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Introduction: The incidence and prevalence of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) are rising worldwide, particularly in India. CAD can be asymptomatic in the general population. Aim: To analyse the significance of morphometric measurements of the coronary arteries in autopsy cases of unnatural deaths. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional autopsy study conducted from January to December 2020 in the Department of Pathology in collaboration with the Department of Forensic Medicine at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, India. Cases of deaths due to unnatural causes were considered. Morphometric parameters such as Luminal Area (LA), Internal Elastic Lamina Area (IELA), External Elastic Lamina Area (EELA), width of the intima at maximal thickness, width of the media at maximal thickness, intimal area, medial area, percentage of luminal narrowing, Intimal Thickness Index (ITI), and Intima to Media Ratio (IMR) were estimated using a Zeiss microscope on Verhoeff-Van-Gieson (VVG) stained tissue sections and analysed with ZEN software. All data were entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Results: A total of 80 autopsy cases were considered for the current research, of which 62 were males and 18 were females. The mean age of the cases was 37.6 years. Two cases (11.1%) among females and nine cases (14.5%) among males had asymptomatic atherosclerotic lesions in their coronary arteries. With increasing age, the percentage of asymptomatic atherosclerotic cases also increased. The p-values for the width of the intima at maximal intimal thickness and IMR were 0.005 and 0.027, respectively, between the non atherosclerotic and atherosclerotic groups. Conclusion: The morphometric parameters, such as the width of the intima at maximal intimal thickness and IMR, predict the presence of atherosclerotic lesions/CAD in the asymptomatic general population. This information can be used to implement preventive measures and inform health policy by the medical community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fixation plays an important role in fixing the cells, making them amenable for evaluation. Ethanol (95%) has been used as a standard cytological fixative. Honey can be introduced as a natural fixative. Objectives: 1. To study cytomorphological features of smears fixed in 20% unprocessed honey. 2. To study the efficacy of honey as a fixative when compared with ethanol in both hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain and Papanicolaou (PAP) stain for cytological samples. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Pathology for 2 months on 100 cytological samples consisting of body fluids (peritoneal and pleural), cervical smears, and FNACs. These smears were fixed separately in 95% ethanol and 20% unprocessed honey for 5 minutes and were stained with both PAP and H and E stain. The cytomorphologies of both the smears were compared based on five parameters, clarity of staining, uniformity of staining, overall morphology, nuclear details, and cytoplasmic details, and the final score was calculated by adding all the scores: Total Score ≤2, poor score; 3–4, good score; 5, excellent score. Results: Cervical smears fixed in honey showed similar features to ethanol-fixed smears. Fluid smears fixed in honey and stained with PAP yielded superior results compared to those stained with H and E, as shown by a kappa value of 0.259. However, neither of the smears demonstrated statistical significance. The FNAC samples stained with H and E and PAP exhibited nearly identical results, with a kappa value of 0.688 and 0.647, respectively. FNAC and PAP smears were the next two most successful cytological smear types, with cervical smears exhibiting the best results of the three. Conclusion: In honey-fixed smears, we can easily observe all cellular features with clarity. It enhances safety and the working environment in the laboratory. Honey can serve as an effective substitute in situations where resources are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans lived as hunter‐gatherers for more than 95% of our evolutionary history, thus studying contemporary hunter‐gatherer populations offers insight into the conditions children may be psychologically adapted to. Here, we contrast hunter‐gatherer childhoods with those of WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic) societies and consider the implications for children's mental health. Hunter‐gatherer infants receive continuous physical contact and more sensitive and responsive caregiving than is typical of WEIRD societies, due to the extensive involvement of alloparents (non‐parental caregivers) who generally provide 40–50% of their care. Alongside positive attachment outcomes, alloparenting likely reduces the harms of family adversity and risk of abuse/neglect. From late infancy, hunter‐gatherers spend their time in mixed‐age 'playgroups' where they learn via active play and exploration without adult supervision. This contrasts with WEIRD norms surrounding the need for adult supervision of children, as well as with the passive teacher‐led classrooms, which could potentially lead to suboptimal learning outcomes and pose difficulties to children with ADHD. Based on this preliminary comparison, we consider practical solutions to potential harms arising from discordance between what children are adapted to and exposed to. These include infant massage and babywearing; increased sibling and extra‐familial involvement in childcare; and educational adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining development is essential for a full understanding of behaviour, including how individuals acquire traits and how adaptive evolutionary forces shape these processes. The present study explores the development of cooperative behaviour among the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population. A simple resource allocation game assessing both levels of cooperation (how much children shared) and patterns of partner choice (who they shared with) was played with 179 children between the ages of 3 and 18. Children were given five resources (candies) and for each was asked whether to keep it for themselves or share with someone else, and if so, who this was. Between-camp variation in children's cooperative behaviour was substantial, and the only strong predictor of children's cooperation was the average level of cooperation among adults in camp; that is, children were more cooperative in camps where adults were more cooperative. Neither age, sex, relatedness or parental levels of cooperation were strongly associated with the amount children shared. Children preferentially shared with close kin (especially siblings), although older children increasingly shared with less-related individuals. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding cross-cultural patterns of children's cooperation, and broader links with human cooperative childcare and life history evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has certain disadvantages despite being the most commonly used procedure in the initial diagnosis of any swelling. In such cases, a cell block (CB) study can be a valuable adjunct to smears for establishing a more definitive cytopathological diagnosis. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of CB with FNAC and to compare the findings of the CB and FNAC with histopathology as the gold standard. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in the department of pathology at our institute. All the cystic/solid lesions sent for fine-needle aspiration, which yielded sufficient material for the CB, were studied along with detailed clinical history. Results: Out of 66 cases of FNAC and CB, 35 cases were sent for histopathology. The mean age of the patients was 41.36 years, and female patients were more in number (73%). Benign lesions (71.4%) were more than malignant ones (29.6%). The CB section had more thyroid lesions (31%). The diagnostic accuracy of FNAC was found to be 94.28%, while that of CB was 97.14%. Conclusion: Although FNAC is the first line of investigation for mass lesions, and still, to make the best possible use of an aspirate, smears should be used together with CB preparation to provide the best possible morphological and histological diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a cross-cultural experiment on a sample of 230 participants, to examine how listening to an audio recording of a male telling a joke followed by either laughter (humorous condition) or an unimpressed murmur (non-humorous condition) affected participant ratings of that male's social status, dominance, prestige and attractiveness. The experiment followed a between-subjects design. The sample was cross-cultural to explore possible cultural variation and compared effects among Western (UK & USA) (n = 119, 74 females) and Turkish (n = 111, 87 females) participants. We measured participants' ratings of dominance/prestige and attractiveness, based on validated and previously used scales. In the humorous condition, the male was rated as having significantly higher social status and prestige but not dominance. He was also rated as more attractive by female participants from the UK & USA; this effect was mediated by prestige. Conversely, attractiveness ratings by female Turkish participants did not differ across conditions. The effect among the former was found to have been mediated via prestige. We interpret these findings as suggesting that humor production represents a means of gaining status but also highlighting that its recognized role in attractiveness varies cross-culturally. Although the present endeavor represents a pilot study, we believe that our findings raise new questions regarding the interrelationships of humor production, status, and attractiveness, and their evolutionary background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing need of transportation is pushing scientists towards the better option other than conventional internal combustion engines. One of the most effective ways to reduce the effects of these IC engines is the use of electric vehicle. This paper consists of a comprehensive overview on integration of electric vehicles to the grid. Vehicle to grid (V2G) technology and its effects on the grid have been depicted along with the challenges faced during the process. ULTRA, FAST, ECO and V2G modes in which the vehicles can be connected to the grid and importance of each mode in their aspects are also discussed here. All the modes combined cover the entire population's demand regarding the charging system which is the major area of research for energy management domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnographers frequently allude to alcoholism and related harms in Indigenous hunter-gatherer communities, but very few studies have quantified patterns of alcohol consumption or its health and social impacts. We present a case study of the Mbendjele BaYaka, a Congolese population undergoing socioeconomic transition. 83 adults answered questions about their frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption, underwent biometric measurements and reported whether they were currently experiencing a cough or diarrhoea; 56 participated in structured interviews about their experiences with alcohol. Based on WHO standards, we found 44.3% of the full sample, and 51.5% of drinkers (excluding abstainers), had a hazardous volume of alcohol consumption; and 35.1% of the full sample, and 40.9% of drinkers, engaged in heavy episodic drinking; consumption habits varied with sex and age. Total weekly consumption was a positive predictor of blood pressure and the likelihood of experiencing diarrhoea; associations with other biometric variables were not statistically significant. Interview responses indicated numerous other economic, mental and physical health harms of alcohol use, the prevalence of which demonstrate some variability between forest camps and permanent village settlements. These include high rates of drinking during pregnancy and breastfeeding (~40%); frequent alcohol-induced violence; and considerable exchange of foraged foods and engagement in exploitative labour activities to acquire alcohol or repay associated debts. Our findings demonstrate the prevalence of hazardous alcohol consumption among transitioning hunter-gatherers is higher than other segments of the Congolese population and indicate negative impacts on health and wellbeing, highlighting an urgent need for targeted public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-maternal carers (allomothers) are hypothesized to lighten the mother's workload, allowing for the specialized human life history including relatively short interbirth intervals and multiple dependent offspring. Here, using in-depth observational data on childcare provided to 78 Agta children (a foraging population in the northern Philippines; aged 0-6 years), we explore whether allomaternal childcare substitutes and decreases maternal childcare. We found that allomother caregiving was associated with reduced maternal childcare, but the substitutive effect varied depending on the source and type of care. Children-only playgroups consistently predicted a decrease in maternal childcare. While grandmothers were rarely available, their presence was negatively associated with maternal presence and childcare, and grandmothers performed similar childcare activities to mothers. These results underscore the importance of allomothering in reducing maternal childcare in the Agta. Our findings suggest that flexibility in childcare sources, including children-only playgroups, may have been the key to human life-history evolution. Overall, our results reinforce the necessity of a broad conceptualization of social support in human childcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart failure is a leading killer worldwide, with concurrent anaemia and iron deficiency portending sepulchral prognosis. Anaemia is rampant, with 53% prevalence in Indian females, but iron deficiency can be present even without anaemia. Therefore, this study was planned to determine the clinical profile, red blood cell indices, and effects of iron deficiency, on the course and prognosis of heart failure in Indian females. Materials and methods: This was a hospital-based observational study, conducted at a tertiary care teaching institute in India. Data from 147 females enrolled in the study between September 2017 to March 2020 was collected out of all patients enrolled in ongoing heart failure registry at the institute. Clinical characteristics at presentation, iron profile, red blood cell indices, treatment and mortality data was collected. Results: Mean age of the subjects (n=147) was 53.31 ± 17.1 years with 55% non-rheumatic and 45% with rheumatic heart disease. The patients with rheumatic heart disease were younger, with a higher prevalence of atrial fibrillation. Non-rheumatic patients had a higher prevalence of CV risk factors like diabetes, hypertension, renal failure, more patients in NYHA IV, and 83% patients had LVEF ≤40%. Anaemia was present in 49%, however iron deficiency was present in 89% (absolute iron deficiency in 80% and functional iron deficiency in 9%) with no significant difference between rheumatic and non-rheumatic group. Red blood cell indices showed no significant difference across the spectrum of iron deficiency and anaemia, except lower mean corpuscular volume in patients with both iron deficiency and anaemia. The mean survival time was 840 days, with no significant difference between groups. There was significantly higher mortality in patients with iron deficiency (log rank 0.045). Conclusion: Iron deficiency-with or without anaemia-is very high in Indian females, worsening survival in heart failure. Proper diagnosis with iron supplementation will improve the prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Numerous implant techniques have been suggested in the literature to obtain an accurate master cast. One of those is to splint the impression copings; however, many controversies exist in type of splinting materials used. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the positional accuracy in multiple implants using different splinting materials in open-tray impression technique. Settings and Design: The study design involves an in vitro study. Materials and Methods: An acrylic resin model of a mandibular edentulous arch was used as a reference model in which four 3.75 mm × 10 mm implant analogs were placed and sequentially numbered as 1, 2, 3, and 4 from left to right. Open tray impression copings were attached to each of them and were then splinted by three different materials and divided into three Groups as Group I, Group II, and Group III splinted with pattern resin, composite resin, and titanium wire, respectively. Five implant level impressions were made from each group and poured in Type IV dental stone. The implant analogs were transferred to the casts and inter-implant distances were compared to the reference model using the Coordinate Measuring Machine. Statistical Analysis Used: One-way ANOVA test was used as a test of significance. Results: The present study revealed that all the three splinting materials can be used for the accurate reproduction of spatial relationship. There was no significant difference between the centroids of implant analogs 1 and 2, 1 and 3, 1 and 4, 2 and 3, 3 and 4, and 2 and 4 of reference model with the master models. Conclusion: Clinically acceptable accuracy in transferring the position of implants to the master cast could be obtained from all the three splinting materials used. However, splinting of impression copings with titanium wire showed greatest accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storytelling is a human universal. From gathering around the camp-fire telling tales of ancestors to watching the latest television box-set, humans are inveterate producers and consumers of stories. Despite its ubiquity, little attention has been given to understanding the function and evolution of storytelling. Here we explore the impact of storytelling on huntergatherer cooperative behaviour and the individual-level fitness benefits to being a skilled storyteller. Stories told by the Agta, a Filipino hunter-gatherer population, convey messages relevant to coordinating behaviour in a foraging ecology, such as cooperation, sex equality and egalitarianism. These themes are present in narratives from other foraging societies. We also show that the presence of good storytellers is associated with increased cooperation. In return, skilled storytellers are preferred social partners and have greater reproductive success, providing a pathway by which group-beneficial behaviours, such as storytelling, can evolve via individual-level selection. We conclude that one of the adaptive functions of storytelling among hunter gatherers may be to organise cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise estimation of age is essential in evolutionary anthropology, especially to infer population age structures and understand the evolution of human life history diversity. However, in small-scale societies, such as hunter-gatherer populations, time is often not referred to in calendar years, and accurate age estimation remains a challenge. We address this issue by proposing a Bayesian approach that accounts for age uncertainty inherent to fieldwork data. We developed a Gibbs sampling Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm that produces posterior distributions of ages for each individual, based on a ranking order of individuals from youngest to oldest and age ranges for each individual. We first validate our method on 65 Agta foragers from the Philippines with known ages, and show that our method generates age estimations that are superior to previously published regression-based approaches. We then use data on 587 Agta collected during recent fieldwork to demonstrate how multiple partial age ranks coming from multiple camps of hunter-gatherers can be integrated. Finally, we exemplify how the distributions generated by our method can be used to estimate important demographic parameters in small-scale societies: here, age-specific fertility patterns. Our flexible Bayesian approach will be especially useful to improve cross-cultural life history datasets for small-scale societies for which reliable age records are difficult to acquire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Neolithic demographic transition remains a paradox, because it is associated with both higher rates of population growth and increased morbidity and mortality rates. Here we reconcile the conflicting evidence by proposing that the spread of agriculture involved a life history quality-quantity trade-off whereby mothers traded offspring survival for increased fertility, achieving greater reproductive success despite deteriorating health. We test this hypothesis by investigating fertility, mortality, health, and overall reproductive success in Agta hunter-gatherers whose camps exhibit variable levels of sedentarization, mobility, and involvement in agricultural activities. We conducted blood composition tests in 345 Agta and found that viral and helminthic infections as well as child mortality rates were significantly increased with sedentarization. Nonetheless, both age-controlled fertility and overall reproductive successwere positively affected by sedentarization and participation in cultivation. Thus, we provide the first empirical evidence, to our knowledge, of an adaptive mechanism in foragers that reconciles the decline in health and child survival with the observed demographic expansion during the Neolithic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of microbial species in a metagenomic study is commonly assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. With the rapid developments in genome sequencing technologies, the focus has shifted towards the sequencing of hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA gene instead of full length gene sequencing. Therefore, 16S Classifier is developed using a machine learning method, Random Forest, for faster and accurate taxonomic classification of short hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA sequence. It displayed precision values of up to 0.91 on training datasets and the precision values of up to 0.98 on the test dataset. On real metagenomic datasets, it showed up to 99.7% accuracy at the phylum level and up to 99.0% accuracy at the genus level. 16S Classifier is available freely at and . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-fidelity transmission of information through imitation and teaching has been proposed as necessary for cumulative cultural evolution. Yet, it is unclear when and for which knowledge domains children employ different social learning processes. This paper explores the development of social learning processes and play in BaYaka hunter-gatherer children by analysing video recordings and time budgets of children from early infancy to adolescence. From infancy to early childhood, hunter-gatherer children learn mainly by imitating and observing others' activities. From early childhood, learning occurs mainly in playgroups and through practice. Throughout childhood boys engage in play more often than girls whereas girls start foraging wild plants from early childhood and spend more time in domestic activities and childcare. Sex differences in play reflect the emergence of sexual division of labour and the play-work transition occurring earlier for girls. Consistent with theoretical models, teaching occurs for skills/knowledge that cannot be transmitted with high fidelity through other social learning processes such as the acquisition of abstract information e.g. social norms. Whereas, observational and imitative learning occur for the transmission of visually transparent skills such as tool use, foraging, and cooking. These results suggest that coevolutionary relationships between human sociality, language and teaching have likely been fundamental in the emergence of human cumulative culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]