OSTEOARTHRITIS IN MIDDLE HOLOCENE HUNTER-GATHERERS FROM THE CIS-BAIKAL REGION OF SIBERIA, RUSSIA

The Cis-Baikal region of Siberia offers a well-preserved suite of cemetery sites, enabling detailed reconstruction of lifeways among middle Holocene hunter-gatherer groups. Broadly, these cemeteries feature two biologically and culturally distinct populations, separated by an 800-1000 year hiatus: the Early Neolithic (8000-7000/6800 cal BP) Kitoi culture (“pre-hiatus”) and the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age (6000/5800-4000 cal BP) Isakovo-Serovo-Glaskovo or ISG cultural complex (“post-hiatus”). For over two decades, the Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project (BHAP) has investigated middle Holocene hunter-gatherer adaptations using a variety of interdisciplinary methods. This research builds upon previous BHAP work on osteoarthritis (OA) and activity reconstruction in the Cis-Baikal by examining human remains from three large cemeteries located throughout the region — Lokomotiv and Shamanka II (pre-hiatus), and Ust’-Ida I (post-hiatus). More specifically, I employ data on OA severity for the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, ankle, and the vertebral column to test hypotheses about temporal, spatial, and sex-based differences in activity patterns. Data presented here are generally consistent with findings of previous BHAP studies, indicating temporal and local variation in ancient activity patterns, as well as sex-based differences. Male groups from the three cemeteries under study here exhibited relatively consistent (high) OA severity scores, while female groups from the Angara River Valley (regardless of time period) featured higher OA severity scores than those from the South Baikal. I suggest that local demographic and environmental factors likely played an important role in producing these differences.

US Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter 2017: Community Report

This white paper summarizes the workshop "U.S. Cosmic Visions: New Ideas in Dark Matter" held at University of Maryland on March 23-25, 2017.Comment: 102 pages + reference

Revisiting osteoarthritis in the Cis-Baikal: Understanding behavioralvariability and adaptation among middle Holocene foragers

International audienceThis examination of osteoarthritis (OA) focuses on better understanding behavioral variability among themiddle Holocene foragers of the Cis-Baikal, Siberia, particularly as it pertains to a unique period ofdiachronic cultural change in the region. The three cemetery populations considered lie on either side ofan 800e1000 year biocultural ‘hiatus’dcharacterized by a cessation in the use of formal cemeteriesdandare located in two of the Cis-Baikal's four main micro-regions. Two of the cemetery samples, Lokomotivand Shamanka II, represent the pre-hiatus early Neolithic (EN) Kitoi culture (8000e7000/6800 cal. BP),while the third, Ust'-Ida I, represents the post-hiatus late Neolithiceearly Bronze Age (LNeEBA) IsakovoeSerovoeGlazkovo (or ISG) cultural complex (6000/5800e4000 cal. BP). Results reveal a dynamicpattern of variability across both time and space. Of particular interest is an apparent dichotomy betweenthe two pre-hiatus EN sites, namely considerably higher OA severity at Lokomotiv compared to ShamankaII. This disparity suggests fundamental behavioral differences between the populations despitetheir contemporaneity and cultural continuity, possibly reflecting distinct residential mobility patternsand population densities in their respective micro-regions. In addition, intra-site analyses reveal thatactivity may have differed considerably between the sexes, whether in type, intensity, and/or duration.Male-dominated logistical foraging on both sides of the hiatus may explain, at least in part, these discrepancies.Finally, results of intra-joint component analyses of the elbow and knee were similar acrossage, sex, and cemetery groups, and largely consistent with those of epidemiological studies. Takentogether, these results add to our growing understanding of pre- and post-hiatus adaptive strategies inthe Cis-Baikal by providing a more detailed picture of the complex and highly variable behavioral andactivity patterns employed by the region's middle Holocene foragers

Measuring the Efficiency of Common Household Products as Repellents for Solenopsis invicta

Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta, are known to be household pests and a potential danger to small children and animals. Fire ants are particularly a problem in the state of Texas because of the $1.2 billion cost in damages associated with fire ant activity. Wildlife, agricultural, and urban areas are prone to fire ant infestation, and the fire ants can cause several problems to plants and animals in that area.  The purpose of our study was to find effective, common household products that can function as a repellent of the insect. Using baby powder, cinnamon, and petroleum jelly as individual barriers between the fire ants and honeydew melon, it was found that petroleum jelly and baby powder were the best repellents. Lastly, the cinnamon powder, while effective, was the worst of the three repellents tested. In the future, other common household items should be tested for their efficacy at repelling Solenopsis invicta, but based on our results, it has been found that both petroleum jelly and baby powder are effective repellents of red imported fire ants

The Functional Significance of Bacterial Predators.

Predation structures food webs, influences energy flow, and alters rates and pathways of nutrient cycling through ecosystems, effects that are well documented for macroscopic predators. In the microbial world, predatory bacteria are common, yet little is known about their rates of growth and roles in energy flows through microbial food webs, in part because these are difficult to quantify. Here, we show that growth and carbon uptake were higher in predatory bacteria compared to nonpredatory bacteria, a finding across 15 sites, synthesizing 82 experiments and over 100,000 taxon-specific measurements of element flow into newly synthesized bacterial DNA. Obligate predatory bacteria grew 36% faster and assimilated carbon at rates 211% higher than nonpredatory bacteria. These differences were less pronounced for facultative predators (6% higher growth rates, 17% higher carbon assimilation rates), though high growth and carbon assimilation rates were observed for some facultative predators, such as members of the genera Lysobacter and Cytophaga, both capable of gliding motility and wolf-pack hunting behavior. Added carbon substrates disproportionately stimulated growth of obligate predators, with responses 63% higher than those of nonpredators for the Bdellovibrionales and 81% higher for the Vampirovibrionales, whereas responses of facultative predators to substrate addition were no different from those of nonpredators. This finding supports the ecological theory that higher productivity increases predator control of lower trophic levels. These findings also indicate that the functional significance of bacterial predators increases with energy flow and that predatory bacteria influence element flow through microbial food webs.IMPORTANCE The word "predator" may conjure images of leopards killing and eating impala on the African savannah or of great white sharks attacking elephant seals off the coast of California. But microorganisms are also predators, including bacteria that kill and eat other bacteria. While predatory bacteria have been found in many environments, it has been challenging to document their importance in nature. This study quantified the growth of predatory and nonpredatory bacteria in soils (and one stream) by tracking isotopically labeled substrates into newly synthesized DNA. Predatory bacteria were more active than nonpredators, and obligate predators, such as Bdellovibrionales and Vampirovibrionales, increased in growth rate in response to added substrates at the base of the food chain, strong evidence of trophic control. This work provides quantitative measures of predator activity and suggests that predatory bacteria-along with protists, nematodes, and phages-are active and important in microbial food webs

Application of High-Throughput Next-Generation Sequencing for HLA Typing on Buccal Extracted DNA: Results from over 10,000 Donor Recruitment Samples

<div><p>Background</p><p>Unambiguous HLA typing is important in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), HLA disease association studies, and solid organ transplantation. However, current molecular typing methods only interrogate the antigen recognition site (ARS) of HLA genes, resulting in many <i>cis-trans</i> ambiguities that require additional typing methods to resolve. Here we report high-resolution HLA typing of 10,063 National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) registry donors using long-range PCR by next generation sequencing (NGS) approach on buccal swab DNA.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Multiplex long-range PCR primers amplified the full-length of HLA class I genes (A, B, C) from promotor to 3’ UTR. Class II genes (DRB1, DQB1) were amplified from exon 2 through part of exon 4. PCR amplicons were pooled and sheared using Covaris fragmentation. Library preparation was performed using the Illumina TruSeq Nano kit on the Beckman FX automated platform. Each sample was tagged with a unique barcode, followed by 2×250 bp paired-end sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq. HLA typing was assigned using Omixon Twin software that combines two independent computational algorithms to ensure high confidence in allele calling. Consensus sequence and typing results were reported in Histoimmunogenetics Markup Language (HML) format. All homozygous alleles were confirmed by Luminex SSO typing and exon novelties were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.</p><p>Results</p><p>Using this automated workflow, over 10,063 NMDP registry donors were successfully typed under high-resolution by NGS. Despite known challenges of nucleic acid degradation and low DNA concentration commonly associated with buccal-based specimens, 97.8% of samples were successfully amplified using long-range PCR. Among these, 98.2% were successfully reported by NGS, with an accuracy rate of 99.84% in an independent blind Quality Control audit performed by the NDMP. In this study, NGS-HLA typing identified 23 null alleles (0.023%), 92 rare alleles (0.091%) and 42 exon novelties (0.042%).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Long-range, unambiguous HLA genotyping is achievable on clinical buccal swab-extracted DNA. Importantly, full-length gene sequencing and the ability to curate full sequence data will permit future interrogation of the impact of introns, expanded exons, and other gene regulatory sequences on clinical outcomes in transplantation.</p></div

Postoperative Respiratory Complications in SARS-CoV-2 Positive Pediatric Patients Across 20 United States Hospitals: A Cohort Study

IntroductionData examining rates of postoperative complications among SARS-CoV-2 positive children are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of symptomatic and asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 positive status on postoperative respiratory outcomes for children.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included SARS-CoV-2 positive pediatric patients across 20 hospitals who underwent general anesthesia from March to October 2020. The primary outcome was frequency of postoperative respiratory complications, including: high-flow nasal cannula/non invasive ventilation, reintubation, pneumonia, Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), and 30-day respiratory-related readmissions or emergency department (ED) visits. Univariate analyses were used to evaluate associations between patient and procedure characteristics and stratified analyses by symptoms were performed examining incidence of complications.ResultsOf 266 SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, 163 (61.7%) were male, and the median age was 10 years (interquartile range 4-14). The majority of procedures were emergent or urgent (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;214, 80.5%). The most common procedures were appendectomies (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;78, 29.3%) and fracture repairs (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;40,15.0%). 13 patients (4.9%) had preoperative symptoms including cough or dyspnea. 26 patients (9.8%) had postoperative respiratory complications, including 15 requiring high-flow oxygen, 8 with pneumonia, 4 requiring non invasive ventilation, 3 respiratory ED visits, and 2 respiratory readmissions. Respiratory complications were more common among symptomatic patients than asymptomatic patients (30.8% vs. 8.7%, p&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.01). Higher ASA class and comorbidities were also associated with postoperative respiratory complications.ConclusionsPostoperative respiratory complications are less common in asymptomatic versus symptomatic SARS-COV-2 positive children. Relaxation of COVID-19-related restrictions for time-sensitive, non urgent procedures in selected asymptomatic patients may be reasonably considered. Additionally, further research is needed to evaluate the costs and benefits of routine testing for asymptomatic patients.Level of evidenceIii, Respiratory complications