The Paisley Caves in Oregon record the oldest directly dated human remains (DNA) in the Western Hemisphere. More than 100 high-precision radiocarbon dates show that deposits containing artifacts and ...coprolites ranging in age from 12,450 to 2295 ¹⁴C years ago are well stratified. Western Stemmed projectile points were recovered in deposits dated to 11,070 to 11,340 ¹⁴C years ago, a time contemporaneous with or preceding the Clovis technology. There is no evidence of diagnostic Clovis technology at the site. These two distinct technologies were parallel developments, not the product of a unilinear technological evolution. "Blind testing" analysis of coprolites by an independent laboratory confirms the presence of human DNA in specimens of pre-Clovis age. The colonization of the Americas involved multiple technologically divergent, and possibly genetically divergent, founding groups.
The distribution of 32 per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in surface soils was determined at 62 locations representing all continents (North America n = 33, Europe n = 10, Asia n = 6, Africa ...n = 5, Australia n = 4, South America n = 3 and Antarctica n = 1) using ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) systems. Quantifiable levels of perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs: PFHxA-PFTeDA) were observed in all samples with total concentrations ranging from 29 to 14,300 pg/g (dry weight), while perfluoroalkane sulfonates (PFSAs: PFHxS, PFOS and PFDS) were detected in all samples but one, ranging from <LOQ-3270 pg/g, confirming the global distribution of PFASs in terrestrial settings. The geometric mean PFCA and PFSA concentrations were observed to be higher in the northern hemisphere (930 and 170 pg/g) compared to the southern hemisphere (190 and 33 pg/g). Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) were the most commonly detected analytes at concentrations up to 2670 and 3100 pg/g, respectively. The sum of PFCA homologues of PFOA commonly were roughly twice the concentration of PFOA. The PFCA and PFSA congener profiles were similar amongst most locations, with a few principal-component statistical anomalies suggesting impact from nearby urban and point sources. The ratio of even to odd PFCAs was consistent with the atmospheric oxidation of fluorotelomer-based precursors previously observed in laboratory and environmental studies. Given the soils were collected from locations absent of direct human activity, these results suggest that the atmospheric long-range transport (LRT) of neutral PFASs followed by oxidation and deposition are a significant source of PFCAs and PFSAs to soils.
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•We report on 32 per/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in background soils.•Remote North American sites include Inuvik Canada, La Paz Mexico, Auke Bay Alaska.•Global includes Antarctica, Mabira Uganda, Vehendi Estonia, Southern Cross Australia.•Quantifiable concentrations of PFASs were detected in every soil sample.•Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) were most common.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species includes assessment of extinction risk for 98 512 species, plus documentation of their range, habitat, ...elevation, and other factors. These range, habitat and elevation data can be matched with terrestrial land cover and elevation datasets to map the species’ area of habitat (AOH; also known as extent of suitable habitat; ESH). This differs from the two spatial metrics used for assessing extinction risk in the IUCN Red List criteria: extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO). AOH can guide conservation, for example, through targeting areas for field surveys, assessing proportions of species’ habitat within protected areas, and monitoring habitat loss and fragmentation. We recommend that IUCN Red List assessments document AOH wherever practical.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species assesses the extinction risk of nearly 100 000 species, including documentation of a range map, habitat, and elevation data for each species.Numerous recent studies have matched these habitat and elevation data with remotely sensed land cover and elevation datasets to map AOH (also known as extent of suitable habitat) within the range of each species.AOH differs from the two spatial metrics used in the IUCN Red List criteria for extinction risk assessment: EOO (minimum convex polygon around all present native occurrences of a species); and AOO (area actually occupied by a species).AOH can be of value in locating target areas for species-specific field surveys, assessing the proportion of a species’ habitat within protected areas, and monitoring habitat loss and fragmentation.
The effect of fructose on cardiometabolic risk in humans is controversial. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials to clarify the effect of fructose on ...glycemic control in individuals with diabetes.
We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (through 22 March 2012) for relevant trials lasting ≥7 days. Data were aggregated by the generic inverse variance method (random-effects models) and expressed as mean difference (MD) for fasting glucose and insulin and standardized MD (SMD) with 95% CI for glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) and glycated albumin. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Cochran Q statistic and quantified by the I(2) statistic. Trial quality was assessed by the Heyland methodological quality score (MQS).
Eighteen trials (n = 209) met the eligibility criteria. Isocaloric exchange of fructose for carbohydrate reduced glycated blood proteins (SMD -0.25 95% CI -0.46 to -0.04; P = 0.02) with significant intertrial heterogeneity (I(2) = 63%; P = 0.001). This reduction is equivalent to a ~0.53% reduction in HbA(1c). Fructose consumption did not significantly affect fasting glucose or insulin. A priori subgroup analyses showed no evidence of effect modification on any end point.
Isocaloric exchange of fructose for other carbohydrate improves long-term glycemic control, as assessed by glycated blood proteins, without affecting insulin in people with diabetes. Generalizability may be limited because most of the trials were <12 weeks and had relatively low MQS (<8). To confirm these findings, larger and longer fructose feeding trials assessing both possible glycemic benefit and adverse metabolic effects are required.
Concerns have been raised about the adverse effect of fructose on blood pressure. International dietary guidelines, however, have not addressed fructose intake directly. A systematic review and ...meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of fructose in isocaloric exchange for other carbohydrates on systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures. Studies were identified using Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases (through January 9, 2012). Human clinical trials of isocaloric oral fructose exchange for other carbohydrate sources for ≥7 days were included in the analysis. Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method using random-effects models and expressed as mean differences with 95% CI. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Q-statistic and quantified by I(2). Study quality was assessed using the Heyland Methodological Quality Score. Thirteen isocaloric (n=352) and 2 hypercaloric (n=24) trials met the eligibility criteria. Overall, fructose intake in isocaloric exchange for other carbohydrates significantly decreased diastolic (mean difference: -1.54 95% CI: -2.77 to -0.32) and mean arterial pressure (mean difference: -1.16 95% CI: -2.15 to -0.18). There was no significant effect of fructose on systolic blood pressure (mean difference: -1.10 95% CI: -2.46 to 0.44). The hypercaloric fructose feeding trials found no significant overall mean arterial blood pressure effect of fructose in comparison with other carbohydrates. To confirm these results, longer and larger trials are needed. Contrary to previous concerns, we found that isocaloric substitution of fructose for other carbohydrates did not adversely affect blood pressure in humans.
The contribution of fructose consumption in Western diets to overweight and obesity in populations remains uncertain.
To review the effects of fructose on body weight in controlled feeding trials.
...MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library (through 18 November 2011).
At least 3 reviewers identified controlled feeding trials lasting 7 or more days that compared the effect on body weight of free fructose and nonfructose carbohydrate in diets providing similar calories (isocaloric trials) or of diets supplemented with free fructose to provide excess energy and usual or control diets (hypercaloric trials). Trials evaluating high-fructose corn syrup (42% to 55% free fructose) were excluded.
The reviewers independently reviewed and extracted relevant data; disagreements were reconciled by consensus. The Heyland Methodological Quality Score was used to assess study quality.
Thirty-one isocaloric trials (637 participants) and 10 hypercaloric trials (119 participants) were included; studies tended to be small (<15 participants), short (<12 weeks), and of low quality. Fructose had no overall effect on body weight in isocaloric trials (mean difference, -0.14 kg 95% CI, -0.37 to 0.10 kg for fructose compared with nonfructose carbohydrate). High doses of fructose in hypercaloric trials (+104 to 250 g/d, +18% to 97% of total daily energy intake) lead to significant increases in weight (mean difference, 0.53 kg CI, 0.26 to 0.79 kg with fructose).
Most trials had methodological limitations and were of poor quality. The weight-increasing effect of fructose in hypercaloric trials may have been attributable to excess energy rather than fructose itself.
Fructose does not seem to cause weight gain when it is substituted for other carbohydrates in diets providing similar calories. Free fructose at high doses that provided excess calories modestly increased body weight, an effect that may be due to the extra calories rather than the fructose.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research. (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT01363791).
The toxicity and environmental persistence of anthropogenic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of global concern. To address legacy PFAS concerns in the United States, industry developed ...numerous replacement PFAS that commonly are treated as confidential information. To investigate the distribution of PFAS in New Jersey, soils collected from across the state were subjected to nontargeted mass-spectral analyses. Ten chloroperfluoropolyether carboxylates were tentatively identified, with at least three congeners in all samples. Nine congeners are ≥(CF
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Distinct chemical formulas and structures, as well as geographic distribution, suggest airborne transport from an industrial source. Lighter congeners dispersed more widely than heavier congeners, with the most widely dispersed detected in an in-stock New Hampshire sample. Additional data were used to develop a legacy-PFAS fingerprint for historical PFAS sources in New Jersey.
Abstract Background In the absence of consistent clinical evidence, concerns have been raised that fructose raises postprandial triglycerides. Purpose A systematic review and meta-analysis was ...conducted to assess the effect of fructose on postprandial triglycerides. Data sources Relevant studies were identified from MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases (through September 3, 2013). Data selection Relevant clinical trials of ≥7-days were included in the analysis. Data extraction Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data with disagreements reconciled by consensus. The Heyland Methodological Quality Score (MQS) assessed study quality. Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method using random effects models and expressed as standardized mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed (Cochran Q statistic) and quantified ( I2 statistic). Data synthesis Eligibility criteria were met by 14 isocaloric trials ( n = 290), in which fructose was exchanged isocalorically for other carbohydrate in the diet, and two hypercaloric trials ( n = 33), in which fructose supplemented the background diet with excess energy from high-dose fructose compared with the background diet alone (without the excess energy). There was no significant effect in the isocaloric trials (SMD: 0.14 95% CI: −0.02, 0.30) with evidence of considerable heterogeneity explained by a single trial. Hypercaloric trials, however, showed a significant postprandial triglyceride raising-effect of fructose (SMD: 0.65 95% CI: 0.30, 1.01). Limitations Most of the available trials were small, short, and of poor quality. Interpretation of the isocaloric trials is complicated by the large influence of a single trial. Conclusions Pooled analyses show that fructose in isocaloric exchange for other carbohydrate does not increase postprandial triglycerides, although an effect cannot be excluded under all conditions. Fructose providing excess energy does increase postprandial triglycerides. Larger, longer, and higher-quality trials are needed. Protocol registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01363791.
Hyperuricemia is linked to gout and features of metabolic syndrome. There is concern that dietary fructose may increase uric acid concentrations. To assess the effects of fructose on serum uric acid ...concentrations in people with and without diabetes, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library for relevant trials (through August 19, 2011). Analyses included all controlled feeding trials ≥ 7 d investigating the effect of fructose feeding on uric acid under isocaloric conditions, where fructose was isocalorically exchanged with other carbohydrate, or hypercaloric conditions, and where a control diet was supplemented with excess energy from fructose. Data were aggregated by the generic inverse variance method using random effects models and expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% CI. Heterogeneity was assessed by the Q statistic and quantified by I(2). A total of 21 trials in 425 participants met the eligibility criteria. Isocaloric exchange of fructose for other carbohydrate did not affect serum uric acid in diabetic and nondiabetic participants MD = 0.56 μmol/L (95% CI: -6.62, 7.74), with no evidence of inter-study heterogeneity. Hypercaloric supplementation of control diets with fructose (+35% excess energy) at extreme doses (213-219 g/d) significantly increased serum uric acid compared with the control diets alone in nondiabetic participants MD = 31.0 mmol/L (95% CI: 15.4, 46.5) with no evidence of heterogeneity. Confounding from excess energy cannot be ruled out in the hypercaloric trials. These analyses do not support a uric acid-increasing effect of isocaloric fructose intake in nondiabetic and diabetic participants. Hypercaloric fructose intake may, however, increase uric acid concentrations. The effect of the interaction of energy and fructose remains unclear. Larger, well-designed trials of fructose feeding at "real world" doses are needed.
The timing of the first human migration into the Americas and its relation to the appearance of the Clovis technological complex in North America at about 11,000 to 10,800 radiocarbon years before ...the present (¹⁴C years B.P.) remains contentious. We establish that humans were present at Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves, in south-central Oregon, by 12,300 ¹⁴C years B.P., through the recovery of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from coprolites, directly dated by accelerator mass spectrometry. The mtDNA corresponds to Native American founding haplogroups A2 and B2. The dates of the coprolites are >1000 ¹⁴C years earlier than currently accepted dates for the Clovis complex.
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