Optical coherence tomography for the non-invasive investigation of the microstructure of ancient Egyptian faience

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive subsurface 3D imaging technique based on the Michelson interferometer. The non-invasive nature of OCT and its speed of acquisition makes it possible to image large volumes of intact objects to yield a complete overview of the microstructure. The production methods for ancient Egyptian faience were first investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging of the microstructure in polished sections and microprobe analysis of the composition of the glass phases. These studies were based on original Egyptian faience objects and laboratory reproductions of faience beads made using three different production methods. The microstructure of the same laboratory samples and the Egyptian faience objects from the British Museum Research Laboratory Collection are re-examined using OCT

Outcomes by Sex Following Treatment Initiation With Atazanavir Plus Ritonavir or Efavirenz With Abacavir/Lamivudine or Tenofovir/Emtricitabine

Background. We aimed to evaluate treatment responses to atazanavir plus ritonavir (ATV/r) or efavirenz (EFV) in initial antiretroviral regimens among women and men, and determine if treatment outcomes differ by sex

Population policies and education: exploring the contradictions of neo-liberal globalisation

The world is increasingly characterised by profound income, health and social inequalities (Appadurai, 2000). In recent decades development initiatives aimed at reducing these inequalities have been situated in a context of increasing globalisation with a dominant neo-liberal economic orthodoxy. This paper argues that neo-liberal globalisation contains inherent contradictions regarding choice and uniformity. This is illustrated in this paper through an exploration of the impact of neo-liberal globalisation on population policies and programmes. The dominant neo-liberal economic ideology that has influenced development over the last few decades has often led to alternative global visions being overlooked. Many current population and development debates are characterised by polarised arguments with strongly opposing aims and views. This raises the challenge of finding alternatives situated in more middle ground that both identify and promote the socially positive elements of neo-liberalism and state intervention, but also to limit their worst excesses within the population field and more broadly. This paper concludes with a discussion outling the positive nature of middle ground and other possible alternatives

Immune complex-mediated co-ligation of the BCR with FcγRIIB results in homeostatic apoptosis of B cells involving Fas signalling that is defective in the MRL/Lpr model of systemic lupus erythematosus

Negative regulation of B cell activation by cognate immune complexes plays an important homeostatic role in suppressing B cell hyperactivity and preventing consequent autoimmunity. Immune complexes co-ligate the BCR and FcγRIIB resulting in both growth arrest and apoptosis. We now show that such apoptotic signalling involves induction and activation of p53 and its target genes, the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members, Bad and Bid, as well as nuclear export of p53. Collectively, these events result in destabilisation of the mitochondrial and lysosomal compartments with consequent activation and interplay of executioner caspases and endosomal-derived proteases. In addition, the upregulation of Fas and FasL with consequent activation of caspase 8-dependent death receptor signalling is required to facilitate efficient apoptosis of B cells. Consistent with this role for Fas death receptor signalling, apoptosis resulting from co-ligation of the BCR and FcγRIIB is defective in B cells from Fas-deficient MRL/MpJ-Faslpr mice. As these mice develop spontaneous, immune complex-driven lupus-like glomerulonephritis, targeting this FcγRIIB-mediated apoptotic pathway may therefore have novel therapeutic implications for systemic autoimmune disease

Less Bone Loss With Maraviroc- Versus Tenofovir-Containing Antiretroviral Therapy in the AIDS Clinical Trials Group A5303 Study

Background. There is a need to prevent or minimize bone loss associated with antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation. We compared maraviroc (MVC)- to tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)–containing ART

Shifting materials: variability, homogeneity and change in the beaded ornaments of the Western Zhou

Academic interest in the elaborate bead assemblages recovered from graves of the Western Zhou elite has grown in recent years. Beads and beaded ornaments have been seen as both markers of external contact and evidence of change in the Zhou ritual system. Recent study of these bead assemblages, however, indicates that they may also have reflected shifting political circumstances. The use of different bead materials and forms suggests a trend to centralised production and control of manufacture, particularly from the later tenth century BC. The authors correlate a move towards readily manufactured materials with evidence for widespread elite intermarriage, and consider a possible tension between production and the socio-political strategies of the Zhou court

Data from: A species' response to spatial climatic variation does not predict its response to climate change

<p>The dominant paradigm for assessing ecological responses to climate change assumes that future states of individuals and populations can be predicted by current, species-wide performance variation across spatial climatic gradients. However, if the fates of ecological systems are better predicted by past responses to <em>in situ</em> climatic variation through time, this current analytical paradigm may be severely misleading. Empirically testing whether spatial or temporal climate responses better predict how species respond to climate change has been elusive, largely due to restrictive data requirements. Here we leverage a newly collected network of ponderosa pine tree-ring time series to test whether statistically inferred responses to spatial versus temporal climatic variation better predict how trees have responded to recent climate change. When compared to observed tree growth responses to climate change since 1980, predictions derived from spatial climatic variation were wrong in both magnitude and direction. This was not the case for predictions derived from climatic variation through time, which were able to replicate observed responses well. Future climate scenarios through the end of the 21st century exacerbated these disparities. These results suggest that the currently dominant paradigm of forecasting the ecological impacts of climate change based on spatial climatic variation may be severely misleading over decadal to centennial timescales.</p><p>Funding provided by: American Philosophical Society<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/04egvf158<br>Award Number: </p><p>Funding provided by: Brown University<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/05gq02987<br>Award Number: </p><p>Funding provided by: Brown University<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/05gq02987<br>Award Number: </p><p>Funding provided by: National Science Foundation<br>Crossref Funder Registry ID: https://ror.org/021nxhr62<br>Award Number: MSP-ECA 1802893</p><p>Study species</p> <p>Ponderosa pine (<em>Pinus ponderosa sensu lato</em>) is widely distributed in western North America throughout a highly disjunct range that encompasses a tremendous breadth of climatic conditions, with mean annual temperatures ranging from 0 to 15 degrees Celsius and 200 to 2100 millimeters of mean annual cumulative precipitation (Figure 1).The most commonly used taxonomy recognizes two varieties of<em> P. ponderosa,</em> <em>var. scopulorum</em> and <em>var. ponderosa</em> – the interior and Pacific varieties, respectively (24).  The most recent molecular work has found evidence of more complex taxonomic structuring within ponderosa pine (17, 18), indicating at least four lineages. However, these finer taxonomic divisions do not seem to align with differences in climate sensitivities (19, 55), and do not yet have precisely defined geographic boundaries, preventing the confident assignment of populations to these taxonomic units without genetic analyses. Hence the analyses presented in the main body of this manuscript treat the <em>P. ponderosa</em> as a single unit, with supplementary analyses of how the Pacific – interior distinction impacts climate responses.</p> <p>Tree-ring data</p> <p>Data collection</p> <p>We selected study populations from across the distribution of <em>P. ponderosa s.l.</em>, following the niche-based methodology proposed by Perret & Sax (2021; (20)). We used curated and taxonomically verified botanical records compiled in the Conifer Database (82) to bound the climate space occupied by <em>P. ponderosa s.l.</em> across its geographic distribution. This climate space was defined by a set of seven climatic variables previously used to model the climatic niches of pines and other conifer species (20, 83). We limited site selection to public lands managed by the United States Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. Further criteria were that sites were free of obvious recent disturbance (e.g., timber harvest, thinning or other stand management, recent fire), were a minimum of one kilometer from high-traffic roadways, and were not located on either particularly steep slopes or along drainages. Wherever possible, we selected sites such that they corresponded with one of the Conifer Database botanical records used to build the species' climatic niche model. This site selection procedure resulted in 24 study sites, spread across the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Montana (Figure 1, Table S1).</p> <p> We used a consistent plot- and survey-based approach to collect tree-ring samples at each study site. Specifically, we established a 25-m by 25-m square plot in a representative portion of the stand at each site. Within this plot, we measured each ponderosa pine's bole diameter at 1.4 m above ground level (i.e., diameter at breast height, DBH), assessed its general condition and vigor, recorded the presence or absence of new cones, and recorded any evidence of pathogens (e.g., sap flows, needle blight). Using a Haglöf increment borer, we collected two 4.3 mm-diameter cores from each tree greater than 15 cm DBH in the plot. One core was collected at breast height (140 cm), and the other was collected as close to the ground as possible given available equipment and the individual tree's setting. In cases where there were fewer than 15 suitable trees on a plot, we sampled additional trees at increasing distances from the plot center. For 10 sites, we could not establish a fixed plot due either to excessive understory growth or site terrain characteristics. For these sites, trees were sampled at increasing distances from the intended plot location (i.e., an n-tree sampling design; 72). Sampling was conducted during the 2018 growing season between June and October.</p> <p>Sample preparation</p> <p> All increment cores were mounted, sanded, and visually cross-dated according to standard dendrochronological methods (85). We then measured the width in millimeters of each growth ring in every core sample using 2400 dpi digital scans and the computer program CooRecorder (86). We verified year assignments of the measured tree ring series using CDendro (87) and the 'dplR' package in R 3.6.3 (88, 89). Specifically, we used 20-year lagged inter-series correlations to identify dating and measurement errors across all series per site. These errors were iteratively identified and corrected until all inter-series correlations between 20-year segments were above 0.60. Both core samples for each tree were used during visual and statistical cross-dating, but only samples extracted from breast height were retained for growth analyses. For one site, located outside of Show Low, Arizona, a high rate of missing and false rings prevented confident assignment of a year of formation to growth rings. This site was excluded from all subsequent analyses. We used field-measured DBH for each tree to convert these ring width timeseries to annual basal area increments (BAI), a procedure that controls for the influence of increasing tree bole diameter on annual ring widths (90). In total, this yielded 360 tree growth time series from 23 sites (Table S1).</p&gt

Impact of UGT1A1 Gilbert Variant on Discontinuation of Ritonavir-Boosted Atazanavir in AIDS Clinical Trials Group Study A5202

The UGT1A1*28 variant has been associated with hyperbilirubinemia and atazanavir discontinuation. Protocol A5202 randomly assigned human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)–infected patients to receive atazanavir/ritonavir (atazanavir/r) or efavirenz, with tenofovir/emtricitabine or abacavir/lamivudine. A total of 646 atazanavir/r recipients were evaluable for UGT1A1. Homozygosity for *28/*28 was present in 8% of whites, 24% of blacks, and 18% of Hispanics and was associated with increased bilirubin concentrations. There was an association between *28/*28 and increased atazanavir/r discontinuation among Hispanic participants (P = .005) but not among white or black participants (P = .79 and P = .46, respectively). The positive predictive value of 28*/28* for atazanavir/r discontinuation among Hispanic participants was only 32% (95% confidence interval, 16%–52%)

Effects of exotic species on evolutionary diversification

Exotic species invasions create almost ideal conditions for promoting evolutionary diversification: establishment of allopatric populations in new environmental conditions; altered ecological opportunities for native species; and new opportunities for hybridization between previously allopatric taxa. Here, we review recent studies of the evolutionary consequences of species invasions, revealing abundant and widespread examples of exotic species promoting evolutionary diversification via increased genetic differentiation among populations of both exotic and native species and the creation of new hybrid lineages. Our review indicates that, although the well-documented reductions to biodiversity caused by exotic species might outweigh the increases resulting from diversification, a complete understanding of the net effects of exotic species on biodiversity in the long term will require consideration of both