Complete plant inventories of large areas of forests in the moderate and boreal zone have thus far been infeasible and have also not been published. The use of orienteering maps (O-maps) for sampling ...for inventories was tested. In the sampling method presented herein, the "O-map/way method", O-maps were used for controlled and systematic inspection and sampling, making it possible to carry out successfully complete plant taxon and site inventories of large forest areas (1 to 100 ha). O-maps are much more suitable than the best national or similar topographic maps (NT-maps) for plant inventories in forests; O-maps have many advantages (smaller scale/better resolution, better legibility, internationally standardization, information on vegetation and accessibility), and they contain more small objects, ways (= tracks of any size; roads), and lines and thus have much smaller subareas that allow good orientation and systematic screening for plants. For the example of plant taxon inventories in 6 target areas of 25-85 ha of Swiss midland forests in the moderate/colline zone, the O-map/way method (all accessible areas are screened) was shown to be clearly superior to alternative sampling methods (partial areas screened), such as the NT-map/way method or a plot method, in which only 79.6±6.7% or 34.5±6.6%, respectively, of the taxa found by the O-map/way method were recorded. Taxa detected only by the O-map/way method were shown to be relatively rare at a local as well as at a national scale. The O-map/way method could also be successfully applied to the inventory of plant sites in large forest areas: As shown by the distribution of the sites of five plant species in a target area of 30.1 ha, the great majority of plant sites were detected only by the O-map/way method; but only a few sites were detected by the alternative methods. As O-maps for forests are widely available in many countries, the O-map/way method might allow for complete inventories and other studies in large forest areas.
L’ancienneté des premières occupations humaines en Amérique fait l’objet d’un grand débat. La date d’arrivée d’Homo sapiens sur le continent varie de 16 000 à 130 000 ans avant le présent (BP). Les ...âges antérieurs à environ 50 000 ans impliquent que le Nouveau Monde aurait pu être peuplé par d’autres espèces du genre Homo. Les propositions d’une présence antérieure au dernier maximum glaciaire restent toutefois conditionnées au débat sur l’origine anthropique ou naturelle de structures ou d’objets décrits comme des foyers, des artefacts ou des traces de découpe et de fracture d’ossements animaux. Aucun squelette humain antérieur à 12 000 ans BP – ce qui constituerait une preuve incontestable de présence humaine – n’a été décrit dans le Nouveau Monde. Les analyses génétiques de populations actuelles et de squelettes anciens indiquent une date de colonisation ne remontant pas au-delà d’il y a 16 000 ans. Les données biologiques sont donc en faveur d’une occupation de l’Amérique postérieure au dernier maximum glaciaire. Une hypothèse alternative serait de considérer que si une population très ancienne a existé dans le Nouveau Monde, celle-ci a disparu sans laisser de vestiges, un évènement qui serait unique dans l’histoire de l’humanité.
A antiguidade da ocupação humana na América é tema de grande debate. A data de chegada de Homo sapiens no continente varia entre 16 000 e 130 000 anos AP. As idades mais antigas do que ca. 50 000 anos implicam que o Novo Mundo poderia ter sido povoado por outras espécies do gênero Homo. As propostas de uma presença anterior ao último máximo glacial, entretanto, seguem entrincheiradas no debate sobre origem antrópica ou natural de feições ou objetos descritos como fogueiras, artefatos de pedra e marcas de corte e quebra em ossos de animais. Esqueletos humanos mais antigos do que 12 000 anos, que constituiriam evidência incontestável da presença humana, nunca foram descritos para o Novo Mundo. Análises genéticas de populações atuais e de esqueletos antigos indicam uma idade de colonização de não mais do que ca. 16 000 anos atrás. Portanto, a evidência bioarqueológica favorece uma ocupação posterior ao último máximo glacial da América. Alternativamente, indica que se existiu uma população muito antiga no Novo Mundo, ela desapareceu sem deixar vestígios, um evento que seria único na história da humanidade.
The date of the earliest human occupation in America is a matter of great debate with estimates ranging from 16,000 to 130,000 years for the time of the arrival of Homo sapiens on the continent. Ages older than ca. 50,000 years imply that the New World could have been populated by other species of the genus Homo. Hypotheses of a settlement prior to the last glacial maximum, however, remain entrenched in the debate around the anthropogenic or natural origin of features or objects described as bonfires, stone artifacts and cut/break marks on animal bones. Human skeletons older than 12,000 years, which would constitute indisputable evidence of human presence, have never been described for the New World. Genetic analyzes of current populations and ancient skeletons indicate an age of colonization of no more than ca. 16,000 years ago. Therefore, the bioarchaeological evidence favors an understanding of settlement occurring after the last glacial maximum in America. Alternatively, it indicates that if there was a very old population in the New World it disappeared without a trace, an event that would be unique in deep history of humanity.
The aim of the current study was to provide insight into the viable bacterial community that persists in rainwater after solar pasteurisation (SOPAS). Unpasteurised rainwater (
n
= 8) was collected ...directly from the rainwater tank, while SOPAS-treated rainwater (
n
= 8) was collected from the Phungamanzi™ system (connected to the tank) at the temperature ranges of 70 to 79 °C, 80 to 89 °C, and 90 °C and above. Culturable bacteria were isolated and identified using universal 16S ribosmonal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) PCR. Results indicated that
Klebsiella
spp.,
Pseudomonas
spp.,
Enterococcus
spp. and
Bacillus
spp. were present in untreated rainwater and sporadically persisted in the SOPAS samples collected at the different temperature ranges.
Pseudomonas
spp. and
Bacillus
spp. were the only genera found to persist up to a temperature of 98 °C. Genus-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of total genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extracted from the rainwater samples indicated that the most frequently detected genera present after SOPAS were
Klebsiella
(87.5%) and
Pseudomonas
(62.5%). The quantification of viable
Klebsiella
was performed using ethidium monoazide bromide quantitative PCR (EMA-qPCR), which revealed that intact
Klebsiella
cells persisted up to 98 °C with 9.3 × 10
4
gene copies mL
−1
recorded. While intact
Pseudomonas
and
Legionella
cells have been detected in SOPAS-treated rainwater (> 90 °C), this study confirmed that
Klebsiella
and
Bacillus
are also viable at temperatures above 90 °C and may potentially result in health risks associated with the utilisation of SOPAS rainwater. Secondary or combination treatment procedures are thus required to effectively reduce the level of these persisting viable opportunistic pathogens.
Resumo No Brasil, esqueletos humanos do início do Holoceno são raros, impedindo um estudo detalhado das práticas funerárias desse período. O sítio arqueológico Lapa do Santo é uma exceção. Entre 2001 ...e 2009, foram exumados 26 sepultamentos do Holoceno Inicial, que são aqui descritos e distribuídos em sete padrões distintos. A inumação dos mortos na Lapa do Santo tem início entre 10300-10600 cal AP, com enterros simples e articulados (Padrão 1). Entre 9400-9600 cal AP, as práticas funerárias caracterizavam-se pela manipulação perimortem e o subsequente enterro dos ossos desarticulados de múltiplos indivíduos (Padrão 2). Entre 8200-8600 cal AP, esqueletos desarticulados de um único indivíduo, cujos ossos longos comumente apresentam fraturas perimortem, eram depositados em covas circulares (Padrão 3). Os demais padrões incluem esqueletos cujos membros foram removidos (Padrão 4), enterro de esqueleto completo desarticulado na forma de feixe (Padrão 5), cremação (Padrão 6) e enterro em cova circular, recoberto por blocos de arenito (Padrão 7). Caracteriza uma diversidade de sepultamentos desconhecida para o Holoceno Inicial, que contrasta com a homogeneidade tecnofuncional e de hábitos alimentares atribuída a esses grupos. Indica também constantes transformações ao longo do tempo, contradizendo a visão de que esses grupos seriam avessos a inovações culturais.
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.
Current archaeological paradigm proposes that the first peopling of the Americas does not exceed the Last Glacial Maximum period. In this context, the acceptance of the anthropogenic character of the ...earliest stone artefacts generally rests on the presence of projectile points considered no more as typocentric but as typognomonic, since it allows, by itself, to certify the human character of the other associated artefacts. In other words, without this presence, nothing is certain. Archaeological research at Piauí (Brazil) attests to a Pleistocene human presence between 41 and 14 cal kyr BP, without any record of lithic projectile points. Here, we report the discovery and interpretation of an unusual stone artefact in the Vale da Pedra Furada site, in a context dating back to 24 cal kyr BP. The knapping stigmata and macroscopic use-wear traces reveal a conception centred on the configuration of double bevels and the production in the same specimen of at least two successive artefacts with probably different functions. This piece unambiguously presents an anthropic character and reveals a technical novelty during the Pleistocene occupation of South America.
Allosteric inhibitors of Bcr-Abl have emerged as a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of CML. Using fragment-based screening, a search for novel Abl inhibitors that bind to the myristate ...pocket was carried out. Here we show that not all myristate ligands are functional inhibitors, but that the conformational state of C-terminal helix_I is a structural determinant for functional activity. We present an NMR-based conformational assay to monitor the conformation of this crucial helix_I and show that myristate ligands that bend helix_I are functional antagonists, whereas ligands that bind to the myristate pocket but do not induce this conformational change are kinase agonists. Activation of c-Abl by allosteric agonists has been confirmed in a biochemical assay.
Few archaeological sites in the Americas contain high concentrations of human burials dating back to the early Holocene. The tropical karstic region of Lagoa Santa, in central Brazil (state of Minas ...Gerais) is one of the richest bioanthropological records available to study the behaviors and funerary practices of early Holocene South Americans, with more than 200 skeletons found so far. One of the key locations to examine the history of human settlement in Lagoa Santa is the site of Lapa do Santo, a rockshelter known to contain the oldest rock art and the earliest evidence of funerary complexity in the continent. In this geoarchaeological investigation we focus on the early Holocene settlement at Lapa do Santo (7.9–12.7 cal kyBP) applying high-resolution geoarchaeological techniques, such as micromorphology, organic petrology and μFTIR, on both archaeological, modern reference and experimental samples. This is the first time that a micro-contextual approach integrated with experimental geoarchaeology has been applied to study the formation of rockshelter deposits in a tropical setting. Our results show that the stratigraphic sequence formed under the dual influence of anthropogenic sedimentation—through continuous combustion activities—and geogenic sedimentation in the form of oxisol aggregates which fell from above the limestone cliff into the rockshelter. Intact hearths and remobilized combustion debris, possibly hearth rake-out, are close to the graves suggesting repeated burning activities as part of the ritual behavior of early Holocene South Americans. Large amounts of ash are intermixed with heated and unheated oxisol aggregates. Heated termite mound fragments were also found mixed within the sediments. Post-depositional alteration of the site includes limited bioturbation and localized, low energy surface water and sub-surface concentrations of moisture, leading to precipitation of dense, secondary carbonates. The age inversions can be attributed to the human action of reworking the ashy sediments and not to post-abandonment processes. Despite this, the overall preservation of the sediments is good and most human burials can be considered to be in primary context.
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•Dual influence of anthropogenic and geogenic sedimentation in site formation.•Stratigraphic sequence made of reworked and intact combustion features.•Red oxisol fall from above limestone cliff as major geogenic input.•Overall good preservation of ashes despite tropical environmental context.•First microcontextual study of an anthropogenic deposit consisting of ashes and oxisol aggregates.
Zinc (Zn) isotope ratios of dental enamel are a promising tracer for dietary reconstruction in archeology, but its use is still in its infancy. A recent study demonstrated a high risk of Zn ...contamination from nitrile, and latex gloves used during chemical sample preparation. Here we assess the potential impact of the use of such gloves during enamel sampling on the Zn isotope composition of teeth from a population of early Holocene hunter gatherers from Lapa do Santo, Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. We first examined the amount of Zn and its isotopic composition released from the gloves used in this study by soaking them in weak nitric acid and water. We compared Zn isotope ratios obtained from teeth that were sampled wearing nitrile, latex or no gloves. Finally, we performed a linear mixed model (LMM) to investigate post hoc the relationship between the gloves used for sampling and the Zn isotope variability in dental enamel. We found that the gloves used in this study released a similar amount of Zn compared to previous work, but only in acidic solution. Zn isotope ratios of teeth and the LMM identified no sign of significant Zn coming from the gloves when teeth were handled for enamel sampling. We hypothesize that Zn in gloves is mostly released by contact with acids. We found that the main source of Zn isotope variability in the Lapa do Santo population was related to the developmental stage of the tooth tissues sampled. We report identical results for two individuals coming from a different archeological context. Tooth enamel formed in utero and/or during the two first years of life showed higher Zn isotope ratios than enamel formed after weaning. More work is required to systematically investigate if Zn isotopes can be used as a breastfeeding tracer.
Current structural understanding of kinases is largely based on x-ray crystallographic studies, whereas very little data exist on the conformations and dynamics that kinases adopt in the solution ...state. ABL kinase is an important drug target in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia. Here, we present the first characterization of ABL kinase in complex with three clinical inhibitors (imatinib, nilotinib, and dasatinib) by modern solution NMR techniques. Structural and dynamical results were derived from complete backbone resonance assignments, experimental residual dipolar couplings, and 15N relaxation data. Residual dipolar coupling data on the imatinib and nilotinib complexes show that the activation loop adopts the inactive conformation, whereas the dasatinib complex preserves the active conformation, which does not support contrary predictions based upon molecular modeling. Nanosecond as well as microsecond dynamics can be detected for certain residues in the activation loop in the inactive and active conformation complexes.