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The occupation history of the Cahokia archaeological complex (ca. AD 1050–1400) has received significant academic attention for decades, but the subsequent repopulation of the region by indigenous peoples is poorly understood. This study presents demographic trends from a fecal stanol population reconstruction of Horseshoe Lake, Illinois, along with information from archaeological, historical, and environmental sources to provide an interpretation of post-Mississippian population change in the Cahokia region. Fecal stanol data indicate that the Cahokia region reached a population minimum by approximately AD 1400, regional population had rebounded by AD 1500, a population maximum was reached by AD 1650, and population declined again by AD 1700. The indigenous repopulation of the area coincides with environmental changes conducive to maize-based agriculture and bison-hunting subsistence practices of the Illinois Confederation. The subsequent regional depopulation corresponds to a complicated period of warfare, epidemic disease, Christianization, population movement, and environmental change in the eighteenth century. The recognition of a post-Mississippian indigenous population helps shape a narrative of Native American persistence over Native American disappearance.

Fecal stanols deposited in sediment provide evidence of trace human waste products and have been proposed as a proxy for measuring population change. Despite its potential to contribute to paleodemographic studies, the method has not been evaluated against conventional archaeological population reconstructions to determine its fidelity in identifying changes in ancient populations nor has it been applied in an environmental setting outside of the Arctic, where low temperatures enhance stanol preservation. We studied sediment cores recovered from a lake adjacent to Cahokia, the largest and most well-studied prehistoric mound center in North America. We found fecal stanol data closely track independently established population reconstructions from multiple sources, confirming the utility of the method and demonstrating its viability in temperate climates.

Northern Vietnam has a long history of human occupation, warfare, and agriculture; yet, the environmental consequences of human activity are poorly understood due to limited paleoecological records. Results from a terrestrial wetland sediment core from the tropical island, Quan Lan, in Ha Long Bay provide a local record of ecosystem responses to societal shifts due to warfare/instability and climate change. A multiproxy study, including pollen, macro charcoal, fecal stanols, and geochemistry, suggests that native vegetation was abundant and low-level, subsistence wet-rice agriculture and burning were in practice during a time of increased monsoon intensity between 1150 BCE and 950 CE. Between 950 and 1450 CE, a trading and military port was established on Quan Lan Island which served as a major hub of southeast Asian trade and protected the mainland from Mongol invasions. During this period, population near the wetland declined to undetectable levels, rice agriculture declined, burning ceased, and disturbance species expanded. A simultaneous shift toward a more arid climate, with possible extended years of drought, occurred during the Medieval Climate Anomaly based on regional climate records. Without a reliable source of freshwater, rice production declined and/or was supplemented by trade. When the mainland capital near present day Hanoi moved south to Hue after 1450 CE, the port ceased operation. During this time, climate became wetter, and precipitation and surface water more reliable than before. Population near the wetland increased as did burning and rice agriculture. The research has implications for understanding the maintenance of tropical biodiversity amidst long-term human occupation, political unrest, and climate change.

A number of competing hypotheses, including hydroclimatic variations, environmental degradation and disturbance, and sociopolitical disintegration, have emerged to explain the dissolution of Cahokia, the largest prehistoric population center in the United States. Because it is likely that Cahokia's decline was precipitated by multiple factors, some environmental and some societal, a robust understanding of this phenomenon will require multiple lines of evidence along with a refined chronology. Here, we use fecal stanol data from Horseshoe Lake, Illinois, as a population proxy for Cahokia and the broader Horseshoe Lake watershed. We directly compare the fecal stanol data with oxygen stable-isotope and paleoenvironmental data from the same sediment cores to evaluate the role of flooding, drought, and environmental degradation in Cahokia's demographic decline and sociopolitical reorganization. We find that Mississippi River flooding and warm season droughts detrimental to agriculture occurred circa (ca.) 1150 CE and possibly generated significant stress for Cahokia's inhabitants. Our findings implicate climate change during the Medieval Climatic Anomaly to Little Ice Age transition as an important component of population and sociopolitical transformations at Cahokia, and demonstrate how climate transitions can simultaneously influence multiple environmental processes to produce significant challenges to society.

Highlights • Conservative management alone, in certain cases, can be an effective method of treating large cerebral abscesses that would normally warrant surgical intervention in patients with complex congenital heart conditions. • Having an alternative, non-surgical, method of treating large brain abscesses in patients with underlying complex congenital heart conditions, in which brain abscesses is a known complication, is of great clinical importance. • Due to the increasing number of patients living longer with congenital heart conditions, further study into the conservative management of larger abscesses is warranted., Introduction We present an unusual case where a large intra-cerebral abscess with severe complications was treated successfully with medical management alone in a patient with Eisenmenger syndrome. Presentation of case A 40 year old patient with Eisenmenger syndrome presented with a seven day history of headache, neck pain and intermittent vomiting and fever. The only neurological examination finding was blurred vision. MRI revealed a large left occipital lobe abscess, which subsequently ruptured into the lateral ventricle with associated ventriculitis and hydrocephalus. This complicated abscess was successfully treated with intravenous antibiotics alone, with complete resolution of the abscess and hydrocephalus on MRI at 13 months post-diagnosis. Discussion Patients with congenital cyanotic heart conditions, like Eisenmenger syndrome, are at increased risk of developing intra-cerebral abscesses. Effectively managing large abscesses with associated intra-ventricular rupture and hydrocephalus in these patients without any form of surgical intervention, including aspiration, is extremely rare. Conclusion Patients with congenital cyanotic heart disease who develop large intra-cerebral abscesses with severe complications, which would normally warrant surgical intervention, have the potential to be successfully treated with antibiotics alone with excellent outcome.

Most seed predation studies focus on either pre- or post-dispersal predation and may therefore underestimate the role of predation in regulating plant populations. We therefore estimated total seed predation of an invasive tree, mesquite (Leguminoseae: Prosopis spp.), by examining the entire seed pool from tree to seed bank. The spatio-temporal dynamics of total seed predation was examined by sampling across its Australian distribution and through time. The main predator was a host-specialist multivoltine beetle, Algarobius prosopis L. (Bruchidae), previously introduced as a biocontrol agent. Seed predation exceeded 20% in all seed stages (in pods on and off the tree, and seeds within woody endocarps (capsules) and free seeds on and in the ground) but was consistently highest in capsules on the ground (up to 90%). Pre-dispersal predation contributed little. Total seed predation rates were primarily determined by predation rates on the most persistent seed stage, in this case fallen pods if only pods are considered and seeds in capsules for the total seed pool. This pattern was consistent across the surveyed taxa, regions, years and seasonally. Predation rate was relatively unaffected by seed density, potentially because densities were always low (

Seed predators are widely used as weed biological control agents, but with mixed results. A limitation of multivoltine agents is that they cannot effectively exploit seasonally fluctuating seed resources, although this could potentially be overcome through post-dispersal predation. In this study we examine post-dispersal predation of mesquite (Leguminoseae: Prosopis) seed in dung (pig, emu and cow) in Australia where two multivoltine seed predators (Bruchidae: Algorobius prosopis and A. bottimeri) have been released for biocontrol. Dung was collected from the field in the Pilbara Region (Western Australia) and north Queensland (north-eastern Australia), returned to the laboratory for adult emergence, and seed densities and predation rates subsequently calculated. Densities of intact seeds were high in all dung types (averaging 834–1853 seeds/kg), although many additional seeds had already died or germinated in emu and pig dung (2692–4146 seeds/kg). Seeds were mostly still in protective woody endocarps in emu and pig dung but were free in cow dung, with likely consequences for subsequent dormancy release. Seeds were predated in both regions and all dung types but only A. prosopis was recorded. Predation rates were consistently above 70% in pig dung and reached 77% in emu dung from north Queensland, but averaged only 16% in cow dung. Seed predation rates were similar for both seeds within endocarps and free seeds. Remaining intact seeds were mostly viable and approximately one third was still dormant (cow and emu dung). These results support the expectation that post-dispersal predation by multivoltine seed predators can contribute greatly to overall seed predation rates, although population-level impacts may still be limited.

Mild zinc deficiency, which is prevalent in vegetarians, diseased individuals, and the general aging population, depresses immunity and increases risk of disease in later life. However, human zinc intervention trials have produced conflicting results, perhaps because many of these trials included young or zinc-sufficient subjects. Since heterogeneity of the adult population may impact on response to dietary zinc, nutrigenomic approaches aimed at understanding the impact of zinc on modulation of gene and protein activities may aid in identifying subsets of the population-in particular the aging population-with increased risk of zinc deficiency who might receive benefit from a dietary zinc intervention and in this way may influence the success of the intervention. In the current study we used nutrigenomic approaches to investigate the impact of age on zinc-regulated gene expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (Ingenuity Systems, Redwood City, CA) identified several genetic networks and functional canonical pathways which appeared responsive to zinc that were differentially regulated in young and elderly individuals. These include tryptophan metabolism, eicosanoid signaling, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, integrin signaling, purine metabolism, G-protein-coupled receptor signaling, and most significantly, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling. These data suggest that age impacts strongly on the transcriptional effects of zinc and provides evidence to support the hypothesis that young and elderly individuals may respond differentially to zinc intervention.

This work describes the synthesis and use of the chelator lipid, nitrilotriacetic acid ditetradecylamine (NTA-DTDA). This lipid is readily dispersed in aqueous media, both alone and when mixed with carrier lipids like dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC). Fluorescence microscopic examination of membranes deposited from NTA-DTDA-containing liposomes shows that NTA-DTDA mixes uniformly with the carrier lipid, and does not phase separate. NTA-DTDA-membranes deposited onto the sensing surface of IAsys biosensor cuvettes show good stability, permitting use of the biosensor to study protein interactions. Hexahistidine-tagged proteins including recombinant forms of the extracellular regions of murine B7.1 (B7.1-6H) and of the human erythropoietin receptor (EPOR-6H) bind to NTA-DTDA-membranes; the stability of binding is dependent on both protein concentration, and density of NTA-DTDA. Kinetic measurements show that high stability of anchored proteins (t(1/2) approximately 10-20 h, apparent K(d) approximately 1 nM) can be achieved using membranes containing 25 mol% NTA-DTDA, but low levels of bound protein (

Thin films of diamond-like carbon have been deposited using a photon-enhanced CVD method. Initial results have been reported previously. This paper investigates the possible mechanisms involved in film growth by electrical characterization of the plasma in the chamber, and by relating the variation in film growth rate to deposition pressure. The results indicate that the primary deposition mechanism is due to phyotolysis, with CVD due to diffusion of the hydrogen plasma from the lamp playing a lesser role. Material properties of the films have been studied by many methods, including Raman spectroscopy and elastic recoil detection analysis. These results are reported here and, in agreement with previous work, indicate that the films produced are semiconducting hydrogenated amorphous carbon, with hydrogen concentrations of between 35 and 45 at.%.

Thin films of diamond-like carbon (DLC) have been deposited using a novel photon-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (photo-CVD) method. This low energy method may be a way to produce better interfaces in electronic devices by reducing damage due to ion bombardment. Methane requires high energy photons for photolysis to take place and these are not transmitted in most photo-CVD methods owing to the presence of a window between the lamp and the deposition environment. In our photo-CVD system there is no window and all the high energy photons are transmitted into the reaction gas. Initial work has proved promising and this paper presents recent results. Films have been characterized by measuring electron energy loss spectra, by ellipsometry and by fabricating and testing diode structures. Results indicate that the films are of a largely amorphous nature and are semiconducting. Diode structures have on/off current ratios of up to 106.

Yttrium is being investigated as a hydrogen getter to prevent delayed hydride cracking in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tubes in CANDU nuclear power reactors. Yttrium strips have been encapsulated in zirconium alloy and attached to the ends of hydrided pressure tube sections to determine the effect of the degree of contact between the yttrium and the encapsulation on the gettering rate. Rates for strips hot isostatically pressed into the encapsulation were in good agreement with diffusion model predictions assuming complete contact. Rates for strips brought into contact by cold rolling were slightly lower than those for the hot-pressed strips, while little gettering was observed for loose strips sealed in the encapsulation by tungsten-inert gas welding. The effect of hydrogen flux rate to the yttrium on gettering was determined at 313°C for hydrogen fluxes from three to nine times those predicted in reactor. It was found that these fluzes did not affect the gettering rate for hydrogen concentration up to 58 at.% in the hot isostatically pressed yttrium inserts. Inserts that were thermally cycled and inserts that had not been hot pressed achieved similar gettering rates.

Decreased zinc ion availability in ageing is associated with altered immune response. One of the main regulators of zinc availability is metallothionein. Metallothionein induction is under the control of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine whose production is associated with poor ageing. The production of interleukin-6 is controlled, in part, by variability in the −174 nucleotide position. Under conditions of chronic inflammation, such as in ageing, zinc release by metallothionein is limited and may reduce zinc availability. Understanding the precise nature of the interactions between interleukin-6 and metallothioneins will aid in identifying individuals who are at risk of zinc deficiency. In the current study, we used gene arrays to investigate the effects of in vitro zinc supplementation on gene expression in elderly donors with described interleukin-6 and metallothionein 1a polymorphisms. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis™ identified several zinc-responsive genetic networks uniquely regulated only in elderly individuals with the pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 polymorphism. These include zinc-dependent decreased transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines and alterations in metabolic regulatory pathways. The genomic effects of zinc increased in significance in the presence of the metallothionein 1a +647 C/A transition, suggesting that the interleukin-6 and metallothionein 1a genes act in a concerted manner to control zinc-regulated gene expression.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, August 4 – August 8, 2013.

In the design of cooled turbomachinery blading a central role is played by the computer methods used to optimise the aerodynamic and thermal performance of the turbine aerofoils. Estimates of the heat load on the turbine blading should be as accurate as possible, in order that adequate life may be obtained with the minimum cooling air requirement. Computer methods are required which are able to model transonic flows, which are a mixture of high temperature combustion gases and relatively cool air injected through holes in the aerofoil surface. These holes may be of complex geometry, devised after empirical studies of the optimum shape and the most cost effective manufacturing technology. The method used here is a further development of the heat transfer design code (HTDC), originally written by Rolls-Royce plc under subcontract to Rolls-Royce Inc for the United States Air Force. The physical principles of the modelling employed in the code are explained without extensive mathematical details. The paper describes the calibration of the code in conjunction with a series of experimental measurements on a scale model of a high-pressure nozzle guide vane at non-dimensionally correct engine conditions. The results are encouraging, although indicating that some further work is required in modelling highly accelerated pressure surface flow.

also obtain the activities of various test compounds to the NCI-60 cell line panel from NCI Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) website. Using this capability, we screened for therapeutic agents against the cell lines with PIK3CAmutation, the second most frequently mutated actionable oncogene among various types of tumors. Material and Methods: Utilizing NCI-60 cell line GI50 (50% growthinhibitory levels) data of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway compounds, we calculated the differences in mean log GI50 between the PIK3CA mutated cell lines and non-mutated cell lines (delta log GI50) to investigate promising compounds. The volcano plot (the x-axis depicts delta log GI50 and the y-axis depicts statistical significance level) was used to search for the promising test compounds. Results: Seven cell lines had PIK3CA mutation (3 p.E545K, 3 p.H1047R, and 1 p.R38C mutation). We could collect GI50 data on 35 PI3K/AKT/mTOR targeting compounds (7 pan-class PI3K inhibitors, 7 isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors, 5 rapalogs, 3 mTOR kinase inhibitors, 6 panPI3K/mTOR inhibitors, and 7 AKT inhibitors). In our analysis, 1 panclass PI3K inhibitor, 2 isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors, 1 rapalog and 1 AKT inhibitor showed promising trends by both delta log GI50 and statistical significance. Conclusions: NCI-60 cell line panel may be a valuable tool to identify various actionable mutation–drug relationships and to discover promising drug candidates.

Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the ability of a device, unit of equipment or system to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances to anything else in that environment. On the 31 December 1995 the “New Approach” Directive, 89/336/EEC, came into effect through new UK EMC Regulations that had been put into place on 1 January 1992. This became mandatory on 1 January 1996, against Statutory Regulation 3180, with all electrical equipment being tested to Euronorms raised and issued by CENELEC or other adopted IEC or International Standards. Here, the relevance of this Directive to electric surface heating equipment is studied by the author. (9 pages)

The compound (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 3 PPh 3 , previously obtained by the photolysis of (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 4 with PPh 3 , may also be obtained by reflluxing these same reactants in benzene. The compound was isolated in pure form by means of low temperature column chromatography. It is unstable in solution in the absence of added PPh 3 . Solid samples also are unstable over long periods of time. Decomposition in solution is complete within one hour at 80° yielding a mixture of (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 4 and (C 5 H 5 ) 4 Fe 4 (CO) 4 . This reaction is suppressed by excess PPh 3 . Heating a mixture of (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 3 PPh 3 and P(OEt) 3 gives a nearly quantitative yield of (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 3 P(OEt) 3 . Refluxing a xylene solution of (C 5 H 5 ) 2 Fe 2 (CO) 4 containing a slight molarr excess of PPh 3 for 7 h results in the isolation of (C 5 H 5 ) 4 Fe 4 (CO) 4 in 56% yield, making this reaction by far the most convenient method for the preparation, in gram quantities, of this transition metal cluster.

Infrared (IR)-spectroscopy can analyse a range of molecules in diverse biological systems and has already found use in forensic biology, clinical diagnosis, and environmental monitoring. Using IR-spectroscopy to analyse gastropod mucus represents an original application of this technique. This study describes the differences in mucus composition that appear to be species specific, as well as identifying many of the molecular components of the mucus itself. All species studied showed IR absorbance bands indicating the presence of amide bonds as well as profiles associated with the sugar side chains, indicating a commonality associated with the gel properties of pedal mucus which may have a role in locomotion. The species-specific band profiles may provide an indication of the differing roles required of the mucus by the specific gastropod tested.

An experiment is described in linking to a large digital computer at data rates in the order of 107 bit/s. The system is based on standard British Post Office microwave equipment and well established high-speed wire links; the interface between the two sections uses the CAMAC-system convention. The total system is described, and details are given of some of the equipment not previously published. Important features of the system are the termination of both ends of the link in a high-level-language module (in this case PL1), executing in a multiprogramming operating system, and corrected error rates better than 1 bit in 109.