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ANCIENT DENTISTRY: DENTAL CARIES OR PARAMASTICATORY BEHAVIOR IN A MANDIBULAR THIRD MOLAR FROM A NEOLITHIC FUNNEL BEAKER BURIAL AT MODICE, THE CZECH REPUBLIC
No full textThe Neolithic Funnel Beaker cemetery of Modřice, dated to 4850-4900 years before present (uncalibrated), preserves the mandibular remains of an adult, H3851, exhibiting two atypical buccal pits on a large extended cingulum of the left mandibular third molar. The individual is probably male as the mesiodistal, buccolingual, mesiolingual-distobuccal and mesiobuccal-distolingual breadths are the largest in a sample of molars from Modřice (n = 11). A high-fidelity epoxy resin dental cast of H3851 was created from a polyvinylsiloxane mold of the original Neolithic material curated at the Moravska Muzeum, Brno. Stereomicroscopy of the dental cast was performed and digital images of H3851 were consulted. All three molars are preserved on the left side. The first exhibits extreme dental wear. The second and third molars show less advanced attrition. The pits, one a large distal intrusion, the other a much smaller mesial perforation, exist on a pronounced protostylid extending beyond the protoconid as a flattened dental shelf. The buccal perforations on the left M3 differ from examples of dental caries in the published literature in that the rim presents color contrasts and differences in degree of sharpness. The largest pit exhibits a rim with a darker coloration mesially and lingually. The buccal and distal margins are lighter and present a more dulled or polished border. Dental caries are likely to form in the developmental grooves, the cementoenamel junction and interproximally where food particles can easily be trapped. Dental caries appear more often in Neolithic societies than beforehand from an increase in carbohydrates and sugars arising from an agricultural diet. However, the buccal pits on H3851 may also represent repeated use of the buccal capsule in processing resources or using the molar row as a tool. The polished surfaces of the buccal and distal pit borders may indicate some kind of paramasticatory behavior that later developed into carious lesions represented by the darker and sharper mesial and lingual borders of the largest perforation. This research points to the important role of incipient trauma creating the pathway for tooth decay to develop on convex enamel substrates prior to the modern era
Addition of Inexpensive Lights to Aquatic Turtle Traps Improves Trapping Efficiency in Early Spring
Get PDFAquatic turtles are essential contributors to many freshwater ecosystems, but they face a myriad of threats, necessitating periodic monitoring of population status. Increasing turtle trapping efficiency has the potential to improve conservation efforts, particularly when population sizes are low or sampling conditions are suboptimal. In an effort to improve trapping efficiency, we added LED lights to turtle traps in an attempt to attract kinosternid turtles. Our investigation into the effectiveness of LED lights as an attractant was based on evidence suggesting that these turtles may forage using both visual and olfactory cues. Lights significantly increased captures of kinosternid turtles during early spring, but the increased efficiency did not persist later in the season, possibly due to lights facilitating escape from traps as turtle activity levels increased. To our knowledge, this study is the first research into the efficacy of using lights to increase trapping success of freshwater turtles. Given our encouraging results during early spring and the low cost of LED lights, we encourage researchers to explore the possibility of adding lights to traps to increase captures in challenging trapping conditions
THE EFFECT OF ADENOVIRUS E4ORF3 AND DDX6 ON RIG-I MEDIATED INTERFERON RESPONSE**
No full textThe cytosolic pattern recognition receptor, retinoic-acid inducible gene I (RIG-I), plays a key signaling role in initiating the type-1 interferon (IFN1) host response in the presence of a virus. RIG-I senses viral RNA in the host cell and activates a signaling cascade that leads to the production of IFN1. The function of RIG-I has been frequently studied during an infection with an RNA virus, however studies of RIG-I with DNA viruses are not as abundant. Adenovirus is a nonenveloped, double-stranded DNA virus containing early proteins that function to create a more advantageous host-cell environment for viral replication. Adenovirus early region 4 11 kilodalton protein (E4 11k) is known to relocalize host-cell target proteins with functions ranging from double-strand break repair to mRNA regulation. One structure that is targeted for relocalization is the P body, which is involved in cytoplasmic RNA regulation and mRNA degradation. One major P body protein that E4 11k interacts with is DEAD-Box Helicase 6 (Ddx6), that acts as an RNA helicase and has functions in mRNA decapping. More recently, Ddx6 has been found to bind to RIG-I and is known to have both antiviral and pro-viral roles during infection. It is important to note that adenovirus infection has been shown to induce IFN-ß in a biphasic manner, with the late phase being RIG-I dependent. This project aims to look at the possible inhibitory effects of the E4 11k/Ddx6 interaction on RIG-I during an adenovirus infection. Cells will be infected with wild type or E4 11k-deletion mutants of adenovirus and then harvested for qRT-PCR at various hours post infection using primers for RIG-I, IFN-ß, GAPDH, and the virus associated RNA (VA1). Our results will help to create a better understanding of how the host innate immune response is activated and possibly subverted in DNA viruses
Elevated Substitution Rates Among Wolbachia-infected Mosquito Species Results in Apparent Phylogenetic Discordance.
Get PDFAs one of the most widely distributed bacterial cytoplasmic symbionts on earth, Wolbachia pipientis Hertig serves as a model organism for the understanding of host-symbiont interactions. Many mosquito species are infected with Wolbachia strains that induce a form of reproductive manipulation called cytoplasmic incompatibility, in which infected females gain a reproductive advantage over uninfected females in mixed infection populations. The selective advantage of cytoplasmic incompatibility often results in a population sweep of Wolbachia and co-transmitted mitochondrial genomes. Mitochondrial evolution and phylogenetic inferences drawn from mitochondrial gene sequences are thus potentially compromised by reproductive manipulating symbionts, like Wolbachia. Our initial analyses of phylogenetic patterns among collected Wolbachia-infected and uninfected mosquito species suggested significant Wolbachia-induced effects on mitochondrial evolutionary patterns. Discordant mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies among Aedes and Culex species were associated with infections status, with a distinct mitochondrial clade of infected Aedes and Culex species, separate from uninfected species of the genera. Statistical analyses of molecular substitution among infected and uninfected sequence samples revealed elevated rates of substitution for the mitochondrial sequences of the discordant infected Aedes/Culex clade. Subsequent phylogenetic analyses suggested that the observed discordance could be attributed to long-branch attraction effects associated with elevated rates of substitution. Our results highlight the impact cytoplasmic selection can have on phylogenetic inference in limited sample sets with Wolbachia-infected and uninfected species
Image analysis between cancerous and healthy serum through drying process**In Progress**
No full textCancer is one of the deadliest diseases globally, and millions of individuals in the United States are affected by it. Cancer remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Early detection of cancer is critical since cancer can develop into life-threatening problems with each passing day. The past decade has seen many advances in knowledge. These days, breast, cervical, colorectal (colon), and lung cancer screening methods are now linked with high costs and have unwanted side effects. Specific procedures are not directly applicable for early disease stages. Recent research using ATR-FTIR spectroscopic techniques has revealed that blood sample tests, which are inexpensive and straightforward, may be useful to diagnose a variety of cancer disorders and may even be applicable in the early stages of cancer. In this research work, we present an examination of the drying process of blood serum (cancer positive sample vs. healthy sample), which might be used as a screening tool
Do Exoplanets Exist Around High Velocity Star Systems?**
No full textA total of 573 objects have previously been identified as high velocity stars. We are using existing Gaia data to confirm their status as such. We are then conducting a systematic survey of the entire Gaia EDR3 catalog to identify previously unknown high velocity stars. Of particular interest to us is the prospect of detecting planetary companions, which has yet to be discovered. We will attempt to observe these companions via the transit method aided by TESS data
A SURVEY OF LENTIC MACROINVERTEBRATES IN MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA
No full textMacroinvertebrates are ecologically important organisms which form the foundation of aquatic food webs. Documenting the macroinvertebrates of lentic systems will increase our understanding of the complexity of these habitats and potentially provide insight into trophic-level interactions. Seasonal samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates from two lakes in Milledgeville, Georgia were collected in order to determine aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity and abundance. It is hypothesized that the catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) will be highest in summer and lowest in winter, without a significant change in diversity, due to reduced activity in cooler months. Metamorphism of insects will likely influence abundance with several species being collected from sediment casings in pupa and larval stages. Overall, this study increases our understanding of species diversity and will allow future study into trophic level interactions in a system that has not previously undergone an in-depth survey of macroinvertebrates
THE EFFECT OF DELTA-9 TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL ON DEVELOPMENTAL MORPHOLOGY IN ZEBRAFISH**
No full textThe use of marijuana has been shown to have positive medical effects (e.g., in the treatment of migraines and epilepsy), but also negative effects (e.g., when exposure is during development). The cannabis plant has more than 60 cannabinoid components, thus it is not always clear which chemical is responsible for a given response. The primary psychoactive ingredient is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which has been shown to alter behavioral and locomotor responses in zebrafish embryos. In this study, we are examining the effects of exposure to varying levels of THC (0, 0.625%, 1.25% and 2.5%) in developing zebrafish with respect to morphological alterations such as changes in jaw development and length or axial curvature of the embryos. The stock THC solution is in methanol, thus we will maintain the same concentration of methanol in all treatment groups. We will expose embryos within four hours of fertilization to the different drug concentrations and maintain exposure until day four following fertilization (4 dpf). Treatment groups will be monitored daily to record the number and remove any dead embryos. At 4 dpf we will anthesthetize the embryos, fix in 4% paraformaldehyde, and store in 100% methanol at 20° C until morphology is assessed. Jaw development will be examined following an alcian blue staining of cartilage
INDICATORS OF THORACIC OSTEOARTHRITIS COMPARED TO RELATIVE AGE ESTIMATED USING THE VERTEBRTAL EPIPHYSEAL RING
No full textOsteoarthritis of the vertebrae is strongly influenced by age but other factors, including occupation, weight, sex, genetic predisposition, diet and lifestyle, also affect the severity of this skeletal pathology. Vertebral osteoarthritis can be expressed as lipping or osteophytosis, eburnation and porosity. Eburnation provides strong evidence of osteoarthritis. However, there is debate about whether the process that initiates osteoporosity, or bone destruction, differs from that involved in bone accumulation, resulting in osteophytosis or lipping. To systematically investigate the relationship between eburnation, lipping and porosity, we reconstructed age by seriating a randomly selected sample of 14 thoracic vertebrae from the bioarchaeology teaching collection of Georgia State University. Relative ages were assigned by ordering stages of epiphyseal ring degeneration. First, the oldest and youngest were identified. The youngest exhibits a prominent epiphyseal ring with a pronounced margin that is evenly thick along its length without interruption or disfigurement. The oldest epiphyseal ring is characterized by distorted margins and severe disruption of the morphological integrity of the ring. The other individuals were ascribed a relative age, including younger, middle and older adult, according to their similarities to these extremes. Striations were also considered and reduced the relative age closer to the younger pole when discernable under 10x magnification. Eburnation, lipping and porosity were scored using Buikstra and Ubelaker’s (1994) ranking system and compared using Spearman correlations. Prior to analysis, a measurement error study confirmed repeatability by yielding no significant differences between two independent scoring attempts. Eburnation exhibits the strongest correlation with relative age (r = 0.516), whereas lipping is more weakly correlated (r = 0.397). Porosity and relative age are not correlated (r = 0.078). Between the indices, porosity and lipping are weakly correlated (r = 0.340) whereas the others are uncorrelated. To the extent that this limited sample reflects broad trends in the human life cycle, these results support the position that porosity acts independent of age. When porosity is associated with aging, it is because of its weak correlation with lipping. In contrast to the other osteoarthritis indicators, eburnation appears to be the most reliable indicator of age in the thoracic spine
Optical Continuum Variability of the Radio Galaxy 3C-390.3
No full textContinuum light curves in four wavelength bands (Johnson/Cousins B, V, R, and I) are presented for the broad-line radio galaxy 3C-390.3. The observations span the period 2001 to 2021, and were obtained with telescopes operated by the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy (SARA) in Arizona and on the island of La Palma. These data, combined with spectroscopic observations obtained by other observers, allow determination of the mass of the central supermassive black hole (currently estimated at 4.34 ± 0.43 × 108 MSun) by the method of reverberation mapping. During the period 2001 to 2021 the galaxy 3C-390.3 exhibited three cycles of brightening and dimming, with diminishing amplitude of variation. The galaxy brightened rapidly during the second half of 2021. There is a correlation between luminosity and color: the brighter the galaxy, the bluer it appears. This behavior is commonly observed in active galaxies. A correlation between the mass of an active galaxy’s central black hole and the characteristic time scale with which its luminosity diminishes after a brightening event was reported in August 2021. This would provide a highly valuable tool, as it would in principle allow determination of a supermassive black hole’s mass solely from photometric observations. However, the light curves for 3C-390.3 presented here suggest that this “damping time” depends on the optical band observed, increasing with increasing wavelength