Intensive Archeological Survey Of The San Antonio River Authority\u27s Westside Creeks Improvement Project: Alazan And Martinez Phase Bexar County, Texas

In July and August of 2014, under Texas Antiquities Permit #6914, Hicks & Company completed an intensive archeological survey of the Alazan Creek and Martinez Creek Hike and Bike Trail Improvements Project in Bexar County, Texas. Since construction of the new trails and park improvements will take place on land to be owned by the City of San Antonio, it is subject to the Antiquities Code of Texas. Additionally, the project will require permit coordination with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, necessitating compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. The archeological investigations consisted of pedestrian survey supplemented by shovel testing (n = 18) and backhoe trenching (n = 2). No archeological sites were revisited or newly recorded during this survey. Archival research and in-person interviews with local scholars indicate that the current location of the historical marker for the Battle of the Alazan could be in the wrong place, with the battle possibly occurring approximately 2,400 meters northwest of its current assumed location. However, posited possible new locations have not been archeologically confirmed. The remainder of the project area, due to its location in an urban and industrial setting and by landform modifications to the drainages, has been extensively disturbed and demonstrates limited potential to contain intact archeological deposits. Hicks & Company recommends that the proposed project be allowed to proceed with no further cultural resource coordination

Final Short Report on the Archeological Investigations for the San Antonio River Authority’s Elmendorf Lake Park Improvements Project Bexar County, Texas

On May 29 and 30, 2014, archeologists from Hicks & Company conducted a 100-percent intensive areal survey of the Elmendorf Lake Park Improvements Project in Bexar County, Texas. Subsequent monitoring work was conducted on June 11, 2015. The project area consists of the limits of Elmendorf Lake Park and its associated existing trail system from south of Commerce Street between Southwest 24th Street and 19th Street, and along the north and south banks of Apache Creek beginning approximately 200 feet north of Commerce Street and terminating at Southwest 24th Street, an area that includes a segment of the Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) campus (Figure 1). According to current design plans, the proposed project includes trail improvements, water quality improvements, property acquisition, street realignment, utility relocation, parking lot construction, park bench and shade structure installation, channel modification, the demolition of the existing pool, and the creation of a new pool (Appendix A: Sheets SL1.00–SL1.14). Other planned improvements include signage, elevated walkways and tie-ins with existing paved roads, parking lots, and outfalls and bio-swales (Appendix A: Sheets DT1.01–DT1.24). The proposed project will be constructed on land that is owned and controlled by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), the City of San Antonio (COSA) Parks and Recreation Department, and OLLU, all of which are political subdivisions of the State of Texas. Therefore, the proposed project is subject to the requirements of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). The project will also likely require federal permitting under Section 408 of the Clean Water Act, necessitating compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. The intensive pedestrian survey took approximately 32 labor-hours to complete and was supplemented by shovel testing (n = 34) in relatively undisturbed contexts. Following survey-level investigations, a small-segment of the park, where bridge support piers would be installed well below a meter in depth, was recommended for archeological monitoring by the COSA Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) during construction. Monitoring at this location was conducted on June 11, 2015 and resulted in the recordation of no new archeological sites. Based on the results of the current investigations, it is recommended that no archeological historic properties (36 CFR 800.16(1)) or State Antiquities Landmarks (13 TAC 26.12) will be affected by this project and that no further archeological investigations are necessary for the majority of the proposed project area prior to construction at the main body of Elmendorf Lake Park and the proposed trail system improvements on the west of 24th Street and on the OLLU side of the Lake. However, in coordination with the COSA OHP, due to planned impacts beyond the limit of shovel test investigations, it was determined that excavations for pier supports at the two planned foot bridges at the “island formation” will require archeological monitoring during construction. A separate, historic standing structures survey is to be conducted by Hicks & Company and will further address direct and indirect effects to these items under the ACT and Section 106 of the NHPA of 1966, as amended. Report production immediately followed the conclusion of fieldwork. Josh Haefner served as the Principal Investigator for the project, and Gregg Cestaro served as Project Archeologist. Josh Haefner and Gregg Cestaro conducted the survey investigations. Archeological monitoring was done by Meghan Egan and Josh Haefner. Gregg Cestaro, Josh Haefner, Samantha Champion, and Ashleigh Knapp authored the report. Subsequent sections of this report include a discussion of the environmental setting, cultural background, brief discussion of previous surveys and recorded sites, description of field methodology, and discussion of the results of field investigations. The report concludes with formal regulatory recommendations

Cultural Resource Survey of the U.S. Highway 67 Water Improvement Project, City of Presidio, Presidio County, Texas

The City of Presidio is proposing to upgrade their water distribution system, provide services to the Colonia of Las Pampas, north of Presidio, and improve the overall water system reliability to accommodate these additional demands. Following a review of the proposed undertaking, the Texas Historic Commission (THC) recommended that a cultural resource survey be performed (THC letter dated October 21, 2015). To meet its responsibilities under existing State and Federal statutes, the City contracted TRC Environmental Corporation (TRC) of Austin to conduct the necessary cultural resource survey. Subsequently, TRC archeologists submitted a Texas Antiquities Permit Application to the THC, and Antiquities Permit #7722 was issued to archeologist Benjamin G. Bury, who served as Principal Investigator. The Area of Potential Effect (APE) consists of approximately 8.18 acres and includes the existing Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) ROW along U.S. 67 and two 0.02 acre parcels adjacent to the ROW that are currently privately owned, but will be acquired by TxDOT as new ROW easements prior to construction. The project will be funded by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). Given the involvement of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) with the BECC, the USEPA is the lead federal agency for this effort. Fieldwork was conducted on July 26th and July 27th, 2016. The field effort consisted of a systematic pedestrian survey at 15 m (50 ft.) intervals across the APE. Cultural resources documented during the survey included one historic site (41PS1220) and three isolated core reduction flakes that were widely separated and not associated with any other cultural materials. Site 41PS1220 consists of mid-to late-20th century trash left from informal dumping along U.S. 67. The dumping ground has been graded smooth in the last 30 years. Consequently, site materials are in a secondary context. Given these disturbances, TRC recommends that site 41PS1220 is not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or qualified for nomination as a State Antiquities Landmark (SAL). Additionally, one previously recorded site (41PS346) recorded within the ROW in 1976 was not relocated during the investigation, and has likely been significantly redeposited during previous road maintenance activities. TRC recommends that the portion of site 41PS346 within the U.S. 67 ROW is not eligible for inclusion in the NRHP or qualified for nomination as a SAL. Therefore, TRC recommends the project proceed as planned

Limited historical admixture between European wildcats and domestic cats

Domestic cats were derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis lybica), after which they dispersed with people into Europe. As they did so, it is possible that they interbred with the indigenous population of European wildcats (Felis silvestris). Gene flow between incoming domestic animals and closely related indigenous wild species has been previously demonstrated in other taxa, including pigs, sheep, goats, bees, chickens, and cattle. In the case of cats, a lack of nuclear, genome-wide data, particularly from Near Eastern wildcats, has made it difficult to either detect or quantify this possibility. To address these issues, we generated 75 ancient mitochondrial genomes, 14 ancient nuclear genomes, and 31 modern nuclear genomes from European and Near Eastern wildcats. Our results demonstrate that despite cohabitating for at least 2,000 years on the European mainland and in Britain, most modern domestic cats possessed less than 10% of their ancestry from European wildcats, and ancient European wildcats possessed little to no ancestry from domestic cats. The antiquity and strength of this reproductive isolation between introduced domestic cats and local wildcats was likely the result of behavioral and ecological differences. Intriguingly, this long-lasting reproductive isolation is currently being eroded in parts of the species' distribution as a result of anthropogenic activities

Palaeogenomic Evidence for the Long-Term Reproductive Isolation Between Wild and Domestic Cats

Domestic cats were derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis lybica), after which they dispersed with people into Europe. As they did so, it is possible that they interbred with the indigenous population of European wildcats (Felis silvestris). Gene flow between incoming domestic animals and closely related indigenous wild species has been previously demonstrated in other taxa including pigs, sheep, goats, bees, chickens and cattle. In the case of cats, a lack of nuclear, genome-wide data, particularly from Near Eastern wildcats, has made this possibility difficult to either detect or quantify. To address these issues, we generated 75 ancient mitochondrial genomes, 14 ancient nuclear genomes and 31 modern nuclear genomes from European and Near Eastern wildcats. Our results demonstrate that despite cohabitating for at least 2,000 years on the European mainland and in Britain, most modern domestic cats possessed less than 10% of their ancestry from European wildcats, and ancient European wildcats possessed little to no ancestry from domestic cats. The antiquity and strength of this reproductive isolation between introduced domestic cats and local wildcats was likely the result of behavioural and ecological differences. Intriguingly, this long-lasting reproductive isolation is currently being eroded in parts of the species’ distribution as a result of anthropogenic activities

Empagliflozin in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background The effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease who are at risk for disease progression are not well understood. The EMPA-KIDNEY trial was designed to assess the effects of treatment with empagliflozin in a broad range of such patients. Methods We enrolled patients with chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 20 but less than 45 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) of body-surface area, or who had an eGFR of at least 45 but less than 90 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2) with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (with albumin measured in milligrams and creatinine measured in grams) of at least 200. Patients were randomly assigned to receive empagliflozin (10 mg once daily) or matching placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of progression of kidney disease (defined as end-stage kidney disease, a sustained decrease in eGFR to < 10 ml per minute per 1.73 m(2), a sustained decrease in eGFR of & GE;40% from baseline, or death from renal causes) or death from cardiovascular causes. Results A total of 6609 patients underwent randomization. During a median of 2.0 years of follow-up, progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes occurred in 432 of 3304 patients (13.1%) in the empagliflozin group and in 558 of 3305 patients (16.9%) in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.82; P < 0.001). Results were consistent among patients with or without diabetes and across subgroups defined according to eGFR ranges. The rate of hospitalization from any cause was lower in the empagliflozin group than in the placebo group (hazard ratio, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.95; P=0.003), but there were no significant between-group differences with respect to the composite outcome of hospitalization for heart failure or death from cardiovascular causes (which occurred in 4.0% in the empagliflozin group and 4.6% in the placebo group) or death from any cause (in 4.5% and 5.1%, respectively). The rates of serious adverse events were similar in the two groups. Conclusions Among a wide range of patients with chronic kidney disease who were at risk for disease progression, empagliflozin therapy led to a lower risk of progression of kidney disease or death from cardiovascular causes than placebo