A Profile of Till Plain Archeology: A Survey of Hancock County Indiana

This document is publication associated with investigation number 71 in Ball State University's AAL (Applied Archaeological Laboratories) Report of Investigations series.This Historic Preservation Fund grant project investigated the archaeological resources of Hancock County. Nearly 800 acres of agricultural land were surveyed by pedestrian transects. The survey recorded 161 new archaeological sites, recovered 702 prehistoric artifacts and 950 historic artifacts from 14 locations across the county. The project also visited over 100 historically documented sites and recorded 13 new and two previously recorded sites German Settlement in Sugar Creek Township was investigated. Several local collections were reviewed and correlated to 17 archaeological sites. In total, 193 archaeological site inventory forms were completed. To assist in the management of archaeological data from Hancock County, a GIS database was also created. The information obtained from this project was then compared to regional information. While Hancock County archaeology is analogous to the till plain region, unique environmental characteristics distinguish the county. The abundance of poorly drained soils in the county amplifies the relationship of well drained soils and prehistoric settlement

Biomarkers Enhance Discrimination and Prognosis of Type 2 Myocardial Infarction

Background: The observed incidence of type 2 myocardial infarction (T2MI) is expected to increase with the implementation of increasingly sensitive cardiac troponin (cTn) assays. However, it remains to be determined how to diagnose, risk stratify and treat patients with T2MI. We aimed to discriminate and risk-stratify T2MI using biomarkers. Methods: Patients presenting to the Emergency Department with chest pain, enrolled in the CHOPIN study, were retrospectively analyzed. Two cardiologists adjudicated type 1 MI (T1MI) and T2MI. The prognostic ability of several biomarkers alone or in combination to discriminate T2MI from T1MI was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The biomarkers analyzed were cTnI, copeptin, mid-regional pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (MRproANP), C-terminal pro-endothelin-1 (CT-proET1), mid-regional pro-adrenomedullin (MRproADM) and procalcitonin. Prognostic utility of these biomarkers for all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE: a composite of acute MI, unstable angina pectoris, reinfarction, heart failure, and stroke) at 180-day follow-up was also investigated. Results: Among the 2071 patients, T1MI and T2MI were adjudicated in 94 and 176 patients, respectively. Patients with T1MI had higher levels of baseline cTnI, while those with T2MI had higher baseline levels of MR-proANP, CT-proET1, MR-proADM, and procalcitonin. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for the diagnosis of T2MI was higher for CT-proET1, MRproADM and MR-proANP (0.765, 0.750, and 0.733, respectively) than for cTnI (0.631). Combining all biomarkers resulted in a similar accuracy to a model using clinical variables and cTnI (0.854 versus 0.884, p = 0.294). Addition of biomarkers to the clinical model yielded the highest AUC (0.917). Other biomarkers, but not cTnI, were associated with mortality and MACE at 180-day among all patients, with no interaction between the diagnosis of T1MI or T2MI. Conclusions: Assessment of biomarkers reflecting pathophysiologic processes occurring with T2MI might help differentiate it from T1MI. Additionally, all biomarkers measured, except cTnI, were significant predictors of prognosis, regardless of type of MI

CD105 (Endoglin) exerts prognostic effects via its role in the microvascular niche of paediatric high grade glioma

Paediatric high grade glioma (pHGG) (World Health Organisation astrocytoma grades III and IV) remains poor prognosis tumours, with a median survival of only 15 months following diagnosis. Current investigation of anti-angiogenic strategies has focused on adult glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with phase III trials targeting vascular endothelial growth factor continuing. In this study we investigated whether the degree of vascularity correlated with prognosis in a large cohort of pHGG (n = 150) and whether different vessel markers carried different prognostic value. We found that CD105 (endoglin) had a strongly significant association with poor prognosis on multivariate analysis (p = <0.001). Supervised hierarchical clustering of genome wide gene expression data identified 13 genes associated with differential degrees of vascularity in the cohort. The novel angiogenesis-associated genes identified in this analysis (including MIPOL-1 and ENPP5) were validated by realtime polymerase chain reaction. We also demonstrate that CD105 positive blood vessels associate with CD133 positive tumour cells and that a proportion of CD105 positive vessel cells demonstrates co-positivity for CD133, suggesting that the recently described phenomenon of vasculogenic mimicry occurs in pHGG. Together, the data suggest that targeting angiogenesis, and in particular CD105, is a valid therapeutic strategy for pHGG

Agricultural diversification as an important strategy for achieving food security in Africa

Farmers in Africa have long adapted to climatic and other risks by diversifying their farming activities. Using a multi-scale approach we explore the relationship between farming diversity and food security and the diversification potential of African agriculture and its limits on the household and continental scale. On the household scale we use agricultural surveys from more than 28,000 households located in 18 African countries. In a next step we use the relationship between rainfall, rainfall variability and farming diversity to determine the available diversification options for farmers on the continental scale. On the household scale, we show that households with greater farming diversity are more successful in meeting their consumption needs, but only up to a certain level of diversity per ha cropland and more often if food can be purchased from off-farm income or income from farm sales. More diverse farming systems can contribute to household food security, however the relationship is influenced by other factors e.g. the market-orientation of a household, livestock ownership, non-agricultural employment opportunities and available land resources. On the continental scale, the greatest opportunities for diversification of food crops, cash crops and livestock are located in areas with 500-1000mm annual rainfall and 17-22% rainfall variability. Forty three percent of the African cropland lacks these opportunities at present which may hamper the ability of agricultural systems to respond to climate change. While sustainable intensification practices that increase yields have received most attention to date, our study suggests that a shift in the research and policy paradigm towards agricultural diversification options may be necessary

A summary of new findings on the biological effects of selenium in selected animal species: a critical review.

Selenium is an essential trace element important for many physiological processes, especially for the functions of immune and reproductive systems, metabolism of thyroid hormones, as well as antioxidant defense. Selenium deficiency is usually manifested by an increased incidence of retention of placenta, metritis, mastitis, aborts, lowering fertility and increased susceptibility to infections. In calves, lambs and kids, the selenium deficiency demonstrates by WMD (white muscle disease), in foals and donkey foals, it is associated with incidence of WMD and yellow fat disease, and in pigs it causes VESD (vitamin E/selenium deficiency) syndrome. The prevention of these health disorders can be achieved by an adequate selenium supplementation to the diet. The review summarizes the survey of knowledge on selenium, its biological significance in the organism, the impact of its deficiency in mammalian livestock (comparison of ruminants vs. non-ruminants, herbivore vs. omnivore) and possibilities of its peroral administration. The databases employed were as follows: Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholar

The Archaeology of Anderson Mounds, Mounds State Park, Anderson Indiana

This document is publication associated with investigation number 61 in Ball State University's AAL (Applied Archaeological Laboratories) Report of Investigations series.The focus of this book is a site called Anderson Mounds. This site contains several earthen monuments (earthworks) about 2,000 years old and is unique because it is so well preserved. The earliest historic settlers of the land, the Bronnenberg family, preserved the site in its original wooded setting. In the 1890s the land passed into the hands of the Union Traction Company who built an amusement park around the earthworks but still managed to preserve them relatively unharmed. They passed into the protective care of the State of Indiana in 1930 and the site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Today the site is within Mounds State Park, the second smallest park in the state park system, but one of the most heavily used. The earthworks have suffered some damage from walking trails, but by comparison with the other earthworks in the area, they are pristine. In this book we will relate one archaeological story, a story with a plot and outcome that is guided by the discipline of Anthropology, the holistic study of human beings. In the pages that follow, we will present our story based on the archaeological information from Anderson Mounds. The story we tell is at once both personal and a reflection of the pursuit of archaeological knowledge. Our primary objectives in writing this book were to make the information about the Anderson Mounds site accessible to the public and to offer our interpretations of the site

Investigations in the Upper White River Drainage: The Albee Phase and Late Woodland/Prehistoric Settlement

This document is publication associated with investigation number 65 in Ball State University's AAL (Applied Archaeological Laboratories) Report of Investigations series.The Archaeological Resources Management Service conducted a FY2004 Historical Preservation Fund Grant to deconstruct and redefine the Albee Phase. The project involved the systematic survey of agricultural land within the White River Valley in Hamilton County, limited testing of site 12-H-993 and a review of previously collected information concerning the Albee Phase. The archaeological survey documented 40 new and 8 previously recorded sites and recovered over 1200 artifacts. Diagnostic artifacts ranged in age from the Middle/Late Archaic (3700 BC) to the Historic (late 20th century) period. The dominant occupation of the White River floodplain was from the Late Woodland/Prehistoric period. The test excavations at site 12-H-993 provided a wealth of information on the Late Woodland/Prehistoric era. Thirteen features were encountered during the testing and nine were excavated. The Albee Phase occupation was very minor and only a few artifacts could be definitively related to this phase. Radiocarbon dates place the occupation between AD 1030 and 1420 (2-sigma calibration). In spite of the paucity of new information concerning the Albee Phase derived from the survey and testing portion of this project, problems in defining the Albee Phase in terms of geographic extent, artifacts, chronology, and relationships to other archaeological manifestations were addressed. In addition, data from 12-H-993 allowed for a brief review of the nature of the Oliver Phase. The dominant occupation contained Bowen series ceramics (Dorwin 1971), one of the two ceramic traditions considered to be part of the Oliver Phase (Dorwin 1971; McCullough 1991, 2000). The lack of Oliver series ceramics (Helman 1950), a Fort Ancient style, from this site raised questions about the current characterization of the Oliver Phase. Current perceptions of the nature of the Albee and Oliver phases were reviewed and suggestions for future research were proposed