Non-rigid image registration to reduce beam-induced blurring of cryo-electron microscopy images

Microscopic imaging and technolog

The 2006 and 2007 Field Seasons at Sunken Village

As mentioned, the 2005 erosion of the dike placed on the natural levee facing the intertidal waterlogged portion of the Sunken Village site had threatened the residents of the island, initiating a proposal by the Sauvie Island Drainage Improvement Company (SIDIC) to place protective rip-rap rock along the face of the bank. Since the site is on navigational waters under the authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, field evaluation of this National Historic Landmark archaeological wet site was required to assess the potential effects of placing protective rip rap rock on the channel bank in order to comply with U.S. Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (Croes et al. 2006)

The Physical and Cultural Background

The Sunken Village wet site (35MU4) is on one of the most important river junctures on the Northwest Coast of North America – where the Columbia River drainage of British Columbia, Canada and Washington State, U.S.A. is joined by the Willamette River flowing through much of western Oregon State, U.S.A. (Figure 2.1). The site is on Sauvie Island, where a major aquifer pumps under the natural levee into Multnomah Channel, providing a unique 125 m wide beach area where acorns placed in shallow hemlock bough-lined pits were leached in huge numbers by ancient Multnomah Peoples (Figure 2.2)

Artifact Analyses

Over 50 years of collecting and intentional vandalism at the Sunken Village wet site has demonstrated the potential material culture data preservation at this waterlogged site, and finally we can report a systematic characterization of the overall material culture – both debitage and examples of discrete artifacts. The previously and unprofessionally collected basketry, cordage and wooden artifacts reflected the wealth of wood and fiber artifacts thanks to the waterlogged preservation of the site, however collecting is very selective. The analytical power of the basketry was noted over twenty years ago, reflecting a distinct Chinookan style (Croes 1987). As reported next, this artifact analysis may even have a much broader implications for a North Pacific cultural sharing, both in the use of acorn pit processing and distinct basketry styles, factors never perceived before these initial professional explorations

Ecofacts – Plant and Animal Analyses

Wet sites, due to reduced oxygen, provide excellent preservation of both plant and animal remains. Due to the clear importance of Sunken Village as an acorn leaching and processing location – largely because of the aquifer streaming through this approximately 100–125 m of intertidal beach – the focus in Section 4 is on the leaching pits and acorn remains. First we begin with a look at identifying the actual plant materials and fuels used at this site, requiring both visual observations of the plant remains and also cellular analysis of the wood, fibers and charcoal. Many of the perishable artifacts are introduced in this section while identifying their wood and fiber construction materials. Second we report the abundant acorns and acorn leaching pit features, so numerous at Sunken Village. Third, seed retrieval is explored, comparing the results of flotation techniques and fine wet screening. And finally, the faunal analysis reflects the use of these animal resources in a secondary position, and probably to support the group while managing the acorn leaching pits from this site. The obvious contrast here to other Northwest Coast and Columbia River sites is the reduced focus on fisheries from this location

An Overview of MOOS-IvP and a Users Guide to the IvP Helm Autonomy Software

This document describes the IvP Helm -- an Open Source behavior-based autonomy application for unmanned vehicles. IvP is short for interval programming -- a technique for representing and solving multi-objective optimizations problems. Behaviors in the IvP Helm are reconciled using multi-objective optimization when in competition with each other for influence of the vehicle. The IvP Helm is written as a MOOS application where MOOS is a set of Open Source publish-subscribe autonomy middleware tools. This document describes the configuration and use of the IvP Helm, provides examples of simple missions and information on how to download and build the software from the MOOS-IvP server at www.moosivp.org

Circular wood use can accelerate global decarbonisation but requires cross-sectoral coordination

Predominantly linear use of wood curtails the potential climate-change mitigation contribution of forestry value-chains. Using lifecycle assessment, we show that more cascading and especially circular uses of wood can provide immediate and sustained mitigation by reducing demand for virgin wood, which increases forest carbon sequestration and storage, and benefits from substitution for fossil-fuel derived products, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions. By United Kingdom example, the circular approach of recycling medium-density fibreboard delivers 75% more cumulative climate-change mitigation by 2050, compared with business-as-usual. Early mitigation achieved by circular and cascading wood use complements lagged mitigation achieved by afforestation; and in combination these measures could cumulatively mitigate 258.8 million tonnes CO 2e by 2050. Despite the clear benefits of implementing circular economy principles, we identify many functional barriers impeding the structural reorganisation needed for such complex system change, and propose enablers to transform the forestry value-chain into an effective societal change system and lead to coherent action. </p

Leiomyosarcoma of the Inferior Turbinate

We report a case of leiomyosarcoma of the inferior nasal turbinate. The patient, a 68-year-old Caucasian male, presented with 4–6 weeks of epistaxis that was resistant to nasal packing and septal cautery. Upon inspection in the operating room, a small mass was excised from the inferior turbinate. High-power H&E-stained microscopy demonstrated bundles of malignant smooth muscle cells, and immunohistochemical stains were strongly positive for desmin, smooth muscle actin and vimentin, while negative for pankeratin EA1/EA3 and CaM 5.2, suggesting leiomyosarcoma as the diagnosis. Clear margins were obtained at a second surgery. At the time of this writing it is 8 months since his last surgery and he has remained symptom free

Prospective randomized controlled pilot study on the effects of almond consumption on skin lipids and wrinkles.

ObjectiveAlmonds are a rich source of fatty acids and antioxidants, and their supplementation is known to significantly modulate serum lipids. The effects of almond on the skin's lipid barrier and the appearance of wrinkles have not yet been elucidated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of almond consumption on facial sebum production and wrinkles.MethodsThis was a prospective, investigator-blinded, randomized controlled trial in which subjects consumed 20% of their daily energy consumption in either almonds or a calorie-matched snack for 16 weeks. This study was completed at the UC Davis Dermatology clinic. Participants were a volunteer sample of generally healthy postmenopausal females with Fitzpatrick skin types 1 and 2. A facial photograph and image analysis system was used to obtain standardized photographs and information on wrinkle width and severity at 0, 8, and 16 weeks. Measurements of transepidermal water loss and sebum production were also completed at 0, 8, and 16 weeks.ResultsFifty healthy postmenopausal females were recruited, 31 participants were enrolled, and 28 completed the study. Under photographic analysis, the almond group had significantly decreased wrinkle severity and width compared with the control group at 16 weeks (p &lt; .02). Changes in skin barrier function were nonsignificant, measured by the transepidermal water loss (p = .65) between the almond and control groups relative to baseline after 16 weeks. No adverse effects were reported.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that daily almond consumption may reduce wrinkle severity in postmenopausal females to potentially have natural antiaging benefits

Extending a MOOS-IvP Autonomy System and Users Guide to the IvPBuild Toolbox

This document describes how to extend the suite of MOOS applications and IvP Helm behaviors distributed with the MOOS-IvP software bundle from www.moos-ivp.org. It covers (a) a straw-man repository with a place-holder MOOS application and IvP Behavior, with a working CMake build structure, (b) a brief overview of the MOOS application class with an example application, (c) an overview of the IvP Behavior class with an example behavior, and (d) the IvPBuild Toolbox for generation of objective functions within behaviors