicted by R. W. B. Best, appears for hot plasmas. This theory is successfully checked by a full numerical experiment of the Vlasov–Poisson system.

In periodic, inhomogeneous plasma, the dispertion relation w(k) can begeneralized to a relation w(k, K), where K is the wave-number of the periodic steady state. Two models are studied: the ‘water-bag’ model and the ‘two-stream’ model. The solution for these models is obtained easily by the introduction of a Lagrangian formulation. Results are presented. It is shown that, in the water-bag case, the appearance of narrow bands of allowed frequencies practically discretizes the lower part of the spectrum. In the two-stream case, while the long wavelengths have a smaller growth rate, an increased instability is found for k/K = ½

Males have often been neglected in both family planning programmes and in surveys used to design and evaluate such programmes. A 1988 study on fertility, family planning and AIDS in Kinshasa, Zaire, provides comparable data on 3140 men and 3485 women of reproductive age which served as the basis for analysing male/female differences. The study indicated a fair degree of similarity in the attitudes, beliefs, knowledge levels and practices of men and women regarding fertility and family planning. Where they differed (e.g. on expected or ideal number of children, the desire for more children at parity 7 or above), men tended to be more pronatalist than women. The implications of the findings for future family planning programmes are discussed. Programmes should target males because of their role as decision makers within Zairian society.

New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and provide much higher resolution, greater precision, and more detailed structure than IntCal98. For the Marine04 curve, dendrochronologically-dated tree-ring samples, converted with a box diffusion model to marine mixed-layer ages, cover the period from 0–10.5 cal kyr BP. Beyond 10.5 cal kyr BP, high-resolution marine data become available from foraminifera in varved sediments and U/Th-dated corals. The marine records are corrected with site-specific 14C reservoir age information to provide a single global marine mixed-layer calibration from 10.5–26.0 cal kyr BP. A substantial enhancement relative to IntCal98 is the introduction of a random walk model, which takes into account the uncertainty in both the calendar age and the 14C age to calculate the underlying calibration curve (Buck and Blackwell, this issue). The marine data sets and calibration curve for marine samples from the surface mixed layer (Marine04) are discussed here. The tree-ring data sets, sources of uncertainty, and regional offsets are presented in detail in a companion paper by Reimer et al. (this issue).