Volcanism, Climate Change. and Prehistoric Cultural Succession in Southern Washington and North-Central Idaho

The cultural influence of volcanic eruptions has been emphasized in the archaeological literature. However, the larger effects that Mount St. Helens volcanic eruptions had upon prehistoric populations in the Pacific Northwest is not understood. This thesis asks questions of the archaeological and paleoenvironmental record of the Pacific Northwest to assess the degree of influence Late Pleistocene and Holocene volcanic eruptions of Mount St. Helens had upon the cultural record of human existence in southern Washington and north-central Idaho. The record of eruptive activity at Mount St. Helens is reviewed and its tephra lobes mapped from reports of pyroclastic identification in the Pacific Northwest and western Canada, to gain a temporal and spatial understanding of the eruptions. A general systemic model is presented to identify the factors responsible for the deposition, removal and alteration of tephra. This model illustrates the complexity of tephrostratigraphic deposition, and increases the awareness of its residence within archaeological sites. Several sets of paleoenvironmental data are correlated with archaeological records of human occupation in southern Washington and north-central Idaho, including records of pollen fluctuation, glacial advance, volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens, and the Late Quaternary history of volcanic acidity in Greenland ice. This correlation illustrates an incipient relationship between volcanic activity, Quaternary history of volcanic acidity in Greenland ice. This correlation illustrates an incipient relationship between volcanic activity, climate change, and cultural behavior. Cultural historical successions and site occupation in areas between the southern Cascades of Washington and the Clearwater River drainage of north-central Idaho appear to be contemporaneous with regional and hemispheric records of volcanic activity, and changing environmental conditions

Installation instructions for GLiMR version 1.pdf

Here, we describe and demonstrate a geographic information systems-based lithic morphometric research (GLiMR) software approach. GLiMR accurately and rapidly handles a sequence of ArcGIS procedures to extract geometric morphometric data from 2D and 3D scan files of lithic artifacts. GLiMR generates three main types of geometric properties: shape data, topographic data and domain aggregate data. These data can be extracted in ways that support other analyses of artifact form, including Generalized Procrustes Analysis, Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analyses. We illustrate the use of GLiMR by presenting a basic case study that compares the geometric morphometry of Western Stemmed Tradition projectile points found in two cache features at Idaho’s Cooper’s Ferry site and from other sites in the Columbia River Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest. This collection also includes the XYZ scan files for artifacts used for case study analysis

Context, Provenance and Technology of a Western Stemmed Tradition Artifact Cache from the Cooper's Ferry Site, Idaho

Spanish Abstract: El descubrimiento de un depósito de artefactos conteniendo puntas de proyectil en la Tradición de Tallo Occidental (Western Stemmed Tradition) en una fosa claramente definida, en el sitio de Cooper’s Ferry, ofrece una perspectiva única sobre la tecnología lítica temprana y organización logística en el Occidente de América del Norte. La descripción y el análisis de este depósito revela nuevas manifestaciones, incluyendo: el uso de un cumulo rocoso que cubrió la superficie de la fosa; algunos de los artefactos fueron hechos de silicatos criptocristalinos que se encuentran a 16 km de distancia; análisis de los desechos de talla, incluyendo las medidas basadas en agregados y sus atributos, identificaron dos distintas etapas de reducción lítica presentes en el acopio. Nuevas fechas por radiocarbono indican que este depósito probablemente no corresponde al Holoceno temprano en antigüedad y bien puede datar a fechas por radiocarbono de entre 11,370-11,410 años AP. A diferencia de depósitos Clovis, el de la fosa A2 en Cooper’s Ferry, parece ser un conjunto de herramientas de uso general que probablemente fue colocado en el sitio para su uso a futuro. Si las fechas 11,370- 11,410 AP datan la creación del depósito en la fosa A2, entonces los autores probablemente no fueron pioneros en las bajas inmediaciones del cañón del río Salmón (Salmon River canyon), pero poseían un conocimiento particular acerca del paisaje y fuentes de materia primas locales; estos patrones sugieren una mayor antigüedad para los grupos recolectores de la Tradición de Tallo Occidental.The discovery of an artifact cache containing Western Stemmed Tradition projectile points in a clearly defined pit feature at the Cooper’s Ferry site offers a unique perspective on early lithic technology and logistical organization in western North America. A description and analysis of the cache feature reveals several new insights, including: a rocky cairn capped the surface of the pit feature; some of the artifacts were made from cryptocrystalline silicates found 16 km away; debitage analysis, including aggregate and attribute based measures, identified two distinct lithic reduction stages present in the cache; new radiocarbon assays suggest that the cache is probably not early Holocene in age and may date to associated radiocarbon age estimates of 11,370-11,410 B.P. Unlike Clovis caches, the Pit Feature A2 cache at Cooper’s Ferry appears to be a generalized toolkit that was probably placed at the site for future use. If the 11,370-11,410 B.P. assays date the creation of the Pit Feature A2 cache, then its creators were probably not pioneers in the lower Salmon River canyon but possessed local knowledge about the landscape and raw material sources; these patterns suggest greater time depth for Western Stemmed Tradition foragers

H2O line mapping at high spatial and spectral resolution - Herschel observations of the VLA1623 outflow

Apart from being an important coolant, H2O is known to be a tracer of high-velocity molecular gas. Recent models predict relatively high abundances behind interstellar shockwaves. The dynamical and physical conditions of the H2O emitting gas, however, are not fully understood yet. We aim to determine the abundance and distribution of H2O, its kinematics and the physical conditions of the gas responsible for the H2O emission. The observed line profile shapes help us understand the dynamics in molecular outflows. We mapped the VLA1623 outflow, in the ground-state transitions of o-H2O, with the HIFI and PACS instruments. We also present observations of higher energy transitions of o-H2O and p-H2O obtained with HIFI and PACS towards selected outflow positions. From comparison with non-LTE radiative transfer calculations, we estimate the physical parameters of the water emitting regions. The observed water emission line profiles vary over the mapped area. Spectral features and components, tracing gas in different excitation conditions, allow us to constrain the density and temperature of the gas. The H2O emission originates in a region where temperatures are comparable to that of the warm H2 gas (T\gtrsim200K). Thus, the H2O emission traces a gas component significantly warmer than the gas responsible for the low-J CO emission. The H2O column densities at the CO peak positions are low, i.e. N(H2O) \simeq (0.03-10)x10e14 cm-2. The H2O abundance with respect to H2 in the extended outflow is estimated at X(H2O)<1x10e-6, significantly lower than what would be expected from most recent shock models. The H2O emission traces a gas component moving at relatively high velocity compared to the low-J CO emitting gas. However, other dynamical quantities such as the momentum rate, energy and mechanical luminosity are estimated to be the same, independent of the molecular tracer used, CO or H2O.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 4 table

Toward Personalized Cell Therapies: Autologous Menstrual Blood Cells for Stroke

Cell therapy has been established as an important field of research with considerable progress in the last years. At the same time, the progressive aging of the population has highlighted the importance of discovering therapeutic alternatives for diseases of high incidence and disability, such as stroke. Menstrual blood is a recently discovered source of stem cells with potential relevance for the treatment of stroke. Migration to the infarct site, modulation of the inflammatory reaction, secretion of neurotrophic factors, and possible differentiation warrant these cells as therapeutic tools. We here propose the use of autologous menstrual blood cells in the restorative treatment of the subacute phase of stroke. We highlight the availability, proliferative capacity, pluripotency, and angiogenic features of these cells and explore their mechanistic pathways of repair. Practical aspects of clinical application of menstrual blood cells for stroke will be discussed, from cell harvesting and cryopreservation to administration to the patient

The MCL-1 BH3 helix is an exclusive MCL-1 inhibitor and apoptosis sensitizer

available in PMC 2011 February 3.MCL-1 has emerged as a major oncogenic and chemoresistance factor. A screen of stapled peptide helices identified the MCL-1 BH3 domain as selectively inhibiting MCL-1 among the related anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, providing insights into the molecular determinants of binding specificity and a new approach for sensitizing cancer cells to apoptosis.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH award 5RO1GM084181)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH grant 5P01CA92625)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award 1F31CA144566)Burroughs Wellcome Fund (Career Award

The Genome of Deep-Sea Vent Chemolithoautotroph Thiomicrospira crunogena XCL-2

Presented here is the complete genome sequence of Thiomicrospira crunogena XCL-2, representative of ubiquitous chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. This gammaproteobacterium has a single chromosome (2,427,734 base pairs), and its genome illustrates many of the adaptations that have enabled it to thrive at vents globally. It has 14 methyl-accepting chemotaxis protein genes, including four that may assist in positioning it in the redoxcline. A relative abundance of coding sequences (CDSs) encoding regulatory proteins likely control the expression of genes encoding carboxysomes, multiple dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphate transporters, as well as a phosphonate operon, which provide this species with a variety of options for acquiring these substrates from the environment. Thiom. crunogena XCL-2 is unusual among obligate sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in relying on the Sox system for the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds. The genome has characteristics consistent with an obligately chemolithoautotrophic lifestyle, including few transporters predicted to have organic allocrits, and Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle CDSs scattered throughout the genome

Clovis Age Western Stemmed Projectile Points and Human Coprolites at the Paisley Caves

The Paisley Caves in Oregon record the oldest directly dated human remains (DNA) in the Western Hemisphere. More than 100 high-precision radiocarbon dates show that deposits containing artifacts and coprolites ranging in age from 12,450 to 2295 ¹⁴C years ago are well stratified. Western Stemmed projectile points were recovered in deposits dated to 11,070 to 11,340 ¹⁴C years ago, a time contemporaneous with or preceding the Clovis technology. There is no evidence of diagnostic Clovis technology at the site. These two distinct technologies were parallel developments, not the product of a unilinear technological evolution. “Blind testing” analysis of coprolites by an independent laboratory confirms the presence of human DNA in specimens of pre-Clovis age. The colonization of the Americas involved multiple technologically divergent, and possibly genetically divergent, founding groups

ACC/AHA/ASE 2003 Guideline Update for the Clinical Application of Echocardiography: Summary Article: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American HeartAssociation Task Force on Practice Guidelines (ACC/AHA/ASE Committee to Update the 1997 Guidelines for the Clinical Application of Echocardiography)

"The previous guideline for the use of echocardiography was published in March 1997. Since that time, there have been significant advances in the technology of echocardiography and growth in its clinical use and in the scientific evidence leading to recommendations for its proper use. Each section has been reviewed and updated in evidence tables, and where appropriate, changes have been made in recommendations. A new section on the use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is being added to update the guidelines published by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists. There are extensive revisions, especially of the sections on ischemic heart disease; congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and assessment of left ventricular (LV) function; and screening and echocardiography in the critically ill. There are new tables of evidence and extensive revisions in the ischemic heart disease evidence tables. Because of space limitations, only those sections and evidence tables with new recommendations will be printed in this summary article. Where there are minimal changes in a recommendation grouping, such as a change from Class IIa to Class I, only that change will be printed, not the entire set of recommendations. Advances for which the clinical applications are still being investigated, such as the use of myocardial contrast agents and three-dimensional echocardiography, will not be discussed.