Silver Horn’s Winter Count: An Archival Record of Indigenous Time Featured in a Smithsonian Exhibition

Documenting Diversity: How Anthropologists Record Human Life is an exhibit showcasing the history of anthropological fieldwork through rare archival and print materials from the National Anthropological Archives and the Smithsonian Libraries. The show traces the progress of technologies used to record human life, from paper to film to today’s digital media. The exhibit also grapples with the limits of such documents. Some ethnographic “data” resist documentation. It may be hard to record, or Indigenous community members may not choose to share it (especially with white anthropologists collecting it). But a rare document in the exhibition is an exquisite piece in the hand of master illustrator Silver Horn, or Haungooah. Silver Horn was a Kiowa artist distinguished for his prolific career and intricate drawing style.NSF Cultural Anthropology #162706

Panopticism and Complicity: The State of Surveillance and Everyday Oppression in Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Historically, libraries, archives, and museums—or LAM institutions—have been complicit in enacting state power by surveilling and policing communities. This article broadens previous scholars’ critiques about individual institutions to LAM institutions writ large, drawing connections between these sites and ongoing racist, classist, and oppressive designs. We do so by dialing in on the ethical premise that justifies panoptic systems, utilitarianism, and how the glorification of pragmatism reifies systems of control and oppression. First, we revisit LIS applications of Benthamian and Foucauldian ideas of panoptic power to examine the role of LAM institutions as sites of social enmity. We then describe examples of surveillance and state power as they manifest in contemporary data infrastructure and information practices, showing how LAM institutional fixations with utilitarianism reify the U.S. carceral state through norms such as the aggregation and weaponization of user data and the overreliance on metrics. We argue that such practices are akin to widespread systems of surveillance and criminalization. Finally, we reflect on how LAM workers can combat structures that rely on oppressive assumptions and claims to information authority. Pre-print first published online February 10, 202

Gathering Voices: Thomas Jefferson and Native America

This spring, the American philosophical society opened its third in a series of exhi- bitions on Thomas Jefferson. Gathering Voices: Thomas Jefferson and Native America explores Jefferson’s effort to collect native languages and its legacy at the APS.There are a num- ber of “firsts”in Gathering Voices. it marks the first time the Aps Museum has displayed one of the Library’s largest collections—the papers, photographs, and audio recordings from some 270 native American and indigenous cultures. it is also the first time the Museum invited two native advisors— Margaret Bruchac (Abenaki) and richard hill, sr. (Tuscarora)—to work with our museum team.Thanks to the newly founded Center for native American and indigenous research (CNAIR), the exhibition piloted a consultative process with native communities whose materials are featured in Gathering Voices. The show also includes some of the Museum’s most extensive multimedia features, including an animated map projection, two interactive touch-screen stations, and audio recordings. The resulting exhibition reflects the close partnerships among the Aps Museum and Library and native American communities

Access Policies for Native American Archival Materials in the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

This case study contributes to the history of collections access protocols by examining one repository’s policies and practices over a fifty-year period— those of the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. It describes a series of archival programs and projects that occurred before, during, and after the development of the Protocols for Native American Archival Materials in order to view changes in the archives’ access policies within a broader cultural and institutional milieu, presenting a more complex narrative than previously available. The case study assesses the influence of the Protocols as well as some challenges to the adoption of several recommendations. Finally, we make several proposals for archival repositories with comparable collections and constituencies

Miocene Fungi from the Amazonas Region of Peru: Preliminary Paleoclimatic and Paleoecological reconstructions

Miocene sediments in the western Amazonas region record a unique mega-wetland ecosystem known as the Pebas System. This system existed under wetter and warmer than present conditions, prior to the final Andean uplift. Though the palynological record in the region has been studied extensively, fungal diversity remains poorly explored. Fungal remains from the Brazilian Amazonas have been identified to form-taxa only, without providing ecological or paleoclimatic information. We examine fossil-rich sediments from northeastern Peru that were deposited ca. 16.5 Ma, and therefore document the Miocene Climate Optimum warming. Here, the Fungi in a Warmer World (FIAWW) team applies the nearest living relative method to analyze preserved fungal remains, aiming to develop, for the first time, a fungi-based paleoclimatic reconstruction to be compared with existing plant-based counterparts. We further enhance the understanding of tropical fungal paleoecology, providing new insights to refine existing reconstructions for continental to marginal marine forested areas.https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2024/1064/thumbnail.jp

A HIF1α Regulatory Loop Links Hypoxia and Mitochondrial Signals in Pheochromocytomas

Pheochromocytomas are neural crest–derived tumors that arise from inherited or sporadic mutations in at least six independent genes. The proteins encoded by these multiple genes regulate distinct functions. We show here a functional link between tumors with VHL mutations and those with disruption of the genes encoding for succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) subunits B (SDHB) and D (SDHD). A transcription profile of reduced oxidoreductase is detected in all three of these tumor types, together with an angiogenesis/hypoxia profile typical of VHL dysfunction. The oxidoreductase defect, not previously detected in VHL-null tumors, is explained by suppression of the SDHB protein, a component of mitochondrial complex II. The decrease in SDHB is also noted in tumors with SDHD mutations. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses show that the link between hypoxia signals (via VHL) and mitochondrial signals (via SDH) is mediated by HIF1α. These findings explain the shared features of pheochromocytomas with VHL and SDH mutations and suggest an additional mechanism for increased HIF1α activity in tumors

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Defining the museum of the 21st century: evolving multiculturalism in museums in the United States

This publication brings together a selection of papers presented at the online symposium organized by ICOFOM under the general theme Defining the Museum of the 21st Century, with Southern New Hampshire University in the United States on September 14, 2018.Chung, S.S.C., Leshchenko, A, & Soares, B.B. (Eds.). (2019). Defining the museum of the 21st century: evolving multiculturalism in museums in the United States. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.ed

A Component of Retinal Light Adaptation Mediated by the Thyroid Hormone Cascade

Analysis with DNA-microrrays and real time PCR show that several genes involved in the thyroid hormone cascade, such as deiodinase 2 and 3 (Dio2 and Dio3) are differentially regulated by the circadian clock and by changes of the ambient light. The expression level of Dio2 in adult rats (2–3 months of age) kept continuously in darkness is modulated by the circadian clock and is up-regulated by 2 fold at midday. When the diurnal ambient light was on, the expression level of Dio2 increased by 4–8 fold and a consequent increase of the related protein was detected around the nuclei of retinal photoreceptors and of neurons in inner and outer nuclear layers. The expression level of Dio3 had a different temporal pattern and was down-regulated by diurnal light. Our results suggest that DIO2 and DIO3 have a role not only in the developing retina but also in the adult retina and are powerfully regulated by light. As the thyroid hormone is a ligand-inducible transcription factor controlling the expression of several target genes, the transcriptional activation of Dio2 could be a novel genomic component of light adaptation