Preliminary Report on Archaeological Investigations in The Eastport Neighborhood of the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland: 119 Chester Avenue (18AP93) and 110 Chesapeake Avenue (18AP94)

From June 11 - July l9, 2001, the University of Maryland archaeology field school conducted test excavations at two properties in the Eastport neighborhood of the City of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, at ll9 Chester Avenue (Site 18AP93) and 110 Chesapeake Avenue (Site 18AP94). This investigation was initiated by Archaeology in Annapolis, a cooperative project between the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) and the Historic Annapolis Foundation (HAF), and was conducted in association with the instruction of the summer field school in urban archaeology offered annually through the Department of Anthropology at UMCP. Investigations at these two properties were undertaken as part of an initiative to explore Eastport as a potential area to host future seasons of excavation with the UMCP archaeology field school, both to contribute towards a deeper understanding of the history and development of this community and to provide archaeological data where currently there is very little available. This research is being developed in consultation with Peg Wallace at the Annapolis Maritime Museum in Eastport. The research described in this report was conducted under the direction of Dr. Mark P. Leone, Department of Anthropology at UMCP, and Dr. Jessica Neuwirth, formerly with the Historic Annapolis Foundation, with field supervision by Matthew Palus and Kris Beadenkopf

Linear and nonlinear trending and prediction for AVHRR time series data

The variability of AVHRR calibration coefficient in time was analyzed using algorithms of linear and non-linear time series analysis. Specifically we have used the spline trend modeling, autoregressive process analysis, incremental neural network learning algorithm and redundancy functional testing. The analysis performed on available AVHRR data sets revealed that (1) the calibration data have nonlinear dependencies, (2) the calibration data depend strongly on the target temperature, (3) both calibration coefficients and the temperature time series can be modeled, in the first approximation, as autonomous dynamical systems, (4) the high frequency residuals of the analyzed data sets can be best modeled as an autoregressive process of the 10th degree. We have dealt with a nonlinear identification problem and the problem of noise filtering (data smoothing). The system identification and filtering are significant problems for AVHRR data sets. The algorithms outlined in this study can be used for the future EOS missions. Prediction and smoothing algorithms for time series of calibration data provide a functional characterization of the data. Those algorithms can be particularly useful when calibration data are incomplete or sparse

Regional and inter-regional effects in evolving climate networks

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

High-Frequency network activity, global increase in Neuronal Activity, and Synchrony Expansion Precede Epileptic Seizures In Vitro

How seizures start is a major question in epilepsy research. Preictal EEG changes occur in both human patients and animal models, but their underlying mechanisms and relationship with seizure initiation remain unknown. Here we demonstrate the existence, in the hippocampal CA1 region, of a preictal state characterized by the progressive and global increase in neuronal activity associated with a widespread buildup of low-amplitude high-frequency activity (HFA) (100 Hz) and reduction in system complexity.HFAis generated by the firing of neurons, mainly pyramidal cells, at much lower frequencies. Individual cycles ofHFAare generated by the near-synchronous (within 5 ms) firing of small numbers of pyramidal cells. The presence of HFA in the low-calcium model implicates nonsynaptic synchronization; the presence of very similar HFA in the high-potassium model shows that it does not depend on an absence of synaptic transmission. Immediately before seizure onset, CA1 is in a state of high sensitivity in which weak depolarizing or synchronizing perturbations can trigger seizures. Transition to seizure is haracterized by a rapid expansion and fusion of the neuronal populations responsible for HFA, associated with a progressive slowing of HFA, leading to a single, massive, hypersynchronous cluster generating the high-amplitude low-frequency activity of the seizure

Measuring Information Transfer

An information theoretic measure is derived that quantifies the statistical coherence between systems evolving in time. The standard time delayed mutual information fails to distinguish information that is actually exchanged from shared information due to common history and input signals. In our new approach, these influences are excluded by appropriate conditioning of transition probabilities. The resulting transfer entropy is able to distinguish driving and responding elements and to detect asymmetry in the coupling of subsystems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 Figures, Revte

Final Report of the Phase III Archaeological Investigations at the Dr. Upton Scott House (18AP18), Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 1998-1999

In the summers of 1998 and 1999, the Archaeology in Annapolis project carried out archaeological investigation at the eighteenth century Dr. Upton Scott House site (18AP18)located at 4 Shipwright Street in the historic district of Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The Upton Scott House is significant as one of only a few Georgian houses with remnants of its original plantation-inspired landscape still visible (Graham 1998:147). Investigation was completed in agreement with the owners of the historic property, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Christian, who were interested in determining the condition and arrangement of Dr. Upton Scott’s well-documented pleasure gardens. Betty Cosans’ 1972 Archaeological Feasibility Report, the first real archaeological study of the Upton Scott House site, guided the research design and recovery efforts. Cosans determined that testing and survey in the back and side yards of the Scott property would yield important information on the use and history of the property, including that of Scott’s famous gardens. Excavation units and trenches were placed within three separate areas of backyard activity on the site which included Area One: extant brick stables in the southwest of the property; Area Two: the brick foundations of a small outbuilding located in the northwest area of the site; and Area Three: the area of Scott’s formal gardens. The research design included an interest in recovering evidence of African-American spiritual practice and domestic life at the site. Also of significant importance was an analysis of Scott’s garden beds, concerning the order and layout. Also sought was an understanding of the change in perception and use of the backyard by the various owners of the property

Grouping time series by pairwise measures of redundancy

A novel approach is proposed to group redundant time series in the frame of causality. It assumes that (i) the dynamics of the system can be described using just a small number of characteristic modes, and that (ii) a pairwise measure of redundancy is sufficient to elicit the presence of correlated degrees of freedom. We show the application of the proposed approach on fMRI data from a resting human brain and gene expression profiles from HeLa cell culture.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figure

Report on Archaeological Investigations Conducted at the St. Mary's Site (18AP45), 107 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, Maryland, 1987-1990

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Archaeology in Annapolis was invited to excavate the Carroll House and garden on 107 Duke of Gloucester Street in Annapolis, Maryland. The site, named the St. Mary's Site (18AP45) for the Catholic church on the property, is currently owned by the Redemptorists, a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers who have occupied the site since 1852. Prior to the Redemptorists' tenure, the site was owned by the Carroll family from 1701-1852 and is perhaps best known as the home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), signer of the Declaration of Independence. Excavations at the site were conducted during four consecutive summer seasons from 1987-1990. The investigation focused on three research questions. The first line of inquiry were questions surrounding the dating, architectural configuration, and artifact deposits of the "frame house," a structure adjoining the west wall of the brick Carroll House via a "passage" and later a three story addition. The frame house was partially demolished in the mid-nineteenth century but the construction was thought to pre-date the brick portion of the house. The second research question was spurred by documentary research which indicated that the property might have been the location of Proctor's Tavern, a late 17th-century tavern which served as the meeting place of the Maryland Provincial Assembly. Archaeological testing hoped to determine its location and, if found, investigate Annapolis' early Euro-American occupation. The third research question focused on the landscape of the site as it was shaped by its occupants over the past three hundred years. The research questions included investigating the stratigraphy, geometry, and architectural and planting features of Charles Carroll of Carrollton's terraced garden built during the 1770s, and investigating the changes to the landscape made by the Redemptorists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While no structural evidence associated with Proctor’s Tavern was uncovered during limited excavations along Spa Creek, the historic shore of Spa Creek was identified, buried beneath deep fill deposits laid down during construction of the Carroll Garden. Features and deposits associated with this period likely remain intact in a waterlogged environment along the southeastern sea wall at the St. Mary’s Site. Evidence of extensive earth moving by Carroll is present in the garden and was identified during excavation and coring. This strongly suggests that the garden landscape visible at the St. Mary’s Site is the intact Carroll Garden, which survives beneath contemporary and late nineteenth century strata. The extant surviving garden should be considered highly sensitive to ground-disturbing activities, and is also highly significant considering demonstrable associations with the Carroll family. Other garden-related features were also discovered, including planting holes, and a brick pavilion or parapet located along Spa Creek to the south of the site. The Duke of Gloucester Street wall was shown to be associated with the Carroll occupation of the site. Finally, intensive archaeological research was directed at the vicinity of a frame house constructed and occupied by the Carrolls to the east of the existing brick house, which was replaced by the Redemptorists in the nineteenth century with a greenhouse. These superimposed buildings were documented in detail and remain highly significant features at the St. Mary’s Site

Phase I/II Archaeological Testing on Fleet Street (18AP111), Cornhill Street (18AP112), and 26 Market Space (18AP109), for the Proposed Fleet and Cornhill Streets Reconstruction Project, Annapolis, Maryland, 2008

From 3/31/08 to 5/30/08 staff from the Department of Anthropology, University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), Archaeology in Annapolis Project, conducted archaeological testing on city-owned public right-of-ways at 26 Market Space (18AP109), on Fleet Street (18AP111), and on Cornhill Street (18AP112) prior to the upcoming undergrounding and replacement of city-owned utilities along and beneath these streets. In addition, from 06/02/08 to 06/20/08, undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University of Maryland, Field School in Urban Archaeology conducted further testing of city-owned public right-of-ways on Cornhill Street (18AP112). This Phase II investigation has been conducted at the request of the City of Annapolis, Department of Public Works (DPW) as part of the Fleet and Cornhill Streets Reconstruction Project. The project area comprises the streetscapes of what is referred to as the Fleet-Cornhill neighborhood. Eleven test units were used to evaluate archaeological integrity and significance of these sites and to evaluate the potential effects of planned construction on archaeological resources. Background research shows that the Fleet Street neighborhood was initially developed in the late 17th and early 18th century. Throughout the later 18th, 19th and 20th centuries the area became known as an ethnically diverse working class neighborhood in the heart of the city. Historical residents of the project area have included in the early 20th century native people of European, African descent, and a community of Russian Ashkenazi Jews in the early 20th century. Previous archaeological investigations found evidence of intact archaeological resources within the project area dating from the 18th to 20th centuries. In addition to providing evidence of patterns of Annapolis’ historical urbanization, several features excavated in the course of this project have shed light on the development of public space within this working class neighborhood. These features include a corduroy or log road dating to the first quarter of the 18th century; what is believed to be a Yoruba ritual bundle dating to the first quarter of the 18th century; and a series of city improvements (i.e. curbs, sidewalks, and a public well) dating from the 18th through 20th centuries. A high degree of archaeological integrity at all three sites has the potential to add considerable knowledge concerning both Annapolis city development, and an ethnically diverse working class community. All three sites are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion D. Because of the integrity and uniqueness of the archaeological record within the project area, it is recommended that further archaeological research be done. Included within this recommendation is the need to process flotation and macrobotanical samples recovered in the fiel

Blood-feeding adaptations and virome assessment of the poultry red mite Dermanyssus gallinae guided by RNA-seq

Dermanyssus gallinae is a blood-feeding mite that parasitises wild birds and farmed poultry. Its remarkably swift processing of blood, together with the capacity to blood-feed during most developmental stages, makes this mite a highly debilitating pest. To identify specific adaptations to digestion of a haemoglobin-rich diet, we constructed and compared transcriptomes from starved and blood-fed stages of the parasite and identified midgut-enriched transcripts. We noted that midgut transcripts encoding cysteine proteases were upregulated with a blood meal. Mapping the full proteolytic apparatus, we noted a reduction in the suite of cysteine proteases, missing homologues for Cathepsin B and C.Instituto de Patología VegetalFil: Ribeiro, José M. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research; Estados UnidosFil: Hartmann, David. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology. Biology Centre; República ChecaFil: Bartošová-Sojková, Pavla. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology. Biology Centre; República ChecaFil: Debat, Humberto Julio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Debat, Humberto Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Moos, Martin. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Entomology; República ChecaFil: Šimek, Petr. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Entomology; República ChecaFil: Fara, Jiří.International Poultry Testing Station Ústrašice; República ChecaFil: Palus, Martin. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology; República ChecaFil: Kučera, Matěj. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology; República ChecaFil: Hajdušek, Ondřej. Czech Academy of Sciences. Biology Centre. Institute of Parasitology; República Chec