10 research outputs found
Human-environmental interactions and seismic activity in a Late Bronze to Early Iron Age settlement center in the southeastern Caucasus
Long-term human-environmental interactions in naturally fragile drylands are a
focus of geomorphological and geoarchaeological research. Furthermore,
many dryland societies were also affected by seismic activity. The semi-arid
Shiraki Plain in the tectonically active southeastern Caucasus is currently
covered by steppe and largely devoid of settlements. However, numerous
Late Bronze to Early Iron Age city-type settlements suggest early state
formation between ca. 3.2-2.5 ka that abruptly ended after that time. A
paleolake was postulated for the lowest plain, and nearby pollen records
suggest forest clearcutting of the upper altitudes under a more humid
climate during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Furthermore, also an impact
of earthquakes on regional Early Iron Age settlements was suggested. However,
regional paleoenvironmental changes and paleoseismicity were not
systematically studied so far. We combined geomorphological,
sedimentological, chronological and paleoecological data with hydrological
modelling to reconstruct regional Holocene paleoenvironmental changes, to
identify natural and human causes and to study possible seismic events during
the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Our results show a balanced to negative Early
to Mid-Holocene water balance probably caused by forested upper slopes.
Hence, no lake but a pellic Vertisol developed in the lowest plain. Following,
Late Bronze/Early Iron Age forest clear-cutting caused lake formation and the
deposition of lacustrine sediments derived from soil erosion. Subsequently,
regional aridification caused slow lake desiccation. Remains of freshwater fishes
indicate that the lake potentially offered valuable ecosystem services for regional prehistoric societies even during the desiccation period. Finally,
colluvial coverage of the lake sediments during the last centuries could have
been linked with hydrological extremes during the Little Ice Age. Our study
demonstrates that the Holocene hydrological balance of the Shiraki Plain was
and is situated near a major hydrological threshold, making the landscape very
sensitive to small-scale human or natural influences with severe consequences
for local societies. Furthermore, seismites in the studied sediments do not
indicate an influence of earthquakes on the main and late phases of Late
Bronze/Early Iron Age settlement. Altogether, our study underlines the high
value of multi-disciplinary approaches to investigate human-environmental
interactions and paleoseismicity in drylands on millennial to centennial time
scales
Monitoring Therapeutic Efficacy by Real-Time Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA in Sputum
Effects of polysaccharide ginsan from Panax ginseng on liver function
Ginsan, a polysaccharide isolated from Panax ginseng, has been shown to be a potent immunomodulator, producing a variety of cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ and GM-CSF, and stimulating lymphoid cells to proliferate. In the present study, we analyzed some immune functions 1st-5th days after ginsan i.p. injection, including the level of non-protein thiols (NPSH) as antioxidants, heme oxygenase (HO) activity as a marker of oxidative stress, zoxazolamine-induced paralysis time and level of hepatic cytochrome P-450 (CYP450) as indices of drug metabolism system, and activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, and albumin level as indicators of hepatotoxicity. Ginsan in the dose of 100 mg/kg caused marked elevation (1.7-2 fold) of HO activity, decrease of total CYP450 level (by 20-34%), and prolongation of zoxazolamine-induced paralysis time (by 65-70%), and showed some differences between male and female mice. Ginsan treatment did not seem to cause hepatic injury, since serum AST, ALT, and ALP activities and levels of total bilirubin and albumin were not changed
Optimizing multiplex SNP-based data analysis for genotyping of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates.
Contains fulltext :
136441.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access
Effects of polysaccharide ginsan from Panax ginseng on liver function
Ginsan, a polysaccharide isolated from Panax ginseng, has been shown to be a potent immunomodulator, producing a variety of cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ and GM-CSF, and stimulating lymphoid cells to proliferate. In the present study, we analyzed some immune functions 1st-5th days after ginsan i.p. injection, including the level of non-protein thiols (NPSH) as antioxidants, heme oxygenase (HO) activity as a marker of oxidative stress, zoxazolamine-induced paralysis time and level of hepatic cytochrome P-450 (CYP450) as indices of drug metabolism system, and activities of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, and albumin level as indicators of hepatotoxicity. Ginsan in the dose of 100 mg/kg caused marked elevation (1.7-2 fold) of HO activity, decrease of total CYP450 level (by 20-34%), and prolongation of zoxazolamine-induced paralysis time (by 65-70%), and showed some differences between male and female mice. Ginsan treatment did not seem to cause hepatic injury, since serum AST, ALT, and ALP activities and levels of total bilirubin and albumin were not changed
Genomic characterization of MDR/XDR-TB in Kazakhstan by a combination of high-throughput methods predominantly shows the ongoing transmission of L2/Beijing 94-32 central Asian/Russian clusters
International audienceBACKGROUND: Kazakhstan remains a high-burden TB prevalence country with a concomitent high-burden of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis. For this reason, we performed an in depth genetic diversity and population structure characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) genetic diversity in Kazakhstan with both patient and community benefit. METHODS: A convenience sample of 700 MTC DNA cultures extracts from 630 tuberculosis patients recruited from 12 out of 14 regions in Kazakhstan, between 2010 and 2015, was independently studied by high-throughput hybridization-based methods, TB-SPRINT (59-Plex, n = 700), TB-SNPID (50-Plex, n = 543). DNA from 391 clinical isolates was successfully typed by two methods. To resolve the population structure of drug-resistant clades in more detail two complementary assays were run on the L2 isolates: an IS6110-NTF insertion site typing assay and a SigE SNP polymorphism assay. RESULTS: Strains belonged to L2/Beijing and L4/Euro-American sublineages; L2/Beijing prevalence totaled almost 80%. 50% of all samples were resistant to RIF and to INH., Subtyping showed that: (1) all L2/Beijing were "modern" Beijing and (2) most of these belonged to the previously described 94-32 sublineage (Central Asian/Russian), (3) at least two populations of the Central Asian/Russian sublineages are circulating in Kazakhstan, with different evolutionary dynamics. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, the global genetic diversity and population structure of M. tuberculosis genotypes circulating in Kazakhstan was obtained and compared to previous local studies. Results suggest a region-specific spread of a very limited number of L2/Beijing clonal complexes in Kazakhstan many strongly associated with an MDR phenotype
On the solvability of general boundary value problems for systems of nonlinear impulsive equations with finite and fixed points of impulse actions
DataSheet1_Human-environmental interactions and seismic activity in a Late Bronze to Early Iron Age settlement center in the southeastern Caucasus.pdf
Long-term human-environmental interactions in naturally fragile drylands are a focus of geomorphological and geoarchaeological research. Furthermore, many dryland societies were also affected by seismic activity. The semi-arid Shiraki Plain in the tectonically active southeastern Caucasus is currently covered by steppe and largely devoid of settlements. However, numerous Late Bronze to Early Iron Age city-type settlements suggest early state formation between ca. 3.2-2.5 ka that abruptly ended after that time. A paleolake was postulated for the lowest plain, and nearby pollen records suggest forest clearcutting of the upper altitudes under a more humid climate during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Furthermore, also an impact of earthquakes on regional Early Iron Age settlements was suggested. However, regional paleoenvironmental changes and paleoseismicity were not systematically studied so far. We combined geomorphological, sedimentological, chronological and paleoecological data with hydrological modelling to reconstruct regional Holocene paleoenvironmental changes, to identify natural and human causes and to study possible seismic events during the Late Bronze/Early Iron Ages. Our results show a balanced to negative Early to Mid-Holocene water balance probably caused by forested upper slopes. Hence, no lake but a pellic Vertisol developed in the lowest plain. Following, Late Bronze/Early Iron Age forest clear-cutting caused lake formation and the deposition of lacustrine sediments derived from soil erosion. Subsequently, regional aridification caused slow lake desiccation. Remains of freshwater fishes indicate that the lake potentially offered valuable ecosystem services for regional prehistoric societies even during the desiccation period. Finally, colluvial coverage of the lake sediments during the last centuries could have been linked with hydrological extremes during the Little Ice Age. Our study demonstrates that the Holocene hydrological balance of the Shiraki Plain was and is situated near a major hydrological threshold, making the landscape very sensitive to small-scale human or natural influences with severe consequences for local societies. Furthermore, seismites in the studied sediments do not indicate an influence of earthquakes on the main and late phases of Late Bronze/Early Iron Age settlement. Altogether, our study underlines the high value of multi-disciplinary approaches to investigate human-environmental interactions and paleoseismicity in drylands on millennial to centennial time scales.</p