Regional Data in Historic Archeology: Examples from Environmental Impact Surveys

The emphasis on regional vs. single site data in prehistoric archeology is related to the assumption that culture is an adaptive behavioral system articulated with the natural and social environments. The testing of hypotheses and models about the nature of past societies in the historic period likewise requires regional data, not all of which may be available in the historical record. Archeological survey data--including those generated by Environmental Impact studies and other specific contract research--may be relevant to measuring cultural variables of historic period societies on a regional basis. Location, variability, and density of sites are some aspects of the historic archeological record which are especially amenable to measurement using survey data. Some examples of these aspects, derived from recent contract work in Arkansas and Missouri are discussed.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1075/thumbnail.jp

Windy Ridge: A Prehistoric Site in the Inter-Riverine Piedmont in South Carolina

Windy Ridge, 38FAl18, is a prehistoric site located on a ridge top in the inter-riverine zone between the Catawba-Wateree and Broad rivers in Fairfield County in the Piedmont portion of South Carolina. In May and June, 1977, archeological excavations were conducted at Windy Ridge by John H. House and Ronald W. Wogaman of the Institute of Archeology and Anthropology, University of South Carolina, Columbia. These excavations were funded by the (then South Carolina Highway Department) South Carolina Department of Highways and Public Transportation for the purpose of mitigating the loss of archeological resources due to construction of Interstate 77. It has been requested that Windy Ridge and thousands of similar lithic artifact scatters on upland land surfaces throughout the southern Piedmont represent hunting camps that were occupied for brief periods, perhaps seasonally, throughout the Archaic. The archeological research at Windy Ridge was designed to examine this hypothesis in the case of a single site. Two alternative hypotheses of the overall function of such a site in prehistoric settlement systems and two hypotheses of the potential biotic resources extracted from the environment at such a site were formulated and a set of archeological test implications were outlined for each hypothesis. The sampling strategy and excavation techniques together with the analytical methods employed in the laboratory were designed to fulfill the data requirements of these hypotheses. Artifacts from diverse cultural periods spanning 8000 years of prehistory were found throughout the sandy loam upper soil horizons at Windy Ridge. Though no stratigraphic separation of components was present, it was possible, analytically, to make some minimal segregations of the assemblage into chronologically and functionally meaningful units. It was inferred that throughout most of prehistory the aboriginal utilization of Windy Ridge consisted of many brief episodes of occupation, each involving the manufacture and/or use of a relatively narrow range of stone tools. The assemblage appears to be dominated by the outputs of manufacture of local raw materials and the use of hafted bifacial cutting tools. The spatial structure of the site suggests that quantitatively and spatially small units of cultural deposition characterized its formation during most prehistoric periods. The Middle Archaic component at Windy Ridge, however, seems to represent rather large units of synchronic deposition such as might be expected if prolonged or frequently recurrent use of permanent facilities had occurred during this interval at Windy Ridge. On the whole, the data tend to support the hypothesis that Windy Ridge represents a series of brief episodes of occupation involving specialized extractive activities, perhaps hunting and butchering of white-tailed deer. This inference is far from conclusive, and the data suggest significant technological, functional and organizational differences among prehistoric components at Windy Ridge.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_anthro_studies/1001/thumbnail.jp

An Archeological Survey of a Portion of the Charleston Innerbelt Freeway, Charleston County, South Carolina

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1073/thumbnail.jp

An Archeological Survey of the Interstate 77 Route in the South Carolina Piedmont

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1142/thumbnail.jp

An Archeological Reconnaissance of the Four Proposed Twelfth Street Extension Routes, Lexington County, South Carolina

https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1093/thumbnail.jp

Foxp3 expression in macrophages associated with RENCA tumors in mice.

The transcription factor Foxp3 represents the most specific functional marker of CD4+ regulatory T cells (TRegs). However, previous reports have described Foxp3 expression in other cell types including some subsets of macrophages, although there are conflicting reports and Foxp3 expression in cells other than Treg is not well characterized. We performed detailed investigations into Foxp3 expression in macrophages in the normal tissue and tumor settings. We detected Foxp3 protein in macrophages infiltrating mouse renal cancer tumors injected subcutaneously or in the kidney. Expression was demonstrated using flow cytometry and Western blot with two individual monoclonal antibodies. Further analyses confirmed Foxp3 expression in macrophages by RT PCR, and studies using ribonucleic acid-sequencing (RNAseq) demonstrated a previously unknown Foxp3 messenger (m)RNA transcript in tumor-associated macrophages. In addition, depletion of Foxp3+ cells using diphtheria toxin in Foxp3DTR mice reduced the frequency of type-2 macrophages (M2) in kidney tumors. Collectively, these results indicate that tumor-associated macrophages could express Foxp3

The Dilemma of the Dilated Main Pancreatic Duct in the Distal Pancreatic Remnant After Proximal Pancreatectomy for IPMN

Objective(s) A dilated main pancreatic duct in the distal remnant after proximal pancreatectomy for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) poses a diagnostic dilemma. We sought to determine parameters predictive of remnant main-duct IPMN and malignancy during surveillance. Methods Three hundred seventeen patients underwent proximal pancreatectomy for IPMN (Indiana University, 1991–2016). Main-duct dilation included those ≥ 5 mm or “dilated” on radiographic reports. Statistics compared groups using Student’s T/Mann-Whitney U tests for continuous variables or chi-square/Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables with P < 0.05 considered significant. Results High-grade/invasive IPMN or adenocarcinoma at proximal pancreatectomy predicted malignant outcomes (100.0% malignant outcomes; P < 0.001) in remnant surveillance. Low/moderate-grade lesions revealed benign outcomes at last surveillance regardless of duct diameter. Twenty of 21 patients undergoing distal remnant reoperation had a dilated main duct. Seven had main-duct IPMN on remnant pathology; these patients had greater mean maximum main-duct diameter prior to reoperation (9.5 vs 6.2 mm, P = 0.072), but this did not reach statistical significance. Several features showed high sensitivity/specificity for remnant main-duct IPMN. Conclusions Remnant main-duct dilation after proximal pancreatectomy for IPMN remains a diagnostic dilemma. Several parameters show a promise in accurately diagnosing main-duct IPMN in the remnant

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Pancreas Cancer in 2016: A Review

In this article, we review our multidisciplinary approach for patients with pancreatic cancer. Specifically, we review the epidemiology, diagnosis and staging, biliary drainage techniques, selection of patients for surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and discuss other palliative interventions. The areas of active research investigation and where our knowledge is limited are emphasized

Calibration of myocardial T2 and T1 against iron concentration.

BACKGROUND: The assessment of myocardial iron using T2* cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has been validated and calibrated, and is in clinical use. However, there is very limited data assessing the relaxation parameters T1 and T2 for measurement of human myocardial iron. METHODS: Twelve hearts were examined from transfusion-dependent patients: 11 with end-stage heart failure, either following death (n=7) or cardiac transplantation (n=4), and 1 heart from a patient who died from a stroke with no cardiac iron loading. Ex-vivo R1 and R2 measurements (R1=1/T1 and R2=1/T2) at 1.5 Tesla were compared with myocardial iron concentration measured using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. RESULTS: From a single myocardial slice in formalin which was repeatedly examined, a modest decrease in T2 was observed with time, from mean (± SD) 23.7 ± 0.93 ms at baseline (13 days after death and formalin fixation) to 18.5 ± 1.41 ms at day 566 (p<0.001). Raw T2 values were therefore adjusted to correct for this fall over time. Myocardial R2 was correlated with iron concentration [Fe] (R2 0.566, p<0.001), but the correlation was stronger between LnR2 and Ln[Fe] (R2 0.790, p<0.001). The relation was [Fe] = 5081•(T2)-2.22 between T2 (ms) and myocardial iron (mg/g dry weight). Analysis of T1 proved challenging with a dichotomous distribution of T1, with very short T1 (mean 72.3 ± 25.8 ms) that was independent of iron concentration in all hearts stored in formalin for greater than 12 months. In the remaining hearts stored for <10 weeks prior to scanning, LnR1 and iron concentration were correlated but with marked scatter (R2 0.517, p<0.001). A linear relationship was present between T1 and T2 in the hearts stored for a short period (R2 0.657, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Myocardial T2 correlates well with myocardial iron concentration, which raises the possibility that T2 may provide additive information to T2* for patients with myocardial siderosis. However, ex-vivo T1 measurements are less reliable due to the severe chemical effects of formalin on T1 shortening, and therefore T1 calibration may only be practical from in-vivo human studies

The social value of a QALY : raising the bar or barring the raise?

Background: Since the inception of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) in England, there have been questions about the empirical basis for the cost-per-QALY threshold used by NICE and whether QALYs gained by different beneficiaries of health care should be weighted equally. The Social Value of a QALY (SVQ) project, reported in this paper, was commissioned to address these two questions. The results of SVQ were released during a time of considerable debate about the NICE threshold, and authors with differing perspectives have drawn on the SVQ results to support their cases. As these discussions continue, and given the selective use of results by those involved, it is important, therefore, not only to present a summary overview of SVQ, but also for those who conducted the research to contribute to the debate as to its implications for NICE. Discussion: The issue of the threshold was addressed in two ways: first, by combining, via a set of models, the current UK Value of a Prevented Fatality (used in transport policy) with data on fatality age, life expectancy and age-related quality of life; and, second, via a survey designed to test the feasibility of combining respondents’ answers to willingness to pay and health state utility questions to arrive at values of a QALY. Modelling resulted in values of £10,000-£70,000 per QALY. Via survey research, most methods of aggregating the data resulted in values of a QALY of £18,000-£40,000, although others resulted in implausibly high values. An additional survey, addressing the issue of weighting QALYs, used two methods, one indicating that QALYs should not be weighted and the other that greater weight could be given to QALYs gained by some groups. Summary: Although we conducted only a feasibility study and a modelling exercise, neither present compelling evidence for moving the NICE threshold up or down. Some preliminary evidence would indicate it could be moved up for some types of QALY and down for others. While many members of the public appear to be open to the possibility of using somewhat different QALY weights for different groups of beneficiaries, we do not yet have any secure evidence base for introducing such a system