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This article examines the relationship between types of leadership and the results of health indicators in the Yorijarú and Kulesia-mana communities in Alta Guajira, Colombia, with a particular focus on socialization and training for the improvement of the quality of life and health of the members of these communities. The main objective is to determine how different leadership styles influence the effectiveness and sustainability ofhealth projects in the Yorijarú and Kulesiamana communities. The research focuses on tracking the activities and characteristics of health managers within a diverse and challenging cultural context, exploring whether certain leadership styles of health managers are more effective than others in promoting successful and sustainable outcomes in health projects implemented in the Yorijarú and Kulesiamana communities. The findings indicate that transformational leadership, which fosters inclusion and community engagement, is the type of leadership most present in community-appointed health managers, but no relationship can be found between these and project outcome indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JC polyomavirus (JCV) has an ethno-geographical distribution across human populations. Study the origins of the population of Misiones (Argentina) by using JCV as genetic marker. Viral detection and characterization was conducted by PCR amplification and evolutionary analysis of the intergenic region sequences. 22 out of 121 samples were positive for JCV, including 5 viral lineages: MY (n = 8), Eu-a (n = 7), B1-c (n = 4), B1-b (n = 2) and Af2 (n = 1). MY sequences clustered within a branch of Native American origin that diverged from its Asian counterpart about 21,914 years ago (HPD 95% interval 15,383–30,177), followed by a sustained demographic expansion around 5000 years ago. JCV in Misiones reflects the multiethnic origin of the current population, with an important Amerindian contribution. Analysis of the MY viral lineage shows a pattern consistent with the arrival of early human migrations to the Americas and a population expansion by the pre-Columbian native societies. • JCV classification was 36% American, 49.8% European, 9% Asian and 4.5% African. • American MY lineage was dated at 21,914 (15,383–30,177) years before present. • The demographic expansion of American MY began 5000 years before present. • The emergence of Amerindian complex societies may explain viral expansion. • Alternative models of virus evolution and TDR clocks were also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Sociedad (01218417) is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas y Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The study aim was to analyze incidence and presentation features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in Chile, in Amerindian population and in non-Native. Between 2012 and 2019, 912 patients were diagnosed, and 13 (1.4%) were Amerindian. The estimated incidence in Chilean population was 1.17/100,000 person per year, while in Amerindian, 0.09/100,000 person per year. Median age was 73 years. At diagnosis, 48, 27, and 25%, had low (0), intermediate (I/II) and high-risk (III/IV) disease on Rai classification. Diagnostic immunophenotypic Matutes score was ≥4 in 90%. Median follow-up was 37 months (range 2–87). 5-year OS was 56%, with median overall survival (OS) not reached. It was worse in men, ≥65 years, high-risk and those with increased prolymphocytes (CLL/PL). This study shows low incidence and worse OS in Chilean CLL patients, compared to those from European countries, despite similar clinical features. It also demonstrates that CLL is very uncommon in Amerindian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, concepts of what constituted a "frontier" developed differently in Canada and the United States. Portrayals in literature of those who inhabited these geographic spaces also are typified by notable differences between the former French and English colonies, yet U.S. literary critics today sometimes conflate the two situations, apparently under the assumption that what applies to the United States pertains in the same way to Canada. The historical reality is far more nuanced. As one example, among the Englishmen who spent time among native cultures, marriage into the culture of "the other" was rare; by contrast, the practice was not at all uncommon among the French who predated the English in Canada. A comparison of two nineteenth-century works—Forestiers et voyageurs by Canadian author Joseph-Charles Taché and The Pioneers by U.S. author James Fenimore Cooper—develops these observations to show how English-origin ideas of "frontier" and "frontiersman" cannot be assumed to apply in discussing Canadian works of literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Allele frequency estimates in admixed populations, such as Hispanics and Latinos, rely on the sample’s specific admixture composition and thus may differ between two seemingly similar populations. However, ancestry-specific allele frequencies, i.e., pertaining to the ancestral populations of an admixed group, may be particularly useful for prioritizing genetic variants for genetic discovery and personalized genomic health. We developed a method, ancestry-specific allele frequency estimation in admixed populations (AFA), to estimate the frequencies of biallelic variants in admixed populations with an unlimited number of ancestries. AFA uses maximum-likelihood estimation by modeling the conditional probability of having an allele given proportions of genetic ancestries. It can be applied using either local ancestry interval proportions encompassing the variant (local-ancestry-specific allele frequency estimations in admixed populations [LAFAs]) or global proportions of genetic ancestries (global-ancestry-specific allele frequency estimations in admixed populations [GAFAs]), which are easier to compute and are more widely available. Simulations and comparisons to existing software demonstrated the high accuracy of the method. We implemented AFA on high-quality imputed data of ∼9,000 Hispanics and Latinos from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), an understudied, admixed population with three predominant continental ancestries: Amerindian, European, and African. Comparison of the European and African estimated frequencies to the respective gnomAD frequencies demonstrated high correlations (Pearson R2 = 0.97–0.99). We provide a genome-wide dataset of the estimated ancestry-specific allele frequencies for available variants with allele frequency between 5% and 95% in at least one of the three ancestral populations. Association analysis of Amerindian-enriched variants with cardiometabolic traits identified five loci associated with lipid traits in Hispanics and Latinos, demonstrating the utility of ancestry-specific allele frequencies in admixed populations.

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CYP3A5 metabolizes endogenous substrates and ~30% of prescription drugs. The CYP3A5 gene contains an active CYP3A5*1 allele, and a non-functional version, the CYP3A5*3 (rs776746), with consequences for drug therapeutic responses and side effects. Both CYP3A5*1 and *3 have been associated with hypertension. The frequency of CYP3A5*3 varies between populations of different ancestries, with Europeans having the highest allele frequency (> 90%). Given the importance of CYP3A5*3 in drug response and hypertension development, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of this polymorphism and its association with hypertension in vulnerable indigenous populations in Mexico. A total of 372 subjects were recruited from eight ethnic groups in Northwest Mexico. Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and median (MBP) blood pressures as well as body mass index (BMI) were measured. Ancestry was evaluated through STR analysis, and the CYP3A5*1/*3 polymorphisms were identified using real-time PCR with TaqMan® probes. Higher frequencies of CYP3A5*1 and *3 were observed in groups with higher (>90%) and lower (

Abstract Background Suicide within the Amerindian community of Camopi (1741 inhabitants) in French Guiana has been an increasing problem widely reported in the media leading the French Government to mandate a parliamentary mission to investigate the matter. The purpose of the study was to describe this phenomenon and identify factors associated with suicide attempts. Methods A retrospective observational study was conducted from the health centers’ medical records. All suicide attempts and suicides committed between 2008 and 2015 by Amerindians living in Camopi and Trois Sauts were compiled. Contextual factors and suicide representations were also analyzed. Results During the study period, the annual attempted suicide rate and the suicide rate were higher in the last 3 years. The overall annual rate was equal to 6.9/1741 or 396 per 100, 000 inhabitants for attempted suicide and 172 per 100,000 inhabitants for suicide, which is more than 10 times higher than the suicide rate in mainland France. The mortality rate was 30.4% versus 8.2% in mainland France. The 10–20 year-old age group represented 70% of suicide deaths. There was no significant difference between genders. A recent death and interpersonal conflict were the main stressful life events reported by respondents (55 and 52%, respectively). Alcohol addiction (30% of the respondents) was associated with suicide attempts under the influence of alcohol (p = 0.03). Repetition of suicide attempts was associated with cannabis consumption (p = 0.03). Depression was reported among 45% of the respondents. A third of respondents reported having been abused during their childhood. Over half of respondents reported that their suicide attempt was motivated by a spirit (58%). Conclusions Despite limitations due to the small population size and limited time frame, this is the first study to describe the epidemiology of suicide among Amerindians living in Camopi. In contrast with other French territories, the suicide rate was very high, the sex ratio was balanced and younger age groups were most affected.

Evidence for chronological change in intra-site subsistence strategies is very rare in the Amerindian record of the Lesser Antilles. The study of the vertebrate assemblage from the archeological site of Roseau in the Guadeloupe Islands underlines the complexity and variability of Ceramic Age Amerindian subsistence behavior. This study establishes a more precise chronology of the previously identified strata of the site, and demonstrates that the Contact period was only represented by rare archeological artifacts dispersed in the stratigraphy. The results from this assemblage indicate that the earlier occupations of the site exhibit a more intensive exploitation of aquatic vertebrate resources compared to later occupations, which have a larger focus on terrestrial fauna, especially rodents and iguanas. This unusual pattern highlights how subsistence behaviors in the Lesser Antilles during the Late and Final Ceramic periods were highly variable. This new evidence of strong inter-site variability shows that the behaviors of Amerindians are not only dependent of large-scale environmental conditions but also influenced by more complex socio-cultural and local environmental parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflict revolves around communication and culture intersections. This interplay has historical antecedents and contemporary applications. Conflicts involving Indigenous Peoples and colonizers appear in literary representations (e.g. Shakespeare's The Tempest), and contests between communities and cultures in historical, political and social settings. Amnesty International reports Indigenous Peoples' realities and efforts to lobby for social justice. One effort is in becoming visible and seeking meaningful recognition examined in media coverage of the First Peoples' holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, and resonates in conflicts reported elsewhere between Indigenous Peoples and others. Using media reports, interviews and other texts, this article employs a critical discourse studies approach to trace narrative elements and themes of communication, culture and conflict interplay, and interpret the contested expression and meaning of these texts to describe, understand, explain and construct a theoretical and applied account of resistance against unequal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CYP3A5 metabolizes endogenous substrates and ~30% of prescription drugs. The CYP3A5 gene contains an active CYP3A5*1 allele, and a non-functional version, the CYP3A5*3 (rs776746), with consequences for drug therapeutic responses and side effects. Both CYP3A5*1 and *3 have been associated with hypertension. The frequency of CYP3A5*3 varies between populations of different ancestries, with Europeans having the highest allele frequency (> 90%). Given the importance of CYP3A5*3 in drug response and hypertension development, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of this polymorphism and its association with hypertension in vulnerable indigenous populations in Mexico. A total of 372 subjects were recruited from eight ethnic groups in Northwest Mexico. Systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), and median (MBP) blood pressures as well as body mass index (BMI) were measured. Ancestry was evaluated through STR analysis, and the CYP3A5*1/*3 polymorphisms were identified using real-time PCR with TaqMan® probes. Higher frequencies of CYP3A5*1 and *3 were observed in groups with higher (>90%) and lower (<90%) Amerindian ancestry, respectively. The CYP3A5*3 / *3 genotype was more frequent in indigenous women with higher SBP and DBP values. On the other hand, the * 1 allele showed a protective effect against both high SBP (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17–0.83, p = 0.001) and DBP (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.18–0.81, p = 0.007) in women. This association remained significant after adjusting for BMI and age for diastolic (OR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.17–0.84, p = 0.011) and systolic BP (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.15–0.76, p = 0.005) BP levels in women. Thus, the frequency of CYP3A5*3 varies between groups and seems to depend on ancestry, and CYP3A5*1 decreases the risk of hypertension in Mexican indigenous women. This population analysis of CYP3A5*1/*3 has profound implications not only for the susceptibility to diseases, such as hypertension, but also for safer drug administration regimens, assuring better therapeutic responses and fewer side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human groups that still maintain traditional modes of subsistence (hunter–gatherers and rural agriculturalists) represent human groups non-impacted by urban-industrialized lifestyles, and therefore their gut microbiome provides the basis for understanding the human microbiome evolution and its association with human health and disease. The Yanomami is the largest semi-nomadic hunter–gatherer group of the Americas, exploring different niches of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Venezuela. Here, based on shotgun metagenomic data, we characterized the gut microbiome of the Yanomami from Brazil and compared taxonomically and functionally with the Yanomami from Venezuela, with other traditional groups from the Amazon and an urban-industrialized group. Taxonomic biomarkers were identified to each South American traditional group studied, including each Yanomami group. Broader levels of functional categories poorly discriminated the traditional and urban-industrialized groups, but the stratification of these categories revealed clear segregation of these groups. The Yanomami/Brazil gut microbiome presented unique functional features, such as a higher abundance of gene families involved in regulation/cell signaling, motility/chemotaxis, and virulence, contrasting with the gut microbiomes from the Yanomami/Venezuela and the other groups. Our study revealed biomarkers, and taxonomic and functional features that distinguished the gut microbiome of Yanomami/Brazil and Yanomami/Venezuela individuals, despite their shared lifestyle, culture, and genetic background. These differences may be a reflection of the environmental and seasonal diversity of the niches they explore. Overall, their microbiome profiles are shared with South American and African traditional groups, probably due to their lifestyle. The unique features identified within the Yanomami highlight the bias imposed by underrepresented sampling, and factors such as variations over space and time (seasonality) that impact, mainly, the hunter–gatherers.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10) is a repeat expansion disease occurring mostly in Latin America, suggesting that the mutation spread with the peopling of the Americas, or that Amerindian populations, have a higher ATXN10 mutability. High frequency of large normal alleles is associated with prevalence and relative frequency of other repeat expansion diseases. To test whether the allele distribution of the SCA10-causing ATXN10 microsatellite in an Amerindian Peruvian population differs from that of other populations. The ATXN10 allele distribution in a Quechua Peruvian population from Puno, Peru, is similar to that of Finland. Mean allele size and mode were also similar to those of Mexico, Japan, and white Europeans. ATXN10 allele distribution in a healthy Amerindian population from Peru does not differ from that of other populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Tellus is the property of Revista Tellus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human groups that still maintain traditional modes of subsistence (hunter–gatherers and rural agriculturalists) represent human groups non-impacted by urban-industrialized lifestyles, and therefore their gut microbiome provides the basis for understanding the human microbiome evolution and its association with human health and disease. The Yanomami is the largest semi-nomadic hunter–gatherer group of the Americas, exploring different niches of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and Venezuela. Here, based on shotgun metagenomic data, we characterized the gut microbiome of the Yanomami from Brazil and compared taxonomically and functionally with the Yanomami from Venezuela, with other traditional groups from the Amazon and an urban-industrialized group. Taxonomic biomarkers were identified to each South American traditional group studied, including each Yanomami group. Broader levels of functional categories poorly discriminated the traditional and urban-industrialized groups, but the stratification of these categories revealed clear segregation of these groups. The Yanomami/Brazil gut microbiome presented unique functional features, such as a higher abundance of gene families involved in regulation/cell signaling, motility/chemotaxis, and virulence, contrasting with the gut microbiomes from the Yanomami/Venezuela and the other groups. Our study revealed biomarkers, and taxonomic and functional features that distinguished the gut microbiome of Yanomami/Brazil and Yanomami/Venezuela individuals, despite their shared lifestyle, culture, and genetic background. These differences may be a reflection of the environmental and seasonal diversity of the niches they explore. Overall, their microbiome profiles are shared with South American and African traditional groups, probably due to their lifestyle. The unique features identified within the Yanomami highlight the bias imposed by underrepresented sampling, and factors such as variations over space and time (seasonality) that impact, mainly, the hunter–gatherers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by a rhetorical reading of the missiological treatise De unico vocationis modo (ca. 1534), this article contends that Bartolomé de las Casas crafts key representations in his monumental Apologética historia sumaria (1559) to evoke wonder, judiciously accentuated throughout the text as a positive emotion. Exploiting the rhetoric of the marvelous to bring out the positive affectivity inherent in aesthetic pleasure, moral goodness, and spiritual elation, the Apologética seeks to foster in the reader an affective proximity to an otherwise distant and unknown Amerindian world. Ultimately, these pleasing representations of Amerindian wonders are meant to serve as catalysts for a process of conversion in the reader, meaning a spiritual reorientation in favor of indigenous peoples very much like the one Las Casas himself experienced in 1514. Wonder becomes the starting point, not for a first philosophy or for a politics of fear, domination, and possession, but for an ethics of proximity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT People living traditional lifestyles have higher gut microbiota diversity than urban subjects. We hypothesized that shifting lifestyles from an urban environment to a traditional rainforest village would lead to changes in the microbiota of visitors, which would become more similar to the microbiota of villagers. Here, we characterized at different time points the microbiota of 7 urban visitors (5 adults and 2 children) staying in a rainforest Amerindian village for 16 days and compared them with a reference collection of samples from age-matched local villagers. We performed a 16S rRNA gene survey of samples from multiple body sites (including fecal, oral, nasal, and skin samples) using Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The main factor segregating the microbiotas of each body site was the human group (i.e., visitors versus villagers), with the visitor microbiota tending to have lower alpha diversity; the lowered alpha diversity was statistically significant in the microbiota of skin and in the children’s fecal and oral microbiota. During the rainforest period, all visitors experienced microbiota changes within their personal cloud of variation. For all body sites, the microbiota conformations in the visitor children better matched the microbiota conformations in villagers of the same age than did those of the visitor adults, which showed a lower “microbiota age” than the microbiota of the villagers. The results suggest higher stability in the adult microbiota, with the less resilient children’s microbiota responding more to dietary changes. IMPORTANCE Despite the limitations of a small study, our results evidence higher resilience of the gut microbiota with respect to dietary manipulation in adults than in children and urge further studies to understand the extent of microbiota plasticity in response to dietary changes and the mechanisms underlying microbiota resilience. These studies are relevant to the potential of future human pre- and probiotics in preventing or curing microbiota-associated diseases.

Moving to London in 1952, Aubrey Williams gained valuable distance on the Amerindian petroglyphs that inspired his abstract painting. But as he deepened his engagement with the indigenous cultures of the precolonial Caribbean during the 1970s—working in studios in Jamaica and in Florida—Williams was edged out of late modernism’s narrative of abstraction. While retrospective exhibitions highlight the Olmec-Maya and Now series and the Shostakovich series produced during William’s circumatlantic journeys, both of which heighten abstraction as a medium of cross-cultural translation, the scholarship has left Williams isolated. Approaching Williams’s abstraction in the interpretive context of diasporic “ancestralism,” a distinctive framework addressing the diaspora’s unrecoverable past, I suggest his Amerindian focus is best understood in terms of a “hauntological” mode of abstraction critically responsive to the moment of decolonisation in which boundaries that once defined the national, the international, and the transnational were being thrown into crisis.

Abstract: To determine the presence of anti-cysticercus antibodies in an Amerindian community in western Venezuela, ninety-three individuals between 1-78 years of age were studied. Anti-cysticercus antibodies were detected using the ELISA immune-enzymatic technique with antigenic extracts of vesicular fluid of Taenia crassiceps. Sera were considered positive at 1:256 dilutions; feces were studied by direct and concentrate parasitological examination. A 27.9% of the population had anti-cysticercus immunity, and all age groups were positives. No statistically significant differences in relation to sex or between age groups were observed. In the physical examination and medical history, no data relevant to a probable functional impairment related to cysticercosis were found. The overall percentage of parasitic infection was 81.5%, with a marked polyparasitism of 64.6% and a predominance of protozoan infection. No Taenia spp eggs were detected. This is the first study on the prevalence of anti-cysticercus antibodies in an indigenous community of western Venezuela with a high percentage of prevalence from childhood, suggesting early exposure to cysticercosis. In addition, a high prevalence of intestinal protozoa and helminthes were found, which supposes a significant health risk in this population. Resumen: Para determinar la presencia de anticuerpos anti-cisticerco en una comunidad indígena del occidente venezolano, 93 individuos entre 1-78 años de edad fueron estudiados. La detección de anticuerpos anti cisticerco se realizó mediante la técnica inmunoenzimática de ELISA con extrac tos antigénicos de fluido vesicular de Taenia crassiceps. Los sueros fueron considerados positivos a diluciones 2: 1:256 y las heces fueron estudiadas mediante examen parasitológico directo y con- centrado. El 27,9% de la población presentó inmunidad anti-cisticerco y todos los grupos etarios fueron positivos. No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en relación al sexo, ni entre los grupos etarios. En el examen físico y en la historia clínica, no se encontraron datos relevantes de una probable alteración funcional en relación a cisticercosis. El porcentaje general de infección parasitaria fue de un 81,5%, con un marcado poliparasitismo de un 64,6%, con predominio de infección por protozoarios. No se detectaron huevos de Taenia spp. Este es el primer estudio so- bre la prevalencia de anticuerpos anti-cisticerco en una comunidad indígena del occidente venezolano, con un alto porcentaje de la prevalencia desde la infancia, sugiriendo una exposición temprana a la cisticercosis. Además, una alta prevalencia de protozoarios y helmintos intestinales, lo que supone un riesgo sanitario considerable en esta población.

The early paragraphs of John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government (1690) describe a poetic idyll of property acquisition widely supposed by contemporary theorists and historians to have cast the template for imperial possessions in the New World. This reading ignores the surprises lurking in Locke’s later chapters on conquest, usurpation, and tyranny, where he affirms that native rights to lands and possessions survive to succeeding generations. Locke warned his readers that this “will seem a strange doctrine, it being quite contrary to the practice of the world.” His doctrine of native right is equally strange to recent scholars who see in Lockean theory the ideological prototype for England’s colonial expropriation in the “vacant lands” of North America. This interpretation, dignified by the elusive principle of vacuum domicilium, is considerably weakened when Locke’s arguments are placed in the historical context of the sixteenth and early seventeenth-century English colonial experience. Locke’s Second Treatise, with its literary flourish of a vast and idyllic state of nature, was written in the full appreciation of Amerindian agriculture, its established populations, the acknowledgement of native property rights, and the policy and practice of purchasing land from the native inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amazonia in contemporary academic as well as public discourse is often placed in opposition to modernity, its peoples and environment represented as offering an alternative to modern ways of seeing and being in the world. Through a contemporary and historical consideration of the Brazilian Amazonian town of Belterra, this paper questions such a perspective by emphasizing the complexity of local social and environmental realities as well as the form that outside, modern interventions have taken in the region. The identities of neo-Amazonian populations are also discussed, both in relation to their relative invisibility in anthropological theory and wider political narratives as well as the manner in which their indigeneity is now emerging in local contexts. Overall it is argued that paying attention to social and environmental complexity as well as the hybrid social and cultural forms of the region may offer hope for a shared social and environmental future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Latin American & Caribbean Studies (Taylor & Francis Ltd) is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives/hypothesis: A candidate variant (p.Val496Ala) of the ACSS2 gene (T > C missense, rs59088485 variant at chr20: bp37 33509608) was previously found to consistently segregate with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLP) in three Honduran families. Objectives of this study were 1) to investigate the frequency of this ACSS2 variant in Honduran unrelated NSCLP patients and unrelated unaffected controls and 2) to investigate the frequency of this variant in Colombian unrelated affected NSCLP patients and unrelated unaffected controls.Study Design: Case-control studies.Methods: Sanger sequencing of 99 unrelated Honduran NSCLP patients and 215 unrelated unaffected controls for the p.Val496Ala ACSS2 variant was used to determine the carrier frequency in NSCLP patients and controls. Sanger sequencing of 230 unrelated Colombian NSCLP patients and 146 unrelated unaffected controls for the p.Val496Ala ACSS2 variant was used to determine the carrier frequency in NSCLP patients and controls.Results: In the Honduran population, the odds ratio of having NSCLP among carriers of the p.Val496Ala ACSS2 variant was 4.0 (P = .03), with a carrier frequency of seven of 99 (7.1%) in unrelated affected and four of 215 (1.9%) in unrelated unaffected individuals. In the Colombian population, the odds ratio of having NSCLP among carriers of the p.Val496Ala ACSS2 variant was 2.6 (P = .04), with a carrier frequency of 23 of 230 (10.0%) in unrelated affected and six of 146 (4.1%) in unrelated unaffected individuals.Conclusions: These findings support the role of ACSS2 in NSCLP in two independent Hispanic populations from Honduras and Colombia.Level Of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 127:E336-E339, 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large discrepancy between the Amerindian contribution to the mitochondrial and nuclear genetic components of 55 Puerto Rican (PR) genomes from the 1000 Genomes Project is identified, with Amerindian mitochondrial haplotypes being highly represented (67.3%), in strong contrast to the Amerindian autosomal contribution (12.9%). I examine the potential causes behind this strong mitonuclear discordance. The Amerindian contribution to the X chromosome is 19.8%, implying assortative mating with Amerindian females during the establishment of the PR population. However, this scenario does not account for the extraordinarily high Amerindian mitochondrial contribution. Demographic simulation of simple assortative mating scenarios during establishment of the PR population indicates that the observed Amerindian mitochondrial contribution is higher than expected. The simulations show that expansion from a small founding population does not produce the observed frequencies, instead producing the frequencies expected under neutrality, with the Amerindian mitochondrial frequencies approximately twice the Amerindian autosomal proportion. In addition, multiple replicated simulations show that drift is an unlikely explanation for the elevated Amerindian mitochondrial frequency, as these are unable to produce the elevated Amerindian mitochondrial frequency observed in the PR genomic dataset, under a range of different starting conditions. I conclude that the mitonuclear discordance appears most consistent with adaptive mitochondrial benefit; however, the molecular mechanism(s) remain to be characterized before this can be confirmed and warrant further investigation. Lastly, I show potential evidence of selection on autosomes and allosomes, using admixture proportions. Interestingly, the major histocompatibility complex locus on chromosome 6 shows greatly elevated single nucleotide polymorphism density but is unaccompanied by strong admixture variance. The observations on mitonuclear discordance may affect the interpretation of apparent assortative mating in recent human admixture events, which should be treated with caution when relying only on mitochondrial haplotype frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed the frequency of four mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in 424 individuals from 21 Colombian Amerindian tribes. Our results showed a high degree of mtDNA diversity and genetic heterogeneity. Frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups A and C were high in the majority of populations studied. The distribution of these four mtDNA haplogroups from Amerindian populations was different in the northern region of the country compared to those in the south. Haplogroup A was more frequently found among Amerindian tribes in northern Colombia, while haplogroup D was more frequent among tribes in the south. Haplogroups A, C and D have clinal tendencies in Colombia and South America in general. Populations belonging to the Chibcha linguistic family of Colombia and other countries nearby showed a strong genetic differentiation from the other populations tested, thus corroborating previous findings. Genetically, the Ingano, Paez and Guambiano populations are more closely related to other groups of south eastern Colombia, as also inferred from other genetic markers and from archeological data. Strong evidence for a correspondence between geographical and linguistic classification was found, and this is consistent with evidence that gene flow and the exchange of customs and knowledge and language elements between groups is facilitated by close proximity.

Archaeology in the Amazon basin has known a remarkable development for the last twenty years, after a late start in the middle of the 20th century, and a long period of seclusion because of the yoke of ecologic determinism. The most ancient human traces in the Amazon basin have been estimated to be dating back to over more or less 10 000 years. Later on, crucial events for the South American man would unfold little by little in the Amazon basin: the birth of pottery, the turning into cultivated varieties of many wild plants. More recently, the first European conquerors found complex and stratified societies on the river bank.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the Toxocara spp infection seroprevalence in an Amerindian community from western Venezuela, identifying the effect of socio-cultural changes on the risk factors. 75.4% of the community, 110 individuals, were studied. Blood samples were gathered by venous puncture. Determination of anti-Toxocara spp antibodies was carried out using a commercial ELISA technique. The overall prevalence was 21.7%. Higher prevalence was observed in the age group >50 years old (37.5%). There were no statistically significant differences with regard to sex. The prevalence found was higher than that of an urban population and lower than in other indigenous communities. The transculturization process in this indigenous community is a risk factor for Toxocara spp infection. Resumen: El propósito de este estudio fue determinar la seroprevalencia de infección por Toxocara spp en una comunidad indígena de la sierra de Perijá, al occidente de Venezuela, identificando el efecto de los cambios socioculturales sobre los factores de riesgo. Se estudió el 75,4% del total de la comunidad (110 individuos). La determinación de anticuerpos anti-Toxocara spp se realizó a través de una técnica de ELISA comercial. El análisis estadístico se realizó a través de la prueba de Chi cuadrado y la correlación de Spearman. El porcentaje general de infección fue de 21,7%, la más alta prevalencia se observó en el grupo de mayores de 50 años (37,5%). No se apreciaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas con relación al sexo. La prevalencia encontrada fue más alta que la apreciada en poblaciones urbanas y más baja que en otras comunidades indígenas. El proceso de transculturización en esta comunidad indígena es un factor de riesgo para la infección por Toxocara spp.

To determine the presence of Kaposi sarcoma–associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and other serologic markers, we tested serum specimens of 339 Amerindians, 181 rural non-Amerindians, and 1,133 urban blood donors (13 Amerindians) in the Brazilian Amazon. High KSHV seroprevalence in children and inverse association with herpes simplex virus type 2 indicates predominant nonsexual transmission among Amerindians.

The CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) molecule is an important co-receptor for HIV. The effect of the CCR5*D32 allele in susceptibility to HIV infection and AIDS disease is well known. Other alleles than CCR5*D32 have not been analysed before, neither in Amerindians nor in the majority of the populations all over the world. We investigated the distribution of the CCR5 coding region alleles in South Brazil and noticed a high CCR5*D32 frequency in the Euro-Brazilian population of the Paraná State (9.3%), which is the highest thus far reported for Latin America. The D32 frequency is even higher among the Euro-Brazilian Mennonites (14.2%). This allele is uncommon in Afro-Brazilians (2.0%), rare in the Guarani Amerindians (0.4%) and absent in the Kaingang Amerindians and the Oriental-Brazilians. R223Q is common in the Oriental-Brazilians (7.7%) and R60S in the Afro-Brazilians (5.0%). A29S and L55Q present an impaired response to b-chemokines and occurred in Afro- and Euro-Brazilians with cumulative frequencies of 4.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Two new non-synonymous alleles were found in Amerindians: C323F (g.3729G > T) in Guarani (1.4%) and Y68C (g.2964A > G) in Kaingang (10.3%). The functional characteristics of these alleles should be defined and considered in epidemiological investigations about HIV-1 infection and AIDS incidence in Amerindian populations.