Agriculture along the upper part of the Middle Zarafshan River during the first millennium AD: A multi-site archaeobotanical analysis

The Zarafshan River runs from the mountains of Tajikistan and terminates in the sands of the Kyzyl-Kum Desert in Uzbekistan; it served as a communication route and homeland for the Sogdians. The Sogdians are historically depicted as merchants existing from the end of the first millennium BC through the first millennium AD. While recent research has provided the first glimpse into cultivation, commerce, communication, and consumption in the Lower Zarafshan, the agricultural heartland of the Middle Zarafshan Basin has remained unstudied. This paper presents the results of archaeobotanical investigations conducted at five ancient urban sites/areas spanning the fifth to the twelfth centuries AD: Kainar (Penjikent citadel), Penjikent (shahristan), Sanjar-Shah, Kuk-Tosh (pre-Mongol Penjikent), and Afrasiab. Collectively, these data show that cereals, legumes, oil/fiber crops, fruits, and nuts were cultivated on the fertile Zarafshan floodplains. In this paper, we discuss evidence for the diversification of the agricultural assemblage over time, including the introduction of new staple crops and fruits into an already complex cultivation system. In addition, we contrast our data with previously published results from sites along the course of the Zarafshan to determine whether there is a dietary difference between pre-and post-Islamic conquest periods at settlements located along the river.

Biomolecular evidence for changing millet reliance in Late Bronze Age central Germany

The Bronze Age of Central Europe was a period of major social, economic, political and ideological change. The arrival of millet is often seen as part of wider Bronze Age connectivity, yet understanding of the subsistence regimes underpinning this dynamic period remains poor for this region, in large part due to a dominance of cremation funerary rites, which hinder biomolecular studies. Here, we apply stable isotope analysis, radiocarbon dating and archaeobotanical analysis to two Late Bronze Age (LBA) sites, Esperstedt and Kuckenburg, in central Germany, where human remains were inhumed rather than cremated. We find that people buried at these sites did not consume millet before the Middle Bronze Age (MBA) (ca. 1600 BCE). However, by the early LBA (ca. 1300-1050 BCE) people consumed millet, often in substantial quantities. This consumption appears to have subsequently diminished or ceased around 1050-800 BCE, despite charred millet grains still being found in the archaeological deposits from this period. The arrival of millet in this region, followed by a surge in consumption spanning two centuries, indicates a complex interplay of cultural and economic factors, as well as a potential use of millet to buffer changes in aridity in a region increasingly prone to crop failure in the face of climate change today.

Paleoproteomic evidence reveals dairying supported prehistoric occupation of the highland Tibetan Plateau

The extreme environments of the Tibetan Plateau offer considerable challenges to human survival, demanding novel adaptations. While the role of biological and agricultural adaptations in enabling early human colonization of the plateau has been widely discussed, the contribution of pastoralism is less well understood, especially the dairy pastoralism that has historically been central to Tibetan diets. Here, we analyze ancient proteins from the dental calculus (n = 40) of all human individuals with sufficient calculus preservation from the interior plateau. Our paleoproteomic results demonstrate that dairy pastoralism began on the highland plateau by ~3500 years ago. Patterns of milk protein recovery point to the importance of dairy for individuals who lived in agriculturally poor regions above 3700 m above sea level. Our study suggests that dairy was a critical cultural adaptation that supported expansion of early pastoralists into the region's vast, non-arable highlands, opening the Tibetan Plateau up to widespread, permanent human occupation.

Megadrought and cultural exchange along the proto-silk road

Arid Central Asia (ACA), with its diverse landscapes of high mountains, oases, and deserts, hosted the central routes of the Silk Roads that linked trade centers from East Asia to the eastern Mediterranean. Ecological pockets and ecoclines in ACA are largely determined by local precipitation. However, little research has gone into the effects of hydroclimatic changes on trans-Eurasian cultural exchange. Here, we reconstruct precipitation changes in ACA, covering the mid-late Holocene with a U-Th dated, ~3 a resolution, multi-proxy time series of replicated stalagmites from the southeastern Fergana Valley, Kyrgyzstan. Our data reveal a 640-a megadrought between 5820 and 5180 a BP, which likely impacted cultural development in ACA and impeded the expansion of cultural traits along oasis routes. Instead, it may have diverted the earliest transcontinental exchange along the Eurasian steppe during the 5th millennium BP. With gradually increasing precipitation after the megadrought, settlement of peoples in the oases and river valleys may have facilitated the opening of the oasis routes, "prehistoric Silk Roads", of trans-Eurasian exchange. By the 4th millennium BP, this process may have reshaped cultures across the two continents, laying the foundation for the organized Silk Roads.

The origins of cannabis smoking: Chemical residue evidence from the first millennium BCE in the Pamirs

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated plants in East Asia, grown for grain and fiber as well as for recreational, medical, and ritual purposes. It is one of the most widely used psychoactive drugs in the world today, but little is known about its early psychoactive use or when plants under cultivation evolved the phenotypical trait of increased specialized compound production. The archaeological evidence for ritualized consumption of cannabis is limited and contentious. Here, we present some of the earliest directly dated and scientifically verified evidence for ritual cannabis smoking. This phytochemical analysis indicates that cannabis plants were burned in wooden braziers during mortuary ceremonies at the Jirzankal Cemetery (ca. 500 BCE) in the eastern Pamirs region. This suggests cannabis was smoked as part of ritual and/or religious activities in western China by at least 2500 years ago and that the cannabis plants produced high levels of psychoactive compounds.

Early agriculture and crop transmission among Bronze Age mobile pastoralists of Central Eurasia

Archaeological research in Central Eurasia is exposing unprecedented scales of trans-regional interaction and technology transfer between East Asia and southwest Asia deep into the prehistoric past. This article presents a new archaeobotanical analysis from pastoralist campsites in the mountain and desert regions of Central Eurasia that documents the oldest known evidence for domesticated grains and farming among seasonally mobile herders. Carbonized grains from the sites of Tasbas and Begash illustrate the first transmission of southwest Asian and East Asian domesticated grains into the mountains of Inner Asia in the early third millennium BC. By the middle second millennium BC, seasonal camps in the mountains and deserts illustrate that Eurasian herders incorporated the cultivation of millet, wheat, barley and legumes into their subsistence strategy. These findings push back the chronology for domesticated plant use among Central Eurasian pastoralists by approximately 2000 years. Given the geography, chronology and seed morphology of these data, we argue that mobile pastoralists were key agents in the spread of crop repertoires and the transformation of agricultural economies across Asia from the third to the second millennium BC.

Lipid hydroperoxide stimulates retinal neovascularization in rabbit retina through expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor

To test the hypothesis that oxidative damage associated with tissue hypoxia plays a role in neovascularization, a lipid hydroperoxide (LHP) was injected into the vitreous of rabbits. Single injections of LHP (50-600 microg) caused a sustained retinal neovascularization visualized clinically by ophthalmoscopy and confirmed by microscopy. Vasodilators, i.e. histamine and nitric oxide, peaked at 6h and 7 days, respectively. The levels of both tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1alpha peaked at 12h and dropped to basal levels by 24h. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-beta peaked at 24h and were sustained throughout the following 3 weeks, and platelet-derived growth factor was also elevated throughout the same period. Upregulation of these five angiogenic cytokines, but not basic fibroblast growth factor, occurred prior to the appearance of neovascularization. Leakage of fluorescein at the tips of new vessels was demonstrated by fluorescein angiography. Linoleic hydroperoxide induced neovascularization, but saturated or unsaturated native C-18 fatty acids had no effect. The cascade of multiple, angiogenic cytokines induced by LHP may interact to promote sustained neovascularization.

Detection of vascular endothelial growth factor and tumor necrosis factor alpha in epiretinal membranes of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy and macular pucker

PURPOSE

To evaluate epiretinal membranes in proliferative eye disease for the presence of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha).

METHODS

Membranes were surgically removed from 66 patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and macular pucker (MP). Cytokine concentrations were determined by ELISA (VEGF) and bioassay (TNF-alpha).

RESULTS

VEGF was detected in all 66 membranes investigated. The highest VEGF values were found in patients with type I diabetes (mean = 5,994 pg/mg protein). In patients with type II diabetes, the values were at a mean of 1,242 pg/mg protein. When coagulation therapy was performed for longer than 3 months prior to surgery, VEGF was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced. Intermediate levels of VEGF were found in PVR membranes (mean = 1,417 pg/mg protein). The lowest activity was found in MP (mean = 216 pg/mg protein). In contrast, TNF-alpha was present in 16 PDR membranes, 9 PVR membranes and 8 MP membranes.

CONCLUSION

The presence of VEGF in all membranes investigated indicates that this cytokine plays an important role in angiogenesis in ischemic retinal disease and in membrane growth in proliferative disorders.

Lipid hydroperoxide-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- , vascular endothelial growth factor and neovascularization in the rabbit cornea: effect of TNF inhibition

Lipid hydroperoxides (LHP) at high concentrations are cytotoxic, but at sublethal concentration, they induce synthesis of cytokine vascular growth factors. Intracorneal injections of 30 μg LHP placed 5 mm from the superior limbus stimulated early vasodilation of limbal vasculature and a rapidly developing, sustained neovascularization. Under these conditions, vessels grew at the rate of 0.3 mm/day to a total length of 7.5 mm, 25 days after injection. Cholesterol peroxides were less effective. Developing vessels were oriented towards the stimulus. Around the developing vessel there was dissolution of the stromal extracellular matrix. The most distal endothelial cells displayed prominent endoplasmic reticulum, a lack of basement membrane or tight junction complexes and leakage of fluorescein dye. Both the injection site and superior quadrant showed increased levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor after exposure to LHP. The neovascular response was inhibited by simultaneous administration of TNF-alpha antibody or pentoxifylline, an inhibitor of TNF-alpha synthesis. This corneal model of peroxide-induced neovascularization should prove useful for temporal studies of events in the initiation and propagation of signals leading to neovascularization, and for evaluating effects of treatment on neovascular growth.

Differential regulation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha in human alveolar macrophages and peripheral blood monocytes: a cellular and molecular analysis

Human tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), a mononuclear phagocyte (MO)-derived peptide, is increasingly being recognized for its pleomorphic immunologic effects. A number of studies have demonstrated that LPS can induce TNF synthesis, but data examining the production and regulation of TNF in human MO populations are lacking. In this study, we present data demonstrating that alveolar macrophages (AMO) and peripheral blood monocytes (PBM) obtained from 10 normal volunteers display a significant difference in both the production of TNF and their susceptibility to TNF regulation by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and dexamethasone (Dex). Adherent populations of PBM and AMO were incubated for 18 h in the presence of either LPS (10 micrograms/ml) alone, PGE2 for 1 h prior to LPS challenge, Dex for 1 h prior to LPS challenge, or control media alone. Cell-free supernatants were examined for TNF bioactivity and cellular TNF mRNA was assessed via in situ hybridization and Northern blot analysis. PGE2 and Dex treatment of PBM suppressed LPS-induced TNF production by 78% and 72%, respectively, while AMO-TNF production was suppressed by only 22% and 33%. The accumulation of TNF mRNA in PBM was reduced 63% by PGE2 and 45% by Dex, as assessed by laser densitometry. Similar studies demonstrated that TNF mRNA accumulation in AMO was reduced 12% and 13% by PGE2 and Dex, respectively. A 1,000-fold increase in PGE2 levels was necessary to induce 50% suppression of the maximal response to AMO as compared to PBM. These data support the notion that human MO derived from different compartments or stages of differentiation exhibit differential responsiveness to immunomodulators.

Hyperaluminemia in renal failure: the influence of age and citrate intake

Following the occurrence of aluminum encephalopathy in four patients with chronic renal failure, we studied 34 azotemic patients seen during the same year and five volunteers who took varying combinations of aluminum hydroxide and an alkalinizing citrate (Shohl's) solution. We found that the four encephalopathic cases were older than the 34 azotemic patients (68 years +/- 14 SD, vs 50 +/- 13, p less than 0.05), had a higher mean serum aluminum value (727 micrograms/l +/- 320 vs 92 +/- 73, p less than 0.005), had taken more aluminum hydroxide (5 g/day +/- 0.9 vs 1.6 +/- 1.8, p less than 0.01), and more Shohl's solution (64 ml/day +/- 19 vs 20 +/- 29, p less than 0.01). In all 38 patients the serum aluminum values correlated directly with age (p = 0.01), aluminum hydroxide (p = 0.001) and concomitant citrate intake (p = 0.004). In the five healthy volunteers the 24-hour urinary aluminum excretion increased from a baseline of 22 micrograms +/- 19 SD to 167 +/- 109 (p = 0.05) during aluminum hydroxide intake, rising to 580 +/- 267 (p = 0.01) during the simultaneous intake of citrate and aluminum hydroxide. Corresponding serum aluminum values were 11 micrograms/l +/- 2 SD, 44 +/- 34 (p = 0.1), and 98 +/- 58 (p less than 0.05). Thus citrate seems to enhance aluminum absorption and may cause encephalopathy in patients with chronic renal failure, especially the elderly.

Prostaglandin E2 regulates macrophage-derived tumor necrosis factor gene expression

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) is a macrophage-derived peptide that is known to be an important mediator in various physiologic and immunologic events. Although the effector function of TNF has received recent attention, there is relatively little information regarding factors that regulate TNF expression. Highly Ia-positive murine peritoneal macrophages obtained via complete Freund's adjuvant elicitation were challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and assessed for the production and regulation of TNF at the cellular and molecular levels. In response to 1 microgram/ml LPS, the kinetics of functionally active TNF reached a maximum at approximately 3-4 h. The plateau in TNF levels was concomitant with an accelerated increase in prostaglandin E2 production. The addition of exogenous PGE2 demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in LPS-induced TNF activity at the cellular level, as well as a significant reduction in TNF mRNA accumulation as assessed by Northern blot and in situ hybridization analysis. The reduction in LPS-stimulated mRNA accumulation by PGE2 was shown to occur at least at the level of transcription, since nuclear run-off analysis showed a specific reduction in TNF transcripts. These studies demonstrate that PGE2 can regulate macrophage-derived TNF gene expression.