Ochre-based compound adhesives at the Mousterian type-site document complex cognition and high investment.

Ancient adhesives used in multicomponent tools may be among our best material evidences of cultural evolution and cognitive processes in early humans. African Homo sapiens is known to have made compound adhesives from naturally sticky substances and ochre, a technical behavior proposed to mark the advent of elaborate cognitive processes in our species. Foragers of the European Middle Paleolithic also used glues, but evidence of ochre-based compound adhesives is unknown. Here, we present evidence of this kind. Bitumen was mixed with high loads of goethite ochre to make compound adhesives at the type-site of the Mousterian, Le Moustier (France). Ochre loads were so high that they lowered the adhesive's performance in classical hafting situations where stone implements are glued to handles. However, when used as handheld grips on cutting or scraping tools, a behavior known from Neanderthals, high-ochre adhesives present a real benefit, improving their solidity and rigidity. Our findings help understand the implications of Pleistocene adhesive making.

A 36,200-year-old carving from Grotte des Gorges, Amange, Jura, France.

The earliest European carvings, made of mammoth ivory, depict animals, humans, and anthropomorphs. They are found at Early Aurignacian sites of the Swabian Jura in Germany. Despite the wide geographical spread of the Aurignacian across Europe, these carvings have no contemporaneous counterparts. Here, we document a small, intriguing object, that sheds light on this uniqueness. Found at the Grotte des Gorges (Jura, France), in a layer sandwiched between Aurignacian contexts and dated to c. 36.2 ka, the object bears traces of anthropogenic modifications indicating intentional carving. Microtomographic, microscopic, three-dimensional roughness and residues analyses reveal the carving is a fragment of a large ammonite, which was modified to represent a caniformia head decorated with notches and probably transported for long time in a container stained with ochre. While achieving Swabian Jura-like miniaturization, the Grotte des Gorges specimen displays original features, indicating the craftsman emulated ivory carvings while introducing significant technical, thematic, and stylistic innovations. This finding suggests a low degree of cultural connectivity between Early Aurignacian hunter-gatherer groups in the production of their symbolic material culture. The pattern conforms to the existence of cultural boundaries limiting the transmission of symbolic practices while leaving space for the emergence of original regional expressions.

Variability in the Clinical Course of COVID-19 in a Retrospective Analysis of a Large Real-World Database.

The COVID-19 pandemic proceeds in waves, with variable characteristics of the clinical picture resulting from the evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This study aimed to compare the epidemiological characteristics, symptomatology, and outcomes of the disease in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during periods of different variants dominance. Comparing the periods of dominance of variants preceding the Delta variant, the Delta period was characterized by a higher share of hospitalized females, less frequent comorbidities among patients, and a different age distribution. The lowest need for oxygen therapy and mechanical ventilation was observed under Omicron dominance. The triad of classic COVID-19 symptoms, cough, fever, dyspnoea, and fatigue, were most prevalent during the Delta period, and significantly less common under the Omicron dominance. During the Omicron period, nearly twice as many patients as in the previous periods could be discharged from the hospital within 7 days; the overall 28-day mortality was significantly lower compared to that of the Delta period. It also did not differ between periods that were dominated by the BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants. The study indicates that the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant that dominated between January and June 2022 caused a disease which resembled the common cold, and was caused by seasonal alpha and beta-coronaviruses with a low pathogenicity for humans. However, one should note that this effect may not only have been related to biological features of the Omicron lineage, but may additionally have been driven by the increased levels of immunization through natural infections and vaccinations, for which we could not account for due to a lack of sufficient data.

Differences between the course of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the periods of the Delta and Omicron variant dominance in Poland.

INTRODUCTION: Up to now, COVID­19 caused more than 6 million deaths worldwide. So far, 5 variants of concerns have been identified, with Delta and Omicron being the subject of our analysis. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare baseline characteristics and outcomes of patients hospitalized during the Delta and Omicron predominance in Poland. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 2225 patients divided into 2 groups depending on the variant with which they were infected during the corresponding period of the pandemic. RESULTS: During the Delta wave, the median age of patients was significantly lower (65 vs 73 years; P <0.001), and the cohort was significantly less burdened with comorbidities than during the Omicron surge. The Omicron­infected patients presented significantly less often in an unstable symptomatic state with SpO2 equal to or below 90% on admission (49.9% for Delta vs 29.9% for Omicron; P <0.001). Regardless of the pandemic period, the 2 most common early symptoms of COVID­19 were fever and cough. In­hospital treatment consisted of antiviral drugs, more frequently used in the Omicron wave, and immunomodulatory drugs, more frequently used during the Delta wave. The risk of mechanical ventilation was significantly lower in the patients infected with the Omicron variant (7.2% for Delta vs 3.1% for Omicron; P <0.001). For the age group above 80 years old, the risk of death was significantly higher during the Delta wave than during the Omicron wave. The risk of death was significantly lower in the patients treated with antiviral drugs regardless of the pandemic wave. CONCLUSIONS: The Delta variant is associated with a more severe clinical course of the disease and a higher risk of death than the Omicron variant.

Real-world experience with molnupiravir during the period of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant dominance.

BACKGROUND: The real-world effectiveness of molnupiravir (MOL) during the dominance of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 lineage is urgently needed since the available data relate to the period of circulation of other viral variants. Therefore, this study assessed the efficacy of MOL in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 in a real-world clinical practice during the wave of Omicron infections. METHODS: Among 11,822 patients hospitalized after 1 March 2020 and included in the SARSTer national database, 590 were treated between 1 January and 30 April 2022, a period of dominance of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. MOL was administered to 203 patients, whereas 387 did not receive any antiviral regimen. Both groups were similar in terms of sex, BMI and age allowing for direct comparisons. RESULTS: Patients who did not receive antiviral therapy significantly more often required the use of Dexamethasone and Baricitinib. Treatment with MOL resulted in a statistically significant reduction in mortality during the 28-day follow-up (9.9 vs. 16.3%), which was particularly evident in the population of patients over 80 years of age treated in the first 5 days of the disease (14.6 vs. 35.2%). MOL therapy did not affect the frequency of the need for mechanical ventilation, but patients treated with MOL required oxygen supplementation less frequently than those without antivirals (31.7 vs. 49.2%). The time of hospitalization did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The use of molnupiravir in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 during the dominance of Omicron variant reduced mortality. This effect is particularly evident in patients over 80 years of age.

SignBase, a collection of geometric signs on mobile objects in the Paleolithic.

In the Paleolithic, geometric signs are abundant. They appear in rock art as well as on mobile objects like artworks, tools, or personal ornaments. These signs are often interpreted as a reflection of symbolic thought and associated with the origin of cognitively modern behavior. SignBase is a project collecting the wealth of geometric signs on mobile objects in the European Upper Paleolithic, African Middle Stone Age (MSA), as well as selected sites from the Near East and South East Asia. Currently, more than 500 objects of the Aurignacian techno-complex (ca. 43,000 to 30,000 years BP) are registered in SignBase. They are linked to information about geographic and archaeological provenience, the type of object and material, size and preservation, and respective literature references. We identify around 30 different sign types found on these objects across Europe in the Aurignacian and illustrate how SignBase can be used to analyze geographical clusters. Ultimately, we aim to enable quantitative analyses of abstract graphical expression before the emergence of writing.

Ultrasound image of malignant bone tumors in children. An analysis of nine patients diagnosed in 2011-2016.

INTRODUCTION: The diagnostic process of bone tumors, including malignant ones, is based on conventional radiological methods, such as radiography and computed tomography, and with precise assessment of local advancement in magnetic resonance imaging. Ultrasonography is not included in the diagnostic algorithms as a tool suitable to detect this type of pathology. More and more frequent usage of musculoskeletal ultrasound in children as the first imaging method or, in some cases, as the only diagnostic method, makes it necessary to be familiar with sonographic presentation of bone tumors to suggest this diagnosis early enough and, after its verification, start treatment without a significant delay. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine changes in the sonographic image that might indicate a bone malignancy and suggest the need to extend the diagnostic process in this direction. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This article discusses 10 bone tumors in 9 children who had an ultrasound scan performed at the beginning of the diagnostic process before the histopathological diagnosis was established and treatment initiated. The assessment involved ultrasonographic features indicating the presence of a tumor. Results: In the group of 9 patients, 8 malignant bone tumors were diagnosed in ultrasonography and later verified histopathologically: 4 osteosarcomas and 4 Ewing's sarcomas. In one case, two bone tumors were detected in ultrasonography without specification of their nature (malignant/benign, primary/secondary). MATERIAL AND METHOD: In the analyzed cases, ultrasonography enabled the correct diagnosis of a focal bone lesion, and in most cases (8/9) it presented an image that suggested its malignant nature and the necessity of further diagnosis and treatment.

Acute seronegative hepatitis C manifesting itself as adult giant cell hepatitis--a case report and review of literature.

Adult giant cell hepatitis (AGCH) is a rare event and only about 100 cases have been reported within the last 20 years. The AGCH has been observed in association with viral infection, drug reactions or autoimmune disorders but in many cases its etiology remains unclear. AGCH manifests clinically as severe form of hepatitis histologically characterized by diffuse giant cell transformation of hepatocytes. We report the case of a 39-yr-old man with acute community-acquired hepatitis without previous pathology of the liver. Laboratory data revealed slight hypergammaglobulinemia and high titer of anti-smooth-muscle antibody with negative serology of hepatotropic viruses and absence of other known causes of hepatitis. Preliminary diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis was established, additionally confirmed by excellent clinical and biochemical improvement during corticosteroid treatment. A liver biopsy showed the typical findings of panlobular syncytial giant cell hepatitis and positive HCV-RNA both in serum and liver. The above verified the diagnosis of acute type C hepatitis manifested histologically as adult giant cell hepatitis. After three months of treatment we withdrew corticosteroids as spontaneous clearance of HCV occurred and the lack of autoantibodies in serum as well as significant improvement of liver histology was ascertained. Within 30 months of the follow-up we have not observed biochemical and immunological abnormalities and control liver biopsy has shown no signs of hepatitis.