St. Catherines period mortuary complex

p. 272-341 : ill., 1 map ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 340-341)."The results of archaeological excavations of two St. Catherines period burial mounds - Marys Mound and Johns Mound - by field crews from the University of Georgia and the American Museum of Natural History are presented. Analysis of the ceramics recovered from the two mortuary localities suggests that both mounds were constructed during the terminal phase of the St. Catherines period, probably during the late twelfth or early thirteenth century A.D. Study of the human skeletal remains suggests that these people were physically robust and enjoyed good health, both skeletal and dental. Analysis of nonhuman skeletal remains shows that most identified taxa are present on St. Catherines Island today. In addition, the presence of the domestic pig, Sus scrofa, in association with one iterment from Johns Mound, points to historic (Altahama) period use of this locality. Thin-section analysis of whole clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) from both sites indicates that time of harvesting or death for all specimens falls within 'late fall' to 'late spring' (November to May)"--P. 273

Optical Propagation and Communication

Contains an introduction and reports on three research projects.Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 904-93-C4169Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 903-94-C6071U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-93-1-0604MIT Lincoln Laboratory Advanced Concepts Program Contract CX-16335U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAH04-93-G-0399U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAH04-93-G-018

Adult chest radiograph reporting by radiographers: Preliminary data from an in-house audit programme

Aim To examine the adult chest radiograph (CXR) reporting performance of a reporting radiographer in clinical practice using different audit systems; single radiologist and two radiologists, with clinical review of discordant cases. Materials and methods 100 chest radiographs (CXRs) were drawn randomly from a consecutive series of 4800 CXRs which had been reported during a nine month period at a district general hospital by a radiographer after two years of training. Diagnostic outcomes were normal or abnormal, and agreement with the reporting radiographer or not. There was 50% duplication of CXRs reported between three radiologists. Concordance rates were determined for the radiographer-radiologist and inter-radiologist interpretations. Independent clinical review of discordant cases was performed to establish the final diagnosis. Results Ninety-nine cases were reviewed, with 40 cases deemed abnormal by at least one radiologist. Consensus was found with the radiographers report in 59 normal and 33 abnormal CXRs reviewed by two radiologists (96.7% and 86.8% respectively). Seven CXR reports were discrepant with clinical review: mediastinal lymphadenopathy was missed by both radiologist and radiographer; linear atelectasis was reported by two radiologists but not the radiographer. Three cases were over-interpreted and on two occasions at least one radiologist agreed with the radiographer. There was very high concordance between the radiographer and each radiologist, 96%, 96% and 92% respectively. Conclusions This study suggested that regular audit, which incorporates case note review and discrepant reporting within a multidisciplinary setting, should contribute to safe practice

Noise-Driven Stem Cell and Progenitor Population Dynamics

BACKGROUND: The balance between maintenance of the stem cell state and terminal differentiation is influenced by the cellular environment. The switching between these states has long been understood as a transition between attractor states of a molecular network. Herein, stochastic fluctuations are either suppressed or can trigger the transition, but they do not actually determine the attractor states. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We present a novel mathematical concept in which stem cell and progenitor population dynamics are described as a probabilistic process that arises from cell proliferation and small fluctuations in the state of differentiation. These state fluctuations reflect random transitions between different activation patterns of the underlying regulatory network. Importantly, the associated noise amplitudes are state-dependent and set by the environment. Their variability determines the attractor states, and thus actually governs population dynamics. This model quantitatively reproduces the observed dynamics of differentiation and dedifferentiation in promyelocytic precursor cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Consequently, state-specific noise modulation by external signals can be instrumental in controlling stem cell and progenitor population dynamics. We propose follow-up experiments for quantifying the imprinting influence of the environment on cellular noise regulation.Engineering and Applied SciencesOther Research Uni

Factors affecting survival in Mediterranean populations of the Eurasian eagle owl

The survival rate is a key parameter for population management and the monitoring of populations. Thus, an analysis of survival rate variations and the factors influencing the same is essential for understanding population dynamics. Here, we study the factors determining the survival and the causes of mortality of the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo) in two Spanish Mediterranean populations (Murcia and Seville) where the species has a high population density and breeding success; yet its survival rates and the factors that affect them are unknown. Between 2003 and 2010, 63 breeding owls were captured and radio-tracked. Three monthly (quarterly) survival rates were estimated using known-fate models in the program MARK. The mean overall annual survival rate was 0.776 (95 % CI: 0.677, 0.875). We observed survival differences between sexes, and between the breeding and non-breeding periods, although no overwhelming support was found for any particular model. We concluded that (i) females have a lower survival rate than males, probably due to their larger home ranges, which increase the risk of mortality; (ii) the survival rates of both sexes were lower during the non-breeding period; and (iii) the causes of mortality differed significantly between the two populations, gunshot being the main cause in Seville and electrocution in Murcia.Peer Reviewe

Gatecliff Shelter

552 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. 530-552)

Addressing climate change with behavioral science: a global intervention tournament in 63 countries

Effectively reducing climate change requires marked, global behavior change. However, it is unclear which strategies are most likely to motivate people to change their climate beliefs and behaviors. Here, we tested 11 expert-crowdsourced interventions on four climate mitigation outcomes: beliefs, policy support, information sharing intention, and an effortful tree-planting behavioral task. Across 59,440 participants from 63 countries, the interventions’ effectiveness was small, largely limited to nonclimate skeptics, and differed across outcomes: Beliefs were strengthened mostly by decreasing psychological distance (by 2.3%), policy support by writing a letter to a future-generation member (2.6%), information sharing by negative emotion induction (12.1%), and no intervention increased the more effortful behavior—several interventions even reduced tree planting. Last, the effects of each intervention differed depending on people’s initial climate beliefs. These findings suggest that the impact of behavioral climate interventions varies across audiences and target behaviors

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome