A bioarchaeological analysis of the effects of the Xiongnu empire on the physical health of nomadic groups in Iron Age Mongolia

The Xiongnu Empire (c. 200 BC – AD 100) was the first instance of imperial level organization by nomadic groups of the Mongolian steppe. Over a century of historical and archaeological research has produced a large body of scholarship on the political, military, and sociocultural structures of Xiongnu society. This study adds to the growing body of recent bioarchaeological research by using multiple lines of evidence to address the impacts of empire formation on the physical health of those who lived under the influence of Xiongnu rule. Models of Xiongnu empire formation posit stable access to Chinese agricultural goods and reduction in violent conflict as major motivating factors in establishing imperial-level organization among Mongolian nomadic groups. By gathering data from the skeletal remains of 349 individuals from 27 archaeological sites and analyzing the frequency of 10 dietary and health indicators, this study addresses these claims. The Xiongnu imperial expansion and administration resulted in the movement and/or displacement of nomadic groups, consequences that are documented in Chinese historical texts, but its impact on population structure is poorly understood. Craniometric data collected from this skeletal sample were used to conduct a model-bound biological distance analysis and fit to an unbiased relationship matrix to determine the amount of intra- and inter-group variation, and estimate the biological distance between different geographic and temporal groups. This skeletal sample includes individuals from 19 Xiongnu-period sites located across the region under Xiongnu imperial control. Individuals from eight Bronze Age sites in Mongolia were included to establish pre-Xiongnu health status. One agricultural site within the Han empire, contemporaneous with the Xiongnu, was included for comparison. The results of this study indicate that Xiongnu motivations for creating a nomadic empire were considerably more complex than current models suggest. Although historical texts document that the Xiongnu received agricultural products as tribute from China, dietary markers indicate the Xiongnu diet was more similar to that of their Bronze Age predecessors than to their agricultural Han neighbors. The movement of people across the Mongolian steppe during the Xiongnu period created a more phenotypically homogeneous population structure than that of previous Bronze Age groups

An evaluation of curriculum-related specialties in grades five and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Managing Triads in a Military Avionics Service Maintenance Network in Taiwan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of triad structures, and the management mechanisms adopted by the focal company, affect cooperative performance. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a social network perspective to examine the triad management phenomenon in the military avionics maintenance context, which is closely associated with the field of operations management. Findings – This paper demonstrates that different triad structures and management mechanisms influence perceived cooperative performance. Four main findings emerged: in a triad, a firm playing a bridging role perceives higher cooperative performance than when playing a peripheral role in the triad or being located in a fully connected triad. When a firm plays the bridging role in a triad, and has a high level of trust, this leads to higher perceived cooperative performance. When a firm plays a peripheral role in a triad, high levels of coordination mechanism combined with high levels of trust result in higher levels of perceived cooperative performance. In a fully linked triad, when the coordination mechanism is well developed, the level of trust is high, so that the resulting level of perceived cooperation is high. Originality/value – This paper extends the knowledge of triad management by providing an in-depth study of a well-defined network setting with exceptionally high-level access to the most senior executives. In practice, this paper shows how to manage differen

On-ice measures of external load in relation to match outcome in elite female ice hockey

The aim of this study is to investigate the differences between select on-ice measures using inertial movement sensors based on match outcome, and to determine changes in player movements across three periods of play. Data were collected during one season of competition in elite female ice hockey players (N = 20). Two-factor mixed effects ANOVAs for each skating position were performed to investigate the differences in match outcome, as well as differences in external load measures during the course of a match. For match outcome, there was a small difference for forwards in explosive ratio (p = 0.02, ES = 0.26) and percentage high force strides (p = 0.04, ES = 0.50). When viewed across three periods of a match, moderate differences were found in skating load (p = 0.01, ES = 0.75), explosive efforts (p = 0.04, ES = 0.63), and explosive ratio (p = 0.002, ES = 0.87) for forwards, and in PlayerLoad (p = 0.01, ES = 0.70), explosive efforts (p = 0.04, ES = 0.63), and explosive ratio (p = 0.01, ES = 0.70) for defense. When examining the relevance to match outcome, external load measures associated with intensity appear to be an important factor among forwards. These results may be helpful for coaches and sport scientists when making decisions pertaining to training and competition strategies.York University Librarie

Between concepts and experiences: people’s understandings of climate change in southern Ecuador

For decades, researchers have worried about people's understanding of climate change. Although this understanding varies by cultural context, most studies so far have taken place in industrialized countries. Few studies have explored people’s understandings of climate change in the global South. Through standardized questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted in southern Ecuador, this paper explores differences between urban and rural dwellers and compares these with farmers’ understandings of the causes, consequences and risks. We found urban and rural dwellers hold a similar understanding to that found in other nations, but articulated in ways that reflect their particular realities. Despite reporting first-hand experience of the agricultural effects of climate change, when prompted, farmers do not link climate change to their own experience. It is thus important to go beyond judging knowledge as correct or incorrect, and instead, incorporate local realities in the climate narrative

Somebody\u27s Watching Me: FCPA Monitorships and How They Can Work Better

This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive experience with three major FCPA compliance monitorships, as well as their work assisting clients operating under an FCPA monitorship, this article aids in that process. It also hopes to help monitors themselves, as well as the prosecutors who appoint them, in making the monitorship a more constructive feature of an FCPA settlement

The development of rhenium(III) oxide nanoradiopharmaceuticals

The study details the experimental work on the development of rhenium(III) oxide nanoradiopharmaceuticals for imaging and therapy of disease states. The nanoparticles (NPs) were capped with covalently linked tetraaminophthalocyanine-folate and ethylenediamine-folate to enhance their targeting ability. The capping agents were successfully synthesised and structurally characterised using Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (LC-MS). The nanoparticles were characterised using UV-Vis, spectrofluorimetry, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Zeta potential. Nanoparticles of sizes between 10 and 100 nm size were envisaged to be suitable for applications in biological systems. The preferred surface charge for the uptake of NPs must be between -30 and +30 mV, Re2O3 NPs capped with ethylenediamine were found to have a surface charge of -49 mV as compared with NPs capped with ethylenediamine-folate which gave -18.6 mV. The cytotoxicity studies of the nanoparticles were tested against four different cell lines: MDA-MB-468, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and MCF-10A. The cell survival rate after treatment was done with different capped rhenium(III) oxide nanoparticles obtained at a 10 μM concentration showed more than 80% cell viability. A comparison was conducted based on different nanoparticle sizes of capping agents across the four cell lines of varying folate receptor. All the cell lines were compared, and it was observed that MCF-7 had high percentage of cell viability especially with the cells treated with folate conjugated nanoparticles. Further investigation was done on the effects of folate conjugates and the effects of size. It was observed that the tetraaminophthalocyanine-folate favoured the MCF-7, for large-sized nanoparticles. However, further work is required to test the cancer cell internalisation of the nanoparticles using TEM as well as the correct size for endocytosis. Thereafter, the mice model study will be carried out for investigation of biodistribution of particles in tumour tissue using hot isotopes (186/188Re) and this will be done in a radiophamarceutical laboratory

Somebody\u27s Watching Me: FCPA Monitorships and How They Can Work Better

This article explores the rise of the corporate compliance monitor as a condition for settling violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) — a setting in which federal prosecutors routinely impose monitors. If U.S. enforcement authorities maintain their current approach, the reality is that companies facing liability for violating the FCPA are likely to have a monitor imposed on them as part of a settlement agreement. From the U.S. government’s perspective, monitorships make sense for companies that violate anti-bribery laws, making it important for offending corporations to learn how to deal with monitors. Pulling from the authors’ extensive experience with three major FCPA compliance monitorships, as well as their work assisting clients operating under an FCPA monitorship, this article aids in that process. It also hopes to help monitors themselves, as well as the prosecutors who appoint them, in making the monitorship a more constructive feature of an FCPA settlement

Reservoir of Bacterial Exotoxin Genes in the Environment

This is the first report of an environmental reservoir of a bacterial exotoxin gene harbored in an atypical host in the environment. Screening bacterial isolates from the environment via sea-specific PCR identified an isolate with a DNA sequence >95% identical to the Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A gene (_sea_). 16S DNA sequence comparisons identified the environmental isolate as a Pseusodomonad. Laboratory studies confirmed that this Pseudomonad is psychrophilic. The results indicate that the _sea_ gene is present in an alternative bacterial host, providing the first evidence for an environmental reservoir of exotoxin genes in bacteria. Transfer of these genes between phage and alternative bacterial hosts may promote the evolution of novel human diseases