Evidence of habitual behavior from non-alimentary dental wear on deciduous teeth from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic Cantabrian region, Northern Spain.

The use of 'teeth as tools' (non-masticatory or cultural-related dental wear) has largely been employed as a proxy for studying of past human behavior, mainly in permanent dentition from adult individuals. Here we present the analysis of the non-masticatory dental wear modifications on the deciduous dentition assigned to eight Neanderthal and anatomically modern human subadult individuals from Mousterian to Magdalenian technocultural contexts in the Cantabrian region (Northern Spain). Although preliminary, we tentatively suggest that these eight subadults present activity-related dental wear, including cultural striations, chipped enamel, toothpick grooves, and subvertical grooves. We also found evidence of habitual dental hygienic practices in the form of toothpicking on a deciduous premolar. Orientation of the cultural striations indicates similar handedness development as in modern children. Taken together, these dental wear patterns support the participation of young individuals in group activities, making them potential contributors to group welfare. This study potentially adds new evidence to the importance of the use of the mouth in paramasticatory activities or as a third hand throughout the Pleistocene, which can be confirmed with a more specific reference sample.

Shigellosis in Subjects with Traveler's Diarrhea Versus Domestically Acquired Diarrhea: Implications for Antimicrobial Therapy and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Surveillance.

An increase of sexually transmitted shigellosis is currently being reported in developed countries. In addition, travel-related shigellosis can introduce resistant strains that could be disseminated within this new scenario. Epidemiological features and antimicrobial susceptibility of shigellosis depending on where infection was acquired were investigated. From 2008 to 2013, subjects with shigellosis were studied. Patients were classified according to acquisition of Shigella as traveler's diarrhea (TD) or domestically acquired diarrhea (DAD). Ninety cases of shigellosis were identified: 76 corresponding to the TD group and 14 to the DAD group. In the DAD group, most of patients were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive men who have sex with men (MSM), being shigellosis associated to male sex (P = 0.007) and HIV infection (P < 0.0001). S. sonnei (47.8%) and S. flexneri (42.2%) were the predominant species. The highest resistance was detected for trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) (81.8%), followed by ampicillin (AMP) (37.8%) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) (23.3%). Resistant Shigella strains were more frequent in subjects with TD than those with DAD, although only for CIP the difference was significant (P = 0.034). Continuous monitoring of patients with shigellosis is necessary to control the spread of resistant Shigella strains and for effective therapy. Men with shigellosis who have not traveled to an endemic area should be screened for HIV infection.