The effect of salbutamol on histamine release from basophils in vivo and in vitro]

In vivo and in vitro basophil histamine release inhibition by salbutamol was investigated in patients with bronchial asthma. The study involved 14 patients in stable period of the disease: FEV1 = 66-84% of the normal values. Histamine release was determined following an incubation of the isolated basophils with concanavalin A (Sigma Co., USA) or specific allergens (dust, grass pollens, mites; Bencard, UK). Histamine was assayed with isotope-enzymatic technique according to Shaff and Beaven with histamine N-methyltransferase. Salbutamol administered intravenously in the dose of 1 mg inhibited allergen-induced histamine release from the basophils isolated from patient's blood within 30 minutes. Salbutamol in the concentration of 8 X 10(-6) M inhibited in vitro histamine release induced by an allergen and concanavalin A.     

F-81 skeleton from Wadi Mataha, Jordan, and its bearing on human variability in the Epipaleolithic of the Levant

The discovery of a Middle Epipaleolithic adult skeleton (F-81) at the site of Wadi Mataha in southern Jordan provides new insights into human variability in the Epipaleolithic of the Levant. This paper analyzes the skeletal morphology of Wadi Mataha F-81 in the context of other Epipaleolithic remains from Jordan and Israel to assess the current evidence for morphological variability throughout this period. The F-81 skeleton shares morphological features with earlier Epipaleolithic skeletons from Ohalo and Nahal Ein Gev, and later Natufian populations. Despite the morphological similarities, F-81 extends the range of known variability prior to the Natufian with its unusually small stature and unique combination of morphological characteristics. High levels of cranial and postcranial robusticity suggest that the F-81 individual was physically active and terrestrially mobile. Pronounced bilateral asymmetry in the upper limb suggests significant lateralization of habitual activity. In the context of Epipaleolithic remains, the F-81 skeleton provides preliminary evidence for greater morphological variability, terrestrial mobility, and lateralized habitual behavior prior to the Natufian, and skeletal gracilization between the Middle and Late Epipaleolithic in the Levant.     

Kathu Townlands: A High Density Earlier Stone Age Locality in the Interior of South Africa

Kathu Townlands is a high density Earlier Stone Age locality in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Here we present the first detailed information on this locality based on analysis of a sample of lithic material from excavations by P. Beaumont and field observations made in the course of fieldwork in 2013. The results confirm the remarkably high artefact density at Kathu Townlands and do not provide evidence consistent with high energy transport as a mechanism of site formation, suggesting that Kathu Townlands was the site of intensive exploitation of highly siliceous outcroppings of banded iron formation. The results presented here provide a first step towards understanding this complex locality and point to the need for further research and the importance of preserving this locality in the face of intensive and rapid development.     

Reactivity of alveolar macrophages in lung cancer patients and healthy subjects: surface ICAM-1 after INF-gamma stimulation in vitro

The linearity of ICAM- I expression on alveolar macrophages (AM) before and after INF-gamma stimulation in healthy and lung cancer subjects were compared. AM were collected by bronchoalveolar lavage and incubated with/without INF-gamma according to standard procedures. The harvested cells were analyzed by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibodies against leucocytes and macrophages. Only viable cells were analyzed. Stimulation with INF-gamma revealed two AM subpopulations of similar size differentiated in the intensity of ICAM-1 expression. They were not distinctly marked in every studied case. Our preliminary results did not confirm the previously reported decreasing reactivity of AMs after INF-gamma stimulation in lung cancer patients.