Regional Data in Historic Archeology: Examples from Environmental Impact Surveys

The emphasis on regional vs. single site data in prehistoric archeology is related to the assumption that culture is an adaptive behavioral system articulated with the natural and social environments. The testing of hypotheses and models about the nature of past societies in the historic period likewise requires regional data, not all of which may be available in the historical record. Archeological survey data--including those generated by Environmental Impact studies and other specific contract research--may be relevant to measuring cultural variables of historic period societies on a regional basis. Location, variability, and density of sites are some aspects of the historic archeological record which are especially amenable to measurement using survey data. Some examples of these aspects, derived from recent contract work in Arkansas and Missouri are discussed.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1075/thumbnail.jp

Windy Ridge: A Prehistoric Site in the Inter-Riverine Piedmont in South Carolina

Windy Ridge, 38FAl18, is a prehistoric site located on a ridge top in the inter-riverine zone between the Catawba-Wateree and Broad rivers in Fairfield County in the Piedmont portion of South Carolina. In May and June, 1977, archeological excavations were conducted at Windy Ridge by John H. House and Ronald W. Wogaman of the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia. These excavations were funded by the (then South Carolina Highway Department) South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation for the purpose of mitigating the loss of archeological resources due to construction of Interstate 77. It has been requested that Windy Ridge and thousands of similar lithic artifact scatters on upland land surfaces throughout the southern Piedmont represent hunting camps that were occupied for brief periods, perhaps seasonally, throughout the Archaic. The archeological research at Windy Ridge was designed to examine this hypothesis in the case of a single site. Two alternative hypotheses of the overall function of such a site in prehistoric settlement systems and two hypotheses of the potential biotic resources extracted from the environment at such a site were formulated and a set of archeological test implications were outlined for each hypothesis. The sampling strategy and excavation techniques together with the analytical methods employed in the laboratory were designed to fulfill the data requirements of these hypotheses. Artifacts from diverse cultural periods spanning 8000 years of prehistory were found throughout the sandy loam upper soil horizons at Windy Ridge. Though no stratigraphic separation of components was present, it was possible, analytically, to make some minimal segregations of the assemblage into chronologically and functionally meaningful units. It was inferred that throughout most of prehistory the aboriginal utilization of Windy Ridge consisted of many brief episodes of occupation, each involving the manufacture and/or use of a relatively narrow range of stone tools. The assemblage appears to be dominated by the outputs of manufacture of local raw materials and the use of hafted bifacial cutting tools. The spatial structure of the site suggests that quantitatively and spatially small units of cultural deposition characterized its formation during most prehistoric periods. The Middle Archaic component at Windy Ridge, however, seems to represent rather large units of synchronic deposition such as might be expected if prolonged or frequently recurrent use of permanent facilities had occurred during this interval at Windy Ridge. On the whole, the data tend to support the hypothesis that Windy Ridge represents a series of brief episodes of occupation involving specialized extractive activities, perhaps hunting and butchering of white-tailed deer. This inference is far from conclusive, and the data suggest significant technological, functional and organizational differences among prehistoric components at Windy Ridge.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_anthro_studies/1001/thumbnail.jp

An Archeological Survey of a Portion of the Charleston Innerbelt Freeway, Charleston County, South Carolina

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1073/thumbnail.jp

An Archeological Survey of the Interstate 77 Route in the South Carolina Piedmont

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1142/thumbnail.jp

Foxp3 expression in macrophages associated with RENCA tumors in mice.

The transcription factor Foxp3 represents the most specific functional marker of CD4+ regulatory T cells (TRegs). However, previous reports have described Foxp3 expression in other cell types including some subsets of macrophages, although there are conflicting reports and Foxp3 expression in cells other than Treg is not well characterized. We performed detailed investigations into Foxp3 expression in macrophages in the normal tissue and tumor settings. We detected Foxp3 protein in macrophages infiltrating mouse renal cancer tumors injected subcutaneously or in the kidney. Expression was demonstrated using flow cytometry and Western blot with two individual monoclonal antibodies. Further analyses confirmed Foxp3 expression in macrophages by RT PCR, and studies using ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNAseq) demonstrated a previously unknown Foxp3 messenger (m)RNA transcript in tumor-associated macrophages. In addition, depletion of Foxp3+ cells using diphtheria toxin in Foxp3DTR mice reduced the frequency of type-2 macrophages (M2) in kidney tumors. Collectively, these results indicate that tumor-associated macrophages could express Foxp3

The social value of a QALY : raising the bar or barring the raise?

Background: Since the inception of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England, there have been questions about the empirical basis for the cost-per-QALY threshold used by NICE and whether QALYs gained by different beneficiaries of health care should be weighted equally. The Social Value of a QALY (SVQ) project, reported in this paper, was commissioned to address these two questions. The results of SVQ were released during a time of considerable debate about the NICE threshold, and authors with differing perspectives have drawn on the SVQ results to support their cases. As these discussions continue, and given the selective use of results by those involved, it is important, therefore, not only to present a summary overview of SVQ, but also for those who conducted the research to contribute to the debate as to its implications for NICE. Discussion: The issue of the threshold was addressed in two ways: first, by combining, via a set of models, the current UK Value of a Prevented Fatality (used in transport policy) with data on fatality age, life expectancy and age-related quality of life; and, second, via a survey designed to test the feasibility of combining respondents’ answers to willingness to pay and health state utility questions to arrive at values of a QALY. Modelling resulted in values of £10,000-£70,000 per QALY. Via survey research, most methods of aggregating the data resulted in values of a QALY of £18,000-£40,000, although others resulted in implausibly high values. An additional survey, addressing the issue of weighting QALYs, used two methods, one indicating that QALYs should not be weighted and the other that greater weight could be given to QALYs gained by some groups. Summary: Although we conducted only a feasibility study and a modelling exercise, neither present compelling evidence for moving the NICE threshold up or down. Some preliminary evidence would indicate it could be moved up for some types of QALY and down for others. While many members of the public appear to be open to the possibility of using somewhat different QALY weights for different groups of beneficiaries, we do not yet have any secure evidence base for introducing such a system

Assessing Change in Social Support During Late Life

The purpose of this study is to evaluate change in 14 measures of social support with data provided by a nationwide longitudinal study of older adults. The findings reveal that fairly substantial change took place during the three-year follow-up period. More important, the data indicate that change is not uniform or systematic across the entire study sample. Instead, there appears to be considerable individual-level change taking place. The implications of these findings for the development of conceptual models as well as support-based interventions are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68866/2/10.1177_0164027599214002.pd

Serum Phosphorus and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, All-Cause Mortality, or Graft Failure in Kidney Transplant Recipients: An Ancillary Study of the FAVORIT Trial Cohort

Mild hyperphosphatemia is a putative risk factor for cardiovascular disease [CVD], loss of kidney function, and mortality. Very limited data are available from sizable multicenter kidney transplant recipient (KTR) cohorts assessing the potential relationships between serum phosphorus levels and the development of CVD outcomes, transplant failure, or all-cause mortality

The formation of professional identity in medical students: considerations for educators

<b>Context</b> Medical education is about more than acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge and developing relevant skills. To practice medicine students need to develop a professional identity – ways of being and relating in professional contexts.<p></p> <b>Objectives</b> This article conceptualises the processes underlying the formation and maintenance of medical students’ professional identity drawing on concepts from social psychology.<p></p> <b>Implications</b> A multi-dimensional model of identity and identity formation, along with the concepts of identity capital and multiple identities, are presented. The implications for educators are discussed.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Identity formation is mainly social and relational in nature. Educators, and the wider medical society, need to utilise and maximise the opportunities that exist in the various relational settings students experience. Education in its broadest sense is about the transformation of the self into new ways of thinking and relating. Helping students form, and successfully integrate their professional selves into their multiple identities, is a fundamental of medical education

Role of Adjuvant Multimodality Therapy After Curative-Intent Resection of Ampullary Carcinoma

Importance: Ampullary adenocarcinoma is a rare malignant neoplasm that arises within the duodenal ampullary complex. The role of adjuvant therapy (AT) in the treatment of ampullary adenocarcinoma has not been clearly defined. Objective: To determine if long-term survival after curative-intent resection of ampullary adenocarcinoma may be improved by selection of patients for AT directed by histologic subtype. Design, setting, and participants: This multinational, retrospective cohort study was conducted at 12 institutions from April 1, 2000, to July 31, 2017, among 357 patients with resected, nonmetastatic ampullary adenocarcinoma receiving surgery alone or AT. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify covariates associated with overall survival. The surgery alone and AT cohorts were matched 1:1 by propensity scores based on the likelihood of receiving AT or by survival hazard from Cox modeling. Overall survival was compared with Kaplan-Meier estimates. Exposures: Adjuvant chemotherapy (fluorouracil- or gemcitabine-based) with or without radiotherapy. Main outcomes and measures: Overall survival. Results: A total of 357 patients (156 women and 201 men; median age, 65.8 years [interquartile range, 58-74 years]) underwent curative-intent resection of ampullary adenocarcinoma. Patients with intestinal subtype had a longer median overall survival compared with those with pancreatobiliary subtype (77 vs 54 months; P = .05). Histologic subtype was not associated with AT administration (intestinal, 52.9% [101 of 191]; and pancreatobiliary, 59.5% [78 of 131]; P = .24). Patients with pancreatobiliary histologic subtype most commonly received gemcitabine-based regimens (71.0% [22 of 31]) or combinations of gemcitabine and fluorouracil (12.9% [4 of 31]), whereas treatment of those with intestinal histologic subtype was more varied (fluorouracil, 50.0% [17 of 34]; gemcitabine, 44.1% [15 of 34]; P = .01). In the propensity score-matched cohort, AT was not associated with a survival benefit for either histologic subtype (intestinal: hazard ratio, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.67-2.16; P = .53; pancreatobiliary: hazard ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.66-2.76; P = .41). Conclusions and relevance: Adjuvant therapy was more frequently used in patients with poor prognostic factors but was not associated with demonstrable improvements in survival, regardless of tumor histologic subtype. The value of a multimodality regimen remains poorly defined