Compositional attribution of non-provenienced Maya polychrome vessels

Procedures and a few of the results of the Maya ceramic project are discussed from the perspective of non-provenienced vessel attribution ranging from site specific through a more inferential level to the rather hypothetical. The examples presented serve to illustrate the manner in which compositional and stylistic covariation are viewed in an investigation of Maya Ceramic art. The large data base from neutron activation analysis including archaeologically recovered pottery as well as the stylistically and iconographically elaborate vessels requires continued refinement in our methods of statistical analysis along with gaining a greater understanding of the sources of ceramic compositional variation in the Maya area. The mutually beneficial collaboration between science, art, and archaeology are emphasized

Biochemical properties of Paracoccus denitrificans FnrP:Reactions with molecular oxygen and nitric oxide

In Paracoccus denitrificans, three CRP/FNR family regulatory proteins, NarR, NnrR and FnrP, control the switch between aerobic and anaerobic (denitrification) respiration. FnrP is a [4Fe-4S] cluster containing homologue of the archetypal O2 sensor FNR from E. coli and accordingly regulates genes encoding aerobic and anaerobic respiratory enzymes in response to O2, and also NO, availability. Here we show that FnrP undergoes O2-driven [4Fe-4S] to [2Fe-2S] cluster conversion that involves up to 2 O2 per cluster, with significant oxidation of released cluster sulfide to sulfane observed at higher O2 concentrations. The rate of the cluster reaction was found to be ~6-fold lower than that of E. coli FNR, suggesting that FnrP can remain transcriptionally active under microaerobic conditions. This is consistent with a role for FnrP in activating expression of the high O2 affinity cytochrome c oxidase under microaerobic conditions. Cluster conversion resulted in dissociation of the transcriptionally active FnrP dimer into monomers. Therefore, along with E. coli FNR, FnrP belongs to the subset of FNR proteins in which cluster type is correlated with association state. Interestingly, two key charged residues, Arg140 and Asp154, that have been shown to play key roles in the monomer-dimer equilibrium in E. coli FNR are not conserved in FnrP, indicating that different protomer interactions are important for this equilibrium. Finally, the FnrP [4Fe-4S] cluster is shown to undergo reaction with multiple NO molecules, resulting in iron nitrosyl species and dissociation into monomers

Coronary artery surgery: cardiotomy suction or cell salvage?

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) today results in what may be regarded as acceptable levels of blood loss with many institutions avoiding allogeneic red cell transfusion in over 60% of their patients. The majority of cardiac surgeons employ cardiotomy suction to preserve autologous blood during on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery; however the use of cardiotomy suction is associated with a more pronounced systemic inflammatory response and a resulting coagulopathy as well as exacerbating the microembolic load. This leads to a tendency to increased blood loss, transfusion requirement and organ dysfunction. Conversely, the avoidance of cardiotomy suction in coronary artery bypass surgery is not associated with an increased transfusion requirement. There is therefore no indication for the routine use of cardiotomy suction in on-pump coronary artery surgery

Integral Intensities of Absorption Bands of Silicon Tetrafluoride in the Gas Phase and Cryogenic Solutions: Experiment and Calculation

The spectral characteristics of the SiF4 molecule in the range 3100700 cm1, including the absorption range of the band 3, are studied in the gas phase at P = 0.47 bar and in solutions in liquefied Ar and Kr. In the cryogenic solutions, the relative intensities of the vibrational bands, including the bands of the isotopically substituted molecules, are determined. The absorption coefficients of the combination bands 23, 3 + 1, 3 + 4, and 34 are measured in the solution in Kr. In the gas phase of the one-component system at an elevated pressure of SiF4, the integrated absorption coefficient of the absorption band 3 of the 28SiF4 molecule was measured to be A(3) = 700 ± 30 km/mol. Within the limits of experimental error, this absorption coefficient is consistent with estimates obtained from independent measurements and virtually coincides with the coefficient A(3) = 691 km/mol calculated in this study by the quantum-chemical method MP2(full) with the basis set cc-pVQZ. ©2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc