The ARCHIPELAGO Archaeological Isotope Database for the Japanese Islands

ARCHIPELAGO is an archaeological and historical database of land and sea food resources utilised in the Japanese Islands. Here we present a dataset of human bone and hair carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes measurements from Japanese archaeological sites covering the time span from the Upper Palaeolithic to the mid-nineteenth century. Reflecting the results of over 30 years of research, the dataset contains 1476 entries and covers the entire Japanese archipelago, although the data are more highly concentrated in coastal regions.(1) Overview Context - Spatial coverage (2) Methods Steps Sampling strategy Quality control Constrains (3) Dataset description (4) Bayesian modelling of direct human radiocarbon measurements (5) Reuse potentia

The Application of Restriction Landmark Genome Scanning Method for Surveillance of Non-Mendelian Inheritance in F1 Hybrids

We analyzed inheritance of DNA methylation in reciprocal F1 hybrids (subsp. japonica cv. Nipponbare × subsp. indica cv. Kasalath) of rice (Oryza sativa L.) using restriction landmark genome scanning (RLGS), and detected differing RLGS spots between the parents and reciprocal F1 hybrids. MspI/HpaII restriction sites in the DNA from these different spots were suspected to be heterozygously methylated in the Nipponbare parent. These spots segregated in F1 plants, but did not segregate in selfed progeny of Nipponbare, showing non-Mendelian inheritance of the methylation status. As a result of RT-PCR and sequencing, a specific allele of the gene nearest to the methylated sites was expressed in reciprocal F1 plants, showing evidence of biased allelic expression. These results show the applicability of RLGS for scanning of non-Mendelian inheritance of DNA methylation and biased allelic expression

A Gemini/GMOS Study of Intermediate Luminosity Early-Type Virgo Cluster Galaxies. I. Globular Cluster and Stellar Kinematics

We present a kinematic analysis of the globular cluster systems and diffuse stellar light of four intermediate luminosity (sub-$L^{\ast}$) early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster based on Gemini/GMOS data. Our galaxy sample is fainter ($-23.8<M_K<-22.7$) than most previous studies, nearly doubling the number of galaxies in this magnitude range that now have GC kinematics. The data for the diffuse light extends to $4R_e$, and the data for the globular clusters reaches 8--$12R_e$. We find that the kinematics in these outer regions are all different despite the fact that these four galaxies have similar photometric properties, and are uniformly classified as "fast rotators" from their stellar kinematics within $1R_e$. The globular cluster systems exhibit a wide range of kinematic morphology. The rotation axis and amplitude can change between the inner and outer regions, including a case of counter-rotation. This difference shows the importance of wide-field kinematic studies, and shows that stellar and GC kinematics can change significantly as one moves beyond the inner regions of galaxies. Moreover, the kinematics of the globular cluster systems can differ from that of the stars, suggesting that the formation of the two populations are also distinct.Comment: 24 pages, 21 figures, 9 table, ApJ in pres

Demography, trade and state power: a tripartite model of medieval farming/language dispersals in the Ryukyu Islands

Hunter-gatherer occupations of small islands are rare in world prehistory and it is widely accepted that island settlement is facilitated by agriculture. The Ryukyu Islands contradict that understanding on two counts: not only did they have a long history of hunter-gatherer settlement, they also have a very late date for the onset of agriculture, which only reached the archipelago between the 8th and 13th centuries AD. Here, we combine archaeology and linguistics to propose a tripartite model for the spread of agriculture and Ryukyuan languages to the Ryukyu Islands. Employing demographic growth, trade/piracy and the political influence of neighbouring states, this model provides a synthetic yet flexible understanding of farming/language dispersals in the Ryukyus within the complex historical background of medieval East Asia.Introduction Methods Results - Archaeological Approach -- Demographic growth -- Trade/piracy -- State intervention - Linguistic Approach -- Linguistic inferences about the most probable tree structure -- Linguistic inferences about the most probable homeland of Proto-Ryukyuan -- Linguistic inferences about the most probable break-up time of Proto-Kyushu-Ryukyuan -- Inferences about the most probable linguistic outcome of the migration Discussion Conclusion

Nearly optimal solutions for the Chow Parameters Problem and low-weight approximation of halfspaces

The \emph{Chow parameters} of a Boolean function $f: \{-1,1\}^n \to \{-1,1\}$ are its $n+1$ degree-0 and degree-1 Fourier coefficients. It has been known since 1961 (Chow, Tannenbaum) that the (exact values of the) Chow parameters of any linear threshold function $f$ uniquely specify $f$ within the space of all Boolean functions, but until recently (O'Donnell and Servedio) nothing was known about efficient algorithms for \emph{reconstructing} $f$ (exactly or approximately) from exact or approximate values of its Chow parameters. We refer to this reconstruction problem as the \emph{Chow Parameters Problem.} Our main result is a new algorithm for the Chow Parameters Problem which, given (sufficiently accurate approximations to) the Chow parameters of any linear threshold function $f$, runs in time \tilde{O}(n^2)\cdot (1/\eps)^{O(\log^2(1/\eps))} and with high probability outputs a representation of an LTF $f'$ that is \eps-close to $f$. The only previous algorithm (O'Donnell and Servedio) had running time \poly(n) \cdot 2^{2^{\tilde{O}(1/\eps^2)}}. As a byproduct of our approach, we show that for any linear threshold function $f$ over $\{-1,1\}^n$, there is a linear threshold function $f'$ which is \eps-close to $f$ and has all weights that are integers at most \sqrt{n} \cdot (1/\eps)^{O(\log^2(1/\eps))}. This significantly improves the best previous result of Diakonikolas and Servedio which gave a \poly(n) \cdot 2^{\tilde{O}(1/\eps^{2/3})} weight bound, and is close to the known lower bound of $\max\{\sqrt{n},$ (1/\eps)^{\Omega(\log \log (1/\eps))}\} (Goldberg, Servedio). Our techniques also yield improved algorithms for related problems in learning theory

Yield Measurements for ^7Be and ^<10>Be Productions from ^<nat>Cu, ^<nat>Ag and ^<197>Au by Bremsstrahlung Irradiation at E_0=200 MeV(II. Radiochemistry)

The yields of ^7Be and ^Be produced by bremsstrahlung having a maximum energy (E_0) of 200 MeV in ^Cu, ^Ag and ^Au targets were investigated by the AMS technique at MALT of the University of Tokyo. It was found that the yields at E_0 = 200 MeV were much lower than those at E_0 ≧250 MeV, obtained in our previous work. A change in the yields of the fragmentation component in the target-mass dependence was observed at E_0=200 MeV when compared with those at E_0≧250 MeV. However, the ratios of the fragmentation yield of ^Be to that of ^7Be remained unchanged throughout the concerned E_0