A Zooarchaeological Analysis of Vertebrate Remains From Chota-Tanasi, A Historic Cherokee Village in East Tennessee

This study involves the examination and analysis of a faunal sample from the historic Overhill Cherokee village of Chota-Tanasi (4MR2-40MR62), Monroe County, Tennessee. A total of 33,385 pieces of bone was examined in an effort to determine which animals were utilized by the Cherokee and the probably importance of each species in the Cherokee diet. Analyses of this material showed that deer, bear, and turkey were the most important animals contributing to the meat diet. Ethnographic and historic sources suggest that the introduction of trade guns may have led to increased exploitation of the bear. Available data indicate that bison and elk were rarely included in the Cherokee diet. Although larger mammals provided the bulk of the meat utilized, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds were important supplemental sources. The introduction of European domestic stock and how it may have altered or replaced the use of native species were also investigated. Domestic animal bones from the site include horse, pig, chicken, and probably cow. Since very few bones of these animals were found, domestic species may have only been infrequently used by the Cherokee. The Chota faunal sample thus failed to show extensive use of domestic animals in the middle and late eighteenth century; this is in contrast to historically documented evidence. Animals represented in the faunal sample also were evaluated in terms of their cultural role in the Cherokee belief system, which includes myths, sacred formulas, magic, remedies, and cures

A Comparison of Late Prehistoric Dallas and Overhill Cherokee Subsistence Strategies in the Little Tennessee River Valley

This study examines the late Mississippian Dallas Focus and historic Overhill Cherokee occupations at the archaeological site of Toqua (4OMR6), Monroe County, Tennessee. The faunal remains from the Dallas occupation were subdivided according to two mounds and four village areas to test propositions relevant to the patterning of faunal remains from a chiefdom level society. These propositions were generated from the archaeological correlates of chiefdoms proposed by Peebles and Kuss. The distribution of faunal remains were examined from the floors of two domestic and one special function structures, and it was possible to establish regular patterns of refuse accumulation. The distribution of deer and bear elements revealed a selection of the front leg and to a lesser extent the hind leg by the high status occupants. The bird, turtle and fish remains, especially those from structure floor fill, point toward a restricted access to certain species and high status food preferences. The historic Overhill Cherokee faunal sample is composed of a midden accumulation from the north side of Mound A (Zone B) and features in the East Village Area. This well preserved sample compares favorably with faunal samples of a similar time period reported from Chota (4OMR2) and Citico (4OMR7). The butchering pattern for the three Cherokee samples are comparable and the Overhill Cherokee pattern for partitioning animals corresponded to the Dallas pattern. The Cherokee and Dallas faunal utilization patterns correspond very closely in species utilized for food and those animals used in ceremonial or medicinal contexts. The use of freshwater mollusks continued into the historic period

Micromamíferos del Holoceno tardío del sitio arqueológico ?El Shincal de Quimivil?, provincia de Catamarca, Argentina

En el presente trabajo se analizan las asociaciones de micromamíferos registradas en el sitio arqueológico El Shincal de Quimivil, provincia de Catamarca, Argentina. El yacimiento Representa tres períodos de ocupación humana, abarcando un intervalo entre los siglos XIV y XVII. La alta frecuencia de elementos vertebrales e incisivos aislados junto con la ausencia de claras marcas de disolución sugiere que el conjunto no sería producto de la actividad de depredadores, sino que estaría relacionada con causas eto-ecológicas de las especies registradas. La muestra, dominada por Calomys cf. C. musculinus, está integrada además por un didelfimorfio (Thylamys cf. T. pallidior), tres especies de roedores Sigmodontinos (Akodon cf. A. dolores, Graomys griseoflavus y Phyllotis xanthopygus) y dos de roedores caviomorfos (Ctenomys sp., y Microcavia australis). La composición taxonómica cuantitativa y cualitativa de la muestra de tiempos históricos, con la dominancia de Calomys cf., C. musculinus sobre otros pequeños mamíferos, sugiere modificaciones respecto al ambiente original, probablemente relacionada al establecimiento de agroecosistemas incipientes. La ausencia de Eligmodontia , un género cuyas especies habitan ambientes áridos con escasa vegetación y suelos desnudos arenosos o pedregosos, puede vincularse a condiciones locales de mayor humedad que en el presente y/o al aprovechamiento de este sector a través de prácticas de riego por parte de los pobladores. El escaso conocimiento de las asociaciones de pequeños mamíferos para tiempos pre-hispánicos, históricos y modernos en este sector del Monte impide una comparación adecuada de la muestra estudiada y la reconstrucción de un esquema ambiental a partir del registro arqueofaunístico. El Microambiente particularmente húmedo por el establecimiento de áreas agrícolas constituye un factor adicional que dificulta su comparación con muestras adicionales provenientes de áreas circundantes. Fil: Agnolin, Federico L.. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y Diagnósticos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Ortiz, Pablo E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET- Tucumán. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Bogan, Sergio. Universidad Maimónides. Area de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y Diagnósticos; ArgentinaFil: Lucero, Sergio. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Instituto Fitotécnico de "Santa Catalina"; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados. Seccion de Mastozoologia; Argentin

Providing Feedback Following Leadership Walkrounds is Associated with Better Patient Safety Culture, Higher Employee Engagement and Lower Burnout

Background There is a poorly understood relationship between Leadership WalkRounds (WR) and domains such as safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance. Methods This cross-sectional survey study evaluated associations between receiving feedback about actions taken as a result of WR and healthcare worker assessments of patient safety culture, employee engagement, burnout and work-life balance, across 829 work settings. Results 16 797 of 23 853 administered surveys were returned (70.4%). 5497 (32.7% of total) reported that they had participated in WR, and 4074 (24.3%) reported that they participated in WR with feedback. Work settings reporting more WR with feedback had substantially higher safety culture domain scores (first vs fourth quartile Cohen’s d range: 0.34–0.84; % increase range: 15–27) and significantly higher engagement scores for four of its six domains (first vs fourth quartile Cohen’s d range: 0.02–0.76; % increase range: 0.48–0.70). Conclusion This WR study of patient safety and organisational outcomes tested relationships with a comprehensive set of safety culture and engagement metrics in the largest sample of hospitals and respondents to date. Beyond measuring simply whether WRs occur, we examine WR with feedback, as WR being done well. We suggest that when WRs are conducted, acted on, and the results are fed back to those involved, the work setting is a better place to deliver and receive care as assessed across a broad range of metrics, including teamwork, safety, leadership, growth opportunities, participation in decision-making and the emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Whether WR with feedback is a manifestation of better norms, or a cause of these norms, is unknown, but the link is demonstrably potent

Investigating a Possible Treatment of Duchene Muscular Dystrophy with a Novel Calpain Inhibitor [abstract]

Abstract only availableFaculty Mentor: Dr. Martin K. Childers, Physical Medicine & RehabilitationDuchene Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is the most common lethal X-linked recessive muscle disease, affecting nearly one out of every 3,500 newborn males.  Symptoms appear before age three and by eleven, most children are unable to walk.  Few live past the age of 25.The genetic disorder is caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene, eradicating the body's ability to produce the cytoskeletal protein, dystrophin.  In normal muscle cells, dystrophin is part of a molecular complex that adds mechanical integrity to the sarcolemma by linking the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix.  When the complex is disrupted, as in the case of DMD, the membrane is easily torn during regular muscle use.  Damage to the membrane causes aberrant influxes of Ca++, initiating a cascade of devastating molecular events in the sarcomere.  Elevated Ca++ over activates a family of proteases known as calpains. Calpains cleave proteins at specific sites.  Over-active calpains are thought to contribute to pathology in DMD.  Compounds that hinder calpain activity present a possible treatment for the disease.  A novel protease inhibitor has shown promising results in preliminary investigations in mice and this study was proposed to further explore the compound's effect on gene expression in canine muscle. An Affymetrix canine microarray was used to compare mRNA expression between normal dogs, dogs with golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD), and inhibitor-treated GRMD dogs.  By comparing these expression levels, we are able to speculate whether calpain inhibitor treatment is able to mitigate aberrant gene expression in GRMD dogs.  Analysis of raw data is ongoing.  Further study is required to determine if mRNA levels equate with the protein expression levels using PCR, Western Blotting, or other methods

Evolution of sex-dependent mtDNA transmission in freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida)

Doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) describes a mode of mtDNA transmission widespread in gonochoric freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Palaeoheterodonta: Unionida). In this system, both female- and male-transmitted mtDNAs, named F and M respectively, coexist in the same species. In unionids, DUI is strictly correlated to gonochorism and to the presence of the atypical open reading frames (ORFans) F-orf and M-orf, respectively inside F and M mtDNAs, which are hypothesized to participate in sex determination. However, DUI is not found in all three Unionida superfamilies (confirmed in Hyrioidea and Unionoidea but not in Etherioidea), raising the question of its origin in these bivalves. To reconstruct the co-evolution of DUI and of ORFans, we sequenced the mtDNAs of four unionids (two gonochoric with DUI, one gonochoric and one hermaphroditic without DUI) and of the related gonochoric species Neotrigonia margaritacea (Palaeoheterodonta: Trigoniida). Our analyses suggest that rearranged mtDNAs appeared early during unionid radiation, and that a duplicated and diverged atp8 gene evolved into the M-orf associated with the paternal transmission route in Hyrioidea and Unionoidea, but not in Etherioidea. We propose that novel mtDNA-encoded genes can deeply influence bivalve sex determining systems and the evolution of the mitogenomes in which they occur

Revisiting the North American freshwater mussel genus Quadrula sensu lato (Bivalvia Unionidae): phylogeny, taxonomy and species delineation

© 2019 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionidae) have suffered strong declines over the last century. High morphological plasticity of Unionidae causes disturbances in their systematics and taxonomy, hampering conservation efforts. Species that have historically been placed under the North American genus Quadrula have suffered from numerous taxonomic and species delineation problems since its inception. Four genera are presently recognized within Quadrula sensu lato, that is, Cyclonaias, Quadrula, Theliderma and Tritogonia, but their phylogenetic basis remains incompletely tested. In the present study, we reconstructed several two-marker (mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I—COI and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1—ND1) phylogenies with newly collected specimens and all previously available sequences covering most species within this group. We then delineated the species within the group using an integrative approach with the application of molecular statistical methods, morphometric (Fourier Shape) analyses and geographic distribution data. Four clades corresponding to these genera were consistently recovered in all phylogenies. To validate the generic status of these clades, molecular analyses were complemented with morphological, anatomical and ecological data compiled from the literature. Several revisions are here proposed to the current systematics and taxonomy of these genera, including the synonymization of Cyclonaias asperata under Cyclonaias kieneriana; the inclusion of Quadrula apiculata and Quadrula rumphiana under Quadrula quadrula; the placement of Quadrula nobilis under Tritogonia; and finally the separation of the Mobile River basin populations of Theliderma metanevra as a new species, that is, Theliderma johnsoni n. sp. The conservation implications of the proposed changes are then discussed

First recorded introduction of the milliped order Stemmiulida (Eugnatha: Nematophora): Potential establishment in Florida, USA, and new records from Mexico; northward range extension into southern Tamaulipas

Based on two “uni-ocellate” females, the world’s first introductions of the milliped order Stemmiulida are recorded from Florida, United States (US). One individual was collected in 1976 in Gainesville, Alachua County (Co.)., in northcentral peninsular Florida, and the other was taken in 1991 some 408 km (255 mi) to the south-southeast in Pompano Beach, Broward Co. The absence of further individuals and additional samples suggests that the introductions did not result in viable populations, and stemmiulidans are not presently established in the state; the Gainesville site was reinvestigated in 2012 without finding additional specimens. New records from Mexico include the first from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Yucatan, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas states, with the northernmost ordinal locality now becoming Rancho del Cielo, northwest of Gómez Farias, in the last. A northward range expansion of about 460 km (288 mi) from the previous limit, Xalapa, Veracruz, the site lies a mere 40 km (25 mi) south of the Tropic of Cancer and only some 320 km (200 mi) south of the Rio Grande and the US border at McAllen, Hidalgo Co., Texas. Indigenous Stemmiulida are not expected in the forested Rio Grande Valley of southernmost Texas, but their occurrence in the adjoining Mexican state renders such a discovery more plausible than before