Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a rapid means for assessing the source of coprolites

The odor of rehydrated coprolites can be used as an informal means of fecal identification. To date, the analysis of volatiles emitted by coprolites from different sources has not been attempted, and the possibility of utilizing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as fecal biomarkers unexplored. VOCs released by coprolites from the Paisley Caves, were analyzed using solid-phase microextraction (SPME), to assess the variance of results from different coprolites (carnivores, herbivores, or humans). Coprolites from carnivores can be clearly distinguished from those produced by herbivores and humans; these latter two are separated to a lesser degree. Eight discriminatory compounds differentiated between the coprolite sources, and their identities were verified using reference standards. Coprolites and their associated sediments could not be differentiated between using this method, suggesting leaching of VOCs into the burial matrix. This work provides an alternative, more rapid way to assess coprolite origin.

Pre-Clovis occupation of the Americas identified by human fecal biomarkers in coprolites from Paisley Caves, Oregon

When and how people first settled in the Americas is an ongoing area of research and debate. The earliest sites typically only contain lithic artifacts that cannot be directly dated. The lack of human skeletal remains in these early contexts means that alternative sources of evidence are needed. Coprolites, and the DNA contained within them, are one such source, but unresolved issues concerning ancient DNA taphonomy and potential for contamination make this approach problematic. Here, we use fecal lipid biomarkers to demonstrate unequivocally that three coprolites dated to pre-Clovis are human, raise questions over the reliance on DNA methods, and present a new radiocarbon date on basketry further supporting pre-Clovis human occupation.

An Early Holocene Record of Cimex (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) From Western North America

The subfossil remains of 14 cimicids (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) were recovered during archaeological investigations of the Paisley Five Mile Point Cave site (35LK3400), an exceptionally well-dated (n = 229 radiocarbon dates) late Pleistocene-early Holocene rock shelter site in south-central Oregon. Nine of the specimens have been assigned to three modern species of Nearctic Cimicidae-Cimex antennatus Usinger & Ueshima, Cimex latipennis Usinger & Ueshima, and Cimex pilosellus (Horváth)-whereas the remaining five individuals were too fragmentary to positively identify. The chronology of the insect assemblage puts one specimen at circa 5,100 calibrated years before present (cal. yr BP), and the remaining 13 range in age from 9,400 to almost 11,000 cal. yr BP. Although fossil and subfossil cimicid remains have been recovered at other archaeological sites, the fossil record for bed bugs is largely undocumented. The Paisley Caves specimens thus far represent the oldest remains of the genus in probable contact with humans on record.

Clovis age Western Stemmed projectile points and human coprolites at the Paisley Caves

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 (14)C years ago are well stratified. Western Stemmed projectile points were recovered in deposits dated to 11,070 to 11,340 (14)C 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.

Species-specific responses of Late Quaternary megafauna to climate and humans

Despite decades of research, the roles of climate and humans in driving the dramatic extinctions of large-bodied mammals during the Late Quaternary period remain contentious. Here we use ancient DNA, species distribution models and the human fossil record to elucidate how climate and humans shaped the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison and musk ox. We show that climate has been a major driver of population change over the past 50,000 years. However, each species responds differently to the effects of climatic shifts, habitat redistribution and human encroachment. Although climate change alone can explain the extinction of some species, such as Eurasian musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, a combination of climatic and anthropogenic effects appears to be responsible for the extinction of others, including Eurasian steppe bison and wild horse. We find no genetic signature or any distinctive range dynamics distinguishing extinct from surviving species, emphasizing the challenges associated with predicting future responses of extant mammals to climate and human-mediated habitat change.

Expanding the role of nurses in Armenia

The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the declaration of Independence by the Republic of Armenia created the need for significant changes in the healthcare delivery system in Armenia. The desire to raise the level of health care presented challenges and opportunities for nurses within the Republic. Members of the departments of nursing at Boston City Hospital/Boston Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, and the Emergency Scientific Medical Center of Yerevan, Armenia, joined forces through a grant written by Boston University School of Medicine and sponsored by the American International Health Alliance under a cooperative agreement with the United States Agency for International Development to expand the role of nursing. This article describes the assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of changes to the role of nursing and the development of new roles for nurses within a hospital in the capital city of Yerevan.

A test for adaptive change in DNA sequences controlling transcription

Spatial and temporal differences in gene expression in early development result from the interaction of transcription factors with enhancer and silencer sequences in DNA. The evolution of the developmental process thus involves changes in the DNA sequences that bind transcription factors. Here we advocate a non-parametric statistical test-comparing levels of polymorphism and fixed substitutions between species -to look for evidence of adaptive evolution in sequences controlling gene expression. The test is illustrated by DNA sequence changes in the proximal part of the 'zebra' elements in the fushi terazu gene of the Drosophila melanogaster species group, which yield significant evidence for adaptive substitutions. (This is despite highly significant evidence that all parts of the sequence have been subject to strong selective constraint). The test can be applied generally to investigate adaptive evolution in the control of gene expression.

Antiketogenic and hypoglycemic effects of aminocarnitine and acylaminocarnitines

DL-Aminocarnitine (DL-3-amino-4-trimethylaminobutyrate) is a potent, noncovalent inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (palmitoyl-CoA:L-carnitine O-palmitoyltransferase, EC 2.3.1.21). Here we show that decanoyl-DL-aminocarnitine and palmitoyl-DL-aminocarnitine inhibit carnitine palmitoyltransferase in vitro about 7-fold and 100-fold more effectively than does aminocarnitine. Aminocarnitine and its decanoyl and palmitoyl derivatives are active in vivo following oral or parenteral administration and, at doses of 0.3 mmol/kg or less, inhibit the oxidation of [14C]palmitate to 14CO2 by 45-70% in mice. Larger doses do not significantly increase the extent of inhibition, a finding suggesting that substantial carnitine palmitoyltransferase-independent long-chain fatty acid oxidation may occur in vivo. Small doses of aminocarnitine and palmitoylaminocarnitine prevent the development of ketoacidemia in fasted, normal mice and reverse the ketoacidemia observed in diabetic mice. Aminocarnitine has a strong hypoglycemic effect in fasted diabetic mice; a single dose (0.3 mmol/kg) normalizes plasma glucose levels within 4-8 hr and remains effective for at least 12 hr.

DL-aminocarnitine and acetyl-DL-aminocarnitine. Potent inhibitors of carnitine acyltransferases and hepatic triglyceride catabolism

DL-Aminocarnitine (3-amino-4-trimethylaminobutyric acid) and acetyl-DL-aminocarnitine (3-acetamido-4-trimethylaminobutyric acid) have been synthesized and the interactions of these compounds with carnitine acetyltransferase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase investigated. As anticipated from the low group transfer potential of amides, carnitine acetyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of acetyl groups from CoASAc to aminocarnitine (Km = 3.8 mM) but does not catalyze detectable transfer from acetylaminocarnitine to CoASH. Acetyl-DL-aminocarnitine is, however, a potent competitive inhibitor of carnitine acetyltransferase (Ki = 24 microM) and is bound to carnitine acetyltransferase about 13-fold more tightly than is acetylcarnitine, with which it is isosteric. DL-Aminocarnitine and, to a lesser extent, acetyl-DL-aminocarnitine are also inhibitors of the carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity of detergent-lysed rat liver mitochondria; in the presence of 1 mM L-carnitine, 5 microM aminocarnitine inhibits palmitoyl transfer by 64%. Significant acylation of aminocarnitine by palmitoyl-CoA was not observed. Neither aminocarnitine nor acetylaminocarnitine is significantly catabolized by mice; aminocarnitine is converted to acetylaminocarnitine in vivo. Both compounds are excreted in the urine. Mice given acetylaminocarnitine catabolize [14C]acetyl-L-carnitine and [14C]palmitate to 14CO2 more slowly than do control animals. Mice given acetylaminocarnitine and then starved are found to reversibly accumulate triglycerides in their livers; mice given the inhibitor but not starved do not show this effect.

The value of a poultry litter and wheat mixture in the drought feeding of weaner sheep

At the end of 23 weeks the mean daily dry matter intake of Merino weaners was 190 g of poultry litter and 235 g of wheat. The mean weekly body weight gain, 210 g per sheep, was not significantly different to weaners that consumed a mean daily dry matter intake of 365 g of wheat grain and gained 180 g weekly. The mean digestible organic matter content of wheat and poultry litter were calculated to be 88 and 31 per cent respectively. Weaners fed wheat only were not supplemented with limestone (1.5 per cent) for 13 weeks by which time two of the eight weaners had serum calcium levels below 8 mg per 100 ml. One of these weaners had gained weight, the other had lost weight and died three weeks after limestone supplementation. The addition of limestone did not increase the mean serum calcium levels significantly, but at the end of the trial all weaners had levels above 8 mg per 100 ml. ' Serum glutamate oxalacetate transaminase and bilirubin concentrations were higher for weaners fed wheat-litter mixture, but below levels normally associated with liver dysfunction. Reasons for caution in the use of poultry litter in the manufacture of commercial feedstuffs for ruminants are discussed.