Hippocrates' complaint and the scientific ethos in early modern England.

PubMed

Yeo, Richard

2018-04-01

Among the elements of the modern scientific ethos, as identified by R.K. Merton and others, is the commitment of individual effort to a long-term inquiry that may not bring substantial results in a lifetime. The challenge this presents was encapsulated in the aphorism of the ancient Greek physician, Hippocrates of Kos: vita brevis, ars longa (life is short, art is long). This article explores how this complaint was answered in the early modern period by Francis Bacon's call for the inauguration of the sciences over several generations, thereby imagining a succession of lives added together over time. However, Bacon also explored another response to Hippocrates: the devotion of a 'whole life', whether brief or long, to science. The endorsement of long-term inquiry in combination with intensive lifetime involvement was embraced by some leading Fellows of the Royal Society, such as Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke. The problem for individuals, however, was to find satisfaction in science despite concerns, in some fields, that current observations and experiments would not yield material able to be extended by future investigations.

Malocclusion in Early Anatomically Modern Human: A Reflection on the Etiology of Modern Dental Misalignment

PubMed Central

Sarig, Rachel; Slon, Viviane; Abbas, Janan; May, Hila; Shpack, Nir; Vardimon, Alexander Dan; Hershkovitz, Israel

2013-01-01

Malocclusions are common in modern populations. Yet, as the study of occlusion requires an almost intact dentition in both the maxilla and mandible, searching for the ultimate cause of malocclusion is a challenge: relatively little ancient material is available for research on occlusal states. The Qafzeh 9 skull is unique, as its preserved dentition allowed us to investigate the presence and manifestations of malocclusion. The aim of this study was thus to examine the occlusal condition in the Qafzeh 9 specimen in light of modern knowledge regarding the etiology of malocclusion. We revealed a pathologic occlusion in the Qafzeh 9 skull that probably originated in the early developmental stage of the dentition, and was aggravated by forces applied by mastication. When arch continuity is interrupted due to misalignment of teeth as in this case, force transmission is not equal on both sides, causing intra-arch outcomes such as mesialization of the teeth, midline deviation, rotations and the aggravation of crowding. All are evident in the Qafzeh 9 skull: the midline deviates to the left; the incisors rotate mesio-buccally; the left segment is constricted; the left first molar is buccally positioned and the left premolars palatally tilted. The inter-arch evaluation revealed anterior cross bite with functional shift that might affect force transmission and bite force. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that malocclusion of developmental origin was already present in early anatomically modern humans (AMH) (the present case being the oldest known case, dated to ca. 100,000 years); that there is no basis to the notion that early AMH had a better adjustment between teeth and jaw size; and that jaw-teeth size discrepancy could be found in prehistoric populations and is not a recent phenomenon. PMID:24278319

Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques.

PubMed

Günther, Torsten; Valdiosera, Cristina; Malmström, Helena; Ureña, Irene; Rodriguez-Varela, Ricardo; Sverrisdóttir, Óddny Osk; Daskalaki, Evangelia A; Skoglund, Pontus; Naidoo, Thijessen; Svensson, Emma M; Bermúdez de Castro, José María; Carbonell, Eudald; Dunn, Michael; Storå, Jan; Iriarte, Eneko; Arsuaga, Juan Luis; Carretero, José-Miguel; Götherström, Anders; Jakobsson, Mattias

2015-09-22

The consequences of the Neolithic transition in Europe--one of the most important cultural changes in human prehistory--is a subject of great interest. However, its effect on prehistoric and modern-day people in Iberia, the westernmost frontier of the European continent, remains unresolved. We present, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide sequence data from eight human remains, dated to between 5,500 and 3,500 years before present, excavated in the El Portalón cave at Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. We show that these individuals emerged from the same ancestral gene pool as early farmers in other parts of Europe, suggesting that migration was the dominant mode of transferring farming practices throughout western Eurasia. In contrast to central and northern early European farmers, the Chalcolithic El Portalón individuals additionally mixed with local southwestern hunter-gatherers. The proportion of hunter-gatherer-related admixture into early farmers also increased over the course of two millennia. The Chalcolithic El Portalón individuals showed greatest genetic affinity to modern-day Basques, who have long been considered linguistic and genetic isolates linked to the Mesolithic whereas all other European early farmers show greater genetic similarity to modern-day Sardinians. These genetic links suggest that Basques and their language may be linked with the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic. Furthermore, all modern-day Iberian groups except the Basques display distinct admixture with Caucasus/Central Asian and North African groups, possibly related to historical migration events. The El Portalón genomes uncover important pieces of the demographic history of Iberia and Europe and reveal how prehistoric groups relate to modern-day people.

European early modern humans and the fate of the Neandertals

PubMed Central

Trinkaus, Erik

2007-01-01

A consideration of the morphological aspects of the earliest modern humans in Europe (more than ≈33,000 B.P.) and the subsequent Gravettian human remains indicates that they possess an anatomical pattern congruent with the autapomorphic (derived) morphology of the earliest (Middle Paleolithic) African modern humans. However, they exhibit a variable suite of features that are either distinctive Neandertal traits and/or plesiomorphic (ancestral) aspects that had been lost among the African Middle Paleolithic modern humans. These features include aspects of neurocranial shape, basicranial external morphology, mandibular ramal and symphyseal form, dental morphology and size, and anteroposterior dental proportions, as well as aspects of the clavicles, scapulae, metacarpals, and appendicular proportions. The ubiquitous and variable presence of these morphological features in the European earlier modern human samples can only be parsimoniously explained as a product of modest levels of assimilation of Neandertals into early modern human populations as the latter dispersed across Europe. This interpretation is in agreement with current analyses of recent and past human molecular data. PMID:17452632

The Home Network: Identity and Materiality in Early Modern and Modern Ulster

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whalen, Kathryn M.

This dissertation looks at three categories of ceramics and the creation of a hybrid culture during the Early Modern and Modern period in Ireland. During these time periods Ireland was a part of the English global colonial enterprises, and was the site of many legal and cultural changes due to its subordinate position in the hierarchy of socio-political and economic phenomenon that characterize the pinnacle of British global power. This study looks to understand how these powers articulated with England's one European colony, Ireland, and if that articulation has similarities to other colonial cultures across time and space. To study the possibility of hybridity between the Irish and English inhabitants of Ireland during the Post-Medieval Period, three categories of ceramics have been analyzed. Fine earthenwares in the form of tablewares and tea sets were macroscopically analyzed for patterns, age, and place of origin. Coarse earthenwares were subjected to X-ray florescence to look for patterns in the spectral data to see if a point of origin could be ascribed to them. And lastly, white ball clay pipe fragments were both macroscopically analyzed for makers' marks and subjected to X-ray florescence to verify their point of origin. The relationship between where these artifacts come from- if they are local productions or imports- and where they were disposed of- either across the landscaper or only associated with households of particular ethnicities- says something about how people negotiate their ethnic identities in colonial settings. As people in Ireland adopt the English style of tea drinking and start to use English mass-produced fine earthenwares, it disrupts the local cottage industry of coarse earthenware manufacturing. What this study seeks to know is if there is a difference in the adoption of English tea drinking, and if the purchasing of certain types of ceramic vessels contributes to the performance of ethnic identity in a colonial setting.

Assembling the dodo in early modern natural history.

PubMed

Lawrence, Natalie

2015-09-01

This paper explores the assimilation of the flightless dodo into early modern natural history. The dodo was first described by Dutch sailors landing on Mauritius in 1598, and became extinct in the 1680s or 1690s. Despite this brief period of encounter, the bird was a popular subject in natural-history works and a range of other genres. The dodo will be used here as a counterexample to the historical narratives of taxonomic crisis and abrupt shifts in natural history caused by exotic creatures coming to Europe. Though this bird had a bizarre form, early modern naturalists integrated the dodo and other flightless birds through several levels of conceptual categorization, including the geographical, morphological and symbolic. Naturalists such as Charles L'Ecluse produced a set of typical descriptive tropes that helped make up the European dodo. These long-lived images were used for a variety of symbolic purposes, demonstrated by the depiction of the Dutch East India enterprise in Willem Piso's 1658 publication. The case of the dodo shows that, far from there being a dramatic shift away from emblematics in the seventeenth century, the implicit symbolic roles attributed to exotic beasts by naturalists constructing them from scant information and specimens remained integral to natural history.

Sex differences of dental pathology in early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura in Japan.

PubMed

Oyamada, Joichi; Kitagawa, Yoshikazu; Hara, Masahito; Sakamoto, Junya; Matsushita, Takayuki; Tsurumoto, Toshiyuki; Manabe, Yoshitaka

2017-07-01

So-called "Ohaguro", teeth blackening, in the married females was a general custom regardless of class in the early modern period. As a result, Ohaguro was thought to have enhanced the acid resistance of tooth substance and tightened gingiva and prevented tooth morbidity due to periodontal disease. For investigation into the influence of Ohaguro, the skeletal remains of early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura were examined for differences in the dental pathology based on sex. Though females from archeological sites have significantly more carious teeth and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) than males in the previous studies, the prevalence of caries and AMTL in males was higher than in females among the early modern samurai and commoners in Kokura. The efficacies of Ohaguro may influence the good dental health of females. On the other hand, as females were considered inferior to males under the feudal system in Japan, males, including children, might tend to consume more nutritious foods compared to females. However, those foods are certainly not better with regard to dental health, since those foods are more highly cariogenic. These factors may have caused higher caries and AMTL prevalence among males compared to females in early modern Kokura.

The early Upper Paleolithic human skeleton from the Abrigo do Lagar Velho (Portugal) and modern human emergence in Iberia

PubMed Central

Duarte, Cidália; Maurício, João; Pettitt, Paul B.; Souto, Pedro; Trinkaus, Erik; van der Plicht, Hans; Zilhão, João

1999-01-01

The discovery of an early Upper Paleolithic human burial at the Abrigo do Lagar Velho, Portugal, has provided evidence of early modern humans from southern Iberia. The remains, the largely complete skeleton of a ≈4-year-old child buried with pierced shell and red ochre, is dated to ca. 24,500 years B.P. The cranium, mandible, dentition, and postcrania present a mosaic of European early modern human and Neandertal features. The temporal bone has an intermediate-sized juxtamastoid eminence. The mandibular mentum osseum and the dental size and proportions, supported by mandibular ramal features, radial tuberosity orientation, and diaphyseal curvature, as well as the pubic proportions align the skeleton with early modern humans. Body proportions, reflected in femorotibial lengths and diaphyseal robusticity plus tibial condylar displacement, as well as mandibular symphyseal retreat and thoracohumeral muscle insertions, align the skeleton with the Neandertals. This morphological mosaic indicates admixture between regional Neandertals and early modern humans dispersing into southern Iberia. It establishes the complexities of the Late Pleistocene emergence of modern humans and refutes strict replacement models of modern human origins. PMID:10377462

Ancient gene flow from early modern humans into Eastern Neanderthals

PubMed Central

Kuhlwilm, Martin; Gronau, Ilan; Hubisz, Melissa J.; de Filippo, Cesare; Prado-Martinez, Javier; Kircher, Martin; Fu, Qiaomei; Burbano, Hernán A.; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; de la Rasilla, Marco; Rosas, Antonio; Rudan, Pavao; Brajkovic, Dejana; Kucan, Željko; Gušic, Ivan; Marques-Bonet, Tomas; Andrés, Aida M.; Viola, Bence; Pääbo, Svante; Meyer, Matthias; Siepel, Adam; Castellano, Sergi

2016-01-01

It has been shown that Neanderthals contributed genetically to modern humans outside Africa 47,000–65,000 years ago. Here, we analyze the genomes of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan from the Altai Mountains in Siberia together with the sequences of chromosome 21 of two Neanderthals from Spain and Croatia. We find that a population that diverged early from other modern humans in Africa contributed genetically to the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains roughly 100,000 years ago. By contrast, we do not detect such a genetic contribution in the Denisovan or the two European Neanderthals. We conclude that in addition to later interbreeding events, the ancestors of Neanderthals from the Altai Mountains and of modern humans met and interbred, possibly in the Near East, many thousands of years earlier than previously reported. PMID:26886800

Early modern human lithic technology from Jerimalai, East Timor.

PubMed

Marwick, Ben; Clarkson, Chris; O'Connor, Sue; Collins, Sophie

2016-12-01

Jerimalai is a rock shelter in East Timor with cultural remains dated to 42,000 years ago, making it one of the oldest known sites of modern human activity in island Southeast Asia. It has special global significance for its record of early pelagic fishing and ancient shell fish hooks. It is also of regional significance for its early occupation and comparatively large assemblage of Pleistocene stone artefacts. Three major findings arise from our study of the stone artefacts. First, there is little change in lithic technology over the 42,000 year sequence, with the most noticeable change being the addition of new artefact types and raw materials in the mid-Holocene. Second, the assemblage is dominated by small chert cores and implements rather than pebble tools and choppers, a pattern we argue pattern, we argue, that is common in island SE Asian sites as opposed to mainland SE Asian sites. Third, the Jerimalai assemblage bears a striking resemblance to the assemblage from Liang Bua, argued by the Liang Bua excavation team to be associated with Homo floresiensis. We argue that the near proximity of these two islands along the Indonesian island chain (c.100 km apart), the long antiquity of modern human occupation in the region (as documented at Jerimalai), and the strong resemblance of distinctive flake stone technologies seen at both sites, raises the intriguing possibility that both the Liang Bua and Jerimalai assemblages were created by modern humans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Old Poems Have Heart": Teenage Students Reading Early Modern Poetry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naylor, Amanda

2013-01-01

The proposals for the revised National Curriculum in English suggest limiting the pre-twentieth century poetry that GCSE pupils read to "representative Romantic poetry" (Department for Education [DFE], 2013, p. 4). This paper argues that poetry of the early modern period is challenging and enriching study for adolescent pupils and that…

The Corporeality of Learning: Confucian Education in Early Modern Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsujimoto, Masashi

2016-01-01

The intellectual foundation of early modern Japan was provided by Confucianism--a system of knowledge set forth in Chinese classical writings. In order to gain access to this knowledge, the Japanese applied reading markers to modify the original Chinese to fit the peculiarities of Japanese grammar and pronunciation. Confucian education started by…

All that glitters: fool's gold in the early-modern era.

PubMed

Roos, Anna Marie

2008-12-01

Natural philosophers of the early-modern period perceived fool's gold or iron pyrites as a substance required for the formation of metals, and chemists such as Johann Glauber speculated the vitriol produced from pyrites was the source of the legendary philosopher's stone. The sulphurous exhalations of fool's gold were also thought by members of the early Royal Society to be the basis of a variety of meteorological, geological and medical effects, including the production of thunder, lightning, earthquakes and volcanoes, fossilisation and petrifaction, as well as the principal cause of bladder and gallstones.

Early Pleistocene third metacarpal from Kenya and the evolution of modern human-like hand morphology

PubMed Central

Ward, Carol V.; Tocheri, Matthew W.; Plavcan, J. Michael; Brown, Francis H.; Manthi, Fredrick Kyalo

2014-01-01

Despite discoveries of relatively complete hands from two early hominin species (Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus sediba) and partial hands from another (Australopithecus afarensis), fundamental questions remain about the evolution of human-like hand anatomy and function. These questions are driven by the paucity of hand fossils in the hominin fossil record between 800,000 and 1.8 My old, a time interval well documented for the emergence and subsequent proliferation of Acheulian technology (shaped bifacial stone tools). Modern and Middle to Late Pleistocene humans share a suite of derived features in the thumb, wrist, and radial carpometacarpal joints that is noticeably absent in early hominins. Here we show that one of the most distinctive features of this suite in the Middle Pleistocene to recent human hand, the third metacarpal styloid process, was present ∼1.42 Mya in an East African hominin from Kaitio, West Turkana, Kenya. This fossil thus provides the earliest unambiguous evidence for the evolution of a key shared derived characteristic of modern human and Neandertal hand morphology and suggests that the distinctive complex of radial carpometacarpal joint features in the human hand arose early in the evolution of the genus Homo and probably in Homo erectus sensu lato. PMID:24344276

Early Pliocene onset of modern Nordic Seas circulation related to ocean gateway changes.

PubMed

De Schepper, Stijn; Schreck, Michael; Beck, Kristina Marie; Matthiessen, Jens; Fahl, Kirsten; Mangerud, Gunn

2015-10-28

The globally warm climate of the early Pliocene gradually cooled from 4 million years ago, synchronous with decreasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. In contrast, palaeoceanographic records indicate that the Nordic Seas cooled during the earliest Pliocene, before global cooling. However, a lack of knowledge regarding the precise timing of Nordic Seas cooling has limited our understanding of the governing mechanisms. Here, using marine palynology, we show that cooling in the Nordic Seas was coincident with the first trans-Arctic migration of cool-water Pacific mollusks around 4.5 million years ago, and followed by the development of a modern-like Nordic Seas surface circulation. Nordic Seas cooling precedes global cooling by 500,000 years; as such, we propose that reconfiguration of the Bering Strait and Central American Seaway triggered the development of a modern circulation in the Nordic Seas, which is essential for North Atlantic Deep Water formation and a precursor for more widespread Greenland glaciation in the late Pliocene.

The Commerce of Utility: Teaching Mathematical Geography in Early Modern England

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cormack, Lesley B.

2006-01-01

The teaching and learning of geographical and mathematical knowledge in early modern England was a complex interaction among scholars, practitioners, merchants, and gentry. Each group had different values and goals associated with geographical knowledge and therefore different educational venues and different topics to be investigated. This paper…

A Fruitful Exchange/Conflict: Engineers and Mathematicians in Early Modern Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maffioli, Cesare S.

2013-01-01

Exchanges of learning and controversies between engineers and mathematicians were important factors in the development of early modern science. This theme is discussed by focusing, first, on architectural and mathematical dynamism in mid 16th-century Milan. While some engineers-architects referred to Euclid and Vitruvius for improving their…

Historical time to disease progression and progression-free survival in patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma treated in the modern era on Children's Oncology Group early-phase trials.

PubMed

London, Wendy B; Bagatell, Rochelle; Weigel, Brenda J; Fox, Elizabeth; Guo, Dongjing; Van Ryn, Collin; Naranjo, Arlene; Park, Julie R

2017-12-15

Early-phase trials in patients with recurrent neuroblastoma historically used an objective "response" of measureable disease (Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors [RECIST], without bone/bone marrow assessment) to select agents for further study. Historical cohorts may be small and potentially biased; to the authors' knowledge, disease recurrence studies from international registries are outdated. Using a large recent cohort of patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma from Children's Oncology Group (COG) modern-era early-phase trials, the authors determined outcome and quantified parameters for designing future studies. The first early-phase COG trial enrollment (sequential) of 383 distinct patients with recurrent/refractory neuroblastoma on 23 phase 1, 3 phase 1/2, and 9 phase 2 trials (August 2002 to January 2014) was analyzed for progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and time to disease progression (TTP). Planned frontline therapy for patients with high-risk neuroblastoma included hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (approximately two-thirds of patients underwent ≥1 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation); 13.2% of patients received dinutuximab. From the time of the patient's first early-phase trial enrollment (383 patients), the 1-year and 4-year PFS rates ( ± standard error) were 21% ± 2% and 6% ± 1%, respectively, whereas the 1-year and 4-year OS rates were 57% ± 3% and 20% ± 2%, respectively. The median TTP was 58 days (interquartile range, 31-183 days [350 patients]); the median follow-up was 25.3 months (33 patients were found to be without disease recurrence/progression). The median time from diagnosis to first disease recurrence/progression was 18.7 months (range, 1.4-64.8 months) (176 patients). MYCN amplification and 11q loss of heterozygosity were prognostic of worse PFS and OS (P = .003 and P<.0001, respectively, and P = .02 and P = .03, respectively) after early-phase trial

Trading Zones in Early Modern Europe.

PubMed

Long, Pamela O

2015-12-01

This essay adopts the concept of trading zones first developed for the history of science by Peter Galison and redefines it for the early modern period. The term "trading zones" is used to mean arenas in which substantive and reciprocal communication occurred between individuals who were artisanally trained and learned (university-trained) individuals. Such trading zones proliferated in the sixteenth century. They tended to arise in certain kinds of places and not in others, but their existence must be determined empirically. The author's work on trading zones differs from the ideas of Edgar Zilsel, who emphasized the influence of artisans on the scientific revolution. In contrast, in this essay, the mutual influence of artisans and the learned on each other is stressed, and translation is used as a modality that was important to communication within trading zones.

‘Herbals she peruseth’: reading medicine in early modern England

PubMed Central

Leong, Elaine

2014-01-01

In 1631, Richard Brathwaite penned a conduct manual for ‘English Gentlewomen’. In Brathwaite's mind, the ideal English gentlewoman was not only chaste, modest and honourable but also an avid reader. In fact, Brathwaite specifically recommends English gentlewomen to first peruse herbals and then to deepen their medical knowledge via conference. Centred on the manuscript notebooks of two late seventeenth-century women, Margaret Boscawen (d. 1688) and Elizabeth Freke (1642–1714), this article explores women and ‘medical reading’ in early modern England. It first demonstrates that whilst both women consulted herbals by contemporary authors such as John Gerard and Nicholas Culpeper, their modes of reading could not be more different. Where Freke ruminated, digested and abstracted from Gerard's large tome, Boscawen made practical lists from Culpeper's The English Physitian. Secondly, the article shows that both supplemented their herbal reading with a range of other vernacular medical texts including printed medical recipe books, contemporary pharmacopoeia and surgical handbooks. Early modern English women's medical reading, I argue, was nuanced, sophisticated and diverse. Furthermore, I contend that well-informed readers like Boscawen and Freke made smart medical consumers and formidable negotiators in their medical encounters. PMID:25821333

Casebooks in Early Modern England:

PubMed Central

Kassell, Lauren

2014-01-01

summary Casebooks are the richest sources that we have for encounters between early modern medical practitioners and their patients. This article compares astrological and medical records across two centuries, focused on England, and charts developments in the ways in which practitioners kept records and reflected on their practices. Astrologers had a long history of working from particular moments, stellar configurations, and events to general rules. These practices required systematic notation. Physicians increasingly modeled themselves on Hippocrates, recording details of cases as the basis for reasoned expositions of the histories of disease. Medical records, as other scholars have demonstrated, shaped the production of medical knowledge. Instead, this article focuses on the nature of casebooks as artifacts of the medical encounter. It establishes that casebooks were serial records of practice, akin to diaries, testimonials, and registers; identifies extant English casebooks and the practices that led to their production and preservation; and concludes that the processes of writing, ordering, and preserving medical records are as important for understanding the medical encounter as the records themselves. PMID:25557513

Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part II - Synthesis.

PubMed

Kahn, Didier

2011-03-01

This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

Approaches to the History of Patients: From the Ancient World to Early Modern Europe.

PubMed

Stolberg, Michael

2016-01-01

This chapter looks from an early modernist's perspective at some of the major questions and methodological issues that writing the history of patients in the ancient world shares with similar work on Patientengeschichte in medieval and early modern Europe. It addresses, in particular, the problem of finding adequate sources that give access to the patients' experience of illness and medicine and highlights the potential as well as the limitations of using physicians' case histories for that purpose. It discusses the doctor-patient relationship as it emerges from these sources, and the impact of the patient's point of view on learned medical theory and practice. In conclusion, it pleads for a cautious and nuanced approach to the controversial issue of retrospective diagnosis, recommending that historians consistently ask in which contexts and in what way the application of modern diagnostic labels to pre-modern accounts of illness can truly contribute to a better historical understanding rather than distort it.

Formalization and Interaction: Toward a Comprehensive History of Technology-Related Knowledge in Early Modern Europe.

PubMed

Popplow, Marcus

2015-12-01

Recent critical approaches to what has conventionally been described as "scientific" and "technical" knowledge in early modern Europe have provided a wealth of new insights. So far, the various analytical concepts suggested by these studies have not yet been comprehensively discussed. The present essay argues that such comprehensive approaches might prove of special value for long-term and cross-cultural reflections on technology-related knowledge. As heuristic tools, the notions of "formalization" and "interaction" are proposed as part of alternative narratives to those highlighting the emergence of "science" as the most relevant development for technology-related knowledge in early modern Europe.

Teaching Petrarchan and Anti-Petrarchan Discourses in Early Modern English Lyrics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ribes, Purificación

2012-01-01

The aim of the present article is to help students realize that Petrarchism has been an influential source of inspiration for Early Modern English lyrics. Its topics and conventions have lent themselves to a wide variety of appropriations which the present selection of texts for analysis tries to illustrate. A few telling examples from Spenser,…

Promoting free flow in the networks: Reimagining the body in early modern Suzhou.

PubMed

Scheid, Volker

2017-06-01

The history of Chinese medicine is still widely imagined in terms dictated by the discourse of modernity, that is as 'traditional' and 'Chinese.' And yet, so as to be intelligible to us moderns, it must simultaneously be framed through categories that make it comparable somehow to the 'West' and the 'modern' from which it is said to be essentially different. This is accomplished, for instance, by viewing Chinese medicine as fundamentally shaped by cosmological thinking, as focusing on process rather than matter, and as forever hampered by attachments to the past even when it tries to innovate. At the same time, it is described as pursuing its objectives in ways that make sense in 'our' terms, too, such as the goal of creating physiological homeostasis through methods of supplementation and drainage. In this paper, I seek to move beyond this kind of analysis through a two-pronged approach. First, by focusing on the concept of tong - a character that calls forth images of free flow, connectivity, relatedness and understanding - I foreground an important aspect of Chinese medical thinking and practice that has virtually been ignored by Western historians of medicine and science. Second, by exploring how the influential physician Ye Tianshi (1664-1746) employed tong to advance medical thinking and practice at a crucial moment of change in the history of Chinese medicine, I demonstrate that physicians in early modern China moved towards new understandings of the body readily intelligible by modern biomedical anatomy. I argue that this mode of analysis allows us to transcend the limitations inherent in the current historiography of Chinese medicine: because it allows for comparison to emerge from our subject matter rather than imposing our imaginaries onto it in advance.

Alchemical poetry in medieval and early modern Europe: a preliminary survey and synthesis. Part I--Preliminary survey.

PubMed

Kahn, Didier

2010-11-01

This article provides a preliminary description of medieval and early modern alchemical poetry composed in Latin and in the principal vernacular languages of western Europe. It aims to distinguish the various genres in which this poetry flourished, and to identify the most representative aspects of each cultural epoch by considering the medieval and early modern periods in turn. Such a distinction (always somewhat artificial) between two broad historical periods may be justified by the appearance of new cultural phenomena that profoundly modified the character of early modern alchemical poetry: the ever-increasing importance of the prisca theologia, the alchemical interpretation of ancient mythology, and the rise of neo-Latin humanist poetry. Although early modern alchemy was marked by the appearance of new doctrines (notably the alchemical spiritus mundi and Paracelsianism), alchemical poetry was only superficially modified by criteria of a scientific nature, which therefore appear to be of lesser importance. This study falls into two parts. Part I provides a descriptive survey of extant poetry, and in Part II the results of the survey are analysed in order to highlight such distinctive features as the function of alchemical poetry, the influence of the book market on its evolution, its doctrinal content, and the question of whether any theory of alchemical poetry ever emerged. Part II is accompanied by an index of the authors and works cited in both parts.

A never-ending succession of epidemics? Mortality in early-modern York.

PubMed

Galley, C

1994-04-01

Early-modern cities are often perceived to be centres of high mortality and under constant siege from a barrage of epidemics. However, few urban mortality rates have been calculated and by employing parish register evidence from the regional capital of York, the thesis that the city was subjected to continual sudden increases in mortality can be firmly rejected. Infant mortality was high but remained virtually constant between 1561 and 1700. About a quarter of all infants did not survive to reach their first birthday and neonatal mortality was especially severe. From the mid-seventeenth century a series of epidemics increased child mortality although overall levels of mortality were not significantly affected. Relatively little can be said about adult mortality and apart from two periods of 'crisis' mortality there is little to suggest that adults were greatly affected by epidemics. Indeed, for many adults the urban environment appears to have posed no great threat to health and most could look forward to a relatively long life in the city. York's mortality regime was very similar to that of the smaller market town of Gainsborough where high levels of mortality remained stable throughout much of the early-modern period.

Bahrain-Iran Relations in Modern Times

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

IN MODERN TIMES by Mohamed A. Al Khalifa September 2014 Thesis Co-Advisors: James Russell Mohammed Hafez THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY... Russell Thesis Advisor Mohammed Hafez Thesis Advisor Mohammed Hafez Chair, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE...advisors, associate professor James Russell , associate professor and chair Mohammed Hafez, and assistant professor Abbas Khadim at the Department of

Marginalia, commonplaces, and correspondence: scribal exchange in early modern science.

PubMed

Yale, Elizabeth

2011-06-01

In recent years, historians of science have increasingly turned their attention to the "print culture" of early modern science. These studies have revealed that printing, as both a technology and a social and economic system, structured the forms and meanings of natural knowledge. Yet in early modern Europe, naturalists, including John Aubrey, John Evelyn, and John Ray, whose work is discussed in this paper, often shared and read scientific texts in manuscript either before or in lieu of printing. Scribal exchange, exemplified in the circulation of writings like commonplace books, marginalia, manuscript treatises, and correspondence, was the primary means by which communities of naturalists constructed scientific knowledge. Print and manuscript were necessary partners. Manuscript fostered close collaboration, and could be circulated relatively cheaply; but, unlike print, it could not reliably secure priority or survival for posterity. Naturalists approached scribal and print communication strategically, choosing the medium that best suited their goals at any given moment. As a result, print and scribal modes of disseminating information, constructing natural knowledge, and organizing communities developed in tandem. Practices typically associated with print culture manifested themselves in scribal texts and exchanges, and vice versa. "Print culture" cannot be hived off from "scribal culture." Rather, in their daily jottings and exchanges, naturalists inhabited, and produced, one common culture of communication. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kant's disputation of 1770: the dissertation and the communication of knowledge in early modern Europe.

PubMed

Chang, Kevin

2007-06-01

Kant's disputation of 1770 at his inauguration as the metaphysics professor at Königsberg is a good example of the nature of the early modern dissertation and its use as a means of communicating knowledge. The public disputation played an important part in the teaching, examination, publication and ceremonial life of the medieval university. Originally prepared as a text for the public disputation, the dissertation communicated the teachings of individual scholars and institutions and was used by eminent early modern scholars to introduce their ideas and findings. Kant's use of his 1770 disputation also reveals the different channels of communication, both private and public, that paid close attention to knowledge published in dissertations.

Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans.

PubMed

Henry, Amanda G; Brooks, Alison S; Piperno, Dolores R

2014-04-01

One of the most important challenges in anthropology is understanding the disappearance of Neanderthals. Previous research suggests that Neanderthals had a narrower diet than early modern humans, in part because they lacked various social and technological advances that lead to greater dietary variety, such as a sexual division of labor and the use of complex projectile weapons. The wider diet of early modern humans would have provided more calories and nutrients, increasing fertility, decreasing mortality and supporting large population sizes, allowing them to out-compete Neanderthals. However, this model for Neanderthal dietary behavior is based on analysis of animal remains, stable isotopes, and other methods that provide evidence only of animal food in the diet. This model does not take into account the potential role of plant food. Here we present results from the first broad comparison of plant foods in the diets of Neanderthals and early modern humans from several populations in Europe, the Near East, and Africa. Our data comes from the analysis of plant microremains (starch grains and phytoliths) in dental calculus and on stone tools. Our results suggest that both species consumed a similarly wide array of plant foods, including foods that are often considered low-ranked, like underground storage organs and grass seeds. Plants were consumed across the entire range of individuals and sites we examined, and none of the expected predictors of variation (species, geographic region, or associated stone tool technology) had a strong influence on the number of plant species consumed. Our data suggest that Neanderthal dietary ecology was more complex than previously thought. This implies that the relationship between Neanderthal technology, social behavior, and food acquisition strategies must be better explored. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"The Root is Hidden and the Material Uncertain": the challenges of prosecuting witchcraft in early modern Venice.

PubMed

Seitz, Jonathan

2009-01-01

The rich archival records of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Venice have yielded much information about early modern society and culture. The transcripts of witchcraft trials held before the Inquisition reveal the complexities of early modern conceptions of natural and supernatural. The tribunal found itself entirely unable to convict individuals charged with performing harmful magic, or maleficio, as different worldviews clashed in the courtroom. Physicians, exorcists, and inquisitors all had different approaches to distinguishing natural phenomena from supernatural, and without a consensus guilty verdicts could not be obtained.

Smallpox vaccination: an early start of modern medicine in America.

PubMed

Liebowitz, Dan

2017-01-01

Smallpox was eradicated by the World Health Organization in 1980. Before its eradication thedisease had a mortality rate upwards of 50% and had a significant impact on society. During theAmerican Revolutionary war, smallpox outbreaks were impeding the American war effort until1777 when George Washington carried out a mass inoculation campaign in the ContinentalArmy that reduced the mortality from smallpox to less than 2%. Inoculation was an early formof vaccination that used live virus from active pustules to induce a milder, but still sometimesdeadly, case of disease. Washington has been credited with helping to ease the burden ofsmallpox on the Army which improved the odds of success against the British. When EdwardJenner's vaccine reached America it was more readily accepted by political and medical leadersdue the success of Washington's inoculation campaign. The Founding Fathers argued thatsmallpox vaccination was the greatest discovery in modern medicine and they were likely correctthat it helped to usher in the modern era of vaccinology.

Testing Drugs and Trying Cures: Experiment and Medicine in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

PubMed

Leong, Elaine; Rankin, Alisha

2017-01-01

This article examines traditions of testing drugs (as substances) and trying cures (on patients) in medieval and early modern Europe. It argues that the history of drug testing needs to be a more central story to overall histories of scientific experiment. The practice of conducting thoughtful-and sometimes contrived-tests on drugs has a rich and varied tradition dating back to antiquity, which expanded in the Middle Ages and early modern period. Learned physicians paired text-based knowledge (reason) with hands-on testing (experience or experiment) in order to make claims about drugs' properties or effects on humans. Lay practitioners similarly used hands-on testing to gain knowledge of pharmaceutical effects. Although drug testing practices expanded in scale, actors, and sites, therpublished a work extolling the virtues of drugs froe was significant continuity from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century.

Resistant tissues of modern marchantioid liverworts resemble enigmatic Early Paleozoic microfossils

PubMed Central

Graham, Linda E.; Wilcox, Lee W.; Cook, Martha E.; Gensel, Patricia G.

2004-01-01

Absence of a substantial pretracheophyte fossil record for bryophytes (otherwise predicted by molecular systematics) poses a major problem in our understanding of earliest land-plant structure. In contrast, there exist enigmatic Cambrian–Devonian microfossils (aggregations of tubes or sheets of cells or possibly a combination of both) controversially interpreted as an extinct group of early land plants known as nematophytes. We used an innovative approach to explore these issues: comparison of tube and cell-sheet microfossils with experimentally degraded modern liverworts as analogues of ancient early land plants. Lower epidermal surface tissues, including rhizoids, of Marchantia polymorpha and Conocephalum conicum were resistant to breakdown after rotting for extended periods or high-temperature acid treatment (acetolysis), suggesting fossilization potential. Cell-sheet and rhizoid remains occurred separately or together depending on the degree of body degradation. Rhizoid break-off at the lower epidermal surface left rimmed pores at the centers of cell rosettes; these were similar in structure, diameter, and distribution to pores characterizing nematophyte cell-sheet microfossils known as Cosmochlaina. The range of Marchantia rhizoid diameters overlapped that of Cosmochlaina pores. Approximately 14% of dry biomass of Marchantia vegetative thalli and 40% of gametangiophores was resistant to acetolysis. Pre- and posttreatment cell-wall autofluorescence suggested the presence of phenolic compounds that likely protect lower epidermal tissues from soil microbe attack and provide dimensional stability to gametangiophores. Our results suggest that at least some microfossils identified as nematophytes may be the remains of early marchantioid liverworts similar in some ways to modern Marchantia and Conocephalum. PMID:15263095

PINT, A Modern Software Package for Pulsar Timing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jing; Ransom, Scott M.; Demorest, Paul; Ray, Paul S.; Stovall, Kevin; Jenet, Fredrick; Ellis, Justin; van Haasteren, Rutger; Bachetti, Matteo; NANOGrav PINT developer team

2018-01-01

Pulsar timing, first developed decades ago, has provided an extremely wide range of knowledge about our universe. It has been responsible for many important discoveries, such as the discovery of the first exoplanet and the orbital period decay of double neutron star systems. Currently pulsar timing is the leading technique for detecting low frequency (about 10^-9 Hertz) gravitational waves (GW) using an array of pulsars as the detectors. To achieve this goal, high precision pulsar timing data, at about nanoseconds level, is required. Most high precision pulsar timing data are analyzed using the widely adopted software TEMPO/TEMPO2. But for a robust and believable GW detection, it is important to have independent software that can cross-check the result. In this poster we present the new generation pulsar timing software PINT. This package will provide a robust system to cross check high-precision timing results, completely independent of TEMPO and TEMPO2. In addition, PINT is designed to be a package that is easy to extend and modify, through use of flexible code architecture and a modern programming language, Python, with modern technology and libraries.

Collecting Knowledge for the Family: Recipes, Gender and Practical Knowledge in the Early Modern English Household

PubMed Central

Leong, Elaine

2013-01-01

When Mary Cholmeley married Henry Fairfax in 1627, she carried to her new home in Yorkshire a leather-bound notebook filled with medical recipes. Over the next few decades, Mary and Henry, their children and various members of the Fairfax and Cholmeley families continually entered new medical and culinary information into this ‘treasury for health.’ Consequently, as it stands now, the manuscript can be read both as a repository of household medical knowledge and as a family archive. Focusing on two Fairfax ‘family books,’ this essay traces on the process through which early modern recipe books were created. In particular, it explores the role of the family collective in compiling books of knowledge. In contrast to past studies where household recipe books have largely been described as the products of exclusively female endeavors, I argue that the majority of early modern recipe collections were created by family collectives and that the members of these collectives worked in collaboration across spatial, geographical and temporal boundaries. This new reading of recipe books as testaments of the interests and needs of particular families encourages renewed examination of the role played by gender in the transmission and production of knowledge in early modern households. PMID:23926360

Collecting Knowledge for the Family: Recipes, Gender and Practical Knowledge in the Early Modern English Household.

PubMed

Leong, Elaine

2013-05-01

When Mary Cholmeley married Henry Fairfax in 1627, she carried to her new home in Yorkshire a leather-bound notebook filled with medical recipes. Over the next few decades, Mary and Henry, their children and various members of the Fairfax and Cholmeley families continually entered new medical and culinary information into this 'treasury for health.' Consequently, as it stands now, the manuscript can be read both as a repository of household medical knowledge and as a family archive. Focusing on two Fairfax 'family books,' this essay traces on the process through which early modern recipe books were created. In particular, it explores the role of the family collective in compiling books of knowledge. In contrast to past studies where household recipe books have largely been described as the products of exclusively female endeavors, I argue that the majority of early modern recipe collections were created by family collectives and that the members of these collectives worked in collaboration across spatial, geographical and temporal boundaries. This new reading of recipe books as testaments of the interests and needs of particular families encourages renewed examination of the role played by gender in the transmission and production of knowledge in early modern households.

A Step towards Clerical Preferment: Secondary School Teachers' Careers in Early Modern Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindmark, Daniel

2004-01-01

This article investigates the function served by embarking on a teaching career in the Latin school system for recruitment to the clergy in early modern Sweden. The study is restricted to the eighty-nine teachers serving at Pitea Grammar School in Northern Sweden in the period from 1650 to 1849. The investigation pays considerable attention to the…

Early Upper Paleolithic in Eastern Europe and implications for the dispersal of modern humans.

PubMed

Anikovich, M V; Sinitsyn, A A; Hoffecker, John F; Holliday, Vance T; Popov, V V; Lisitsyn, S N; Forman, Steven L; Levkovskaya, G M; Pospelova, G A; Kuz'mina, I E; Burova, N D; Goldberg, Paul; Macphail, Richard I; Giaccio, Biagio; Praslov, N D

2007-01-12

Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating and magnetic stratigraphy indicate Upper Paleolithic occupation-probably representing modern humans-at archaeological sites on the Don River in Russia 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. The oldest levels at Kostenki underlie a volcanic ash horizon identified as the Campanian Ignimbrite Y5 tephra that is dated elsewhere to about 40,000 years ago. The occupation layers contain bone and ivory artifacts, including possible figurative art, and fossil shells imported more than 500 kilometers. Thus, modern humans appeared on the central plain of Eastern Europe as early as anywhere else in northern Eurasia.

The evolution of modern human brain shape

PubMed Central

Neubauer, Simon; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Gunz, Philipp

2018-01-01

Modern humans have large and globular brains that distinguish them from their extinct Homo relatives. The characteristic globularity develops during a prenatal and early postnatal period of rapid brain growth critical for neural wiring and cognitive development. However, it remains unknown when and how brain globularity evolved and how it relates to evolutionary brain size increase. On the basis of computed tomographic scans and geometric morphometric analyses, we analyzed endocranial casts of Homo sapiens fossils (N = 20) from different time periods. Our data show that, 300,000 years ago, brain size in early H. sapiens already fell within the range of present-day humans. Brain shape, however, evolved gradually within the H. sapiens lineage, reaching present-day human variation between about 100,000 and 35,000 years ago. This process started only after other key features of craniofacial morphology appeared modern and paralleled the emergence of behavioral modernity as seen from the archeological record. Our findings are consistent with important genetic changes affecting early brain development within the H. sapiens lineage since the origin of the species and before the transition to the Later Stone Age and the Upper Paleolithic that mark full behavioral modernity. PMID:29376123

The evolution of modern human brain shape.

PubMed

Neubauer, Simon; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Gunz, Philipp

2018-01-01

Modern humans have large and globular brains that distinguish them from their extinct Homo relatives. The characteristic globularity develops during a prenatal and early postnatal period of rapid brain growth critical for neural wiring and cognitive development. However, it remains unknown when and how brain globularity evolved and how it relates to evolutionary brain size increase. On the basis of computed tomographic scans and geometric morphometric analyses, we analyzed endocranial casts of Homo sapiens fossils ( N = 20) from different time periods. Our data show that, 300,000 years ago, brain size in early H. sapiens already fell within the range of present-day humans. Brain shape, however, evolved gradually within the H. sapiens lineage, reaching present-day human variation between about 100,000 and 35,000 years ago. This process started only after other key features of craniofacial morphology appeared modern and paralleled the emergence of behavioral modernity as seen from the archeological record. Our findings are consistent with important genetic changes affecting early brain development within the H. sapiens lineage since the origin of the species and before the transition to the Later Stone Age and the Upper Paleolithic that mark full behavioral modernity.

Voluntarist theology and early-modern science: The matter of the divine power, absolute and ordained.

PubMed

Oakley, Francis

2018-03-01

This paper is an intervention in the debate inaugurated by Peter Harrison in 2002 when he called into question the validity of what has come to be called 'the voluntarism and early-modern science thesis'. Though it subsequently drew support from such historians of science as J. E. McGuire, Margaret Osler, and Betty-Joe Teeter Dobbs, the origins of the thesis are usually traced back to articles published in 1934 and 1961 respectively by the philosopher Michael Foster and the historian of ideas Francis Oakley. Central to Harrison's critique of the thesis are claims he made about the meaning of the scholastic distinction between the potentia dei absoluta et ordinata and the role it played in the thinking of early-modern theologians and natural philosophers. This paper calls directly into question the accuracy of Harrison's claims on that very matter.

[Mental interiority in the early-modern age. The "Cartesian theater"].

PubMed

Gillot, Pascale

2010-01-01

This paper looks into the notion of mental interiority in the early-modern age and, more specifically, into the Cartesian conception of the mind as an "inner theater". The main claim emphasizes a close connexion at work between the representative theory of the mind, associated with internalism, on the one hand, and a "neuropsychological" view on the other hand. Cartesian mentalism, in so far as it is based upon a disjunction between representation and resemblance, can therefore not be separated from the general project, already at work in the Dioptrique, of an intra-cerebral localization of the mental.

Translation, Hybridization, and Modernization: John Dewey and Children's Literature in Early Twentieth Century China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Xu

2013-01-01

This essay examines how John Dewey's child-centered educational philosophy was adopted and adapted in the early twentieth century in China to create a Chinese children's literature. Chinese intellectuals applied Dewey's educational philosophy, which values children's interests and needs, to formulate a new concept of modern childhood that…

Observatories and Telescopes of Modern Times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leverington, David

2016-11-01

Preface; Part I. Optical Observatories: 1. Palomar Mountain Observatory; 2. The United States Optical Observatory; 3. From the Next Generation Telescope to Gemini and SOAR; 4. Competing primary mirror designs; 5. Active optics, adaptive optics and other technical innovations; 6. European Northern Observatory and Calar Alto; 7. European Southern Observatory; 8. Mauna Kea Observatory; 9. Australian optical observatories; 10. Mount Hopkins' Whipple Observatory and the MMT; 11. Apache Point Observatory; 12. Carnegie Southern Observatory (Las Campanas); 13. Mount Graham International Optical Observatory; 14. Modern optical interferometers; 15. Solar observatories; Part II. Radio Observatories: 16. Australian radio observatories; 17. Cambridge Mullard Radio Observatory; 18. Jodrell Bank; 19. Early radio observatories away from the Australian-British axis; 20. The American National Radio Astronomy Observatory; 21. Owens Valley and Mauna Kea; 22. Further North and Central American observatories; 23. Further European and Asian radio observatories; 24. ALMA and the South Pole; Name index; Optical observatory and telescope index; Radio observatory and telescope index; General index.

Genealogical relationships between early medieval and modern inhabitants of Piedmont.

PubMed

Vai, Stefania; Ghirotto, Silvia; Pilli, Elena; Tassi, Francesca; Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Matas-Lalueza, Laura; Ramirez, Oscar; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Achilli, Alessandro; Olivieri, Anna; Torroni, Antonio; Lancioni, Hovirag; Giostra, Caterina; Bedini, Elena; Pejrani Baricco, Luisella; Matullo, Giuseppe; Di Gaetano, Cornelia; Piazza, Alberto; Veeramah, Krishna; Geary, Patrick; Caramelli, David; Barbujani, Guido

2015-01-01

In the period between 400 to 800 AD, also known as the period of the Barbarian invasions, intense migration is documented in the historical record of Europe. However, little is known about the demographic impact of these historical movements, potentially ranging from negligible to substantial. As a pilot study in a broader project on Medieval Europe, we sampled 102 specimens from 5 burial sites in Northwestern Italy, archaeologically classified as belonging to Lombards or Longobards, a Germanic people ruling over a vast section of the Italian peninsula from 568 to 774. We successfully amplified and typed the mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVR-I) of 28 individuals. Comparisons of genetic diversity with other ancient populations and haplotype networks did not suggest that these samples are heterogeneous, and hence allowed us to jointly compare them with three isolated contemporary populations, and with a modern sample of a large city, representing a control for the effects of recent immigration. We then generated by serial coalescent simulations 16 millions of genealogies, contrasting a model of genealogical continuity with one in which the contemporary samples are genealogically independent from the medieval sample. Analyses by Approximate Bayesian Computation showed that the latter model fits the data in most cases, with one exception, Trino Vercellese, in which the evidence was compatible with persistence up to the present time of genetic features observed among this early medieval population. We conclude that it is possible, in general, to detect evidence of genealogical ties between medieval and specific modern populations. However, only seldom did mitochondrial DNA data allow us to reject with confidence either model tested, which indicates that broader analyses, based on larger assemblages of samples and genetic markers, are needed to understand in detail the effects of medieval migration.

Genealogical Relationships between Early Medieval and Modern Inhabitants of Piedmont

PubMed Central

Vai, Stefania; Ghirotto, Silvia; Pilli, Elena; Tassi, Francesca; Lari, Martina; Rizzi, Ermanno; Matas-Lalueza, Laura; Ramirez, Oscar; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Achilli, Alessandro; Olivieri, Anna; Torroni, Antonio; Lancioni, Hovirag; Giostra, Caterina; Bedini, Elena; Baricco, Luisella Pejrani; Matullo, Giuseppe; Di Gaetano, Cornelia; Piazza, Alberto; Veeramah, Krishna; Geary, Patrick; Caramelli, David; Barbujani, Guido

2015-01-01

In the period between 400 to 800 AD, also known as the period of the Barbarian invasions, intense migration is documented in the historical record of Europe. However, little is known about the demographic impact of these historical movements, potentially ranging from negligible to substantial. As a pilot study in a broader project on Medieval Europe, we sampled 102 specimens from 5 burial sites in Northwestern Italy, archaeologically classified as belonging to Lombards or Longobards, a Germanic people ruling over a vast section of the Italian peninsula from 568 to 774. We successfully amplified and typed the mitochondrial hypervariable region I (HVR-I) of 28 individuals. Comparisons of genetic diversity with other ancient populations and haplotype networks did not suggest that these samples are heterogeneous, and hence allowed us to jointly compare them with three isolated contemporary populations, and with a modern sample of a large city, representing a control for the effects of recent immigration. We then generated by serial coalescent simulations 16 millions of genealogies, contrasting a model of genealogical continuity with one in which the contemporary samples are genealogically independent from the medieval sample. Analyses by Approximate Bayesian Computation showed that the latter model fits the data in most cases, with one exception, Trino Vercellese, in which the evidence was compatible with persistence up to the present time of genetic features observed among this early medieval population. We conclude that it is possible, in general, to detect evidence of genealogical ties between medieval and specific modern populations. However, only seldom did mitochondrial DNA data allow us to reject with confidence either model tested, which indicates that broader analyses, based on larger assemblages of samples and genetic markers, are needed to understand in detail the effects of medieval migration. PMID:25635682

The Modern Value of Early Writings in Medicine and Dentistry.

PubMed

Peck, Sheldon

2016-01-01

This article illustrates three examples supporting the modern value of early writings in dentistry and medicine. First, by studying cases described in works published long before the era of genetic science, we are able to develop new hypotheses about familial conditions and their genetic roots. Tooth transposition is presented as an example. Second, old writings may lead us to valuable historical insights and perspectives in medicine that can be revealed only in retrospective analysis. An example of this kind of historical analysis uncovers why dentistry became unnaturally separated from mainstream medicine in the 19th century. Third, early writings become keys to unlocking forgotten knowledge that enriches our understanding of historically significant people and events. The discovery of Norman Kingsley's long forgotten pyrographic paintings after Rembrandt portraits is used as an example. Libraries, the traditional custodians of these valued old texts, must continue to be supported, and not undermined by the paperless digital revolution. Copyright American Academy of the History of Dentistry.

"None Must Meddle Betueene Man and Wife": assessing family and the fluidity of public and private in early modern Scotland.

PubMed

Nugent, Janay

2010-01-01

The physical and ideological boundaries between public and private in early modern Scotland were constantly contested, resulting in a shifting reality of what was public and private. This fluidity has been recognized by historians, but how, when, and why the shifting took place is not as clear. The moral church courts (Kirk Sessions) of Reformation Scotland allow a unique opportunity to begin to understand the largely elusive boundaries between public and private in the early modern era.

Origin of Clothing Lice Indicates Early Clothing Use by Anatomically Modern Humans in Africa

PubMed Central

Toups, Melissa A.; Kitchen, Andrew; Light, Jessica E.; Reed, David L.

2011-01-01

Clothing use is an important modern behavior that contributed to the successful expansion of humans into higher latitudes and cold climates. Previous research suggests that clothing use originated anywhere between 40,000 and 3 Ma, though there is little direct archaeological, fossil, or genetic evidence to support more specific estimates. Since clothing lice evolved from head louse ancestors once humans adopted clothing, dating the emergence of clothing lice may provide more specific estimates of the origin of clothing use. Here, we use a Bayesian coalescent modeling approach to estimate that clothing lice diverged from head louse ancestors at least by 83,000 and possibly as early as 170,000 years ago. Our analysis suggests that the use of clothing likely originated with anatomically modern humans in Africa and reinforces a broad trend of modern human developments in Africa during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. PMID:20823373

Juan Ruiz De Alarcón: Impairment as Empowerment in Early Modern Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Gloria Bodtorf

2016-01-01

Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, a seventeenth-century writer and native of New Spain, so excelled at the craft of writing "comedias" that he is recognized as one of the great writers of early modern Spain. In his personal life Ruiz de Alarcón struggled with a significant bodily impairment, a large hump on both his back and front, which made him…

Glass and Alchemy in Early Modern Europe: An Analytical Study of Glassware from the Oberstockstall Laboratory in Austria.

PubMed

Veronesi, Umberto; Martinón-Torres, Marcos

2018-06-18

Glass distillation equipment from an early modern alchemical laboratory was analyzed for its technology of manufacture and potential origin. Chemical data show that the assemblage can be divided into sodium-rich, colorless distillation vessels made with glass from Venice or its European imitation, and potassium-rich dark-brown non-specialized forms produced within the technological tradition of forest glass typical for central and north-western Europe. These results complete our understanding of the supply of technical apparatus at one of the best-preserved alchemical laboratories and highlight an early awareness of the need for high-quality instruments to guarantee the successful outcome of specialized chemical operations. This study demonstrates the potential of archaeological science to inform historical research around the practice of early chemistry and the development of modern science. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

School Jailhouse: Discipline, Space and the Materiality of School Morale in Early-Modern Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norlin, Björn

2016-01-01

This paper uses a specific phenomenon of early-modern education in Sweden, the school jail, as a point of departure for a broader analysis of educational policy in the areas of discipline and moral instruction. The paper demonstrates how the jail evolved as a part of a wider network of objects, pedagogical technologies and social routines in this…

Assessing an early modern Fenland population: Whittlesey (Cambridgeshire).

PubMed

Falvey, Heather

2014-01-01

Improvement writers argued that drainage would bring prosperity and population growth to fenland communities; locals counter-argued that their communities were already thriving. The detailed surviving records from early modern Whittlesey, in the Isle of Ely, are analysed here to test the accuracy of these opposing claims. Using the returns of the 1523 Lay Subsidy, the 1563 ecclesiastical census, the Lady Day 1674 Hearth Tax records and the 1676 Compton Census, together with bishops' transcripts and probate inventories, this article finds that although the population did indeed increase after drainage, the pre-drainage population was also increasing. The Michaelmas 1664 Hearth Tax records are analysed to uncover something of the character of the inhabitants and the 1674 Lady Day returns are then used to test the relative wealth of the community compared with that of sub-regions throughout England identified by Tom Arkell. Finally, there is a discussion of Whittlesey's housing stock.

From Apprentice to Master: Social Disciplining and Surgical Education in Early Modern London, 1570-1640

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chamberland, Celeste

2013-01-01

Due to its ascendancy as the administrative and commercial center of early modern England, London experienced sustained growth in the latter half of the sixteenth century, as waves of rural immigrants sought to enhance their material conditions by tapping into the city's bustling occupational and civic networks. The resultant crowded urban…

The Rhetoric of Bonds, Alliances, and Identities: Interrogating Social Networks in Early Modern English Drama

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cady, Christina J.

2010-01-01

The household and family have received considerable interest in studies of early modern English drama, but less attention has been paid to how writers represent intimate affective bonds on the stage. Emotion is intangible; yet many writers convincingly convey the intensity of emotional bonds through rhetoric. Rhetoric is a mainstay in…

Children's Physic: Medical Perceptions and Treatment of Sick Children in Early Modern England, c. 1580-1720.

PubMed

Newton, Hannah

2010-12-01

Historians of medicine, childhood and paediatrics have often assumed that early modern doctors neither treated children, nor adapted their medicines to suit the peculiar temperaments of the young. Through an examination of medical textbooks and doctors' casebooks, this article refutes these assumptions. It argues that medical authors and practising doctors regularly treated children, and were careful to tailor their remedies to complement the distinctive constitutions of children. Thus, this article proposes that a concept of 'children's physic' existed in early modern England. This term refers to the notion that children were physiologically distinct, requiring special medical care. Children's physic was rooted in the ancient traditions of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine: it was the child's humoral make-up that underpinned all medical ideas about children's bodies, minds, diseases and treatments. Children abounded in the humour blood, which made them humid and weak, and in need of medicines of a particularly gentle nature.

Elementary Education and the Practices of Literacy in Catholic Girls' Schools in Early Modern Germany

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rutz, Andreas

2012-01-01

Girls' schools in the early modern era were largely run by nuns and can therefore be distinguished as Catholic institutions of learning. These schools flourished in the Catholic parts of Europe since the turn of the seventeenth century. Despite their focus on religious education, elementary skills such as reading, writing and sometimes arithmetic…

Early Childhood Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elkind, David

In five sections, this paper explores dimensions of early childhood education: schooling generally construed as nonparental instruction in knowledge, values, and skills. Section 1 looks at some of the factors which have contributed to the rapid growth of early childhood education in modern times. Section 2 briefly highlights the contributions of…

Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms.

PubMed

Vannier, J; Steiner, M; Renvoisé, E; Hu, S-X; Casanova, J-P

2007-03-07

Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540-520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cambrian of China added to previous studies provide convincing evidence that protoconodont-bearing animals also belonged to chaetognaths. Chaetognaths were probably widespread and diverse in the earliest Cambrian. The obvious raptorial function of their circumoral apparatuses (grasping spines) places them among the earliest active predator metazoans. Morphology, body ratios and distribution suggest that the ancestral chaetognaths were planktonic with possible ecological preferences for hyperbenthic niches close to the sea bottom. Our results point to the early introduction of prey-predator relationships into the pelagic realm, and to the increase of trophic complexity (three-level structure) during the Precambrian-Cambrian transition, thus laying the foundations of present-day marine food chains.

Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms

PubMed Central

Vannier, J; Steiner, M; Renvoisé, E; Hu, S.-X; Casanova, J.-P

2006-01-01

Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540–520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cambrian of China added to previous studies provide convincing evidence that protoconodont-bearing animals also belonged to chaetognaths. Chaetognaths were probably widespread and diverse in the earliest Cambrian. The obvious raptorial function of their circumoral apparatuses (grasping spines) places them among the earliest active predator metazoans. Morphology, body ratios and distribution suggest that the ancestral chaetognaths were planktonic with possible ecological preferences for hyperbenthic niches close to the sea bottom. Our results point to the early introduction of prey–predator relationships into the pelagic realm, and to the increase of trophic complexity (three-level structure) during the Precambrian–Cambrian transition, thus laying the foundations of present-day marine food chains. PMID:17254986

Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards

PubMed Central

Lowe, John; Barton, Nick; Blockley, Simon; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Cullen, Victoria L.; Davies, William; Gamble, Clive; Grant, Katharine; Hardiman, Mark; Housley, Rupert; Lane, Christine S.; Lee, Sharen; Lewis, Mark; MacLeod, Alison; Menzies, Martin; Müller, Wolfgang; Pollard, Mark; Price, Catherine; Roberts, Andrew P.; Rohling, Eelco J.; Satow, Chris; Smith, Victoria C.; Stringer, Chris B.; Tomlinson, Emma L.; White, Dustin; Albert, Paul; Arienzo, Ilenia; Barker, Graeme; Borić, Dušan; Carandente, Antonio; Civetta, Lucia; Ferrier, Catherine; Guadelli, Jean-Luc; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Koumouzelis, Margarita; Müller, Ulrich C.; Orsi, Giovanni; Pross, Jörg; Rosi, Mauro; Shalamanov-Korobar, Ljiljiana; Sirakov, Nikolay; Tzedakis, Polychronis C.

2012-01-01

Marked changes in human dispersal and development during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition have been attributed to massive volcanic eruption and/or severe climatic deterioration. We test this concept using records of volcanic ash layers of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption dated to ca. 40,000 y ago (40 ka B.P.). The distribution of the Campanian Ignimbrite has been enhanced by the discovery of cryptotephra deposits (volcanic ash layers that are not visible to the naked eye) in archaeological cave sequences. They enable us to synchronize archaeological and paleoclimatic records through the period of transition from Neanderthal to the earliest anatomically modern human populations in Europe. Our results confirm that the combined effects of a major volcanic eruption and severe climatic cooling failed to have lasting impacts on Neanderthals or early modern humans in Europe. We infer that modern humans proved a greater competitive threat to indigenous populations than natural disasters. PMID:22826222

Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards.

PubMed

Lowe, John; Barton, Nick; Blockley, Simon; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Cullen, Victoria L; Davies, William; Gamble, Clive; Grant, Katharine; Hardiman, Mark; Housley, Rupert; Lane, Christine S; Lee, Sharen; Lewis, Mark; MacLeod, Alison; Menzies, Martin; Müller, Wolfgang; Pollard, Mark; Price, Catherine; Roberts, Andrew P; Rohling, Eelco J; Satow, Chris; Smith, Victoria C; Stringer, Chris B; Tomlinson, Emma L; White, Dustin; Albert, Paul; Arienzo, Ilenia; Barker, Graeme; Boric, Dusan; Carandente, Antonio; Civetta, Lucia; Ferrier, Catherine; Guadelli, Jean-Luc; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Koumouzelis, Margarita; Müller, Ulrich C; Orsi, Giovanni; Pross, Jörg; Rosi, Mauro; Shalamanov-Korobar, Ljiljiana; Sirakov, Nikolay; Tzedakis, Polychronis C

2012-08-21

Marked changes in human dispersal and development during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition have been attributed to massive volcanic eruption and/or severe climatic deterioration. We test this concept using records of volcanic ash layers of the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption dated to ca. 40,000 y ago (40 ka B.P.). The distribution of the Campanian Ignimbrite has been enhanced by the discovery of cryptotephra deposits (volcanic ash layers that are not visible to the naked eye) in archaeological cave sequences. They enable us to synchronize archaeological and paleoclimatic records through the period of transition from Neanderthal to the earliest anatomically modern human populations in Europe. Our results confirm that the combined effects of a major volcanic eruption and severe climatic cooling failed to have lasting impacts on Neanderthals or early modern humans in Europe. We infer that modern humans proved a greater competitive threat to indigenous populations than natural disasters.

Metaphors and images of cancer in early modern Europe.

PubMed

Stolberg, Michael

2014-01-01

Drawing on learned medical writing about cancer and on nonmedical texts that used cancer as a metaphor for hateful cultural, social, religious, or political phenomena that warranted drastic measures, this article traces the metaphors and images that framed the perception and experience of cancer in the early modern period. It finds that cancer was closely associated with notions of impurity and a visible destruction of the body's surface and was diagnosed primarily in women, as breast and uterine cancer. Putrid, corrosive cancerous humor was thought not only to accumulate and eat its way into the surrounding flesh but also to spread, like the seeds of a plant, "infecting" the whole body. This infectious quality, the putrid secretions, and the often horrendous smell emanating from cancer victims raised fears, in turn, of contagion and were taken to justify a separation of cancer patients from the rest of society.

Tracing sexual identities in "old age": gender and seniority in advice literature of the early-modern and modern periods.

PubMed

van Tilburg, Marja

2009-10-01

Thus far, historians have interpreted representations of elderly women with reference to women's roles or to women's positions in society. This article proposes a different approach toward gender: to relate representations of the aged to the sexual identities of both men and women. This article analyzes representations of old age in conduct books of the early-modern period and the nineteenth century. By drawing a comparison, the eighteenth-century change of "identity regime" in European culture is brought to the fore. The article points to the influence of sexual identities on the representations of senior persons in advice literature both in Dutch and translated into Dutch.

Wombs, Worms and Wolves: Constructing Cancer in Early Modern England.

PubMed

Skuse, Alanna

2014-11-01

This essay examines medical and popular attitudes to cancer in the early modern period, c .1580-1720. Cancer, it is argued, was understood as a cruel and usually incurable disease, diagnosable by a well-defined set of symptoms understood to correspond to its etymological root, karkinos (the crab). It was primarily understood as produced by an imbalance of the humours, with women being particularly vulnerable. However, such explanations proved inadequate to make sense of the condition's malignancy, and medical writers frequently constructed cancer as quasi-sentient, zoomorphising the disease as an eating worm or wolf. In turn, these constructions materially influenced medical practice, in which practitioners swung between anxiety over 'aggravating' the disease and an adversarial approach which fostered the use of radical and dangerous 'cures' including caustics and surgery.

Wombs, Worms and Wolves: Constructing Cancer in Early Modern England

PubMed Central

Skuse, Alanna

2014-01-01

This essay examines medical and popular attitudes to cancer in the early modern period, c.1580–1720. Cancer, it is argued, was understood as a cruel and usually incurable disease, diagnosable by a well-defined set of symptoms understood to correspond to its etymological root, karkinos (the crab). It was primarily understood as produced by an imbalance of the humours, with women being particularly vulnerable. However, such explanations proved inadequate to make sense of the condition's malignancy, and medical writers frequently constructed cancer as quasi-sentient, zoomorphising the disease as an eating worm or wolf. In turn, these constructions materially influenced medical practice, in which practitioners swung between anxiety over ‘aggravating’ the disease and an adversarial approach which fostered the use of radical and dangerous ‘cures’ including caustics and surgery. PMID:25352720

A nearly modern amphibious bird from the Early Cretaceous of northwestern China.

PubMed

You, Hai-Lu; Lamanna, Matthew C; Harris, Jerald D; Chiappe, Luis M; O'connor, Jingmai; Ji, Shu-An; Lü, Jun-Chang; Yuan, Chong-Xi; Li, Da-Qing; Zhang, Xing; Lacovara, Kenneth J; Dodson, Peter; Ji, Qiang

2006-06-16

Three-dimensional specimens of the volant fossil bird Gansus yumenensis from the Early Cretaceous Xiagou Formation of northwestern China demonstrate that this taxon possesses advanced anatomical features previously known only in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic ornithuran birds. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Gansus within the Ornithurae, making it the oldest known member of the clade. The Xiagou Formation preserves the oldest known ornithuromorph-dominated avian assemblage. The anatomy of Gansus, like that of other non-neornithean (nonmodern) ornithuran birds, indicates specialization for an amphibious life-style, supporting the hypothesis that modern birds originated in aquatic or littoral niches.

Re-Learning of Traditional Knowledge in Times of Modernity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosa, Enn

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to an indigenous community that lives in the periphery of Taiwan. The Tao were confronted with modernization beginning with the Japanese colonial time and later through missionary work and Sinicization. These exogenous factors had a major influence on the Tao's traditional lifestyle and…

[Inheritance and evolution of acupuncture manipulation techniques of Zhejiang acupuncture masters in modern times].

PubMed

Yu, Daxiong; Ma, Ruijie; Fang, Jianqiao

2015-05-01

There are many eminent acupuncture masters in modern times in the regions of Zhejiang province, which has developed the acupuncture schools of numerous characteristics and induces the important impacts at home and abroad. Through the literature collection on the acupuncture schools in Zhejiang and the interviews to the parties involved, it has been discovered that the acupuncture manipulation techniques of acupuncture masters in modern times are specifically featured. Those techniques are developed on the basis of Neijing (Internal Classic), Jinzhenfu (Ode to Gold Needle) and Zhenjiu Dacheng (Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion). No matter to obey the old maxim or study by himself, every master lays the emphasis on the research and interpretation of classical theories and integrates the traditional with the modern. In the paper, the acupuncture manipulation techniques of Zhejiang acupuncture masters in modern times are stated from four aspects, named needling techniques in Internal Classic, feijingzouqi needling technique, penetrating needling technique and innovation of acupuncture manipulation.

Modern U-Pb chronometry of meteorites: advancing to higher time resolution reveals new problems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amelin, Y.; Connelly, J.; Zartman, R.E.; Chen, J.-H.; Gopel, C.; Neymark, L.A.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we evaluate the factors that influence the accuracy of lead (Pb)-isotopic ages of meteorites, and may possibly be responsible for inconsistencies between Pb-isotopic and extinct nuclide timescales of the early Solar System: instrumental mass fractionation and other possible analytical sources of error, presence of more than one component of non-radiogenic Pb, migration of ancient radiogenic Pb by diffusion and other mechanisms, possible heterogeneity of the isotopic composition of uranium (U), uncertainties in the decay constants of uranium isotopes, possible presence of "freshly synthesized" actinides with short half-life (e.g. 234U) in the early Solar System, possible initial disequilibrium in the uranium decay chains, and potential fractionation of radiogenic Pb isotopes and U isotopes caused by alpha-recoil and subsequent laboratory treatment. We review the use of 232Th/238U values to assist in making accurate interpretations of the U-Pb ages of meteorite components. We discuss recently published U-Pb dates of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), and their apparent disagreement with the extinct nuclide dates, in the context of capability and common pitfalls in modern meteorite chronology. Finally, we discuss the requirements of meteorites that are intended to be used as the reference points in building a consistent time scale of the early Solar System, based on the combined use of the U-Pb system and extinct nuclide chronometers.

Survival analysis of time to uptake of modern contraceptives among sexually active women of reproductive age in Nigeria

PubMed Central

Adebowale, Ayo Stephen; Morhason-Bello, ImranOludare

2015-01-01

Objective To assess the timing of modern contraceptive uptake among married and never-married women in Nigeria. Design A retrospective cross-sectional study. Data and method We used nationally representative 2013 Demographic and Health Survey data in Nigeria. Modern contraceptive uptake time was measured as the period between first sexual intercourse and first use of a modern contraceptive. Non-users of modern contraceptives were censored on the date of the survey. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to determine the rate of uptake. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to determine variables influencing the uptake at 5% significance level. Participants A total of 33 223 sexually active women of reproductive age. Outcome measure Time of uptake of a modern contraceptive after first sexual intercourse. Results The median modern contraceptive uptake time was 4 years in never-married and 14 years among ever-married women. Significant differences in modern contraceptive uptake existed in respondents’ age, location, education and wealth status. Never-married women were about three times more likely to use a modern contraceptive than ever-married women (aHR=3.24 (95% CI 2.82 to 3.65)). Women with higher education were six times more likely to use a modern contraceptive than those without education (aHR=6.18 (95% CI 5.15 to 7.42)). Conclusions The rate of modern contraceptive uptake is low, and timing of contraceptive uptake during or after first sexual intercourse differed according to marital status. Age and number of children ever born influenced modern contraceptive uptake among the never-married women, but religion and place of residence were associated with the probability of modern contraceptive uptake among ever-married women. PMID:26671948

Book review: Mapping gendered routes and spaces in the early modern world

USGS Publications Warehouse

Varanka, Dalia E.

2016-01-01

This book encapsulates and extends many seminal ideas presented at the eighth “Attending to Early Modern Women” conference held at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in June 2012. Merry Wiesner-Hanks has done a masterful job editing these papers within a central theme of the interaction of spatial domains with gender-based phenomena. The fifteen chapters of this book are organized into four sections: “Framework,” discussing theoretical concepts; “Embodied Environments,” focusing on physicality; “Communities and Networks” of social patterns; and “Exchanges” across geographic space. Together, a global society shaped by gender and sexuality and intersected by race and class emerges.

From dinosaurs to modern bird diversity: extending the time scale of adaptive radiation.

PubMed

Moen, Daniel; Morlon, Hélène

2014-05-01

What explains why some groups of organisms, like birds, are so species rich? And what explains their extraordinary ecological diversity, ranging from large, flightless birds to small migratory species that fly thousand of kilometers every year? These and similar questions have spurred great interest in adaptive radiation, the diversification of ecological traits in a rapidly speciating group of organisms. Although the initial formulation of modern concepts of adaptive radiation arose from consideration of the fossil record, rigorous attempts to identify adaptive radiation in the fossil record are still uncommon. Moreover, most studies of adaptive radiation concern groups that are less than 50 million years old. Thus, it is unclear how important adaptive radiation is over temporal scales that span much larger portions of the history of life. In this issue, Benson et al. test the idea of a "deep-time" adaptive radiation in dinosaurs, compiling and using one of the most comprehensive phylogenetic and body-size datasets for fossils. Using recent phylogenetic statistical methods, they find that in most clades of dinosaurs there is a strong signal of an "early burst" in body-size evolution, a predicted pattern of adaptive radiation in which rapid trait evolution happens early in a group's history and then slows down. They also find that body-size evolution did not slow down in the lineage leading to birds, hinting at why birds survived to the present day and diversified. This paper represents one of the most convincing attempts at understanding deep-time adaptive radiations.

Floods of the Maros river in the early modern and modern period (16th-20th centuries)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiss, Andrea

2016-04-01

In the poster presentation a series of historical and recent floods of the Maros river, with special emphasis on the flood events occurred on the lower sections, are presented. Similar to the Hungarian flood databases of the Middle-Danube and Lower-Tisza, the main sources of investigations are the institutional (legal-administrative) documentary evidence (e.g. Szeged and Makó town council protocols and related administrative documentation, Csanád County meeting protocols) mainly from the late 17th-early 18th century onwards. However, in case of the Maros river there is an increased importance of narrative sources, with special emphasis on the early modern period (16th-17th century): in this case the (mainly Transylvanian) narratives (chronicles, diaries, memoires etc.) written by aristocrats, other noblemen and town citizens have particular importance. In the presentation the frequency of detected flood events, from the mid-16th century onwards (with an outlook on sporadic medieval evidence), is provided; moreover, a 3-scaled magnitude classification and a seasonality analysis are also presented. Floods of the Maros river, especially those of the lower river sections, often cannot be understood and discussed without the floods of the (Lower-)Tisza; thus, a comparison of the two flood series are also a subject of discussion. Unlike the Lower-Tisza, the Maros is prone to winter and early spring ice jam floods: since the floods that belonged to this type (similar to those of the Middle-Danube at Budapest) were the most destructive among the flood events of the river, this flood type, and the greatest flood events (e.g. 1751-1752, 1784) are also presented in more detail.

Unexpected Early Triassic marine ecosystem and the rise of the Modern evolutionary fauna

PubMed Central

Brayard, Arnaud; Krumenacker, L. J.; Botting, Joseph P.; Jenks, James F.; Bylund, Kevin G.; Fara, Emmanuel; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Olivier, Nicolas; Goudemand, Nicolas; Saucède, Thomas; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Romano, Carlo; Doguzhaeva, Larisa; Thuy, Ben; Hautmann, Michael; Stephen, Daniel A.; Thomazo, Christophe; Escarguel, Gilles

2017-01-01

In the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (~251.9 to 247 million years ago) is portrayed as an environmentally unstable interval characterized by several biotic crises and heavily depauperate marine benthic ecosystems. We describe a new fossil assemblage—the Paris Biota—from the earliest Spathian (middle Olenekian, ~250.6 million years ago) of the Bear Lake area, southeastern Idaho, USA. This highly diversified assemblage documents a remarkably complex marine ecosystem including at least seven phyla and 20 distinct metazoan orders, along with algae. Most unexpectedly, it combines early Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic taxa previously unknown from the Triassic strata, among which are primitive Cambrian-Ordovician leptomitid sponges (a 200–million year Lazarus taxon) and gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods, a poorly documented group before the Jurassic (~50 million years after the Early Triassic). Additionally, the crinoid and ophiuroid specimens show derived anatomical characters that were thought to have evolved much later. Unlike previous works that suggested a sluggish postcrisis recovery and a low diversity for the Early Triassic benthic organisms, the unexpected composition of this exceptional assemblage points toward an early and rapid post-Permian diversification for these clades. Overall, it illustrates a phylogenetically diverse, functionally complex, and trophically multileveled marine ecosystem, from primary producers up to top predators and potential scavengers. Hence, the Paris Biota highlights the key evolutionary position of Early Triassic fossil ecosystems in the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern marine evolutionary fauna at the dawn of the Mesozoic era. PMID:28246643

Unexpected Early Triassic marine ecosystem and the rise of the Modern evolutionary fauna.

PubMed

Brayard, Arnaud; Krumenacker, L J; Botting, Joseph P; Jenks, James F; Bylund, Kevin G; Fara, Emmanuel; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Olivier, Nicolas; Goudemand, Nicolas; Saucède, Thomas; Charbonnier, Sylvain; Romano, Carlo; Doguzhaeva, Larisa; Thuy, Ben; Hautmann, Michael; Stephen, Daniel A; Thomazo, Christophe; Escarguel, Gilles

2017-02-01

In the wake of the end-Permian mass extinction, the Early Triassic (~251.9 to 247 million years ago) is portrayed as an environmentally unstable interval characterized by several biotic crises and heavily depauperate marine benthic ecosystems. We describe a new fossil assemblage-the Paris Biota-from the earliest Spathian (middle Olenekian, ~250.6 million years ago) of the Bear Lake area, southeastern Idaho, USA. This highly diversified assemblage documents a remarkably complex marine ecosystem including at least seven phyla and 20 distinct metazoan orders, along with algae. Most unexpectedly, it combines early Paleozoic and middle Mesozoic taxa previously unknown from the Triassic strata, among which are primitive Cambrian-Ordovician leptomitid sponges (a 200-million year Lazarus taxon) and gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods, a poorly documented group before the Jurassic (~50 million years after the Early Triassic). Additionally, the crinoid and ophiuroid specimens show derived anatomical characters that were thought to have evolved much later. Unlike previous works that suggested a sluggish postcrisis recovery and a low diversity for the Early Triassic benthic organisms, the unexpected composition of this exceptional assemblage points toward an early and rapid post-Permian diversification for these clades. Overall, it illustrates a phylogenetically diverse, functionally complex, and trophically multileveled marine ecosystem, from primary producers up to top predators and potential scavengers. Hence, the Paris Biota highlights the key evolutionary position of Early Triassic fossil ecosystems in the transition from the Paleozoic to the Modern marine evolutionary fauna at the dawn of the Mesozoic era.

The First Modern Human Dispersals across Africa

PubMed Central

Rito, Teresa; Richards, Martin B.; Fernandes, Verónica; Alshamali, Farida; Cerny, Viktor

2013-01-01

The emergence of more refined chronologies for climate change and archaeology in prehistoric Africa, and for the evolution of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), now make it feasible to test more sophisticated models of early modern human dispersals suggested by mtDNA distributions. Here we have generated 42 novel whole-mtDNA genomes belonging to haplogroup L0, the most divergent clade in the maternal line of descent, and analysed them alongside the growing database of African lineages belonging to L0’s sister clade, L1’6. We propose that the last common ancestor of modern human mtDNAs (carried by “mitochondrial Eve”) possibly arose in central Africa ~180 ka, at a time of low population size. By ~130 ka two distinct groups of anatomically modern humans co-existed in Africa: broadly, the ancestors of many modern-day Khoe and San populations in the south and a second central/eastern African group that includes the ancestors of most extant worldwide populations. Early modern human dispersals correlate with climate changes, particularly the tropical African “megadroughts” of MIS 5 (marine isotope stage 5, 135–75 ka) which paradoxically may have facilitated expansions in central and eastern Africa, ultimately triggering the dispersal out of Africa of people carrying haplogroup L3 ~60 ka. Two south to east migrations are discernible within haplogroup LO. One, between 120 and 75 ka, represents the first unambiguous long-range modern human dispersal detected by mtDNA and might have allowed the dispersal of several markers of modernity. A second one, within the last 20 ka signalled by L0d, may have been responsible for the spread of southern click-consonant languages to eastern Africa, contrary to the view that these eastern examples constitute relicts of an ancient, much wider distribution. PMID:24236171

Children’s Physic: Medical Perceptions and Treatment of Sick Children in Early Modern England, c. 1580–1720

PubMed Central

Newton, Hannah

2015-01-01

Summary Historians of medicine, childhood and paediatrics have often assumed that early modern doctors neither treated children, nor adapted their medicines to suit the peculiar temperaments of the young. Through an examination of medical textbooks and doctors’ casebooks, this article refutes these assumptions. It argues that medical authors and practising doctors regularly treated children, and were careful to tailor their remedies to complement the distinctive constitutions of children. Thus, this article proposes that a concept of ‘children’s physic’ existed in early modern England. This term refers to the notion that children were physiologically distinct, requiring special medical care. Children’s physic was rooted in the ancient traditions of Hippocratic and Galenic medicine: it was the child’s humoral make-up that underpinned all medical ideas about children’s bodies, minds, diseases and treatments. Children abounded in the humour blood, which made them humid and weak, and in need of medicines of a particularly gentle nature. PMID:26306061

From Mystics to Modern Times: A History of Craniotomy & Religion.

PubMed

Newman, W Christopher; Chivukula, Srinivas; Grandhi, Ramesh

2016-08-01

Neurosurgical treatment of diseases dates back to prehistoric times and the trephination of skulls for various maladies. Throughout the evolution of trephination, surgery and religion have been intertwined to varying degrees, a relationship that has caused both stagnation and progress. From its mystical origins in prehistoric times to its scientific progress in ancient Egypt and its resurgence as a well-validated surgical technique in modern times, trephination has been a reflection of the cultural and religious times. Herein we present a brief history of trephination as it relates religion, culture, and the evolution of neurosurgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The fourfold Democritus on the stage of early modern science.

PubMed

Lüthy, C

2000-09-01

The renewed success of ancient atomism in the seventeenth century has baffled historians not only because of the lack of empirical evidence in its favor but also because of the exotic heterogeneity of the models that were proposed under its name. This essay argues that one of the more intriguing reasons for the motley appearance of early modern atomism is that Democritus, with whose name this doctrine was most commonly associated, was a figure of similar incoherence. There existed in fact no fewer than four quite different Democriti of Abdera and as many literary traditions: the atomist, the "laughing philosopher," the moralizing anatomist, and the alchemist. Around the year 1600 the doctrines of these literary figures, three of whom had no tangible connection with atomism, began to merge into further hybrid personae, some of whom possessed notable scientific potential. This essay offers the story of how these Democriti contributed to the rise of incompatible "atomisms."

Antiquity versus modern times in hydraulics - a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stroia, L.; Georgescu, S. C.; Georgescu, A. M.

2010-08-01

Water supply and water management in Antiquity represent more than Modern World can imagine about how people in that period used to think about, and exploit the resources they had, aiming at developing and improving their society and own lives. This paper points out examples of how they handled different situations, and how they managed to cope with the growing number of population in the urban areas, by adapting or by improving their water supply systems. The paper tries to emphasize the engineering contribution of Rome and the Roman Empire, mainly in the capital but also in the provinces, as for instance the today territory of France, by analysing some aqueducts from the point of view of modern Hydraulic Engineering. A third order polynomial regression is proposed to compute the water flow rate, based on the flow cross-sectional area measured in quinaria. This paper also emphasizes on contradictory things between what we thought we knew about Ancient Roman civilization, and what could really be proven, either by a modern engineering approach, a documentary approach, or by commonsense, where none of the above could be used. It is certain that the world we live in is the heritage of the Greco-Roman culture and therefore, we are due to acknowledge their contribution, especially taking into account the lack of knowledge of that time, and the poor resources they had.

Modern turtle origins: the oldest known cryptodire.

PubMed

Gaffney, E S; Hutchison, J H; Jenkins, F A; Meeker, L J

1987-07-17

The discovery of a turtle in the Early Jurassic(185 million years before present) Kayenta Formation of northeastern Arizona provides significant evidence about the origin of modern turtles. This new taxon possesses many of the primitive features expected in the hypothetical common ancestor of pleurodires and cryptodires, the two groups of modern turtles. It is identified as the oldest known cryptodire because of the presence of a distinctive cryptodiran jaw mechanism consisting of a trochlea over the otic chamber that redirects the line of action of the adductor muscle. Aquatic habits appear to have developed very early in turtle evolution. Kayentachelys extends the known record of cryptodires back at least 45 million years and documents a very early stage in the evolution of modern turtles.

Investigating early modern Ottoman consumer culture in the light of Bursa probate inventories.

PubMed

Karababa, Eminegül

2012-01-01

This study investigates the development of early modern Ottoman consumer culture. In particular, the democratization of consumption, which is a significant indicator of the development of western consumer cultures, is examined in relation to Ottoman society. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century probate inventories of the town of Bursa combined with literary and official sources are used in order to identify democratization of consumption and the macro conditions shaping this development. Findings demonstrate that commercialization, international trade, urbanization which created a fluid social structure, and the ability of the state to negotiate with guilds were possible contextual specificities which encouraged the democratization of consumption in the Bursa context.

Insecticide ADME for support of early-phase discovery: combining classical and modern techniques.

PubMed

David, Michael D

2017-04-01

The two factors that determine an insecticide's potency are its binding to a target site (intrinsic activity) and the ability of its active form to reach the target site (bioavailability). Bioavailability is dictated by the compound's stability and transport kinetics, which are determined by both physical and biochemical characteristics. At BASF Global Insecticide Research, we characterize bioavailability in early research with an ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion) approach, combining classical and modern techniques. For biochemical assessment of metabolism, we purify native insect enzymes using classical techniques, and recombinantly express individual insect enzymes that are known to be relevant in insecticide metabolism and resistance. For analytical characterization of an experimental insecticide and its metabolites, we conduct classical radiotracer translocation studies when a radiolabel is available. In discovery, where typically no radiolabel has been synthesized, we utilize modern high-resolution mass spectrometry to probe complex systems for the test compounds and its metabolites. By using these combined approaches, we can rapidly compare the ADME properties of sets of new experimental insecticides and aid in the design of structures with an improved potential to advance in the research pipeline. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Physical Activity in Early and Modern Populations. Papers from the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Physical Education (59th, Las Vegas, Nevada, April 11-13, 1987). No. 21.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malina, Robert M., Ed.; Eckert, Helen M., Ed.

Eleven conference papers explore physical activity in ancient societies as well as human adaptation of physical activities in modern society. The following papers are included: (1) "Physical Activity in Early and Modern Populations: An Evolutionary View" (Robert M. Malina); (2) "How Active Were Early Populations? or Squeezing the Fossil Record"…

Appendicular robusticity and the paleobiology of modern human emergence.

PubMed

Trinkaus, E

1997-11-25

The emergence of modern humans in the Late Pleistocene, whatever its phylogenetic history, was characterized by a series of behaviorally important shifts reflected in aspects of human hard tissue biology and the archeological record. To elucidate these shifts further, diaphyseal cross-sectional morphology was analyzed by using cross-sectional areas and second moments of area of the mid-distal humerus and midshaft femur. The humeral diaphysis indicates a gradual reduction in habitual load levels from Eurasian late archaic, to Early Upper Paleolithic early modern, to Middle Upper Paleolithic early modern hominids, with the Levantine Middle Paleolithic early modern humans being a gracile anomalous outlier. The femoral diaphysis, once variation in ecogeographically patterned body proportions is taken into account, indicates no changes across the pre-30,000 years B.P. samples in habitual locomotor load levels, followed by a modest decrease through the Middle Upper Paleolithic.

"This base stallion trade": he-whores and male sexuality on the early modern stage.

PubMed

Panek, Jennifer

2010-01-01

Recent scholarship on early modern male sexuality has stressed the threat that sexual relations with women were believed to pose to manhood. Focusing on such plays as Middleton's Your Five Gallants (c. 1608), Fletcher and Massinger's The Custom of The Country (c.1620), and Davenant's The Just Italian (1630), this paper analyzes representations of male prostitutes for women to argue that cultural attitudes toward male sexual performance were more complex and self-contradictory than generally acknowledged. The patriarchal codes that warned against effeminating sexual desire and advocated parsimonious seminal “spending” are undermined by their own inherent corollary: the most masculine man is one who can demonstrate unlimited seminal capacity. Furthermore, it has been posited that the early modern period marked the beginning of a shift from “reproductive” to “performative” constructions of manhood, in which the manhood-affirming aspects of male sexuality gradually became unmoored from their traditional association with bloodlines and attached instead to penetrative sexual conquest. The class implications of this shift inform patriarchal anxieties about the superior sexual stamina of servant-class men and their bodily “service” to elite women. Representing a fantasy of empowering male sexuality that relies on detaching virile performance from effeminating desire—a physiologically absurd notion—and on providing sexual “service” while leaving intact both class and gender hierarchies, a successful he-whore like Middleton's Tailby or Davenant's Sciolto playfully challenges the dictates of patriarchal masculinity by fulfilling them in absurd and unorthodox ways. Ultimately, he illuminates just how untenable those dictates might be.

OH 83: A new early modern human fossil cranium from the Ndutu beds of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.

PubMed

Reiner, Whitney B; Masao, Fidelis; Sholts, Sabrina B; Songita, Agustino Venance; Stanistreet, Ian; Stollhofen, Harald; Taylor, R E; Hlusko, Leslea J

2017-11-01

Herein we introduce a newly recovered partial calvaria, OH 83, from the upper Ndutu Beds of Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. We present the geological context of its discovery and a comparative analysis of its morphology, placing OH 83 within the context of our current understanding of the origins and evolution of Homo sapiens. We comparatively assessed the morphology of OH 83 using quantitative and qualitative data from penecontemporaneous fossils and the W.W. Howells modern human craniometric dataset. OH 83 is geologically dated to ca. 60-32 ka. Its morphology is indicative of an early modern human, falling at the low end of the range of variation for post-orbital cranial breadth, the high end of the range for bifrontal breadth, and near average in frontal length. There have been numerous attempts to use cranial anatomy to define the species Homo sapiens and identify it in the fossil record. These efforts have not met wide agreement by the scientific community due, in part, to the mosaic patterns of cranial variation represented by the fossils. The variable, mosaic pattern of trait expression in the crania of Middle and Late Pleistocene fossils implies that morphological modernity did not occur at once. However, OH 83 demonstrates that by ca. 60-32 ka modern humans in Africa included individuals that are at the fairly small and gracile range of modern human cranial variation. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Globalization, National Identity, and Citizenship Education: China's Search for Modernization and a Modern Chinese Citizenry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Law, Wing-Wah

2013-01-01

Since the early 20th century, numerous scholars have proposed theories and models describing, interpreting, and suggesting the development paths countries have taken or should take. None of these, however, can fully explain China's efforts, mainly through education and citizenship education, to modernize itself and foster a modern citizenry since…

Time in Early Childhood: Creative Possibilities with Different Conceptions of Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farquhar, Sandy

2016-01-01

Time is an important driver of pedagogy which is often overlooked in the busy atmosphere of an early childhood centre. Engaging philosophically with three different concepts of time, and drawing examples from literature and art to focus attention on how time is constituted in early childhood centres, this article argues that we inhabit the…

Socio-cultural factors in dental diseases in the Medieval and early Modern Age of northern Spain.

PubMed

Lopez, Belen; Pardiñas, Antonio F; Garcia-Vazquez, Eva; Dopico, Eduardo

2012-02-01

The aim of this study is to present, discuss and compare the results of pathological conditions in teeth from skeletal remains found in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) in four Medieval cemeteries (late 15th century) and three cemeteries from the Modern Age (late 18th century). The final objective was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic and cultural changes that took place during the early Modern Age in Spain, on oral health. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss were considered as indicators of dental disease. A significant increase of both dental caries and antemortem tooth loss occurred in Modern Age individuals when compared to Medieval values, as reported for other regions. Increased trade with other continents may explain this deterioration of dental health, as food exchanges (mainly with America) contributed to diet changes for the overall population, including higher carbohydrate consumption (introduction of potatoes) at the expense of other vegetables. A sex-specific increase of dental disease with age, and a significantly higher prevalence of carious lesions in Modern Age females than in males, were also found. These changes can be explained by women having had limited access to dental care after the Middle-Modern Age transition, as a consequence of socio-cultural and political changes. In these changes, an increasing influence of the Catholic Church in Spanish society has to be noted, as it can contribute to the explanation of the unequal dental health of men and women. Women were socially excluded from dental care by regulations inspired by religious precepts. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Viscous cosmology for early- and late-time universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Iver; Grøn, Øyvind; de Haro, Jaume; Odintsov, Sergei D.; Saridakis, Emmanuel N.

From a hydrodynamicist’s point of view the inclusion of viscosity concepts in the macroscopic theory of the cosmic fluid would appear most natural, as an ideal fluid is after all an abstraction (exluding special cases such as superconductivity). Making use of modern observational results for the Hubble parameter plus standard Friedmann formalism, we may extrapolate the description of the universe back in time up to the inflationary era, or we may go to the opposite extreme and analyze the probable ultimate fate of the universe. In this review, we discuss a variety of topics in cosmology when it is enlarged in order to contain a bulk viscosity. Various forms of this viscosity, when expressed in terms of the fluid density or the Hubble parameter, are discussed. Furthermore, we consider homogeneous as well as inhomogeneous equations of state. We investigate viscous cosmology in the early universe, examining the viscosity effects on the various inflationary observables. Additionally, we study viscous cosmology in the late universe, containing current acceleration and the possible future singularities, and we investigate how one may even unify inflationary and late-time acceleration. Finally, we analyze the viscosity-induced crossing through the quintessence-phantom divide, we examine the realization of viscosity-driven cosmological bounces, and we briefly discuss how the Cardy-Verlinde formula is affected by viscosity.

Dental enamel defects in German medieval and early-modern-age populations.

PubMed

Lang, J; Birkenbeil, S; Bock, S; Heinrich-Weltzien, R; Kromeyer-Hauschild, K

2016-11-01

Aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and type of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) in a medieval and an early-modern-age population from Thuringia, Germany. Sixty-six skeletons subdivided into 31 single burials (12 th /13 th c.) and 35 individuals buried in groups (15 th /16 th c.) were examined. DDE were classified on 1,246 teeth according to the DDE index. Molar-incisor-hypomineralisation (MIH), a special type of DDE, was recorded according to the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) criteria. DDE was found in 89.4% of the individuals (single burials 90.3% and group burials 88.6%). Hypoplastic pits were the most frequent defect in primary teeth and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in permanent teeth. 13 individuals (24.1%) showed at least one hypomineralised permanent tooth, 12.2% had MIH on at least one first permanent molar and 10.0% in permanent incisors. Second primary molars were affected in 8.0% of the children and juveniles. No individual suffered from affected molars and incisors in combination. Endogenous factors like nutritional deficiencies and health problems in early childhood could have been aetiological reasons of DDE and MIH. The frequency of DDE and MIH might have been masked by extended carious lesions, dental wear and ante-mortem tooth loss.

Early postdisaster health outreach to modern families: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Haga, Jon Magnus; Stene, Lise Eilin; Wentzel-Larsen, Tore; Thoresen, Siri; Dyb, Grete

2015-12-17

This study investigated whether the early outreach programme following the Utøya massacre reached out to the parents of the young survivors. Additionally, we explored whether specialised mental healthcare services were provided to parents presenting elevated levels of PTSD and depression reactions. Cross-sectional survey, face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Norway, aftermath of the Utøya massacre, 4-7 months postdisaster. Following the Utøya massacre, proactive early outreach programmes were launched in all municipalities that were affected, facilitating access to appropriate healthcare services. A total of 453 parents of the Utøya survivors aged 13-33 years took part. Overall, 59.8% of the survivors were represented by one or more parent in our study. Engagement with the proactive early outreach programme (psychosocial crisis teams and contact persons in the municipalities), utilisation of healthcare services (general practitioner and specialised mental healthcare services) and mental distress (UCLA PTSD-RI and HSCL-8). A majority of the participants reported contact with the proactive early outreach programme (crisis team, 73.9%; and contact person, 73.0%). Failure of outreach to parents was significantly associated with non-intact family structure (crisis team: OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.05 to 2.72, p=0.032) and non-Norwegian origin (crisis team: OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.14 to 4.98, p=0.021). Gender of the parent was not significantly associated with failure of the outreach programme (p ≥ 0.075). Provision of specialised mental healthcare services was significantly associated with higher levels of PTSD (OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.55 to 2.79, p<0.001) and depression (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.71 to 3.43, p<0.001) and not with the sociodemography (p ≥ 0.122). Proactive early outreach strategies may be helpful in identifying healthcare needs and facilitating access to the required services in a population struck by disaster. Our findings prompt increased attention to the complexity

Thinking with the saint: the miracle of Saint Januarius of Naples and science in early modern Europe.

PubMed

de Ceglia, Francesco Paolo

2014-01-01

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the way in which early modem science questioned and indirectly influenced (while being in its turn influenced by) the conceptualization of the liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januarius, a phenomenon that has been taking place at regular intervals in Naples since the late Middle Ages. In the seventeenth century, a debate arose that divided Europe between supporters of a theory of divine intervention and believers in the occult properties of the blood. These two theoretical options reflected two different perspectives on the relationship between the natural and the supernatural. While in the seventeenth century, the emphasis was placed on the predictable periodicity of the miraculous event of liquefaction as a manifestation of God in his role as a divine regulator, in the eighteenth century the event came to be described as capricious and unpredictable, in an attempt to differentiate miracles from the workings of nature, which were deemed to be normative. The miracle of the blood of Saint Januarius thus provides a window through which we can catch a glimpse of how the natural order was perceived in early modern Europe at a time when the Continent was culturally fragmented into north and south, Protestantism and Catholicism, learned and ignorant.

Casebooks in early modern England: medicine, astrology, and written records.

PubMed

Kassell, Lauren

2014-01-01

Casebooks are the richest sources that we have for encounters between early modern medical practitioners and their patients. This article compares astrological and medical records across two centuries, focused on England, and charts developments in the ways in which practitioners kept records and reflected on their practices. Astrologers had a long history of working from particular moments, stellar configurations, and events to general rules. These practices required systematic notation. Physicians increasingly modeled themselves on Hippocrates, recording details of cases as the basis for reasoned expositions of the histories of disease. Medical records, as other scholars have demonstrated, shaped the production of medical knowledge. Instead, this article focuses on the nature of casebooks as artifacts of the medical encounter. It establishes that casebooks were serial records of practice, akin to diaries, testimonials, and registers; identifies extant English casebooks and the practices that led to their production and preservation; and concludes that the processes of writing, ordering, and preserving medical records are as important for understanding the medical encounter as the records themselves.

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Operator Performance Metrics for Control Room Modernization: A Practical Guide for Early Design Evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ronald Boring; Roger Lew; Thomas Ulrich

2014-03-01

As control rooms are modernized with new digital systems at nuclear power plants, it is necessary to evaluate the operator performance using these systems as part of a verification and validation process. There are no standard, predefined metrics available for assessing what is satisfactory operator interaction with new systems, especially during the early design stages of a new system. This report identifies the process and metrics for evaluating human system interfaces as part of control room modernization. The report includes background information on design and evaluation, a thorough discussion of human performance measures, and a practical example of how themore » process and metrics have been used as part of a turbine control system upgrade during the formative stages of design. The process and metrics are geared toward generalizability to other applications and serve as a template for utilities undertaking their own control room modernization activities.« less

‘Very Sore Nights and Days’: The Child’s Experience of Illness in Early Modern England, c.1580–1720

PubMed Central

NEWTON, HANNAH

2011-01-01

Sick children were ubiquitous in early modern England, and yet they have received very little attention from historians. Taking the elusive perspective of the child, this article explores the physical, emotional, and spiritual experience of illness in England between approximately 1580 and 1720. What was it like being ill and suffering pain? How did the young respond emotionally to the anticipation of death? It is argued that children’s experiences were characterised by profound ambivalence: illness could be terrifying and distressing, but also a source of emotional and spiritual fulfilment and joy. This interpretation challenges the common assumption amongst medical historians that the experiences of early modern patients were utterly miserable. It also sheds light on children’s emotional feelings for their parents, a subject often overlooked in the historiography of childhood. The primary sources used in this article include diaries, autobiographies, letters, the biographies of pious children, printed possession cases, doctors’ casebooks, and theological treatises concerning the afterlife. PMID:21461308

'A WONDERFULL MONSTER BORNE IN GERMANY': HAIRY GIRLS IN MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN GERMAN BOOK, COURT AND PERFORMANCE CULTURE.

PubMed

Katritzky, M A

2014-09-24

Human hirsuteness, or pathological hair growth, can be symptomatic of various conditions, including genetic mutation or inheritance, and some cancers and hormonal disturbances. Modern investigations into hirsuteness were initiated by nineteenth-century German physicians. Most early modern European cases of hypertrichosis (genetically determined all-over body and facial hair) involve German-speaking parentage or patronage, and are documented in German print culture. Through the Wild Man tradition, modern historians routinely link early modern reception of historical hypertrichosis cases to issues of ethnicity without, however, recognising early modern awareness of links between temporary hirsuteness and the pathological nexus of starvation and anorexia. Here, four cases of hirsute females are reconsidered with reference to this medical perspective, and to texts and images uncovered by my current research at the Herzog August Library and German archives. One concerns an Italian girl taken to Prague in 1355 by the Holy Roman Empress, Anna von Schweidnitz. Another focuses on Madeleine and Antonietta Gonzalez, daughters of the 'Wild Man' of Tenerife, documented at German courts in the 1580s. The third and fourth cases consider the medieval bearded Sankt Kümmernis (also known as St Wilgefortis or St Uncumber), and the seventeenth-century Bavarian fairground performer Barbara Urslerin. Krankhafter menschlicher Hirsutismus kann aufgrund unterschiedlicher Ursachen auftreten, zu denen u.a. genetische Veländerungen und Vererbung, verschiedene Krebserkrankungen und hormonelle Störungen gehören. Die moderne Hirsutismus-Forschung ist im 19. Jh. von deutschen Forschern initiiert worden. Die meisten europäischen frühneuzeitlichen Erscheinungen von Hypertrichose (dem genetisch bedingten Haarwuchs am gesamten Körper und im Gesicht) gehen auf deutschsprachige Eltern oder Förderer zurück und sind in Deutschland in den Druck gelangt. Bei Untersuchungen des Motivs des Wilden

Training the intelligent eye: understanding illustrations in early modern astronomy texts.

PubMed

Crowther, Kathleen M; Barker, Peter

2013-09-01

Throughout the early modern period, the most widely read astronomical textbooks were Johannes de Sacrobosco's De sphaera and the Theorica planetarum, ultimately in the new form introduced by Georg Peurbach. This essay argues that the images in these texts were intended to develop an "intelligent eye." Students were trained to transform representations of specific heavenly phenomena into moving mental images of the structure of the cosmos. Only by learning the techniques of mental visualization and manipulation could the student "see" in the mind's eye the structure and motions of the cosmos. While anyone could look up at the heavens, only those who had acquired the intelligent eye could comprehend the divinely created order of the universe. Further, the essay demonstrates that the visual program of the Sphaera and Theorica texts played a significant and hitherto unrecognized role in later scientific work. Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler all utilized the same types of images in their own texts to explicate their ideas about the cosmos.

["Lingue di seripi", "serpents' tongues" and "glossopetrae". Highlights from the history of popular "cult" medicine in early modern times].

PubMed

Freller, T

1997-01-01

In the 16th, 17th and 18th century "Glossopetrae", popularly known as "Lingue di Serpi", found on the Mediterranean island of Malta, were extensively used for medical purposes as antidotes. These fossil teeth, including specimens of the "Carcharodon Megalodon" (an extinct variant of the great white shark), were ground to powder or used as amulet pendants and "credence" and exported to pharmacies and shops in various cities of Europe. In antiquity, authors like Plinius or Solinus, excluding any religious connotations, had regarded "Glossopetrae" as objects "fallen from heaven on dark moonless nights". However, from the beginning of the 16th century the miraculous antidotic power of the specimens found at Malta was very strongly connected with the Pauline cult there. This cult owed ist origin to the excerpt of the shipwreck of the Apostle of the Gentiles on this island, as recorded in the New Testament. As in so many cases found in medieval and early modern medicine and pharmacy, the renown, collection, distribution and use of the antidote "Glossopetrae" or "Lingue di Serpi" was never limited to its real chemical and pharmaceutical properties. In the period of enlightenment and secular thinking mythic medicine as "Glossopetrae" had lost ist "magical" power. Consequently, with beginning of the late 18th century also the Maltese "Glossopetrae" featured in literature merely as exotic objects of curiosity or symbols of an age bound to medical superstition.

Philosophy of experiment in early modern England: the case of Bacon, Boyle and Hooke.

PubMed

Anstey, Peter R

2014-01-01

Serious philosophical reflection on the nature of experiment began in earnest in the seventeenth century. This paper expounds the most influential philosophy of experiment in seventeenth-century England, the Bacon-Boyle-Hooke view of experiment. It is argued that this can only be understood in the context of the new experimental philosophy practised according to the Baconian theory of natural history. The distinctive typology of experiments of this view is discussed, as well as its account of the relation between experiment and theory. This leads into an assessment of other recent discussions of early modern experiment, namely, those of David Gooding, Thomas Kuhn, J.E. Tiles and Peter Dear.

Modern Microbial Ecosystems are a Key to Understanding Our Biosphere's Early Evolution and its Contributions To The Atmosphere and Rock Record

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DesMarais, David J.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The survival of our early biosphere depended upon efficient coordination anion- diverse microbial populations. Microbial mats exhibit a 3.46-billion-year fossil record, thus they are the oldest known ecosystems. Photosynthetic microbial mats were key because, today, sunlight powers more than 99 percent of global primary productivity. Thus photosynthetic ecosystems have affected the atmosphere profoundly and have created the most pervasive, easily-detected fossils. Photosynthetic biospheres elsewhere will be most detectible via telescopes or spacecraft. As a part of the Astrobiology Institute, our Ames Microbial Ecosystems group examines the roles played by ecological processes in the early evolution of our biosphere, as recorded in geologic fossils and in the macromolecules of living cells: (1) We are defining the microbial mat microenvironment, which was an important milieu for early evolution. (2) We are comparing mats in contrasting environments to discern strategies of adaptation and diversification, traits that were key for long-term survival. (3) We have selected sites that mimic key environmental attributes of early Earth and thereby focus upon evolutionary adaptations to long-term changes in the global environment. (4) Our studies of gas exchange contribute to better estimates of biogenic gases in Earth's early atmosphere. This group therefore directly addresses the question: How have the Earth and its biosphere influenced each other over time Our studies strengthen the systematics for interpreting the microbial fossil record and thereby enhance astrobiological studies of martian samples. Our models of biogenic gas emissions will enhance models of atmospheres that might be detected on inhabited extrasolar planets. This work therefore also addresses the question: How can other biospheres be recogniZed" Our choice of field sites helps us explore Earth's evolving early environment. For example, modern mats that occupy thermal springs and certain freshwater

From Dinosaurs to Modern Bird Diversity: Extending the Time Scale of Adaptive Radiation

PubMed Central

Moen, Daniel; Morlon, Hélène

2014-01-01

What explains why some groups of organisms, like birds, are so species rich? And what explains their extraordinary ecological diversity, ranging from large, flightless birds to small migratory species that fly thousand of kilometers every year? These and similar questions have spurred great interest in adaptive radiation, the diversification of ecological traits in a rapidly speciating group of organisms. Although the initial formulation of modern concepts of adaptive radiation arose from consideration of the fossil record, rigorous attempts to identify adaptive radiation in the fossil record are still uncommon. Moreover, most studies of adaptive radiation concern groups that are less than 50 million years old. Thus, it is unclear how important adaptive radiation is over temporal scales that span much larger portions of the history of life. In this issue, Benson et al. test the idea of a “deep-time” adaptive radiation in dinosaurs, compiling and using one of the most comprehensive phylogenetic and body-size datasets for fossils. Using recent phylogenetic statistical methods, they find that in most clades of dinosaurs there is a strong signal of an “early burst” in body-size evolution, a predicted pattern of adaptive radiation in which rapid trait evolution happens early in a group's history and then slows down. They also find that body-size evolution did not slow down in the lineage leading to birds, hinting at why birds survived to the present day and diversified. This paper represents one of the most convincing attempts at understanding deep-time adaptive radiations. PMID:24802950

History of teaching anatomy in India: from ancient to modern times.

PubMed

Jacob, Tony George

2013-01-01

Safe clinical practice is based on a sound knowledge of the structure and function of the human body. Thus, knowledge of anatomy has been an essential tool in the practice of healthcare throughout the ages. The history of anatomy in India traces from the Paleolithic Age to the Indus Valley Civilization, the Vedic Times, the Islamic Dynasties, the modern Colonial Period, and finally to Independent India. The course of the study of anatomy, despite accompanying controversies and periods of latencies, has been fascinating. This review takes the reader through various periods of Indian medicine and the role of anatomy in the field of medical practice. It also provides a peek into the modern system of pedagogy in anatomical sciences in India. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

The modern human colonization of western Eurasia: when and where?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hublin, Jean-Jacques

2015-06-01

Dating the timing of the replacement of local Neandertal populations by modern humans in western Eurasia at the dawn of the Upper Palaeolithic remains challenging due to the scarcity of the palaeontological evidence and to the complexity of the archaeological record. Furthermore, key specimens have been discovered in the course of excavations that unfortunately did not meet today's archaeological standards. The importance of site-formation processes in the considered time period makes it sometimes difficult to precisely assign fragmentary remains a posteriori to distinct techno-complexes. The improvements in dating methods have however allowed for the clarification of many chronological issues in the past decade. Archaeological and palaeontological evidence strongly suggest that the initial modern colonization of eastern Europe and central Asia should be related to the spread of techno-complexes assigned to the Initial Upper Palaeolithic. This first expansion may have started as early as 48 ka cal BP. The earliest phases of the Aurignacian complex (Protoaurignacian and Early Aurignacian) seem to represent another modern wave of migrations, starting in the Levant area. The expansion of this techno-complex throughout Europe completed the modern colonization of the continent. The interpretation of a third group of industries referred to as "transitional assemblages" in western and central Europe is much debated. At least in part, these assemblages might have been produced by Neandertal groups that may have survived until c. 41 ka cal BP, according to the directly dated Neandertal specimens of Saint-Césaire (France) and Spy (Belgium).

Genetic evidence and the modern human origins debate.

PubMed

Relethford, J H

2008-06-01

A continued debate in anthropology concerns the evolutionary origin of 'anatomically modern humans' (Homo sapiens sapiens). Different models have been proposed to examine the related questions of (1) where and when anatomically modern humans first appeared and (2) the genetic and evolutionary relationship between modern humans and earlier human populations. Genetic data have been increasingly used to address these questions. Genetic data on living human populations have been used to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the human species by considering how global patterns of human variation could be produced given different evolutionary scenarios. Of particular interest are gene trees that reconstruct the time and place of the most recent common ancestor of humanity for a given haplotype and the analysis of regional differences in genetic diversity. Ancient DNA has also allowed a direct assessment of genetic variation in European Neandertals. Together with the fossil record, genetic data provide insight into the origin of modern humans. The evidence points to an African origin of modern humans dating back to 200,000 years followed by later expansions of moderns out of Africa across the Old World. What is less clear is what happened when these early modern humans met preexisting 'archaic human' populations outside of Africa. At present, it is difficult to distinguish between a model of total genetic replacement and a model that includes some degree of genetic mixture.

The Modern Religious Language of Education: Rousseau's "Emile"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osterwalder, Fritz

2012-01-01

The Republican education, its concepts, theories, and form of discourse belong to the shared European heritage of the pre-modern Age. The pedagogy of humanism and its effects on the early Modern Age are represented by Republicanism. Even if Republicanism found a political continuation in liberalism and democratism of the Modern Age, the same…

The Live Chicken Treatment for Buboes: Trying a Plague Cure in Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

PubMed

Heinrichs, Erik A

2017-01-01

This article traces a seven-hundred-year history of one puzzling treatment for plague buboes that used the rumps of chickens to draw out the bubo's poisons. It traces the origin of the recipe to Avicenna's Canon and explores how medieval and early modern physicians altered the treatment and explained its workings up to the early eighteenth century. Much of the analysis focuses on the variants of the recipe that German physicians created as they adapted or elaborated on older recipes. This article argues that most variations of the treatment likely resulted from physicians trying ideas on paper, rather than in practice, as they attempted to unlock the mysteries of the plague's underlying poisons. Starting in the sixteenth century, however, evidence suggests that practice began to play an important role in the adaptation and interpretation of the "live chicken" recipes.

(See symbol in text) in early modern discussions of the passions: Stoicism, Christianity and natural history.

PubMed

Kraye, Jill

2012-01-01

This paper examines the reception of the Stoic theory of the passions in the early modern period, highlighting various differences between the way notions such as (see symbol in text) (complete freedom from passions) and(see symbol in text) (pre-passions) were handled and interpreted by Continental and English authors. Both groups were concerned about the compatibility of Stoicism with Christianity, but came to opposing conclusions; and while the Continental scholars drew primarily on ancient philosophical texts, the English ones relied, in addition, on experience and observation, developing a natural history of the passions.

‘A Wonderfull Monster Borne in Germany’: Hairy Girls in Medieval and Early Modern German Book, Court and Performance Culture*

PubMed Central

Katritzky, MA

2014-01-01

Human hirsuteness, or pathological hair growth, can be symptomatic of various conditions, including genetic mutation or inheritance, and some cancers and hormonal disturbances. Modern investigations into hirsuteness were initiated by nineteenth-century German physicians. Most early modern European cases of hypertrichosis (genetically determined all-over body and facial hair) involve German-speaking parentage or patronage, and are documented in German print culture. Through the Wild Man tradition, modern historians routinely link early modern reception of historical hypertrichosis cases to issues of ethnicity without, however, recognising early modern awareness of links between temporary hirsuteness and the pathological nexus of starvation and anorexia. Here, four cases of hirsute females are reconsidered with reference to this medical perspective, and to texts and images uncovered by my current research at the Herzog August Library and German archives. One concerns an Italian girl taken to Prague in 1355 by the Holy Roman Empress, Anna von Schweidnitz. Another focuses on Madeleine and Antonietta Gonzalez, daughters of the ‘Wild Man’ of Tenerife, documented at German courts in the 1580s. The third and fourth cases consider the medieval bearded Sankt Kümmernis (also known as St Wilgefortis or St Uncumber), and the seventeenth-century Bavarian fairground performer Barbara Urslerin. Krankhafter menschlicher Hirsutismus kann aufgrund unterschiedlicher Ursachen auftreten, zu denen u.a. genetische Veränderungen und Vererbung, verschiedene Krebserkrankungen und hormonelle Störungen gehören. Die moderne Hirsutismus-Forschung ist im 19. Jh. von deutschen Forschern initiiert worden. Die meisten europäischen frühneuzeitlichen Erscheinungen von Hypertrichose (dem genetisch bedingten Haarwuchs am gesamten Körper und im Gesicht) gehen auf deutschsprachige Eltern oder Förderer zurück und sind in Deutschland in den Druck gelangt. Bei Untersuchungen des Motivs des

Circles of Confidence in Correspondence: Modeling Confidentiality and Secrecy in Knowledge Exchange Networks of Letters and Drawings in the Early Modern Period.

PubMed

van den Heuvel, Charles; Weingart, Scott B; Spelt, Nils; Nellen, Henk

2016-01-01

Science in the early modern world depended on openness in scholarly communication. On the other hand, a web of commercial, political, and religious conflicts required broad measures of secrecy and confidentiality; similar measures were integral to scholarly rivalries and plagiarism. This paper analyzes confidentiality and secrecy in intellectual and technological knowledge exchange via letters and drawings. We argue that existing approaches to understanding knowledge exchange in early modern Europe--which focus on the Republic of Letters as a unified entity of corresponding scholars--can be improved upon by analyzing multilayered networks of communication. We describe a data model to analyze circles of confidence and cultures of secrecy in intellectual and technological knowledge exchanges. Finally, we discuss the outcomes of a first experiment focusing on the question of how personal and professional/official relationships interact with confidentiality and secrecy, based on a case study of the correspondence of Hugo Grotius.

Speculative Truth - Henry Cavendish, Natural Philosophy, and the Rise of Modern Theoretical Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCormmach, Russell

2004-03-01

With a never-before published paper by Lord Henry Cavendish, as well as a biography on him, this book offers a fascinating discourse on the rise of scientific attitudes and ways of knowing. A pioneering British physicist in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Cavendish was widely considered to be the first full-time scientist in the modern sense. Through the lens of this unique thinker and writer, this book is about the birth of modern science.

Nitrogen isotopes suggest a change in nitrogen dynamics between the Late Pleistocene and modern time in Yukon, Canada

PubMed Central

Longstaffe, Fred J.; Zazula, Grant

2018-01-01

A magnificent repository of Late Pleistocene terrestrial megafauna fossils is contained in ice-rich loess deposits of Alaska and Yukon, collectively eastern Beringia. The stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope compositions of bone collagen from these fossils are routinely used to determine paleodiet and reconstruct the paleoecosystem. This approach requires consideration of changes in C- and N-isotope dynamics over time and their effects on the terrestrial vegetation isotopic baseline. To test for such changes between the Late Pleistocene and modern time, we compared δ13C and δ15N for vegetation and bone collagen and structural carbonate of some modern, Yukon, arctic ground squirrels with vegetation and bones from Late Pleistocene fossil arctic ground squirrel nests preserved in Yukon loess deposits. The isotopic discrimination between arctic ground squirrel bone collagen and their diet was measured using modern samples, as were isotopic changes during plant decomposition; Over-wintering decomposition of typical vegetation following senescence resulted in a minor change (~0–1 ‰) in δ13C of modern Yukon grasses. A major change (~2–10 ‰) in δ15N was measured for decomposing Yukon grasses thinly covered by loess. As expected, the collagen-diet C-isotope discrimination measured for modern samples confirms that modern vegetation δ13C is a suitable proxy for the Late Pleistocene vegetation in Yukon Territory, after correction for the Suess effect. The N-isotope composition of vegetation from the fossil arctic ground squirrel nests, however, is determined to be ~2.8 ‰ higher than modern grasslands in the region, after correction for decomposition effects. This result suggests a change in N dynamics in this region between the Late Pleistocene and modern time. PMID:29447202

Nitrogen isotopes suggest a change in nitrogen dynamics between the Late Pleistocene and modern time in Yukon, Canada.

PubMed

Tahmasebi, Farnoush; Longstaffe, Fred J; Zazula, Grant

2018-01-01

A magnificent repository of Late Pleistocene terrestrial megafauna fossils is contained in ice-rich loess deposits of Alaska and Yukon, collectively eastern Beringia. The stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope compositions of bone collagen from these fossils are routinely used to determine paleodiet and reconstruct the paleoecosystem. This approach requires consideration of changes in C- and N-isotope dynamics over time and their effects on the terrestrial vegetation isotopic baseline. To test for such changes between the Late Pleistocene and modern time, we compared δ13C and δ15N for vegetation and bone collagen and structural carbonate of some modern, Yukon, arctic ground squirrels with vegetation and bones from Late Pleistocene fossil arctic ground squirrel nests preserved in Yukon loess deposits. The isotopic discrimination between arctic ground squirrel bone collagen and their diet was measured using modern samples, as were isotopic changes during plant decomposition; Over-wintering decomposition of typical vegetation following senescence resulted in a minor change (~0-1 ‰) in δ13C of modern Yukon grasses. A major change (~2-10 ‰) in δ15N was measured for decomposing Yukon grasses thinly covered by loess. As expected, the collagen-diet C-isotope discrimination measured for modern samples confirms that modern vegetation δ13C is a suitable proxy for the Late Pleistocene vegetation in Yukon Territory, after correction for the Suess effect. The N-isotope composition of vegetation from the fossil arctic ground squirrel nests, however, is determined to be ~2.8 ‰ higher than modern grasslands in the region, after correction for decomposition effects. This result suggests a change in N dynamics in this region between the Late Pleistocene and modern time.

‘To[o] much eating stifles the child’: fat bodies and reproduction in early modern England†

PubMed Central

Toulalan, Sarah

2013-01-01

Abstract This article examines associations between fat bodies and reproductive dysfunction that were prevalent in medical, midwifery and other literature in early modern England. In a period when fertility and successful reproduction were regarded as hugely important for social, economic and political stability such associations further contributed to negative attitudes towards fat bodies that were fuelled by connection with the vices of sloth and gluttony. Fat bodies were categorized as inherently, constitutionally, less sexual and reproductively successful. Consequently they were perceived as unhealthy and unfit for their primary purpose once they had reached sexual maturity: marriage and the production of children. PMID:25960608

Measures of maturation in early fossil hominins: events at the first transition from australopiths to early Homo

PubMed Central

Dean, M. Christopher

2016-01-01

An important question in palaeoanthropology is whether, among the australopiths and the first fossil hominins attributed to early Homo, there was a shift towards a more prolonged period of growth that can be distinguished from that of the living great apes and whether between the end of weaning and the beginning of puberty there was a slow period of growth as there is in modern humans. Evidence for the pace of growth in early fossil hominins comes from preserved tooth microstructure. A record of incremental growth in enamel and dentine persists, which allows us to reconstruct tooth growth and compare key measures of dental maturation with modern humans and living great apes. Despite their diverse diets and way of life, it is currently difficult to identify any clear differences in the timing of dental development among living great apes, australopiths and the earliest hominins attributed to the genus Homo. There is, however, limited evidence that some early hominins may have attained a greater proportion of their body mass and stature relatively earlier in the growth period than is typical of modern humans today. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’. PMID:27298465

High Resolution Near Real Time Image Processing and Support for MSSS Modernization

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

00-00-2012 to 00-00-2012 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE High Resolution Near Real Time Image Processing and Support for MSSS Modernization 5a. CONTRACT...This current CONOPS is depicted in Fig. 4 . Fig. 4 . PCID/ASPIRE High Resolution Post...experiments were performed, and subsequently addressed in papers and presentations [3, 4 ,] that demonstrated system behavior; with details of the

Expanding women's rural medical work in early modern Brittany: the Daughters of the Holy Spirit.

PubMed

McHugh, Tim

2012-07-01

During the eighteenth century, orders of nursing sisters took on an expanded role in the rural areas of Brittany. This article explores the impact of religious change on the medical activities of these women. While limits were placed on the medical practice of unlicensed individuals, areas of new opportunity for nuns as charitable practitioners were created by devout nobles throughout the eighteenth century. These nuns provided comprehensive care for the sick poor on their patrons' estates, acting not only as nurses, but also in lieu of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries. This article argues that the medical knowledge and expertise of these sisters from the nursing orders were highly valued by the elites of early modern Brittany.

Expanding Women's Rural Medical Work in Early Modern Brittany: The Daughters of the Holy Spirit

PubMed Central

McHugh, Tim

2012-01-01

During the eighteenth century, orders of nursing sisters took on an expanded role in the rural areas of Brittany. This article explores the impact of religious change on the medical activities of these women. While limits were placed on the medical practice of unlicensed individuals, areas of new opportunity for nuns as charitable practitioners were created by devout nobles throughout the eighteenth century. These nuns provided comprehensive care for the sick poor on their patrons' estates, acting not only as nurses, but also in lieu of physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries. This article argues that the medical knowledge and expertise of these sisters from the nursing orders were highly valued by the elites of early modern Brittany. PMID:21724643

Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans

PubMed Central

Chirchir, Habiba; Kivell, Tracy L.; Ruff, Christopher B.; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Carlson, Kristian J.; Zipfel, Bernhard; Richmond, Brian G.

2015-01-01

Humans are unique, compared with our closest living relatives (chimpanzees) and early fossil hominins, in having an enlarged body size and lower limb joint surfaces in combination with a relatively gracile skeleton (i.e., lower bone mass for our body size). Some analyses have observed that in at least a few anatomical regions modern humans today appear to have relatively low trabecular density, but little is known about how that density varies throughout the human skeleton and across species or how and when the present trabecular patterns emerged over the course of human evolution. Here, we test the hypotheses that (i) recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the upper and lower limbs compared with other primate taxa and (ii) the reduction in trabecular density first occurred in early Homo erectus, consistent with the shift toward a modern human locomotor anatomy, or more recently in concert with diaphyseal gracilization in Holocene humans. We used peripheral quantitative CT and microtomography to measure trabecular bone of limb epiphyses (long bone articular ends) in modern humans and chimpanzees and in fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus/early Homo from Swartkrans, Homo neanderthalensis, and early Homo sapiens. Results show that only recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the limb joints. Extinct hominins, including pre-Holocene Homo sapiens, retain the high levels seen in nonhuman primates. Thus, the low trabecular density of the recent modern human skeleton evolved late in our evolutionary history, potentially resulting from increased sedentism and reliance on technological and cultural innovations. PMID:25535354

Recent origin of low trabecular bone density in modern humans.

PubMed

Chirchir, Habiba; Kivell, Tracy L; Ruff, Christopher B; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; Carlson, Kristian J; Zipfel, Bernhard; Richmond, Brian G

2015-01-13

Humans are unique, compared with our closest living relatives (chimpanzees) and early fossil hominins, in having an enlarged body size and lower limb joint surfaces in combination with a relatively gracile skeleton (i.e., lower bone mass for our body size). Some analyses have observed that in at least a few anatomical regions modern humans today appear to have relatively low trabecular density, but little is known about how that density varies throughout the human skeleton and across species or how and when the present trabecular patterns emerged over the course of human evolution. Here, we test the hypotheses that (i) recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the upper and lower limbs compared with other primate taxa and (ii) the reduction in trabecular density first occurred in early Homo erectus, consistent with the shift toward a modern human locomotor anatomy, or more recently in concert with diaphyseal gracilization in Holocene humans. We used peripheral quantitative CT and microtomography to measure trabecular bone of limb epiphyses (long bone articular ends) in modern humans and chimpanzees and in fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus/early Homo from Swartkrans, Homo neanderthalensis, and early Homo sapiens. Results show that only recent modern humans have low trabecular density throughout the limb joints. Extinct hominins, including pre-Holocene Homo sapiens, retain the high levels seen in nonhuman primates. Thus, the low trabecular density of the recent modern human skeleton evolved late in our evolutionary history, potentially resulting from increased sedentism and reliance on technological and cultural innovations.

Precambrian Time - The Story of the Early Earth

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindsey, D.A.

2007-01-01

The Precambrian is the least-understood part of Earth history, yet it is arguably the most important. Precambrian time spans almost nine-tenths of Earth history, from the formation of the Earth to the dawn of the Cambrian Period. It represents time so vast and long ago that it challenges all comprehension. The Precambrian is the time of big questions. How old is the Earth? How old are the oldest rocks and continents? What was the early Earth like? What was the early atmosphere like? When did life appear, and what did it look like? And, how do we know this? In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in understanding the early evolution of the Earth and life itself. Yet, the scientific story of the early Earth is still a work in progress, humankind's latest attempt to understand the planet. Like previous attempts, it too will change as we learn more about the Earth. Read on to discover what we know now, in the early 21st century.

High Resolution Near Real Time Image Processing and Support for MSSS Modernization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duncan, R. B.; Sabol, C.; Borelli, K.; Spetka, S.; Addison, J.; Mallo, A.; Farnsworth, B.; Viloria, R.

2012-09-01

This paper describes image enhancement software applications engineering development work that has been performed in support of Maui Space Surveillance System (MSSS) Modernization. It also includes R&D and transition activity that has been performed over the past few years with the objective of providing increased space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities. This includes Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) use of an FY10 Dedicated High Performance Investment (DHPI) cluster award -- and our selection and planned use for an FY12 DHPI award. We provide an introduction to image processing of electro optical (EO) telescope sensors data; and a high resolution image enhancement and near real time processing and summary status overview. We then describe recent image enhancement applications development and support for MSSS Modernization, results to date, and end with a discussion of desired future development work and conclusions. Significant improvements to image processing enhancement have been realized over the past several years, including a key application that has realized more than a 10,000-times speedup compared to the original R&D code -- and a greater than 72-times speedup over the past few years. The latest version of this code maintains software efficiency for post-mission processing while providing optimization for image processing of data from a new EO sensor at MSSS. Additional work has also been performed to develop low latency, near real time processing of data that is collected by the ground-based sensor during overhead passes of space objects.

A new time tree reveals Earth history's imprint on the evolution of modern birds.

PubMed

Claramunt, Santiago; Cracraft, Joel

2015-12-01

Determining the timing of diversification of modern birds has been difficult. We combined DNA sequences of clock-like genes for most avian families with 130 fossil birds to generate a new time tree for Neornithes and investigated their biogeographic and diversification dynamics. We found that the most recent common ancestor of modern birds inhabited South America around 95 million years ago, but it was not until the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition (66 million years ago) that Neornithes began to diversify rapidly around the world. Birds used two main dispersion routes: reaching the Old World through North America, and reaching Australia and Zealandia through Antarctica. Net diversification rates increased during periods of global cooling, suggesting that fragmentation of tropical biomes stimulated speciation. Thus, we found pervasive evidence that avian evolution has been influenced by plate tectonics and environmental change, two basic features of Earth's dynamics.

Timing of Orphanhood, Early Sexual Debut, and Early Marriage in Four Sub-Saharan African Countries

PubMed Central

Chae, Sophia

2014-01-01

According to a growing body of literature, some orphans are at heightened risk of early sexual debut and early marriage. This study examines a rarely explored aspect of orphanhood: the timing and type of parental death and their relationship to these outcomes. The study also explores whether education mediates orphans’ risk of early sexual initiation and early marriage. The data are drawn from the 2004 National Survey of Adolescents, which includes interviews with 12–19-year-old adolescents in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda. Results from discrete-time event history analysis indicate that female double orphans, regardless of timing of orphanhood, have greater odds of early sexual debut than do nonorphans. Education explains little of their increased risk. In contrast, male orphans of any type reveal no increased vulnerability to early sexual debut. Uganda is the only country where female orphans, specifically double orphans and those who are paternal orphans before age 10, have greater odds of early marriage, with education accounting for a small portion of the risk. PMID:23719999

A 28,000 Years Old Cro-Magnon mtDNA Sequence Differs from All Potentially Contaminating Modern Sequences

PubMed Central

Caramelli, David; Milani, Lucio; Vai, Stefania; Modi, Alessandra; Pecchioli, Elena; Girardi, Matteo; Pilli, Elena; Lari, Martina; Lippi, Barbara; Ronchitelli, Annamaria; Mallegni, Francesco; Casoli, Antonella; Bertorelle, Giorgio; Barbujani, Guido

2008-01-01

Background DNA sequences from ancient speciments may in fact result from undetected contamination of the ancient specimens by modern DNA, and the problem is particularly challenging in studies of human fossils. Doubts on the authenticity of the available sequences have so far hampered genetic comparisons between anatomically archaic (Neandertal) and early modern (Cro-Magnoid) Europeans. Methodology/Principal Findings We typed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) hypervariable region I in a 28,000 years old Cro-Magnoid individual from the Paglicci cave, in Italy (Paglicci 23) and in all the people who had contact with the sample since its discovery in 2003. The Paglicci 23 sequence, determined through the analysis of 152 clones, is the Cambridge reference sequence, and cannot possibly reflect contamination because it differs from all potentially contaminating modern sequences. Conclusions/Significance: The Paglicci 23 individual carried a mtDNA sequence that is still common in Europe, and which radically differs from those of the almost contemporary Neandertals, demonstrating a genealogical continuity across 28,000 years, from Cro-Magnoid to modern Europeans. Because all potential sources of modern DNA contamination are known, the Paglicci 23 sample will offer a unique opportunity to get insight for the first time into the nuclear genes of early modern Europeans. PMID:18628960

The Hidden History of a Famous Drug: Tracing the Medical and Public Acculturation of Peruvian Bark in Early Modern Western Europe (c. 1650-1720).

PubMed

Klein, Wouter; Pieters, Toine

2016-10-01

The history of the introduction of exotic therapeutic drugs in early modern Europe is usually rife with legend and obscurity and Peruvian bark is a case in point. The famous antimalarial drug entered the European medical market around 1640, yet it took decades before the bark was firmly established in pharmaceutical practice. This article argues that the history of Peruvian bark can only be understood as the interplay of its trajectories in science, commerce, and society. Modern research has mostly focused on the first of these, largely due to the abundance of medico-historical data. While appreciating these findings, this article proposes to integrate the medical trajectory in a richer narrative, by drawing particular attention to the acculturation of the bark in commerce and society. Although the evidence we have for these two trajectories is still sketchy and disproportionate, it can nevertheless help us to make sense of sources that have not yet been an obvious focus of research. Starting from an apparently isolated occurrence of the drug in a letter, this article focuses on Paris as the location where medical and public appreciation of the bark took shape, by exploring several contexts of knowledge circulation and medical practice there. These contexts provide a new window on the early circulation of knowledge of the bark, at a time when its eventual acceptance was by no means certain. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Response to Comment on "Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds".

PubMed

Cracraft, Joel; Houde, Peter; Ho, Simon Y W; Mindell, David P; Fjeldså, Jon; Lindow, Bent; Edwards, Scott V; Rahbek, Carsten; Mirarab, Siavash; Warnow, Tandy; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Zhang, Guojie; Braun, Edward L; Jarvis, Erich D

2015-09-25

Mitchell et al. argue that divergence-time estimates for our avian phylogeny were too young because of an "inappropriate" maximum age constraint for the most recent common ancestor of modern birds and that, as a result, most modern bird orders diverged before the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event 66 million years ago instead of after. However, their interpretations of the fossil record and timetrees are incorrect. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Evolution of Modern Dance Therapy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levy, Fran

1988-01-01

The article traces the impact of the modern dance movement from the early 1900s and its emphasis on creativity and self-expression on the professional and institutional development of dance therapy. (CB)

The second modern condition? Compressed modernity as internalized reflexive cosmopolitization.

PubMed

Kyung-Sup, Chang

2010-09-01

Compressed modernity is a civilizational condition in which economic, political, social and/or cultural changes occur in an extremely condensed manner in respect to both time and space, and in which the dynamic coexistence of mutually disparate historical and social elements leads to the construction and reconstruction of a highly complex and fluid social system. During what Beck considers the second modern stage of humanity, every society reflexively internalizes cosmopolitanized risks. Societies (or their civilizational conditions) are thereby being internalized into each other, making compressed modernity a universal feature of contemporary societies. This paper theoretically discusses compressed modernity as nationally ramified from reflexive cosmopolitization, and, then, comparatively illustrates varying instances of compressed modernity in advanced capitalist societies, un(der)developed capitalist societies, and system transition societies. In lieu of a conclusion, I point out the declining status of national societies as the dominant unit of (compressed) modernity and the interactive acceleration of compressed modernity among different levels of human life ranging from individuals to the global community. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2010.

Timely Healthcare Checkup Catches Melanoma Early

MedlinePlus

... please turn Javascript on. Feature: Skin Cancer Timely Healthcare Checkup Catches Melanoma Early Past Issues / Summer 2013 ... left the Congress and starting working as a healthcare consultant, when I finally decided to have a ...

The Incidence of Sixteenth Century Cosmic Models in Modern Texts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maene, S. A.; Best, J. S.; Usher, P. D.

1999-12-01

In the sixteenth century, the bounded cosmological models of Copernicus (1543) and Tycho Brahe (1588), and the unbounded model of Thomas Digges (1576), vied with the bounded geocentric model of Ptolemy (c. 140 AD). The work of the philosopher Giordano Bruno in 1584 lent further support to the Digges model. Despite the eventual acceptance of the unbounded universe, analysis of over 100 modern introductory astronomy texts reveals that these early unbounded models are mentioned infrequently. The ratio of mentions of Digges' model to Copernicus' model has the surprisingly low value of R = 0.08. The philosophical speculation of Bruno receives mention more than twice as often (R = 0.17). The expectation that these early unbounded models warrant inclusion in astronomy texts is supported both by modern hindsight and by the literature of the time. In Shakespeare's "Hamlet" of c. 1601, Prince Hamlet suffers from two transformations. According to the cosmic allegorical model, one transformation changes the bounded geocentricism of Ptolemy to the bounded heliocentricism of Copernicus, while the other completes the change to Digges' model of the infinite universe of suns. This interpretation and the modern world view suggest that both transformations should receive equal mention and thus that the ratio R in introductory texts should be close to unity. This work was supported in part by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

The women of the family? Speculations around early modern British physicians.

PubMed

Pelling, M

1995-12-01

In the extensively explored areas of professionalization, domestic ideology, and the relationships between women and medicine, the debate on the British case has given little consideration to issues of identity arising for the male medical practitioner as a result of family life. For the early modern period, these issues can be seen as among a broad-ranging set of problems posed by the female gender connotations of the medical role. Such problems were most pronounced for the élite physicians who sought membership of the London College of Physicians. Their attitudes and dilemmas are important because of their influence, over the long term, on the criteria for professionalization. Using biographical data, a contrast can be shown between the dynastic ideals of physicians, which stressed the male line, and the high incidence among such physicians of celibacy, childlessness, and small families. Families of origin of physicians, on the other hand, tended to be large. Assumptions about the role of women in medical care, especially in clerical and gentry families, entail a recognition of the possible influence of female relatives on the vocations of male physicians. Given the low status of women's work, physicians developed ambivalences which affected the construction of their identities, their families, and the passing on of their skills.

Rise to modern levels of ocean oxygenation coincided with the Cambrian radiation of animals.

PubMed

Chen, Xi; Ling, Hong-Fei; Vance, Derek; Shields-Zhou, Graham A; Zhu, Maoyan; Poulton, Simon W; Och, Lawrence M; Jiang, Shao-Yong; Li, Da; Cremonese, Lorenzo; Archer, Corey

2015-05-18

The early diversification of animals (∼ 630 Ma), and their development into both motile and macroscopic forms (∼ 575-565 Ma), has been linked to stepwise increases in the oxygenation of Earth's surface environment. However, establishing such a linkage between oxygen and evolution for the later Cambrian 'explosion' (540-520 Ma) of new, energy-sapping body plans and behaviours has proved more elusive. Here we present new molybdenum isotope data, which demonstrate that the areal extent of oxygenated bottom waters increased in step with the early Cambrian bioradiation of animals and eukaryotic phytoplankton. Modern-like oxygen levels characterized the ocean at ∼ 521 Ma for the first time in Earth history. This marks the first establishment of a key environmental factor in modern-like ecosystems, where animals benefit from, and also contribute to, the 'homeostasis' of marine redox conditions.

Demons, nature, or God? Witchcraft accusations and the French disease in early modern Venice.

PubMed

McGough, Laura J

2006-01-01

In early modern Venice, establishing the cause of a disease was critical to determining the appropriate cure: natural remedies for natural illnesses, spiritual solutions for supernatural or demonic ones. One common ailment was the French disease (syphilis), widely distributed throughout Venice's neighborhoods and social hierarchy, and evenly distributed between men and women. The disease was widely regarded as curable by the mid-sixteenth century, and cases that did not respond to natural remedies presented problems of interpretation to physicians and laypeople. Witchcraft was one possible explanation; using expert testimony from physicians, however, the Holy Office ruled out witchcraft as a cause of incurable cases and reinforced perceptions that the disease was of natural origin. Incurable cases were explained as the result of immoral behavior, thereby reinforcing the associated stigma. This article uses archival material from Venice's Inquisition records from 1580 to 1650, as well as mortality data.

Prophecy, patriarchy, and violence in the early modern household: the revelations of Anne Wentworth.

PubMed

Johnston, Warren

2009-10-01

In 1676 the apostate Baptist prophet Anne Wentworth (1629/30-1693?) published "A True Account of Anne Wentworths Being Cruelly, Unjustly, and Unchristianly Dealt with by Some of Those People called Anabaptists," the first in a series of pamphlets that would continue to the end of the decade. Orignially a member of a London Baptist church, Wentworth left the congregation and eventually her own home after her husband used physical force to stop her writing and prophesying. Yet Wentworth persisted in her "revelations." These prophecies increasingly focused on her response to those who were trying to stop her efforts, especially within her own household. This article examines Wentworth's writings as an effort by an early modern woman, using arguments of spiritual agency, to assert ideas about proper gender roles and household responsibilities to denounce her husband and rebut those who criticized and attempted to suppress her.

Addressing the Future in Ancient and Modern Times.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roshwald, Mordecai

1982-01-01

Explores the similarities between ancient prophecy and modern futures prediction. The article suggests that the perceived degree of certainty in predictions of the future affects the patterns of emotional and rational responses in those receiving them. (AM)

Evolution of illustrations in anatomy: a study from the classical period in Europe to modern times.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sanjib Kumar

2015-01-01

Illustrations constitute an essential element of learning anatomy in modern times. However it required a significant evolutionary process spread over centuries, for illustrations to achieve the present status in the subject of anatomy. This review article attempts to outline the evolutionary process by highlighting on the works of esteemed anatomists in a chronological manner. Available literature suggests that illustrations were not used in anatomy during the classical period when the subject was dominated by the descriptive text of Galen. Guido da Vigevano was first to use illustrations in anatomy during the Late Middle Ages and this concept developed further during the Renaissance period when Andreas Vesalius pioneered in illustrations becoming an indispensable tool in conveying anatomical details. Toward later stages of the Renaissance period, Fabricius ab Aquapendente endeavored to restrict dramatization of anatomical illustrations which was a prevalent trend in early Renaissance. During the 18th century, anatomical artwork was characterized by the individual styles of prominent anatomists leading to suppression of anatomical details. In the 19th century, Henry Gray used illustrations in his anatomical masterpiece that focused on depicting anatomical structures and were free from any artistic style. From early part of the 20th century medical images and photographs started to complement traditional handmade anatomical illustrations. Computer technology and advanced software systems played a key role in the evolution of anatomical illustrations during the late 20th century resulting in new generation 3D image datasets that are being used in the 21st century in innovative formats for teaching and learning anatomy. © 2014 American Association of Anatomists.

Spatial heterogeneity in sulfur isotopes: implications for modern environments and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fike, D. A.; Jones, D. S.; Fischer, W. W.

2011-12-01

Sulfur isotope ratio data have been used to provide significant insights into global biogeochemical cycling over Earth history. In addition to providing a framework for the construction of global redox budgets, these observations also provide the primary constraints on the advent and environmental importance of particular microbial metabolisms. As the chemostratigraphic record has become better resolved in space and time, however, reports of coeval discordant data are increasingly common - both within and between individual sedimentary basins. If accurate, this variability challenges our understanding of the first order behavior of the 'global' sulfur biogeochemical cycle. Some of this discordance may be due to spatial gradients in important oceanographic parameters; however, we think that a more likely culprit is ongoing microbial metabolic activity (that impacts the isotopic composition recorded by geological samples) during both syndepositional sediment reworking and early diagenetic lithification. Modern studies have recently highlighted the efficacy with which microbial activity during sediment remobilization can dramatically alter isotopic profiles. Further, the magnitude of local, microbially driven variations in S isotopes in modern sediments is sufficiently large that uneven incorporation of these signatures during deposition and lithification can explain much of the observed discordance in chemostratigraphic reconstructions of sulfur cycling. Here we attempt to link spatial variability in the sedimentary rock record with understanding of modern microbial systems operating in marine sediments. To that end we examine chemostratigraphic records of sulfur isotope (δ34S) data spanning the terminal Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic eras and assess their scales of spatial reproducibility. We can gain insight into interpreting the observed patterns in these records by examining modern (bio)sedimentary environments. This understanding also allows us to reflect on

Earth's early biosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Des Marais, D. J.

1998-01-01

Understanding our own early biosphere is essential to our search for life elsewhere, because life arose on Earth very early and rocky planets shared similar early histories. The biosphere arose before 3.8 Ga ago, was exclusively unicellular and was dominated by hyperthermophiles that utilized chemical sources of energy and employed a range of metabolic pathways for CO2 assimilation. Photosynthesis also arose very early. Oxygenic photosynthesis arose later but still prior to 2.7 Ga. The transition toward the modern global environment was paced by a decline in volcanic and hydrothermal activity. These developments allowed atmospheric O2 levels to increase. The O2 increase created new niches for aerobic life, most notably the more advanced Eukarya that eventually spawned the megascopic fauna and flora of our modern biosphere.

Curiosity, forbidden knowledge, and the reformation of natural philosophy in early modern England.

PubMed

Harrison, P

2001-06-01

From the patristic period to the beginning of the seventeenth century curiosity was regarded as an intellectual vice. Curious individuals were considered to be proud and "puffed up," and the objects of their investigations were deemed illicit, dispute engendering, unknowable, or useless. Seventeenth-century projects for the advancement of learning had to distance themselves from curiosity and its dubious fruits or, alternatively, enhance the moral status of the curious sensibility. Francis Bacon's proposals for the instauration of knowledge were an integral part of a process by which curiosity underwent a remarkable transformation from vice to virtue over the course of the seventeenth century. The changing fortunes of this human propensity highlight the morally charged nature of early modern debates over the status of natural philosophy and the particular virtues required of its practitioners. The rehabilitation of curiosity was a crucial element in the objectification of scientific knowledge and led to a gradual shift of focus away from the moral qualities of investigators and the propriety of particular objects of knowledge to specific procedures and methods.

An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000-63,000 years ago.

PubMed

Westaway, K E; Louys, J; Awe, R Due; Morwood, M J; Price, G J; Zhao, J-X; Aubert, M; Joannes-Boyau, R; Smith, T M; Skinner, M M; Compton, T; Bailey, R M; van den Bergh, G D; de Vos, J; Pike, A W G; Stringer, C; Saptomo, E W; Rizal, Y; Zaim, J; Santoso, W D; Trihascaryo, A; Kinsley, L; Sulistyanto, B

2017-08-17

Genetic evidence for anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa before 75 thousand years ago (ka) and in island southeast Asia (ISEA) before 60 ka (93-61 ka) predates accepted archaeological records of occupation in the region. Claims that AMH arrived in ISEA before 60 ka (ref. 4) have been supported only by equivocal or non-skeletal evidence. AMH evidence from this period is rare and lacks robust chronologies owing to a lack of direct dating applications, poor preservation and/or excavation strategies and questionable taxonomic identifications. Lida Ajer is a Sumatran Pleistocene cave with a rich rainforest fauna associated with fossil human teeth. The importance of the site is unclear owing to unsupported taxonomic identification of these fossils and uncertainties regarding the age of the deposit, therefore it is rarely considered in models of human dispersal. Here we reinvestigate Lida Ajer to identify the teeth confidently and establish a robust chronology using an integrated dating approach. Using enamel-dentine junction morphology, enamel thickness and comparative morphology, we show that the teeth are unequivocally AMH. Luminescence and uranium-series techniques applied to bone-bearing sediments and speleothems, and coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of mammalian teeth, place modern humans in Sumatra between 73 and 63 ka. This age is consistent with biostratigraphic estimations, palaeoclimate and sea-level reconstructions, and genetic evidence for a pre-60 ka arrival of AMH into ISEA. Lida Ajer represents, to our knowledge, the earliest evidence of rainforest occupation by AMH, and underscores the importance of reassessing the timing and environmental context of the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa.

An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000-63,000 years ago

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westaway, K. E.; Louys, J.; Awe, R. Due; Morwood, M. J.; Price, G. J.; Zhao, J.-X.; Aubert, M.; Joannes-Boyau, R.; Smith, T. M.; Skinner, M. M.; Compton, T.; Bailey, R. M.; van den Bergh, G. D.; de Vos, J.; Pike, A. W. G.; Stringer, C.; Saptomo, E. W.; Rizal, Y.; Zaim, J.; Santoso, W. D.; Trihascaryo, A.; Kinsley, L.; Sulistyanto, B.

2017-08-01

Genetic evidence for anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa before 75 thousand years ago (ka) and in island southeast Asia (ISEA) before 60 ka (93-61 ka) predates accepted archaeological records of occupation in the region. Claims that AMH arrived in ISEA before 60 ka (ref. 4) have been supported only by equivocal or non-skeletal evidence. AMH evidence from this period is rare and lacks robust chronologies owing to a lack of direct dating applications, poor preservation and/or excavation strategies and questionable taxonomic identifications. Lida Ajer is a Sumatran Pleistocene cave with a rich rainforest fauna associated with fossil human teeth. The importance of the site is unclear owing to unsupported taxonomic identification of these fossils and uncertainties regarding the age of the deposit, therefore it is rarely considered in models of human dispersal. Here we reinvestigate Lida Ajer to identify the teeth confidently and establish a robust chronology using an integrated dating approach. Using enamel-dentine junction morphology, enamel thickness and comparative morphology, we show that the teeth are unequivocally AMH. Luminescence and uranium-series techniques applied to bone-bearing sediments and speleothems, and coupled uranium-series and electron spin resonance dating of mammalian teeth, place modern humans in Sumatra between 73 and 63 ka. This age is consistent with biostratigraphic estimations, palaeoclimate and sea-level reconstructions, and genetic evidence for a pre-60 ka arrival of AMH into ISEA. Lida Ajer represents, to our knowledge, the earliest evidence of rainforest occupation by AMH, and underscores the importance of reassessing the timing and environmental context of the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa.

‘They are called Imperfect men’: Male Infertility and Sexual Health in Early Modern England

PubMed Central

Evans, Jennifer

2016-01-01

Abstract Scholars of early modern gender and medicine have tended to focus on female infertility. Discussions that have included male reproductive failure have considered sexual ability and impotence, rather than infertility. Nonetheless, fathering children was important to male social standing and the fulfilment of their patriarchal roles. This article will demonstrate that male infertility was not absent from medical literature, but appeared in a variety of settings including tests for infertility, seventeenth-century handbills for treatments, and surgical treatises. It will show that medical and surgical writers accepted that men could be rendered infertile, but still sexually capable, in a variety of ways. Moreover, the article will show that seventeenth-century surgeons expected male readers to be concerned about their reproductive potential and constructed a framework of efficacy based upon their ability to secure on-going fertility. PMID:29731544

Two medieval plague treatises and their afterlife in early modern England.

PubMed

Keiser, George R

2003-07-01

This study of an adaptation of the popular John of Burgundy plague treatise by Thomas Moulton, a Dominican friar, ca. 1475, and a translation of the so-called Canutus plague treatise by Thomas Paynell, printed 1534, shows how the medieval traditions they represent were carried forward, well into the sixteenth century, and also subjected to change in light of religious, moral, and medical concerns of early modern England. The former had a long life in print, ca. 1530-1580, whereas Paynell's translation exists in one printed version. Moulton's adaptation differs from its original and from the Canutus treatise in putting great emphasis on the idea that onsets of plague were acts of divine retribution for human sinfulness. In this respect, Moulton reshaped the tradition of the medieval plague treatise and anticipated the religious and social construction of plague that would take shape in the first half of the sixteenth century. Its long history in print indicates that Moulton's treatise expressed the spirit of that construction and probably influenced the construction as well. The contrasting histories of the two treatises attest not only to the dramatic change brought about by religious and social forces in the sixteenth century, but to a growing recognition of the value of the printing press for disseminating medical information-in forms that served social and ideological ends.

Rise to modern levels of ocean oxygenation coincided with the Cambrian radiation of animals

PubMed Central

Chen, Xi; Ling, Hong-Fei; Vance, Derek; Shields-Zhou, Graham A.; Zhu, Maoyan; Poulton, Simon W.; Och, Lawrence M.; Jiang, Shao-Yong; Li, Da; Cremonese, Lorenzo; Archer, Corey

2015-01-01

The early diversification of animals (∼630 Ma), and their development into both motile and macroscopic forms (∼575–565 Ma), has been linked to stepwise increases in the oxygenation of Earth's surface environment. However, establishing such a linkage between oxygen and evolution for the later Cambrian ‘explosion' (540–520 Ma) of new, energy-sapping body plans and behaviours has proved more elusive. Here we present new molybdenum isotope data, which demonstrate that the areal extent of oxygenated bottom waters increased in step with the early Cambrian bioradiation of animals and eukaryotic phytoplankton. Modern-like oxygen levels characterized the ocean at ∼521 Ma for the first time in Earth history. This marks the first establishment of a key environmental factor in modern-like ecosystems, where animals benefit from, and also contribute to, the ‘homeostasis' of marine redox conditions. PMID:25980960

Problems and Possibilities: The Public Library in the Borderline between Modernity and Late Modernity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rasmussen, Casper Hvenegaard; Jochumsen, Henrik

2007-01-01

The public library is a product of modernity that follows in the wake of industrialization, urbanization, and popular movements, while at the same time the public library itself supports the building up and development of the modern. This article will examine the arrival of modernity and the prerequisites for the rise of public libraries, as well…

Ancient origin of the modern deep-sea fauna.

PubMed

Thuy, Ben; Gale, Andy S; Kroh, Andreas; Kucera, Michal; Numberger-Thuy, Lea D; Reich, Mike; Stöhr, Sabine

2012-01-01

The origin and possible antiquity of the spectacularly diverse modern deep-sea fauna has been debated since the beginning of deep-sea research in the mid-nineteenth century. Recent hypotheses, based on biogeographic patterns and molecular clock estimates, support a latest Mesozoic or early Cenozoic date for the origin of key groups of the present deep-sea fauna (echinoids, octopods). This relatively young age is consistent with hypotheses that argue for extensive extinction during Jurassic and Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) and the mid-Cenozoic cooling of deep-water masses, implying repeated re-colonization by immigration of taxa from shallow-water habitats. Here we report on a well-preserved echinoderm assemblage from deep-sea (1000-1500 m paleodepth) sediments of the NE-Atlantic of Early Cretaceous age (114 Ma). The assemblage is strikingly similar to that of extant bathyal echinoderm communities in composition, including families and genera found exclusively in modern deep-sea habitats. A number of taxa found in the assemblage have no fossil record at shelf depths postdating the assemblage, which precludes the possibility of deep-sea recolonization from shallow habitats following episodic extinction at least for those groups. Our discovery provides the first key fossil evidence that a significant part of the modern deep-sea fauna is considerably older than previously assumed. As a consequence, most major paleoceanographic events had far less impact on the diversity of deep-sea faunas than has been implied. It also suggests that deep-sea biota are more resilient to extinction events than shallow-water forms, and that the unusual deep-sea environment, indeed, provides evolutionary stability which is very rarely punctuated on macroevolutionary time scales.

Insights into Modern Human Prehistory Using Ancient Genomes.

PubMed

Yang, Melinda A; Fu, Qiaomei

2018-03-01

The genetic relationship of past modern humans to today's populations and each other was largely unknown until recently, when advances in ancient DNA sequencing allowed for unprecedented analysis of the genomes of these early people. These ancient genomes reveal new insights into human prehistory not always observed studying present-day populations, including greater details on the genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow that characterized past human populations, particularly in early Eurasia, as well as increased insight on the relationship between archaic and modern humans. Here, we review genetic studies on ∼45000- to 7500-year-old individuals associated with mainly preagricultural cultures found in Eurasia, the Americas, and Africa. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Physics Stories": How the Early Technologies of High Voltage and High Vacuum Led to "Modern Physics"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenslade, Thomas B.

2018-05-01

Some of you may remember the 1979 television series "Connections" that was written and narrated by James Burke, a British science writer. Burke's technique was to choose a number of seemingly unrelated ideas and show how they led to developments in science and technology. This is an enjoyable business, even if some of the connections seem to be stretched at times, and led to a book by Burke. In a number of talks that I have given over the years, I have made somewhat less fanciful connections that suggest how the technologies of high vacuum and high voltage led to what used to be called "modern physics." Today we might limit the "modern" era to the years from 1890 to 1920 that gave the first workable theories of small-scale physics.

[Cutaneous melanoma - "black death" of modern times? Traces in contemporary literature].

PubMed

Bahmer, F A; Bahmer, J A

2013-11-01

Cutaneous melanoma, sometimes labeled as "black skin cancer", is increasing in frequency and becoming a more common literary motive. In US literature, Sylvia Plath and Charles Bukowski depicted melanoma more than 50 years ago, later Stephen King and Thomas C. Boyle. In German literature, Charlotte Roche shortly mentioned this tumor. Jörg Pönnighaus, both poet and dermatologist, intensively deals in his poems with the effects melanoma has on patients and doctors alike. Melanoma definitely is not the "Black Death" of modern times. However, the perception of this tumor as extremely malignant and as life-threatening makes melanoma a metaphor of the deadly danger of cancer.

Redefining Democracy for the Modern State.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahe, Paul A.

1992-01-01

Draws distinctions between classical and modern concepts of democracy. Contrasts Pythagoras' dislike of factions with Madison's support for economic differentiation and religious toleration. Discusses Aristotle's and Noah Webster's ideas on addressing class tensions. Examines early U.S. theorists' suspicions of direct democracy and support for…

Thinking in early modernity and the separation process between philosophy and psychology.

PubMed

Klempe, Sven Hroar

2015-03-01

One of the big questions in psychology is when and how psychology disentangled from philosophy. Usually it is referred to the laboratory Wundt established in Leipzig in 1879 as the birth for psychology as an independent science. However this separation process can also be traced in other ways, like by focusing on how the two sciences approach and understand thinking. Although thinking and language were not included in the research in this laboratory, Wundt (1897) regarded thinking as the core of psychology. As a commentary to Papanicolaou (Integr Psychol Behav Sci doi:10.1007/s12124-014-9273-3, 2014), this paper investigates the differences in how psychology and philosophy conceptualized thinking in early Western modernity. Thus one of the findings is that the separation process between the two was more or less initiated by Immanuel Kant. By defining thinking in terms of the pure reason he excluded the psychological understanding of thinking because psychology basically defined thinking in terms of ideas derived from qualia and sensation. Another finding is that psychology itself has not completely realized the differences between the philosophical and the psychological understanding of thinking by having been influenced by Kant's ideal of the pure reason. This may also explain some of the crises psychology went through during the twentieth century.

Active hematite concretion formation in modern acid saline lake sediments, Lake Brown, Western Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowen, Brenda Beitler; Benison, K. C.; Oboh-Ikuenobe, F. E.; Story, S.; Mormile, M. R.

2008-04-01

Concretions can provide valuable records of diagenesis and fluid-sediment interactions, however, reconstruction of ancient concretion-forming conditions can be difficult. Observation of modern hematite concretion growth in a natural sedimentary setting provides a rare glimpse of conditions at the time of formation. Spheroidal hematite-cemented concretions are actively precipitating in shallow subsurface sediments at Lake Brown in Western Australia. Lake Brown is a hypersaline (total dissolved solids up to 23%) and acidic (pH ˜ 4) ephemeral lake. The concretion host sediments were deposited between ˜ 1 and 3 ka, based on dating of stratigraphically higher and lower beds. These age constraints indicate that the diagenetic concretions formed < 3 ka, and field observations suggest that some are currently forming. These modern concretions from Lake Brown provide an example of very early diagenetic formation in acid and saline conditions that may be analogous to past conditions on Mars. Previously, the hematite concretions in the Burns formation on Mars have been interpreted as late stage diagenetic products, requiring long geologic time scales and multiple fluid flow events to form. In contrast, the Lake Brown concretions support the possibility of similar syndepositional to very early diagenetic concretion precipitation on Mars.

Levantine cranium from Manot Cave (Israel) foreshadows the first European modern humans.

PubMed

Hershkovitz, Israel; Marder, Ofer; Ayalon, Avner; Bar-Matthews, Miryam; Yasur, Gal; Boaretto, Elisabetta; Caracuta, Valentina; Alex, Bridget; Frumkin, Amos; Goder-Goldberger, Mae; Gunz, Philipp; Holloway, Ralph L; Latimer, Bruce; Lavi, Ron; Matthews, Alan; Slon, Viviane; Mayer, Daniella Bar-Yosef; Berna, Francesco; Bar-Oz, Guy; Yeshurun, Reuven; May, Hila; Hans, Mark G; Weber, Gerhard W; Barzilai, Omry

2015-04-09

A key event in human evolution is the expansion of modern humans of African origin across Eurasia between 60 and 40 thousand years (kyr) before present (bp), replacing all other forms of hominins. Owing to the scarcity of human fossils from this period, these ancestors of all present-day non-African modern populations remain largely enigmatic. Here we describe a partial calvaria, recently discovered at Manot Cave (Western Galilee, Israel) and dated to 54.7 ± 5.5 kyr bp (arithmetic mean ± 2 standard deviations) by uranium-thorium dating, that sheds light on this crucial event. The overall shape and discrete morphological features of the Manot 1 calvaria demonstrate that this partial skull is unequivocally modern. It is similar in shape to recent African skulls as well as to European skulls from the Upper Palaeolithic period, but different from most other early anatomically modern humans in the Levant. This suggests that the Manot people could be closely related to the first modern humans who later successfully colonized Europe. Thus, the anatomical features used to support the 'assimilation model' in Europe might not have been inherited from European Neanderthals, but rather from earlier Levantine populations. Moreover, at present, Manot 1 is the only modern human specimen to provide evidence that during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic interface, both modern humans and Neanderthals contemporaneously inhabited the southern Levant, close in time to the likely interbreeding event with Neanderthals.

Early Earth(s) Across Time and Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mojzsis, S.

2014-04-01

The geochemical and cosmochemical record of our solar system is the baseline for exploring the question: "when could life appear on a world similar to our own?" Data arising from direct analysis of the oldest terrestrial rocks and minerals from the first 500 Myr of Earth history - termed the Hadean Eon - inform us about the timing for the establishment of a habitable silicate world. Liquid water is the key medium for life. The origin of water, and its interaction with the crust as revealed in the geologic record, guides our exploration for a cosmochemically Earth-like planets. From the time of primary planetary accretion to the start of the continuous rock record on Earth at ca. 3850 million years ago, our planet experienced a waning bolide flux that partially or entirely wiped out surface rocks, vaporized oceans, and created transient serpentinizing atmospheres. Arguably, "Early Earths" across the galaxy may start off as ice planets due to feeble insolation from their young stars, occasionally punctuated by steam atmospheres generated by cataclysmic impacts. Alternatively, early global environments conducive to life spanned from a benign surface zone to deep into crustal rocks and sediments. In some scenarios, nascent biospheres benefit from the exogenous delivery of essential bio-elements via leftovers of accretion, and the subsequent establishment of planetary-scale hydrothermal systems. If what is now known about the early dynamical regime of the Earth serves as any measure of the potential habitability of worlds across space and time, several key boundary conditions emerge. These are: (i) availability and long-term stability of liquid water; (ii) presence of energy resources; (iii) accessibility of organic raw materials; (iv) adequate inventory of radioisotopes to drive internal heating; (v) gross compositional parameters such as mantle/core mass ratio, and (vi) P-T conditions at or near the surface suitable for sustaining biological activity. Life could

Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic

PubMed Central

Botigué, Laura R.; Song, Shiya; Scheu, Amelie; Gopalan, Shyamalika; Pendleton, Amanda L.; Oetjens, Matthew; Taravella, Angela M.; Seregély, Timo; Zeeb-Lanz, Andrea; Arbogast, Rose-Marie; Bobo, Dean; Daly, Kevin; Unterländer, Martina; Burger, Joachim; Kidd, Jeffrey M.; Veeramah, Krishna R.

2017-01-01

Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication to 20,000–40,000 years ago. Interestingly, we do not observe the extreme copy number expansion of the AMY2B gene characteristic of modern dogs that has previously been proposed as an adaptation to a starch-rich diet driven by the widespread adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic. PMID:28719574

Education and Modernization in Greece.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazamias, Andreas M.

This history of Greek education traces the path of modernization from the emergence of Greece as an independent state in the early 1800's up to the present date. Educational philosophy and content are seen as pawns in the social and political struggles of those years. Detailed coverage of the historical events describes the structure of education…

Facial ontogeny in Neanderthals and modern humans

PubMed Central

Bastir, Markus; O'Higgins, Paul; Rosas, Antonio

2007-01-01

One hundred and fifty years after the discovery of Neanderthals, it is held that this morphologically and genetically distinct human species does not differ from modern Homo sapiens in its craniofacial ontogenetic trajectory after the early post-natal period. This is striking given the evident morphological differences between these species, since it implies that all of the major differences are established by the early post-natal period and carried into adulthood through identical trajectories, despite the extent to which mechanical and spatial factors are thought to influence craniofacial ontogeny. Here, we present statistical and morphological analyses demonstrating that the spatio-temporal processes responsible for craniofacial ontogenetic transformations differ. The findings emphasize that pre-natal as well as post-natal ontogeny are both important in establishing the cranial morphological differences between adult Neanderthals and modern humans. PMID:17311777

How Do Early Career Agriculture Teachers Talk about Their Time?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lambert, Misty D.; Henry, Anna L.; Tummons, John D.

2011-01-01

This phenomenological study of early career agriculture teachers sought to determine the meaning early career agriculture teachers ascribe to their time. Seven teachers with a range of experience from mid-first year to beginning of sixth year were chosen. Interviews were used to make meaning of their time. Five themes were found in the…

The Interfaces Between Historical, Paleo-, and Modern Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mock, C. J.

2011-12-01

Historical climatology, commonly defined as the study of reconstructing past climates from documentary and early instrumental data, has routinely utilized data within the last several hundred years down to sub-daily temporal resolution prior to the advent of "modern" instrumental records beginning in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Historical climate reconstruction methods generally share similar aspects conducted in both paleoclimate reconstruction and modern climatology, given the need to quantify, calibrate, and conduct careful data quality assessments. Although some studies have integrated historical climatic studies with other high resolution paleoclimatic proxies, very few efforts have integrated historical data with modern "systematic" climate networks to further examine spatial and temporal patterns of climate variability. This presentation describes historical climate examples of how such data can be integrated within modern climate timescales, including examples of documentary data on tropical cyclones from the Western Pacific and Atlantic Basins, colonial records from Belize and Constantinople, ship logbooks in the Western Arctic, plantation diaries from the American Southeast, and newspaper data from the Fiji Islands and Bermuda. Some results include a unique wet period in Belize and active tropical cyclone periods in the Western and South Pacific in the early 20th century - both are not reflected in conventional modern climate datasets. Documentary data examples demonstrate high feasibility in further understanding extreme weather events at daily timeframes such as false spring/killing frost episodes and hydrological extremes in southeastern North America. Recent unique efforts also involve community participation, secondary education, and web- based volunteer efforts to digitize and archive historical weather and climate information.

Influence of first-time mothers' early employment on severe early childhood caries in their child.

PubMed

Plutzer, Kamila; Keirse, Marc J N C

2012-01-01

Aim. To examine whether mothers' early employment status is related to the development of severe early childhood caries in their child. Methods. Questionnaire survey of 429 first-time mothers in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, and dental examinations of their child at 20 months of age. Results. At 20 ± 2.5 months of age, 5.6% of children exhibited caries defined as one or more demineralized or cavitated lesions on the upper incisors. Of the mothers, 52.2% had no paid employment, 39.6% were part-time and 8.2% full-time employed. Overall, mothers' participation in the workforce had no influence on the frequency of severe early childhood caries in their child, but there was a significant interaction with family structure. For mothers without employment there was no difference between single, and two-parent families, but children with an employed single mother more frequently had caries than those with a working mother in a two-parent family (P < 0.04). However, there were no significant differences in children's reported general health. Conclusions. The data indicate a need to explore strategies that may assist single mothers and especially those in the workforce to prevent severe early childhood caries in their child.

Three days in October of 1630: detailed examination of mortality during an early modern plague epidemic in Venice.

PubMed

Ell, S R

1989-01-01

The epidemiology of medieval and early modern European plague remains highly controversial. It now seems likely that the epidemiology was not uniform throughout either the geographic or temporal boundaries of the plague in Western Europe. The Venetian plague of 1630 was extensively documented; day-by-day records were kept, and each mortality in the city was recorded in a set format. The days 23-25 October 1630, representing a period when mortality was beginning to increase sharply, are examined. In all, 1,163 deaths were recorded. They show a large preponderance of women; a mean age of 28, but a majority of cases clumped between ages 0 and 25 years; and an unequal sex ratio among children. Further, there was an identifiable smallpox epidemic raging simultaneously with plague, and more than one-quarter of all the deaths in this period of high mortality were clearly due to nonplague causes. Deaths due to wounds and associated with violence were prominent in one parish, which suggests that in times of plague the breakdown in the normal machinery of government, in everyday patterns of life, and possibly of mental well being resulted in an even more exaggerated death toll. These factors--violence, accidents, and other epidemics--have never been so definitively tied to a European plague epidemic. In addition, there are hints that plague has a marked proclivity to kill pregnant women--their deaths far outnumber those anticipated--and that plague was very localized at a given moment within Venice itself, even during times of peak mortality.

[The role of imagination in modern medicine].

PubMed

Schott, Heinz

2004-06-01

In Renaissance and early modern times, the concept of imagination (Latin imaginatio) was essential for the (natural) philosophical explanation of magic processes, especially in the anthropology of Paracelsus. He assumed that imagination was a natural vital power including cosmic, mental, phychical, and physical dimensions. The Paracelsians criticized traditional humor pathology ignoring their theory of' 'natural magic'. On the other hand, they were criticized by their adversaries as charlatans practicing 'black magic'. About 1800, in between enlightenment and romanticism, the healing concept of, animal magnetism' (Mesmerism) evoked an analogous debate, whether, magnetic' phenomena originated from a real (physical) power (so-called, fluidum') or were just due to fantasy or imagination (German Einbildungskraft). At the end of the 19th century, the French internist Hippolyte Bernheim created-against the background of medical hypnosis (hypnotism') as a consequence of Mesmerism - his theory of suggestion and autosuggestion: a new paradigm of psychological respectively psychosomatic medicine, which became the basis for the concept of, placebo' in modern biomedicine. From now on, all the effects of, alternative medicine' could easily be explained by the, placebo-effect', more or less founded - at least unconsciously - on fraud.

Active euthanasia in pre-modern society, 1500-1800: learned debates and popular practices.

PubMed

Stolberg, Michael

2007-08-01

Historians of medical ethics have found that active euthanasia, in the sense of intentionally hastening the death of terminally-ill patients, was considered unacceptable in the Christian West before the 1870s. This paper presents a range of early modern texts on the issue which reflect a learned awareness of practices designed to shorten the lives of dying patients which were widely accepted among the lay public. Depriving the dying abruptly of their head-rest or placing them flat on the cold floor may strike us as merely symbolic today, but early moderns associated such measures with very concrete and immediate effects. In this sense, the intentional hastening of death in agonising patients had an accepted place in pre-modern popular culture. These practices must, however, be put into their proper context. Death was perceived more as a transition to the after-life and contemporary notions of dying could make even outright suffocation appear as an act of compassion which merely helped the soul depart from the body at the divinely ordained hour of death. The paper concludes with a brief comparison of early modern arguments with those of today.

Escherichia Coli--Key to Modern Genetics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bregegere, Francois

1982-01-01

Mid-nineteenth century work by Mendel on plant hybrids and by Pasteur on fermentation gave birth by way of bacterial genetics to modern-day molecular biology. The bacterium Escherichia Coli has occupied a key position in genetic studies leading from early gene identification with DNA to current genetic engineering using recombinant DNA technology.…

Estimating the Size and Timing of Maximum Amplitude for Cycle 23 from Its Early Cycle Behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilson, Robert M.; Hathaway, David H.; Reichmann, Edwin J.

1998-01-01

On the basis of the lowest observed smoothed monthly mean sunspot number, cycle 23 appears to have conventionally begun in May 1996, in conjunction with the first appearance of a new cycle, high-latitude spot-group. Such behavior, however, is considered rather unusual, since, previously (based upon the data- available cycles 12-22), the first appearance of a new cycle, high-latitude spot- group has always preceded conventional onset by at least 3 months. Furthermore, accepting May 1996 as the official start for cycle 23 poses a dilemma regarding its projected size and timing of maximum amplitude. Specifically, from the max-min and amplitude-period relationships we infer that cycle 23 should be above average in size and a fast riser, with maximum amplitude occurring before May 2000 (being in agreement with projections for cycle 23 based on precursor information), yet from its initial languid rate of rise (during the first 6 months of the cycle) we infer that it should be below average in size and a slow riser, with maximum amplitude occurring after May 2000. The dilemma vanishes, however, when we use a slightly later-occurring onset. For example, using August 1996, a date associated with a local secondary minimum prior to the rapid rise that began shortly thereafter (in early 1997), we infer that cycle 23's rate of rise is above that for the mean of cycles 1-22, the mean of cycles 10-22 (the modern era cycles), the mean of the modern era'fast risers,' and the largest of the modern era 'slow risers' (i.e., cycle 20), thereby, suggesting that cycle 23 will be both fast-rising and above average in size, peaking before August 2000. Additionally, presuming cycle 23 to be a well- behaved fast-rising cycle (regardless of whichever onset date is used), we also infer that its maximum amplitude likely will measure about 144.0 q+/- 28.8 (from the general behavior found for the bulk of modern era fast risers; i.e., 5 of 7 have had their maximum amplitude to lie within 20% of

Laetoli footprints reveal bipedal gait biomechanics different from those of modern humans and chimpanzees

PubMed Central

Demes, Brigitte; Richmond, Brian G.

2016-01-01

Bipedalism is a key adaptation that shaped human evolution, yet the timing and nature of its evolution remain unclear. Here we use new experimentally based approaches to investigate the locomotor mechanics preserved by the famous Pliocene hominin footprints from Laetoli, Tanzania. We conducted footprint formation experiments with habitually barefoot humans and with chimpanzees to quantitatively compare their footprints to those preserved at Laetoli. Our results show that the Laetoli footprints are morphologically distinct from those of both chimpanzees and habitually barefoot modern humans. By analysing biomechanical data that were collected during the human experiments we, for the first time, directly link differences between the Laetoli and modern human footprints to specific biomechanical variables. We find that the Laetoli hominin probably used a more flexed limb posture at foot strike than modern humans when walking bipedally. The Laetoli footprints provide a clear snapshot of an early hominin bipedal gait that probably involved a limb posture that was slightly but significantly different from our own, and these data support the hypothesis that important evolutionary changes to hominin bipedalism occurred within the past 3.66 Myr. PMID:27488647

The Duke, the Soldier of Fortune, and a Rosicrucian Legacy: Exploring the Roles of Manuscripts in Early-Modern Alchemy.

PubMed

Zuber, Mike A

2018-05-01

By the time it was published in 1705, the Speculum Sapientiae claimed to have had a long history going back to 1672. However, the fact that exaggerated stories were commonplace in alchemical literature leads us to question its credibility. This paper explores the secret lives of this alchemical text prior to its print publication to clarify the roles of manuscripts in early-modern alchemy. Specifically, I argue that there were three aspects that could distinguish manuscript from print: provenance, materiality, and exclusivity. These can be seen at work in the fate of Johann Heinrich Vierordt, an itinerant alchemist and cavalry captain whose career is inextricably linked to the scribal dissemination of the Speculum Sapientiae. In addition to manuscript copies of that text at libraries across Europe, a significant cache of correspondence preserved in Gotha documents Vierordt's dealings with Duke Friedrich I of Saxe-Gotha. The verisimilitudinous provenance of Vierordt's alchemical secrets and tincture played a crucial role in allowing him to gain Friedrich's trust. Yet it was only after Vierordt presented him with a precious parchment manuscript of the Speculum Sapientiae that he truly succeeded in gaining the duke's patronage. Subsequently, reports of multiple conflicting copies surfacing in Amsterdam sealed Vierordt's fall from favour.

Stability of upper face sexual dimorphism in central European populations (Czech Republic) during the modern age.

PubMed

Bejdová, Šárka; Dupej, Ján; Krajíček, Václav; Velemínská, Jana; Velemínský, Petr

2018-01-01

One of the most fundamental issues in forensic anthropology is the determination of sex and population affinity based on various skeletal elements. Therefore, we compared the sexual dimorphism of the upper facial skeleton from a recent Czech population (twenty-first century) with that of a population from Early Modern Age Bohemia (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries). Methods of geometric morphometrics were applied. According to the results, sexual dimorphism in terms of size, shape, and form was statistically significant in both populations. The best results of sex estimation originated from analyses of form. Thus, both size and shape differences should be taken into account for determination of the sex. The accuracy of prediction achieved 91.1% for individuals in the recent population and 87.5% for individuals from the early modern population. Only minor differences were found between sexual dimorphism in the studied populations. We conclude that sexual dimorphism of the upper facial skeleton is stable during the relatively short time period.

The historic surface ozone record, 1896-1975, and its relation to modern measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galbally, I. E.; Tarasick, D. W.; Stähelin, J.; Wallington, T. J.; Steinbacher, M.; Schultz, M.; Cooper, O. R.

2017-12-01

Tropospheric ozone is a greenhouse gas, a key component of atmospheric chemistry, and is detrimental to human health and plant productivity. The historic surface ozone record 1896-1975 has been constructed from measurements selected for (a) instrumentation whose ozone response can be traced to modern tropospheric ozone measurement standards, (b) samples taken when there is low probability of chemical interference and (c) sampling locations, heights and times when atmospheric mixing will minimise vertical gradients of ozone in the planetary boundary layer above and around the measurement location. Early measurements with the Schönbein filter paper technique cannot be related to modern methods with any degree of confidence. The potassium iodide-arsenite technique used at Montsouris for 1876-1910 is valid for measuring ozone; however, due to the presence of the interfering gases sulfur dioxide, ammonia and nitrogen oxides, the measured ozone concentrations are not representative of the regional atmosphere. The use of these data sets for trend analyses is not recommended. In total, 58 acceptable sets of measurements are currently identified, commencing in Europe in 1896, Greenland in 1932 and globally by the late 1950's. Between 1896 and 1944 there were 21 studies (median duration 5 days) with a median mole fraction of 23 nmol mol-1 (range of study averages 15-62 nmol mol-1). Between 1950 and 1975 there were 37 studies (median duration approx. 21 months) with a median mole fraction of 22 nmol mol-1 (range of study averages 13-49 nmol mol-1), all measured under conditions likely to give ozone mole fractions similar to those in the planetary boundary layer. These time series are matched with modern measurements from the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) Ozone Database and used to examine changes between the historic and modern observations. These historic ozone levels are higher than previously accepted for surface ozone in the late 19th early 20th Century

Boron Isotopes in Modern and Cenozoic Scleractinian Fossil Corals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gothmann, A.; Bender, M. L.; Adkins, J. F.

2016-12-01

Recent measurements of boron isotopes in modern coral support the hypothesis that coral biologically up-regulate the pH of the fluid from which they calcify to facilitate skeletal mineralization [1]. While this evidence of biological pH adjustment provides important insight into the mechanism by which coral make their skeletons, it also complicates the use of coral boron isotopes as a paleoseawater pH proxy. We measured boron isotopes in 11 modern and well preserved fossil corals using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry to characterize fine-scale ( 30 µm) patterns of δ11B variability. In addition to δ11B, we measured B/Ca, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, and Mn/Ca ratios in order to compare isotopes with element/Ca variability and monitor for diagenetic alteration. We find that in different species of modern and well preserved fossil coral, the measured range of δ11B varies from 5 to 15 ‰. Also, while corals of similar geologic age have similar average δ11B compositions, at the scale of our measurements they do not appear to share a consistent pattern of minimum δ11B, maximum δ11B, or range in δ11B. The δ11B of fossil corals increases by 7 ‰ between the Early Cenozoic and today. While the general pattern of coral δ11B change is similar to the pattern found in foraminifera-based δ11B records [e.g., 2], the magnitude of the coral change is approximately 2-3 times as large as changes inferred from foraminifera. Although it is not possible to separate the influence of changing seawater pH and changing δ11Bseawater on fossil coral boron isotope compositions, the record can be explained by a combination of lower seawater pH and lower seawater δ11B during the the Early Cenozoic. Our coral results suggest an Early Cenozoic δ11Bseawater composition that is much lower than inferred from other approaches, and similar to Early Cenozoic δ11Bseawater as inferred from brine inclusions in halite [3]. [1.] McCulloch, M.T., Trotter, J., Montagna, P., Falter, J., Dunbar, R., Freiwald

Sheehan's syndrome in modern times: a nationwide retrospective study in Iceland.

PubMed

Kristjansdottir, Hallgerdur Lind; Bodvarsdottir, Sigrun Perla; Sigurjonsdottir, Helga Agusta

2011-03-01

Half a century ago the prevalence of Sheehan's syndrome (SS) was 10-20 per 100,000 women. With better obstetric help the prevalence is assumed to have decreased, especially in developed countries. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of SS in modern times in Iceland. We studied the prevalence of SS in 2009 in a nationwide retrospective population-based study. All patients with diagnosed SS were identified, and information regarding obstetric care, clinical presentation and hormonal assays was collected. Correlation was calculated with Kendall's tau-b. Significance level: P<0.05. Eight women were identified with SS; thus, the prevalence of SS in 2009 was 5.1 per 100,000 women. The mean age at delivery and diagnosis was 33.0 and 36.6 respectively, resulting in a diagnostic delay (DD) of 1-240 months. Four women had low blood pressure during delivery, and five had massive blood loss (>1000 ml). Six had complicated deliveries. The most common clinical presentation was failure to lactate and failure to resume menstruation. The patients had three to five failing pituitary axis. There was no correlation between bleeding at delivery or the number of hormonal axes affected and DD. The prevalence of SS in Iceland was higher than we expected in a country with modern obstetric care. Long DD and incidental diagnosis indicate that women might be lacking correct diagnosis and treatment, and thus the prevalence of SS is even higher. As SS is easily diagnosed and treatable, but can be life-threatening if unrecognised, doctors need to be aware of the disease.

[Relevant factors of early puberty timing in urban primary schools in Chongqing].

PubMed

Luo, Yan; Liu, Qin; Wen, Yi; Liu, Shudan; Lei, Xun; Wang, Hong

2016-05-01

To investigate the status of puberty timing and relevant factors of early puberty timing in children from grade one to four in urban primary schools of Chongqing. According to the purposive sample method, four urban primary schools in Chongqing were selected and of which 1471 children from grade one to four who have obtained informed consent were recruited. Questionnaire survey on social-demographic characteristics and family environment (e.g., age, parents' relationship, diet and lifestyle, etc), and Pubertal Development Scale (PDS) survey and physical examination (measurements of height, weight, pubertal development status, etc) were conducted. P25, P50, P75 ages of each important pubertal event were calculated by probit regression. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to analyze relevant factors. The detection rate of early puberty timing was 17.7%, and the median ages of the onset of breast and testicular development were 10.77 and 11.48 years old, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression showed that early puberty timing occurred more likely in girls than in boys (OR = 0.561, 95% CI 0.406-0.774), and bad relationship between parents (OR = 1.320, 95% CI 1.007-1.729) and hair-products-use (OR = 1.685, 95%, CI 1.028-2.762) were risk factors of early puberty timing. Early onset of puberty in urban Chongqing is still exist. Gender, parents' relationship, and hair-products-use have an essential impact on early puberty timing.

[Strategies of medical self-authorization in early modern medicine: the example of Volcher Coiter (1534-1576)].

PubMed

Gross, Dominik; Steinmetzer, Jan

2005-01-01

Based on the example of Volcher Coiter--a town physician at Nuremberg and one of the leading anatomists in early modern medicine--, this essay points out that the authoritative status of contemporary physicians mainly was predicated on an interplay of self-fashioning and outside perception. It provides ample evidence that Coiter made use of several characteristic rhetorical and discourse-related strategies of self-authorisation such as the participation in social networks, a highly convincing technique of self-fashioning by emphasizing particular erudition, the presentation of academic medicine as a science authorised by god and the concurrent devaluation of non-academic healers. Furthermore, graphic and visual strategies of self-authorisation could be ascertained: Coiter took care for a premium typography of his books. He also used his talent as a graphic artist in his books to visualise his medical concepts. Moreover, the so-called 'Nuremberg Portrait' of Coiter served to illustrate his outstanding authority.

‘Nature Concocts & Expels’: The Agents and Processes of Recovery from Disease in Early Modern England

PubMed Central

Newton, Hannah

2015-01-01

The ‘golden saying’ in early modern medicine was ‘Nature is the healer of disease’. This article uncovers the meaning and significance of this forgotten axiom by investigating perceptions of the agents and physiological processes of recovery from illness in England, c.1580–1720. Drawing on sources such as medical texts and diaries, it shows that doctors and laypeople attributed recovery to three agents—God, Nature and the practitioner. While scholars are familiar with the roles of providence and medicine, the vital agency of Nature has been overlooked. In theory, the agents operated in a hierarchy: Nature was ‘God's instrument’, and the physician, ‘Nature's servant’; but in practice the power balance was more ambivalent. Nature was depicted both as a housewife who cooked and cleaned the humours, and as a warrior who defeated the disease. Through exploring these complex dynamics, the article sheds fresh light on concepts of gender, disease and bodies. PMID:26217069

"Secrets of the female sex": Jane Sharp, the reproductive female body, and early modern midwifery manuals.

PubMed

Hobby, E

2001-01-01

Early modern midwifery manuals in Britain were usually the work of men. These books were a significant source of information about the body to the wider reading public: many sold well, and their prefatory materials include injunctions to readers not to make improper use of them. What is particularly interesting about Jane Sharp's Midwives Book (1671) is that it both provides a compendium of current beliefs concerning reproduction, and indicates the author's ironic perception of the misogyny that underpinned accepted ideas about the female reproductive body. This article gives key examples of Sharp's interventions, and also refers to Thomas Bartholin, Bartholinus Anatomy (1688); Richard Bunworth, The Doctresse (1656); Hugh Chamberlen, The Accomplisht Midwife (1673); The Compleat Midwifes Practice (1656); Helkiah Crooke, Microcosmographia (1615); Nicholas Culpeper, A Directory for Midwives (1651); Jacques Guillemeau, Childbirth (1612); Jean Riolan, A Sure Guide (1657); Daniel Sennert, Practical Physick (1664); William Sermon, The Ladies Companion (1671); and Percival Willughby, Observations in Midwifery (c. 1675).

First-Time Mothers' Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Early Communication Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Vicki; Pearce, Wendy M.; Devine, Sue

2014-01-01

Limited literature exists in the Australian context about first-time mothers' knowledge of early communication milestones, their strategies to facilitate speech and language development and understanding of the relationship between early communication skills and future development. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 53 first-time…

Group Time in Early Childhood Centers: An Exploratory Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAfee, Oralie

To investigate the current status of group time in early childhood centers, a small-scale exploratory study was designed and executed. Results of interviews with 35 teachers and observations in five classrooms serving children ages 2 1/2 through kindergarten revealed that all classrooms had at least one group time or circle time, usually in the…

Looking Backwards in Time to the Early Earth Using the Lens of Stable Isotope Geodynamic Cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregory, R. T.

2016-12-01

The stable isotope ratios of hydrogen, carbon, oxygen and sulfur provide of means of tracing interactions between the major reservoirs of the Earth. The oceans and the dichotomy between continental and oceanic crust are key differences between the Earth and other terrestrial bodies. The existence of plate tectonics and the recognition that no primary crust survives at the Earth's surface sets this planet apart from the smaller terrestrial bodies. The thermostatic control of carbonate-silicate cycle works because of the hydrosphere and plate tectonics. Additionally, the contrast between the carbon isotope ratios for reduced and oxidized species appear to also be invariant over geologic time with evidence of old recycled carbon in the form of diamond inclusions in mantle-derived igneous rocks. Lessons from comparative planetology suggest that early differentiation of the Earth would have likely resulted in the rapid formation of the oceans, a water world over the primary crust. Plate tectonics provides a mechanism for buffering the oxygen isotope fractionation between the oceans and the mantle. The set point for hydrosphere's oxygen isotope composition is a result of the geometry of mid-ocean ridge accretion that is stable over an order magnitude change in spreading rates with time constants much younger shorter than the age of the Earth. The recognition that the "normal" ranges for hydrogen isotope ratios of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks of any age generally overlap with similar ranges, with the exception of rocks that have interacted with D- and 18O-depleted meteoric waters (generally at high latitudes), is an argument for a constant volume ocean over geologic time. Plate tectonics with a constant volume ocean constrains the thickness of the continental crust because of the rapidity of the mechanical weathering cycle (characteristic times of 10's of millions of years; freeboard of the continents argument). In a plate tectonic regime, chemical

Interactions of neanderthals and modern humans: what can be inferred from mitochondrial DNA?

PubMed

Cyran, Krzysztof A; Kimmel, Marek

2005-07-01

This paper reviews the state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the relationship between Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic modern humans. The branching-process method is applied to infer the upper limit of hypothetical Neanderthal admixture, consistent with the evidence based on mitochon- drial DNA sequences of contemporary modern humans, as well as Neanderthal and early modern European H. sapiens fossils. As a result, a maximum value of 15% admixture is obtained. This estimate is discussed in the context of its consequences for the two competing theories of modern human origin.

[Evaluation of the dental pathology in archaeological skeletal material: prevalence of dental caries since prehistory to modern age].

PubMed

Stránská, Petra

2013-01-01

The evaluation of the dental health of past populations is an important part of the anthropological analysis of human skeletal remains uncovered during the archaeological excavations. The results provide the important information not only of the overall health of past populations, but also are reflective of the nutrition or the social status of our ancestors. We focused on the comparison of dental caries from prehistoric times to the present day. The aim was to evaluate the dental decay in several prehistoric, Early Medieval and modern populations and determine whether and to what extent the decay differ between the individual groups. METHODS AND RESULTS. We observed the permanent dentition in adult men and females, who were divided into three groups: the population of the younger Eneolithic to the Bronze Age, the population of the Early Middle Ages and the population of the modern times. We used the Index of Intensity of Caries I-CE and the Index of Caries Frequency F-CE to evaluate the incidence of caries and intra-vital losses. The comparison was carried out between groups, between both of jaws and between individual teeth. We took into account sex and age of the individuals studied. The highest value of F-CE was set in the population of the modern times (67.5). The difference in caries frequency among populations was not significant. The intensity of caries was the highest in modern population (I-CE: 13.2). Compared with the two older populations the difference was statistically highly significant (p 0.001).With regard to sex, the results differed between populations. It could be caused by a different frequency of men and females in individual groups.The correlation of intensity of caries with age was confirmed. Some partial results were affected by unequal frequency of age categories. CONCLUSION. The results showed the worst dental health in the population of the modern times. The null hypothesis,that tooth decay among the individual populations from different

The earliest unequivocally modern humans in southern China.

PubMed

Liu, Wu; Martinón-Torres, María; Cai, Yan-jun; Xing, Song; Tong, Hao-wen; Pei, Shu-wen; Sier, Mark Jan; Wu, Xiao-hong; Edwards, R Lawrence; Cheng, Hai; Li, Yi-yuan; Yang, Xiong-xin; de Castro, José María Bermúdez; Wu, Xiu-jie

2015-10-29

The hominin record from southern Asia for the early Late Pleistocene epoch is scarce. Well-dated and well-preserved fossils older than ∼45,000 years that can be unequivocally attributed to Homo sapiens are lacking. Here we present evidence from the newly excavated Fuyan Cave in Daoxian (southern China). This site has provided 47 human teeth dated to more than 80,000 years old, and with an inferred maximum age of 120,000 years. The morphological and metric assessment of this sample supports its unequivocal assignment to H. sapiens. The Daoxian sample is more derived than any other anatomically modern humans, resembling middle-to-late Late Pleistocene specimens and even contemporary humans. Our study shows that fully modern morphologies were present in southern China 30,000-70,000 years earlier than in the Levant and Europe. Our data fill a chronological and geographical gap that is relevant for understanding when H. sapiens first appeared in southern Asia. The Daoxian teeth also support the hypothesis that during the same period, southern China was inhabited by more derived populations than central and northern China. This evidence is important for the study of dispersal routes of modern humans. Finally, our results are relevant to exploring the reasons for the relatively late entry of H. sapiens into Europe. Some studies have investigated how the competition with H. sapiens may have caused Neanderthals' extinction (see ref. 8 and references therein). Notably, although fully modern humans were already present in southern China at least as early as ∼80,000 years ago, there is no evidence that they entered Europe before ∼45,000 years ago. This could indicate that H. neanderthalensis was indeed an additional ecological barrier for modern humans, who could only enter Europe when the demise of Neanderthals had already started.

[Franz Joseph Gall and his "talking skulls" established the basis of modern brain sciences].

PubMed

Wolfgang, Regal; Michael, Nanut

2008-01-01

The anatomist and brain scientist Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) developed the "phrenology" in the early 19(th) century. At this time, his new teachings were more seen as a temporary fashion than science and were discredited. No more than hundred years ago, it was realised that the phrenology established the basis of modern brain sciences. By all means Gall was the first one to combine defined regions of the cerebral cortex with distinct cognitive functions.

Background experiences, time allocation, time on teaching and perceived support of early-career college science faculty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagendorf, Kenneth S.

The purposes of this research were to create an inventory of the research, teaching and service background experiences of and to document the time allocation and time spent on teaching by early-career college science faculty members. This project is presented as three distinct papers. Thirty early-career faculty in the science disciplines from sixteen different institutions in their first year of employment participated in this study. For the first two papers, a new survey was developed asking participants to choose which experiences they had acquired prior to taking their current faculty position and asking them to document their time allocation and time spent on teaching activities in an average work week. In addition, a third component documents the support early-career college faculty in the sciences are receiving from the perspective of faculty members and their respective department chairpersons and identifies areas of disagreement between these two different groups. Twenty early-career college science faculty and their respective department chairpersons completed a newly-designed survey regarding the support offered to new faculty. The survey addressed the areas of feedback on performance, clarity of tenure requirements, mentoring, support for teaching and scholarship and balancing faculty life. This dissertation presents the results from these surveys, accounting for different demographic variables such as science discipline, gender and institutional category.

By Permission of the Mantle: Modern and Ancient Deep Earth Volatile Cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirschmann, M. M.

2011-12-01

The principle volatile elements, H and C, are of surpassing importance to processes and conditions in the interiors and the surfaces of terrestrial planets, affecting everything from mantle dynamics and large scale geochemical differentiation to climate and habitability. The storage of these volatiles in planetary interiors, their inventory in the near-surface environment and exchange between the interiors and the exosphere are governed by petrologic processes. Were it not for the effective incompatibility of these components in mantle lithologies, there might be no oceans, no habitable climate, and no biosphere on the surface. Consequently, deep Earth volatile cycles represent one of the best examples of how petrology influences nearly all other aspects of Earth science. The exosphere of the modern Earth has a high H/C ratio compared to that of the interior sampled by oceanic basalts. A potential explanation for this is that C is subducted to the deep mantle more efficiently than H, such that the exosphere C reservoir shrinks through geologic time. Unfortunately this hypothesis conflicts with the sedimentary record, which suggests that carbonate storage on the continents has increased rather than decreased with time. It also may not be applicable to the first 3 Ga of Earth history, when hotter typical subduction geotherms greatly reduced the efficiency of C subduction. An important question regarding deep Earth volatile cycles is the inventory of H and C in the interior and the exosphere that descend from Earth's earliest differentiation processes. Originally, much of Earth's volatile inventory was presumably present as a thick atmosphere, in part because volatiles were probably delivered late in the accretion history and owing to both the efficiency of impact degassing and of volatile release from early magma ocean(s). Early mantle H2O may descend from the magma ocean, in which portions of a steam atmosphere are dissolved in the magma and then precipitated with

[Academy idea and Curiositas as leitmotif of the early modern Leopoldina].

PubMed

Boehm, Laetitia

2008-01-01

, it deals with aspects of privilege law, regarding the development of new kinds of higher learning institutions and university politics in the imperial city in the confessional era ("Semi-Universities"/"Academies" Strassburg, Nuremberg-Altdorf). This is followed by a thematic balancing.--Chapter III. Curiositas as an Early Modern Leitmotif of Natural Science Academies refers first to the multivalent popular usage of the fashionable and borrowed German word "Kuriosität" [curiosity] during the Enlightenment, then inquires about the word's original definitions in ancient and medieval scholarly traditions. In the age of humanist source study and expeditions into "new worlds", the concept of curiositas as an (ethically ambivalent) "desire for knowledge" was revitalized; this is exemplified by two types of sources: the report of the Orient and Brazil explorer André Thevet and the literarily virulent figure (around 1600) of knowledge-thirsty Faust. A reexamination of the academy's foundational documents, in conjunction with the peregrinatio academica of Schweinfurt doctors to Italy, confirms the old question, now newly posed, about the methodological and programmatic signal of the curiositas device. The self-reflection of the naturae-curiosi and their focus on observational development and natural-historical classifications in the area of "materia medica" show--besides other advances in scholarship in the early 17th century--clear correlation with the "phenomenology of modern thought" that is so often discussed today. However, there must be an evolutionary and innovative differentiation from what would later be called "natural science" disciplines (like biology, zoology, mineralogy, chemistry), as opposed to an all-inclusively defined "scientific revolution", which pertains to astronomical and mathematical ways of thinking, as well as new insights in the physical-instrumental field.--Chapter IV. The Urban Medical Profession Between Scholarly Medicine and Practice applies

An evaluation of the transferability of Munsell's colour notation methodology to modern inkjet printing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olen, Melissa; Geisow, Adrian; Parraman, Carinna

2015-01-01

This paper examines the transferability of the Munsell system to modern inkjet colorants and printing technology following a similar approach to his original methods. While extensive research and development has gone into establishing methods for measuring and modelling the modern colour gamut, this study seeks to reintegrate the psychophysical and artistic principles used in Munsell's early colour studies with digital print. Contemporary inkjet printing, with ink sets containing a greater number of primary colorants, are significantly higher in chroma compared to the limited colorants available at the time of Munsell's original work. Following Munsell's design and implementation, our experiments replicate the use of Clerk-Maxwell's spinning disks in order to examine the effects of colour mixing with these expanded colour capacities, and to determine hue distribution and placement. This work revisits Munsell's project in light of known issues, and formulates questions about how we can reintegrate Munsell's approach for colour description and mixing into modern colour science, understanding, and potential application.

The early modern kidney--nephrology in and about the nineteenth century. Part 1.

PubMed

Eknoyan, Garabed

2013-01-01

The 19th century was a period of momentous scientific discoveries, technological achievements, and societal changes. A beneficiary of these revolutionary upheavals was medical empiricism that supplanted the rationalism of the past giving rise to early modern scientific medicine. Continued reliance on sensory data now magnified by technical advances generated new medical information that could be quantified with increasing precision, verified by repeated experimentation, and validated by statistical analysis. The institutionalization and integration of these methodologies into medical education were a defining step that assured their progress and perpetuation. Major advances were made in the nosography of diseases of the kidney, notably that of the diagnosis of progressive kidney disease from the presence of albuminuria by Richard Bright (1789-1858); and of renal structure and function, notably the demonstration of the continuity of the glomerular capsule with the tubular basement membrane by William Bowman (1816-1892), and the arguments for hemodynamic physical forces mediated glomerular filtration by Carl Ludwig (1816-1895) and for active tubular transport by Rudolf Heidenhain (1834-1897). Improvements in microscopy and tissue processing were instrumental in describing the cellular ultrastructure of the glomerulus and tubular segments, but their integrated function remained to be elucidated. The kidney continued to be considered a tubular secretory organ and its pathology attributed to injury of the interstitium (interstitial nephritis) or tubules (parenchymatous nephritis). © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

American Modern Design for a New Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Mark M.

2000-01-01

Focuses on the exhibition titled "American Modern, 1925-1940: Design for a New Age" that documents the efforts and achievements of the United States in the area of design arts. States that the exhibition features more than 150 objects, including furniture, posters, and radios, by leading designers of the early and mid century. (CMK)

Impact cratering calculations. Part 1: Early time results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomsen, J. M.; Sauer, F. N.; Austin, M. G.; Ruhl, S. F.; Shultz, P. H.; Orphal, D. L.

1979-01-01

Early time two dimensional finite difference calculations of laboratory scale hypervelocity impact of 0.3 g spherical 2024 aluminum projectiles into homogeneous plasticene clay targets were performed. Analysis of resulting material motions showed that energy and momentum were coupled quickly from the aluminum projectile to the target material. In the process of coupling, some of the plasticene clay target was vaporized while the projectile become severely deformed. The velocity flow field developed within the target was shown to have features similar to those found in calculations of near surface explosion cratering. Specific application of Maxwell's analytic Z-Model showed that this model can be used to describe the early time flow fields resulting from the impact cratering calculations as well, provided the flow field centers are located beneath the target surface and most of the projectile momentum is dissipated before the model is applied.

Method and computer program product for maintenance and modernization backlogging

DOEpatents

Mattimore, Bernard G; Reynolds, Paul E; Farrell, Jill M

2013-02-19

According to one embodiment, a computer program product for determining future facility conditions includes a computer readable medium having computer readable program code stored therein. The computer readable program code includes computer readable program code for calculating a time period specific maintenance cost, for calculating a time period specific modernization factor, and for calculating a time period specific backlog factor. Future facility conditions equal the time period specific maintenance cost plus the time period specific modernization factor plus the time period specific backlog factor. In another embodiment, a computer-implemented method for calculating future facility conditions includes calculating a time period specific maintenance cost, calculating a time period specific modernization factor, and calculating a time period specific backlog factor. Future facility conditions equal the time period specific maintenance cost plus the time period specific modernization factor plus the time period specific backlog factor. Other embodiments are also presented.

Speculating on Childhood and Time, with Michael Ende's "Momo" (1973)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duhn, Iris

2016-01-01

Childhood and time are closely linked concepts in education. Childhood as a modern domain is a cornerstone of the human narrative of being in time, with birth as the beginning and death as the end. A newborn child marks new beginnings and hope for the future, and geopolitically early childhood education is now seen as a cornerstone for building…

A Dental Prosthesis from the Early Modern Age in Tuscany (Italy).

PubMed

Minozzi, Simona; Panetta, Daniele; De Sanctis, Massimo; Giuffra, Valentina

2017-04-01

During archaeological excavation, carried out in the S. Francesco Monastery at Lucca (Tuscany, Italy), a golden dental appliance was discovered. The prosthesis was found, together with commingled human remains, in the collective tomb of the aristocratic family of the Guinigi, a powerful family who governed Lucca from 1392 until 1429. The exact archaeological dating of the prosthesis was not possible, but some elements suggest a dating to the beginning of the 17th century. Aim of the paper is to study and describe the dental appliance trough a multidisciplinary approach. Macroscopical and micro-CT examinations were performed to investigate the technics used for the realization of the dental prosthesis. SEM analysis was performed to study alloy composition of the metallic fixing lamina and microstructure of the deposits on the dental surface. The dental prosthesis consists in five mandibular teeth: three central incisors and two lateral canines linked together by a golden band inserted into the dental roots to replace the anterior arch of the jaw. Micro-CT scan revealed the presence of two small golden pins inserted into each tooth crossing the root and fixing the teeth to the internal gold band. SEM examination of the lamina indicated a homogeneous composition, with average contents of 73 wt% gold, 15.6 wt% Ag, and 11.4 wt% Cu. Apposition of dental calculus on the teeth indicated that the prosthesis had been worn for a long period. This dental prosthesis provides a unique finding of technologically advanced dentistry in this period. In fact, during the Early Modern Age, some authors described gold band technology for the replacement of missing teeth; nevertheless, no direct evidences of these devices have been brought to light up so far. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effectiveness of early part-time sick leave in musculoskeletal disorders.

PubMed

Martimo, Kari-Pekka; Kaila-Kangas, Leena; Kausto, Johanna; Takala, Esa-Pekka; Ketola, Ritva; Riihimäki, Hilkka; Luukkonen, Ritva; Karppinen, Jaro; Miranda, Helena; Viikari-Juntura, Eira

2008-02-25

The importance of staying active instead of bed rest has been acknowledged in the management of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). This emphasizes the potential benefits of adjusting work to fit the employee's remaining work ability. Despite part-time sick leave being an official option in many countries, its effectiveness has not been studied yet. We have designed a randomized controlled study to assess the health effects of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-day sick leave. Our hypothesis is that if work time is temporarily reduced and work load adjusted at the early stages of disability, employees with MSDs will have less disability days and faster return to regular work duties than employees on a conventional sick leave. The study population will consist of 600 employees, who seek medical advice from an occupational physician due to musculoskeletal pain. The inclusion requires that they have not been on a sick leave for longer than 14 days prior to the visit. Based on the physician's judgement, the severity of the symptoms must indicate a need for conventional sick leave, but the employee is considered to be able to work part-time without any additional risk. Half of the employees are randomly allocated to part-time sick leave group and their work time is reduced by 40-60%, whereas in the control group work load is totally eliminated with conventional sick leave. The main outcomes are the number of days from the initial visit to return to regular work activities, and the total number of sick leave days during 12 and 24 months of follow-up. The costs and benefits as well as the feasibility of early part-time sick leave will also be evaluated. This is the first randomised trial to our knowledge on the effectiveness of early part-time sick leave compared to conventional full-time sick leave in the management of MSDs. The data collection continues until 2011, but preliminary results on the feasibility of part-time sick leave will be available

Optimal timing for early surgery in infective endocarditis: a meta-analysis†

PubMed Central

Liang, Fuxiang; Song, Bing; Liu, Ruisheng; Yang, Liu; Tang, Hanbo; Li, Yuanming

2016-01-01

To systematically review early surgery and the optimal timing of surgery in patients with infective endocarditis (IE), a search for foreign and domestic articles on cohort studies about the association between early surgery and infective endocarditis published from inception to January 2015 was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the quality of the method of the included studies was assessed. Then, the meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Sixteen cohort studies, including 8141 participants were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that, compared with non-early surgery, early surgery in IE lowers the incidence of in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.42, 0.77); P = 0.000, I2 = 73.1%] and long-term mortality [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.43, 0.77); P = 0.001, I2 = 67.4%]. Further, performing operation within 2 weeks had a more favourable effect on long-term mortality [OR = 0.63, 95% CI (0.41, 0.97); P = 0.192, I2 = 39.4%] than non-early surgery. In different kinds of IE, we found that early surgery for native valve endocarditis (NVE) had a lower in-hospital [OR = 0.46, 95% CI (0.31, 0.69); P = 0.001, I2 = 73.0%] and long-term [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.40, 0.81); P = 0.001, I2 = 68.9%] mortality than the non-early surgery group. However, for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.65, 1.06); P = 0.413, I2 = 0.0%] between early and non-early surgery. We concluded that early surgery was associated with lower in-hospital and long-term mortality compared with non-early surgical treatment for IE, especially in NVE. However, the optimal timing of surgery remains unclear. Additional larger prospective clinical trials will be

Time and Temporality in Early Childhood Educators' Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nuttall, Joce; Thomas, Louise

2015-01-01

This article reports on the persistence and significance of notions of time and temporality in interviews with early childhood educators in Victoria and Queensland, Australia, in two studies designed to explore the concept of "pedagogical leadership". Interpretive analysis of the interview transcripts of the 19 participants identified…

Time scale controversy: Accurate orbital calibration of the early Paleogene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roehl, U.; Westerhold, T.; Laskar, J.

2012-12-01

Timing is crucial to understanding the causes and consequences of events in Earth history. The calibration of geological time relies heavily on the accuracy of radioisotopic and astronomical dating. Uncertainties in the computations of Earth's orbital parameters and in radioisotopic dating have hampered the construction of a reliable astronomically calibrated time scale beyond 40 Ma. Attempts to construct a robust astronomically tuned time scale for the early Paleogene by integrating radioisotopic and astronomical dating are only partially consistent. Here, using the new La2010 and La2011 orbital solutions, we present the first accurate astronomically calibrated time scale for the early Paleogene (47-65 Ma) uniquely based on astronomical tuning and thus independent of the radioisotopic determination of the Fish Canyon standard. Comparison with geological data confirms the stability of the new La2011 solution back to 54 Ma. Subsequent anchoring of floating chronologies to the La2011 solution using the very long eccentricity nodes provides an absolute age of 55.530 ± 0.05 Ma for the onset of the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 54.850 ± 0.05 Ma for the early Eocene ash -17, and 65.250 ± 0.06 Ma for the K/Pg boundary. The new astrochronology presented here indicates that the intercalibration and synchronization of U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic geochronology is much more challenging than previously thought.

Time scale controversy: Accurate orbital calibration of the early Paleogene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westerhold, Thomas; RöHl, Ursula; Laskar, Jacques

2012-06-01

Timing is crucial to understanding the causes and consequences of events in Earth history. The calibration of geological time relies heavily on the accuracy of radioisotopic and astronomical dating. Uncertainties in the computations of Earth's orbital parameters and in radioisotopic dating have hampered the construction of a reliable astronomically calibrated time scale beyond 40 Ma. Attempts to construct a robust astronomically tuned time scale for the early Paleogene by integrating radioisotopic and astronomical dating are only partially consistent. Here, using the new La2010 and La2011 orbital solutions, we present the first accurate astronomically calibrated time scale for the early Paleogene (47-65 Ma) uniquely based on astronomical tuning and thus independent of the radioisotopic determination of the Fish Canyon standard. Comparison with geological data confirms the stability of the new La2011 solution back to ˜54 Ma. Subsequent anchoring of floating chronologies to the La2011 solution using the very long eccentricity nodes provides an absolute age of 55.530 ± 0.05 Ma for the onset of the Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), 54.850 ± 0.05 Ma for the early Eocene ash -17, and 65.250 ± 0.06 Ma for the K/Pg boundary. The new astrochronology presented here indicates that the intercalibration and synchronization of U/Pb and 40Ar/39Ar radioisotopic geochronology is much more challenging than previously thought.

Pubertal timing and early sexual intercourse in the offspring of teenage mothers.

PubMed

De Genna, Natacha M; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D

2011-10-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers.

The turning point from an archaic Arab medical system to an early modern European system in Jerusalem according to the Swiss physician Titus Tobler (1806-77).

PubMed

Lev, Efraim; Amar, Zohar

2004-01-01

Until the end of the Ottoman period the Hippocratic-Galenic doctrine, which had been improved by medieval Muslim medicine, was the pre-dominant medicine in the Holy Land. The penetration of modern medicine into the region was a slow process, advancing step by step over the years until it was established around the end of the 19th century.Dr. Titus Tobler, a Swiss physician of many talents, first visited Jerusalem in 1835, then again in 1845, 1857, and 1865. He reported his experiences and impressions in several books and articles. His publications portray the condition of medicine in the city before the advent of European physicians, their arrival, and the establishment of the first hospitals in the city. Thanks to his endeavours, a professional description of the medical conditions prevailing in Jerusalem in the mid-19th century is available to the public. Tobler's writings include descriptions of the healers, blood-letters, quacks, medicinal substances and their market, and the diseases and illnesses from which the inhabitants suffered. In addition, Tobler produced a detailed report of the different hospitals, pharmacies, European physicians, and their experiences. A digest of Tobler's information, its fresh systematic arrangement, and its comparison with other historical sources, early as well as recent, produces a better picture than ever previously available of the medical conditions of the city in the final years of the ascendancy of Arab medical systems and in the early stages of early modern European medicine in Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

Modern Languages and Interculturality in the Primary Sector in England, Greece, Italy and Spain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cerezal, Fernando

1997-01-01

Addresses concerns and issues regarding modern language teaching and learning at primary schools in Greece, Italy, Spain, and England. It focuses on the optimal age for learning and acquiring languages and to the educational reforms which have been undertaken in each country relating to early modern language teaching and learning and…

Update on Modern Management of Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma.

PubMed

Lenders, Jacques W M; Eisenhofer, Graeme

2017-06-01

Despite all technical progress in modern diagnostic methods and treatment modalities of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma, early consideration of the presence of these tumors remains the pivotal link towards the best possible outcome for patients. A timely diagnosis and proper treatment can prevent the wide variety of potentially catastrophic cardiovascular complications. Modern biochemical testing should include tests that offer the best available diagnostic performance, measurements of metanephrines and 3-methoxytyramine in plasma or urine. To minimize false-positive test results particular attention should be paid to pre-analytical sampling conditions. In addition to anatomical imaging by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging, new promising functional imaging modalities of photon emission tomography/CT using with somatostatin analogues such as ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE (⁶⁸Ga-labeled DOTA(0)-Tyr(3)-octreotide) will probably replace ¹²³I-MIBG (iodine-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine) in the near future. As nearly half of all pheochromocytoma patients harbor a mutation in one of the 14 tumor susceptibility genes, genetic testing and counseling should at least be considered in all patients with a proven tumor. Post-surgical annual follow-up of patients by measurements of plasma or urinary metanephrines should last for at least 10 years for timely detection of recurrent or metastatic disease. Patients with a high risk for recurrence or metastatic disease (paraganglioma, young age, multiple or large tumors, genetic background) should be followed up lifelong. Copyright © 2017 Korean Endocrine Society.

"Varmits and Turnips": Personal Experiences of a Secondary Modern Education, 1958-1962

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Black, John

2013-01-01

This article is not intended to be an autobiography. It relates to the experiences of the author as a pupil in a secondary modern school in Wiltshire during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He suffered the experience of being an 11-plus failure and a secondary modern graduate at the age of 15 years. Later in life he had a much more rewarding career…

A Comparison of Wood Density between Classical Cremonese and Modern Violins

PubMed Central

Stoel, Berend C.; Borman, Terry M.

2008-01-01

Classical violins created by Cremonese masters, such as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri Del Gesu, have become the benchmark to which the sound of all violins are compared in terms of their abilities of expressiveness and projection. By general consensus, no luthier since that time has been able to replicate the sound quality of these classical instruments. The vibration and sound radiation characteristics of a violin are determined by an instrument's geometry and the material properties of the wood. New test methods allow the non-destructive examination of one of the key material properties, the wood density, at the growth ring level of detail. The densities of five classical and eight modern violins were compared, using computed tomography and specially developed image-processing software. No significant differences were found between the median densities of the modern and the antique violins, however the density difference between wood grains of early and late growth was significantly smaller in the classical Cremonese violins compared with modern violins, in both the top (Spruce) and back (Maple) plates (p = 0.028 and 0.008, respectively). The mean density differential (SE) of the top plates of the modern and classical violins was 274 (26.6) and 183 (11.7) gram/liter. For the back plates, the values were 128 (2.6) and 115 (2.0) gram/liter. These differences in density differentials may reflect similar changes in stiffness distributions, which could directly impact vibrational efficacy or indirectly modify sound radiation via altered damping characteristics. Either of these mechanisms may help explain the acoustical differences between the classical and modern violins. PMID:18596937

From Submarine Volcanoes to Modern Atolls: New Insights from the Mozambique Channel (SW Indian Ocean)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jorry, S.; Courgeon, S.; Camoin, G.; BouDagher-Fadel, M.; Jouet, G.; Poli, E.

2016-12-01

Although the long-term evolution of isolated shallow-water carbonate platforms leading to guyot and atoll formation has been the subject of numerous studies during the last decades, their driving processes are still the subject of active debates. The Mozambique Channel (SW Indian Ocean) is characterized by several modern carbonate platforms, ranging from 11°S to 21°S in latitudes. These platforms are characterized by reef margins mostly developed on windward sides with internal parts blanketed by sand dunes and numerous reef pinnacles, or by Darwin-type atolls with enclosed lagoons. Dredge sampling, underwater observations and geophysical acquisitions carried out during recent oceanographic cruises (PTOLEMEE and PAMELA-MOZ1) along slopes and basins adjacent to modern platforms led to the discovery of flat-top seamounts corresponding to shallow-water carbonate platforms which grew on top of submarine volcanoes. Microfacies and datings (biostratigraphy analysis coupled with Strontium isotopic stratigraphy) indicate that those carbonate platforms, characterized by fauna assemblages dominated by corals, Halimeda and red algaes, and larger benthic foraminifera, developed in tropical settings from Early Miocene to Late Miocene/Early Pliocene times. Submarine volcanism, karstification and pedogenesis evidences on top of the drowned edifices demonstrate that tectonic deformation, rejuvenated volcanic activity and subaerial exposure occurred after and potentially during the Neogene platform aggradation. Growth of modern platforms on top of submerged carbonate terraces is explained by topographic irregularities inherited from volcanism, tectonic and/or subaerial exposure conditions which could have produced favorable substratum for carbonates which grew during the Plio-Quaternary, up to reach modern sea-level. This research is co-funded by TOTAL and IFREMER as part of the PAMELA (Passive Margin Exploration Laboratories) scientific project.

Mathematical biology modules based on modern molecular biology and modern discrete mathematics.

PubMed

Robeva, Raina; Davies, Robin; Hodge, Terrell; Enyedi, Alexander

2010-01-01

We describe an ongoing collaborative curriculum materials development project between Sweet Briar College and Western Michigan University, with support from the National Science Foundation. We present a collection of modules under development that can be used in existing mathematics and biology courses, and we address a critical national need to introduce students to mathematical methods beyond the interface of biology with calculus. Based on ongoing research, and designed to use the project-based-learning approach, the modules highlight applications of modern discrete mathematics and algebraic statistics to pressing problems in molecular biology. For the majority of projects, calculus is not a required prerequisite and, due to the modest amount of mathematical background needed for some of the modules, the materials can be used for an early introduction to mathematical modeling. At the same time, most modules are connected with topics in linear and abstract algebra, algebraic geometry, and probability, and they can be used as meaningful applied introductions into the relevant advanced-level mathematics courses. Open-source software is used to facilitate the relevant computations. As a detailed example, we outline a module that focuses on Boolean models of the lac operon network.

Mathematical Biology Modules Based on Modern Molecular Biology and Modern Discrete Mathematics

PubMed Central

Davies, Robin; Hodge, Terrell; Enyedi, Alexander

2010-01-01

We describe an ongoing collaborative curriculum materials development project between Sweet Briar College and Western Michigan University, with support from the National Science Foundation. We present a collection of modules under development that can be used in existing mathematics and biology courses, and we address a critical national need to introduce students to mathematical methods beyond the interface of biology with calculus. Based on ongoing research, and designed to use the project-based-learning approach, the modules highlight applications of modern discrete mathematics and algebraic statistics to pressing problems in molecular biology. For the majority of projects, calculus is not a required prerequisite and, due to the modest amount of mathematical background needed for some of the modules, the materials can be used for an early introduction to mathematical modeling. At the same time, most modules are connected with topics in linear and abstract algebra, algebraic geometry, and probability, and they can be used as meaningful applied introductions into the relevant advanced-level mathematics courses. Open-source software is used to facilitate the relevant computations. As a detailed example, we outline a module that focuses on Boolean models of the lac operon network. PMID:20810955

Pubertal Timing and Early Sexual Intercourse in the Offspring of Teenage Mothers

PubMed Central

De Genna, Natacha M.; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D.

2011-01-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12–18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers. PMID:21279428

Taking control of your digital library: how modern citation managers do more than just referencing.

PubMed

Mahajan, Amit K; Hogarth, D Kyle

2013-12-01

Physicians are constantly navigating the overwhelming body of medical literature available on the Internet. Although early citation managers were capable of limited searching of index databases and tedious bibliography production, modern versions of citation managers such as EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley are powerful web-based tools for searching, organizing, and sharing medical literature. Effortless point-and-click functions provide physicians with the ability to develop robust digital libraries filled with literature relevant to their fields of interest. In addition to easily creating manuscript bibliographies, various citation managers allow physicians to readily access medical literature, share references for teaching purposes, collaborate with colleagues, and even participate in social networking. If physicians are willing to invest the time to familiarize themselves with modern citation managers, they will reap great benefits in the future.

The emergence of modern type rain forests and mangroves and their traces in the palaeobotanical record during the Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohr, Barbara; Coiffard, Clément

2014-05-01

The origin of modern rain forests is still very poorly known. This ecosystem could have potentially fully evolved only after the development of relatively high numbers of flowering plant families adapted to rain forest conditions. During the early phase of angiosperm evolution in the early Cretaceous the palaeo-equatorial region was located in a seasonally dry climatic belt, so that during this phase, flowering plants often show adaptations to drought, rather than to continuously wet climate conditions. Therefore it is not surprising that except for the Nymphaeales, the most basal members of extant angiosperm families have members that do not necessarily occur in the continuously wet tropics today. However, during the late Early Cretaceous several clades emerged that later would give rise to families that are typically found today mostly in (shady) moist places in warmer regions. This is especially seen among the monocotyledons, a group of the mesangiosperms, that developed in many cases large leaves often with very specific venation patterns that make these leaves very unique and well recognizable. Especially members of three groups are here of interest: the arum family (Araceae), the palms (Arecaceae) and the Ginger and allies (Zingiberales). The earliest fossil of Araceae are restricted to low latitudes during the lower Cretaceous. Arecaceae and Zingiberales do not appear in the fossil record before the early late Cretaceous and occur at mid latitudes. During the Late Cretaceous, Araceae are represented at mid latitudes by non-tropical early diverging members and at low latitudes by derived rainforest members. Palms became widespread during the Late Cretataceous and also Nypa, a typical element of tropical to subtropical mangrove environments evolved during this time period. During the Paleocene Arecaceae appear to be restricted to lower latitudes as well as Zingiberales. All three groups are again widespread during the Eocene, reaching higher latitudes and

Optimal timing for early surgery in infective endocarditis: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Liang, Fuxiang; Song, Bing; Liu, Ruisheng; Yang, Liu; Tang, Hanbo; Li, Yuanming

2016-03-01

To systematically review early surgery and the optimal timing of surgery in patients with infective endocarditis (IE), a search for foreign and domestic articles on cohort studies about the association between early surgery and infective endocarditis published from inception to January 2015 was conducted in the PubMed, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM), Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. The studies were screened according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data were extracted and the quality of the method of the included studies was assessed. Then, the meta-analysis was performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Sixteen cohort studies, including 8141 participants were finally included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed that, compared with non-early surgery, early surgery in IE lowers the incidence of in-hospital mortality [odds ratio (OR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.42, 0.77); P = 0.000, I(2) = 73.1%] and long-term mortality [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.43, 0.77); P = 0.001, I(2) = 67.4%]. Further, performing operation within 2 weeks had a more favourable effect on long-term mortality [OR = 0.63, 95% CI (0.41, 0.97); P = 0.192, I(2) = 39.4%] than non-early surgery. In different kinds of IE, we found that early surgery for native valve endocarditis (NVE) had a lower in-hospital [OR = 0.46, 95% CI (0.31, 0.69); P = 0.001, I(2) = 73.0%] and long-term [OR = 0.57, 95% CI (0.40, 0.81); P = 0.001, I(2) = 68.9%] mortality than the non-early surgery group. However, for prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE), in-hospital mortality did not differ significantly [OR = 0.83, 95% CI (0.65, 1.06); P = 0.413, I(2) = 0.0%] between early and non-early surgery. We concluded that early surgery was associated with lower in-hospital and long-term mortality compared with non-early surgical treatment for IE, especially in NVE. However, the optimal timing of surgery remains unclear. Additional larger prospective clinical

Modern Christian healing of mental illness.

PubMed

Favazza, A R

1982-06-01

Healing of mental illness through religious practices was a key element of early Christianity. In the early twentieth century such healing was associated with blue-collar and rural Fundamentalists, but religious healing practices have gained widespread acceptance by many middle-class, conservative Christian groups. "Evil demons" are now equated with envy, pride, avarice, hatred, and obsessions with alcohol and gambling. Many psychotherapeutic techniques of modern Christian healers appear to be rediscoveries of psychoanalytic insights expressed in religious metaphors. Most responsible healers encourage clients to seek medical and psychiatric help, especially for serious mental disorders. Psychiatrists need not share patients' religious beliefs, but for treatment to be effective these beliefs must be understood and respected.

Early Cenozoic radiations in the Antarctic marine realm and their evolutionary implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crame, Alistair

2014-05-01

The extensive and very well exposed Late Cretaceous - Early Paleogene sedimentary succession of Seymour Island, NE Antarctic Peninsula presents a unique opportunity to examine Early Cenozoic evolutionary radiations in a variety of macrofaunal taxa. Building on the extensive pioneer studies by US and Argentinian palaeontologists, recent investigations have focused on refining litho-, bio- and chronostratigraphies, and taxonomic revisions to a number of key groups. Within the numerically dominant Mollusca, the balance of faunas changes significantly across the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary, with gastropods becoming numerically dominant for the first time in the Early Paleocene Sobral Formation (SF). At this level seven of the 31 gastropod genera present (= 23%) can be referred to modern Southern Ocean taxa and the same figure is maintained in the Early Eocene La Meseta Formation (LMF) where 21 of 63 genera are modern. A major reason for the rise of the gastropods in the earliest Cenozoic of Antarctica is a significant radiation of the Neogastropoda, which today forms one of the largest clades in the sea. 50% of the SF gastropod fauna and 53% of the LMF at the species level are neogastropods. This important burst of speciation is linked to a major pulse of global warming from ~63 - 43Ma when warm temperate conditions prevailed for long intervals of time at 65ºS. The marked Early Paleogene radiation of neogastropods in Antarctica represents a distinct pulse of southern high-latitude taxa that was coeval with similar tropical/subtropical radiations in localities such as the US Gulf Coast and NW Europe. Thus it would appear that the Early Cenozoic radiation of this major taxon was truly global in scale and not just confined to one latitudinal belt. Whereas it is possible to regard a significant proportion of the modern bivalve fauna as relicts, and thus Antarctica as an evolutionary refugium, or sink, it is much less easy to do so for the Neogastropoda. At least in the

[Briefs of Japanese acupuncture-moxibustion works of Chinese translation version in modern times].

PubMed

Liu, Kechen; Zhang, Shujian

2017-05-12

The authors collected 25 Japanese acupuncture-moxibustion works of Chinese translation version in modern times (1912-1960) and investigated them from 3 aspects, named the study on the mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion, the explanation of basic theory and clinical treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion. Generally speaking, Japanese acupuncture-moxibustion works of Chinese translation version explained the mechanisms of acupuncture and moxibustion in terms of the theory of western medicine rather than traditional one. It proposed the study on the phenomenon of meridian and collateral, which absorbed the anatomic knowledge of western medicine in the discussion on meridians, collaterals and acupoints; introduced diagnostic methods and techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion and adopted the classification of western medicine system and the diseases in western medicine to discuss the treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion. All of these reflect the academic characteristics of acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan at those times and the position of Chinese scholars, by which the Japanese medical works were introduced for the academic innovation.

‘Elderly years cause a Total dispaire of Conception’: Old Age, Sex and Infertility in Early Modern England

PubMed Central

Toulalan, Sarah

2016-01-01

Abstract Although the history of old age has been studied in much greater detail in recent years, the subject of sexuality in old age remains relatively under-explored. This article examines early modern ideas about old bodies and sex in relation to fertility, to argue that because old bodies were understood as either infertile (post-menopausal women) or sub-fertile (old men) they were therefore characterised as unsuitable, undesirable and inappropriate sexual partners. Perceptions of old bodies, their sexual abilities, desirability and behaviour were remarkably consistent from the sixteenth through to the eighteenth century. The ridiculing of old men and women's sexual behaviour that permeated contemporary culture in stories, ballads and jokes, alongside medical literature that characterised old bodies as sexually unappetising as well as unreproductive, carried the message that sexual activity was not for the old, and in large part because they were infertile. PMID:28751815

[Development of modern medical doctors in Japan from late Edo to early Meiji].

PubMed

Kim, OckJoo; Takuya, Miyagawa

2011-12-31

Western medicine began to be introduced to Japan since late 16th century. Japanese encounter with Western medicine centered on Dejima in Nagasaki in the seventeenth and eighteenth century and the initial process of introduction was gradual and slow. In the mid-nineteenth century, facing threats from Western countries, Tokugawa bakufu asked Dutch naval surgeon, J. L. C. Pompe van Meerdervoort to teach western medicine at the Kaigun Denshujo naval academy in Nagasaki. The government also supported the western medical school in Edo. This paper deals with how modern western medical doctors were developed in Japan from late Edo to early Meiji. The publication of the New Text on Anatomy in 1774 translated by Sugita Genpaku and his colleagues stimulated Japanese doctors and scholars to study western medicine, called Rangaku. During the Edo period, western medicine spread into major cities and countryside in Japan through Rangaku doctors. In 1838, for example, Dr. Ogata Koan established the Rangaku school named Tekijuku and educated many people with western medicine. When smallpox vaccination was introduced in Japan in 1849, Rangaku doctors played an important role in practiving the vaccination in cities and in countryside. After the Edo bakufu and the feudal lords of han(han) actively pursued to introduce western medicine to their hans by sending their Samurai to Edo or Nagasaki or abroad and by establishing medical schools and hospitals until their abolition in 1871. In late Edo and early Meiii military doctors were the main focus of training to meet the urgent need of military doctors in the battle fields of civil wars. The new Meiji government initiated a series of top-down reformations concerning army recruitment, national school system, public health and medical system. In 1874, the government introduced a law on medicine to adopt western medicine only and to launch a national licence system for medical doctors. Issuing supplementary regulations in the following

Early South Americans Cranial Morphological Variation and the Origin of American Biological Diversity

PubMed Central

Hubbe, Alex; Neves, Walter A.

2015-01-01

Recent South Americans have been described as presenting high regional cranial morphological diversity when compared to other regions of the world. This high diversity is in accordance with linguistic and some of the molecular data currently available for the continent, but the origin of this diversity has not been satisfactorily explained yet. Here we explore if this high morphological variation was already present among early groups in South America, in order to refine our knowledge about the timing and origins of the modern morphological diversity. Between-group (Fst estimates) and within-group variances (trace of within-group covariance matrix) of the only two early American population samples available to date (Lagoa Santa and Sabana de Bogotá) were estimated based on linear craniometric measurements and compared to modern human cranial series representing six regions of the world, including the Americas. The results show that early Americans present moderate within-group diversity, falling well within the range of modern human groups, despite representing almost three thousand years of human occupation. The between-group variance apportionment is very low between early Americans, but is high among recent South American groups, who show values similar to the ones observed on a global scale. Although limited to only two early South American series, these results suggest that the high morphological diversity of native South Americans was not present among the first human groups arriving in the continent and must have originated during the Middle Holocene, possibly due to the arrival of new morphological diversity coming from Asia during the Holocene. PMID:26465141

2010 Army Modernization Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions...Science and Technology (S&T) Program, and shortening the time between requirement identification and solution delivery. • Continuously modernize equipment...available, as quickly as possible, so they can succeed anywhere, every time . Our Soldiers deserve nothing less. Army Strong! U.S. Soldiers engage enemy

Testing the Hypothesis of Fire Use for Ecosystem Management by Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic Modern Human Populations

PubMed Central

Daniau, Anne-Laure; d'Errico, Francesco; Sánchez Goñi, Maria Fernanda

2010-01-01

Background It has been proposed that a greater control and more extensive use of fire was one of the behavioral innovations that emerged in Africa among early Modern Humans, favouring their spread throughout the world and determining their eventual evolutionary success. We would expect, if extensive fire use for ecosystem management were a component of the modern human technical and cognitive package, as suggested for Australia, to find major disturbances in the natural biomass burning variability associated with the colonisation of Europe by Modern Humans. Methodology/Principal Findings Analyses of microcharcoal preserved in two deep-sea cores located off Iberia and France were used to reconstruct changes in biomass burning between 70 and 10 kyr cal BP. Results indicate that fire regime follows the Dansgaard-Oeschger climatic variability and its impacts on fuel load. No major disturbance in natural fire regime variability is observed at the time of the arrival of Modern Humans in Europe or during the remainder of the Upper Palaeolithic (40–10 kyr cal BP). Conclusions/Significance Results indicate that either Neanderthals and Modern humans did not influence fire regime or that, if they did, their respective influence was comparable at a regional scale, and not as pronounced as that observed in the biomass burning history of Southeast Asia. PMID:20161786

Evidence for a genetic discontinuity between Neandertals and 24,000-year-old anatomically modern Europeans.

PubMed

Caramelli, David; Lalueza-Fox, Carles; Vernesi, Cristiano; Lari, Martina; Casoli, Antonella; Mallegni, Francesco; Chiarelli, Brunetto; Dupanloup, Isabelle; Bertranpetit, Jaume; Barbujani, Guido; Bertorelle, Giorgio

2003-05-27

During the late Pleistocene, early anatomically modern humans coexisted in Europe with the anatomically archaic Neandertals for some thousand years. Under the recent variants of the multiregional model of human evolution, modern and archaic forms were different but related populations within a single evolving species, and both have contributed to the gene pool of current humans. Conversely, the Out-of-Africa model considers the transition between Neandertals and anatomically modern humans as the result of a demographic replacement, and hence it predicts a genetic discontinuity between them. Following the most stringent current standards for validation of ancient DNA sequences, we typed the mtDNA hypervariable region I of two anatomically modern Homo sapiens sapiens individuals of the Cro-Magnon type dated at about 23 and 25 thousand years ago. Here we show that the mtDNAs of these individuals fall well within the range of variation of today's humans, but differ sharply from the available sequences of the chronologically closer Neandertals. This discontinuity is difficult to reconcile with the hypothesis that both Neandertals and early anatomically modern humans contributed to the current European gene pool.

Link between Neogene and modern sedimentary environments in the Zagros foreland basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirouz, Mortaza; Simpson, Guy; Bahroudi, Abbas

2010-05-01

The Zagros mountain belt, with a length of 1800 km, is located in the south of Iran and was produced by collision between the Arabian plate and the Iran micro plate some time in the early Tertiary. After collision, the Zagros carbonate-dominated sedimentary basin has been replaced by a largely clastic system. The Neogene Zagros foreland basin comprises four main depositional environments which reflect the progressive southward migration of the deformation front with time. The oldest unit - the Gachsaran formation - is clastic in the northern part of the basin, but is dominated by evaporates in southern part, being deposited in a supratidal Sabkha-type environment. Overlying the Gachsaran is the Mishan formation, which is characterized by the Guri limestone member at the base, overlain by marine green marls. The thickness of the Guri member increases dramatically towards the southeast. The next youngest unit is the Aghajari Formation which consists of well sorted lenticular sandstone bodies in a red silty-mudstone. This formation is interpreted as representing the floodplain of dominantly meandering rivers. Finally, the Bakhtiari formation consists of mainly coarse-grained gravel sheets which are interpreted to represent braided river deposits. Each of these Neogene depositional environments has a modern day equivalent. For example, the braided rivers presently active in the Zagros mountains are modern analogues of the Bakhtiari. In the downstream direction, these braided rivers become meandering systems, which are equivalents of the Aghajari. Eventually, the meandering rivers meet the Persian gulf which is the site of the ‘modern day' Mishan shallow marine marls. Finally, the modern carbonate system on the southern margin of Persian Gulf represents the Guri member paleo-environment, behind which Sabkha-type deposits similar to the Gachsaran are presently being deposited. One important implication of this link between the Neogene foreland basin deposits and the

Impact of natural products in modern drug development.

PubMed

Dev, Sukh

2010-03-01

Usage of natural substances as therapeutic agents in modern medicine has sharply declined from the predominant position held in the early decades of last century, but search for bioactive molecules from nature (plants, animals, microflora) continues to play an important role in fashioning new medicinal agents. With the advent of modern techniques, instrumentation and automation in isolation and structural characterisation, we have on hand an enormous repository of natural compounds. In parallel to this, biology has also made tremendous progress in expanding its frontiers of knowledge. An interplay of these two disciplines constitutes the modern thrust in research in the realm of compounds elaborated by nature. The purpose of this article is to underline how natural products research continues to make significant contributions in the domain of discovery and development of new medicinal products. It is proposed to present the material under several heads, each of which has made natural products research relevant in the search for new and better medication.

On the origin of modern humans: Asian perspectives.

PubMed

Bae, Christopher J; Douka, Katerina; Petraglia, Michael D

2017-12-08

The traditional "out of Africa" model, which posits a dispersal of modern Homo sapiens across Eurasia as a single wave at ~60,000 years ago and the subsequent replacement of all indigenous populations, is in need of revision. Recent discoveries from archaeology, hominin paleontology, geochronology, genetics, and paleoenvironmental studies have contributed to a better understanding of the Late Pleistocene record in Asia. Important findings highlighted here include growing evidence for multiple dispersals predating 60,000 years ago in regions such as southern and eastern Asia. Modern humans moving into Asia met Neandertals, Denisovans, mid-Pleistocene Homo , and possibly H. floresiensis , with some degree of interbreeding occurring. These early human dispersals, which left at least some genetic traces in modern populations, indicate that later replacements were not wholesale. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Novel Algorithms Enabling Rapid, Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring and Tsunami Early Warning Worldwide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lomax, A.; Michelini, A.

2012-12-01

We have introduced recently new methods to determine rapidly the tsunami potential and magnitude of large earthquakes (e.g., Lomax and Michelini, 2009ab, 2011, 2012). To validate these methods we have implemented them along with other new algorithms within the Early-est earthquake monitor at INGV-Rome (http://early-est.rm.ingv.it, http://early-est.alomax.net). Early-est is a lightweight software package for real-time earthquake monitoring (including phase picking, phase association and event detection, location, magnitude determination, first-motion mechanism determination, ...), and for tsunami early warning based on discriminants for earthquake tsunami potential. In a simulation using archived broadband seismograms for the devastating M9, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Early-est determines: the epicenter within 3 min after the event origin time, discriminants showing very high tsunami potential within 5-7 min, and magnitude Mwpd(RT) 9.0-9.2 and a correct shallow-thrusting mechanism within 8 min. Real-time monitoring with Early-est givess similar results for most large earthquakes using currently available, real-time seismogram data. Here we summarize some of the key algorithms within Early-est that enable rapid, real-time earthquake monitoring and tsunami early warning worldwide: >>> FilterPicker - a general purpose, broad-band, phase detector and picker (http://alomax.net/FilterPicker); >>> Robust, simultaneous association and location using a probabilistic, global-search; >>> Period-duration discriminants TdT0 and TdT50Ex for tsunami potential available within 5 min; >>> Mwpd(RT) magnitude for very large earthquakes available within 10 min; >>> Waveform P polarities determined on broad-band displacement traces, focal mechanisms obtained with the HASH program (Hardebeck and Shearer, 2002); >>> SeisGramWeb - a portable-device ready seismogram viewer using web-services in a browser (http://alomax.net/webtools/sgweb/info.html). References (see also: http

Physical activity and modernization among Bolivian Amerindians.

PubMed

Gurven, Michael; Jaeggi, Adrian V; Kaplan, Hillard; Cummings, Daniel

2013-01-01

Physical inactivity is a growing public health problem, and the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Conversely, indigenous populations living traditional lifestyles reportedly engage in vigorous daily activity that is protective against non-communicable diseases. Here we analyze physical activity patterns among the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Bolivia with minimal heart disease and diabetes. We assess age patterns of adult activity among men and women, test whether modernization affects activity levels, and examine whether nascent obesity is associated with reduced activity. A factorial method based on a large sample of behavioral observations was employed to estimate effects of age, sex, body mass index, and modernization variables on physical activity ratio (PAR), the ratio of total energy expenditure to basal metabolic rate. Accelerometry combined with heart rate monitoring was compared to the factorial method and used for nighttime sampling. Tsimane men and women display 24 hr physical activity level (PAL) of 2.02-2.15 and 1.73-1.85, respectively. Little time was spent "sedentary", whereas most activity was light to moderate, rather than vigorous. Activity peaks by the late twenties in men, and declines thereafter, but remains constant among women after the early teens. Neither BMI, fat free mass or body fat percentage are associated with PAR. There was no negative effect of modernization on physical activity. Tsimane display relatively high PALs typical of other subsistence populations, but of moderate intensity, and not outside the range of developed populations. Despite rapidly increasing socioeconomic change, there is little evidence that total activity has yet been affected. Overweight and obesity are more prevalent among women than men, and Spanish fluency is associated with greater obesity in women. The lack of cardiovascular disease among Tsimane is unlikely caused by activity alone; further study of diet, food intake and

Cognitive Vulnerabilities Amplify the Effect of Early Pubertal Timing on Interpersonal Stress Generation During Adolescence

PubMed Central

Stange, Jonathan P.; Kleiman, Evan M.; Hamlat, Elissa J.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2013-01-01

Early pubertal timing has been found to confer risk for the occurrence of interpersonal stressful events during adolescence. However, pre-existing vulnerabilities may exacerbate the effects of early pubertal timing on the occurrence of stressors. Thus, the current study prospectively examined whether cognitive vulnerabilities amplified the effects of early pubertal timing on interpersonal stress generation. In a diverse sample of 310 adolescents (M age = 12.83 years, 55 % female; 53 % African American), early pubertal timing predicted higher levels of interpersonal dependent events among adolescents with more negative cognitive style and rumination, but not among adolescents with lower levels of these cognitive vulnerabilities. These findings suggest that cognitive vulnerabilities may heighten the risk of generating interpersonal stress for adolescents who undergo early pubertal maturation, which may subsequently place adolescents at greater risk for the development of psychopathology. PMID:24061858

The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior.

PubMed

Mcbrearty, S; Brooks, A S

2000-11-01

Proponents of the model known as the "human revolution" claim that modern human behaviors arose suddenly, and nearly simultaneously, throughout the Old World ca. 40-50 ka. This fundamental behavioral shift is purported to signal a cognitive advance, a possible reorganization of the brain, and the origin of language. Because the earliest modern human fossils, Homo sapiens sensu stricto, are found in Africa and the adjacent region of the Levant at >100 ka, the "human revolution" model creates a time lag between the appearance of anatomical modernity and perceived behavioral modernity, and creates the impression that the earliest modern Africans were behaviorally primitive. This view of events stems from a profound Eurocentric bias and a failure to appreciate the depth and breadth of the African archaeological record. In fact, many of the components of the "human revolution" claimed to appear at 40-50 ka are found in the African Middle Stone Age tens of thousands of years earlier. These features include blade and microlithic technology, bone tools, increased geographic range, specialized hunting, the use of aquatic resources, long distance trade, systematic processing and use of pigment, and art and decoration. These items do not occur suddenly together as predicted by the "human revolution" model, but at sites that are widely separated in space and time. This suggests a gradual assembling of the package of modern human behaviors in Africa, and its later export to other regions of the Old World. The African Middle and early Late Pleistocene hominid fossil record is fairly continuous and in it can be recognized a number of probably distinct species that provide plausible ancestors for H. sapiens. The appearance of Middle Stone Age technology and the first signs of modern behavior coincide with the appearance of fossils that have been attributed to H. helmei, suggesting the behavior of H. helmei is distinct from that of earlier hominid species and quite similar to that

Earliest land plants created modern levels of atmospheric oxygen.

PubMed

Lenton, Timothy M; Dahl, Tais W; Daines, Stuart J; Mills, Benjamin J W; Ozaki, Kazumi; Saltzman, Matthew R; Porada, Philipp

2016-08-30

The progressive oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere was pivotal to the evolution of life, but the puzzle of when and how atmospheric oxygen (O2) first approached modern levels (∼21%) remains unresolved. Redox proxy data indicate the deep oceans were oxygenated during 435-392 Ma, and the appearance of fossil charcoal indicates O2 >15-17% by 420-400 Ma. However, existing models have failed to predict oxygenation at this time. Here we show that the earliest plants, which colonized the land surface from ∼470 Ma onward, were responsible for this mid-Paleozoic oxygenation event, through greatly increasing global organic carbon burial-the net long-term source of O2 We use a trait-based ecophysiological model to predict that cryptogamic vegetation cover could have achieved ∼30% of today's global terrestrial net primary productivity by ∼445 Ma. Data from modern bryophytes suggests this plentiful early plant material had a much higher molar C:P ratio (∼2,000) than marine biomass (∼100), such that a given weathering flux of phosphorus could support more organic carbon burial. Furthermore, recent experiments suggest that early plants selectively increased the flux of phosphorus (relative to alkalinity) weathered from rocks. Combining these effects in a model of long-term biogeochemical cycling, we reproduce a sustained +2‰ increase in the carbonate carbon isotope (δ(13)C) record by ∼445 Ma, and predict a corresponding rise in O2 to present levels by 420-400 Ma, consistent with geochemical data. This oxygen rise represents a permanent shift in regulatory regime to one where fire-mediated negative feedbacks stabilize high O2 levels.

Earliest land plants created modern levels of atmospheric oxygen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenton, Timothy M.; Dahl, Tais W.; Daines, Stuart J.; Mills, Benjamin J. W.; Ozaki, Kazumi; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Porada, Philipp

2016-08-01

The progressive oxygenation of the Earth’s atmosphere was pivotal to the evolution of life, but the puzzle of when and how atmospheric oxygen (O2) first approached modern levels (˜21%) remains unresolved. Redox proxy data indicate the deep oceans were oxygenated during 435-392 Ma, and the appearance of fossil charcoal indicates O2 >15-17% by 420-400 Ma. However, existing models have failed to predict oxygenation at this time. Here we show that the earliest plants, which colonized the land surface from ˜470 Ma onward, were responsible for this mid-Paleozoic oxygenation event, through greatly increasing global organic carbon burial—the net long-term source of O2. We use a trait-based ecophysiological model to predict that cryptogamic vegetation cover could have achieved ˜30% of today’s global terrestrial net primary productivity by ˜445 Ma. Data from modern bryophytes suggests this plentiful early plant material had a much higher molar C:P ratio (˜2,000) than marine biomass (˜100), such that a given weathering flux of phosphorus could support more organic carbon burial. Furthermore, recent experiments suggest that early plants selectively increased the flux of phosphorus (relative to alkalinity) weathered from rocks. Combining these effects in a model of long-term biogeochemical cycling, we reproduce a sustained +2‰ increase in the carbonate carbon isotope (δ13C) record by ˜445 Ma, and predict a corresponding rise in O2 to present levels by 420-400 Ma, consistent with geochemical data. This oxygen rise represents a permanent shift in regulatory regime to one where fire-mediated negative feedbacks stabilize high O2 levels.

Survival Analysis Of The Modernized Retirement System For The United States Marine Corps

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

November 2015 to begin as early as 2018. This online survey will assist the Marine Corps in determining the retention impacts of the new retirement...thesis determines if the Modernized Retirement System is likely to affect manpower levels. A survey was conducted within the active component of the U.S...2016. Specifically, this thesis determines if the Modernized Retirement System is likely to affect manpower levels. A survey was conducted within

Area/latency optimized early output asynchronous full adders and relative-timed ripple carry adders.

PubMed

Balasubramanian, P; Yamashita, S

2016-01-01

This article presents two area/latency optimized gate level asynchronous full adder designs which correspond to early output logic. The proposed full adders are constructed using the delay-insensitive dual-rail code and adhere to the four-phase return-to-zero handshaking. For an asynchronous ripple carry adder (RCA) constructed using the proposed early output full adders, the relative-timing assumption becomes necessary and the inherent advantages of the relative-timed RCA are: (1) computation with valid inputs, i.e., forward latency is data-dependent, and (2) computation with spacer inputs involves a bare minimum constant reverse latency of just one full adder delay, thus resulting in the optimal cycle time. With respect to different 32-bit RCA implementations, and in comparison with the optimized strong-indication, weak-indication, and early output full adder designs, one of the proposed early output full adders achieves respective reductions in latency by 67.8, 12.3 and 6.1 %, while the other proposed early output full adder achieves corresponding reductions in area by 32.6, 24.6 and 6.9 %, with practically no power penalty. Further, the proposed early output full adders based asynchronous RCAs enable minimum reductions in cycle time by 83.4, 15, and 8.8 % when considering carry-propagation over the entire RCA width of 32-bits, and maximum reductions in cycle time by 97.5, 27.4, and 22.4 % for the consideration of a typical carry chain length of 4 full adder stages, when compared to the least of the cycle time estimates of various strong-indication, weak-indication, and early output asynchronous RCAs of similar size. All the asynchronous full adders and RCAs were realized using standard cells in a semi-custom design fashion based on a 32/28 nm CMOS process technology.

New immature hominin fossil from European Lower Pleistocene shows the earliest evidence of a modern human dental development pattern

PubMed Central

Bermúdez de Castro, José María; Martinón-Torres, María; Prado, Leyre; Gómez-Robles, Aida; Rosell, Jordi; López-Polín, Lucía; Arsuaga, Juan Luís; Carbonell, Eudald

2010-01-01

Here we present data concerning the pattern of dental development derived from the microcomputed tomography (microCT) study of a recently discovered immature hominin mandible with a mixed dentition recovered from the TD6 level of the Gran Dolina Lower Pleistocene cave site in Sierra de Atapuerca, northern Spain. These data confirm our previous results that nearly 1 million years ago at least one European hominin species had a fully modern pattern of dental development with a clear slowdown in the development of the molar field regarding the anterior dental field. Furthermore, using available information about enamel formation times and root extension rates in chimpanzees, early hominins, and modern humans, we have estimated that the formation time of the upper and lower first molars of individual 5 (H5) from TD6, which had just erupted at the time of the death of this individual, ranges between 5.3 and 6.6 y. Therefore, the eruption time of the first permanent molars (M1) in the TD6 hominins was within the range of variation of modern human populations. Because the time of M1 eruption in primates is a robust marker of life history, we suggest, as a working hypothesis, that these hominins had a prolonged childhood in the range of the variation of modern humans. If this hypothesis is true, it implies that the appearance in Homo of this important developmental biological feature and an associated increase in brain size preceded the development of the neocortical areas leading to the cognitive capabilities that are thought to be exclusive to Homo sapiens. PMID:20547843

Early tracheostomy in trauma patients saves time and money.

PubMed

Hyde, Glendon A; Savage, Stephanie A; Zarzaur, Ben L; Hart-Hyde, Jensen E; Schaefer, Candace B; Croce, Martin A; Fabian, Timothy C

2015-01-01

Patients suffering traumatic brain and chest wall injuries are often difficult to liberate from the ventilator yet best timing of tracheostomy remains ill-defined. While prior studies have addressed early versus late tracheostomy, they generally suffer from the use of historical controls, which cannot account for variations in management over time. Propensity scoring can be utilized to identify controls from the same patient population, minimizing impact of confounding variables. The purpose of this study was to determine outcomes associated with early versus late tracheostomy by application of propensity scoring. Patients requiring intubation within 48h and receiving tracheostomy from January 2010 to June 2012 were identified. Early tracheostomy (ET) was a tracheostomy performed by the fifth hospital day. ET patients were matched to late tracheostomy patients (LT, tracheostomy after day 5) using propensity scoring and compared for multiple outcomes. Cost for services was calculated using average daily billing rates at our institution. One hundred and six patients were included, 53 each in the ET (mean day tracheostomy=4) and the LT (mean day tracheostomy=10) cohorts. The average age was 47 years and 94% suffered blunt injury, with an average NISS of 23.7. Patients in the ET group had significantly shorter TICU LOS (21.4 days vs. 28.6 days, p<0.0001) and significantly fewer ventilator days (16.7 days vs. 21.9, p<0.0001) compared to the LT group. ET patients also had significantly less VAP (34% vs. 64.2%, p=0.0019). In the current era of increased health-care costs, early tracheostomy significantly decreased both pulmonary morbidity and critical care resource utilization. This translates to an appreciable cost savings, at minimum $52,173 per patient and a potential total savings of $2.8million/year for the entire LT cohort. For trauma patients requiring prolonged ventilator support, early tracheostomy should be performed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

A late wake time phase delays the human dim light melatonin rhythm.

PubMed

Burgess, Helen J; Eastman, Charmane I

2006-03-13

Short sleep/dark durations, due to late bedtimes or early wake times or both, are common in modern society. We have previously shown that a series of days with a late bedtime phase delays the human dim light melatonin rhythm, as compared to a series of days with an early bedtime, despite a fixed wake time. Here we compared the effect of an early versus late wake time with a fixed bedtime on the human dim light melatonin rhythm. Fourteen healthy subjects experienced 2 weeks of short 6h nights with an early wake time fixed at their habitual weekday wake time and 2 weeks of long 9 h nights with a wake time that occurred 3h later than the early wake time, in counterbalanced order. We found that after 2 weeks with the late wake time, the dim light melatonin onset delayed by 2.4 h and the dim light melatonin offset delayed by 2.6 h (both p < 0.001), as compared to after 2 weeks with the early wake time. These results highlight the substantial influence that wake time, likely via the associated morning light exposure, has on the timing of the human circadian clock. Furthermore, the results suggest that when people truncate their sleep by waking early their circadian clocks phase advance and when people wake late their circadian clocks phase delay.

Early Childhood Maltreatment and Girls' Sexual Behavior: The Mediating Role of Pubertal Timing.

PubMed

Ryan, Rebecca M; Mendle, Jane; Markowitz, Anna J

2015-09-01

Although links between early childhood maltreatment and girls' sexual behavior in adolescence have been well established, it is unclear whether different forms of maltreatment are differentially associated with sexual outcomes and whether distinct mechanisms explain associations across maltreatment types. Using data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the present study examines whether physical abuse, sexual abuse, and physical neglect in early childhood differentially predict girls' age at first intercourse and number of sexual partners in early adulthood. The study also tests whether early pubertal timing mediates the link between early maltreatment and sexual behavior (N = 6,364). Findings indicate that early sexual and physical abuse were equally predictive of earlier age at first intercourse and a greater number of sexual partners, but that only the sexual abuse-age at first intercourse link was mediated by early puberty. These results suggest that sexual abuse and physical abuse are associated with earlier and riskier sexual behavior in girls relative to no maltreatment and to similar degrees. However, only the link between sexual abuse and sexual behavior involves a biological mechanism manifested in early pubertal timing. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early Sexual Intercourse: Prospective Associations with Adolescents Physical Activity and Screen Time

PubMed Central

Wijtzes, Anne; van de Bongardt, Daphne; van de Looij-Jansen, Petra; Bannink, Rienke; Raat, Hein

2016-01-01

Objectives To assess the prospective associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time with early sexual intercourse initiation (i.e., before 15 years) in a large sample of adolescents. Methods We used two waves of data from the Rotterdam Youth Monitor, a longitudinal study conducted in the Netherlands. The analysis sample consisted of 2,141 adolescents aged 12 to 14 years (mean age at baseline = 12.2 years, SD = 0.43). Physical activity (e.g., sports outside school), screen time (e.g., computer use), and early sexual intercourse initiation were assessed by means of self-report questionnaires. Logistic regression models were tested to assess the associations of physical activity behaviors and screen time (separately and simultaneously) with early sexual intercourse initiation, controlling for confounders (i.e., socio-demographics and substance use). Interaction effects with gender were tested to assess whether these associations differed significantly between boys and girls. Results The only physical activity behavior that was a significant predictor of early sexual intercourse initiation was sports club membership. Adolescent boys and girls who were members of a sports club) were more likely to have had early sex (OR = 2.17; 95% CI = 1.33, 3.56. Significant gender interaction effects indicated that boys who watched TV ≥2 hours/day (OR = 2.00; 95% CI = 1.08, 3.68) and girls who used the computer ≥2 hours/day (OR = 3.92; 95% CI = 1.76, 8.69) were also significantly more likely to have engaged in early sex. Conclusion These findings have implications for professionals in general pediatric healthcare, sexual health educators, policy makers, and parents, who should be aware of these possible prospective links between sports club membership, TV watching (for boys), and computer use (for girls), and early sexual intercourse initiation. However, continued research on determinants of adolescents’ early sexual initiation is needed to further contribute to

How the early voltage clamp studies of José del Castillo inform "modern" neuroscience.

PubMed

Zottoli, Steven J

2012-10-01

The description of ionic currents that flow across the membrane of the squid giant axon during an action potential sparked an interest in determining whether there were similar currents in vertebrates. The preparation of choice was the node of Ranvier in single myelinated fibers in frog. José del Castillo spent 3 years on the United States mainland from 1956 to 1959. During that time, he collaborated with Jerome Y. Lettvin and John W. Moore. I discuss how these individuals met one another and some of their scientific discoveries using the voltage clamp to study squid giant axons and frog nodes. Much of this work was conducted at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, and I attempt to convey a sense of the unique scientific "melting pot" that existed at the Marine Biological Laboratory and the broader effect that del Castillo had on "modern" neuroscience.

Nuclear weapons modernization: Plans, programs, and issues for Congress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woolf, Amy F.

2017-11-01

The United States is currently recapitalizing each delivery system in its "nuclear triad" and refurbishing many of the warheads carried by those systems. The plans for these modernization programs have raised a number of questions, both within Congress and among analysts in the nuclear weapons and arms control communities, about the costs associated with the programs and the need to recapitalize each leg of the triad at the same time. This paper covers four distinct issues. It begins with a brief review of the planned modernization programs, then addresses questions about why the United States is pursuing all of these modernization programs at this time. It then reviews the debate about how much these modernization programs are likely to cost in the next decade and considers possible changes that might reduce the cost. It concludes with some comments about congressional views on the modernization programs and prospects for continuing congressional support in the coming years.

Late Oligocene and Early Miocene Muroidea of the Zinda Pir Dome.

PubMed

Lindsay, Everett H; Flynn, Lawrence J

2016-02-17

A series of Oligocene through Early Miocene terrestrial deposits preserved in the foothills of the Zinda Pir Dome of western Pakistan produce multiple, superposed fossil mammal localities. These include small mammal assemblages that shed light on the evolution of rodent lineages, especially Muroidea, in South Asia. Nine small mammal localities span approximately 28-19 Ma, an interval encompassing the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The Early Miocene rodent fossil assemblages are dominated by muroid rodents, but muroids are uncommon and archaic in earlier Oligocene horizons. The Zinda Pir sequence includes the evolutionary transition to modern Muroidea at about the Oligocene-Miocene boundary. We review the muroid record for the Zinda Pir Dome, which includes the early radiation of primitive bamboo rats (Rhizomyinae) and early members of the modern muroid radiation, which lie near crown Cricetidae and Muridae. The Zinda Pir record dates diversification of modern muroids in the Indian Subcontintent and establishment by 19 Ma of muroid assemblages characteristic of the later Siwaliks.

Pubertal Timing and Early Sexual Intercourse in the Offspring of Teenage Mothers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Genna, Natacha M.; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D.

2011-01-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when…

The role of load-carrying in the evolution of modern body proportions.

PubMed

Wang, W-J; Crompton, R H

2004-05-01

The first unquestionably bipedal early human ancestors, the species Australopithecus afarensis, were markedly different to ourselves in body proportions, having a long trunk and short legs. Some have argued that 'chimpanzee-like' features such as these suggest a 'bent-hip, bent-knee' (BHBK) posture would have been adopted during gait. Computer modelling studies, however, indicate that this early human ancestor could have walked in a reasonably efficient upright posture, whereas BHBK posture would have nearly doubled the mechanical energy cost of locomotion, as it does the physiological cost of locomotion in ourselves. More modern body proportions first appear at around 1.8-1.5 Ma, with Homo ergaster (early African Homo erectus), represented by the Nariokotome skeleton KNM-WT 15000, in which the legs were considerably longer in relation to the trunk than they are in human adults, although this skeleton represents an adolescent. Several authors have suggested that this morphology would have allowed faster, more endurant walking. But during the same period, the archaeological record indicates a sharp rise in distances over which stone tools or raw materials are transported. Is this coincidental, or can load-carrying also be implicated in selection for a more modern morphology? Computer simulations of loaded walking, verified against kinetic data for humans, show that BHBK gait is even more ineffective while load-carrying. However, walking erect, the Nariokotome individual could have carried loads of 10-15% body mass for less cost, relative to body size, than AL 288-1 walking erect but unloaded. In fact, to the extent that our sample of humans is typical, KNM-WT 15000 would have had better mechanical effectiveness in bearing light loads on the back than modern human adults. Thus, selection for effectiveness in load-carrying, as well as in endurant walking, is indeed likely to have been implicated in the evolution of modern body proportions.

Modern pentathlon and the First World War: when athletes and soldiers met to practise martial manliness.

PubMed

Heck, Sandra

2011-01-01

In the nationalistic atmosphere of the early twentieth century, a nurturing medium for sports practising martial manliness abounded throughout Europe. This framework supported the invention of a new multi-disciplinary sport, aided by Baron Pierre de Coubertin himself: modern pentathlon. Though the idea of a new form of pentathlon was already born in 1894, it took 30 years, until Paris 1924, to establish modern pentathlon within the Olympic Games. This study is concerned with the reasons for that delay. It will be assessed whether the active military preparations around the First World War and the contemporary image of masculinity had a decisive influence on the early history of modern pentathlon. By including historical documents from the IOC archives in Lausanne, Switzerland, the research office for military history in Potsdam, Germany, and the LA84 Foundation in Los Angeles, USA, as well as literature on gender, military sport and Olympic history, this study offers an entirely new view on the early history of a sport that was born in an atmosphere of glorifying manliness and apparent militarism. The history of modern pentathlon thereby provides a particularly appropriate area for the analysis of connections between sport, militarism and masculinity. It was not by chance that the implementation of a combined sport, which included besides swimming and running the three military disciplines of shooting, fencing and horse riding, arose in a pre-war context. Though in 1912 the Great War had not yet begun, the awareness of an upcoming battle was rising and led to a higher attention to Coubertin's almost forgotten assumption of a new sport. In 1924 the advantages were finally admitted on two sides: the army recruited modern pentathletes as future military officers; the sports community appointed skilled officers as successful competitors. Thus the lobby for an Olympic recognition of modern pentathlon was found.

Morphological Integration of the Modern Human Mandible during Ontogeny

PubMed Central

Polanski, Joshua M.

2011-01-01

Craniofacial integration is prevalent in anatomical modernity research. Little investigation has been done on mandibular integration. Integration patterns were quantified in a longitudinal modern human sample of mandibles. This integration pattern is one of modularization between the alveolar and muscle attachment regions, but with age-specific differences. The ascending ramus and nonalveolar portions of the corpus remain integrated throughout ontogeny. The alveolar region is dynamic, becoming modularized according to the needs of the mandible at a particular developmental stage. Early in ontogeny, this modularity reflects the need for space for the developing dentition; later, modularity is more reflective of mastication. The overall pattern of modern human mandibular integration follows the integration pattern seen in other mammals, including chimpanzees. Given the differences in craniofacial integration patterns between humans and chimpanzees, but the similarities in mandibular integration, it is likely that the mandible has played the more passive role in hominin skull evolution. PMID:21716741

On the Early-Time Excess Emission in Hydrogen-Poor Superluminous Supernovae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vreeswijk, Paul M.; Leloudas, Giorgos; Gal-Yam, Avishay; De Cia, Annalisa; Perley, Daniel A.; Quimby, Robert M.; Waldman, Roni; Sullivan, Mark; Yan, Lin; Ofek, Eran O.;

On The Early-Time Excess Emission In Hydrogen-Poor Superluminous Supernovae

DOE PAGES

Vreeswijk, Paul M.; Leloudas, Giorgos; Gal-Yam, Avishay; ...

2017-01-18

Here, we present the light curves of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe I) PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc, discovered by the (intermediate) Palomar Transient Factory. Both show excess emission at early times and a slowly declining light curve at late times. The early bump in PTF 12dam is very similar in duration (~10 days) and brightness relative to the main peak (2-3 mag fainter) compared to that observed in other SLSNe I. In contrast, the long-duration ( > 30 days) early excess emission in iPTF 13dcc, whose brightness competes with that of the main peak, appears to be of amore » different nature. We construct bolometric light curves for both targets, and fit a variety of light-curve models to both the early bump and main peak in an attempt to understand the nature of these explosions. Even though the slope of the late-time decline in the light curves of both SLSNe is suggestively close to that expected from the radioactive decay of 56Ni and 56Co, the amount of nickel required to power the full light curves is too large considering the estimated ejecta mass. The magnetar model including an increasing escape fraction provides a reasonable description of the PTF 12dam observations. However, neither the basic nor the double-peaked magnetar model is capable of reproducing the light curve of iPTF 13dcc. A model combining a shock breakout in an extended envelope with late-time magnetar energy injection provides a reasonable fit to the iPTF 13dcc observations. Finally, we find that the light curves of both PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc can be adequately fit with the model involving interaction with the circumstellar medium.« less

ON THE EARLY-TIME EXCESS EMISSION IN HYDROGEN-POOR SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVAE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vreeswijk, Paul M.; Leloudas, Giorgos; Gal-Yam, Avishay

2017-01-20

We present the light curves of the hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae (SLSNe I) PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc, discovered by the (intermediate) Palomar Transient Factory. Both show excess emission at early times and a slowly declining light curve at late times. The early bump in PTF 12dam is very similar in duration (∼10 days) and brightness relative to the main peak (2–3 mag fainter) compared to that observed in other SLSNe I. In contrast, the long-duration (>30 days) early excess emission in iPTF 13dcc, whose brightness competes with that of the main peak, appears to be of a different nature. Wemore » construct bolometric light curves for both targets, and fit a variety of light-curve models to both the early bump and main peak in an attempt to understand the nature of these explosions. Even though the slope of the late-time decline in the light curves of both SLSNe is suggestively close to that expected from the radioactive decay of {sup 56}Ni and {sup 56}Co, the amount of nickel required to power the full light curves is too large considering the estimated ejecta mass. The magnetar model including an increasing escape fraction provides a reasonable description of the PTF 12dam observations. However, neither the basic nor the double-peaked magnetar model is capable of reproducing the light curve of iPTF 13dcc. A model combining a shock breakout in an extended envelope with late-time magnetar energy injection provides a reasonable fit to the iPTF 13dcc observations. Finally, we find that the light curves of both PTF 12dam and iPTF 13dcc can be adequately fit with the model involving interaction with the circumstellar medium.« less

The Early Origin of the Antarctic Marine Fauna and Its Evolutionary Implications.

PubMed

Crame, J Alistair; Beu, Alan G; Ineson, Jon R; Francis, Jane E; Whittle, Rowan J; Bowman, Vanessa C

2014-01-01

The extensive Late Cretaceous - Early Paleogene sedimentary succession of Seymour Island, N.E. Antarctic Peninsula offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine the evolutionary origins of a modern polar marine fauna. Some 38 modern Southern Ocean molluscan genera (26 gastropods and 12 bivalves), representing approximately 18% of the total modern benthic molluscan fauna, can now be traced back through at least part of this sequence. As noted elsewhere in the world, the balance of the molluscan fauna changes sharply across the Cretaceous - Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, with gastropods subsequently becoming more diverse than bivalves. A major reason for this is a significant radiation of the Neogastropoda, which today forms one of the most diverse clades in the sea. Buccinoidea is the dominant neogastropod superfamily in both the Paleocene Sobral Formation (SF) (56% of neogastropod genera) and Early - Middle Eocene La Meseta Formation (LMF) (47%), with the Conoidea (25%) being prominent for the first time in the latter. This radiation of Neogastropoda is linked to a significant pulse of global warming that reached at least 65°S, and terminates abruptly in the upper LMF in an extinction event that most likely heralds the onset of global cooling. It is also possible that the marked Early Paleogene expansion of neogastropods in Antarctica is in part due to a global increase in rates of origination following the K/Pg mass extinction event. The radiation of this and other clades at ∼65°S indicates that Antarctica was not necessarily an evolutionary refugium, or sink, in the Early - Middle Eocene. Evolutionary source - sink dynamics may have been significantly different between the Paleogene greenhouse and Neogene icehouse worlds.

An early and enduring advanced technology originating 71,000 years ago in South Africa.

PubMed

Brown, Kyle S; Marean, Curtis W; Jacobs, Zenobia; Schoville, Benjamin J; Oestmo, Simen; Fisher, Erich C; Bernatchez, Jocelyn; Karkanas, Panagiotis; Matthews, Thalassa

2012-11-22

There is consensus that the modern human lineage appeared in Africa before 100,000 years ago. But there is debate as to when cultural and cognitive characteristics typical of modern humans first appeared, and the role that these had in the expansion of modern humans out of Africa. Scientists rely on symbolically specific proxies, such as artistic expression, to document the origins of complex cognition. Advanced technologies with elaborate chains of production are also proxies, as these often demand high-fidelity transmission and thus language. Some argue that advanced technologies in Africa appear and disappear and thus do not indicate complex cognition exclusive to early modern humans in Africa. The origins of composite tools and advanced projectile weapons figure prominently in modern human evolution research, and the latter have been argued to have been in the exclusive possession of modern humans. Here we describe a previously unrecognized advanced stone tool technology from Pinnacle Point Site 5-6 on the south coast of South Africa, originating approximately 71,000 years ago. This technology is dominated by the production of small bladelets (microliths) primarily from heat-treated stone. There is agreement that microlithic technology was used to create composite tool components as part of advanced projectile weapons. Microliths were common worldwide by the mid-Holocene epoch, but have a patchy pattern of first appearance that is rarely earlier than 40,000 years ago, and were thought to appear briefly between 65,000 and 60,000 years ago in South Africa and then disappear. Our research extends this record to ~71,000 years, shows that microlithic technology originated early in South Africa, evolved over a vast time span (~11,000 years), and was typically coupled to complex heat treatment that persisted for nearly 100,000 years. Advanced technologies in Africa were early and enduring; a small sample of excavated sites in Africa is the best explanation for any

Notes on the Early History of Technical Higher

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teodorescu, Horia Nicolai

We perform a brief analysis of the economical and political context of establishing the first technical higher school in Romania. We urge for a revision of the current point of view on the educational level in Yashi (Iaši) and Bucharest at the epoch, highlighting that these were, at the time, important academic centers we may not recognize or may not be aware of today. We also plead for a long due serious approach about the history of early modern education in Romania.

Earliest land plants created modern levels of atmospheric oxygen

PubMed Central

Lenton, Timothy M.; Dahl, Tais W.; Daines, Stuart J.; Mills, Benjamin J. W.; Ozaki, Kazumi; Saltzman, Matthew R.; Porada, Philipp

2016-01-01

The progressive oxygenation of the Earth’s atmosphere was pivotal to the evolution of life, but the puzzle of when and how atmospheric oxygen (O2) first approached modern levels (∼21%) remains unresolved. Redox proxy data indicate the deep oceans were oxygenated during 435–392 Ma, and the appearance of fossil charcoal indicates O2 >15–17% by 420–400 Ma. However, existing models have failed to predict oxygenation at this time. Here we show that the earliest plants, which colonized the land surface from ∼470 Ma onward, were responsible for this mid-Paleozoic oxygenation event, through greatly increasing global organic carbon burial—the net long-term source of O2. We use a trait-based ecophysiological model to predict that cryptogamic vegetation cover could have achieved ∼30% of today’s global terrestrial net primary productivity by ∼445 Ma. Data from modern bryophytes suggests this plentiful early plant material had a much higher molar C:P ratio (∼2,000) than marine biomass (∼100), such that a given weathering flux of phosphorus could support more organic carbon burial. Furthermore, recent experiments suggest that early plants selectively increased the flux of phosphorus (relative to alkalinity) weathered from rocks. Combining these effects in a model of long-term biogeochemical cycling, we reproduce a sustained +2‰ increase in the carbonate carbon isotope (δ13C) record by ∼445 Ma, and predict a corresponding rise in O2 to present levels by 420–400 Ma, consistent with geochemical data. This oxygen rise represents a permanent shift in regulatory regime to one where fire-mediated negative feedbacks stabilize high O2 levels. PMID:27528678

Genetic analysis of lice supports direct contact between modern and archaic humans.

PubMed

Reed, David L; Smith, Vincent S; Hammond, Shaless L; Rogers, Alan R; Clayton, Dale H

2004-11-01

Parasites can be used as unique markers to investigate host evolutionary history, independent of host data. Here we show that modern human head lice, Pediculus humanus, are composed of two ancient lineages, whose origin predates modern Homo sapiens by an order of magnitude (ca. 1.18 million years). One of the two louse lineages has a worldwide distribution and appears to have undergone a population bottleneck ca. 100,000 years ago along with its modern H. sapiens host. Phylogenetic and population genetic data suggest that the other lineage, found only in the New World, has remained isolated from the worldwide lineage for the last 1.18 million years. The ancient divergence between these two lice is contemporaneous with splits among early species of Homo, and cospeciation analyses suggest that the two louse lineages codiverged with a now extinct species of Homo and the lineage leading to modern H. sapiens. If these lice indeed codiverged with their hosts ca. 1.18 million years ago, then a recent host switch from an archaic species of Homo to modern H. sapiens is required to explain the occurrence of both lineages on modern H. sapiens. Such a host switch would require direct physical contact between modern and archaic forms of Homo.

Genetic Analysis of Lice Supports Direct Contact between Modern and Archaic Humans

PubMed Central

Smith, Vincent S; Hammond, Shaless L; Rogers, Alan R; Clayton, Dale H

2004-01-01

Parasites can be used as unique markers to investigate host evolutionary history, independent of host data. Here we show that modern human head lice, Pediculus humanus, are composed of two ancient lineages, whose origin predates modern Homo sapiens by an order of magnitude (ca. 1.18 million years). One of the two louse lineages has a worldwide distribution and appears to have undergone a population bottleneck ca. 100,000 years ago along with its modern H. sapiens host. Phylogenetic and population genetic data suggest that the other lineage, found only in the New World, has remained isolated from the worldwide lineage for the last 1.18 million years. The ancient divergence between these two lice is contemporaneous with splits among early species of Homo, and cospeciation analyses suggest that the two louse lineages codiverged with a now extinct species of Homo and the lineage leading to modern H. sapiens. If these lice indeed codiverged with their hosts ca. 1.18 million years ago, then a recent host switch from an archaic species of Homo to modern H. sapiens is required to explain the occurrence of both lineages on modern H. sapiens. Such a host switch would require direct physical contact between modern and archaic forms of Homo. PMID:15502871

Two waves of colonization straddling the K-Pg boundary formed the modern reef fish fauna.

PubMed

Price, S A; Schmitz, L; Oufiero, C E; Eytan, R I; Dornburg, A; Smith, W L; Friedman, M; Near, T J; Wainwright, P C

2014-05-22

Living reef fishes are one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages on Earth. Despite its prominence and ecological importance, the origins and assembly of the reef fish fauna is poorly described. A patchy fossil record suggests that the major colonization of reef habitats must have occurred in the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene, with the earliest known modern fossil coral reef fish assemblage dated to 50 Ma. Using a phylogenetic approach, we analysed the early evolutionary dynamics of modern reef fishes. We find that reef lineages successively colonized reef habitats throughout the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene. Two waves of invasion were accompanied by increasing morphological convergence: one in the Late Cretaceous from 90 to 72 Ma and the other immediately following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The surge in reef invasions after the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary continued for 10 Myr, after which the pace of transitions to reef habitats slowed. Combined, these patterns match a classic niche-filling scenario: early transitions to reefs were made rapidly by morphologically distinct lineages and were followed by a decrease in the rate of invasions and eventual saturation of morphospace. Major alterations in reef composition, distribution and abundance, along with shifts in climate and oceanic currents, occurred during the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene interval. A causal mechanism between these changes and concurrent episodes of reef invasion remains obscure, but what is clear is that the broad framework of the modern reef fish fauna was in place within 10 Myr of the end-Cretaceous extinction.

Two waves of colonization straddling the K–Pg boundary formed the modern reef fish fauna

PubMed Central

Price, S. A.; Schmitz, L.; Oufiero, C. E.; Eytan, R. I.; Dornburg, A.; Smith, W. L.; Friedman, M.; Near, T. J.; Wainwright, P. C.

2014-01-01

Living reef fishes are one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages on Earth. Despite its prominence and ecological importance, the origins and assembly of the reef fish fauna is poorly described. A patchy fossil record suggests that the major colonization of reef habitats must have occurred in the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene, with the earliest known modern fossil coral reef fish assemblage dated to 50 Ma. Using a phylogenetic approach, we analysed the early evolutionary dynamics of modern reef fishes. We find that reef lineages successively colonized reef habitats throughout the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene. Two waves of invasion were accompanied by increasing morphological convergence: one in the Late Cretaceous from 90 to 72 Ma and the other immediately following the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. The surge in reef invasions after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary continued for 10 Myr, after which the pace of transitions to reef habitats slowed. Combined, these patterns match a classic niche-filling scenario: early transitions to reefs were made rapidly by morphologically distinct lineages and were followed by a decrease in the rate of invasions and eventual saturation of morphospace. Major alterations in reef composition, distribution and abundance, along with shifts in climate and oceanic currents, occurred during the Late Cretaceous and early Palaeogene interval. A causal mechanism between these changes and concurrent episodes of reef invasion remains obscure, but what is clear is that the broad framework of the modern reef fish fauna was in place within 10 Myr of the end-Cretaceous extinction. PMID:24695431

"It is caused of the womans part or of the mans part": the role of gender in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in early modern England.

PubMed

Evans, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Philip Barrough wrote in 1590 that barrenness 'is caused of the womans part or of the mans part'. By the eighteenth century, however, barrenness was perceived as a female disorder distinguished from male impotence. Few historians have addressed the uncertainty surrounding early modern definitions of infertility, choosing instead to adopt set terms that fit comfortably with modern ideas. This article will highlight the difficulties surrounding the gender distinction of the terms 'barrenness' and 'impotence' during this period. Moreover, the discussion will examine the role of gender in diagnosing these disorders to sufferers. The article will argue that ideas of gender were more central to diagnosis of poor sexual health than to effectual treatment. Although it appears that barrenness and impotence were treated with separate remedies, many treatments were described as effectual for both sexes. Additionally, the ingredients used in such recipes were often sexual stimulants explained without reference to gender.

The Sail-Backed Reptile Ctenosauriscus from the Latest Early Triassic of Germany and the Timing and Biogeography of the Early Archosaur Radiation

PubMed Central

Butler, Richard J.; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Reich, Mike; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Schoch, Rainer R.; Hornung, Jahn J.

2011-01-01

Background Archosaurs (birds, crocodilians and their extinct relatives including dinosaurs) dominated Mesozoic continental ecosystems from the Late Triassic onwards, and still form a major component of modern ecosystems (>10,000 species). The earliest diverse archosaur faunal assemblages are known from the Middle Triassic (c. 244 Ma), implying that the archosaur radiation began in the Early Triassic (252.3–247.2 Ma). Understanding of this radiation is currently limited by the poor early fossil record of the group in terms of skeletal remains. Methodology/Principal Findings We redescribe the anatomy and stratigraphic position of the type specimen of Ctenosauriscus koeneni (Huene), a sail-backed reptile from the Early Triassic (late Olenekian) Solling Formation of northern Germany that potentially represents the oldest known archosaur. We critically discuss previous biomechanical work on the ‘sail’ of Ctenosauriscus, which is formed by a series of elongated neural spines. In addition, we describe Ctenosauriscus-like postcranial material from the earliest Middle Triassic (early Anisian) Röt Formation of Waldhaus, southwestern Germany. Finally, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of the earliest archosaur fossils and their implications for understanding the dynamics of the archosaur radiation. Conclusions/Significance Comprehensive numerical phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that both Ctenosauriscus and the Waldhaus taxon are members of a monophyletic grouping of poposauroid archosaurs, Ctenosauriscidae, characterised by greatly elongated neural spines in the posterior cervical to anterior caudal vertebrae. The earliest archosaurs, including Ctenosauriscus, appear in the body fossil record just prior to the Olenekian/Anisian boundary (c. 248 Ma), less than 5 million years after the Permian–Triassic mass extinction. These earliest archosaur assemblages are dominated by ctenosauriscids, which were broadly distributed across northern Pangea and which

The sail-backed reptile Ctenosauriscus from the latest Early Triassic of Germany and the timing and biogeography of the early archosaur radiation.

PubMed

Butler, Richard J; Brusatte, Stephen L; Reich, Mike; Nesbitt, Sterling J; Schoch, Rainer R; Hornung, Jahn J

2011-01-01

Archosaurs (birds, crocodilians and their extinct relatives including dinosaurs) dominated Mesozoic continental ecosystems from the Late Triassic onwards, and still form a major component of modern ecosystems (>10,000 species). The earliest diverse archosaur faunal assemblages are known from the Middle Triassic (c. 244 Ma), implying that the archosaur radiation began in the Early Triassic (252.3-247.2 Ma). Understanding of this radiation is currently limited by the poor early fossil record of the group in terms of skeletal remains. We redescribe the anatomy and stratigraphic position of the type specimen of Ctenosauriscus koeneni (Huene), a sail-backed reptile from the Early Triassic (late Olenekian) Solling Formation of northern Germany that potentially represents the oldest known archosaur. We critically discuss previous biomechanical work on the 'sail' of Ctenosauriscus, which is formed by a series of elongated neural spines. In addition, we describe Ctenosauriscus-like postcranial material from the earliest Middle Triassic (early Anisian) Röt Formation of Waldhaus, southwestern Germany. Finally, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of the earliest archosaur fossils and their implications for understanding the dynamics of the archosaur radiation. Comprehensive numerical phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that both Ctenosauriscus and the Waldhaus taxon are members of a monophyletic grouping of poposauroid archosaurs, Ctenosauriscidae, characterised by greatly elongated neural spines in the posterior cervical to anterior caudal vertebrae. The earliest archosaurs, including Ctenosauriscus, appear in the body fossil record just prior to the Olenekian/Anisian boundary (c. 248 Ma), less than 5 million years after the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. These earliest archosaur assemblages are dominated by ctenosauriscids, which were broadly distributed across northern Pangea and which appear to have been the first global radiation of archosaurs.

Introducing Computed Tomography Standards for Age Estimation of Modern Australian Subadults Using Postnatal Ossification Timings of Select Cranial and Cervical Sites(.).

PubMed

Lottering, Nicolene; MacGregor, Donna M; Alston, Clair L; Watson, Debbie; Gregory, Laura S

2016-01-01

Contemporary, population-specific ossification timings of the cranium are lacking in current literature due to challenges in obtaining large repositories of documented subadult material, forcing Australian practitioners to rely on North American, arguably antiquated reference standards for age estimation. This study assessed the temporal pattern of ossification of the cranium and provides recalibrated probabilistic information for age estimation of modern Australian children. Fusion status of the occipital and frontal bones, atlas, and axis was scored using a modified two- to four-tier system from cranial/cervical DICOM datasets of 585 children aged birth to 10 years. Transition analysis was applied to elucidate maximum-likelihood estimates between consecutive fusion stages, in conjunction with Bayesian statistics to calculate credible intervals for age estimation. Results demonstrate significant sex differences in skeletal maturation (p < 0.05) and earlier timings in comparison with major literary sources, underscoring the requisite of updated standards for age estimation of modern individuals. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Risk of second malignancies in patients with early-stage classical Hodgkin's lymphoma treated in a modern era.

PubMed

LeMieux, Melissa H; Solanki, Abhishek A; Mahmood, Usama; Chmura, Steven J; Koshy, Matthew

2015-04-01

Second malignancies remain an issue affecting morbidity and mortality in long-term survivors of early stage Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). We undertook this study to determine if treatment in the modern era resulted in decreased second malignancies. Patients diagnosed with stage I-II cHL between 1988 and 2009 who received radiation therapy (RT) were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Freedom from second malignancy (FFSM) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate analysis (UVA) was performed using the Log-Rank test, and included age, gender, year of diagnosis, and stage. Multivariable analysis (MVA) was performed using Cox Proportional Hazards modeling. The study cohort included 8807 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 32 years (range: 2-85). The majority of patients had stage II disease (n = 6044, 69%), 597 (7%) had extranodal involvement (ENI), and 1925 (22%) had B symptoms. Median follow-up for the entire cohort was 7.2 years (range: 0-22). Five hundred twenty-three (6%) patients developed a second malignancy. Median latency to second malignancy was 5.8 years (range: 0.1-21.5). Of the 523 patients that developed a second malignancy, 228 (44%) occurred in the first 5 years, 139 (27%) were diagnosed between years 5-10, and 156 (30%) beyond 10 years. The 10 year FFSM for patients treated between 1988 and 1999 was 93.0% versus 95.1% for patients treated between 2000 and 2009 (P = 0.04), On MVA, treatment between 2000 and 2009 was associated with a HR for second malignancy of 0.77 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.62-0.96, P = 0.02) compared to the treatment between 1988 and 1999. Our analysis suggests that in patients treated with RT for stage I or II cHL, treatment prior to 2000 had a slightly higher risk of second malignancy compared to treatment in 2000 and later. Further studies, with longer follow-up of patients treated in the modern era are needed to confirm these findings. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Medicine

Predation and Ecology in Deep-Time: How Modern Marine Ecosystems Develop and Deteriorate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tackett, L.

2017-12-01

Anti-predator adaptations in shelly prey and specialized feeding-capture structures in predators can be observed nearly everywhere in modern oceans. The conditions in which these adaptive "arms-races" between predators and prey developed in the oceans can yield important insights to predict how these relationships are affected by environmental change. However, in the fossil record it can be difficult to determine if an adaptation in a shelly animal is related to predation, or some other factor, such as competition for nutrients or space. To address (1) the problem of interpreting the function of shelly invertebrate adaptations, and (2) to identify environmental factors in the development of modern predator-prey interactions, I carefully study the relative abundances of shelly prey animals and microfossil remains of their predators in marine sediments. In the Late Triassic (220-204 million years ago), a dramatic paleoecological shift occurred among shelly marine animals—immobile surface-dwelling animals that had been abundant in the oceans for 300 million years became rare, and were replaced by burrowing clams, swimming scallops, cementing oysters, and many other new taxa with surprising adaptations. This proliferation of adaptive strategies seems to be synchronous with the appearance of many predator taxa specialized for shell-crushing that mainly moved along the seafloor. To test this hypothesis, I examine microfossils of these predators in the sediments containing macrofossils of their shelly prey, to find teeth or claw features that can exhibit specializations for shell-crushing or other predation modes. With the development of this very modern system of predator-prey interactions, we can better understand how these food-webs were disrupted by climatic perturbations later in the Triassic, and make meaningful comparisons to modern ocean ecosystems.

[The application of the prospective space-time statistic in early warning of infectious disease].

PubMed

Yin, Fei; Li, Xiao-Song; Feng, Zi-Jian; Ma, Jia-Qi

2007-06-01

To investigate the application of prospective space-time scan statistic in the early stage of detecting infectious disease outbreaks. The prospective space-time scan statistic was tested by mimicking daily prospective analyses of bacillary dysentery data of Chengdu city in 2005 (3212 cases in 102 towns and villages). And the results were compared with that of purely temporal scan statistic. The prospective space-time scan statistic could give specific messages both in spatial and temporal. The results of June indicated that the prospective space-time scan statistic could timely detect the outbreaks that started from the local site, and the early warning message was powerful (P = 0.007). When the merely temporal scan statistic for detecting the outbreak was sent two days later, and the signal was less powerful (P = 0.039). The prospective space-time scan statistic could make full use of the spatial and temporal information in infectious disease data and could timely and effectively detect the outbreaks that start from the local sites. The prospective space-time scan statistic could be an important tool for local and national CDC to set up early detection surveillance systems.

[Side Effects of Modernity : Dam Building, Health Care, and the Construction of Power in the Context of the Control of Schistosomiasis in Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s].

PubMed

Brendel, Benjamin

2017-09-01

This article analyzes the modernization campaigns in Egypt in the 1960s and early 1970s. The regulation of the Nile by the Aswan High Dam and the resulting irrigation projects caused the rate of schistosomiasis infestation in the population to rise. The result was a discourse between experts from the global north and Egyptian elites about modernization, development aid, dam building and health care. The fight against schistosomiasis was like a cipher, which combined different power-laden concepts and arguments. This article will decode the cipher and allow a deeper look into the contemporary dimensions of power bound to this subject. The text is conceived around three thematic axes. The first deals with the discursive interplay of modernization, health and development aid in and for Egypt. The second focuses on far-reaching and long-standing arguments within an international expert discourse about these concepts. Finally, the third presents an exemplary case study of West German health and development aid for fighting schistosomiasis in the Egyptian Fayoum oasis.

The "Hard Problem" and the Quantum Physicists. Part 2: Modern Times

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, C. U. M.

2009-01-01

This is the second part of a review of the work of quantum physicists on the "hard part" of the problem of mind. After an introduction which sets the scene and a brief review of contemporary work on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) the work of four prominent modern investigators is examined: J.C. Eccles/Friedrich Beck; Henry Stapp;…

Introduction to Modern Methods in Light Microscopy.

PubMed

Ryan, Joel; Gerhold, Abby R; Boudreau, Vincent; Smith, Lydia; Maddox, Paul S

2017-01-01

For centuries, light microscopy has been a key method in biological research, from the early work of Robert Hooke describing biological organisms as cells, to the latest in live-cell and single-molecule systems. Here, we introduce some of the key concepts related to the development and implementation of modern microscopy techniques. We briefly discuss the basics of optics in the microscope, super-resolution imaging, quantitative image analysis, live-cell imaging, and provide an outlook on active research areas pertaining to light microscopy.

Modern freshwater microbialite analogues for ancient dendritic reef structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laval, B.; Cady, S. L.; Pollack, J. C.; McKay, C. P.; Bird, J. S.; Grotzinger, J. P.; Ford, D. C.; Bohm, H. R.

2000-01-01

Microbialites are organosedimentary structures that can be constructed by a variety of metabolically distinct taxa. Consequently, microbialite structures abound in the fossil record, although the exact nature of the biogeochemical processes that produced them is often unknown. One such class of ancient calcareous structures, Epiphyton and Girvanella, appear in great abundance during the Early Cambrian. Together with Archeocyathids, stromatolites and thrombolites, they formed major Cambrian reef belts. To a large extent, Middle to Late Cambrian reefs are similar to Precambrian reefs, with the exception that the latter, including terminal Proterozoic reefs, do not contain Epiphyton or Girvanella. Here we report the discovery in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada, of a distinctive assemblage of freshwater calcite microbialites, some of which display microstructures similar to the fabrics displayed by Epiphyton and Girvanella. The morphologies of the modern microbialites vary with depth, and dendritic microstructures of the deep water (> 30 m) mounds indicate that they may be modern analogues for the ancient calcareous structures. These microbialites thus provide an opportunity to study the biogeochemical interactions that produce fabrics similar to those of some enigmatic Early Cambrian reef structures.

Physical Activity and Modernization among Bolivian Amerindians

PubMed Central

Gurven, Michael; Jaeggi, Adrian V.; Kaplan, Hillard; Cummings, Daniel

2013-01-01

Background Physical inactivity is a growing public health problem, and the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality. Conversely, indigenous populations living traditional lifestyles reportedly engage in vigorous daily activity that is protective against non-communicable diseases. Here we analyze physical activity patterns among the Tsimane, forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Bolivia with minimal heart disease and diabetes. We assess age patterns of adult activity among men and women, test whether modernization affects activity levels, and examine whether nascent obesity is associated with reduced activity. Methods and Findings A factorial method based on a large sample of behavioral observations was employed to estimate effects of age, sex, body mass index, and modernization variables on physical activity ratio (PAR), the ratio of total energy expenditure to basal metabolic rate. Accelerometry combined with heart rate monitoring was compared to the factorial method and used for nighttime sampling. Tsimane men and women display 24 hr physical activity level (PAL) of 2.02–2.15 and 1.73–1.85, respectively. Little time was spent “sedentary”, whereas most activity was light to moderate, rather than vigorous. Activity peaks by the late twenties in men, and declines thereafter, but remains constant among women after the early teens. Neither BMI, fat free mass or body fat percentage are associated with PAR. There was no negative effect of modernization on physical activity. Conclusions Tsimane display relatively high PALs typical of other subsistence populations, but of moderate intensity, and not outside the range of developed populations. Despite rapidly increasing socioeconomic change, there is little evidence that total activity has yet been affected. Overweight and obesity are more prevalent among women than men, and Spanish fluency is associated with greater obesity in women. The lack of cardiovascular disease among Tsimane is unlikely caused by

Elucidating the mechanisms linking early pubertal timing, sexual activity, and substance use for maltreated versus nonmaltreated adolescents.

PubMed

Negriff, Sonya; Brensilver, Matthew; Trickett, Penelope K

2015-06-01

To test models linking pubertal timing, peer substance use, sexual behavior, and substance use for maltreated versus comparison adolescents. Three theoretical mechanisms were tested: (1) peer influence links early pubertal timing to later sexual behavior and substance use; (2) early maturers engage in substance use on their own and then select substance-using friends; or (3) early maturers initiate sexual behaviors which lead them to substance-using peers. The data came from a longitudinal study of the effects of child maltreatment on adolescent development (303 maltreated and 151 comparison adolescents; age, 9-13 years at initial wave). Multiple-group structural equation models tested the hypotheses across three time points including variables of pubertal timing, perception of peer substance use, sexual behavior, and self-reported substance use. Early pubertal timing was associated with substance-using peers only for maltreated adolescents, indicating the mediation path from early pubertal timing through substance-using peers to subsequent adolescent substance use and sexual behavior only holds for maltreated adolescents. Mediation via sexual behavior was significant for both maltreated and comparison adolescents. This indicates that sexual behavior may be a more universal mechanism linking early maturation with risky friends regardless of adverse life experiences. The findings are a step toward elucidating the developmental pathways from early puberty to risk behavior and identifying early experiences that may alter mediation effects. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests: Reducing test time by early parameter estimation.

PubMed

Da Silva, C; Astals, S; Peces, M; Campos, J L; Guerrero, L

2018-01-01

Biochemical methane potential (BMP) test is a key analytical technique to assess the implementation and optimisation of anaerobic biotechnologies. However, this technique is characterised by long testing times (from 20 to >100days), which is not suitable for waste utilities, consulting companies or plants operators whose decision-making processes cannot be held for such a long time. This study develops a statistically robust mathematical strategy using sensitivity functions for early prediction of BMP first-order model parameters, i.e. methane yield (B 0 ) and kinetic constant rate (k). The minimum testing time for early parameter estimation showed a potential correlation with the k value, where (i) slowly biodegradable substrates (k≤0.1d -1 ) have a minimum testing times of ≥15days, (ii) moderately biodegradable substrates (0.1times between 8 and 15 days, and (iii) rapidly biodegradable substrates (k≥0.2d -1 ) have testing times lower than 7days. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pioneers of Early Childhood Education: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peltzman, Barbara Ruth

Previous works on educators who built the field of early childhood education do not provide the researcher with primary and secondary sources or information on multicultural educators, nor do they discuss some of the more current leading educators. This reference book provides biographies and bibliographies of selected pre-modern and modern men…

Ecologia: The Assumptions, Expectations, and Strategies of Modern Language Students Working in a Self-Access Learning Environment for the First Time.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piper, Alison

1994-01-01

This study examined 29 second-year undergraduate students of Spanish using a self-access learning environment for the first time, focusing on their language attitudes and learning strategies. The results show that, even as modern languages majors, the students possessed a model of language and strategies for learning that were significantly…

The Early Origin of the Antarctic Marine Fauna and Its Evolutionary Implications

PubMed Central

Crame, J. Alistair; Beu, Alan G.; Ineson, Jon R.; Francis, Jane E.; Whittle, Rowan J.; Bowman, Vanessa C.

2014-01-01

The extensive Late Cretaceous – Early Paleogene sedimentary succession of Seymour Island, N.E. Antarctic Peninsula offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine the evolutionary origins of a modern polar marine fauna. Some 38 modern Southern Ocean molluscan genera (26 gastropods and 12 bivalves), representing approximately 18% of the total modern benthic molluscan fauna, can now be traced back through at least part of this sequence. As noted elsewhere in the world, the balance of the molluscan fauna changes sharply across the Cretaceous – Paleogene (K/Pg) boundary, with gastropods subsequently becoming more diverse than bivalves. A major reason for this is a significant radiation of the Neogastropoda, which today forms one of the most diverse clades in the sea. Buccinoidea is the dominant neogastropod superfamily in both the Paleocene Sobral Formation (SF) (56% of neogastropod genera) and Early - Middle Eocene La Meseta Formation (LMF) (47%), with the Conoidea (25%) being prominent for the first time in the latter. This radiation of Neogastropoda is linked to a significant pulse of global warming that reached at least 65°S, and terminates abruptly in the upper LMF in an extinction event that most likely heralds the onset of global cooling. It is also possible that the marked Early Paleogene expansion of neogastropods in Antarctica is in part due to a global increase in rates of origination following the K/Pg mass extinction event. The radiation of this and other clades at ∼65°S indicates that Antarctica was not necessarily an evolutionary refugium, or sink, in the Early – Middle Eocene. Evolutionary source – sink dynamics may have been significantly different between the Paleogene greenhouse and Neogene icehouse worlds. PMID:25493546

[Epidemic research in the south of Fujian Province in modern times from the viewpoints of overseas communication].

PubMed

Lin, Nan; Zhang, Sun-Biao; Zeng, Yi-Ling

2012-09-01

Under the particular geographical environment and social structure, different spatiality of epidemics was observed in the south of Fujian Province. Some important factors cannot be ignored in the study of local epidemics, such as its developed overseas communication, prosperous commercial activities between the East and the West and deep-rooted overseas emigration tradition. In modern times, public health ideas, therapies and prevention measures of west medicine were introduced, taking epidemic disease prevention as a turning point in this area, which promoted medical development of this area objectively, and valuable experience in disease prevention was accumulated.

A Modern Update and Usage of Historical Variable Star Catalogs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pagnotta, Ashley; Graur, Or; Murray, Zachary; Kruk, Julia; Christie-Dervaux, Lucien; Chen, Dong Yi

2015-01-01

One of the earliest modern variable star catalogs was constructed by Henrietta Swan Leavitt during her tenure at the Harvard College Observatory (HCO) in the early 1900s. Originally published in 1908, Leavitt's catalog listed 1777 variables in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). The construction and analysis of this catalog allowed her to subsequently discover the Cepheid period-luminosity relationship, now known as the Leavitt Law. The MC variable star catalogs were updated and expanded by Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in 1966 and 1971. Although newer studies of the MC variables have been performed since then, the new information has not always been correlated with the old due to a lack of modern descriptors of the stars listed in the Harvard MC catalogs. We will discuss the history of MC variable star catalogs, especially those compiled using the HCO plates, as well as our modernized version of the Leavitt and Payne-Gaposchkin catalogs. Our modern catalog can be used in conjunction with the archival plates (primarily via the Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard scanning project) to study the secular behavior of the MC variable stars over the past century.

Elucidating the mechanisms linking early pubertal timing, sexual activity, and substance use for maltreated versus nonmaltreated adolescents

PubMed Central

Negriff, Sonya; Brensilver, Matthew; Trickett, Penelope K.

2015-01-01

Purpose To test models linking pubertal timing, peer substance use, sexual behavior, and substance use for maltreated versus comparison adolescents. Three theoretical mechanisms were tested: 1) peer influence links early pubertal timing to later sexual behavior and substance use, 2) early maturers engage in substance use on their own and then select substance-using friends, or 3) early maturers initiate sexual behaviors which leads them to substance-using peers. Methods The data came from a longitudinal study of the effects of child maltreatment on adolescent development (303 maltreated and 151 comparison adolescents; age: 9–13 years at initial wave). Multiple-group structural equation models tested the hypotheses across three timepoints including variables of pubertal timing, perception of peer substance use, sexual behavior, and self-reported substance use. Results Early pubertal timing was associated with substance-using peers only for maltreated adolescents, indicating the mediation path from early pubertal timing through substance-using peers to subsequent adolescent substance use and sexual behavior only holds for maltreated adolescents. Mediation via sexual behavior was significant for both maltreated and comparison adolescents. This indicates that sexual behavior may be a more universal mechanism linking early maturation with risky friends regardless of adverse life experiences. Conclusions The findings are a step toward elucidating the developmental pathways from early puberty to risk behavior and identifying early experiences that may alter mediation effects. PMID:26003577

The southern route "out of Africa": evidence for an early expansion of modern humans into Arabia.

PubMed

Armitage, Simon J; Jasim, Sabah A; Marks, Anthony E; Parker, Adrian G; Usik, Vitaly I; Uerpmann, Hans-Peter

2011-01-28

The timing of the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) out of Africa is a fundamental question in human evolutionary studies. Existing data suggest a rapid coastal exodus via the Indian Ocean rim around 60,000 years ago. We present evidence from Jebel Faya, United Arab Emirates, demonstrating human presence in eastern Arabia during the last interglacial. The tool kit found at Jebel Faya has affinities to the late Middle Stone Age in northeast Africa, indicating that technological innovation was not necessary to facilitate migration into Arabia. Instead, we propose that low eustatic sea level and increased rainfall during the transition between marine isotope stages 6 and 5 allowed humans to populate Arabia. This evidence implies that AMH may have been present in South Asia before the Toba eruption.

Transcriptome profiling reveals mosaic genomic origins of modern cultivated barley.

PubMed

Dai, Fei; Chen, Zhong-Hua; Wang, Xiaolei; Li, Zefeng; Jin, Gulei; Wu, Dezhi; Cai, Shengguan; Wang, Ning; Wu, Feibo; Nevo, Eviatar; Zhang, Guoping

2014-09-16

The domestication of cultivated barley has been used as a model system for studying the origins and early spread of agrarian culture. Our previous results indicated that the Tibetan Plateau and its vicinity is one of the centers of domestication of cultivated barley. Here we reveal multiple origins of domesticated barley using transcriptome profiling of cultivated and wild-barley genotypes. Approximately 48-Gb of clean transcript sequences in 12 Hordeum spontaneum and 9 Hordeum vulgare accessions were generated. We reported 12,530 de novo assembled transcripts in all of the 21 samples. Population structure analysis showed that Tibetan hulless barley (qingke) might have existed in the early stage of domestication. Based on the large number of unique genomic regions showing the similarity between cultivated and wild-barley groups, we propose that the genomic origin of modern cultivated barley is derived from wild-barley genotypes in the Fertile Crescent (mainly in chromosomes 1H, 2H, and 3H) and Tibet (mainly in chromosomes 4H, 5H, 6H, and 7H). This study indicates that the domestication of barley may have occurred over time in geographically distinct regions.

Technological complexity and the global dispersal of modern humans.

PubMed

Hoffecker, John F; Hoffecker, Ian T

2017-11-01

Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) dispersed out of Africa roughly 120,000 years ago and again after 75,000 years ago. The early dispersal was geographically restricted to the Arabian Peninsula, Levant, and possibly parts of southern Asia. The later dispersal was ultimately global in scope, including areas not previously occupied by Homo. One explanation for the contrast between the two out-of-Africa dispersals is that the modern humans who expanded into Eurasia 120,000 years ago lacked the functionally and structurally complex technology of recent hunter-gatherers. This technology, which includes, for example, mechanical projectiles, snares and traps, and sewn clothing, provides not only expanded dietary breadth and increased rates of foraging efficiency and success in places where plant and animal productivity is low, but protection from cold weather in places where winter temperatures are low. The absence of complex technology before 75,000 years ago also may explain why modern humans in the Levant did not develop sedentary settlements and agriculture 120,000 years ago (i.e., during the Last Interglacial). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Implications of Nubian-Like Core Reduction Systems in Southern Africa for the Identification of Early Modern Human Dispersals

PubMed Central

Phillips, Natasha

2015-01-01

Lithic technologies have been used to trace dispersals of early human populations within and beyond Africa. Convergence in lithic systems has the potential to confound such interpretations, implying connections between unrelated groups. Due to their reductive nature, stone artefacts are unusually prone to this chance appearance of similar forms in unrelated populations. Here we present data from the South African Middle Stone Age sites Uitpanskraal 7 and Mertenhof suggesting that Nubian core reduction systems associated with Late Pleistocene populations in North Africa and potentially with early human migrations out of Africa in MIS 5 also occur in southern Africa during early MIS 3 and with no clear connection to the North African occurrence. The timing and spatial distribution of their appearance in southern and northern Africa implies technological convergence, rather than diffusion or dispersal. While lithic technologies can be a critical guide to human population flux, their utility in tracing early human dispersals at large spatial and temporal scales with stone artefact types remains questionable. PMID:26125972

Meta Modernism: An Introduction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Snell, Joel

2016-01-01

The author introduces Hegel. From the triad (Hegelian Dialect), he briefly gives an overview of the history of philosophy. In true Hegelian form, it is now time to reform "Postmodernism" and replace it with "Meta modernism." Postmodern had a short life from 1950 to now and has left few adherents. It is confusing and…

The emergence of modern sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean.

PubMed

Knies, Jochen; Cabedo-Sanz, Patricia; Belt, Simon T; Baranwal, Soma; Fietz, Susanne; Rosell-Melé, Antoni

2014-11-28

Arctic sea ice coverage is shrinking in response to global climate change and summer ice-free conditions in the Arctic Ocean are predicted by the end of the century. The validity of this prediction could potentially be tested through the reconstruction of the climate of the Pliocene epoch (5.33-2.58 million years ago), an analogue of a future warmer Earth. Here we show that, in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean, ice-free conditions prevailed in the early Pliocene until sea ice expanded from the central Arctic Ocean for the first time ca. 4 million years ago. Amplified by a rise in topography in several regions of the Arctic and enhanced freshening of the Arctic Ocean, sea ice expanded progressively in response to positive ice-albedo feedback mechanisms. Sea ice reached its modern winter maximum extension for the first time during the culmination of the Northern Hemisphere glaciation, ca. 2.6 million years ago.

Molecular clocks indicate turnover and diversification of modern coleoid cephalopods during the Mesozoic Marine Revolution

PubMed Central

Fuchs, Dirk; Winkelmann, Inger E.; Gilbert, M. Thomas P.; Pankey, M. Sabrina; Ribeiro, Ângela M.; Kocot, Kevin M.; Halanych, Kenneth M.; Oakley, Todd H.; da Fonseca, Rute R.

2017-01-01

Coleoid cephalopod molluscs comprise squid, cuttlefish and octopuses, and represent nearly the entire diversity of modern cephalopods. Sophisticated adaptations such as the use of colour for camouflage and communication, jet propulsion and the ink sac highlight the unique nature of the group. Despite these striking adaptations, there are clear parallels in ecology between coleoids and bony fishes. The coleoid fossil record is limited, however, hindering confident analysis of the tempo and pattern of their evolution. Here we use a molecular dataset (180 genes, approx. 36 000 amino acids) of 26 cephalopod species to explore the phylogeny and timing of cephalopod evolution. We show that crown cephalopods diverged in the Silurian–Devonian, while crown coleoids had origins in the latest Palaeozoic. While the deep-sea vampire squid and dumbo octopuses have ancient origins extending to the Early Mesozoic Era, 242 ± 38 Ma, incirrate octopuses and the decabrachian coleoids (10-armed squid) diversified in the Jurassic Period. These divergence estimates highlight the modern diversity of coleoid cephalopods emerging in the Mesozoic Marine Revolution, a period that also witnessed the radiation of most ray-finned fish groups in addition to several other marine vertebrates. This suggests that that the origin of modern cephalopod biodiversity was contingent on ecological competition with marine vertebrates. PMID:28250188

Gender and the Social Order in Early Modern England.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amussen, Susan Dwyer

The place of the family and the relationship between gender and social order in England between 1560 and 1725 are examined. The fear of disorder so prevalent in England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries was caused by the doubling of the population and extremely poor economic conditions. In the attempt to enforce order, the analogy between…

Ecocultural range-expansion scenarios for the replacement or assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans.

PubMed

Wakano, Joe Yuichiro; Gilpin, William; Kadowaki, Seiji; Feldman, Marcus W; Aoki, Kenichi

2018-02-01

Recent archaeological records no longer support a simple dichotomous characterization of the cultures/behaviors of Neanderthals and modern humans, but indicate much cultural/behavioral variability over time and space. Thus, in modeling the replacement or assimilation of Neanderthals by modern humans, it is of interest to consider cultural dynamics and their relation to demographic change. The ecocultural framework for the competition between hominid species allows their carrying capacities to depend on some measure of the levels of culture they possess. In the present study both population densities and the densities of skilled individuals in Neanderthals and modern humans are spatially distributed and subject to change by spatial diffusion, ecological competition, and cultural transmission within each species. We analyze the resulting range expansions in terms of the demographic, ecological and cultural parameters that determine how the carrying capacities relate to the local densities of skilled individuals in each species. Of special interest is the case of cognitive and intrinsic-demographic equivalence of the two species. The range expansion dynamics may consist of multiple wave fronts of different speeds, each of which originates from a traveling wave solution. Properties of these traveling wave solutions are mathematically derived. Depending on the parameters, these traveling waves can result in replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans, or assimilation of the former by the latter. In both the replacement and assimilation scenarios, the first wave of intrusive modern humans is characterized by a low population density and a low density of skilled individuals, with implications for archaeological visibility. The first invasion is due to weak interspecific competition. A second wave of invasion may be induced by cultural differences between moderns and Neanderthals. Spatially and temporally extended coexistence of the two species, which would have

The role of inflammation in depression: from evolutionary imperative to modern treatment target.

PubMed

Miller, Andrew H; Raison, Charles L

2016-01-01

Crosstalk between inflammatory pathways and neurocircuits in the brain can lead to behavioural responses, such as avoidance and alarm, that are likely to have provided early humans with an evolutionary advantage in their interactions with pathogens and predators. However, in modern times, such interactions between inflammation and the brain appear to drive the development of depression and may contribute to non-responsiveness to current antidepressant therapies. Recent data have elucidated the mechanisms by which the innate and adaptive immune systems interact with neurotransmitters and neurocircuits to influence the risk for depression. Here, we detail our current understanding of these pathways and discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting the immune system to treat depression.

The role of inflammation in depression: from evolutionary imperative to modern treatment target

PubMed Central

Miller, Andrew H.; Raison, Charles L.

2017-01-01

Crosstalk between inflammatory pathways and neurocircuits in the brain can lead to behavioural responses, such as avoidance and alarm, that are likely to have provided early humans with an evolutionary advantage in their interactions with pathogens and predators. However, in modern times, such interactions between inflammation and the brain appear to drive the development of depression and may contribute to non-responsiveness to current antidepressant therapies. Recent data have elucidated the mechanisms by which the innate and adaptive immune systems interact with neurotransmitters and neurocircuits to influence the risk for depression. Here, we detail our current understanding of these pathways and discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting the immune system to treat depression. PMID:26711676

Two-Person Control: A Brief History and Modern Industry Practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pedersen, Robert Douglas

Physical asset protection is the principal objective of many security and safeguard measures. One well-known means of asset protection is two-person control. This paper reviews literature regarding two-person control to gain insight into its origin, first demonstrated uses, and its presence in several modern industries. This literature review of two-person control is intended to benefit people and organizations with a desire to understand its origins and how the practice has evolved over time, as well as give some insight into the flexibility of this safeguarding technique. The literature review is focused in four main sections: (1) defining two-person control, (2)more » early history, (3) two-person control in modern industry, and (4) a theory on how two- person control entered modern industry. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank Jarret Lafleur and Scott Paap of Sandia National Laboratories, California's Systems Analysis & Engineering organization for the opportunity to work on this project. Jarret Lafleur provided very constructive and helpful feedback through all stages of the work. Amanda Thompson of the Sandia California Technical Library maintained a great spirit and always had a quick document turnaround that very much helped out this project's completion. Additionally, yet perhaps most importantly, the author would like to thank his wife and daughter, along with the rest of his family, for continued support over the years. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.« less

The role of load-carrying in the evolution of modern body proportions

PubMed Central

Wang, W -J; Crompton, R H

2004-01-01

The first unquestionably bipedal early human ancestors, the species Australopithecus afarensis, were markedly different to ourselves in body proportions, having a long trunk and short legs. Some have argued that ′chimpanzee-like′ features such as these suggest a ‘bent-hip, bent-knee’ (BHBK) posture would have been adopted during gait. Computer modelling studies, however, indicate that this early human ancestor could have walked in a reasonably efficient upright posture, whereas BHBK posture would have nearly doubled the mechanical energy cost of locomotion, as it does the physiological cost of locomotion in ourselves. More modern body proportions first appear at around 1.8–1.5 Ma, with Homo ergaster (early African Homo erectus), represented by the Nariokotome skeleton KNM-WT 15000, in which the legs were considerably longer in relation to the trunk than they are in human adults, although this skeleton represents an adolescent. Several authors have suggested that this morphology would have allowed faster, more endurant walking. But during the same period, the archaeological record indicates a sharp rise in distances over which stone tools or raw materials are transported. Is this coincidental, or can load-carrying also be implicated in selection for a more modern morphology? Computer simulations of loaded walking, verified against kinetic data for humans, show that BHBK gait is even more ineffective while load-carrying. However, walking erect, the Nariokotome individual could have carried loads of 10–15% body mass for less cost, relative to body size, than AL 288-1 walking erect but unloaded. In fact, to the extent that our sample of humans is typical, KNM-WT 15000 would have had better mechanical effectiveness in bearing light loads on the back than modern human adults. Thus, selection for effectiveness in load-carrying, as well as in endurant walking, is indeed likely to have been implicated in the evolution of modern body proportions. PMID:15198704

Modern erosion rates and loss of coastal features and sites, Beaufort Sea coastline, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jones, Benjamin M.; Hinkel, Kenneth M.; Arp, C.D.; Eisner, Wendy R.

2008-01-01

This study presents modern erosion rate measurements based upon vertical aerial photography captured in 1955, 1979, and 2002 for a 100 km segment of the Beaufort Sea coastline. Annual erosion rates from 1955 to 2002 averaged 5.6 m a-1. However, mean erosion rates increased from 5.0 m a-1 in 1955-79 to 6.2 m a-1 in 1979-2002. Furthermore, from the first period to the second, erosion rates increased at 60% (598) of the 992 sites analyzed, decreased at 31% (307), and changed less than ?? 30 cm at 9% (87). Historical observations and quantitative studies over the past 175 years allowed us to place our erosion rate measurements into a longer-term context. Several of the coastal features along this stretch of coastline received Western place names during the Dease and Simpson expedition in 1837, and the majority of those features had been lost by the early 1900s as a result of coastline erosion, suggesting that erosion has been active over at least the historical record. Incorporation of historical and modern observations also allowed us to detect the loss of both cultural and historical sites and modern infrastructure. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps reveal a number of known cultural and historical sites, as well as sites with modern infrastructure constructed as recently as the 1950s, that had disappeared by the early 2000s as a result of coastal erosion. We were also able to identify sites that are currently being threatened by an encroaching coastline. Our modern erosion rate measurements can potentially be used to predict when a historical site or modern infrastructure will be affected if such erosion rates persist. ?? The Arctic Institute of North America.

[Longlived examples. Function and formal principles of historical exempla of old age in the early-modern dietetic literature].

PubMed

Schäfer, Daniel

2003-01-01

Since antiquity, the exemplum can be proven in numerous types of texts, as it fulfills a notable didactic and rhetorical function: On the one hand it serves to a deductive illustration of common doctrines; on the other it is until the Enlightenment the scientific basis of cognition: in the view of medieval artistotelists, of who FRANCIS BACON was (in a special sense) one of the last champions, the exemplum takes on an inductive function: the sensual perception of the exampla generates the understanding of the universal, as the exemplum always refers to the exemplar, to the original form. Regarding the eminent deductive/inductive significance of the exempla, it is not surprising that they are an essential factor in dietetic literature. Whereas such exemples were very rare in the general literature on health care written by physicians and in specific papers of old-age assistance, they formed an integral part of texts composed for a large public by medical laymen such as (Ps.-) ROGER BACON, MARSILIO FICINO, ALVISE CORNARO or FRANCIS BACON. In these studies, the issue of a natural limit of human life was discussed intensively. In this context the "historical" sources were of high importance, even if, from a todays point of view, their use was completely non-historical. Often their crude instrumentalization and new interpretations can only be understood in the scholarly context of the time: E.g. in debates of specialists with outsiders or when serving as argument for physiological theories and therapeutical regimes. Not until late Renaissance, the historical exemple was replaced by the individual experience. It is striking that most of all historical exemples found in dietetic papers were positive. This humanistic and Christian ideal concept of old age, which completely contradicts the medical reality, had obviously a stronger fascination on the authors of early modern times than the inductive function of negative exempla (which are very important for a rational

Climate processes shape the evolution of populations and species leading to the assembly of modern biotas - examples along a continuum from shallow to deep time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jacobs, D. K.

2014-12-01

California experiences droughts, so lets begin with the effects of streamflow variation on population evolution in a coastal lagoon-specialist endangered fish, the tidewater goby. Streamflow controls the closing and opening of lagoons to the sea determining genetic isolation or gene flow. Here evolution is a function of habitat preference for closing lagoons. Other estuarine fishes, with different habitat preferences, differentiate at larger spatial scales in response to longer glacio-eustatic control of estuarine habitat. Species of giraffes in Africa are a puzzle. Why do the ranges of large motile, potentially interbreeding, species occur in contact each other without hybridization? The answer resides in the timing of seasonal precipitation. Although the degree of seaonality of climate does not vary much between species, the timing of precipitation and seasonal "greenup" does. This provides a selective advantage to reproductive isolation, as reproductive timing can be coordinated in each region with seasonal browse availability for lactating females. Convective rainfall in Africa follows the sun and solar intensity is influenced by the precession cycle such that more extensive summer rains fell across the Sahara and South Asia early in the Holocene, this may also contribute to the genetic isolation and speciation of giraffes and others savanna species. But there also appears to be a correlation with rarity (CITES designation) of modern wetland birds, as the dramatic drying of the late Holocene landscape contributes to this conservation concern. Turning back to the West Coast we find the most diverse temperate coastal fauna in the world, yet this diversity evolved and is a relict of diversity accumulation during the apex of upwelling in the late Miocene, driven by the reglaciation of Antarctica. Lastly we can see that the deep-sea evolution is broadly constrained by the transitions from greenhouse to icehouse worlds over the last 90 mya as broad periods of warm

Early Upper Paleolithic colonization across Europe: Time and mode of the Gravettian diffusion

PubMed Central

Cascalheira, João; Gonçalves, Célia

2017-01-01

This study presents new models on the origin, speed and mode of the wave-of-advance leading to the definitive occupation of Europe’s outskirts by Anatomically Modern Humans, during the Gravettian, between c. 37 and 30 ka ago. These models provide the estimation for possible demic dispersal routes for AMH at a stable spread rate of c. 0.7 km/year, with the likely origin in Central Europe at the site of Geissenklosterle in Germany and reaching all areas of the European landscape. The results imply that: 1. The arrival of the Gravettian populations into the far eastern European plains and to southern Iberia found regions with very low human occupation or even devoid of hominins; 2. Human demography was likely lower than previous estimates for the Upper Paleolithic; 3. The likely early AMH paths across Europe followed the European central plains and the Mediterranean coast to reach to the ends of the Italian and Iberian peninsulas. PMID:28542642

[Some features of the relationship between Lullism and pseudo-Lullism in the early modern times].

PubMed

López Pérez, Miguel

2002-01-01

In this work, the author presents, following a chronologic sequence, some aspects of Llull's image that became controversial during the 16th century, especially the discussion about the idea of Llull as alchemist, which developed around the 16th century. To this end, the author analyses the origin and development of the polemic since the 14th century, including the "official" positions. At the same time, the two positions (Llull the achemist and Llull the philosopher) are related to similar occurrences outside the Iberian Peninsular, especially in France and Italy.

The Relationship between Traditional Chinese Medicine and Modern Medicine

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The essence of the traditional Chinese medicine has always been the most advanced and experienced therapeutic approach in the world. It has knowledge that can impact the direction of future modern medical development; still, it is easy to find simple knowledge with mark of times and special cultures. The basic structure of traditional Chinese medicine is composed of three parts: one consistent with modern medicine, one involuntarily beyond modern medicine, and one that needs to be further evaluated. The part that is consistent with modern medicine includes consensus on several theories and concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, and usage of several treatments and prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine including commonly used Chinese herbs. The part that is involuntarily beyond modern medicine contains several advanced theories and important concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, relatively advanced treatments, formula and modern prescriptions, leading herbs, acupuncture treatment and acupuncture anesthesia of traditional Chinese medicine that affect modern medicine and incorporates massage treatment that has been gradually acknowledged by modern therapy. The part that needs to be further evaluated consists not only the knowledge of pulse diagnosis, prescription, and herbs, but also many other aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. PMID:23983772

Earth's Coming of Age: Isotopically Tracking the Global Transformation from the Hadean to the Geologically Modern Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, V. C.; Nutman, A. P.

2017-12-01

processes and characterizing Phanerozoic and Proterozoic mantle derived rocks is absent in the Eoarchean record. Here, we track this isotopic transition in key regions and demonstrate how this places limits on the timing and style of transition from early to modern Earth.

First-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services.

PubMed

Cappelletti, Giulia; Nespoli, Antonella; Fumagalli, Simona; Borrelli, Sara E

2016-03-01

The aim of this study is to explore first-time mothers' experiences of early labour in Italian maternity care services when admitted to hospital or advised to return home after maternity triage assessment. The study was conducted in a second-level maternity hospital in northern Italy with an obstetric unit for both low- and high-risk women. The participants included 15 first-time mothers in good general health with spontaneous labour at term of a low-risk pregnancy who accessed maternity triage during early labour, and were either admitted to hospital or advised to return home. A qualitative interpretive phenomenological study was conducted. A face-to-face recorded semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant 48-72h after birth. Four key themes emerged from the interviews: (a) recognising signs of early labour; (b) coping with pain at home; (c) seeking reassurance from healthcare professionals; and (d) being admitted to hospital versus returning home. Uncertainty about the progression of labour and the need for reassurance were cited by women as the main reasons for hospital visit in early labour. An ambivalent feeling was reported by the participants when admitted to hospital in early labour. In fact, while the women felt reassured in the first instance, some women subsequently felt dissatisfied due to the absence of one-to-one dedicated care during early labour. When advised to return home, a number of women reported feelings of disappointment, anger, fear, discouragement and anxiety about not being admitted to hospital; however, some of these women reported a subsequent feeling of comfort due to being at home and putting in place the suggestions made by the midwives during the maternity triage assessment. The guidance provided by midwives during triage assessment seemed to be the key factor influencing women׳s satisfaction when advised either to return home or to stay at the hospital during early labour. During antenatal classes and clinics

Early history of scapular fractures.

PubMed

Bartoníček, Jan; Kozánek, Michal; Jupiter, Jesse B

2016-01-01

The first to use the term Scapula was Vesalius (1514-1564) and thus it has remained ever since. Probably the oldest injured scapula, from 250 million years ago, was described by Chinese authors of a skeletal examination of a fossilised remains of a dinosaur Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis. In humans, the oldest known scapular fractures date back to the prehistoric and early historic times. In ancient times, a fracture of acromion was described in the treatises of Hippocrates. Early modern history of the treatment of scapular fractures is closely interlinked with the history of the French surgery. The first to point out the existence of these fractures were Petit, Du Verney and Desault in the 18th century. The first study devoted solely to scapular fractures was published by Traugott Karl August Vogt in 1799. Thomas Callaway published in 1849 an extensive dissertation on injuries to the shoulder girdle, in which he discussed a number of cases known at that time. The first radiograph of a scapular fracture was published by Petty in 1907. Mayo Robson (1884), Lambotte (1913) and Lane (1914) were pioneers in the surgical treatment of these fractures, followed in 1923 by the French surgeons Lenormat, Dujarrier and Basset. The first internal fixation of the glenoid fossa, including a radiograph, was published by Fischer in 1939.

Mothers' Time with Infant and Time in Employment as Predictors of Mother-Child Relationships and Children's Early Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huston, Aletha C.; Rosenkrantz Aronson, Stacey

2005-01-01

This study tested predictions from economic and developmental theories that maternal time with an infant is important for mother-child relationships and children's development, using time-use diaries for mothers of 7- to 8-month-old infants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (N=1,053).…

Invited commentary: Natural versus unnatural sex ratios--a quandary of modern times.

PubMed

Wilcox, Allen J; Baird, Donna D

2011-12-15

The typical dilemma with sex-ratio findings is that when they are real, they aren't interesting, and when they are interesting, they aren't real. In this issue of the Journal, Fernández et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(12):1327-1331) describe a deviation of the sex ratio that is apparently both large and real. There was a temporary but distinct spike in the proportion of boys born in Cuba around the time of the collapse of the national economy during the 1990s. Although an excess of boys does not fit the prevailing biologic theory regarding maternal stress and the sex ratio, the data are consistent with results from the Dutch famine (where population-level deprivation was even more extreme). A new quandary arises in the modern era with interpretation of the sex ratio: If the decision to abort a pregnancy is influenced by the sex of the fetus, a change in the behavior of even a small proportion of women could influence the sex ratio at birth. The possible role of sex selection in the Cuban context is discussed.

Invited Commentary: Natural Versus Unnatural Sex Ratios—A Quandary of Modern Times

PubMed Central

Wilcox, Allen J.; Baird, Donna D.

2011-01-01

The typical dilemma with sex-ratio findings is that when they are real, they aren’t interesting, and when they are interesting, they aren’t real. In this issue of the Journal, Fernández et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2011;174(12):1327–1331) describe a deviation of the sex ratio that is apparently both large and real. There was a temporary but distinct spike in the proportion of boys born in Cuba around the time of the collapse of the national economy during the 1990s. Although an excess of boys does not fit the prevailing biologic theory regarding maternal stress and the sex ratio, the data are consistent with results from the Dutch famine (where population-level deprivation was even more extreme). A new quandary arises in the modern era with interpretation of the sex ratio: If the decision to abort a pregnancy is influenced by the sex of the fetus, a change in the behavior of even a small proportion of women could influence the sex ratio at birth. The possible role of sex selection in the Cuban context is discussed. PMID:22038103

Public Health and Social Ideas in Modern Brazil

PubMed Central

Lima, Nísia Trindade

2007-01-01

Public health in Brazil achieved remarkable development at the turn of the 20th century thanks in part to physicians and social thinkers who made it central to their proposals for “modernizing” the country. Public health was more than a set of medical and technical measures; it was fundamental to the project of nation building. I trace the interplay between public health and social ideas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Physicians and social thinkers challenged the traditional belief that Brazil’s sociocultural and ethnic diversity was an obstacle to modernization, and they promoted public health as the best prescription for national unity. Public health ideas in developing countries such as Brazil may have a greater impact when they are intertwined with social thought and with the processes of nation building and construction of a modern society. PMID:17538074

The Divergence of Neandertal and Modern Human Y Chromosomes

PubMed Central

Mendez, Fernando L.; Poznik, G. David; Castellano, Sergi; Bustamante, Carlos D.

2016-01-01

Sequencing the genomes of extinct hominids has reshaped our understanding of modern human origins. Here, we analyze ∼120 kb of exome-captured Y-chromosome DNA from a Neandertal individual from El Sidrón, Spain. We investigate its divergence from orthologous chimpanzee and modern human sequences and find strong support for a model that places the Neandertal lineage as an outgroup to modern human Y chromosomes—including A00, the highly divergent basal haplogroup. We estimate that the time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes is ∼588 thousand years ago (kya) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 447–806 kya). This is ∼2.1 (95% CI: 1.7–2.9) times longer than the TMRCA of A00 and other extant modern human Y-chromosome lineages. This estimate suggests that the Y-chromosome divergence mirrors the population divergence of Neandertals and modern human ancestors, and it refutes alternative scenarios of a relatively recent or super-archaic origin of Neandertal Y chromosomes. The fact that the Neandertal Y we describe has never been observed in modern humans suggests that the lineage is most likely extinct. We identify protein-coding differences between Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes, including potentially damaging changes to PCDH11Y, TMSB4Y, USP9Y, and KDM5D. Three of these changes are missense mutations in genes that produce male-specific minor histocompatibility (H-Y) antigens. Antigens derived from KDM5D, for example, are thought to elicit a maternal immune response during gestation. It is possible that incompatibilities at one or more of these genes played a role in the reproductive isolation of the two groups. PMID:27058445

The Divergence of Neandertal and Modern Human Y Chromosomes.

PubMed

Mendez, Fernando L; Poznik, G David; Castellano, Sergi; Bustamante, Carlos D

2016-04-07

Sequencing the genomes of extinct hominids has reshaped our understanding of modern human origins. Here, we analyze ∼120 kb of exome-captured Y-chromosome DNA from a Neandertal individual from El Sidrón, Spain. We investigate its divergence from orthologous chimpanzee and modern human sequences and find strong support for a model that places the Neandertal lineage as an outgroup to modern human Y chromosomes-including A00, the highly divergent basal haplogroup. We estimate that the time to the most recent common ancestor (TMRCA) of Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes is ∼588 thousand years ago (kya) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 447-806 kya). This is ∼2.1 (95% CI: 1.7-2.9) times longer than the TMRCA of A00 and other extant modern human Y-chromosome lineages. This estimate suggests that the Y-chromosome divergence mirrors the population divergence of Neandertals and modern human ancestors, and it refutes alternative scenarios of a relatively recent or super-archaic origin of Neandertal Y chromosomes. The fact that the Neandertal Y we describe has never been observed in modern humans suggests that the lineage is most likely extinct. We identify protein-coding differences between Neandertal and modern human Y chromosomes, including potentially damaging changes to PCDH11Y, TMSB4Y, USP9Y, and KDM5D. Three of these changes are missense mutations in genes that produce male-specific minor histocompatibility (H-Y) antigens. Antigens derived from KDM5D, for example, are thought to elicit a maternal immune response during gestation. It is possible that incompatibilities at one or more of these genes played a role in the reproductive isolation of the two groups. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The phylogenomic roots of modern biochemistry: origins of proteins, cofactors and protein biosynthesis.

PubMed

Caetano-Anollés, Gustavo; Kim, Kyung Mo; Caetano-Anollés, Derek

2012-02-01

The complexity of modern biochemistry developed gradually on early Earth as new molecules and structures populated the emerging cellular systems. Here, we generate a historical account of the gradual discovery of primordial proteins, cofactors, and molecular functions using phylogenomic information in the sequence of 420 genomes. We focus on structural and functional annotations of the 54 most ancient protein domains. We show how primordial functions are linked to folded structures and how their interaction with cofactors expanded the functional repertoire. We also reveal protocell membranes played a crucial role in early protein evolution and show translation started with RNA and thioester cofactor-mediated aminoacylation. Our findings allow elaboration of an evolutionary model of early biochemistry that is firmly grounded in phylogenomic information and biochemical, biophysical, and structural knowledge. The model describes how primordial α-helical bundles stabilized membranes, how these were decorated by layered arrangements of β-sheets and α-helices, and how these arrangements became globular. Ancient forms of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) catalytic domains and ancient non-ribosomal protein synthetase (NRPS) modules gave rise to primordial protein synthesis and the ability to generate a code for specificity in their active sites. These structures diversified producing cofactor-binding molecular switches and barrel structures. Accretion of domains and molecules gave rise to modern aaRSs, NRPS, and ribosomal ensembles, first organized around novel emerging cofactors (tRNA and carrier proteins) and then more complex cofactor structures (rRNA). The model explains how the generation of protein structures acted as scaffold for nucleic acids and resulted in crystallization of modern translation.

Exploring the utility of real-time hydrologic data for landslide early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirus, B. B.; Smith, J. B.; Becker, R.; Baum, R. L.; Koss, E.

2017-12-01

Early warning systems can provide critical information for operations managers, emergency planners, and the public to help reduce fatalities, injuries, and economic losses due to landsliding. For shallow, rainfall-triggered landslides early warning systems typically use empirical rainfall thresholds, whereas the actual triggering mechanism involves the non-linear hydrological processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration, and hillslope drainage that are more difficult to quantify. Because hydrologic monitoring has demonstrated that shallow landslides are often preceded by a rise in soil moisture and pore-water pressures, some researchers have developed early warning criteria that attempt to account for these antecedent wetness conditions through relatively simplistic storage metrics or soil-water balance modeling. Here we explore the potential for directly incorporating antecedent wetness into landslide early warning criteria using recent landslide inventories and in-situ hydrologic monitoring near Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR. We use continuous, near-real-time telemetered soil moisture and pore-water pressure data measured within a few landslide-prone hillslopes in combination with measured and forecasted rainfall totals to inform easy-to-interpret landslide initiation thresholds. Objective evaluation using somewhat limited landslide inventories suggests that our new thresholds based on subsurface hydrologic monitoring and rainfall data compare favorably to the capabilities of existing rainfall-only thresholds for the Seattle area, whereas there are no established rainfall thresholds for the Portland area. This preliminary investigation provides a proof-of-concept for the utility of developing landslide early warning criteria in two different geologic settings using real-time subsurface hydrologic measurements from in-situ instrumentation.

[No exchange of information without technology : modern infrastructure in radiology].

PubMed

Hupperts, H; Hermann, K-G A

2014-01-01

Modern radiology cannot accomplish the daily numbers of examinations without supportive technology. Even though technology seems to be becoming increasingly more indispensable, business continuity should be ensured at any time and if necessary even with a limited technical infrastructure by business continuity management. An efficient information security management system forms the basis. The early radiology information systems were islands of information processing. A modern radiology department must be able to be modularly integrated into an informational network of a bigger organization. The secondary use of stored data for clinical decision-making support poses new challenges for the integrity of the data or systems because medical knowledge is displayed and provided in a context of treatment. In terms of imaging the creation and distribution radiology services work in a fully digital manner which is often different for radiology reports. Legally secure electronic diagnostic reports require a complex technical infrastructure; therefore, diagnostic findings still need to be filed as a paper document. The internal exchange and an improved dose management can be simplified by systems which continuously and automatically record the doses and thus provide the possibility of permanent analysis and reporting. Communication between patient and radiologist will gain ongoing importance. Intelligent use of technology will convey this to the radiologist and it will facilitate the understanding of the information by the patient.

Stoicism and Civic Duty. Grade 7 Model Lesson for Standard 7.1. World History and Geography: Medieval and Early Modern Times. California History-Social Science Course Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zachlod, Michelle, Ed.

California State Standard 7.1 is delineated in the following manner: "Students analyze the causes and effects of the vast expansion and ultimate disintegration of the Roman Empire." One important legacy of ancient Rome is the foundation it set for the development of modern democracies. The Roman Stoics built upon the Greek Stoic model by…

Early-Holocene greening of the Afro-Asian dust belt changed sources of mineral dust in West Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharifi, Arash; Murphy, Lisa N.; Pourmand, Ali; Clement, Amy C.; Canuel, Elizabeth A.; Naderi Beni, Abdolmajid; Lahijani, Hamid A. K.; Delanghe, Doriane; Ahmady-Birgani, Hesam

2018-01-01

Production, transport and deposition of mineral dust have significant impacts on different components of the Earth systems through time and space. In modern times, dust plumes are associated with their source region(s) using satellite and land-based measurements and trajectory analysis of air masses through time. Reconstruction of past changes in the sources of mineral dust as related to changes in climate, however, must rely on the knowledge of the geochemical and mineralogical composition of modern and paleo-dust, and that of their potential source origins. In this contribution, we present a 13,000-yr record of variations in radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes and Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies as well as dust grain size from an ombrotrophic (rain fed) peat core in NW Iran as proxies of past changes in the sources of dust over the interior of West Asia. Our data shows that although the grain size of dust varies in a narrow range through the entire record, the geochemical fingerprint of dust particles deposited during the low-flux, early Holocene period (11,700-6,000 yr BP) is distinctly different from aerosols deposited during high dust flux periods of the Younger Dryas and the mid-late Holocene (6,000-present). Our findings indicate that the composition of mineral dust deposited at the study site changed as a function of prevailing atmospheric circulation regimes and land exposure throughout the last deglacial period and the Holocene. Simulations of atmospheric circulation over the region show the Northern Hemisphere Summer Westerly Jet was displaced poleward across the study area during the early Holocene when Northern Hemisphere insolation was higher due to the Earth's orbital configuration. This shift, coupled with lower dust emissions simulated based on greening of the Afro-Asian Dust Belt during the early Holocene likely led to potential sources in Central Asia dominating dust export to West Asia during this period. In contrast, the dominant western and

Modernization, sexual risk-taking, and gynecological morbidity among Bolivian Forager-horticulturalists.

PubMed

Stieglitz, Jonathan; Blackwell, Aaron D; Quispe Gutierrez, Raúl; Cortez Linares, Edhitt; Gurven, Michael; Kaplan, Hillard

2012-01-01

Sexual risk-taking and reproductive morbidity are common among rapidly modernizing populations with little material wealth, limited schooling, minimal access to modern contraception and healthcare, and gendered inequalities in resource access that limit female autonomy in cohabiting relationships. Few studies have examined how modernization influences sexual risk-taking and reproductive health early in demographic transition. Tsimane are a natural fertility population of Bolivian forager-farmers; they are not urbanized, reside in small-scale villages, and lack public health infrastructure. We test whether modernization is associated with greater sexual risk-taking, report prevalence of gynecological morbidity (GM), and test whether modernization, sexual risk-taking and parity are associated with greater risk of GM. Data were collected from 2002-2010 using interviews, clinical exams, and laboratory analysis of cervical cells. We find opposing effects of modernization on both sexual risk-taking and risk of GM. Residential proximity to town and Spanish fluency are associated with greater likelihood of men's infidelity, and with number of lifetime sexual partners for men and women. However, for women, literacy is associated with delayed sexual debut after controlling for town proximity. Fifty-five percent of women present at least one clinical indicator of GM (n = 377); 48% present inflammation of cervical cells, and in 11% the inflammation results from sexually transmitted infection (trichomoniasis). Despite having easier access to modern healthcare, women residing near town experience greater likelihood of cervical inflammation and trichomoniasis relative to women in remote villages; women who are fluent in Spanish are also more likely to present trichomoniasis relative to women with moderate or no fluency. However, literate women experience lower likelihood of trichomoniasis. Parity has no effect on risk of GM. Our results suggest a net increase in risk of

Modernization of the Slovenian National Seismic Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidrih, R.; Godec, M.; Gosar, A.; Sincic, P.; Tasic, I.; Zivcic, M.

2003-04-01

The Environmental Agency of the Republic of Slovenia, the Seismology Office is responsible for the fast and reliable information about earthquakes, originating in the area of Slovenia and nearby. In the year 2000 the project Modernization of the Slovenian National Seismic Network started. The purpose of a modernized seismic network is to enable fast and accurate automatic location of earthquakes, to determine earthquake parameters and to collect data of local, regional and global earthquakes. The modernized network will be finished in the year 2004 and will consist of 25 Q730 remote broadband data loggers based seismic station subsystems transmitting in real-time data to the Data Center in Ljubljana, where the Seismology Office is located. The remote broadband station subsystems include 16 surface broadband seismometers CMG-40T, 5 broadband seismometers CMG-40T with strong motion accelerographs EpiSensor, 4 borehole broadband seismometers CMG-40T, all with accurate timing provided by GPS receivers. The seismic network will cover the entire Slovenian territory, involving an area of 20,256 km2. The network is planned in this way; more seismic stations will be around bigger urban centres and in regions with greater vulnerability (NW Slovenia, Krsko Brezice region). By the end of the year 2002, three old seismic stations were modernized and ten new seismic stations were built. All seismic stations transmit data to UNIX-based computers running Antelope system software. The data is transmitted in real time using TCP/IP protocols over the Goverment Wide Area Network . Real-time data is also exchanged with seismic networks in the neighbouring countries, where the data are collected from the seismic stations, close to the Slovenian border. A typical seismic station consists of the seismic shaft with the sensor and the data acquisition system and, the service shaft with communication equipment (modem, router) and power supply with a battery box. which provides energy in case

Through Kazan ASPERA to Modern Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gusev, Alexander; Kitiashvili, Irina; Petrova, Natasha

Now the European Union form the Sixth Framework Programme. One of its the objects of the EU Programme is opening national researches and training programmes. The Russian PhD students and young astronomers have business and financial difficulties in access to modern databases and astronomical projects and so they has not been included in European overview of priorities. Modern requirements to the organization of observant projects on powerful telescopes assumes painstaking scientific computer preparation of the application. A rigid competition for observation time assume preliminary computer modeling of target object for success of the application. Kazan AstroGeoPhysics Partnership

Extracellular matrix motion and early morphogenesis

PubMed Central

Loganathan, Rajprasad; Rongish, Brenda J.; Smith, Christopher M.; Filla, Michael B.; Czirok, Andras; Bénazéraf, Bertrand

2016-01-01

For over a century, embryologists who studied cellular motion in early amniotes generally assumed that morphogenetic movement reflected migration relative to a static extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold. However, as we discuss in this Review, recent investigations reveal that the ECM is also moving during morphogenesis. Time-lapse studies show how convective tissue displacement patterns, as visualized by ECM markers, contribute to morphogenesis and organogenesis. Computational image analysis distinguishes between cell-autonomous (active) displacements and convection caused by large-scale (composite) tissue movements. Modern quantification of large-scale ‘total’ cellular motion and the accompanying ECM motion in the embryo demonstrates that a dynamic ECM is required for generation of the emergent motion patterns that drive amniote morphogenesis. PMID:27302396

Dialogue on Modernity and Modern Education in Dispute

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Michael; Peters, Michael A.

2012-01-01

This is a dialogue or conversation between Michael Baker (MB) and Michael A. Peters (MP) on the concept of modernity and its significance for educational theory. The dialogue took place originally as a conversation about a symposium on modernity held at the American Educational Studies Association meeting 2010. It was later developed for…

Early Pregnancy Diagnosis in Bovines: Current Status and Future Directions

PubMed Central

Gupta, Meenakshi; Singh, Surender; Mohanty, Ashok K.; Singh, Inderjeet

2013-01-01

An early and accurate diagnosis of reproductive dysfunctions or aberrations is crucial to better reproductive management in livestock. High reproductive efficiency is a prerequisite for high life-time production in dairy animals. Early pregnancy diagnosis is key to shorten the calving interval through early identification of open animals and their timely treatment and rebreeding so as to maintain a postpartum barren interval close to 60 days. A buffalo, the most important dairy animal in the Indian subcontinent, is known for problems related to high calving interval, late puberty, and high incidence of anestrus. Lack of reliable cow-side early pregnancy diagnosis methods further aggravates the situation. Several methods of pregnancy diagnosis are being practiced in bovine species, yet none qualifies as the ideal pregnancy diagnosis method due to the inherent limitations of sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, speed, and ease of performing the test. The advancement of molecular techniques like proteomics and their applications in animal research has given a new hope to look for pregnancy biomarker molecules in these animals. This review attempts to examine common pregnancy diagnosis methods available for dairy animals, while assessing the usefulness of the modern technologies in detecting novel pregnancy markers and designing future strategies for research in this area. PMID:24382949

Early pregnancy diagnosis in bovines: current status and future directions.

PubMed

Balhara, Ashok K; Gupta, Meenakshi; Singh, Surender; Mohanty, Ashok K; Singh, Inderjeet

2013-01-01

An early and accurate diagnosis of reproductive dysfunctions or aberrations is crucial to better reproductive management in livestock. High reproductive efficiency is a prerequisite for high life-time production in dairy animals. Early pregnancy diagnosis is key to shorten the calving interval through early identification of open animals and their timely treatment and rebreeding so as to maintain a postpartum barren interval close to 60 days. A buffalo, the most important dairy animal in the Indian subcontinent, is known for problems related to high calving interval, late puberty, and high incidence of anestrus. Lack of reliable cow-side early pregnancy diagnosis methods further aggravates the situation. Several methods of pregnancy diagnosis are being practiced in bovine species, yet none qualifies as the ideal pregnancy diagnosis method due to the inherent limitations of sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, speed, and ease of performing the test. The advancement of molecular techniques like proteomics and their applications in animal research has given a new hope to look for pregnancy biomarker molecules in these animals. This review attempts to examine common pregnancy diagnosis methods available for dairy animals, while assessing the usefulness of the modern technologies in detecting novel pregnancy markers and designing future strategies for research in this area.

Evidence for early hunters beneath the Great Lakes.

PubMed

O'Shea, John M; Meadows, Guy A

2009-06-23

Scholars have hypothesized that the poorly understood and rarely encountered archaeological sites from the terminal Paleoindian and Archaic periods associated with the Lake Stanley low water stage (10,000-7,500 BP) are lost beneath the modern Great Lakes. Acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, a feature that would have been a dry land corridor crossing the Lake Huron basin during this time period, reveals the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times. These results present evidence for early hunters on the Alpena-Amberley corridor, and raise the possibility that intact settlements and ancient landscapes are preserved beneath Lake Huron.

Evidence for early hunters beneath the Great Lakes

PubMed Central

O'Shea, John M.; Meadows, Guy A.

2009-01-01

Scholars have hypothesized that the poorly understood and rarely encountered archaeological sites from the terminal Paleoindian and Archaic periods associated with the Lake Stanley low water stage (10,000–7,500 BP) are lost beneath the modern Great Lakes. Acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, a feature that would have been a dry land corridor crossing the Lake Huron basin during this time period, reveals the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times. These results present evidence for early hunters on the Alpena-Amberley corridor, and raise the possibility that intact settlements and ancient landscapes are preserved beneath Lake Huron. PMID:19506245

Early adolescence behavior problems and timing of poverty during childhood: A comparison of lifecourse models.

PubMed

Mazza, Julia Rachel S E; Lambert, Jean; Zunzunegui, Maria Victoria; Tremblay, Richard E; Boivin, Michel; Côté, Sylvana M

2017-03-01

Poverty is a well-established risk factor for the development of behavior problems, yet little is known about how timing of exposure to childhood poverty relates to behavior problems in early adolescence. To examine the differential effects of the timing of poverty between birth and late childhood on behavior problems in early adolescence by modeling lifecourse models, corresponding to sensitive periods, accumulation of risk and social mobility models. We used the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (N = 2120). Poverty was defined as living below the low-income thresholds defined by Statistics Canada and grouped into three time periods: between ages 0-3 years, 5-7 years, and 8-12 years. Main outcomes were teacher's report of hyperactivity, opposition and physical aggression at age 13 years. Structured linear regression analyses were conducted to estimate the contribution of poverty during the three selected time periods to behavior problems. Partial F-tests were used to compare nested lifecourse models to a full saturated model (all poverty main effects and possible interactions). Families who experienced poverty at all time periods were 9.3% of the original sample. Those who were poor at least one time period were 39.2%. The accumulation of risk model was the best fitting model for hyperactivity and opposition. The risk for physical aggression problems was associated only to poverty between 0 and 3 years supporting the sensitive period. Early and prolonged exposure to childhood poverty predicted higher levels of behavior problems in early adolescence. Antipoverty policies targeting the first years of life and long term support to pregnant women living in poverty are likely to reduce behavior problems in early adolescence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early history of Neanderthals and Denisovans

PubMed Central

Bohlender, Ryan J.; Huff, Chad D.

2017-01-01

Extensive DNA sequence data have made it possible to reconstruct human evolutionary history in unprecedented detail. We introduce a method to study the past several hundred thousand years. Our results show that (i) the Neanderthal–Denisovan lineage declined to a small size just after separating from the modern lineage, (ii) Neanderthals and Denisovans separated soon thereafter, and (iii) the subsequent Neanderthal population was large and deeply subdivided. They also (iv) support previous estimates of gene flow from Neanderthals into modern Eurasians. These results suggest an archaic human diaspora early in the Middle Pleistocene. PMID:28784789

Infrasonic and Ultrasonic Hearing Evolved after the Emergence of Modern Whales.

PubMed

Mourlam, Mickaël J; Orliac, Maeva J

2017-06-19

Mysticeti (baleen whales) and Odontoceti (toothed whales) today greatly differ in their hearing abilities: Mysticeti are presumed to be sensitive to infrasonic noises [1-3], whereas Odontoceti are sensitive to ultrasonic sounds [4-6]. Two competing hypotheses exist regarding the attainment of hearing abilities in modern whales: ancestral low-frequency sensitivity [7-13] or ancestral high-frequency sensitivity [14, 15]. The significance of these evolutionary scenarios is limited by the undersampling of both early-diverging cetaceans (archaeocetes) and terrestrial hoofed relatives of cetaceans (non-cetacean artiodactyls). Here, we document for the first time the bony labyrinth, the hollow cavity housing the hearing organ, of two species of protocetid whales from Lutetian deposits (ca. 46-43 Ma) of Kpogamé, Togo. These archaeocete cetaceans, which are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic forms, prove to be a key for determining the hearing abilities of early whales. We propose a new evolutionary picture for the early stages of this history, based on qualitative and quantitative studies of the cochlear morphology of an unparalleled sample of extant and extinct land artiodactyls and cetaceans. Contrary to the hypothesis that archaeocetes have been more sensitive to high-frequency sounds than their terrestrial ancestors [15], we demonstrate that early cetaceans presented a cochlear functional pattern close to that of their terrestrial relatives, and that specialization for infrasonic or ultrasonic hearing in Mysticeti or Odontoceti, respectively, instead only occurred in fully aquatic whales, after the emergence of Neoceti (Mysticeti+Odontoceti). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early years neurosurgical training in the era of the European Working Time Directive.

PubMed

Kirkman, Matthew A; Watkins, Laurence D; Kitchen, Neil D; Sethi, Huma

2013-10-01

The past decade has seen significant changes to the face of neurosurgical training in the United Kingdom, driven in part by an increasing focus on patient safety and the introduction of Modernising Medical Careers and the European Working Time Directive (EWTD). Recent reforms to neurosurgical training over the past few years have resulted in creation of an 8-year 'run-through' training programme. In this programme, early years (ST1 and ST2) trainees often lack dedicated time for elective theatre lists and outpatient clinics. Further, any time spent in theatre and clinics is often with different teams. Here we describe a training model for early years trainees at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, who are given the responsibilities traditionally associated with a more senior trainee including dedicated weekly theatre and clinic time under the supervision of a single consultant, in addition to out of hours experience. The advantages and considerations for implementing this model are discussed, including the benefit of guidance under a single consultant in the early stages of training, along with key educational concepts necessary for understanding its utility. We feel that this is an effective model for junior neurosurgical training in the EWTD era, expediting the trainee's development of key technical and non-technical skills, with potentially significant rewards for patient, trainee and trainer. National implementation of this model should be considered.

[MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION: MODERN ASPECTS OF THERAPY (REVIEW)].

PubMed

Arveladze, G; Geladze, N; Khachapuridze, N; Bakhtadze, S; Kapanadze, N

2015-01-01

Mitochondrial diseases are considered as one of the major problems of modern interdisciplinary neonatology and pediatrics. Mitochondrial pathology can be revealed as refractory myoclonic or multifocal seizures, craniofacial dysostosis, dysmetabolic manifestations and respiratory disorders. Central nervous system (CNS), muscles, heart, liver and kidneys is involved in this pathological process. An important criterion for diagnosis of mitochondrial dysfunction is increases in blood lactate and pyruvate levels; the absolute criterion - molecular genetic diagnostic studies of mitochondrial DNA. Polymorphism of clinical symptoms complicates the process of early diagnostics, the lack clear recommendations complicates therapy. Modern aspects of treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction in various neurological syndromes are based primarily in improving the efficiency of the processes of oxidative phosphorylation at the system level. Dietary carbohydrate restriction, and medication (Coenzyme Q10, Idebenonum, Cofactors, drugs which reduce lactic acidosis- Dimephosphon, Dichloroacetate, Antioxidants, Anticonvulsants and Antidiabetic agents, vitamins C, E, K, hemotransfusions) is prescribed. Such complex approach allows us to achieve a reduction in lactate-acidosis, and improve the condition of patients in 70% of cases.

Early Neolithic genomes from the eastern Fertile Crescent

PubMed Central

Broushaki, Farnaz; Thomas, Mark G; Link, Vivian; López, Saioa; van Dorp, Lucy; Kirsanow, Karola; Hofmanová, Zuzana; Diekmann, Yoan; Cassidy, Lara M.; Díez-del-Molino, David; Kousathanas, Athanasios; Sell, Christian; Robson, Harry K.; Martiniano, Rui; Blöcher, Jens; Scheu, Amelie; Kreutzer, Susanne; Bollongino, Ruth; Bobo, Dean; Davudi, Hossein; Munoz, Olivia; Currat, Mathias; Abdi, Kamyar; Biglari, Fereidoun; Craig, Oliver E.; Bradley, Daniel G; Shennan, Stephen; Veeramah, Krishna; Mashkour, Marjan

2016-01-01

We sequenced Early Neolithic genomes from the Zagros region of Iran (eastern Fertile Crescent), where some of the earliest evidence for farming is found, and identify a previously uncharacterized population that is neither ancestral to the first European farmers nor has contributed significantly to the ancestry of modern Europeans. These people are estimated to have separated from Early Neolithic farmers in Anatolia some 46-77,000 years ago and show affinities to modern day Pakistani and Afghan populations, but particularly to Iranian Zoroastrians. We conclude that multiple, genetically differentiated hunter-gatherer populations adopted farming in SW-Asia, that components of pre-Neolithic population structure were preserved as farming spread into neighboring regions, and that the Zagros region was the cradle of eastward expansion. PMID:27417496

Early diagnosis and multidisciplinary care reduce the hospitalization time and duration of tube feeding and prevent early obesity in PWS infants.

PubMed

Bacheré, N; Diene, G; Delagnes, V; Molinas, C; Moulin, P; Tauber, M

2008-01-01

To describe and evaluate the impact of very early diagnosis and multidisciplinary care on the evolution and care of infants presenting with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). 19 infants diagnosed with PWS before the second month of life were followed by a multidisciplinary team. Median age at the time of analysis was 3.1 years [range 0.4-6.5]. The data were compared with data collected in 1997 from 113 questionnaires filled out by members of the French PWS Association. The patients from this latter data set were 12.0 years [range 4 months to 41 years] at the time of analysis, with a median age of 36 months at diagnosis. The duration of their hospitalization time was significantly reduced from 30.0 [range 0-670] to 21 [range 0-90] days (p = 0.043). The duration of gastric tube feeding was significantly reduced from 30.5 [range 0-427] to 15 [range 0-60] days (p = 0.017). Growth hormone treatment was started at a mean age of 1.9 +/- 0.5 years in 10 infants and L-thyroxine in 6 infants. Only 1 infant became obese at 2.5 years. Early diagnosis combined with multidisciplinary care decreases the hospitalization time, duration of gastric tube feeding and prevents early obesity in PWS infants. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Standardized Symptom Measurement of Individuals with Early Lyme Disease Over Time.

PubMed

Bechtold, Kathleen T; Rebman, Alison W; Crowder, Lauren A; Johnson-Greene, Doug; Aucott, John N

2017-03-01

Understanding the Lyme disease (LD) literature is challenging given the lack of consistent methodology and standardized measurement of symptoms and the impact on functioning. This prospective study incorporates well-validated measures to capture the symptom picture of individuals with early LD from time of diagnosis through 6-months post-treatment. One hundred seven patients with confirmed early LD and 26 healthy controls were evaluated using standardized instruments for pain, fatigue, depressive symptoms, functional impact, and cognitive functioning. Prior to antibiotic treatment, patients experience notable symptoms of fatigue and pain statistically higher than controls. After treatment, there are no group differences, suggesting that symptoms resolve and that there are no residual cognitive impairments at the level of group analysis. However, using subgroup analyses, some individuals experience persistent symptoms that lead to functional decline and these individuals can be identified immediately post-completion of standard antibiotic treatment using well-validated symptom measures. Overall, the findings suggest that ideally-treated early LD patients recover well and experience symptom resolution over time, though a small subgroup continue to suffer with symptoms that lead to functional decline. The authors discuss use of standardized instruments for identification of individuals who warrant further clinical follow-up. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Mechanism of disease in early osteoarthritis: application of modern MR imaging techniques -- a technical report.

PubMed

Jobke, Bjoern; Bolbos, Radu; Saadat, Ehsan; Cheng, Jonathan; Li, Xiaojuan; Majumdar, Sharmila

2013-01-01

The application of biomolecular magnetic resonance imaging becomes increasingly important in the context of early cartilage changes in degenerative and inflammatory joint disease before gross morphological changes become apparent. In this limited technical report, we investigate the correlation of MRI T1, T2 and T1ρ relaxation times with quantitative biochemical measurements of proteoglycan and collagen contents of cartilage in close synopsis with histologic morphology. A recently developed MRI sequence, T1ρ, was able to detect early intracartilaginous degeneration quantitatively and also qualitatively by color mapping demonstrating a higher sensitivity than standard T2-weighted sequences. The results correlated highly with reduced proteoglycan content and disrupted collagen architecture as measured by biochemistry and histology. The findings lend support to a clinical implementation that allows rapid visual capturing of pathology on a local, millimeter level. Further information about articular cartilage quality otherwise not detectable in vivo, via normal inspection, is needed for orthopedic treatment decisions in the present and future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Times of Minima of Selected Early-Type Eclipsing Binaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mayer, Pavel; Wolf, Marek; Niarchos, P. G.; Gazeas, K. D.; Manimanis, V. N.; Chochol, Drahomír

2006-08-01

New precise times of minimum light for several early-type eclipsing binaries were obtained at three observatories. The changes of period of the following measured binaries are discussed: V1182 Aql, LY Aur, SZ Cam, FZ CMa, QZ Car, LZ Cen, V606 Cen, AH Cep and TU~Mus.

Early Life Factors and Adult Leisure Time Physical Inactivity Stability and Change.

PubMed

Pinto Pereira, Snehal M; Li, Leah; Power, Chris

2015-09-01

Physical inactivity has a high prevalence and associated disease burden. A better understanding of influences on sustaining and changing inactive lifestyles is needed. We aimed to establish whether leisure time inactivity was stable in midadulthood and whether early life factors were associated with inactivity patterns. In the 1958 British birth cohort (n = 12,271), leisure time inactivity (frequency, less than once a week) assessed at 33 and 50 yr was categorized as "never inactive," "persistently inactive," "deteriorating," or "improving." Early life factors (birth to 16 yr) were categorized into three (physical, social, and behavioral) domains. Using multinomial logistic regression, we assessed associations with inactivity persistence and change of factors within each early life domain and the three domains combined with and without adjustment for adult factors. Inactivity prevalence was similar at 33 and 50 yr (approximately 31%), but 17% deteriorated and 18% improved with age. In models adjusted for all domains simultaneously, factors associated with inactivity persistence versus never inactive were prepubertal stature (8% lower risk/height SD), poor hand control/coordination (17% higher risk/increase on four-point scale), cognition (16% lower/SD in ability) (physical); parental divorce (25% higher), class at birth (7% higher/reduction on four-point scale), minimal parental education (16% higher), household amenities (2% higher/increase in 19-point score (high = poor)) (social); and inactivity (22% higher/reduction in activity on four-point scale), low sports aptitude (47% higher), smoking (30% higher) (behavioral). All except stature, parental education, sports aptitude, and smoking were associated also with inactivity deterioration. Poor hand control/coordination was the only factor associated with improved status (13% lower/increase on four-point scale) versus persistently inactive. Adult leisure time inactivity is moderately stable. Early life factors are

The Development of Japanese Society and the Modernization of Japanese at the Time of the Meiji Restoration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takada, Makoto

Japan experienced a period of great social change in the middle of the nineteenth century, ending a long period of national isolation. This was the period of the Meiji Restoration. During the modernization and westernization that followed, the government made great advances in modernizing the Japanese language. This process had two phases: (1)…

A haplotype spanning PLAG1 contributed to stature recovery in modern cattle

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The recent evolution of cattle is marked by fluctuations in body size. Height in the Bos taurus lineage was reduced by a factor of ~1.5 from the Neolithic to the Middle Ages, and increased again only during the Early Modern Ages. Here, we provide evidence that the bovine PLAG1 haplotype (Q) with maj...

Proteus: Mythology to modern times.

PubMed

Sellaturay, Senthy V; Nair, Raj; Dickinson, Ian K; Sriprasad, Seshadri

2012-10-01

It is common knowledge that proteus bacteria are associated with urinary tract infections and urinary stones. Far more interesting however, is the derivation of the word proteus. This study examines the origin of the word proteus, its mythological, historical and literary connections and evolution to present-day usage. A detailed search for primary and secondary sources was undertaken using the library and internet. Greek mythology describes Proteus as an early sea-god, noted for being versatile and capable of assuming many different forms. In the 8(th) century BC, the ancient Greek poet, Homer, famous for his epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey, describes Proteus as a prophetic old sea-god, and herdsman of the seals of Poseidon, God of the Sea. Shakespeare re-introduced Proteus into English literature, in the 15(th) century AD, in the comedy The Two Gentleman of Verona, as one of his main characters who is inconstant with his affections. The 'elephant man' was afflicted by a severely disfiguring disease, described as 'Proteus syndrome'. It is particularly difficult to distinguish from neurofibromatosis, due to its various forms in different individuals. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word 'protean' as to mean changeable, variable, and existing in multiple forms. Proteus bacteria directly derive their name from the Sea God, due to their rapid swarming growth and motility on agar plates. They demonstrate versatility by secreting enzymes, which allow them to evade the host's defense systems. Thus proteus, true to its name, has had a myriad of connotations over the centuries.

FOREWORD: Modern Applications of Timescales Modern Applications of Timescales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arias, E. F.; Lewandowski, W.

2011-08-01

The development of the first atomic frequency standard by Louis Essen in the 1950s is at the origin of the adoption of the atomic definition of the SI second by the 13th General Conference on Weights and Measures in 1967 and the consequent adoption of the atomic timescale. After the short reign of ephemeris time as the world's reference timescale from 1954 until 1967, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), synchronized to universal time UT1, appeared as the best compromise for satisfying the requests of all users. At the moment of the discussion on the adoption of an atomic timescale to replace ephemeris time, the possibility of having both an astronomical time and an atomic time to serve different purposes was discussed. In the words of Essen [1], this 'would cause endless confusion as well as involving duplication of equipment'. Forty years after the adoption of the definition of Coordinated Universal Time at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), we are close to the moment of making a decision on whether or not to decouple UTC from its tight link to the rotation of the Earth embodied in UT1. It has been a ten-year process of discussion, mainly at the ITU with the input of the International Astronomical Union, the BIPM, the Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency and other organizations. The majority opinion supported the change based on developers and users of systems that need time synchronization to a stable and continuous reference timescale; others insist on the necessity of keeping the leap-second strategy for serving some applications or just for tradition. It is our hope that, as happened in the seventies, the most appropriate definition to serve all modern applications will be adopted with the consensus of the different sectors. The redirection of international timekeeping from astronomy to metrology can be considered the benchmark that started the era of modern timescales, all based on atomic properties. The aim of this special issue of

Towards a High-resolution Time Scale for the Early Devonian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dekkers, M. J.; da Silva, A. C.

2017-12-01

High-resolution time scales are crucial to understand Earth's history in detail. The construction of a robust geological time scale, however, inevitably becomes increasingly harder further back in time. Uncertainties associated with anchor radiometric ages increase in size, not speaking of the mere presence of suitable datable strata. However, durations of stages can be tightly constrained by making use of cyclic expressions in sediments, an approach that revolutionized the Cenozoic time scale. When precisely determined durations are stitched together, ultimately, a very precise time scale is the result. For the Mesozoic and Paleozoic an astronomical solution as a tuning target is not available but the dominant periods of eccentricity, obliquity and precession are reasonably well constrained for the entire Phanerozoic which enables their detection by means of spectral analysis. Eccentricity is time-invariant and is used as the prime building block. Here we focus on the Early Devonian, on its lowermost three stages: the Lochkovian, Pragian and Emsian. The uncertainties on the Devonian stage boundaries are currently in the order of several millions of years. The preservation of climatic cycles in diagenetically or even anchimetamorphically affected successions, however, is essential. The fit of spectral peak ratios with those calculated for orbital cycles, is classically used as a strong argument for a preserved climatic signal. Here we use primarily the low field magnetic susceptibility (MS) as proxy parameter, supported by gamma-ray spectrometry to test for consistency. Continuous Wavelet Transform, Evolutive Harmonic Analysis, Multitaper Method, and Average Spectral Misfit are used to reach an optimal astronomical interpretation. We report on classic Early Devonian sections from the Czech Republic: the Pozar-CS (Lochkovian and Pragian), Pod Barrandovem (Pragian and Lower Emsian), and Zlichov (Middle-Upper Emsian). Also a Middle-Upper Emsian section from the US

Nuclear weapons modernizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kristensen, Hans M.

2014-05-01

This article reviews the nuclear weapons modernization programs underway in the world's nine nuclear weapons states. It concludes that despite significant reductions in overall weapons inventories since the end of the Cold War, the pace of reductions is slowing - four of the nuclear weapons states are even increasing their arsenals, and all the nuclear weapons states are busy modernizing their remaining arsenals in what appears to be a dynamic and counterproductive nuclear competition. The author questions whether perpetual modernization combined with no specific plan for the elimination of nuclear weapons is consistent with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and concludes that new limits on nuclear modernizations are needed.

Session 6: Infant nutrition: future research developments in Europe EARNEST, the early nutrition programming project: EARly Nutrition programming - long-term Efficacy and Safety Trials and integrated epidemiological, genetic, animal, consumer and economic research.

PubMed

Fewtrell, M S

2007-08-01

Increasing evidence from lifetime experimental studies in animals and observational and experimental studies in human subjects suggests that pre- and postnatal nutrition programme long-term health. However, key unanswered questions remain on the extent of early-life programming in contemporary European populations, relevant nutritional exposures, critical time periods, mechanisms and the effectiveness of interventions to prevent or reverse programming effects. The EARly Nutrition programming - long-term Efficacy and Safety Trials and integrated epidemiological, genetic, animal, consumer and economic research (EARNEST) consortium brings together a multi-disciplinary team of scientists from European research institutions in an integrated programme of work that includes experimental studies in human subjects, modern prospective observational studies and mechanistic animal work including physiological studies, cell-culture models and molecular techniques. Theme 1 tests early nutritional programming of disease in human subjects, measuring disease markers in childhood and early adulthood in nineteen randomised controlled trials of nutritional interventions in pregnancy and infancy. Theme 2 examines associations between early nutrition and later outcomes in large modern European population-based prospective studies, with detailed measures of diet in pregnancy and early life. Theme 3 uses animal, cellular and molecular techniques to study lifetime effects of early nutrition. Biomedical studies are complemented by studies of the social and economic importance of programming (themes 4 and 5), and themes encouraging integration, communication, training and wealth creation. The project aims to: help formulate policies on the composition and testing of infant foods; improve the nutritional value of infant formulas; identify interventions to prevent and reverse adverse early nutritional programming. In addition, it has the potential to develop new products through industrial

Timing of First Antenatal Care (ANC) and Inequalities in Early Initiation of ANC in Nepal.

PubMed

Paudel, Yuba Raj; Jha, Trishna; Mehata, Suresh

2017-01-01

The provision and uptake of quality and timely antenatal care (ANC) is an essential element of efforts to improve health outcomes for women and newborn babies. Antenatal consultations assist in early identification and treatment of complications during pregnancy. This study aimed to provide an information on distribution and inequalities in early initiation of ANC in Nepal. The distribution and inequalities in the early initiation of ANC were examined using Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys 2011. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to assess inequalities. Overall, 70% of the women had started their first ANC at 4 month or earlier. Among participants who had never attended school, just more than half (52%) received first ANC at 4 months or earlier, while majority of participants (97%) who had received higher education received first ANC at recommended time. Similarly, 89% of those from richest quintile and 48% of those from poorest quintile received first ANC at recommended time. In adjusted analysis, women from richest wealth quintile were significantly more likely to initiate ANC early (AOR: 3.74, 95% CI: 2.31-6.05) compared to the poorest. Similarly, women with higher level education were significantly more likely (AOR: 11.40, 95% CI: 5.05-25.73) to initiate ANC early compared to women who had never attended school. A significantly lower odds of early ANC take up was observed among madhesi other caste (AOR: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.35-0.90) compared to brahmin/chhetri women. Women whose pregnancy was unwanted were significantly less likely to attend first ANC at 4 months or early (AOR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.58-0.93) in comparison to women whose pregnancy was wanted. The differences in the recommended timing of initiation of ANC were evident among women with different educational, economic levels, and caste/ethnic groups. Rural women were less likely to have checkups as per guidelines. The findings suggest to a need of interventions to raise female

Calcaneus length determines running economy: implications for endurance running performance in modern humans and Neandertals.

PubMed

Raichlen, David A; Armstrong, Hunter; Lieberman, Daniel E

2011-03-01

The endurance running (ER) hypothesis suggests that distance running played an important role in the evolution of the genus Homo. Most researchers have focused on ER performance in modern humans, or on reconstructing ER performance in Homo erectus, however, few studies have examined ER capabilities in other members of the genus Homo. Here, we examine skeletal correlates of ER performance in modern humans in order to evaluate the energetics of running in Neandertals and early Homo sapiens. Recent research suggests that running economy (the energy cost of running at a given speed) is strongly related to the length of the Achilles tendon moment arm. Shorter moment arms allow for greater storage and release of elastic strain energy, reducing energy costs. Here, we show that a skeletal correlate of Achilles tendon moment arm length, the length of the calcaneal tuber, does not correlate with walking economy, but correlates significantly with running economy and explains a high proportion of the variance (80%) in cost between individuals. Neandertals had relatively longer calcaneal tubers than modern humans, which would have increased their energy costs of running. Calcaneal tuber lengths in early H. sapiens do not significantly differ from those of extant modern humans, suggesting Neandertal ER economy was reduced relative to contemporaneous anatomically modern humans. Endurance running is generally thought to be beneficial for gaining access to meat in hot environments, where hominins could have used pursuit hunting to run prey taxa into hyperthermia. We hypothesize that ER performance may have been reduced in Neandertals because they lived in cold climates. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Climatic implications of reconstructed early - Mid Pliocene equilibrium-line altitudes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krusic, A.G.; Prentice, M.L.; Licciardi, J.M.

2009-01-01

Early-mid Pliocene moraines in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, are more extensive than the present alpine glaciers in this region, indicating substantial climatic differences between the early-mid Pliocene and the present. To quantify this difference in the glacier-climate regime, we estimated the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) change since the early-mid Pliocene by calculating the modern ELA and reconstructing the ELAs of four alpine glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys at their early-mid Pliocene maxima. The area-altitude balance ratio method was used on modern and reconstructed early-mid Pliocene hypsometry. In Wright and Victoria Valleys, mass-balance data identify present-day ELAs of 800-1600 m a.s.l. and an average balance ratio of 1.1. The estimated ELAs of the much larger early-mid Pliocene glaciers in Wright and Taylor Valleys range from 600 to 950 ?? 170 m a.s.l., and thus are 250-600 ??170 m lower than modern ELAs in these valleys. The depressed ELAs during the early-mid-Pliocene most likely indicate a wetter and therefore warmer climate in the Dry Valleys during this period than previous studies have recognized.

And yet, we were modern. The paradoxes of Iberian science after the Grand Narratives.

PubMed

Pimentel, Juan; Pardo-Tomás, José

2017-06-01

In this article, we try to explain the origin of a disagreement; the sort that often arises when the subject is the history of early modern Spanish science. In the decades between 1970 and 1990, while some historians were trying to include Spain in the grand narrative of the rise of modern science, the very historical category of the Scientific Revolution was beginning to be dismantled. It could be said that Spaniards were boarding the flagship of modern science right before it sank. To understand this décalage it would be helpful to recall the role of the history of science during the years after the Franco dictatorship and Spain's transition to democracy. It was a discipline useful for putting behind us the Black Legend and Spanish exceptionalism.

Screening the modern girl: intermediality in the adaptation of "Flaming Youth".

PubMed

Ross, Sara

2010-01-01

In the early 1920s, the film industry seized on the furor over the modern girls' demands for sexual liberty and fulfillment inside and outside of marriage to introduce not only new subject matter, but new modes of addressing its diverse audience. Social upheaval in this period coincided with the media industries' movement toward unprecedented speed of adaptation and cooperation, making possible a powerful new intermediality. The film industry used this to generate layered meanings beyond the confines of the film text, encouraging bold viewers to see through the camouflage with which it sought to appease more traditionalist audience members. With Flaming Youth, through a smokescreen of melodramatic conventions and moral lessons, it delivered a strikingly modern conception of sexuality and marriage to the big screen.

Early Learning Theories Made Visible

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beloglovsky, Miriam; Daly, Lisa

2015-01-01

Go beyond reading about early learning theories and see what they look like in action in modern programs and teacher practices. With classroom vignettes and colorful photographs, this book makes the works of Jean Piaget, Erik Erikson, Lev Vygotsky, Abraham Maslow, John Dewey, Howard Gardner, and Louise Derman-Sparks visible, accessible, and easier…

Listening to Students: Studying for a Part-Time Degree in Early Childhood Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burn, Elizabeth

For this study, 12 part-time students in an early childhood studies program were interviewed and videotaped concerning their personal stories as students. Initial analysis of their responses revealed main themes: (1) economic barriers to full-time degree study; (2) domestic responsibilities/gender issues (for example, the stress of juggling…

Nuclear weapons modernizations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kristensen, Hans M.

This article reviews the nuclear weapons modernization programs underway in the world's nine nuclear weapons states. It concludes that despite significant reductions in overall weapons inventories since the end of the Cold War, the pace of reductions is slowing - four of the nuclear weapons states are even increasing their arsenals, and all the nuclear weapons states are busy modernizing their remaining arsenals in what appears to be a dynamic and counterproductive nuclear competition. The author questions whether perpetual modernization combined with no specific plan for the elimination of nuclear weapons is consistent with the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and concludesmore » that new limits on nuclear modernizations are needed.« less

Mechanism of Disease in early Osteoarthritis: Application of modern MR imaging techniques – A technical report

PubMed Central

Jobke, B.; Bolbos, R.; Saadat, E.; Cheng, J.; Li, X.; Majumdar, S.

2012-01-01

The application of biomolecular magnetic resonance imaging becomes increasingly important in the context of early cartilage changes in degenerative and inflammatory joint disease before gross morphological changes become apparent. In this limited technical report, we investigate the correlation of MRI T1, T2 and T1 relaxation times with quantitative biochemical measurements of proteoglycan and collagen contents of cartilage in close synopsis with histologic morphology. A recently developed MR imaging sequence, T1, was able to detect early intracartilaginous degeneration quantitatively and also qualitatively by color mapping demonstrating a higher sensitivity than standard T2-w sequences. The results correlated highly with reduced proteoglycan content and disrupted collagen architecture as measured by biochemistry and histology. The findings lend support to a clinical implementation that allows rapid visual capturing of pathology on a local, millimeter level. Further information about articular cartilage quality otherwise not detectable in-vivo, via normal inspection, is needed for orthopedic treatment decisions in the present and future. PMID:22902064

Proteus: Mythology to modern times

PubMed Central

Sellaturay, Senthy V.; Nair, Raj; Dickinson, Ian K.; Sriprasad, Seshadri

2012-01-01

Aims: It is common knowledge that proteus bacteria are associated with urinary tract infections and urinary stones. Far more interesting however, is the derivation of the word proteus. This study examines the origin of the word proteus, its mythological, historical and literary connections and evolution to present-day usage. Materials and Methods: A detailed search for primary and secondary sources was undertaken using the library and internet. Results: Greek mythology describes Proteus as an early sea-god, noted for being versatile and capable of assuming many different forms. In the 8th century BC, the ancient Greek poet, Homer, famous for his epic poems the Iliad and Odyssey, describes Proteus as a prophetic old sea-god, and herdsman of the seals of Poseidon, God of the Sea. Shakespeare re-introduced Proteus into English literature, in the 15th century AD, in the comedy The Two Gentleman of Verona, as one of his main characters who is inconstant with his affections. The ‘elephant man’ was afflicted by a severely disfiguring disease, described as ‘Proteus syndrome’. It is particularly difficult to distinguish from neurofibromatosis, due to its various forms in different individuals. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘protean’ as to mean changeable, variable, and existing in multiple forms. Proteus bacteria directly derive their name from the Sea God, due to their rapid swarming growth and motility on agar plates. They demonstrate versatility by secreting enzymes, which allow them to evade the host's defense systems. Conclusions: Thus proteus, true to its name, has had a myriad of connotations over the centuries. PMID:23450503

Defective modernization and health in Mexico.

PubMed

Simonelli, J M

1987-01-01

This paper uses data gathered in a semi-arid, mountain region of the border state of Sonora, Mexico to illustrate that modernization and the importation of urban ideas and values can influence health status in unexpected ways. It traces the historic process of modernization in a rural municipio, relating this to social promises and economic cycles in Mexico. Modernization is seen to encompass life standard improvements and access to medical care; extension of road and transportation systems; and the widespread availability of information and education, as well as lifestyle changes required to incorporate these 'urban' influences. Reviewing the link between climate and health in arid lands, the paper notes that such modernization can be a well-meaning intrusion upon a set of cultural and social practices which had proved adaptive in dealing with climatic extremes. Initial modernization produces impressive declines in mortality and morbidity, as illustrated in an analysis of mortality figures and causes in relation to age cohorts and decades for the years 1955-1984. However, reductions in epidermic-related infant mortality are shown to be offset by increases in deaths due to trauma, chronic conditions and endemic disease. An analysis of morbidity for the year 1983-84 indicates that continuing high rates of infectious disease are related to conditions which result from increasingly defective modernization. To maintain technology, including water, electrical, and sewage systems, continual capital expenditure on both the public and private level is required. The economic crisis in Mexico is reducing available funds at a time when the community has adjusted its traditional lifestyle to incorporate technological improvements. In light of this, it is likely that inroads against infectious disease will not just continue to be stalemated, but could actually be reversed. This finding has implications for towns and villages on both sides of the Mexican-American border.

Modernizing the automatic temperature-regulating systems for electric resistor furnaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anchevskii, I.V.; Afanasiadi, N.G.; Demin, V.P.

An analysis of the technical level of heat-treating equipment at the sector's plants showed that automation was either insufficient or completely lacking. Modern heat-treating technology makes stringent demands on heat-treating equipment, including electric resistor furnaces. Therefore, it became necessary to modernize these furnaces and equip them with modern automatic temperature control systems (ATCSs). This is most urgent for furnaces which handle nuclear-power-station parts, which must not only be held at a certain temperature for a definite time, but which also require a complex process with established heating rates in each time period. The heat-treatment data are recorded in the part'smore » passport certificate, and the temperatures of both the heatingzone atmosphere and the heat-treated part are monitored.« less

Bodily cleanliness in modern nursing.

PubMed

Boge, Jeanne; Kristoffersen, Kjell; Martinsen, Kari

2013-04-01

Why are bodily washing practices the way they are in nursing? Michel Foucault argues that modern democratic societies discipline human bodies in accordance with political interests. In the extension of that argumentation we will show that bodily cleanliness in modern nursing may have been used as a disciplining tool. The first part of our discussion takes as its point of departure the second half of the 19th/the beginning of the 20th centuries, the period in which modern nursing emerged. At that time scientific theories on hygiene seem to have legitimized the political effort to produce a clean, pleasant-smelling, decent, obedient, and productive population. Doctors, nurses and teachers played important roles in the implementation of hygienic bodily washing practices. The second part of the discussion focuses on the post-war period. At that time humanistic needs theories seem to have legitimized political argumentation for independent patients who washed themselves if possible. Those who could not manage on their own, should, as far as possible, be washed by cheaper staff, so that nurses could concentrate on medical treatment. Finally we argue that present day bodily washing practices in nursing are in accordance with the norms of appearance and smell that arose in the second half of the 19th and the first part of the 20th centuries. We further argue that staff with little or no education perform much of the bodily nursing work. Self-care seems to be of interest only when it reduces public expenses. © 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Extracellular matrix motion and early morphogenesis.

PubMed

Loganathan, Rajprasad; Rongish, Brenda J; Smith, Christopher M; Filla, Michael B; Czirok, Andras; Bénazéraf, Bertrand; Little, Charles D

2016-06-15

For over a century, embryologists who studied cellular motion in early amniotes generally assumed that morphogenetic movement reflected migration relative to a static extracellular matrix (ECM) scaffold. However, as we discuss in this Review, recent investigations reveal that the ECM is also moving during morphogenesis. Time-lapse studies show how convective tissue displacement patterns, as visualized by ECM markers, contribute to morphogenesis and organogenesis. Computational image analysis distinguishes between cell-autonomous (active) displacements and convection caused by large-scale (composite) tissue movements. Modern quantification of large-scale 'total' cellular motion and the accompanying ECM motion in the embryo demonstrates that a dynamic ECM is required for generation of the emergent motion patterns that drive amniote morphogenesis. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Historical continuity in the methodology of modern medical science: Leonardo leads the way.

PubMed

Pasipoularides, Ares

2014-02-01

Early modern medical science did not arise ex nihilo, but was the culmination of a long history stretching back through the Renaissance, the Middle Ages, Byzantium and Roman times, into Greek Antiquity. The long interval between Aristotle and Galen and Harvey and Descartes was punctuated by outstanding visionaries, including Leonardo, the ultimate Renaissance man. His attitude and mindset were based on Aristotelian pursuit of empirical fact and rational thought. He declared himself to be a "man without letters" to underscore his disdain for those whose culture was only mnemonics and philosophical inferences from authoritative books. Leonardo read the Book of Nature with the immense curiosity of the pioneering scientist, ushering in the methodology of modern medical science with help from forerunners. He left no publications, but extensive personal Notebooks: on his scientific research, hydrodynamics, physiological anatomy, etc. Apparently, numerous successors availed themselves of his methodologies and insights, albeit without attribution. In his Notebooks, disordered and fragmentary, Leonardo manifests the exactitude of the engineer and scientist, the spontaneous freshness of one speaking of what he has at heart and that he knows well. His style is unrefined, but intensely personal, rich with emotion and, sometimes, poetic. Leonardo, the visionary anatomist, strived consistently not merely to imitate nature by depicting body structures, but to perceive through analysis and simulations the intimate physiologic processes; i.e., the biomechanics underlying the workings of all bodily organs and components, even the mysterious beating heart. It is fitting to regard him as the first modern medical scientist. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modernity in Two Great American Writers' Vision: Ernest Miller Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keshmiri, Fahimeh; Darzikola, Shahla Sorkhabi

2016-01-01

Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, American memorable novelists have had philosophic ideas about modernity. In fact their idea about existential interests of American, and the effects of American system on society, is mirrored in their creative works. All through his early works, Fitzgerald echoes the existential center of his era. Obviously,…

Phosphorus cycling in the Early Aptian

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oakes, R.; Dittrich, M.; Wortmann, U. G.

2012-12-01

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for living organisms. It is vital for the formation of ATP, the energy store in cells, and is needed for DNA synthesis. Seawater phosphorus concentration therefore plays a critical role in controlling marine productivity on geological timescales. The majority of research on the P cycle focuses on modern lacustrine and marine settings. This follows the necessity to gain a further understanding on the effects of agricultural fertilisers on nutrient cycling; in particular on the mechanisms which lead to eutrophication. These studies use sequential extraction to determine the speciation of P. The results suggest that bottom sediments can act as both a source and a sink of phosphorus; the role they assume depends on range of factors including bottom water oxygen concentrations, sedimentation rate and the concentration of iron. This study applies a sequential extraction method developed in modern sediments to sediments from the Early Cretaceous, specifically the Early Aptian. During this time, globally synchronous oceanic anoxic events (OAE's) appear in the rock record. It has been suggested that these events represent an increase in marine productivity combined with bottom water anoxia. Our study investigates whether the speciation of sedimentary phosphorus can be used to reconstruct P cycling at this time. Our samples are taken from pre-, syn- and post-OAE1a but are not from the organic matter rich layers. Our results show that the original fractions of phosphorus have been altered during diagenesis with the majority of phosphorus now being preserved as either apatite (Ca-P) or phosphorus in organic matter (Porg). The dominance of Ca-P is expected as it is thought that redox-sensitive forms of P undergo 'sink switching' during diagenesis and are preserved as Ca-P. The high concentration of Porg however, differs from previous studies which generally find that Ca-P or iron (oxyhydr)oxide associated phosphorus (Fe-P) are dominant

Early, on-time, and late behavioural autonomy in adolescence: psychosocial correlates in young and middle adulthood.

PubMed

Pavlova, Maria K; Haase, Claudia M; Silbereisen, Rainer K

2011-04-01

Drawing on two nationally representative German studies (N(1) = 1744, N(2) = 759), we examined correlates of early, on-time, and late curfew autonomy, a retrospective indicator of behavioural autonomy, in young and middle adulthood (19-37 years of age). Adjustment in four domains was considered: educational attainment, externalizing problem behaviour, subjective well-being, and interpersonal relationships. The early group showed lower adjustment in multiple domains across young and middle adulthood. The late group reported a mixed pattern of adjustment at younger ages (lower externalizing problems, but lower positive affect, lower importance of peers, and lower likelihood to have a partner) and positive adjustment in all domains at older ages. Timing effects were controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and retrospective measures of early adversities, pubertal timing, disclosure to parents, and peer group affiliation in adolescence. Findings show that late behavioural autonomy in its correlates is not simply the opposite of early behavioural autonomy. Copyright © 2010 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modernization and unification: Strategic goals for NASA STI program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blados, W.; Cotter, Gladys A.

1993-01-01

Information is increasingly becoming a strategic resource in all societies and economies. The NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program has initiated a modernization program to address the strategic importance and changing characteristics of information. This modernization effort applies new technology to current processes to provide near-term benefits to the user. At the same time, we are developing a long-term modernization strategy designed to transition the program to a multimedia, global 'library without walls.' Notwithstanding this modernization program, it is recognized that no one information center can hope to collect all the relevant data. We see information and information systems changing and becoming more international in scope. We are finding that many nations are expending resources on national systems which duplicate each other. At the same time that this duplication exists, many useful sources of aerospace information are not being collected because of resource limitations. If nations cooperate to develop an international aerospace information system, resources can be used efficiently to cover expanded sources of information. We must consider forming a coalition to collect and provide access to disparate, multidisciplinary sources of information, and to develop standardized tools for documenting and manipulating this data and information. In view of recent technological developments in information science and technology, as well as the reality of scarce resources in all nations, it is time to explore the mutually beneficial possibilities offered by cooperation and international resource sharing. International resources need to be mobilized in a coordinated manner to move us towards this goal. This paper reviews the NASA modernization program and raises for consideration new possibilities for unification of the various aerospace database efforts toward a cooperative international aerospace database initiative that can optimize the cost

Oxygenation history of the Neoproterozoic to early Phanerozoic and the rise of land plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, Malcolm W.; Hood, Ashleigh vS.; Shuster, Alice; Greig, Alan; Planavsky, Noah J.; Reed, Christopher P.

2017-05-01

There has been extensive debate about the history of Earth's oxygenation and the role that land plant evolution played in shaping Earth's ocean-atmosphere system. Here we use the rare earth element patterns in marine carbonates to monitor the structure of the marine redox landscape through the rise and diversification of animals and early land plants. In particular, we use the relative abundance of cerium (Ceanom), the only redox-sensitive rare earth element, in well-preserved marine cements and other marine precipitates to track seawater oxygen levels. Our results indicate that there was only a moderate increase in oceanic oxygenation during the Ediacaran (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 1.1, average Ediacaran Ceanom = 0.62), followed by a decrease in oxygen levels during the early Cambrian (average Cryogenian Ceanom = 0.90), with significant ocean anoxia persisting through the early and mid Paleozoic (average Early Cambrian-Early Devonian Ceanom = 0.84). It was not until the Late Devonian that oxygenation levels are comparable to the modern (average of all post-middle Devonian Ceanom = 0.55). Therefore, this work confirms growing evidence that the oxygenation of the Earth was neither unidirectional nor a simple two-stage process. Further, we provide evidence that it was not until the Late Devonian, when large land plants and forests first evolved, that oxygen levels reached those comparable to the modern world. This is recorded with the first modern-like negative Ceanom (values <0.6) occurring at around 380 Ma (Frasnian). This suggests that land plants, rather than animals, are the 'engineers' responsible for the modern fully oxygenated Earth system.

The Driving Forces of Cultural Complexity : Neanderthals, Modern Humans, and the Question of Population Size.

PubMed

Fogarty, Laurel; Wakano, Joe Yuichiro; Feldman, Marcus W; Aoki, Kenichi

2017-03-01

The forces driving cultural accumulation in human populations, both modern and ancient, are hotly debated. Did genetic, demographic, or cognitive features of behaviorally modern humans (as opposed to, say, early modern humans or Neanderthals) allow culture to accumulate to its current, unprecedented levels of complexity? Theoretical explanations for patterns of accumulation often invoke demographic factors such as population size or density, whereas statistical analyses of variation in cultural complexity often point to the importance of environmental factors such as food stability, in determining cultural complexity. Here we use both an analytical model and an agent-based simulation model to show that a full understanding of the emergence of behavioral modernity, and the cultural evolution that has followed, depends on understanding and untangling the complex relationships among culture, genetically determined cognitive ability, and demographic history. For example, we show that a small but growing population could have a different number of cultural traits from a shrinking population with the same absolute number of individuals in some circumstances.

[The modern microbiology in the clinical managing].

PubMed

Casal Román, Manuel

2012-01-01

The tuberculosis is one of the most important and mortal diseases of the world. The microbiological confirmatory diagnosis and the microbiological therapeutic orientation are fundamental nowadays in the tuberculosis in AIDS and in the Resistant tuberculosis. They are described throughout the time by the classic Microbiology: From 1882 to final 20th century (130 years). With the modern current Microbiology: In the beginning of the 21st century (20-30 years). And as will be done with the future Microbiology: From the years 2020-30. The important advances are outlined in the modern and future clinical microbiology, for the control of the Tuberculosis.

Comparing physical activity and sedentary time among overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers enrolled in early learning programs: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Tucker, Patricia; Maltby, Alana M; Burke, Shauna M; Vanderloo, Leigh M; Irwin, Jennifer D

2016-09-01

Establishing appropriate physical activity and sedentary behaviours during early childhood is important to ensure children accrue the many associated health benefits. While physical activity levels have been reported as low within early learning programs, little research has explored the physical activity and sedentary time of Canadian preschoolers classified as overweight within these facilities. The purpose of this study was to compare objectively measured physical activity and sedentary time among preschoolers classified as overweight and nonoverweight in early learning programs. Direct assessment of physical activity and sedentary time of 216 preschool-aged children was collected via Actical accelerometers during early learning hours, while body mass index percentile was calculated based on preschoolers' objectively measured height and weight. Results of three 3-way ANOVAs suggest that rates of moderate to vigorous physical activity, total physical activity, and sedentary time (p > 0.05) did not significantly differ based on weight status, sex, and type of early learning facility. This study is one of few that has examined differences in overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers' sedentary time, and adds to the limited research exploring physical activity levels among overweight and nonoverweight preschoolers during early learning hours. Given the high rates of sedentary time reported, programming within early learning facilities is necessary to support preschoolers, regardless of weight status, to achieve increased physical activity levels and decreased sedentary time.

Prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia in the recent and past time periods; modern- and past dust deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gavrilov, Milivoj B.; Marković, Slobodan B.; Schaetzl, Randall J.; Tošić, Ivana; Zeeden, Christian; Obreht, Igor; Sipos, György; Ruman, Albert; Putniković, Suzana; Emunds, Kathrin; Perić, Zoran; Hambach, Ulrich; Lehmkuhl, Frank

2018-04-01

This study utilizes four different methodological approaches to examine the prevailing surface winds and their associated aeolian processes in Northern Serbia, focusing on the southeastern part of the Carpathian Basin. We utilized wind and atmospheric pressure data from 1939-2014 and 1960-2010 for the climatological analyses. Geomorphological data and numerical simulations were used to estimate prevailing paleowind systems. Northern Serbia is currently dominated by surface winds coming from the fourth (270°-360°) and second (90°-180°) quadrants, with frequencies of ca. 116 and 105 days/year, respectively. Comparable frequencies within Banatska Peščara are 115 and 129 days/year, respectively. Crestal orientations of the vast majority of the ≈1300 parabolic dunes here suggest that they have formed from winds derived from the second quadrant, indicating formation during the early Holocene. The remaining dunes, of the transverse type, have orientations aligned to the third quadrant. Grain size analysis of loess deposits near Banatska Peščara points to deposition driven by southeasterly winds, probably during the period between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the early Holocene. Modern wind measurements and geomorphological data showed that the prevailing winds in the recent and past periods were from the same quadrant, in and around Banatska Peščara. These results were confirmed with an explicit numerical simulation that modelled prevailing winds from the second quadrant during the LGM. Thus, the various geomorphologic and climatic data analyzed in this study show that the general air circulation patterns in the recent period are not dissimilar to those operative during the LGM.

Infectious Disease Stigmas: Maladaptive in Modern Society

PubMed Central

Smith, Rachel A.; Hughes, David

2014-01-01

At multiple times in human history people have asked if there are good stigmas. Is there some useful function stigmas serve in the context of our evolutionary history; is stigma adaptive? This essay discusses stigmas as a group-selection strategy and the human context in which stigmas likely appeared. The next section explores how human patterns have changed in modern society and the consequences for infectious disease (ID) stigmas in the modern age. The concluding section suggests that while social-living species may be particularly apt to create and communicate ID stigmas and enact ID-related stigmatization, such stigma-related processes no longer function to protect human communities. Stigmas do not increase the ability of modern societies to survive infectious diseases, but in fact may be important drivers of problematic disease dynamics and act as catalysts for failures in protecting public health. PMID:25477728

How Early Holocene Greening of the Afro-Asian Dust Belt Changed Sources of Mineral Dust in West Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pourmand, A.; Sharifi, A.; Goes, L. M.; Clement, A. C.; Canuel, E. A.; Naderi Beni, A.; Ahmady-Birgani, H.

2016-12-01

Production, transport and deposition of mineral dust have significant temporal and spatial impacts on different components of the Earth systems. In modern times, dust plumes can be associated with their source origin(s) using satellite and land-based measurements and back-trajectory reconstruction of air masses. Reconstructing past changes in the sources of mineral dust as related to changes in climate, however, must rely on the knowledge of the geochemical and mineralogical composition of modern and paleo-dust, and their potential source origins. In this contribution, we present a 13,000-year record of variations in radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes and Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies from an ombrotrophic (rain fed) peat core in NW Iran as proxies of past changes in sources of dust over West Asia. The geochemical fingerprint of dust particles deposited during the low-flux, early Holocene period (11,700-6,000 yr BP) is distinctly different from times of high dust fluxes during the Younger Dryas, and that of the mid-late Holocene. This indicates that the composition of mineral dust deposited at the receptor site changed as a function of prevailing atmospheric circulation regimes and land exposure. Simulations of atmospheric circulation over the region show the Northern Hemisphere Westerly Jet (NHWJ) was displaced poleward across the study area during the early Holocene when solar insolation was higher. This shift, coupled with lower dust emissions simulated based on greening of the Afro-Asian Dust Belt during the early Holocene likely led to potential sources in Central Asia to dominate dust export to West Asia during this period, in contrast to the dominant western and southwest Asian and Eastern African sources that prevail during the modern period.

The Developmental Pathway From Pubertal Timing to Delinquency and Sexual Activity From Early to Late Adolescence

PubMed Central

Negriff, Sonya; Elizabeth, J. Susman; Trickett, Penelope K.

2013-01-01

There is strong evidence that early pubertal timing is associated with adolescent problem behaviors. However, there has been limited investigation of the mechanisms or developmental relationships. The present study examined longitudinal models incorporating pubertal timing, delinquency, and sexual activity in a sample of 454 adolescents (9–13 years old at enrollment; 47% females). Participants were seen for three assessments approximately 1 year apart. Characteristics of friendship networks (older friends, male friends, older male friends) were examined as mediators. Structural equation modeling was used to test these associations as well as temporal relationships between sexual activity and delinquency. Results showed that early pubertal timing at Time 1 was related to more sexual activity at Time 2, which was related to higher delinquency at Time 3, a trend mediation effect. None of the friendship variables mediated these associations. Gender or maltreatment status did not moderate the meditational pathways. The results also supported the temporal sequence of sexual activity preceding increases in delinquency. These findings reveal that early maturing adolescents may actively seek out opportunities to engage in sexual activity which appears to be risk for subsequent delinquency. PMID:21191640

The developmental pathway from pubertal timing to delinquency and sexual activity from early to late adolescence.

PubMed

Negriff, Sonya; Susman, Elizabeth J; Trickett, Penelope K

2011-10-01

There is strong evidence that early pubertal timing is associated with adolescent problem behaviors. However, there has been limited investigation of the mechanisms or developmental relationships. The present study examined longitudinal models incorporating pubertal timing, delinquency, and sexual activity in a sample of 454 adolescents (9-13 years old at enrollment; 47% females). Participants were seen for three assessments approximately 1 year apart. Characteristics of friendship networks (older friends, male friends, older male friends) were examined as mediators. Structural equation modeling was used to test these associations as well as temporal relationships between sexual activity and delinquency. Results showed that early pubertal timing at Time 1 was related to more sexual activity at Time 2, which was related to higher delinquency at Time 3, a trend mediation effect. None of the friendship variables mediated these associations. Gender or maltreatment status did not moderate the meditational pathways. The results also supported the temporal sequence of sexual activity preceding increases in delinquency. These findings reveal that early maturing adolescents may actively seek out opportunities to engage in sexual activity which appears to be risk for subsequent delinquency.

Modernization and new technologies: Coping with the information explosion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blados, Walter R.; Cotter, Gladys A.

1993-01-01

Information has become a valuable and strategic resource in all societies and economies. Scientific and technical information is especially important in developing and maintaining a strong national science and technology base. The expanding use of information technology, the growth of interdisciplinary research, and an increase in international collaboration are changing characteristics of information. This modernization effort applies new technology to current processes to provide near-term benefits to the user. At the same time, we are developing a long-term modernization strategy designed to transition the program to a multimedia, global 'library without walls'. Notwithstanding this modernization program, it is recogized that no one information center can hope to collect all the relevant data. We see information and information systems changing and becoming more international in scope. We are finding that many nations are expending resources on national systems which duplicate each other. At the same time that this duplication exists, many useful sources of aerospace information are not being collected to cover expanded sources of information. This paper reviews the NASA modernization program and raises for consideration new possibilities for unification of the various aerospace database efforts toward a cooperative international aerospace database initiative, one that can optimize the cost/benefit equation for all participants.

[Tuberculosis and the modern ideal of living].

PubMed

Medici, T C

2003-08-20

Sunlight and fresh air belong to the everyday life's myths. It has influenced our times and personal lives as much as industrialization. Today we are hardly aware of the multiple and omnipresent consequences of this myth. The modern movement with all its facets including modern architecture is barely conceivable without it. What is the link between this triad with all its effects and tuberculosis, the oldest and most important infectious disease which still claims more than 3 million deaths per year worldwide? Tuberculosis was treated by sunlight and fresh air at all times. This treatment was at its zenith during the second half of the 19th century after Hermann Brehmer had initiated this treatment within sanatoria in 1862. The sanatorium vogue lasted until the middle of the last century when streptomycin was isolated by Selman Waksman 1943. A new type of hospital was necessary for treating the patients with sunlight and fresh air: the sanatorium with its wide windows, sheltered open balconies, terraces and "Liegehallen". In return, this airy type of building was the forrunner of a new architectural style, called "Neues Bauen". The latter has profoundly influenced our modern ideal of living since Le Corbusiier built the Villa Savoye, one of the architectural highlights of the 20th century.

Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians.

PubMed

Jones, Eppie R; Gonzalez-Fortes, Gloria; Connell, Sarah; Siska, Veronika; Eriksson, Anders; Martiniano, Rui; McLaughlin, Russell L; Gallego Llorente, Marcos; Cassidy, Lara M; Gamba, Cristina; Meshveliani, Tengiz; Bar-Yosef, Ofer; Müller, Werner; Belfer-Cohen, Anna; Matskevich, Zinovi; Jakeli, Nino; Higham, Thomas F G; Currat, Mathias; Lordkipanidze, David; Hofreiter, Michael; Manica, Andrea; Pinhasi, Ron; Bradley, Daniel G

2015-11-16

We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic-Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-gatherers ∼45 kya, shortly after the expansion of anatomically modern humans into Europe and from the ancestors of Neolithic farmers ∼25 kya, around the Last Glacial Maximum. CHG genomes significantly contributed to the Yamnaya steppe herders who migrated into Europe ∼3,000 BC, supporting a formative Caucasus influence on this important Early Bronze age culture. CHG left their imprint on modern populations from the Caucasus and also central and south Asia possibly marking the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages.

Islamic Modernism and Architectural Modernism of Muhammadiyah’s Lio Mosque

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prajawisastra, A. F.; Aryanti, T.

2017-03-01

The Muhammadiyah’s Lio Mosque is one of the masterpieces of Achmad Noe’man, the great Indonesian mosque architect. The mosque was built as a community mosque at the center of Muhammadiyah’s quarter in Garut, West Java, in conjuction with the construction of the district’s Muhammadiyah branch. Having a shape out of the existing grip, the mosque has neither a dome nor a tajug tumpang tiga (three-tiered pyramidal roof) like other mosques nearby, but instead uses a gable roof and minarets towering. This article aims to analyze the architecture of the Lio Mosque and to learn Achmad Noe’man’s interpretation of modernism, both Islamic modernism and architectural modernism, reflected in the mosque design. Employing a qualitative approach, this study used observation and interviews with the mosque’s stakeholders. This article argues that the ideology of modernism, believed by Achmad Noe’man and the Muhammadiyah organization, was embodied in the Lio Mosque architecture.

The excitations and suppressions of the times: locating the emotions in the liver in modern Chinese medicine.

PubMed

Karchmer, Eric I

2013-03-01

This paper explores how doctors of Chinese medicine have borrowed from a long history of scholarship on the problem of "constraint" to develop treatments for modern emotion-related disorders, such as depression. I argue that this combining of medical practices was made possible by a complex sequence of events. First, doctors in the 1920 and 1930s were engaged in a critical reexamination of the entire corpus of Chinese medical knowledge. Spurred by the encounter with European imperialism, the sudden rise of Japan as a new power in East Asia, and the political struggles to establish a Chinese nation state, these scholars were among the first to speculate on the possible relationship between Chinese medicine and Western medicine. Second, in the 1950 and 1960s, doctors like other intellectuals were focused on national reunification and institution building. They rejected some of the experimental claims of their predecessors to focus on identifying the key characteristics of Chinese medicine, such as the methodology of "pattern recognition and treatment determination bianzheng lunzhi." The flexibility of the new bianzheng lunzhi paradigm allowed doctors to quietly adopt innovations from their early twentieth century counterparts that they ostensibly rejected, ultimately paving the way for contemporary treatments of depression.

[Modernity in dreams and myths].

PubMed

Scopelliti, Paolo

2009-01-01

The very presence of myths in psychoanalysis raises questions about their scientific status: that leads to reconsider the whole issue of Freudian mythology in a non-medical manner, by envisaging it in the more general context of modern myths, both political and artistic. Special attention is then paid to Surrealism, as the only avant-garde movement at the same time focused on psychoanalysis and politics: the role played by dreams in foundering myths is examined in both Surrealism and psychoanalysis. Surrealistic myths, such as Dalí's Grand Paranoïaque Comestible, finally prove to be so non-oedipian as the Nazi Ubermensch myth; nevertheless, their comparison with Freudian mythology points out their common origin, as they all fulfilled the need of the mass society for a modern myth, able to express his deeply renewed self-awareness.

[Patients' letters and pre-modern medical lay-culture].

PubMed

Stolberg, Michael

2007-01-01

Consulting by letter was fairly common practice among the educated, upper classes of early modern Europe. Surviving letters of consultation written by patients, relatives or friends count among the most valuable source for the analysis of pre-modern experiences of disease and the body. This essay gives a brief overview of the various types of consultation letters and related documents which resulted from this practice before tracing the historical development of epistolary consultations from the late Middle Ages through the heyday medical correspondence in the 18th c. before its decline in the 19th c. It presents "experience", "self-fashioning" and "discourse" as three particularly fruitful levels of analysis on which patients' letters can be used within the wider framework of a cultural history of medicine. These three levels of analysis, or three distinct approaches, enable historians to access a greater awareness of the ways in which the experience of illness and the body is culturally framed with an analysis of the performative effects of patients' narratives and the influence of medical discourse among the wider society.

Singular F(R) cosmology unifying early- and late-time acceleration with matter and radiation domination era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odintsov, S. D.; Oikonomou, V. K.

2016-06-01

We present some cosmological models which unify the late- and early-time acceleration eras with the radiation and the matter domination era, and we realize the cosmological models by using the theoretical framework of F(R) gravity. Particularly, the first model unifies the late- and early-time acceleration with the matter domination era, and the second model unifies all the evolution eras of our Universe. The two models are described in the same way at early and late times, and only the intermediate stages of the evolution have some differences. Each cosmological model contains two Type IV singularities which are chosen to occur one at the end of the inflationary era and one at the end of the matter domination era. The cosmological models at early times are approximately identical to the R 2 inflation model, so these describe a slow-roll inflationary era which ends when the slow-roll parameters become of order one. The inflationary era is followed by the radiation era and after that the matter domination era follows, which lasts until the second Type IV singularity, and then the late-time acceleration era follows. The models have two appealing features: firstly they produce a nearly scale invariant power spectrum of primordial curvature perturbations and a scalar-to-tensor ratio which are compatible with the most recent observational data and secondly, it seems that the deceleration-acceleration transition is crucially affected by the presence of the second Type IV singularity which occurs at the end of the matter domination era. As we demonstrate, the Hubble horizon at early times shrinks, as expected for an initially accelerating Universe, then during the matter domination era, it expands and finally after the Type IV singularity, the Hubble horizon starts to shrink again, during the late-time acceleration era. Intriguingly enough, the deceleration-acceleration transition, occurs after the second Type IV singularity. In addition, we investigate which F(R) gravity

Unconstrained cranial evolution in Neandertals and modern humans compared to common chimpanzees

PubMed Central

Weaver, Timothy D.; Stringer, Chris B.

2015-01-01

A variety of lines of evidence support the idea that neutral evolutionary processes (genetic drift, mutation) have been important in generating cranial differences between Neandertals and modern humans. But how do Neandertals and modern humans compare with other species? And how do these comparisons illuminate the evolutionary processes underlying cranial diversification? To address these questions, we used 27 standard cranial measurements collected on 2524 recent modern humans, 20 Neandertals and 237 common chimpanzees to estimate split times between Neandertals and modern humans, and between Pan troglodytes verus and two other subspecies of common chimpanzee. Consistent with a neutral divergence, the Neandertal versus modern human split-time estimates based on cranial measurements are similar to those based on DNA sequences. By contrast, the common chimpanzee cranial estimates are much lower than DNA-sequence estimates. Apparently, cranial evolution has been unconstrained in Neandertals and modern humans compared with common chimpanzees. Based on these and additional analyses, it appears that cranial differentiation in common chimpanzees has been restricted by stabilizing natural selection. Alternatively, this restriction could be due to genetic and/or developmental constraints on the amount of within-group variance (relative to effective population size) available for genetic drift to act on. PMID:26468243

The Role of Present Time Perspective in Predicting Early Adolescent Violence.

PubMed

Kruger, Daniel J; Carrothers, Jessica; Franzen, Susan P; Miller, Alison L; Reischl, Thomas M; Stoddard, Sarah A; Zimmerman, Marc A

2018-06-01

This study investigated the role of present and future time perspectives, and their relationships with subjective norms and beliefs regarding violence, in predicting violent behaviors among urban middle school students in the Midwestern United States. Although present time perspective covaried with subjective norms and beliefs, each made a unique prediction of self-reported violent behaviors. Future time perspective was not a significant predictor when accounting for these relationships. In addition, present orientation moderated the relationship between subjective norms and beliefs and rates of violent behaviors; those with higher present orientations exhibited stronger associations. We replicated this pattern of results in data from new participants in a subsequent wave of the study. Interventions that explicitly address issues related to time perspective may be effective in reducing early adolescent violence.

Modernization Theory and Changes over Time in the Reproduction of Socioeconomic Inequalities in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Gary N.

2009-01-01

Modernization theory argues that, as societies industrialize and further develop, the influence of social background and other ascribed characteristics on educational and socioeconomic outcomes declines, while achievement in the education system becomes more important. The purpose of this research is to investigate propositions derived from…

Conjugal intimacy, gender and modernity in contemporary China.

PubMed

Liu, Jieyu; Bell, Eona; Zhang, Jiayu

2017-12-15

The new generation of modernity theorists have forecast the democratization of gender relations within intimate relationships in late-modern times. Chinese society has undergone rapid and dramatic changes in its unique trajectory of political, social and economic reform. Using China as an example of a region which has been largely ignored in contemporary social theory, this article enters the debate to contest the extent to which conjugal relationships are democratized in line with modernity. We further test the assertion that modern marriages are characterized by increased self-disclosure and communication between partners. Data from a national survey on Chinese families is analysed in relation to the level of self-disclosure between husbands and wives; gender division of housework; household decision-making; and home ownership. We highlight the impact of gender, cohort and location (urban, rural or migrant) on experiences of modernity and draw attention to the material, social and cultural factors which continue to shape conjugal relations in contemporary Chinese society. Based on our findings, we contest the argument that disclosing intimacy between intimate partners is a defining characteristic of modern relationships, and suggest that other social factors may condition degrees of self-disclosure in marriage. Similarly, we question the extent to which heterosexual conjugal equality is attained: the cultural practices and values of patrilineal family organization, together with material circumstances, continue to influence marital relations in China. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Design and characterization of a dead-time regime enhanced early photon projection imaging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sinha, L.; Fogarty, M.; Zhou, W.; Giudice, A.; Brankov, J. G.; Tichauer, K. M.

2018-04-01

Scattering of visible and near-infrared light in biological tissue reduces spatial resolution for imaging of tissues thicker than 100 μm. In this study, an optical projection imaging system is presented and characterized that exploits the dead-time characteristics typical of photon counting modules based on single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). With this system, it is possible to attenuate the detection of more scattered late-arriving photons, such that detection of less scattered early-arriving photons can be enhanced with increased light intensity, without being impeded by the maximum count rate of the SPADs. The system has the potential to provide transmittance-based anatomical information or fluorescence-based functional information (with slight modification in the instrumentation) of biological samples with improved resolution in the mesoscopic domain (0.1-2 cm). The system design, calibration, stability, and performance were evaluated using simulation and experimental phantom studies. The proposed system allows for the detection of very-rare early-photons at a higher frequency and with a better signal-to-noise ratio. The experimental results demonstrated over a 3.4-fold improvement in the spatial resolution using early photon detection vs. conventional detection, and a 1000-fold improvement in imaging time using enhanced early detection vs. conventional early photon detection in a 4-mm thick phantom with a tissue-equivalent absorption coefficient of μa = 0.05 mm-1 and a reduced scattering coefficient of μs' = 5 mm-1.

Genetic and archaeological perspectives on the initial modern human colonization of southern Asia.

PubMed

Mellars, Paul; Gori, Kevin C; Carr, Martin; Soares, Pedro A; Richards, Martin B

2013-06-25

It has been argued recently that the initial dispersal of anatomically modern humans from Africa to southern Asia occurred before the volcanic "supereruption" of the Mount Toba volcano (Sumatra) at ∼74,000 y before present (B.P.)-possibly as early as 120,000 y B.P. We show here that this "pre-Toba" dispersal model is in serious conflict with both the most recent genetic evidence from both Africa and Asia and the archaeological evidence from South Asian sites. We present an alternative model based on a combination of genetic analyses and recent archaeological evidence from South Asia and Africa. These data support a coastally oriented dispersal of modern humans from eastern Africa to southern Asia ∼60-50 thousand years ago (ka). This was associated with distinctively African microlithic and "backed-segment" technologies analogous to the African "Howiesons Poort" and related technologies, together with a range of distinctively "modern" cultural and symbolic features (highly shaped bone tools, personal ornaments, abstract artistic motifs, microblade technology, etc.), similar to those that accompanied the replacement of "archaic" Neanderthal by anatomically modern human populations in other regions of western Eurasia at a broadly similar date.

Early Archean serpentine mud volcanoes at Isua, Greenland, as a niche for early life.

PubMed

Pons, Marie-Laure; Quitté, Ghylaine; Fujii, Toshiyuki; Rosing, Minik T; Reynard, Bruno; Moynier, Frederic; Douchet, Chantal; Albarède, Francis

2011-10-25

The Isua Supracrustal Belt, Greenland, of Early Archean age (3.81-3.70 Ga) represents the oldest crustal segment on Earth. Its complex lithology comprises an ophiolite-like unit and volcanic rocks reminiscent of boninites, which tie Isua supracrustals to an island arc environment. We here present zinc (Zn) isotope compositions measured on serpentinites and other rocks from the Isua supracrustal sequence and on serpentinites from modern ophiolites, midocean ridges, and the Mariana forearc. In stark contrast to modern midocean ridge and ophiolite serpentinites, Zn in Isua and Mariana serpentinites is markedly depleted in heavy isotopes with respect to the igneous average. Based on recent results of Zn isotope fractionation between coexisting species in solution, the Isua serpentinites were permeated by carbonate-rich, high-pH hydrothermal solutions at medium temperature (100-300 °C). Zinc isotopes therefore stand out as a pH meter for fossil hydrothermal solutions. The geochemical features of the Isua fluids resemble the interstitial fluids sampled in the mud volcano serpentinites of the Mariana forearc. The reduced character and the high pH inferred for these fluids make Archean serpentine mud volcanoes a particularly favorable setting for the early stabilization of amino acids.

Detrimental Psychological Outcomes Associated with Early Pubertal Timing in Adolescent Girls

PubMed Central

Mendle, Jane; Turkheimer, Eric; Emery, Robert E.

2010-01-01

Though often discussed as though it were a discrete event, puberty comprises one segment of a larger developmental continuum and is notable for rapid transformation across a multitude of domains. Research suggests that an earlier rate of pubertal maturation in girls correlates with a number of detrimental outcomes compared with on-time or later maturation. The present review synthesizes the research on negative psychological sequelae of early pubertal timing in adolescent girls. Emphasis is on three theoretical perspectives by which precocious development is believed to affect the emergence of adverse outcomes: biological, psychosocial, and selection effects. PMID:20740062

Identification of Microorganisms by Modern Analytical Techniques.

PubMed

Buszewski, Bogusław; Rogowska, Agnieszka; Pomastowski, Paweł; Złoch, Michał; Railean-Plugaru, Viorica

2017-11-01

Rapid detection and identification of microorganisms is a challenging and important aspect in a wide range of fields, from medical to industrial, affecting human lives. Unfortunately, classical methods of microorganism identification are based on time-consuming and labor-intensive approaches. Screening techniques require the rapid and cheap grouping of bacterial isolates; however, modern bioanalytics demand comprehensive bacterial studies at a molecular level. Modern approaches for the rapid identification of bacteria use molecular techniques, such as 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing based on polymerase chain reaction or electromigration, especially capillary zone electrophoresis and capillary isoelectric focusing. However, there are still several challenges with the analysis of microbial complexes using electromigration technology, such as uncontrolled aggregation and/or adhesion to the capillary surface. Thus, an approach using capillary electrophoresis of microbial aggregates with UV and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight MS detection is presented.

Modern Chinese: History and Sociolinguistics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Ping

This book presents a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the development of modern Chinese from the late 19th century up to the 1990s, concentrating on three major aspects: modern spoken Chinese, modern written Chinese, and the modern Chinese writing system. It describes and analyzes in detail, from historical and sociolinguistic perspectives,…

Spider crabs of the Western Atlantic with special reference to fossil and some modern Mithracidae

PubMed Central

Portell, Roger W.; Klier, Aaron T.; Prueter, Vanessa; Tucker, Alyssa L.

2015-01-01

Spider crabs (Majoidea) are well-known from modern oceans and are also common in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean. When spider crabs appeared in the Western Atlantic in deep time, and when they became diverse, hinges on their fossil record. By reviewing their fossil record, we show that (1) spider crabs first appeared in the Western Atlantic in the Late Cretaceous, (2) they became common since the Miocene, and (3) most species and genera are found in the Caribbean region from the Miocene onwards. Furthermore, taxonomic work on some modern and fossil Mithracidae, a family that might have originated in the Western Atlantic, was conducted. Specifically, Maguimithrax gen. nov. is erected to accommodate the extant species Damithrax spinosissimus, while Damithrax cf. pleuracanthus is recognized for the first time from the fossil record (late Pliocene–early Pleistocene, Florida, USA). Furthermore, two new species are described from the lower Miocene coral-associated limestones of Jamaica (Mithrax arawakum sp. nov. and Nemausa windsorae sp. nov.). Spurred by a recent revision of the subfamily, two known species from the same deposits are refigured and transferred to new genera: Mithrax donovani to Nemausa, and Mithrax unguis to Damithrax. The diverse assemblage of decapods from these coral-associated limestones underlines the importance of reefs for the abundance and diversity of decapods in deep time. Finally, we quantitatively show that these crabs possess allometric growth in that length/width ratios drop as specimens grow, a factor that is not always taken into account while describing and comparing among taxa. PMID:26557432

Biomass recycling and Earth’s early phosphorus cycle

PubMed Central

Kipp, Michael A.; Stüeken, Eva E.

2017-01-01

Phosphorus sets the pace of marine biological productivity on geological time scales. Recent estimates of Precambrian phosphorus levels suggest a severe deficit of this macronutrient, with the depletion attributed to scavenging by iron minerals. We propose that the size of the marine phosphorus reservoir was instead constrained by muted liberation of phosphorus during the remineralization of biomass. In the modern ocean, most biomass-bound phosphorus gets aerobically recycled; but a dearth of oxidizing power in Earth’s early oceans would have limited the stoichiometric capacity for remineralization, particularly during the Archean. The resulting low phosphorus concentrations would have substantially hampered primary productivity, contributing to the delayed rise of atmospheric oxygen. PMID:29202032

Old and modern Lippmann photography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjelkhagen, Hans I.; Jeong, Tung H.; Ro, Raymond J.

1998-02-01

At the end of the last century, Gabriel Lippmann was experimenting with color photography. His photographic color recording technique, Lippmann photography, produced very beautiful photographs and the fact that the colors are preserved in the early Lippmann photographs indicates something about their archival properties. Recent progress in color reflection holography has made it possible to take a new look at this one hundred year old photographic technique. Today, high-resolution panchromatic recording materials suitable for Lippmann photography are on the market. In particular, the Slavich panchromatic ultra-high- resolution silver-halide holographic materials have been investigated for modern Lippmann photography. Since the color photographs contain no dyes or pigments their archival stability may be high. In addition, a Lippmann photograph is difficult to copy which makes it a unique color photographic recording. Both of these features must attract a photographer interested in creating beautiful art photographs. It is also shown that Lippmann photographs can be made without the mercury reflector, instead by using the reflection from the gelatin-air interface. This eliminates the complications in dealing with mercury, while still maintaining the high resolution and picture quality at the expense of longer exposure times. Security application is a potential field for Lippmann photographs as well as optical filters. Another advantage is that no expensive equipment, such as lasers, is needed to explore this photographic recording technique; only a modified camera is required.

Early Pubertal Timing as a Vulnerability to Depression Symptoms: Differential Effects of Race and Sex

PubMed Central

Hamlat, Elissa J.; Stange, Jonathan P.; Alloy, Lauren B.; Abramson, Lyn Y.

2013-01-01

Robust evidence supports that girls and boys who experience early pubertal timing, maturing earlier than one’s peers, are vulnerable to developing symptoms of depression. However, it has yet to be clarified whether early pubertal timing confers vulnerability to African American as well as to Caucasian adolescents and whether this vulnerability is specific to depressive symptoms or can be generalized to symptoms of social anxiety. In previous studies, one race or one sex was examined in isolation or sample sizes were too small to examine racial differences. Our longitudinal study consisted of a sample of 223 adolescents (Mean age = 12.42, 54.3% female, 50.2% African American, and 49.8% Caucasian). At baseline, depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and pubertal timing were assessed by self-report. Nine months later, we assessed depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, body esteem, and stressful life events that occurred between baseline and follow-up. Analyses indicated that early pubertal timing interacted with stressful life events to predict increased symptoms of depression, but only for Caucasian girls and African American boys. Results were found to be specific to depressive symptoms and did not generalize to symptoms of social anxiety. Additionally, there was a significant positive indirect effect of pubertal timing on symptoms of depression through body esteem for Caucasian females. PMID:24014162

Time to hospitalization for suicide attempt by the timing of parental suicide during offspring early development

PubMed Central

Kuramoto, S. Janet; Runeson, Bo; Stuart, Elizabeth A.; Lichtenstein, Paul; Wilcox, Holly C.

2013-01-01

Context Previous studies have suggested that children who experience parental suicide at earlier ages are at higher risk of future hospitalization for suicide attempt. However, how the trajectories of risk differ by offspring age at the time of parental suicide is currently unknown. Objective To study time at risk to hospitalization for suicide attempt among offspring after experiencing parental suicide or accidental death by offspring developmental period at the time of parental death. Design Population-based retrospective cohort study Setting Sweden Participants 26,096 offspring who experienced parental suicide and 32,395 offspring of accident decedents prior to age 25 from 1973-2003. Main Outcome Measures Hospitalization for suicide attempt. Parametric survival analysis was used to model the time to hospitalization for suicide attempt across offspring who lost a parent during early childhood (0-5 years old), later childhood (6-12), adolescence (13-17) and young adulthood (18-24). Results The risk in offspring who lost a parent during early or late childhood surpassed the other two age groups’ hazards approximately 5 years after the origin and, for the youngest group, continued to rise over the course of decades. Offspring who lost a parent during adolescence or young adulthood were at greatest risk within 1 to 2 years after parental suicide, and risk declined over time. The shape of hospitalization risk was similar among those who experienced parental fatal accident. When the shape of hospitalization for suicide attempt at each developmental period was fixed to be the same between the two groups, offspring who lost a parent to suicide had earlier risk to hospitalization for suicide attempt hospitalization than offspring who lost a parent to an accident. Conclusion The hospitalization risk for suicide attempt in offspring who lost a parent during their childhood is different from those who lost a parent during adolescence or young adulthood. The results suggest

Detrital Zircon Provenance Record of Pre-Andean to Modern Tectonics in the Northern Andes: Examples from Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, S. W. M.; Jackson, L. J.; Horton, B. K.

2015-12-01

Detrital zircon U-Pb age distributions from modern rivers and Mesozoic-Cenozoic basin fill in the northern Andes provide insights into pre-Andean, Andean, and active uplift and exhumation of distinctive sediment source regions. Diagnostic age signatures enable straightforward discrimination of competing sediment sources within the Andean magmatic arc (Western Cordillera-Central Cordillera), retroarc fold-thrust belt (Eastern Cordillera-Subandean Zone), and Amazonian craton (composed of several basement provinces). More complex, however, are the mid/late Cenozoic provenance records generated by recycling of basin fill originally deposited during early/mid Mesozoic extension, late Mesozoic thermal subsidence, and early Cenozoic shortening. Although subject to time-transgressive trends, regionally significant provenance patterns in Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia reveal: (1) Triassic-Jurassic growth of extensional subbasins fed by local block uplifts (with commonly unimodal 300­-150 Ma age peaks); (2) Cretaceous deposition in an extensive postrift setting fed by principally cratonic sources (with common 1800-900 Ma ages); and (3) Cenozoic growth of a broad flexural basin fed initially fed by magmatic-arc rocks (100-0 Ma), then later dominance by thrust-belt sedimentary rocks with progressively greater degrees of basin recycling (yielding diverse and variable age populations from the aforementioned source regions). U-Pb results from modern rivers and smaller subbasins prove useful in evaluating source-to-sink relationships, downstream mixing relationships, hinterland-foreland basin connectivity, paleodrainage integration, and tectonic/paleotopographic reconstructions. Most but not all of the elevated intermontane basins in the modern hinterland of the northern Andes contain provenance records consistent with genesis in a broader foreland basin developed at low elevation. Downstream variations within modern axial rivers and Cenozoic axial basins inform predictive models of

Modern First Ladies: Their Documentary Legacy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Nancy Kegan, Comp.; Ryan, Mary C., Comp.

This collection of essays about the Presidential wives of the 20th century through Nancy Reagan. An exploration of the records of first ladies will elicit diverse insights about the historical impact of these women in their times. Interpretive theories that explain modern first ladies are still tentative and exploratory. The contention in the…

How to apply modern scientific and technological advances to the practice of clinical gastroenterology in Vietnam.

PubMed

Ha, M V

1997-06-01

There are some differences between the spectrum of gastroenterological diseases in Vietnam compared with those of more developed countries. These may be due to different living standards, quality of nutrition, and different infection rates of intestinal parasites and hepatotropic viruses. Gastric carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are leading malignancies, while colorectal cancer is less frequent. Bile duct stones often have Ascaris eggs in the centre, and they prevail in incidence over gall-bladder stones. The majority of digestive cancers are detected at a very late stage. The Vietnamese Association of Gastroenterology aims to contribute to the development of modern gastroenterology (GE) in Vietnam, to study and apply recent advances in imaging technology, such as fibre-optic diagnostic and therapeutical endoscopy, ultrasonography, laparoscopic surgery etc. and to do further work in molecular biology. For this purpose, besides our self-reliance, we need, and ask for, support and assistance from the Japanese Society of GE (JSGE), the Asian Pacific Association of GE (APAGE) and the Organisation Mondiale de GE (OMEGE). At the same time, we suggest a choice be made among the different technologies, bearing in mind their cost-effectiveness, and to give preference to measures for the primary prevention and early detection of the diseases. Japanese experience in the early detection of gastric cancer and HCC, and in the Percutaneous Ethanol Injection Therapy (PEIT) for treatment of HCC, are highly appreciated. We recommend also a judicious and scientific combination of traditional medicine and modern technology in the research and the struggle against digestive diseases.

Evolutionary history of Otophysi (Teleostei), a major clade of the modern freshwater fishes: Pangaean origin and Mesozoic radiation

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Freshwater harbors approximately 12,000 fish species accounting for 43% of the diversity of all modern fish. A single ancestral lineage evolved into about two-thirds of this enormous biodiversity (≈ 7900 spp.) and is currently distributed throughout the world's continents except Antarctica. Despite such remarkable species diversity and ubiquity, the evolutionary history of this major freshwater fish clade, Otophysi, remains largely unexplored. To gain insight into the history of otophysan diversification, we constructed a timetree based on whole mitogenome sequences across 110 species representing 55 of the 64 families. Results Partitioned maximum likelihood analysis based on unambiguously aligned sequences (9923 bp) confidently recovered the monophyly of Otophysi and the two constituent subgroups (Cypriniformes and Characiphysi). The latter clade comprised three orders (Gymnotiformes, Characiformes, Siluriformes), and Gymnotiformes was sister to the latter two groups. One of the two suborders in Characiformes (Characoidei) was more closely related to Siluriformes than to its own suborder (Citharinoidei), rendering the characiforms paraphyletic. Although this novel relationship did not receive strong statistical support, it was supported by analyzing independent nuclear markers. A relaxed molecular clock Bayesian analysis of the divergence times and reconstruction of ancestral habitats on the timetree suggest a Pangaean origin and Mesozoic radiation of otophysans. Conclusions The present timetree demonstrates that survival of the ancestral lineages through the two consecutive mass extinctions on Pangaea, and subsequent radiations during the Jurassic through early Cretaceous shaped the modern familial diversity of otophysans. This evolutionary scenario is consistent with recent arguments based on biogeographic inferences and molecular divergence time estimates. No fossil otophysan, however, has been recorded before the Albian, the early Cretaceous 100

Evolutionary history of Otophysi (Teleostei), a major clade of the modern freshwater fishes: Pangaean origin and Mesozoic radiation.

PubMed

Nakatani, Masanori; Miya, Masaki; Mabuchi, Kohji; Saitoh, Kenji; Nishida, Mutsumi

2011-06-22

Freshwater harbors approximately 12,000 fish species accounting for 43% of the diversity of all modern fish. A single ancestral lineage evolved into about two-thirds of this enormous biodiversity (≈ 7900 spp.) and is currently distributed throughout the world's continents except Antarctica. Despite such remarkable species diversity and ubiquity, the evolutionary history of this major freshwater fish clade, Otophysi, remains largely unexplored. To gain insight into the history of otophysan diversification, we constructed a timetree based on whole mitogenome sequences across 110 species representing 55 of the 64 families. Partitioned maximum likelihood analysis based on unambiguously aligned sequences (9923 bp) confidently recovered the monophyly of Otophysi and the two constituent subgroups (Cypriniformes and Characiphysi). The latter clade comprised three orders (Gymnotiformes, Characiformes, Siluriformes), and Gymnotiformes was sister to the latter two groups. One of the two suborders in Characiformes (Characoidei) was more closely related to Siluriformes than to its own suborder (Citharinoidei), rendering the characiforms paraphyletic. Although this novel relationship did not receive strong statistical support, it was supported by analyzing independent nuclear markers. A relaxed molecular clock Bayesian analysis of the divergence times and reconstruction of ancestral habitats on the timetree suggest a Pangaean origin and Mesozoic radiation of otophysans. The present timetree demonstrates that survival of the ancestral lineages through the two consecutive mass extinctions on Pangaea, and subsequent radiations during the Jurassic through early Cretaceous shaped the modern familial diversity of otophysans. This evolutionary scenario is consistent with recent arguments based on biogeographic inferences and molecular divergence time estimates. No fossil otophysan, however, has been recorded before the Albian, the early Cretaceous 100-112 Ma, creating an over 100

Sr/Ca proxy sea-surface temperature reconstructions from modern and holocene Montastraea faveolata specimens from the Dry Tortugas National Park

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flannery, Jennifer A.; Poore, Richard Z.

2013-01-01

Sr/Ca ratios from skeletal samples from two Montastraea faveolata corals (one modern, one Holocene, ~6 Ka) from the Dry Tortugas National Park were measured as a proxy for sea-surface temperature (SST). We sampled coral specimens with a computer-driven triaxial micromilling machine, which yielded an average of 15 homogenous samples per annual growth increment. We regressed Sr/Ca values from resulting powdered samples against a local SST record to obtain a calibration equation of Sr/Ca = -0.0392 SST + 10.205, R = -0.97. The resulting calibration was used to generate a 47-year modern (1961-2008) and a 7-year Holocene (~6 Ka) Sr/Ca subannually resolved proxy record of SST. The modern M. faveolata yields well-defined annual Sr/Ca cycles ranging in amplitude from ~0.3 and 0.5 mmol/mol. The amplitude of ~0.3 to 0.5 mmol/mol equates to a 10-15°C seasonal SST amplitude, which is consistent with available local instrumental records. Summer maxima proxy SSTs calculated from the modern coral Sr/ Ca tend to be fairly stable: most SST maxima from 1961–2008 are 29°C ± 1°C. In contrast, winter minimum SST calculated in the 47-year modern time-series are highly variable, with a cool interval in the early to mid-1970s. The Holocene (~6 Ka) Montastraea faveolata coral also yields distinct annual Sr/Ca cycles with amplitudes ranging from ~0.3 to 0.6 mmol/mol. Absolute Sr/Ca values and thus resulting SST estimates over the ~7-year long record are similar to those from the modern coral. We conclude that Sr/Ca from Montastraea faveolata has high potential for developing subannually resolved Holocene SST records.

Sophisticated digestive systems in early arthropods.

PubMed

Vannier, Jean; Liu, Jianni; Lerosey-Aubril, Rudy; Vinther, Jakob; Daley, Allison C

2014-05-02

Understanding the way in which animals diversified and radiated during their early evolutionary history remains one of the most captivating of scientific challenges. Integral to this is the 'Cambrian explosion', which records the rapid emergence of most animal phyla, and for which the triggering and accelerating factors, whether environmental or biological, are still unclear. Here we describe exceptionally well-preserved complex digestive organs in early arthropods from the early Cambrian of China and Greenland with functional similarities to certain modern crustaceans and trace these structures through the early evolutionary lineage of fossil arthropods. These digestive structures are assumed to have allowed for more efficient digestion and metabolism, promoting carnivory and macrophagy in early arthropods via predation or scavenging. This key innovation may have been of critical importance in the radiation and ecological success of Arthropoda, which has been the most diverse and abundant invertebrate phylum since the Cambrian.

Detection and monitoring of cardiotoxicity-what does modern cardiology offer?

PubMed

Jurcut, Ruxandra; Wildiers, Hans; Ganame, Javier; D'hooge, Jan; Paridaens, Robert; Voigt, Jens-Uwe

2008-05-01

With new anticancer therapies, many patients can have a long life expectancy. Treatment-related comorbidities become an issue for cancer survivors. Cardiac toxicity remains an important side effect of anticancer therapies. Myocardial dysfunction can become apparent early or long after end of therapy and may be irreversible. Detection of cardiac injury is crucial since it may facilitate early therapeutic measures. Traditionally, chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity has been detected by measuring changes in left ventricular ejection fraction. This parameter is, however, insensitive to subtle changes in myocardial function as they occur in early cardiotoxicity. This review will discuss conventional and modern cardiologic approaches of assessing myocardial function. It will focus on Doppler myocardial imaging, a method which allows to sensitively measure myocardial function parameters like myocardial velocity, deformation (strain), or deformation rate (strain rate) and which has been shown to reliably detect early abnormalities in both regional and global myocardial function in an early stage. Other newer echocardiographic function estimators are based on automated border detection algorithms and ultrasonic integrated backscatter analysis. A further technique to be discussed is dobutamine stress echocardiography. The use of new biomarkers like B-type natriuretic peptide and troponin and less often used imaging techniques like magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography will also be mentioned.

Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea

PubMed Central

Brumm, Adam; Hakim, Budianto; Ramli, Muhammad; Sumantri, Iwan; Burhan, Basran; Saiful, Andi Muhammad; Siagian, Linda; Suryatman; Sardi, Ratno; Jusdi, Andi; Abdullah; Mubarak, Andi Pampang; Hasliana; Hasrianti; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Adhityatama, Shinatria; van den Bergh, Gerrit D.; Aubert, Maxime; Zhao, Jian-xin; Huntley, Jillian; Li, Bo; Roberts, Richard G.; Saptomo, E. Wahyu; Perston, Yinika; Grün, Rainer

2017-01-01

Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000–22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene “symbolic” artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia. PMID:28373568

Early human symbolic behavior in the Late Pleistocene of Wallacea.

PubMed

Brumm, Adam; Langley, Michelle C; Moore, Mark W; Hakim, Budianto; Ramli, Muhammad; Sumantri, Iwan; Burhan, Basran; Saiful, Andi Muhammad; Siagian, Linda; Suryatman; Sardi, Ratno; Jusdi, Andi; Abdullah; Mubarak, Andi Pampang; Hasliana; Hasrianti; Oktaviana, Adhi Agus; Adhityatama, Shinatria; van den Bergh, Gerrit D; Aubert, Maxime; Zhao, Jian-Xin; Huntley, Jillian; Li, Bo; Roberts, Richard G; Saptomo, E Wahyu; Perston, Yinika; Grün, Rainer

2017-04-18

Wallacea, the zone of oceanic islands separating the continental regions of Southeast Asia and Australia, has yielded sparse evidence for the symbolic culture of early modern humans. Here we report evidence for symbolic activity 30,000-22,000 y ago at Leang Bulu Bettue, a cave and rock-shelter site on the Wallacean island of Sulawesi. We describe hitherto undocumented practices of personal ornamentation and portable art, alongside evidence for pigment processing and use in deposits that are the same age as dated rock art in the surrounding karst region. Previously, assemblages of multiple and diverse types of Pleistocene "symbolic" artifacts were entirely unknown from this region. The Leang Bulu Bettue assemblage provides insight into the complexity and diversification of modern human culture during a key period in the global dispersal of our species. It also shows that early inhabitants of Sulawesi fashioned ornaments from body parts of endemic animals, suggesting modern humans integrated exotic faunas and other novel resources into their symbolic world as they colonized the biogeographically unique regions southeast of continental Eurasia.

Detection of early postseismic deformation from high-rate GNSS time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twardzik, C.; Vergnolle, M.; Avallone, A.; Sladen, A.

2017-12-01

Postseismic processes after an earthquake contribute to the redistribution of stresses in addition to that induced by the coseismic rupture. With the exception of very few studies (e.g., Miyazaki and Larson, 2008), most postseismic analyses only start one or two days following the mainshock. This leaves a critical part of postseismic phase unexplored, from a few minutes up to a few hours after the earthquake. In this study, we use kinematic precise point positioning (K-PPP) to analyze continuous GNSS data in order to obtain 30s position time series. These time series provide information on the surface displacements a soon as the dynamic response of the earthquake is over. Our first analysis focuses on the 2016 Pedernales, Ecuador, earthquake (Mw7.8). Using spectral analysis, we show that the typical logarithmic postseismic displacement trend can be detected as early as one to six hours after the earthquake depending on the station location and the level of noise. This analysis also allows to estimate the bias on the coseismic offsets usually based on daily pre- and post- earthquake positions. We use the early postseismic time series to test whether rate-and-state friction laws, traditionally used to explain postseismic processes days after the earthquake, still hold right after the mainshock. This study is being extended to two other subduction earthquakes: the 2010 Maule, Chile, earthquake (Mw8.8) and the 2015 Illapel, Chile, earthquake (Mw8.2).

Intra-individual metameric variation expressed at the enamel-dentine junction of lower post-canine dentition of South African fossil hominins and modern humans.

PubMed

Pan, Lei; Thackeray, John Francis; Dumoncel, Jean; Zanolli, Clément; Oettlé, Anna; de Beer, Frikkie; Hoffman, Jakobus; Duployer, Benjamin; Tenailleau, Christophe; Braga, José

2017-08-01

The aim of this study is to compare the degree and patterning of inter- and intra-individual metameric variation in South African australopiths, early Homo and modern humans. Metameric variation likely reflects developmental and taxonomical issues, and could also be used to infer ecological and functional adaptations. However, its patterning along the early hominin postcanine dentition, particularly among South African fossil hominins, remains unexplored. Using microfocus X-ray computed tomography (µXCT) and geometric morphometric tools, we studied the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) morphology and we investigated the intra- and inter-individual EDJ metameric variation among eight australopiths and two early Homo specimens from South Africa, as well as 32 modern humans. Along post-canine dentition, shape changes between metameres represented by relative positions and height of dentine horns, outlines of the EDJ occlusal table are reported in modern and fossil taxa. Comparisons of EDJ mean shapes and multivariate analyses reveal substantial variation in the direction and magnitude of metameric shape changes among taxa, but some common trends can be found. In modern humans, both the direction and magnitude of metameric shape change show increased variability in M 2 -M 3 compared to M 1 -M 2 . Fossil specimens are clustered together showing similar magnitudes of shape change. Along M 2 -M 3 , the lengths of their metameric vectors are not as variable as those of modern humans, but they display considerable variability in the direction of shape change. The distalward increase of metameric variation along the modern human molar row is consistent with the odontogenetic models of molar row structure (inhibitory cascade model). Though much remains to be tested, the variable trends and magnitudes in metamerism in fossil hominins reported here, together with differences in the scale of shape change between modern humans and fossil hominins may provide valuable information

Modern Times: The Industrial Revolution and the Concept of Time.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doppen, Frans H.

1999-01-01

Discusses the role the Industrial Revolution had in changing humankind's perception of time and recommends using the flashback approach in order to encourage students to think about how the process of industrialization still affects their lives. Provides activities that address the concept of time caused by the Industrial Revolution. (CMK)

The Generic Mapping Tools 6: Classic versus Modern Mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessel, P.; Uieda, L.; Luis, J. M. F.; Scharroo, R.; Smith, W. H. F.; Wobbe, F.

2017-12-01

simplifications it offers, both for command-line use and in external environments. GMT 6 is in beta mode but accessible from our repository. Numerous improvements have been added in addition to modern mode; we expect a formal release in early 2018. Publication partially supported by FCT project UID/GEO/50019/2013 - Instituto D. Luiz.

Early mechanical stimulation only permits timely bone healing in sheep.

PubMed

Tufekci, Pelin; Tavakoli, Aramesh; Dlaska, Constantin; Neumann, Mirjam; Shanker, Mihir; Saifzadeh, Siamak; Steck, Roland; Schuetz, Michael; Epari, Devakar

2018-06-01

Bone fracture healing is sensitive to the fixation stability. However, it is unclear which phases of healing are mechano-sensitive and if mechanical stimulation is required throughout repair. In this study, a novel bone defect model, which isolates an experimental fracture from functional loading, was applied in sheep to investigate if stimulation limited to the early proliferative phase is sufficient for bone healing. An active fixator controlled motion in the fracture. Animals of the control group were unstimulated. In the physiological-like group, 1 mm axial compressive movements were applied between day 5 and 21, thereafter the movements were decreased in weekly increments and stopped after 6 weeks. In the early stimulatory group, the movements were stopped after 3 weeks. The experimental fractures were evaluated with mechanical and micro-computed tomography methods after 9 weeks healing. The callus strength of the stimulated fractures (physiological-like and early stimulatory) was greater than the unstimulated control group. The control group was characterized by minimal external callus formation and a lack of bone bridging at 9 weeks. In contrast, the stimulated groups exhibited advanced healing with solid bone formation across the defect. This was confirmed quantitatively by a lower bone volume in the control group compared to the stimulated groups.The novel experimental model permits the application of a well-defined load history to an experimental bone fracture. The poor healing observed in the control group is consistent with under-stimulation. This study has shown early mechanical stimulation only is sufficient for a timely healing outcome. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:1790-1796, 2018. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Early time evolution of a chemically produced electron depletion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scales, W. A.; Bernhardt, P. A.; Ganguli, G.

1995-01-01

The early time evolution of an ionospheric electron depletion produced by a radially expanding electron attachment chemical release is studied with a two-dimensional simulation model. The model includes electron attachment chemistry, incorporates fluid electrons, particle ions and neutrals, and considers the evolution in a plane perpendicular to the geomagnetic field for a low beta plasma. Timescales considered are of the order of or less than the cyclotron period of the negative ions that result as a by-product of the electron attacment reaction. This corresponds to time periods of tenths of seconds during recent experiemts. Simulation results show that a highly sheared azimuthal electron flow velocity develops in the radially expanding depletion boundary. This sheared electron flow velocity and the steep density gradients in the boundary give rise to small-scale irregulatities in the form of electron density cavities and spikes. The nonlinear evolution of these irregularities results in trapping and ultimately turbulent heating of the negative ions.

Reconstruction of early Cambrian ocean chemistry from Mo isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Hanjie; Fan, Haifeng; Zhang, Yuxu; Cloquet, Christophe; Carignan, Jean

2015-09-01

The Neoproterozoic-Cambrian transition was a key time interval in the history of the Earth, especially for variations in oceanic and atmospheric chemical composition. However, two conflicting views exist concerning the nature of ocean chemistry across the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. Abundant geochemical evidence suggests that oceanic basins were fully oxygenated by the late Ediacaran, while other studies provide seemingly conflicting evidence for anoxic deep waters, with ferruginous conditions [Fe(II)-enriched] persisting into the Cambrian. Here, two early Cambrian sedimentary platform and shelf-slope sections in South China were investigated to trace early Cambrian ocean chemistry from Mo isotopes. The results reveal that early Cambrian sediments deposited under oxic to anoxic/euxinic conditions have δ98/95Mo values ranging from -0.28‰ to 2.29‰, which suggests that early Cambrian seawater may have had δ98/95Mo values of at least 2.29‰, similar to modern oceans. The heaviest and relatively homogeneous δ98/95Mo values were recorded in siltstone samples formed under completely oxic conditions, which is considered that Mn oxide-free shuttling was responsible for such heavy δ98/95Mo value. Further, combined with Fe species data and the accumulation extent of Mo and U, the variation of δ98/95Mo values in the two studied sections demonstrate a redox-stratified ocean with completely oxic shallow water and predominantly anoxic (even euxinic) deeper water having developed early on, which eventually became completely oxygenated. This suggests that oceanic circulation at the time became reorganized, and such changes in oceanic chemistry may have been responsible for triggering the "Cambrian Explosion" of biological diversity.

Group-Based Modeling of Time Spent in Structured Activity Trajectories from Middle Childhood into Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mata, Andrea D.; van Dulmen, Manfred H. M.

2012-01-01

This study investigated trajectories of time spent in structured activities from middle childhood to early adolescence by using data from the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. We used latent class growth analyses and identified five trajectories (stable low, increasing high, decreasing low,…

Palliative care and active disease management are synergistic in modern surgical oncology.

PubMed

Sadler, Erin M; Hawley, Philippa H; Easson, Alexandra M

2018-04-01

Palliative care has long been described in medical literature but only recently is being discussed in the surgical domain. Mounting evidence suggests that early integration of palliative care improves patient outcomes and this is especially true of oncology patients. Thus, the pendulum is swinging toward recognizing that palliative care and active disease management are not mutually exclusive but rather synergistic in modern surgical oncology. Here we use a patient vignette to demonstrate the new challenges and possibilities in modern surgical oncology, we then discuss the historic perspective of palliative care and describe how the paradigm is shifting. Finally, we introduce a model that may be beneficial in conceptualizing this new way of thinking about and integrating palliative care into surgical oncology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MATERIALS FOR MODERNIZATION.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

JACKSON, R. GRAHAM

CHOICES AND ISSUES IN SELECTING MATERIALS FOR MODERNIZATION OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS REPORT. BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS INTRODUCED IN TERMS OF REASONS FOR ABANDONMENT, THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF SCHOOL BUILDING OBSOLESCENCE, AND PROBLEMS IN THE MODERNIZATION PROCESS. INTERIOR PARTITIONS ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF BUILDING MATERIALS,…

Early craniometric tools as a predecessor to neurosurgical stereotaxis.

PubMed

Serletis, Demitre; Pait, T Glenn

2016-06-01

In this paper the authors trace the history of early craniometry, referring to the technique of obtaining cranial measurements for the accurate correlation of external skull landmarks to specific brain regions. Largely drawing on methods from the newly emerging fields of physical anthropology and phrenology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, basic mathematical concepts were combined with simplistic (yet at the time, innovative) mechanical tools, leading to the first known attempts at craniocerebral topography. It is important to acknowledge the pioneers of this pre-imaging epoch, who applied creativity and ingenuity to tackle the challenge of reproducibly and reliably accessing a specific target in the brain. In particular, with the emergence of Broca's theory of cortical localization, in vivo craniometric tools, and the introduction of 3D coordinate systems, several innovative devices were conceived that subsequently paved the way for modern-day stereotactic techniques. In this context, the authors present a comprehensive and systematic review of the most popular craniometric tools developed during this time period (prior to the stereotactic era) for the purposes of craniocerebral measurement and target localization.

Paleobotanical Evidence for Coupling of Temperature and pCO2 during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, R. Y.; Greenwood, D. R.; Basinger, J. F.

2009-12-01

The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO) was the warmest period of the Cenozoic, indicated by multiple proxy mean annual temperature estimates for sea and land surface. However, estimates of pCO2 from geochemical, modeling, and paleontological proxies show a wide range of values, from near modern day levels to an order of magnitude greater. Resolving the pCO2 record for this time period, and correlating it with trends in temperature, is a key task in understanding the interaction of climate and pCO2 in globally warm periods. Here we present a fine scale study of trends in temperature and pCO2 based on paleobotanical data from an early Eocene site from the Okanagan Highlands of British Columbia, Canada. Plant macrofossils were collected using an unbiased census approach from three informal units, allowing for quantitative comparison of trends within the site. Temperature estimates derived from multiple paleobotanical techniques (physiognomic and floristic approaches) suggest microthermal (MAT <13°C) but equable (CMMT >0°C) conditions for this upland site, and show a trend in declining MAT over time reflected in the three units. At the same time, stomatal frequency of Ginkgo suggests that pCO2 was high (>2x modern values), but also declining over time. These results suggest that temperature and pCO2 were coupled during this globally warm period, and that fine scale trends on the order of 103 - 104 years can be tracked within fossil sites to provide a window on climate/pCO2 interactions.

A test of Hartnett's revisions to the pubic symphysis and fourth rib methods on a modern sample.

PubMed

Merritt, Catherine E

2014-05-01

Estimating age at death is one of the most important aspects of creating a biological profile. Most adult age estimation methods were developed on North American skeletal collections from the early to mid-20th century, and their applicability to modern populations has been questioned. In 2010, Hartnett used a modern skeletal collection from the Maricopia County Forensic Science Centre to revise the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis method and the İşcan et al. fourth rib methods. The current study tests Hartnett's revised methods as well as the original Suchey-Brooks and İşcan et al. methods on a modern sample from the William Bass Skeletal Collection (N = 313, mean age = 58.5, range 19-92). Results show that the Suchey-Brooks and İşcan et al. methods assign individuals to the correct phase 70.8% and 57.5% of the time compared with Hartnett's revised methods at 58.1% and 29.7%, respectively, with correctness scores based on one standard deviation of the mean rather than the entire age range. Accuracy and bias scores are significantly improved for Hartnett's revised pubic symphysis method and marginally better for Hartnett's revised fourth rib method, suggesting that the revised mean ages at death of Hartnett's phases better reflect this modern population. Overall, both Hartnett's revised methods are reliable age estimation methods. For the pubic symphysis, there are significant improvements in accuracy and bias scores, especially for older individuals; however, for the fourth rib, the results are comparable to the original İşcan et al. methods, with some improvement for older individuals. © 2014 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Ultrasonic RF time series for early assessment of the tumor response to chemotherapy.

PubMed

Lin, Qingguang; Wang, Jianwei; Li, Qing; Lin, Chunyi; Guo, Zhixing; Zheng, Wei; Yan, Cuiju; Li, Anhua; Zhou, Jianhua

2018-01-05

Ultrasound radio-frequency (RF) time series have been shown to carry tissue typing information. To evaluate the potential of RF time series for early prediction of tumor response to chemotherapy, 50MCF-7 breast cancer-bearing nude mice were randomized to receive cisplatin and paclitaxel (treatment group; n = 26) or sterile saline (control group; n = 24). Sequential ultrasound imaging was performed on days 0, 3, 6, and 8 of treatment to simultaneously collect B-mode images and RF data. Six RF time series features, slope, intercept, S1, S2, S3 , and S4 , were extracted during RF data analysis and contrasted with microstructural tumor changes on histopathology. Chemotherapy administration reduced tumor growth relative to control on days 6 and 8. Compared with day 0, intercept, S1 , and S2 were increased while slope was decreased on days 3, 6, and 8 in the treatment group. Compared with the control group, intercept, S1, S2, S3 , and S4 were increased, and slope was decreased, on days 3, 6, and 8 in the treatment group. Tumor cell density decreased significantly in the latter on day 3. We conclude that ultrasonic RF time series analysis provides a simple way to noninvasively assess the early tumor response to chemotherapy.

Modern laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis.

PubMed

Drobniewski, F A; Caws, M; Gibson, A; Young, D

2003-03-01

One-third of the global population is believed to be infected with bacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, the causative agent of tuberculosis. More than 8 million new cases of tuberculosis occur annually leading to 2 million deaths. Mortality is particularly high in those coinfected with HIV and where the bacteria are multiple-drug-resistant strains--ie, strains resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin. Early diagnosis of tuberculosis and drug resistance improves survival and by identifying infectious cases promotes contact tracing, implementation of institutional cross-infection procedures, and other public-health actions. This review addresses significant advances made in the diagnosis of infection, clinical disease, and drug resistance over the past decade. It proposes operational criteria for a modern diagnostic service in the UK (as a model of a low-incidence country) and explores some of the economic issues surrounding the use of these techniques.

Upper Palaeolithic genomes reveal deep roots of modern Eurasians

PubMed Central

Jones, Eppie R.; Gonzalez-Fortes, Gloria; Connell, Sarah; Siska, Veronika; Eriksson, Anders; Martiniano, Rui; McLaughlin, Russell L.; Gallego Llorente, Marcos; Cassidy, Lara M.; Gamba, Cristina; Meshveliani, Tengiz; Bar-Yosef, Ofer; Müller, Werner; Belfer-Cohen, Anna; Matskevich, Zinovi; Jakeli, Nino; Higham, Thomas F. G.; Currat, Mathias; Lordkipanidze, David; Hofreiter, Michael; Manica, Andrea; Pinhasi, Ron; Bradley, Daniel G.

2015-01-01

We extend the scope of European palaeogenomics by sequencing the genomes of Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,300 years old, 1.4-fold coverage) and Mesolithic (9,700 years old, 15.4-fold) males from western Georgia in the Caucasus and a Late Upper Palaeolithic (13,700 years old, 9.5-fold) male from Switzerland. While we detect Late Palaeolithic–Mesolithic genomic continuity in both regions, we find that Caucasus hunter-gatherers (CHG) belong to a distinct ancient clade that split from western hunter-gatherers ∼45 kya, shortly after the expansion of anatomically modern humans into Europe and from the ancestors of Neolithic farmers ∼25 kya, around the Last Glacial Maximum. CHG genomes significantly contributed to the Yamnaya steppe herders who migrated into Europe ∼3,000 BC, supporting a formative Caucasus influence on this important Early Bronze age culture. CHG left their imprint on modern populations from the Caucasus and also central and south Asia possibly marking the arrival of Indo-Aryan languages. PMID:26567969

[Childhood in flux--Part I: Ancient world until modern times].

PubMed

Hardt, Jochen; Hoffmann, Sven Olaf

2006-01-01

Scientific research on childhood constitutes a relatively new field. As we know today, there is no other period in our lives that more strongly forms us and our culture. Hence, it is surprising that in the past this viewpoint was completely different. Until medieval times, a child's life did not count for much, that is, as long as the child was not the beneficiary of an inheritance. And even if so, social relationships were businesslike, e.g. concerning marriage. J.-J. Rousseau (1712-1778) demonstrated the worthlessness of children even in his recognition of them: The nature of humans is neither good nor bad, and is hardly different from that of animals. Despite Rousseau's idealistic concept of education as a kind of identification process for the child, he put his own five children into the foundling hospital of Paris; he was bothered by them when writing. Up to the beginning of the 19th century, the value of a child was determined by his or her ability to work. In the years 1813 to 1814 in Great Britain, 130,000 out of 213,000 weavers were children under the age of 14. Children had to take part in breadwinning at an early age; their character was regarded as being like that of an immature adult (i. e., a small barbarian). Specific childlike needs were rarely met or even acknowledged by adults.

Big data analytics for early detection of breast cancer based on machine learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanova, Desislava

2017-12-01

This paper presents the concept and the modern advances in personalized medicine that rely on technology and review the existing tools for early detection of breast cancer. The breast cancer types and distribution worldwide is discussed. It is spent time to explain the importance of identifying the normality and to specify the main classes in breast cancer, benign or malignant. The main purpose of the paper is to propose a conceptual model for early detection of breast cancer based on machine learning for processing and analysis of medical big dataand further knowledge discovery for personalized treatment. The proposed conceptual model is realized by using Naive Bayes classifier. The software is written in python programming language and for the experiments the Wisconsin breast cancer database is used. Finally, the experimental results are presented and discussed.

The impact of deep-tier burrow systems in sediment mixing and ecosystem engineering in early Cambrian carbonate settings

PubMed Central

Zhang, Li-Jun; Qi, Yong-An; Buatois, Luis A.; Mángano, M. Gabriela; Meng, Yao; Li, Da

2017-01-01

Bioturbation plays a substantial role in sediment oxygen concentration, chemical cycling, regeneration of nutrients, microbial activity, and the rate of organic matter decomposition in modern oceans. In addition, bioturbators are ecosystem engineers which promote the presence of some organisms, while precluding others. However, the impact of bioturbation in deep time remains controversial and limited sediment mixing has been indicated for early Paleozoic seas. Our understanding of the actual impact of bioturbation early in the Phanerozoic has been hampered by the lack of detailed analysis of the functional significance of specific burrow architectures. Integration of ichnologic and sedimentologic evidence from North China shows that deep-tier Thalassinoides mazes occur in lower Cambrian nearshore carbonate sediments, leading to intense disruption of the primary fabric. Comparison with modern studies suggest that some of the effects of this style of Cambrian bioturbation may have included promotion of nitrogen and ammonium fluxes across the sediment-water interface, average deepening of the redox discontinuity surface, expansion of aerobic bacteria, and increase in the rate of organic matter decomposition and the regeneration of nutrients. Our study suggests that early Cambrian sediment mixing in carbonate settings may have been more significant than assumed in previous models. PMID:28374857

A balancing act in an unknown territory: a metasynthesis of first-time mothers' experiences in early labour.

PubMed

Eri, Tine S; Bondas, Terese; Gross, Mechthild M; Janssen, Patricia; Green, Josephine M

2015-03-01

to integrate findings of individual studies in order to broaden the understanding of first-time mothers' experiences of early labour. the methodology was metasynthesis which is based on the interpretive meta-ethnography described by Noblit and Hare (1988). Metasynthesis is research on research which synthesises the findings of previous qualitative studies, and the focus is on interpretation and the creation of new knowledge. all included studies originated from high resource countries (USA 2, UK 4, and Scandinavia 5) and all were carried out in a context of hospital based maternity care. a total of 231 women participated in the studies. 11 articles were included. The main results are presented with the metaphor a balancing act in an unknown territory. The 'unknown territory' has a double meaning: as the personal experience of going into labour for the first time and as encountering the maternity care system. On both levels women have to make significant decisions: whether labour really has started and subsequently when to go to the hospital. A key challenge is to balance the arrival on the labour ward at the 'right' time, not too early and not too late. Arriving at the 'right' time leads to a positive path, while arriving 'too soon' might lead to a cascade of negative experiences. The results are further presented with five central themes: 'Finding out if labour has started is absorbing'; 'Dealing with labour at home'; 'Trying to arrive at the labour ward at the right time'; 'There is always a risk of being sent home'; 'Encountering health professionals arouses strong emotions'. the metasynthesis broadens the understanding of first-time mothers' experiences of early labour, and suggests that women's needs when planning a hospital birth are not being adequately met at this stage in the labour process. Three areas of future research are suggested: how to support and strengthen women during pregnancy in order to cope with early labour; women's experiences of early

Does leadership style of modern matrons contribute to safer and more effective clinical services?

PubMed

Hill, Barry

2017-03-30

At the time of writing, the author was a modern matron in a surgical division of an NHS teaching hospital in London. This article considers the differences between leadership and management, and discusses the skills required by modern matrons to lead safe and successful clinical services. It also examines three leadership styles - transactional, transformational and situational - and their relevance to the role of modern matron.

The mtDNA haplogroup P of modern Asian cattle: A genetic legacy of Asian aurochs?

PubMed

Noda, Aoi; Yonesaka, Riku; Sasazaki, Shinji; Mannen, Hideyuki

2018-01-01

Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Although the mtDNA haplogroups of most modern cattle belong to haplogroups T and I, several additional haplogroups (P, Q, R, C and E) have been identified in modern cattle and aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle. We sequenced the complete mtDNA D-loop region of 181 Japanese Shorthorn cattle and analyzed these together with representative bovine mtDNA sequences. The haplotype P of Japanese Shorthorn cattle was analyzed along with that of 36 previously published European aurochs and three modern Asian cattle sequences using the hypervariable 410 bp of the D-loop region. We detected the mtDNA haplogroup P in Japanese Shorthorn cattle with an extremely high frequency (83/181). Phylogenetic networks revealed two main clusters, designated as Pa for haplogroup P in European aurochs and Pc in modern Asian cattle. We also report the genetic diversity of haplogroup P compared with the sequences of extinct aurochs. No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle. This finding suggests the possibility of local and secondary introgression events of haplogroup P in northeast Asian cattle, and will contribute to a better understanding of its origin and genetic diversity.

The mtDNA haplogroup P of modern Asian cattle: A genetic legacy of Asian aurochs?

PubMed Central

Noda, Aoi; Yonesaka, Riku; Sasazaki, Shinji

2018-01-01

Background Aurochs (Bos primigenius) were distributed throughout large parts of Eurasia and Northern Africa during the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, and all modern cattle are derived from the aurochs. Although the mtDNA haplogroups of most modern cattle belong to haplogroups T and I, several additional haplogroups (P, Q, R, C and E) have been identified in modern cattle and aurochs. Haplogroup P was the most common haplogroup in European aurochs, but so far, it has been identified in only three of >3,000 submitted haplotypes of modern Asian cattle. Methodology We sequenced the complete mtDNA D-loop region of 181 Japanese Shorthorn cattle and analyzed these together with representative bovine mtDNA sequences. The haplotype P of Japanese Shorthorn cattle was analyzed along with that of 36 previously published European aurochs and three modern Asian cattle sequences using the hypervariable 410 bp of the D-loop region. Conclusions We detected the mtDNA haplogroup P in Japanese Shorthorn cattle with an extremely high frequency (83/181). Phylogenetic networks revealed two main clusters, designated as Pa for haplogroup P in European aurochs and Pc in modern Asian cattle. We also report the genetic diversity of haplogroup P compared with the sequences of extinct aurochs. No shared haplotypes are observed between the European aurochs and the modern Asian cattle. This finding suggests the possibility of local and secondary introgression events of haplogroup P in northeast Asian cattle, and will contribute to a better understanding of its origin and genetic diversity. PMID:29304129

"To Feel at Home in the Wonderful World of Modern Science": New Chinese Historiography and Qing Intellectual History.

PubMed

Sela, Ori

2017-09-01

Argument In recent decades a large body of scholarship on the first half of twentieth-century China has successfully shown the ways in which history and historiography had been constructed at the time, as well as the links between history, national identity, education, and politics that was forged during this period. In this paper, I examine Qing intellectual history, in particular that of the mid or "High Qing." I discuss the development of the historiography of this field in the early twentieth century by drawing on the larger developments in historiography; by demonstrating how these developments had shaped Qing intellectual history for later times; by focusing on the historical actors' sense of the importance of "science," being "scientific," and "modernization"; and, by unraveling the intimate connections to older historiographical narratives going back all the way to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Early Archean serpentine mud volcanoes at Isua, Greenland, as a niche for early life

PubMed Central

Pons, Marie-Laure; Quitté, Ghylaine; Fujii, Toshiyuki; Rosing, Minik T.; Reynard, Bruno; Moynier, Frederic; Douchet, Chantal; Albarède, Francis

2011-01-01

The Isua Supracrustal Belt, Greenland, of Early Archean age (3.81–3.70 Ga) represents the oldest crustal segment on Earth. Its complex lithology comprises an ophiolite-like unit and volcanic rocks reminiscent of boninites, which tie Isua supracrustals to an island arc environment. We here present zinc (Zn) isotope compositions measured on serpentinites and other rocks from the Isua supracrustal sequence and on serpentinites from modern ophiolites, midocean ridges, and the Mariana forearc. In stark contrast to modern midocean ridge and ophiolite serpentinites, Zn in Isua and Mariana serpentinites is markedly depleted in heavy isotopes with respect to the igneous average. Based on recent results of Zn isotope fractionation between coexisting species in solution, the Isua serpentinites were permeated by carbonate-rich, high-pH hydrothermal solutions at medium temperature (100–300 °C). Zinc isotopes therefore stand out as a pH meter for fossil hydrothermal solutions. The geochemical features of the Isua fluids resemble the interstitial fluids sampled in the mud volcano serpentinites of the Mariana forearc. The reduced character and the high pH inferred for these fluids make Archean serpentine mud volcanoes a particularly favorable setting for the early stabilization of amino acids. PMID:22006301

Time as An Important Soil-Forming Factor Influencing Modern and Ancient Magnetic Susceptibility Enhancement Along the Delaware River Valley, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stinchcomb, G. E.; Peppe, D. J.; Driese, S. G.

2011-12-01

Magnetic susceptibility is an increasingly popular low-cost method for rapidly assessing paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental impact on buried soils. The goal of this study is to determine the primary influence(s) on soil magnetic susceptibility along floodplain, terrace and upland soils in the middle Delaware River Valley, USA, using environmental magnetic, pedologic, and stratigraphic techniques. Two-hundred thirty samples were collected from age-constrained sandy, quartz-rich, floodplain, terrace, and upland soils (Entisols, Inceptisols). A Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) and post-hoc Tukey-Kramer (T-K) (α=0.05) multiple comparisons analysis on 176 mass-specific low-field susceptibility (Xlf) assays show that A and B horizons are magnetically enhanced compared to C and E horizons (p<0.0001). Results of descriptive soil micromorphology show that A and B horizons contain anywhere from 10-50% more amorphous organic matter and clay films along pores than do C and E horizons. Enhanced Xlf values also correlate positively (R^2=0.63) with the soil molecular weathering ratio of Alumina/Bases, suggesting that increased weathering likely results in the formation of pedogenic magnetic minerals and enhanced magnetic susceptibility signal. Additional K-W and T-K testing show that Xlf results, when grouped by floodplain-terrace designation (i.e., chronofunction) are significantly different (p<0.0001). The older T3 terrace and upland Xlf values (0.34±0.14 10^-6 m^3 kg^-1) are greater than the younger T2 terrace (0.18±0.06 10^-6 m^3 kg^-1) values, which are greater than modern floodplain (0.09±0.01 10^-6 m^3 kg^-1) Xlf values. These data suggest that longer intervals of soil formation enhance the Χlf value. This hypothesis is further supported when 159 Xlf values are plotted vs. age for the entire Holocene. A locally-weighted regression smoothing curve (LOESS) shows two distinct intervals of magnetic enhancement during previously established dry intervals, the early and late

Post-communism: postmodernity or modernity revisited?

PubMed

Ray, L

1997-12-01

Coinciding with the popularity of postmodern theory, the fall of communism appeared to offer further evidence of the exhaustion of modernity. Such analysis is grounded in a view that the Soviet system was the epitome of modernity. An alternative approach regards post-communism as opening new terrains of struggle for modernity. Thus Habermas and others suggest that post-communist societies are rejoining the trajectory of western modernity whose problems they now recapitulate. This alternative view implies that Soviet systems were something other than 'modern', although their nature is not always clearly defined. However, even if post-communist societies do encounter problems of modernity, they do so in new circumstances where modernist notions of social development have become problematic. This article argues that, contrary to those who regard modernization or postmodernization as irresistible trends, core post-communist societies are likely to develop along an alternative path to that of western modernity. This is tentatively described as 'neo-mercantilist'.

Reaction Time Is Negatively Associated with Corpus Callosum Area in the Early Stages of CADASIL.

PubMed

Delorme, S; De Guio, F; Reyes, S; Jabouley, A; Chabriat, H; Jouvent, E

2017-11-01

Reaction time was recently recognized as a marker of subtle cognitive and behavioral alterations in the early clinical stages of CADASIL, a monogenic cerebral small-vessel disease. In unselected patients with CADASIL, brain atrophy and lacunes are the main imaging correlates of disease severity, but MR imaging correlates of reaction time in mildly affected patients are unknown. We hypothesized that reaction time is independently associated with the corpus callosum area in the early clinical stages of CADASIL. Twenty-six patients with CADASIL without dementia (Mini-Mental State Examination score > 24 and no cognitive symptoms) and without disability (modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 1) were compared with 29 age- and sex-matched controls. Corpus callosum area was determined on 3D-T1 MR imaging sequences with validated methodology. Between-group comparisons were performed with t tests or χ 2 tests when appropriate. Relationships between reaction time and corpus callosum area were tested using linear regression modeling. Reaction time was significantly related to corpus callosum area in patients (estimate = -7.4 × 10 3 , standard error = 3.3 × 10 3 , P = .03) even after adjustment for age, sex, level of education, and scores of depression and apathy (estimate = -12.2 × 10 3 , standard error = 3.8 × 10 3 , P = .005). No significant relationship was observed in controls. Corpus callosum area, a simple and robust imaging parameter, appears to be an independent correlate of reaction time at the early clinical stages of CADASIL. Further studies will determine whether corpus callosum area can be used as an outcome in future clinical trials in CADASIL or in more prevalent small-vessel diseases. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

Spatio-temporal variability of modern sedimentation rates in Lake Nam Co, central Tibetan Plateau, China -- the first results from sediment traps