The McDonald Site: An Analysis of WPA Excavations at a Caddo Site in the Glover River Drainage, McCurtain County, Oklahoma

Between December 1941 and March 1942, the final federally-sponsored WPA excavations in Oklahoma were conducted at the McDonald site, located along the Glover River. Because federal funds for analysis dried up as the country entered into World War II, the recovered artifacts were never fully analyzed. Between 2008-2009, I analyzed the non-mortuary artifacts, which are curated at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (SNOMNH) in Norman, and conducted an analysis of recovered stone and ceramic artifacts. Using previously unknown information from a recently unearthed final WPA Quarterly report, in this article I describe excavations and present the results of my analysis. I also incorporate Elsbeth Dowd’s previous analysis of the whole vessels recovered from burials into my study and compare the McDonald site material to the assemblages from two downstream mound sites, Clement and A.W. Davis

Report: Abstracts from the 2018 Caddo Conference in Idabel, Oklahoma

The 2018 Caddo Conference was held March 8-10, 2018 at the Museum of the Red River in Idabel, Oklahoma. Fifty attendees registered for the conference. The conference began with a reception at the museum on Thursday evening. On Friday, the program included eight papers and presentations covering archaeological work in Texas and Oklahoma and a longer presentation on the rebuilding of the Caddo house at Caddo Mounds State Park in Texas. A poster session was also held on Friday afternoon. Conference attendees were given a tour of the collections housed at the museum, which include a large collection of Caddo vessels and objects from all over the world. Friday ended with dances by the Metro Oklahoma City (OKC) Caddo Culture Club, beginning with the Turkey Dance and a delicious barbecue dinner held at the museum. On Saturday, the eight presentations covered sites in Arkansas and Oklahoma, Spiro iconography, and included a presentation on the Spiro exhibit forthcoming at the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. Just before breaking for lunch on Saturday, Caddo Culture Club and Metro OKC Caddo Culture Club members led a song using the large drum on exhibit in the museum

Report: The 62nd Annual Caddo Conference and 27th Annual East Texas Archeological Conference, Tyler, Texas, February 28 and 29, 2020

The 62nd Caddo Conference and 27th East Texas Archeological Conference was held at the University Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Tyler on February 28 and 29, 2020. The conference was dedicated to the rebuilding of public facilities at Caddo Mounds State Historic Site. These facilities had been destroyed by a tornado in 2019. The conference organizers were Thomas Guderjan, Colleen Hanratty, Cory Sills, Christy Simmons (University of Texas at Tyler), Keith Eppich (Tyler Junior College), Anthony Souther (Caddo Mounds State Historic Site), Amanda Regnier (Oklahoma Archeological Survey), Mark Walters (Texas Historical Commission Steward). Sponsors included The Center for Social Science Research and Department of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Tyler, Humanities Texas, Kevin Stingley, Arkansas Archeological Survey, Beta Analytic, Inc., Friends of Northeast Texas Archeology, East Texas Archeological Society, Maya Research Program, Tejas Archeology, Tyler Junior College, Gregg County Historical Museum, the American Indian Heritage Day of Texas organization, and the Caddo Nation. Before the formal program began, a preconference gathering was held at ETX Brewing Company at 221 S Broadway Avenue in Tyler on Thursday evening, February 27th. Approximately 250 people participated in the joint conferences

Positive Inotropic Effects of Low dATP/ATP Ratios on Mechanics and Kinetics of Porcine Cardiac Muscle

Substitution of 2′-deoxy ATP (dATP) for ATP as substrate for actomyosin results in significant enhancement of in vitro parameters of cardiac contraction. To determine the minimal ratio of dATP/ATP (constant total NTP) that significantly enhances cardiac contractility and obtain greater understanding of how dATP substitution results in contractile enhancement, we varied dATP/ATP ratio in porcine cardiac muscle preparations. At maximum Ca(2+) (pCa 4.5), isometric force increased linearly with dATP/ATP ratio, but at submaximal Ca(2+) (pCa 5.5) this relationship was nonlinear, with the nonlinearity evident at 2–20% dATP; force increased significantly with only 10% of substrate as dATP. The rate of tension redevelopment (k(TR)) increased with dATP at all Ca(2+) levels. k(TR) increased linearly with dATP/ATP ratio at pCa 4.5 and 5.5. Unregulated actin-activated Mg-NTPase rates and actin sliding speed linearly increased with the dATP/ATP ratio (p < 0.01 at 10% dATP). Together these data suggest cardiac contractility is enhanced when only 10% of the contractile substrate is dATP. Our results imply that relatively small (but supraphysiological) levels of dATP increase the number of strongly attached, force-producing actomyosin cross-bridges, resulting in an increase in overall contractility through both thin filament activation and kinetic shortening of the actomyosin cross-bridge cycle

Development of a Full-Thickness Human Skin Equivalent In Vitro

Currently, human skin equivalents (HSEs) used for in vitro assays (e.g., for wound healing) make use of primary human skin cells. Limitations of primary keratinocytes and fibroblasts include availability of donor skin and donor variation. The use of physiologically relevant cell lines could solve these limitations. The aim was to develop a fully differentiated HSE constructed entirely from human skin cell lines, which could be applied for in vitro wound-healing assays. Skin equivalents were constructed from human TERT-immortalized keratinocytes and fibroblasts (TERT-HSE) and compared with native skin and primary HSEs. HSEs were characterized by hematoxylin-eosin and immunohistochemical stainings with markers for epidermal proliferation and differentiation, basement membrane (BM), fibroblasts, and the extracellular matrix (ECM). Ultrastructure was determined with electron microscopy. To test the functionality of the TERT-HSE, burn and cold injuries were applied, followed by immunohistochemical stainings, measurement of reepithelialization, and determination of secreted wound-healing mediators. The TERT-HSE was composed of a fully differentiated epidermis and a fibroblast-populated dermis comparable to native skin and primary HSE. The epidermis consisted of proliferating keratinocytes within the basal layer, followed by multiple spinous layers, a granular layer, and cornified layers. Within the TERT-HSE, the membrane junctions such as corneosomes, desmosomes, and hemidesmosomes were well developed as shown by ultrastructure pictures. Furthermore, the BM consisted of a lamina lucida and lamina densa comparable to native skin. The dermal matrix of the TERT-HSE was more similar to native skin than the primary construct, since collagen III, an ECM marker, was present in TERT-HSEs and absent in primary HSEs. After wounding, the TERT-HSE was able to reepithelialize and secrete inflammatory wound-healing mediators. In conclusion, the novel TERT-HSE, constructed entirely from human cell lines, provides an excellent opportunity to study in vitro skin biology and can also be used for drug targeting and testing new therapeutics, and ultimately, for incorporating into skin-on-a chip in the future

Mound R1 and the problem of the minor mound at Moundville

This project reports recent excavations of Mound R1 at Moundville. Of the 32 mounds at Moundville, fifteen are flat-topped monuments which help define the plaza; however there are several small mounds, not part of this plaza group, that have been almost completely overlooked in the history of Moundville research. Mound R1 is one of these small mounds. Mound R1 is located approximately 40 meters west of Mound R on a narrow, isolated projection of a terrace bordered by ravines. Excavations were conducted in the fall of 2011 and the summer of 2012. These excavations reveal Mound R1 to be a multi-stage platform mound constructed of clay with evidence of perishable architecture on the mound during each major episode of construction. The stratigraphy and artifact analysis reveal the same construction chronology, structure, and function as the much larger plaza periphery mounds at Moundville. Moreover, the surrounding landform exhibits an occupation history comparable to that found in other areas at Moundville. I suggest that this landform was occupied by a distinct kin-based residential group. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Comparação de quatro métodos laboratoriais para diagnóstico da Giardia lamblia em fezes de crianças residentes em Belém, Pará Evaluation of four techniques for diagnosis of Giardia lamblia in children's stool from Belém city, Para State, Brazil

Relatamos a comparação de quatro metodologias para o diagnóstico da Giardia lamblia em material fecal de crianças, Belém/PA. A Hematoxilina Férrica e o método direto apresentaram menor positividade, enquanto que o Método de Faust continua uma boa escolha para o diagnóstico e o Ensaio imunoenzimático melhora a qualidade da detecção deste parasito.<br>We report the evaluation of four techniques for Giardia lamblia diagnosis in children's stool. The Iron haematoxilin staining and direct examination with lugol showed lower positivity, while the method of Faust et al. Continues to be a good option for G. lamblia diagnosis and Immunoenzymatic assay increases the detection of this parasite

Comparative mapping of a QTL controlling black point formation in barley

© CSIRO 2008The dark discoloration of the embryo end of barley grain (known as black point) is a physiological disorder and the discovery of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) on 2H confirms this trait is controlled genetically. The mechanisms underlying black point tolerance can now be dissected through identification of candidate genes. Comparisons between the QTL identified on chromosomes 2H of barley and 2B of wheat suggest that they are in similar positions near the centromere. In silico analysis, using rice, identified genes residing on two comparative chromosomes (4 and 7) of the rice genome. Analysis of the 12.6 Mb region revealed 1928 unique annotations classified into 11 functional categories. Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) with high sequence similarity to enzymes proposed to be involved in black point formation were used to develop restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). To ensure an even coverage of markers across the QTL, RFLP markers were also developed from other ESTs. Mapping of these markers has reduced the QTL region from 28 to 18 cM. This study has identified candidate genes for the control of black point formation and paves the way for future research to develop black point resistant barley cultivars.Timothy J. March A , C , Jason A. Able A , Kerrie Willsmore B , Carolyn J. Schultz A and Amanda J. Abl

Design, Implementation and Multisite Evaluation of a System Suitability Protocol for the Quantitative Assessment of Instrument Performance in Liquid Chromatography-Multiple Reaction Monitoring-MS (LC-MRM-MS)*

Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry coupled with stable isotope dilution (SID) and liquid chromatography (LC) is increasingly used in biological and clinical studies for precise and reproducible quantification of peptides and proteins in complex sample matrices. Robust LC-SID-MRM-MS-based assays that can be replicated across laboratories and ultimately in clinical laboratory settings require standardized protocols to demonstrate that the analysis platforms are performing adequately. We developed a system suitability protocol (SSP), which employs a predigested mixture of six proteins, to facilitate performance evaluation of LC-SID-MRM-MS instrument platforms, configured with nanoflow-LC systems interfaced to triple quadrupole mass spectrometers. The SSP was designed for use with low multiplex analyses as well as high multiplex approaches when software-driven scheduling of data acquisition is required. Performance was assessed by monitoring of a range of chromatographic and mass spectrometric metrics including peak width, chromatographic resolution, peak capacity, and the variability in peak area and analyte retention time (RT) stability. The SSP, which was evaluated in 11 laboratories on a total of 15 different instruments, enabled early diagnoses of LC and MS anomalies that indicated suboptimal LC-MRM-MS performance. The observed range in variation of each of the metrics scrutinized serves to define the criteria for optimized LC-SID-MRM-MS platforms for routine use, with pass/fail criteria for system suitability performance measures defined as peak area coefficient of variation &lt;0.15, peak width coefficient of variation &lt;0.15, standard deviation of RT &lt;0.15 min (9 s), and the RT drift &lt;0.5min (30 s). The deleterious effect of a marginally performing LC-SID-MRM-MS system on the limit of quantification (LOQ) in targeted quantitative assays illustrates the use and need for a SSP to establish robust and reliable system performance. Use of a SSP helps to ensure that analyte quantification measurements can be replicated with good precision within and across multiple laboratories and should facilitate more widespread use of MRM-MS technology by the basic biomedical and clinical laboratory research communities