Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory (NCAAE) Statement on Sexual harassment and Community Values

This is a statement on sexual harassment and community values signed by eight members of the Northeast Conference on Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory (NCAAE)https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/andean_past_special/1008/thumbnail.jp

Does ergometric stress test induce a procoagulative condition in patients with previous myocardial infarction

A regularly scheduled physical training program seems to have antithrombotic effects. Moreover, the hemostatic changes occurring in patients with coronary artery disease during acute exercise have not been clearly elucidated. Since stress testing is routinely performed in clinical cardiology, it would be helpful to assess whether patients with coronary artery disease are exposed to acute coronary thrombosis during or soon after sustained physical exercise. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of acute physical exercise (stress test by bicycle ergometer) on blood coagulation in a group of patients with previous myocardial infarction, and to determine whether the antithrombotic therapy commonly administered favorably influences hemostatic equilibrium. Our results suggest that exercise testing is not harmful to patients with previous myocardial infarction in regard to hemostasis and fibrinolysis and that antithrombotic therapy reduces postexercise increase in platelets

The Oldest Case of Decapitation in the New World (Lapa do Santo, East-Central Brazil)

We present here evidence for an early Holocene case of decapitation in the New World (Burial 26), found in the rock shelter of Lapa do Santo in 2007. Lapa do Santo is an archaeological site located in the Lagoa Santa karst in east-central Brazil with evidence of human occupation dating as far back as 11.7-12.7 cal kyBP (95.4% interval). An ultra-filtered AMS age determination on a fragment of the sphenoid provided an age range of 9.1-9.4 cal kyBP (95.4% interval) for Burial 26. The interment was composed of an articulated cranium, mandible and first six cervical vertebrae. Cut marks with a v-shaped profile were observed in the mandible and sixth cervical vertebra. The right hand was amputated and laid over the left side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the chin and the left hand was amputated and laid over the right side of the face with distal phalanges pointing to the forehead. Strontium analysis comparing Burial 26's isotopic signature to other specimens from Lapa do Santo suggests this was a local member of the group. Therefore, we suggest a ritualized decapitation instead of trophy-taking, testifying for the sophistication of mortuary rituals among hunter-gatherers in the Americas during the early Archaic period. In the apparent absence of wealth goods or elaborated architecture, Lapa do Santo's inhabitants seemed to use the human body to express their cosmological principles regarding death

Sensory evoked potentials to predict short-term progression of disability in multiple sclerosis

To devise a multivariate parametric model for short-term prediction of disability using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and multimodal sensory EP (mEP). A total of 221 multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who underwent repeated mEP and EDSS assessments at variable time intervals over a 20-year period were retrospectively analyzed. Published criteria were used to compute a cumulative score (mEPS) of abnormalities for each of 908 individual tests. Data of a statistically balanced sample of 58 patients were fed to a parametrical regression analysis using time-lagged EDSS and mEPS along with other clinical variables to estimate future EDSS scores at 1 year. Whole sample cross-sectional mEPS were moderately correlated with EDSS, whereas longitudinal mEPS were not. Using the regression model, lagged mEPS and lagged EDSS along with clinical variables provided better future EDSS estimates. The R2 measure of fit was significant and 72% of EDSS estimates showed an error value of ±0.5. A parametrical regression model combining EDSS and mEPS accurately predicts short-term disability in MS patients and could be used to optimize decisions concerning treatment.</p

Tissue Factor-Expressing Tumor Cells Can Bind to Immobilized Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor under Static and Shear Conditions <i>In Vitro</i>

<div><p>Mammary tumors and malignant breast cancer cell lines over-express the coagulation factor, tissue factor (TF). High expression of TF is associated with a poor prognosis in breast cancer. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), the endogenous inhibitor of TF, is constitutively expressed on the endothelium. We hypothesized that TF-expressing tumor cells can bind to immobilized recombinant TFPI, leading to arrest of the tumor cells under shear <i>in vitro</i>. We evaluated the adhesion of breast cancer cells to immobilized TFPI under static and shear conditions (0.35 – 1.3 dyn/cm²). We found that high-TF-expressing breast cancer cells, MDA-MB-231 (with a TF density of 460,000/cell), but not low TF-expressing MCF-7 (with a TF density of 1,400/cell), adhered to recombinant TFPI, under static and shear conditions. Adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells to TFPI required activated factor VII (FVIIa), but not FX, and was inhibited by a factor VIIa-blocking anti-TF antibody. Under shear, adhesion to TFPI was dependent on the TFPI-coating concentration, FVIIa concentration and shear stress, with no observed adhesion at shear stresses greater than 1.0 dyn/cm². This is the first study showing that TF-expressing tumor cells can be captured by immobilized TFPI, a ligand constitutively expressed on the endothelium, under low shear <i>in vitro</i>. Based on our results, we hypothesize that TFPI could be a novel ligand mediating the arrest of TF-expressing tumor cells in high TFPI-expressing vessels under conditions of low shear during metastasis.</p></div

Effect of shear, TFPI-coating concentration and FVIIa concentration in MDA-MB-231 adhesion to protein-immobilized channels under shear.

<p><b>A.</b> Microfluidic channels were immobilized with different concentrations of anti-TF IgG antibody (20–100μg/mL), and MDA-MB-231 cells were introduced at a shear of 0.35 and 0.60dyn/cm². Adhesion of MDA-MB-231 cells to anti-TF IgG antibody reached a plateau at 50μg/mL at both shear stresses (n = 3). <b>B.</b> Microfluidic channels were immobilized with different concentrations of TFPI (5–100μg/mL), and MDA-MB-231 cells (pretreated with 10nM FVIIa and FX) were introduced at a shear of 0.35 and 0.60dyn/cm². The adhesion of MDA-MB-231 increased with increasing TFPI concentration (n = 3). <b>Inset.</b> When FVIIa concentration was increased from 10nM to 100nM at a shear of 0.60dyn/cm², the adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to TFPI-coated channels increased (n = 3). <b>C.</b> Microfluidic channels were immobilized with 100μg/mL TFPI, and MDA-MB-231 cells (pretreated with 10nM or 100nM FVIIa, and 10nM FX) were introduced at a range of shear stresses (0.35–1.3dyn/cm²). The adhesion of MDA-MB-231 decreased with increasing shear. Increasing the concentration of FVIIa from 10nM to 100nM increased adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to immobilized TFPI at 0.35 and 0.60dyn/cm². A few tumor cells bound at 1.3dyn/cm² with the higher, but not the lower, FVIIa concentration (n = 3).</p

Adhesion of tumor cells to protein-immobilized microfluidic channels under low shear (0.35dyn/cm²).

<p>Microfluidic channels were incubated with Protein G (100μg/ml), then anti-TF IgG (100μg/ml), or an anti-His antibody (100μg/ml) followed by TFPI (100μg/ml). Isotype IgG (100μg/ml) and anti-His IgG (100μg/ml) antibodies were used as negative control for anti-TF IgG and TFPI respectively. Tumor cells (1x10⁶cells/mL, pre-treated with 10nM FVIIa and 10nM FX for TFPI-coated channels) were introduced into the channels at 0.35dyn/cm² for 30 minutes, and non-specifically adhered cells were removed at 2.0dyn/cm². The entire channel was imaged to quantify the number of adherent cells. <b>A.</b> Representative bright field images of adherent tumor cells on channels immobilized with Protein G (negative control), anti-TF IgG and TFPI showing that more MDA-MB-231 than MCF-7 cells were bound to both anti-TF IgG- and TFPI-coated channels. <b>B.</b> The number of adherent cells was counted and normalized by the channel area. MDA-MB-231 showed significantly higher adhesion to TFPI- and anti-TF IgG-coated channels than MCF-7 (* p < 0.05, n = 4 for anti-TF IgG, n = 3 for TFPI). Significantly more MDA-MB-231 bound to TFPI- and anti-TF IgG-coated channels than negative controls (** p<0.05). <b>C.</b> MDA-MB-231 cells were pretreated with 50μg/ml anti-TF IgG (TF9-5B7 which blocks FVIIa binding to TF, or TF9-10H10 which does not block FVIIa binding to TF). The positive control had no antibody pretreatment, and isotype IgG pretreatment (50μg/ml) was used as a negative control. Blocking FVIIa binding to TF with TF9-5B7 antibody significantly decreased adhesion to TFPI-coated channels (* p < 0.05, n = 4). The observed decrease in MDA-MB-231 adhesion with the TF9-10H10 antibody, albeit not significant with this stringent statistical test, could be due to steric hindrance of TFPI binding to the TF/FVIIa/FXa complex on the tumor cells.</p

Effect of FVIIa and FX in adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to TFPI-immobilized channels (0.35dyn/cm²).

<p><b>A.</b> MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with different combinations of FVIIa (10nM) and FX (10nM) before introduction into TFPI-immobilized channels. Adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to immobilized TFPI in microfluidic channels was abolished when FVIIa was absent (* p<0.05, n = 6). <b>B.</b> MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with different concentrations of FVIIa (0–100nM) prior to perfusion with TFPI-immobilized channels. Increasing the concentration of FVIIa to 100nM significantly increased adhesion of MDA-MB-231 to immobilized TFPI in microfluidic channels (* p < 0.05, n = 3).</p

Schematic of microfluidic channel.

<p>The microfluidic channel consisted of four branches (120x120μm), which allowed for four simultaneous experiments under different coating conditions or cell treatments. The indicated region of interest (along the length of the 4 branches) is where adherent cells are quantified. Cell suspensions were introduced at the inlet and the outlet was connected to a syringe pump.</p

EEG Evidence of Posterior Cortical Disconnection in PD and Related Dementias

Abstract: Electroencephalogram (EEG) reactivity to eyes opening and 12-Hz photic stimulation was investigated in 14 healthy elderly subjects, 21 parkinsonian patients (PD), 7 demented parkinsonian patients (PDD), and 10 patients with Lewy body dementia (LBD) using global field synchronization (GFS). During eyes closed Theta GFS was increased in Parkinson's disease and patients and alpha1 GFS was decreased in LBD subjects. During 12-Hz intermittent photic stimulation (IPS), reactivity of posterior electrodes was decreased in PD and LBD patients. No reactivity was observed in PDD. Results are consistent with a graded posterior cortical disconnection in parkinsonian syndromes and with a model of dopamine-modulated thalamocortical interplay in visual processing