Urban Herders: An Archaeological and Isotopic Investigation into the Roles of Mobility and Subsistence Specialization in an Iron Age Urban Center in Mali

This dissertation investigates the relationship between mobility and urbanism in an Iron Age West African city. Isotopic and archaeological evidence reveal complex relationships among mobility, sedentism, and the livestock economy of Jenné-jeno, one of the earliest and best known urban systems in sub-Saharan Africa (occupied ca. 250 BC to AD 1400). Drawing on excavations at the ancient city of Jenné-jeno and those conducted at two neighboring sites (Tato à Sanouna and Thièl), and on serial, intra-tooth isotopic analysis (87Sr/86Sr, 13C, 18O) of cattle, sheep, and goat teeth, this analysis shows that multiple populations involved in animal husbandry, from seasonally mobile pastoral specialists to household-level producers, coexisted at Jenné-jeno. These findings provide the first concrete evidence of the nature of the livestock economy at Jenné-jeno. Furthermore, the importance of small-scale animal husbandry within the subsistence economy challenges prior assumptions of specialized subsistence economies at Jenné-jeno. While the excavations and the human and animal isotopic data presented here reinforce the importance of Jenné-jeno within the broader region as a market and population center, they also run counter to expectations that agricultural intensification and specialized subsistence economies are necessary for the sustenance of a dense urban population. In a relatively lush environment like that around Jenné-jeno, diversified, small-scale producers were able to meet the needs of the local population through a variety of strategies. In a context like Jenné-jeno, mobility (in the form of local and extralocal herd movements and trade routes), far from being anathema to urbanism, was in fact crucial to the maintenance of the urban system. This work builds upon previous studies demonstrating that analysis of food production strategies, small-scale interactions, and the role of mobility in urban settings can have profound implications for global discussions of urbanism and urban development

Chlorhexidine Gluconate vs Povidone-Iodine in the Prevention of Clean-Contaminated Surgical Site Infections

Abstract Background: A patient’s skin is the major source of pathogens that can cause post-operative complications such as surgical site infections (SSIs). Optimization of pre-operative skin antisepsis is obtained with chlorhexidine gluconate (CG) and povidone-iodine (PI). These two solutions are the most widely used antiseptics for pre-operative purposes. Objective: Among surgical patients greater than 18 years of age undergoing clean-contaminated surgery, which antiseptic, iodophors or chlorhexidine gluconate, is more effective at reducing postoperative surgical site infections? Methods: A search was done in PubMed utilizing the terms chlorhexidine, infection control, iodophors, and surgical site infection. The limits applied included randomized controlled trial, published within 10 years, and humans. Results: Darouiche et al found that the application of 2% CG reduced the incidence of SSIs by 41% compared to 10% PI. This study demonstrated statistical significance (p = 0.0049). Bibi et al found a 45.4% reduction in SSI rates with the use of 2% CG compared to 10% PI but was not statistically significant (p =0.3961). Park et al found no difference between 2% CG and 10% PI regarding the reduction of SSIs (p= 0.8532). Conclusion: There is not a significant difference between the rates of SSIs when using CG compared to PI in the setting of clean-contaminated surgeries. Future research should be conducted to determine if a significant difference is present, and if there is a difference in efficacy of antiseptics in the settings of clean and contaminated wounds. CG and PI may be used interchangeably depending on presence of allergy, cost, and convenience

Trade in financial services : mobile banking in Southern Africa

The report will be discussed at a policy discussion workshop that will being together a select group of policy champions from each of the focus countries to discuss appropriate incentives that encourage innovative bank and non-bank led domestic and international m-banking solutions. In this Introduction, the authors summarize the layout of the report, and then touch upon two over-arching issues that need to be taken into account in reading the report. To set the context for m-banking services in the focus countries, chapter two reviews the demand for m-banking services in Southern Africa, particularly in relation to migrant remittances and cross-border payments of trade-related transactions. This analysis is complemented by some international comparisons set out in annex C. On the supply side, chapter three briefly describes the financial and telecommunications landscape in which the development of m-banking is set. The heart of this study is the country diagnostics set out in annex A, which examine, for each country the regulatory issues that are listed in annex B. For ease of reference, the results of the country diagnostics are summarized in chapter four. The country diagnostics include a number of recommendations to overcome the constraints on the development of accessible m-banking in each country and the region, which are developed further in the draft presentation for the workshop in annex D. The main threads of the key recommendations are brought together and summarized in chapter five.Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance,E-Business,Remittances

Bladelets, Blood, and Bones: Integrating Protein Residue, Lithic Use-Wear, and Faunal Data from the Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient

Modified teeth and jaws have long been recognized as important ceremonial objects during the Middle Woodland period of eastern North America. Direct evidence for the manufacture of the objects is exceedingly rare because they are typically recovered from mortuary contexts or ceremonial caches. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence pointing to the manufacture of modified teeth and jaws at the Moorehead Circle post enclosure within the Fort Ancient Earthworks. The convergence of protein residue, lithic use-wear, and faunal data indicate that bear and likely canid bones were modified by artisans working within the Moorehead Circle. These findings add an important new layer of understanding to our knowledge of these objects, human–animal relations, and craft production in the Middle Woodland

Long-Lived Engineering of Glycans to Direct Stem Cell Fate

Glycans mediate many critical, long-term biological processes, such as stem cell differentiation. However, few methods are available for the sustained remodeling of cells with specific glycan structures. A new strategy that enables the long-lived presentation of defined glycosaminoglycans on cell surfaces using HaloTag proteins (HTPs) as anchors is reported. By controlling the sulfation patterns of heparan sulfate (HS) on pluripotent embryonic stem cell (ESC) membranes, it is demonstrated that specific glycans cause ESCs to undergo accelerated exit from self-renewal and differentiation into neuronal cell types. Thus, the stable display of glycans on HTP scaffolds provides a powerful, versatile means to direct key signaling events and biological outcomes such as stem cell fate

A Minimum Income Standard for London 2018

The new Minimum Income Standard (MIS) London report shows that 41% of Londoners cannot afford a basic decent standard of living. MIS is the income that people need in order to achieve a minimum socially acceptable standard of living in the UK today. It is based on what members of the public think about essential goods and services, and those which enable genuine participation in society. The new report provides an updated cost of a minimum budget, required for a minimum standard of living, in Inner and Outer London. The research also calculated the difference in a minimum household budget between the capital and elsewhere in the UK. The update is based on what is happening to rents, public transport, childcare costs and wages. This is the fourth in a series of reports by researchers at the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University and is funded by the Trust

Directing Neuronal Signaling through Cell-Surface Glycan Engineering

The ability to tailor plasma membranes with specific glycans may enable the control of signaling events that are critical for proper development and function. We report a method to modify cell surfaces with specific sulfated chondroitin sulfate (CS) glycosaminoglycans using chemically modified liposomes. Neurons engineered to display CS-E-enriched polysaccharides exhibited increased activation of neurotrophin-mediated signaling pathways and enhanced axonal growth. This approach provides a facile, general route to tailor cell membranes with biologically active glycans and demonstrates the potential to direct important cellular events through cell-surface glycan engineering

Predicting Success of Interior Design Alumni as an Assessment of the Curriculum: Post Graduation Years 1-10

The main question being explored in this research study is “does what we teach in the Interior Design Department make students successful in industry.” The measure of success in this study used two different variables, which include annual salary and job satisfaction