Book reviews

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44476/1/10745_2005_Article_BF01791282.pd

Performance of the G4 Xpert(R) MTB/RIF assay for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and rifampin resistance: a retrospective case-control study of analytical and clinical samples from high- and low-tuberculosis prevalence settings

BACKGROUND: The Xpert(R) MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay is a rapid PCR-based assay for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex DNA (MTBc) and mutations associated with rifampin resistance (RIF). An updated version introduced in 2011, the G4 Xpert, included modifications to probe B and updated analytic software. METHODS: An analytical study was performed to assess Xpert detection of mutations associated with rifampin resistance in rifampin-susceptible and -resistant isolates. A clinical study was performed in which specimens from US and non-US persons suspected of tuberculosis (TB) were tested to determine Xpert performance characteristics. All specimens underwent smear microscopy, mycobacterial culture, conventional drug-susceptibility testing and Xpert testing; DNA from isolates with discordant rifampin resistance results was sequenced. RESULTS: Among 191 laboratory-prepared isolates in the analytical study, Xpert sensitivity for detection of rifampin resistance associated mutations was 97.7% and specificity was 90.8%, which increased to 99.0% after DNA sequencing analysis of the discordant samples. Of the 1,096 subjects in the four clinical studies, 49% were from the US. Overall, Xpert detected MTBc in 439 of 468 culture-positive specimens for a sensitivity of 93.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 91.2%-95.7%) and did not detect MTBc in 620 of 628 culture-negative specimens for a specificity of 98.7% (95% CI: 97.5%-99.4%). Sensitivity was 99.7% among smear-positive cases, and 76.1% among smear-negative cases. Non-determinate MTBc detection and false-positive RIF resistance results were low (1.2 and 0.9%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The updated Xpert assay retained the high sensitivity and specificity of the previous assay versions and demonstrated low rates of non-determinate and RIF resistance false positive results

The adaptive significance of cultural behavior

In this article, I argue that human social behavior is a product of the coevolution of human biology and culture. While critical of attempts by anthropologists to explain cultural practices as if they were independent of the ability of individual human beings to survive and reproduce, I am also leery of attempts by biologists to explain the consistencies between neo-Darwinian theory and cultural behavior as the result of natural selection for that behavior. Instead, I propose that both biological and cultural attributes of human beings result to a large degree from the selective retention of traits that enhance the inclusive fitnesses of individuals in their environments. Aspects of human biology and culture may be adaptive in the same sense despite differences between the mechanisms of selection and regardless of their relative importance in the evolution of a trait. The old idea that organic and cultural evolution are complementary can thus be used to provide new explanations for why people do what they do .Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44491/1/10745_2005_Article_BF01531215.pd

Jr. Abron Witchcraft and Social Structure

Alland Alexander. Jr. Abron Witchcraft and Social Structure. In: Cahiers d'études africaines, vol. 5, n°20, 1965. pp. 495-502

Rituel masculin de procréation et symbolisme phallique

Alland Alexander Jr. Rituel masculin de procréation et symbolisme phallique. In: L'Homme, 1985, tome 25 n°94. pp. 37-55

M. Godelier, La Production des Grands Hommes. Pouvoir et domination masculine chez les Baruya de Nouvelle-Guinée

Alland Alexander Jr. M. Godelier, La Production des Grands Hommes. Pouvoir et domination masculine chez les Baruya de Nouvelle-Guinée. In: L'Homme, 1983, tome 23 n°3. pp. 141-142