Cervidae antlers exploited to manufacture prehistoric tools and hunting implements as a reliable source of ancient DNA.

Antler is one of the primary animal raw materials exploited for technical purposes by the hunter-gatherer groups of the Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic (UP) all over the ecological range of deers, and beyond. It was exhaustively employed to produce one of the most critical tools for the survival of the UP societies: hunting weapons. However, antler implements can be made from diverse deer taxa, with different ecological requirements and ethological behaviours.

More than urns: A multi-method pipeline for analyzing cremation burials.

Burial rites of archaeological populations are frequently interpreted based on cremated remains of the human body and the urn they were deposited in. In comparison to inhumations, information about the deceased is much more limited and dependent on fragmentation, selection of body regions, taphonomic processes, and excavation techniques. So far, little attention has been paid to the context in which urns are buried.

A 41,500 year-old decorated ivory pendant from Stajnia Cave (Poland).

Evidence of mobiliary art and body augmentation are associated with the cultural innovations introduced by Homo sapiens at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we report the discovery of the oldest known human-modified punctate ornament, a decorated ivory pendant from the Paleolithic layers at Stajnia Cave in Poland. We describe the features of this unique piece, as well as the stratigraphic context and the details of its chronometric dating.

New perspectives on Neanderthal dispersal and turnover from Stajnia Cave (Poland).

The Micoquian is the broadest and longest enduring cultural facies of the Late Middle Palaeolithic that spread across the periglacial and boreal environments of Europe between Eastern France, Poland, and Northern Caucasus. Here, we present new data from the archaeological record of Stajnia Cave (Poland) and the paleogenetic analysis of a Neanderthal molar S5000, found in a Micoquian context. Our results demonstrate that the mtDNA genome of Stajnia S5000 dates to MIS 5a making the tooth the oldest Neanderthal specimen from Central-Eastern Europe.

A switch to a raltegravir containing regimen does not lower platelet reactivity in HIV-infected individuals.

Objective: Platelet hyperreactivity and increased platelet-monocyte aggregation (PMA) are associated with increased cardiovascular risk and inflammation. In a previous cross-sectional study, individuals using a raltegravir (RAL)-based regimen were found to have reduced platelet reactivity and PMA compared with other antiretroviral regimens. Our aim was to investigate whether switching from a nonintegrase inhibitor regimen to a RAL-based regimen reduces platelet reactivity or PMA.

Cognitive functioning, wellbeing and brain correlates in HIV-1 infected patients on long-term combination antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: The objective of the current study is to integrate results from extensive neuropsychological assessment, subjective wellbeing reports and structural neuroimaging findings in successfully treated HIV-infected patients in comparison with a HIV-negative control group.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Methods: Neuropsychological functioning and self-reported wellbeing were assessed in a group of 102 virologically suppressed HIV-infected patients on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and 56 controls.

New chronology for Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon) supports Levantine route of modern human dispersal into Europe.

Modern human dispersal into Europe is thought to have occurred with the start of the Upper Paleolithic around 50,000-40,000 y ago. The Levantine corridor hypothesis suggests that modern humans from Africa spread into Europe via the Levant. Ksâr 'Akil (Lebanon), with its deeply stratified Initial (IUP) and Early (EUP) Upper Paleolithic sequence containing modern human remains, has played an important part in the debate.

Long-term treatment with tenofovir: prevalence of kidney tubular dysfunction and its association with tenofovir plasma concentration.

Background: Monitoring of side effects of long-term HIV treatment has become increasingly important. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), a first-line treatment option, is associated with kidney tubular dysfunction (KTD). Our objective was to further investigate the prevalence and risk factors of KTD, in particular its association with TDF plasma concentration in HIV-infected patients treated with TDF for at least one year.

High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation is a requisite for modulation of skin-homing markers on regulatory T cells in HIV-infected patients.

Vitamin D(3) is known to have an effect on the immune function. We investigated the immunomodulatory capability of vitamin D(3) in HIV-infected patients and studied the expression of chemokine receptors on regulatory T cells (Treg). Vitamin D(3)-deficient HIV-1-seropositive subjects were treated with cholecalciferol (vitamin D(3)) at a dose of 800 IU daily for 3 months (n=9) or 25,000 IU weekly for 2 months (n=7).

Vitamin D deficiency among HIV type 1-infected individuals in the Netherlands: effects of antiretroviral therapy.

Vitamin D regulates bone metabolism but has also immunoregulatory properties. In HIV-infected patients bone disorders are increasingly observed. Furthermore, low 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) levels have been associated with low CD4(+) counts, immunological hyperactivity, and AIDS progression rates.

Nevirapine plasma concentrations are still detectable after more than 2 weeks in the majority of women receiving single-dose nevirapine: implications for intervention studies.

Background: Single-dose nevirapine is a highly cost-effective strategy to reduce perinatal HIV-1 transmission. Its major disadvantage is the selection of nevirapine resistance in 20% to 30% of women, probably attributable to the long elimination half-life of nevirapine. To develop intervention strategies, it is important to know the interpatient variability in nevirapine half-life in women receiving a single dose of nevirapine.