From Ethnographical Subjects to Archaeological Objects: Pierre Loti on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

In 1872 French sailor Pierre Loti visited the desolate Pacific island of Rapa Nui. Descriptions in his diary and drawings were published and received great public interest. Here were all the ingredients to satisfy nineteenth century ideas of the exotic: remote, tropical, cannibal inhabited, strange rituals and frenzied dancing, and in addition – the ruins of an ancient and unknown civilisation. But Loti had visited the island almost at the end of its occupation by its indigenous people. The large stone statues had not been erect for some time, even though he recorded them as being so, and its population had been decimated. So Loti’s graphic and written descriptions were embellished for his audience, a fact that is almost as interesting as the real fate of Rapa Nui.Fil: Schavelzon Chavin, Daniel Gaston. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas ; Argentin

Terracotta Pipes with Triangular Engravings

The discovery of two smoking pipes from seventeenth-century contexts in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is used to suggest the presence in colonial times of a new set of stylistic norms derived from African traditions that are expressed at a regional scale not only in smoking pipes, but in a variety of items of material culture. These terracotta pipes, recovered at Bolívar 373 and the Liniers House sites, are characterized by their particular geometric decorative pattern, achieved by engravings and incisions. Similar specimens were found elsewhere inBuenos Aires, as well as in Cayastá (province of Santa Fe,Argentina) and Brazil.Fil: Zorzi, Flavia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas ; ArgentinaFil: Schavelzon Chavin, Daniel Gaston. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas ; Argentin

Mitla o Quechmictoplican: ¿fantasía del siglo XIX? (disquisiciones sobre William Niven, Thomas Edison y un grabado imaginario)

El publicitado hallazgo hecho por W. Niven sobre una ciudad prehispánica desconocida y nunca ubicada puede ser interpretada como una deformación de la ciudad de Mitla, Oaxaca, descrita de manera tergiversada para no enfrentarse con otro arqueólogo que ya trabajaba en la zona, Leopoldo Batres.Fil: Schavelzon Chavin, Daniel Gaston. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Fiat Lux, la iluminación de los sectores marginales de la sociedad colonial: candelabros y candeleros cerámicos en Buenos Aires

Se desarrolla el estudio de candeleros y candelabros encontrados en la arqueología de Buenos Aires. Para su análisis se ha establecido una clasificación formal-funcional. Su estudio aporta información sobre la vida cotidiana de los habitantes de la ciudad y un esquema cronológico de su existencia en base a la comparación con otros sitios y contextos. Se deduce a partir de su contexto, valor económico y capacidad de iluminación, el papel social jugado en el pasado.Studying candlesticks and chandeliers found in the archeology of Buenos Aires is developed. For analysis has established a formal-functional classification. Their study provides information on the daily life of the inhabitants of the city and a chronological outline of its existence on the basis of comparison with other sites and contexts. The social the role played in the past is derived from its context, economic value and ability of lighting.Fil: Schavelzon Chavin, Daniel Gaston. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas ; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Cuando la identidad es más fuerte: primeras evidencias materiales de la colectividad judía colonial en Buenos Aires

Por primera vez se encuentra en Buenos Aires evidencias materiales de la práctica de la religión judía durante el periodo colonial. El hallazgo de una baldosa en un piso colonial de una casa de clase alta, que tiene grabado en su parte inferior una Estrella de David, permite reflexionar sobre la situación de la población judía en el mundo colonial hispánico.For the first time in Buenos Aires we had find material evidence of the practice of the Jewish religion during the colonial period. The finding of a tile floor engraved on its underside with a Star of David, from a colonial upper class house, introduced us on the field of the situation of the Jewish population in the Spanish colonial world.Fil: Schavelzon Chavin, Daniel Gaston. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Arquitectura y Urbanismo. Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas "Mario J. Buschiazzo". Centro de Arqueología Urbana; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Holographic Ward identities for symmetry breaking in two dimensions

We investigate symmetry breaking in two-dimensional field theories which have a holographic gravity dual. Being at large N, the Coleman theorem does not hold and Goldstone bosons are expected. We consider the minimal setup to describe a conserved current and a charged operator, and we perform holographic renormalization in order to find the correct Ward identities describing symmetry breaking. This involves some subtleties related to the different boundary conditions that a vector can have in the three-dimensional bulk. We establish which is the correct prescription that yields, after renormalization, the same Ward identities as in higher dimensions.Comment: 20 pages. v2 comments added. Version to appear in JHE

Effects of temperature on in vitro sediment reworking processes by a gallery biodiffusor, the polychaete Neanthes virens

Temperature-induced variations in bioturbation could affect sediment mixing processes in the marine benthic environment. In this study, sediment reworking by Neanthes virens (Sars), a widely distributed polychaete in muddy sand communities of northern temperate latitudes, was studied under different temperature conditions representing winter (1°C), spring and fall (6°C), summer(13°C), and tide pool (18°C) temperatures in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary, Québec, Canada. Sediment reworking was quantified using inert fluorescent particles (luminophores) deposited at the sediment surface. Based on the 1-D luminophore distributions obtained after 5 and 30 d, the use of the specific ‘gallery-biodiffusor’ model allowed us to quantify both biodiffusion (Db) and biotransport (Vb) due to the organisms. Our results showed temperature effects on sediment transport. The lowest biotransport and biodiffusion coefficients were measured at 1 and 6°C and did not change with time. The highest biodiffusion occurred at 13°C for both sampling periods. At 18°C, biodiffusion was intermediate while biotransport was maximal. Differences between the 13°C biodiffusive transport and the other temperatures increased with time. Low transport values at 1 and 6°C suggest that a quiescent stage exists for this species at these temperatures, with sediment mixing occurring mostly during burrow construction. On the other hand, sediment mixing resulted from both the burrow construction and maintenance phases at higher temperatures (13 and 18°C)

Correlation Between Chromatid Deletion Production and Progression of the DNA Replication Fork in UV-Irradiated S Phase Xenopus Cells

Experimentation was performed primarily to determine whether progression of the DNA replication fork along segments of S phase Xenopus chromosomes, which contain UV-induced pre-aberrational lesions, plays a significant role in conversion of these lesions into chromatid deletions. Specifically, a Xenopus chromosome that was both easy to identify and that possessed a single DNA replication fork in one arm was found and used to conduct the experimentation. This chromosome was exposed to UV in early S phase and a Bromodeoxyuridine/Giemsa differential staining technique was applied in conjunction with conventional aberrational techniques to correlate progression of the DNA replication fork through segments of this arm with chromatid deletion production in these segments. The results point to direct evidence for the role of the DNA replication fork in converting some UV-induced pre-aberrational DNA damage into chromosomal deletions

Diagnostic Methods for Non-Falciparum Malaria

Malaria is a serious public health problem that affects mostly the poorest countries in the world, killing more than 400,000 people per year, mainly children under 5 years old. Among the control and prevention strategies, the differential diagnosis of the Plasmodium–infecting species is an important factor for selecting a treatment and, consequently, for preventing the spread of the disease. One of the main difficulties for the detection of a specific Plasmodium sp is that most of the existing methods for malaria diagnosis focus on detecting P. falciparum. Thus, in many cases, the diagnostic methods neglect the other non-falciparum species and underestimate their prevalence and severity. Traditional methods for diagnosing malaria may present low specificity or sensitivity to non-falciparum spp. Therefore, there is high demand for new alternative methods able to differentiate Plasmodium species in a faster, cheaper and easier manner to execute. This review details the classical procedures and new perspectives of diagnostic methods for malaria non-falciparum differential detection and the possibilities of their application in different circumstances.Fil: Gimenez, Alba Marina. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ferreira Marqués, Rodolfo. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Regiart, Daniel Matias Gaston. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; ArgentinaFil: Bargieri, Daniel Youssef. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi