Ice Patch Archaeology in Alaska: 2000–10

In the past decade, ice patch archaeological research has been initiated in several areas of Alaska, including Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the Amphitheater Mountains, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Chugach National Forest, and Katmai National Park. Although still in its formative stages, this research demonstrates that high-altitude ice patches have been an important part of the annual subsistence cycles of Alaskan people for at least 4000 years. Researchers have found cultural materials at 13 Alaskan ice patches. Most artifacts recovered are related to caribou hunting; however, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that ice patches were the foci for a wide range of subsistence activities, such as hunting birds, harvesting berries, and snaring small mammals. Site interpretations are based on ethnographically documented cultural practices, animal behavior, alpine ecology and geology, and archaeological analyses.Au cours de la dernière décennie, des recherches archéologiques ont été entreprises dans plusieurs névés de l’Alaska, notamment dans les régions suivantes : Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, monts Amphitheater, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Denali National Park and Preserve, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Chugach National Forest et Katmai National Park. Bien que ces recherches en soient toujours au stade embryonnaire, elles ont déjà permis de constater que les névés en haute altitude ont joué un rôle important dans les cycles de subsistance annuels des peuples de l’Alaska pendant au moins 4 000 ans. Les chercheurs ont récupéré du matériel culturel dans 13 névés de l’Alaska. La plupart des artefacts qui ont été trouvés se rapportent à la chasse au caribou. Cependant, de plus en plus d’artefacts prouvent que les névés étaient le point de convergence d’une vaste gamme d’activités de subsistance, comme la chasse aux oiseaux, la récolte des petits fruits et le piégeage des petits mammifères. L’interprétation des sites s’appuie sur les pratiques culturelles documentées de manière ethnographique, sur le comportement animal, sur l’écologie et la géologie alpines ainsi que sur les analyses archéologiques

The inhibition of the fatty acid oxygenase of sheep vesicular gland by antioxidants

Antioxidants inhibit the fatty acid oxygenase of sheep vesicular gland and soybean lipoxygenase in an instantaneous, reversible manner. Their inhibitory effectiveness was not related to their traditional antioxidant potencies but seemed to depend on the nature of the enzyme. The destructive effect ofeicosa-5,8,11,14-tetraynoic acid, a substrate analog, on vesicular gland oxygenase could be prevented in the presence of either [alpha]-naphthol or 2,2,4-trimethyl-6-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (Santoquin).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33945/1/0000212.pd

Acetylenic inhibitors of sheep vesicular gland oxygenase

Biosynthesis of prostaglandins could be stopped by several acetylenic acids. They interfered with the oxygenase activity of the sheep vesicular gland enzymic system in two distinct patterns: an instantaneous, concentration-dependent effect and a time-dependent, destructive effect. Constants for both effects are reported. No measurable oxygen consumption was observed with the acetylenic analogs. Nevertheless, both oxygen and hydroperoxide were required for the inhibition to occur, whereas the inhibitory action could be blocked by the presence of diethyldithiocarbamic acid. The results support the concept of a highly reactive intermediate in the mechanism of oxygenase action.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33944/1/0000211.pd

Inhibition of sheep vesicular gland oxygenase by unsaturated fatty acids from skin of essential fatty acid deficient rats

Unsaturated fatty acids present in the lipids of essential fatty acid (EFA)-deficient rats were found to inhibit the oxygenase activity of sheep vesicular gland in an instantaneous, reversible manner. However, competitive inhibition by high levels of these acids cannot account fully for the reported loss of prostaglandin synthetic capacity of these EFA-deficient animals. A similar competitive inhibition pattern was observed with several anti-inflammatory drugs tested, whereas others also exhibited a time-dependent destructive effect on the oxygenase of the sheep vesicular gland. The relative effectiveness of these drugs in treating inflammations of the skin paralleled their effects on the vesicular gland oxygenase.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/22411/1/0000861.pd

Protocol for a systematic review: Interventions for anxiety in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD): a mixed methods systematic review

This review aims to synthesise evidence about interventions to reduce anxiety symptoms in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While clinical studies will not be excluded per se, this review seeks to move beyond interventions that are relevant only for clinical practice and care in clinical settings and prioritise studies that draw out implications for school-aged children that will help their functioning in real-world settings such as school and the home. To achieve this aim, the review will employ a mixed-methods systematic review which can accommodate the anticipated diverse types of available studies. These studies are likely to use quantitative methods such as quasi-experimental, mixed-methods randomised control trial approaches as well as qualitative methods such as action-research and case-study designs. This publication outlines the methodology which will be used in the systematic review and covers the criteria for inclusion and exclusion of studies in the review, the search strategy to be used for identification of relevant studies, the bibliographic databases and other sources used for searching, the data collection process including the selection process and data synthesis and analysis, and the timeframe for this project

Using palaeoenvironmental DNA to reconstruct past environments: progress and prospects

Palaeoenvironmental DNA (PalEnDNA) is defined as ancient DNA (aDNA) originating from disseminated genetic material within palaeoenvironmental samples. Sources of PalEnDNA include marine and lake sediments, peat, loess, till, ice, permafrost, palaeosols, coprolites, preserved gut contents, dental calculus, tephras, and soils as well as deposits in caves/rockshelters and at archaeological sites. PalEnDNA analysis provides a relatively new tool for Quaternary and archaeological sciences and its applications have included palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary reconstructions, testing hypotheses regarding megafaunal extinctions, human–environment interactions, taxonomic studies and studies of DNA damage. Because PalEnDNA samples comprise markedly different materials, and represent wide-ranging depositional and taphonomic contexts, various issues must be addressed to achieve robust, reproducible findings. Such issues include climatic and temporal limitations, the biological origin and state (free versus bound) of PalEnDNA, stratigraphic reliability, sterile sampling, ability to distinguish modern from aDNA signals, DNA damage and PCR amplification, DNA extraction methods, and taxonomic resolution. In this review, we provide a non-specialist introduction to the use of PalEnDNA for Quaternary and archaeological researchers, assess attributes and limitations of this palaeoenvironmental tool, and discuss future prospects of using PalEnDNA to reconstruct past environments

L’impact de la grossesse sur l’amplitude et la diversité de la reconnaissance antigénique des lymphocytes T cytotoxiques dirigés contre le VIH-1

La transmission mère-enfant (TME) du VIH-1 est un des enjeux majeurs de la pandémie. Une meilleure compréhension de la réponse des lymphocytes T cytotoxiques CD8+ (LTC) VIH-spécifiques lors de la grossesse facilitera le design de stratégies optimales pour diminuer la TME. Notre objectif est donc de caractériser l’amplitude et la diversité de la reconnaissance antigénique des LTC VIH-spécifiques avant, pendant et après la grossesse chez des femmes infectées par le VIH-1. Nos résultats montrent pour la première fois que l’initiation et la progression de la grossesse, à elles seules, n'ont que peu d’influence sur l’amplitude et la diversité de la reconnaissance antigénique des réponses LTC en termes de production d’IFN‐. Ces résultats indiquent que les femmes infectées par le VIH conservent une immunocompétence durant leur grossesse, du moins dans le contexte d’un traitement antirétroviral efficace. Ceci pourrait éventuellement aider à promouvoir l’immunisation comme stratégie pour prévenir la TME du VIH‐1.Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV-1 is one of the major issues of the pandemic. Characterization of HIV-specific immunity during pregnancy, especially cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes (CTL), will lead to a better understanding of HIV pathogenesis and facilitate design of optimal strategies to prevent MTCT. Our objective is to describe the magnitude and the breadth of antigen recognition of HIV-specific CTL responses before, throughout and after pregnancy in a group of HIV-infected women. Our results revealed for the first time that initiation of pregnancy by itself doesn’t change the magnitude of CTL responses in terms of IFN- production. These findings support the fact that HIV-infected women maintain immunocompetence throughout gestation, at least in the context of effective antiretroviral treatment. These results provide a novel understanding of the dynamics of HIV-specific CTL responses during pregnancy and may help to promote maternal immunization as a strategy to prevent MTCT of HIV-1