170 research outputs found
Integrating geochemical survey, ethnography and organic residue analysis to identify and understand areas of foodstuff processing
In this paper we explore the integration of science-based and
ethnographic approaches that respond to the need to consider
ancient economy and subsistence in the Greek world on a
landscape level. It is particularly important to be in a position
to understand changes and developments in the processes associated
with the preparation of food as well as agro-industrial
commodities such as wine and olive oil. While ancient economic
and subsistence patterns are traditionally and most
effectively investigated where animal and plant remains have
been recovered from excavation, our strategy is less direct;
operating by proxy, it is well suited in the first instance to
archaeological field survey. Having first determined the soilsâ
chemical signatures and the identity of pottery residues, a comparison
will then be made with data obtained from ethnographic
surveys of abandoned 20th-century farmsteads and workplaces,
where particular activities are known to have taken
place. Integrating these approaches, our work is applying them
to archaeological field survey, specifically the current project on
the city of Sikyon and its vicinity in the North Peloponnese
A sub-product construction of Poincare-Einstein metrics
Given any two Einstein (pseudo-)metrics, with scalar curvatures suitably
related, we give an explicit construction of a Poincar\'e-Einstein
(pseudo-)metric with conformal infinity the conformal class of the product of
the initial metrics. We show that these metrics are equivalent to ambient
metrics for the given conformal structure. The ambient metrics have holonomy
that agrees with the conformal holonomy. In the generic case the ambient metric
arises directly as a product of the metric cones over the original Einstein
spaces. In general the conformal infinity of the Poincare metrics we construct
is not Einstein, and so this describes a class of non-conformally Einstein
metrics for which the (Fefferman-Graham) obstruction tensor vanishes.Comment: 23 pages Minor correction to section 5. References update
Tryptophan and Non-Tryptophan Fluorescence of the Eye Lens Proteins Provides Diagnostics of Cataract at the Molecular Level
The chemical nature of the non-tryptophan (non-Trp) fluorescence of porcine and human eye lens proteins was identified by Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Fluorescence Steady-State and Lifetime spectroscopy as post-translational modifications (PTM) of Trp and Arg amino acid residues. Fluorescence intensity profiles measured along the optical axis of human eye lenses with age-related nuclear cataract showed increasing concentration of fluorescent PTM towards the lens centre in accord with the increased optical density in the lens nucleolus. Significant differences between fluorescence lifetimes of âfreeâ Trp derivatives hydroxytryptophan (OH-Trp), N-formylkynurenine (NFK), kynurenine (Kyn), hydroxykynurenine (OH-Kyn) and their residues were observed. Notably, the lifetime constants of these residues in a model peptide were considerably greater than those of their âfreeâ counterparts. Fluorescence of Trp, its derivatives and argpyrimidine (ArgP) can be excited at the red edge of the Trp absorption band which allows normalisation of the emission spectra of these PTMs to the fluorescence intensity of Trp, to determine semi-quantitatively their concentration. We show that the cumulative fraction of OH-Trp, NFK and ArgP emission dominates the total fluorescence spectrum in both emulsified post-surgical human cataract protein samples, as well as in whole lenses and that this correlates strongly with cataract grade and age
Hydroimidazolone Modification of the Conserved Arg12 in Small Heat Shock Proteins: Studies on the Structure and Chaperone Function Using Mutant Mimics
Methylglyoxal (MGO) is an α-dicarbonyl compound present ubiquitously in the human body. MGO reacts with arginine residues in proteins and forms adducts such as hydroimidazolone and argpyrimidine in vivo. Previously, we showed that MGO-mediated modification of αA-crystallin increased its chaperone function. We identified MGO-modified arginine residues in αA-crystallin and found that replacing such arginine residues with alanine residues mimicked the effects of MGO on the chaperone function. Arginine 12 (R12) is a conserved amino acid residue in Hsp27 as well as αA- and αB-crystallin. When treated with MGO at or near physiological concentrations (2â10 ”M), R12 was modified to hydroimidazolone in all three small heat shock proteins. In this study, we determined the effect of arginine substitution with alanine at position 12 (R12A to mimic MGO modification) on the structure and chaperone function of these proteins. Among the three proteins, the R12A mutation improved the chaperone function of only αA-crystallin. This enhancement in the chaperone function was accompanied by subtle changes in the tertiary structure, which increased the thermodynamic stability of αA-crystallin. This mutation induced the exposure of additional client protein binding sites on αA-crystallin. Altogether, our data suggest that MGO-modification of the conserved R12 in αA-crystallin to hydroimidazolone may play an important role in reducing protein aggregation in the lens during aging and cataract formation
Guiding principles for rewilding
There has been much recent interest in the concept of rewilding as a tool for nature conservation, but also confusion over the idea, which has limited its utility. We developed a unifying definition and 10 guiding principles for rewilding through a survey of 59 rewilding experts, a summary of key organizationsâ rewilding visions, and workshops involving over 100 participants from around the world. The guiding principles convey that rewilding exits on a continuum of scale, connectivity, and level of human influence and aims to restore ecosystem structure and functions to achieve a self-sustaining autonomous nature. These principles clarify the concept of rewilding and improve its effectiveness as a tool to achieve global conservation targets, including those of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Finally, we suggest differences in rewilding perspectives lie largely in the extent to which it is seen as achievable and in specific interventions. An understanding of the context of rewilding projects is the key to success, and careful site-specific interpretations will help achieve the aims of rewilding
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