Bone Cave : A Special-Use Site in the High Lava Plains

Bone Cave is located in the High Lava Plains of Central Oregon, just east of Bend. Excavations were conducted at the site to examine the extent of looter disturbance, and to address research questions focused on prehistoric settlement and subsistence. In the excavation of more than 10 m3 of sediment from six 1-x-2 meter test units in the front chamber of the lava tube, no undisturbed deposits were encountered. Due to the disturbed context, analysis of the lithic and faunal assemblages was not able to completely answer questions about culture change or ethnic affiliation, although subsistence, site function and chronology were addressed. Obsidian hydration and obsidian characterization studies indicate that the site was probably occupied exclusively during the Early Holocene, prior to the eruption of Mt. Mazama. Lithic reduction activities at the site appear to have been limited to late-stage bifacial reduction and tool resharpening. There is no evidence of any early stage core reduction, or large flake or flake tool manufacture. The limited tool assemblage, consisting primarily of well-worked bifacial fragments, supports this conclusion. Lithic debitage was sourced to more local obsidian sources while the tools were mostly produced from distant and unknown sources, suggesting long-term tool curation and retooling at the site using local material. The large faunal assemblage contains approximately 91 percent rabbit remains. The small amount of medium sized mammal bone fragments, along with a portion of the rabbit remains, exhibit clear cut marks indicative of butchering activity. The site appears to have served as a processing location for large-scale hunts or drives specifically targeting rabbits during the Early Holocene. If the site served, such a specialized function, then it implies some degree of logistical organization during the Early Archaic. Communal rabbit drives also suggest a level of political organization not generally associated with the Early Archaic in the Great Basin. Disturbed sites such as Bone Cave are able to produce valuable information if the proper analytical methods are used. A combination of lithic and faunal analysis can reveal site function, chronology, lithic use and reduction strategy, and subsistence practices, even in the absence of contextual information and formal tool assemblages

Local Production and Developing Core Regions: Ceramic Characterization in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin, Western Mexico

A core region is the first place for expected shifts in archaeological materials before, during, and after political changes like state emergence and imperial consolidation. Yet, studies of ceramic production have shown that there are sometimes limited or more subtle changes in the ceramic economy throughout such political fluctuations. This article synthesizes recent efforts to address political economic changes via geochemical characterization (neutron activation analysis; NAA) in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin in western Mexico. This region was home to the Purépecha state and then empire (Tarascan; ca. AD 1350-1530), one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Americas before European arrival. The combined ceramic dataset from four sites in the region result in eight geochemical groups. Our analysis indicates that the region experienced long-term and relatively stable ceramic production that was not substantially altered by the emergence of the state and empire. In addition, we find evidence for (1) dispersed, localized production; (2) long-lived compositional ceramic recipes; and (3) a complex ceramic economy with differential community participation. We discuss why documenting local ceramic production and craft production more generally is important for the study of past political economies

Structural basis for inhibition of the epidermal growth factor receptor by cetuximab

SummaryRecent structural studies of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family extracellular regions have identified an unexpected mechanism for ligand-induced receptor dimerization that has important implications for activation and inhibition of these receptors. Here we describe the 2.8 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of the antigen binding (Fab) fragment from cetuximab (Erbitux), an inhibitory anti-EGFR antibody, in complex with the soluble extracellular region of EGFR (sEGFR). The sEGFR is in the characteristic “autoinhibited” or “tethered” inactive configuration. Cetuximab interacts exclusively with domain III of sEGFR, partially occluding the ligand binding region on this domain and sterically preventing the receptor from adopting the extended conformation required for dimerization. We suggest that both these effects contribute to potent inhibition of EGFR activation

Winds of Change – Predicting Water-Based Recreationists\u27 Support and Opposition for Offshore Wind Energy Development in the Great Lakes

This study examined the factors influencing water-based recreationists\u27 perceptions of support and opposition towards off-shore wind energy development (OWD) on Lake Erie. Much of the proposed or future Lake Erie OWD infrastructure may either be within or adjacent to public lands, waters, and protected areas, raising concerns about the potential environmental and social impacts upon recreation stakeholders. The limited body of OWD research within the United States has suggested there are numerous factors that may influence overall perceptions of support and opposition such as political orientation and beliefs in climate change. Moreover, recent research has proposed that the perceived recreation impact of OWD may be the most important predictor of support and opposition. This study confirmed this premise and found the perceived recreation impact of OWD to be the strongest predictor of support. Results of a multiple linear regression suggested that political orientation (β = 0.135), beliefs in the anthropogenic causation of climate change (β = 0.207), beliefs in the occurrence of climate change (β = 0.213), and the perceived recreation impact of OWD among water-based recreationists (β = 0.439) were significant predictors of support for OWD on Lake Erie (R2 = 0.46). Study findings corroborated previous research which suggested that regional climate change beliefs and political attitudes may influence support for OWD. From a policy and management standpoint, study results highlight the importance of assessing and communicating recreation experience and use impacts when planning, developing, and managing OWD and related decisions in the United States

Carbonate determination in soils by mid-IR spectroscopy with regional and continental scale models

A Partial Least Squares (PLS) carbonate (CO3) prediction model was developed for soils throughout the contiguous United States using mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. Excellent performance was achieved over an extensive geographic and chemical diversity of soils. A single model for all soil types performed very well with a root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of 12.6 g kg-1 and was further improved if Histosols were excluded (RMSEP 11.1 g kg-1). Exclusion of Histosols was particularly beneficial for accurate prediction of CO3 values when the national model was applied to an independent regional dataset. Little advantage was found in further narrowing the taxonomic breadth of the calibration dataset, but higher precision was obtained by running models for a restricted range of CO3. A model calibrated using only on the independent regional dataset, was unable to accurately predict CO3 content for the more chemically diverse national dataset. Ten absorbance peaks enabling CO3 prediction by mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy were identified and evaluated for individual and combined predictive power. A single-band model derived from an absorbance peak centered at 1796 cm-yielded the lowest RMSEP of 13.5 g kg-1 for carbonate prediction compared to other single-band models. This predictive power is attributed to the strength and sharpness of the peak, and an apparent minimal overlap with confounding co-occurring spectral features of other soil components. Drawing from the 10 identified bands, multiple combinations of 3 or 4 peaks were able to predict CO3 content as well as the full-spectrum national models. Soil CO3 is an excellent example of a soil parameter that can be predicted with great effectiveness and generality, and MIR models could replace direct laboratory measurement as a lower cost, high quality alternative

A novel inhibitor of p75-neurotrophin receptor improves functional outcomes in two models of traumatic brain injury.

The p75 neurotrophin receptor is important in multiple physiological actions including neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth during development, and after central nervous system injury. We have discovered a novel piperazine-derived compound, EVT901, which interferes with p75 neurotrophin receptor oligomerization through direct interaction with the first cysteine-rich domain of the extracellular region. Using ligand binding assays with cysteine-rich domains-fused p75 neurotrophin receptor, we confirmed that EVT901 interferes with oligomerization of full-length p75 neurotrophin receptor in a dose-dependent manner. Here we report that EVT901 reduces binding of pro-nerve growth factor to p75 neurotrophin receptor, blocks pro-nerve growth factor induced apoptosis in cells expressing p75 neurotrophin receptor, and enhances neurite outgrowth in vitro Furthermore, we demonstrate that EVT901 abrogates p75 neurotrophin receptor signalling by other ligands, such as prion peptide and amyloid-β. To test the efficacy of EVT901 in vivo, we evaluated the outcome in two models of traumatic brain injury. We generated controlled cortical impacts in adult rats. Using unbiased stereological analysis, we found that EVT901 delivered intravenously daily for 1 week after injury, reduced lesion size, protected cortical neurons and oligodendrocytes, and had a positive effect on neurological function. After lateral fluid percussion injury in adult rats, oral treatment with EVT901 reduced neuronal death in the hippocampus and thalamus, reduced long-term cognitive deficits, and reduced the occurrence of post-traumatic seizure activity. Together, these studies provide a new reagent for altering p75 neurotrophin receptor actions after injury and suggest that EVT901 may be useful in treatment of central nervous system trauma and other neurological disorders where p75 neurotrophin receptor signalling is affected

Absolute Humidity and the Seasonal Onset of Influenza in the Continental United States

Here, the authors demonstrate that variations of absolute humidity explain both the onset of wintertime influenza transmission and the overarching seasonality of this pathogen in temperate regions

CANDELS Observations Of The Structural Properties Of Cluster Galaxies At Z=1.62

We discuss the structural and morphological properties of galaxies in a z = 1.62 proto-cluster using near-IR imaging data from Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 data of the Cosmic Assembly Near-IR Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). The cluster galaxies exhibit a clear color-morphology relation: galaxies with colors of quiescent stellar populations generally have morphologies consistent with spheroids, and galaxies with colors consistent with ongoing star formation have disk-like and irregular morphologies. The size distribution of the quiescent cluster galaxies shows a deficit of compact (less than or similar to 1 kpc), massive galaxies compared to CANDELS field galaxies at z = 1.6. As a result, the cluster quiescent galaxies have larger average effective sizes compared to field galaxies at fixed mass at greater than 90% significance. Combined with data from the literature, the size evolution of quiescent cluster galaxies is relatively slow from z similar or equal to 1.6 to the present, growing as (1 + z)(-0.6 +/- 0.1). If this result is generalizable, then it implies that physical processes associated with the denser cluster region seem to have caused accelerated size growth in quiescent galaxies prior to z = 1.6 and slower subsequent growth at z < 1.6 compared to galaxies in the lower density field. The quiescent cluster galaxies at z = 1.6 have higher ellipticities compared to lower redshift samples at fixed mass, and their surface-brightness profiles suggest that they contain extended stellar disks. We argue that the cluster galaxies require dissipationless (i.e., gas-poor or "dry") mergers to reorganize the disk material and to match the relations for ellipticity, stellar mass, size, and color of early-type galaxies in z < 1 clusters.NASA NAS5-26555HST GO-12060NASA through from the Space Telescope Science Institute GO-12060European Research CouncilRoyal SocietyTexas AM UniversityGeorge P. and Cynthia Woods Institute for Fundamental Physics and AstronomyAstronom