Epidemiology of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Georgia

This study investigated the transmission and prevalence of Leishmania parasite infection of humans in two foci of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) in Georgia, the well known focus in Tbilisi in the East, and in Kutaisi, a new focus in the West of the country. The seroprevalence of canine leishmaniasis was investigated in order to understand the zoonotic transmission. Blood samples of 1575 dogs (stray and pet) and 77 wild canids were tested for VL by Kalazar Detect rK39 rapid diagnostic tests. Three districts were investigated in Tbilisi and one in Kutaisi. The highest proportions of seropositive pet dogs were present in District #2 (28.1%, 82/292) and District #1 (26.9%, 24/89) in Tbilisi, compared to 17.3% (26/150) of pet dogs in Kutaisi. The percentage of seropositive stray dogs was also twice as high in Tbilisi (16.1%, n = 670) than in Kutaisi (8%, n = 50); only 2/58 wild animals screened were seropositive (2. 6%). A total of 873 Phlebotomine sand flies were collected, with 5 different species identified in Tbilisi and 3 species in Kutaisi; 2.3% of the females were positive for Leishmania parasites. The Leishmanin Skin Test (LST) was performed on 981 human subjects in VL foci in urban areas in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. A particularly high prevalence of LST positives was observed in Tbilisi District #1 (22.2%, 37.5% and 19.5% for ages 5–9, 15–24 and 25–59, respectively); lower prevalence was observed in Kutaisi (0%, 3.2% and 5.2%, respectively; P<0.05). This study shows that Tbilisi is an active focus for leishmaniasis and that the infection prevalence is very high in dogs and in humans. Although exposure is as yet not as high in Kutaisi, this is a new VL focus. The overall situation in the country is alarming and new control measures are urgently needed.     

Effects of training on muscle O2 transport at VO2max.

To quantify the relative contributions of convective and peripheral diffusive components of O2 transport to the increase in leg O2 uptake (VO2leg) at maximum O2 uptake (VO2max) after 9 wk of endurance training, 12 sedentary subjects (age 21.8 +/- 3.4 yr, VO2max 36.9 +/- 5.9 ml.min-1.kg-1) were studied. VO2max, leg blood flow (Qleg), and arterial and femoral venous PO2, and thus VO2leg, were measured while the subjects breathed room air, 15% O2, and 12% O2. The sequence of the three inspirates was balanced. After training, VO2max and VO2leg increased at each inspired O2 concentration [FIO2; mean over the 3 FIO2 values 25.2 +/- 17.8 and 36.5 +/- 33% (SD), respectively]. Before training, VO2leg and mean capillary PO2 were linearly related through the origin during hypoxia but not during room air breathing, suggesting that, at 21% O2, VO2max was not limited by O2 supply. After training, VO2leg and mean capillary PO2 at each FIO2 fell along a straight line with zero intercept, just as in athletes (Roca et al. J. Appl. Physiol. 67: 291-299, 1989). Calculated muscle O2 diffusing capacity (DO2) rose 34% while Qleg increased 19%. The relatively greater rise in DO2 increased the DO2/Qleg, which led to 9.9% greater O2 extraction. By numerical analysis, the increase in Qleg alone (constant DO2) would have raised VO2leg by 35 ml/min (mean), but that of DO2 (constant Qleg) would have increased VO2leg by 85 ml/min, more than twice as much. The sum of these individual effects (120 ml/min) was less (P = 0.013) than the observed rise of 164 ml/min (mean). This synergism (explained by the increase in DO2/Qleg) seems to be an important contribution to increases in VO2max with training.     

The Condition of the Oral Mucosa at Age 70: A Population Study1

At oral examinations of 70-year old men (186) and women (199) in Göteborg (H-70-study) it was concluded that the degrees of dental invalidity and the frequencies of oral red, white and hyperplastic lesions were high in spite of the rather good physical conditions of the elderly. Variations in the general health of the subjects and their drug utilizations seemed to participate in the regulation of the threshold levels of the oral tissues against external irritations. A high percentage of the oral lesions were related to local factors, such as dental state, removable dentures, tobacco habits and factors affiliated with secretion of saliva. Insufficient functions of the dentures were found to induce hyperplastic changes even if the dentures had been worn for only a short period of time. Smoking was statistically demonstrated to be a significant contributing factor to tooth losses as well as to the induction of oral white lesions. The supervising responsibilities of the dentists are discussed on the basis of the clinical and statistical findings in this investigation.     

Glis vallesiensis n. sp., nouveau gliride (Rodentia,Mammalia) du Neogene de Seu d'Urgell (Catalogne,Espagne)

It is described Glis vallensiensis n. sp., which is characterized by its great size, similar to that of the present species Glis glis. It differs of the G. minor-G. sackdillingensis lineage in size and minor features. Glis vallesiensis belongs to the same lineage that Glis sp., from the Upper Miocene beds of Opole (1).     

The effect of warm-up with whole-body vibration vs. cycle ergometry on isokinetic dynamometry

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of warm-up protocols using either whole-body vibration (WBV) or cycle ergometry (CE) on peak torque at 3 different isokinetic speeds and on fatigue in the knee extension exercise. Twenty-seven recreationally trained (age = 23.59 ± 3.87 years) men (n = 14) and women (n = 13) were tested at 3 different isokinetic speeds (60, 180, 300°·s-1) after either WBV or CE warm-up. The WBV consisted of intermittent bouts of 30 seconds of isometric squats at various degrees of hip and knee flexion for a total of 5 minutes. The CE consisted of 5 minutes of pedaling a cycle ergometer at 65-85% of age-predicted max heart rate. Comparisons between the warm-up conditions were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance. For the fatigue comparison, subjects completed 50 continuous concentric knee extensions at 240°·s-1. Means from the first 3 repetitions were compared to means from the final 3 repetitions to establish a fatigue index. Conditions were compared through an independent T-test. No significant (p > 0.05) differences were discovered between warm-up conditions at any speed or on the fatigue index. Means were virtually identical at 60°·s-1 (WBV = 142.14 ± 43.61 ft lb-1; CE = 140.64 ± 42.72 ft lb-1), 180° s-1 (WBV = 93.88 ± 35.18 ft lb-1; CE = 96.36 ± 31.53 ft lb-1), and 300°·s-1 (WBV = 78.36 ± 26.04 ft lb-1; CE = 80.13 ± 26.08), and on fatigue percentage (WBV = 51.14 ± 10.06%; CE = 52.96 ± 9.19%). These data suggest that the more traditional 5-minute cycle ergometer warm-up elicits results comparable to a less common vibration warm-up. The findings of this study are that these modalities are comparable under the tested conditions.