bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Racial and ethnic differences in cognitive function among older adults in the USA
Authors: Díaz‐Venegas Carlos , Downer Brian , Langa Kenneth M. , Wong Rebeca
Published: January 2016

Objective

Examine differences in cognition between Hispanic, non‐Hispanic black (NHB), and non‐Hispanic white (NHW) older adults in the United States.

Data/Methods

The final sample includes 18 982 participants aged 51 or older who received a modified version of the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status during the 2010 Health and Retirement Study follow‐up. Ordinary least squares will be used to examine differences in overall cognition according to race/ethnicity.

Results

Hispanics and NHB had lower cognition than NHW for all age groups (51‐59, 60‐69, 70‐79, 80+). Hispanics had higher cognition than NHB for all age groups but these differences were all within one point. The lower cognition among NHB compared to NHW remained significant after controlling for age, gender, and education, whereas the differences in cognition between Hispanics and NHW were no longer significant after controlling for these covariates. Cognitive scores increased with greater educational attainment for all race/ethnic groups, but Hispanics exhibited the least benefit.

Discussion

Our results highlight the role of education in race/ethnic differences in cognitive function during old age. Education seems beneficial for cognition in old age for all race/ethnic groups, but Hispanics appear to receive a lower benefit compared to other race/ethnic groups. Further research is needed on the racial and ethnic differences in the pathways of the benefits of educational attainment for late‐life cognitive function. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Screening for cognitive dysfunction in Huntington's disease with the clock drawing test
Authors: Terwindt Paul W. , Hubers Anna A.M. , Giltay Erik J. , van der Mast Rose C. , van Duijn Erik
Published: January 2016

Background

The aim of the study is to investigate the performance of the clock drawing test as a screening tool for cognitive impairment in Huntington's disease (HD) mutation carriers.

Methods

The performance of the clock drawing test was assessed in 65 mutation carriers using the Shulman and the Freund scoring systems. The mini‐mental state examination, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, and the Stroop tests were used as comparisons for the evaluation of cognitive functioning. Correlations of the clock drawing test with various cognitive tests (convergent validity), neuropsychiatric characteristics (divergent validity) and clinical characteristics were analysed using the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Receiver‐operator characteristic analyses were performed for the clock drawing test against both the mini‐mental state examination and against a composite variable for executive cognitive functioning to assess optimal cut‐off scores.

Results

Inter‐rater reliability was high for both the Shulman and Freund scoring systems (ICC = 0.95 and ICC = 0.90 respectively). The clock drawing tests showed moderate to high correlations with the composite variable for executive cognitive functioning (mean ρ = 0.75) and weaker correlations with the mini‐mental state examination (mean ρ = 0.62). Mean sensitivity of the clock drawing tests was 0.82 and mean specificity was 0.79, whereas the mean positive predictive value was 0.66 and the mean negative predictive value was 0.87.

Conclusion

The clock drawing test is a suitable screening instrument for cognitive dysfunction in HD, because it was shown to be accurate, particularly so with respect to executive cognitive functioning, and is easy and quick to use. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The effects of facial expressions and tears on the speed of sex recognition
Authors: Švegar Domagoj , Fiamengo Nadalia , Grundler Marija , Kardum Igor
Published: January 2016

The goal of this research was to examine the effects of facial expressions on the speed of sex recognition. Prior research revealed that sex recognition of female angry faces was slower compared with male angry faces and that female happy faces are recognized faster than male happy faces. We aimed to replicate and extend the previous research by using different set of facial stimuli, different methodological approach and also by examining the effects of some other previously unexplored expressions (such as crying) on the speed of sex recognition. In the first experiment, we presented facial stimuli of men and women displaying anger, fear, happiness, sadness, crying and three control conditions expressing no emotion. Results showed that sex recognition of angry females was significantly slower compared with sex recognition in any other condition, while sad, crying, happy, frightened and neutral expressions did not impact the speed of sex recognition. In the second experiment, we presented angry, neutral and crying expressions in blocks and again only sex recognition of female angry expressions was slower compared with all other expressions. The results are discussed in a context of perceptive features of male and female facial configuration, evolutionary theory and social learning context.
Glacial Lake Pickering: stratigraphy and chronology of a proglacial lake dammed by the North Sea Lobe of the British–Irish Ice Sheet
Authors: Evans David J. A. , Bateman Mark D. , Roberts David H. , Medialdea Alicia , Hayes Laura , Duller Geoff A. T. , Fabel Derek , Clark Chris D.
Published: January 2016

We report the first chronology, using four new optically stimulated luminescence dates, on the sedimentary record of Glacial Lake Pickering, dammed by the North Sea Lobe of the British–Irish Ice Sheet during the Dimlington Stadial (24–11 ka cal BP). Dates range from 17.6 ± 1.0 to 15.8 ± 0.9 ka for the sedimentation of the Sherburn Sands at East Heslerton, which were formed by multiple coalescing alluvial fans prograding into the falling water levels of the lake and fed by progressively larger volumes of debris from the Wolds. Fan formation ceased ∼15.8 ka, at a time when permafrost was degrading and nival‐fed streams were no longer capable of supplying sediment to the fans. A further age of 10.1 ± 0.7 ka dates the reworking of coversand into the early part of the Holocene, immediately post‐dating Younger Dryas periglacial structures. A 45‐m lake level dates to ∼17.6 ka, when the North Sea Lobe was already in retreat, having moved eastward of the Wykeham Moraine; it stood further east at the Flamborough Moraine by ∼17.3 ka. The highest (70 m) lake level and the occupation of the Wykeham Moraine date to an earlier phase of the North Sea Lobe occupation of the Vale of Pickering.
Simultaneous preconcentration of polar and non‐polar organophosphorus pesticides from water samples by using a new sorbent based on mesoporous silica
Authors: Soutoudehnia Korrani Zahra , Wan Ibrahim Wan Aini , Rashidi Nodeh Hamid , Aboul‐Enein Hassan Y. , Sanagi Mohd Marsin
Published: January 2016

A new mesoporous silica based on the sol–gel material cyanopropyltriethoxysilane (CNPrTEOS) was successfully synthesized by the hydrolysis and condensation of CNPrTEOS in the presence of ammonium solution as catalyst and methanol as solvent. It was used as a solid‐phase extraction sorbent for the simultaneous extraction of three organophosphorus pesticides, namely, polar dicrotophos and non‐polar diazinon and chlorpyrifos. Analysis was performed using high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. CNPrTEOS was characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen gas adsorption. The surface area and average pore diameter of the optimum sol–gel CNPrTEOS are 379 m2/g and 4.7 nm (mesoporous), respectively. The proposed solid‐phase extraction based on CNPrTEOS exhibited good linearity in the range of 0.8–100 μg/L, satisfactory precision (1.15–3.82%), high enrichment factor (800) and low limit of detection (0.072–0.091 μg/L). The limits of detection obtained using the proposed solid‐phase extraction method are well below the maximum residue limit set by European Union and are also lower (13.6–48.5×) than that obtained by using a commercial CN‐SPE cartridge (0.98–4.41 μg/L). The new mesoporous sol–gel CNPrTEOS showed promising alternative as SPE sorbent material for the simultaneous extraction of polar and non‐polar organophosphorus pesticides.
Saturated fat and heart disease: The latest evidence
Authors: Hruby Adela , Hu Frank B.
Published: January 2016

In recent years, many nutrition news headlines exclaimed that saturated fat was not linked to heart disease, leaving the public confused about whether to limit intake, as has been the dietary recommendation for several decades. However, a more nuanced look at the evidence indicates that high saturated fat diets are in fact not benign with respect to heart disease risk. Dietary recommendations should emphasize replacing saturated fats typical in red and processed meats, and certain tropical oils and dairy forms, with healthier polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat‐rich foods, such as nuts, olive oil, and fatty fish, as well as healthy sources of carbohydrates, such as fiber‐rich whole‐grain foods, rather than refined‐grain and sugar‐laden foods.
Enzymatic conversion of acid oils to biodiesel
Authors: Basheer Sobhi , Watanabe Yomi
Published: January 2016

Lipase‐catalyzed production of biodiesel has been proven an effective method, particularly for using low‐quality feedstocks. Recently, different lipases in their free and immobilized forms have been proposed and used at lab as well as at semi‐ and full‐industrial scales using second generation feedstocks characterized by a high content of free fatty acids (FFAs). Enzymatic production of biodiesel using third generation feedstocks derived from oleaginous microorganisms has also been successfully evaluated. However further research is still needed in order to justify economically the production of biodiesel from such feedstocks as well as eliminate technical challenges related to the performance of the enzyme.
Alternating or continuous exposure to cafeteria diet leads to similar shifts in gut microbiota compared to chow diet
Authors: Kaakoush Nadeem O. , Martire Sarah I. , Raipuria Mukesh , Mitchell Hazel M. , Nielsen Shaun , Westbrook R. Fred , Morris Margaret J.
Published: January 2016

Scope

Overconsumption of energy‐rich food is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. The eating habits of many people are characterized by the cycling between overconsumption of energy‐rich foods and dieting, the effects of which on the microbiota are currently unknown.

Methods and results

We compared the fecal microbiota of rats either continuously fed chow or palatable cafeteria diet to a “cycled” group switched between the two diets (chow for 4, cafeteria for 3 days/wk, n = 12/group) over 16 wk. Enriched bacterial metabolic pathways were predicted, and a range of metabolic parameters was correlated to microbial taxa and pathways. Cycled rats showed large excursions in food intake on each diet switch. When switched from chow to cafeteria, they overconsumed, and when switched back to chow they underconsumed relative to those maintained on the two diets. Metabolic parameters of cycled rats were intermediate between those of the other diet groups (p < 0.05). The microbiota of cycled rats was nearly indistinguishable from rats under constant cafeteria diet, and both groups were significantly different to the chow group. Correlation analyses identified microbial metabolic pathways associated with an obese phenotype.

Conclusion

These data suggest that continuous or intermittent exposure to palatable foods have similar effects on the gut microbiota.
A Survey of Occupational Therapy Practice in Beijing, China
Authors: Shi Yun , Howe Tsu‐Hsin
Published: January 2016

There is an increasing demand for rehabilitation services in China as a result of the growing number of people with physical and mental challenges, as well as the growing population of older adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the current occupational therapy (OT) resources available in Beijing, China, to serve as the first step in planning the response to increasing demand for OT services from the people of China. Specifically, using the snowball sampling survey method, we explored the work practice, including years of working experience, work setting, weekly work hours, annual income and factors related to job satisfaction among occupational therapists in Beijing, China. A total of 44 occupational therapists currently working in the Beijing area responded to our survey. The results demonstrated that most of the therapists working in Beijing area were young and inexperienced. Despite the fact that the participants had an average age of 31 years old and an average of 8 years' working experience, 61.4% of therapists were under 30 years old and more than half of therapists had less than 5 years of OT experiences. Among those included in the study sample, 50% had earned degrees in OT, and the rest of the OT personnel received OT‐related on‐the‐job training in various forms and lengths of time. A majority of the participants worked in hospital settings with adults or children with physical disabilities and used therapeutic activities and therapeutic exercises. Being an occupational therapist is not a high‐paying job. Education satisfaction, work experience and annual income are the factors related to job satisfaction for the participants. The majority of occupational therapists expressed the need to receive more support for clinical‐related trainings. We plan to expand this pilot study nationwide to gain an in‐depth and comprehensive understanding of the OT workforce in China. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Do Nighttime Driving Restrictions Reduce Criminal Participation Among Teenagers? Evidence From Graduated Driver Licensing
Authors: Deza Monica , Litwok Daniel
Published: January 2016

To date, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have a three‐stage Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system that phases in driving privileges for teenagers. GDL laws effectively impose a statutory driving curfew and a limitation on the number of passengers in motor vehicles. Both the timing of motor vehicle access and a limitation on the peer influences available in a motor vehicle could significantly affect the production of criminal behavior. Using the Uniform Crime Reports 1995 to 2011 and a triple‐differences approach, we find that the implementation of GDL decreased criminal participation by 6 percent among teenagers ages 16 and 17, as measured by arrests. These effects are larger in magnitude in states where the nighttime driving curfew is required for a longer period of time. We also show that GDL plays an important role in reducing crime in periods of low gasoline prices, a time when teen driver prevalence would otherwise have been high. These results suggest that there is another benefit to states for adopting GDL laws and provide insight into the production of teenage crime.
Relay selection scheme for amplify‐and‐forward cooperative communication system with artificial noise
Authors: Zhou Nan Run , Liang Xiao Rong , Zhou Zhi Hong , Farouk Ahmed
Published: January 2016

Cooperative communication can improve the performance of communication system under multi‐path fading conditions by relaying. If there is an eavesdropper in communication system, the secrecy capacity of the system will decrease. Sending artificial noise can enhance the secrecy capacity of communication system. A novel scheme combining relay selection with artificial noise for amplify‐and‐forward cooperative communication system in the presence of an eavesdropper is designed, which seeks the relay with the highest signal‐to‐noise ratio. The location of optimal relay node is found out in this scheme by the relay selection scheme based on distance. However, there is not always a relay node at the optimal location. If there is no relay at the optimal location, then the suboptimal relay node can be found out by drawing circles centered on the optimal location. After that, the optimal relay forwards the signals and sends the artificial noise in the null space of the legitimate channel to confuse the eavesdropper. A close‐form expression for maximizing the secrecy capacity is derived, and it is used as the objective function to select the optimal or suboptimal relay node. The algorithm complexity of the relay selection scheme based on distance is lower than that of the relay selection scheme based on instantaneous channel states. Moreover, it can achieve higher secrecy capacity compared with the scheme without artificial noise. Simulations are conducted to validate the theoretical analyses, and the results demonstrate the validity and reliable security of the scheme. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The KSHV RNA regulator ORF57: target specificity and its role in the viral life cycle
Authors: Vogt Carolin , Bohne Jens
Published: January 2016

Kaposi's sarcoma‐associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes ORF57, which enhances the expression of intron‐less KSHV genes on multiple post‐transcriptional levels mainly affecting RNA stability and export to the cytoplasm. Yet, it remains elusive how ORF57 recognizes viral RNAs and discriminates them from cellular messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Although one common binding motif on three separate KSHV RNAs has been described, most other lytic genes lack this sequence element. In this article we will review the sequence requirements for ORF57 to enhance RNA expression and discuss a model how ORF57 achieves specificity for viral RNAs. Finally, the role of ORF57 is integrated into the viral life cycle as a complex interplay with other viral and host factors and with implications for cellular gene expression. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:173–185. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1323

This article is categorized under:

RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA–Protein Complexes

RNA Export and Localization > Nuclear Export/Import

RNA Turnover and Surveillance > Regulation of RNA Stability
Optimising the ProB model checker for B using partial order reduction
Authors: Dobrikov Ivaylo , Leuschel Michael
Published: January 2016

Partial order reduction has been very successful at combatting the state explosion problem for lower-level formalisms, but has thus far made hardly any impact for model checking higher-level formalisms such as B, Z or TLA
+
. This paper attempts to remedy this issue in the context of Event-B, with its much more fine-grained events and thus increased potential for event-independence and partial order reduction. In this work, we provide a detailed description of a partial order reduction for explicit state model checking in ProB. The technique is evaluated on a variety of models. The implementation of the method is discussed, which is based on new constraint-based analyses. Further, we give a comprehensive description for elaborating the implementation into the LTL model checker of ProB for checking LTL

−
X

formulae.
A definition for gamification: anchoring gamification in the service marketing literature
Authors: Huotari Kai , Hamari Juho
Published: January 2016

“Gamification” has gained considerable scholarly and practitioner attention; however, the discussion in academia has been largely confined to the human–computer interaction and game studies domains. Since gamification is often used in service design, it is important that the concept be brought in line with the service literature. So far, though, there has been a dearth of such literature. This article is an attempt to tie in gamification with service marketing theory, which conceptualizes the consumer as a co-producer of the service. It presents games as service systems composed of operant and operand resources. It proposes a definition for gamification, one that emphasizes its experiential nature. The definition highlights four important aspects of gamification: affordances, psychological mediators, goals of gamification and the context of gamification. Using the definition the article identifies four possible gamifying actors and examines gamification as communicative staging of the service environment.
Reproductive potential of mature oocytes after conventional ovarian hyperstimulation for in vitro fertilization
Authors: Zhang John J. , Yang Mingxue , Merhi Zaher
Published: January 2016

Objective

To compare cumulative live birth rate according to the rate of use of metaphase II (MII) oocytes in conventional ovarian stimulation protocols for in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Methods

In a cohort study, patients aged 18–38 years undergoing their first IVF treatment at one US center were enrolled between February 1, 2009, and August 31, 2013. Ovarian response was categorized by the yield of MII oocytes (low: 1–2; intermediate: 3–6; high: ≥ 7). The main outcome measure was cumulative live birth rate over a 6‐month period.

Results

Among 250 participants, 3240 oocytes (mean ± SEM 12.96 ± 0.50) were retrieved and there were 152 (60.8%) live births. Overall, 172 (68.8%) participants had a high oocyte yield, 61 (24.4%) an intermediate yield, and 17 (6.8%) a low yield. The cumulative live birth rate was 58.8% (10/17) in the low‐yield group, 55.7% (34/61) in the intermediate‐yield group, and 62.8% (108/172) in the high‐yield group (P = 0.35).

Conclusion

In conventional ovarian stimulation, live birth rate is not affected by the ovarian response. Whether oocytes produced from a low ovarian response are biologically more effective than oocytes obtained from a high ovarian response remains to be determined.
THE CLASSIFICATION PROBLEM FOR AUTOMORPHISMS OF C*-ALGEBRAS
Authors: LUPINI MARTINO
Published: January 2016

We present an overview of the recent developments in the study of the classification problem for automorphisms of C*-algebras from the perspective of Borel complexity theory.
Internal hydraulic jumps in two-layer flows with upstream shear
Authors: Ogden K. A. , Helfrich Karl R.
Published: January 2016

Internal hydraulic jumps in flows with upstream shear are investigated using two-layer shock-joining theories and numerical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations. The role of upstream shear has not previously been thoroughly investigated, although it is important in many oceanographic situations, including exchange flows. The full solution spaces of several two-layer theories, distinguished by how dissipation is distributed between the layers, with upstream shear are found, and the physically allowable solution space is identified. These two-layer theories are then evaluated using more realistic numerical simulations that have continuous density and velocity profiles and permit turbulence and mixing. Two-dimensional numerical simulations show that none of the two-layer theories reliably predicts the relation between jump height and speed over the full range of allowable solutions. The numerical simulations also show that different qualitative types of jumps can occur, including undular bores, energy-conserving conjugate state transitions, smooth-front jumps with trailing turbulence and overturning turbulent jumps. Simulation results are used to investigate mixing, which increases with jump height and upstream shear. A few three-dimensional simulations results were undertaken and are in quantitative agreement with the two-dimensional simulations.
Neuroanatomical assessment of the impact of negative emotion on implicit memory in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder
Authors: Park Shin-Eui , Yang Jong-Chul , Jeong Gwang-Woo
Published: January 2016

Objective

We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to discriminate the differential brain activation patterns in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls during implicit retrieval tasks with emotionally neutral and unpleasant words.

Methods

Sixteen patients with OCD (mean age: 31.4±10.1 years) and 16 healthy controls (mean age: 32.6±5.8 years) with no history of neurological or psychiatric illness underwent 3-T fMRI. The stimulation paradigm consisted of the following cycle: rest, encoding of a string of two-syllable words, rest, and retrieval of the previously encoded words with the first consonant omitted.

Results

During the implicit retrieval task with emotionally neutral words, no distinct brain activity was observed in either the patients with OCD or healthy controls. On the other hand, during the retrieval task with unpleasant words, the patients with OCD showed predominant activity in the superior/middle temporal pole, medial superior frontal gyrus, and orbitofrontal cortex (uncorrectedp<0.001, extent threshold: 30 voxels), whereas the healthy controls did not show any distinct regions of activation.

Conclusion

This study revealed the differential brain activation patterns between patients with OCD and healthy controls during implicit memory tasks with unpleasant words. Our results suggest that the impact of negative emotion on implicit memory task may be associated with the symptomatology of OCD. This finding may be helpful for understanding the neural mechanisms that underlie implicit memory retrieval, particularly the interaction between emotion and cognition, in patients with OCD.
A light in the dark: archaeological wiggle matching and the absolute chronology of the close of the Aegean Late Bronze Age
Authors: Manning Sturt W. , Weninger Bernhard
Published: January 2016

The conventional chronology of the Aegean Late Bronze Age was challenged by P.J. James and his co-workers in Centuries of darkness (1991). The present paper is an exhaustive and critical re-examination of radiocarbon dates from a number of key sites in the region using the technique of probabilistic computer archaeological wiggle matching which concludes that the conventional arhcaeological chronology still holds good (whatever the flaws in its original construction) on the basis of the independent radiocarbon evidence.
Hunter-gatherers transformed: the transition to agriculture in northern and western Euope
Authors: Armit Ian , Finlayson Bill
Published: January 2016

The quantity and quality of material from the late Mesolithic/early Neolithic in southern Scandinavia has dominated the study of this important period in northwest Europe. Recent evidence from the west of Scotland suggests that, despite a rich and varied resource base similar in many ways to that in southern Scandinavia, a very different process of change occurs. The evidence suggests a very gradual transformation, with selected parts of the farming socio-economy being being adopted at varying rates. This situation is compared with that in various parts of Europe and is considered to fit in well with a pattern of great regional diversity in the transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic.
The Fischergasse: a wetland site in Lower Bavaria
Authors: Ottaway Barbara S.
Published: January 2016

Excavation of a Neolithic settlement of the Altheim culture and analysis of the finds demonstrated that its inhabitants made optimal use of raw materials available in the immediate vicinity and supplemented these with selected material from distances usually not more than 40 km away. Some contact with Switzerland and Austria is also indicated. Survey of other sites in the area indicate that there was dense occupation of the river flood plain, possibly linked with upland settlements.
Bevel-edged tools from coastal southeast Queensland
Authors: McNiven Ian J.
Published: January 2016

A distinctive type of stone tool, from midden sites on the eastern Queensland coast of Australia, is identified from ethnographic accounts of the preparation of fern roots as food.
Early civilization in the Casma Valley, Peru
Authors: Pozorski Shelia , Pozorski Thomas
Published: January 2016

Since 1980 intensive archaeological investigations have been carried out at several early sites, occupied from late preceramic through early ceramic times (4150–2950b.p.), in the Casma Valley, Peru. Preliminary results document increasing societal complexity over time as reflected in the exponential growth of monumental architecture, the acquisition of irrigation agriculture, the rise of two complex polities within the valley and the separation of religious and secular power within the ruling élite.
New evidence on the origins of Venice
Authors: Ammerman A. J. , Min Maurizia De , Housley Rupert
Published: January 2016

Despite the city's long and illustrious history, little is known about the urban origins of Venice from the archaeological record. Recent excavations at the church of San Lorenzo have produced radiocarbon dates that give direct evidence for human occupation in the late 6th and 7th centuries AD, lending support to the tradition of settlement by refugees from the Lombard occupation of the mainland.
A Catuvellaunian chieftain's burial from St Albans
Authors: Niblett Rosalind
Published: January 2016

A Late Iron Age chieftain's burial recently excavated at St Albans is the most elaborate so far known from Britain. The complex of funerary chamber, mound and enclosure also presents evidence for complicated rituals. It is provisionally interpreted as the tomb of a client king who died in the years immediately following the Roman invasion of AD 43.
The CBA/RCD computer database of radiocarbon dated sites
Authors: Lavell Cherry , Otlet R. L. , Walker A. J.
Published: January 2016

The Archaeological Site Index to Radiocarbon Dates for Great Britain and Ireland, pioneered by the Council for British Archaeology in 1971, is now being prepared as a fully computerized database. This note describes the genesis and format of this invaluable new tool.
Bronze Age metallurgy in southeast Spain
Authors: Ruiz Ignacio Montero
Published: January 2016

A generally accepted model identifies a causal relationship between the appearance and development of metallurgy in western Europe and increasing social complexity, with metals being assigned the determinant role. This multidisciplinary study of the Vera region of southeast Spain suggests that metal production in the region was small-scale and of secondary importance in generating social and cultural changes.
Perspectives and potentials for absolute dating prehistoric rock paintings
Authors: Watchman Alan
Published: January 2016

Absolute dating of prehistoric rock paintings is an exciting archaeological pursuit. Sophisticated sample collection, handling and pretreatment methods and new analytical equipment and techniques are minimizing contamination and permitting identification of trace amounts of organic substances in prehistoric paints. Radiocarbon dating using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) is producing dates for minute residues of blood, charcoal and plant fibres, either accidentally or deliberately incorporated in paintings. Carbon-bearing laminations, such as oxalate-crusts and silica skins, which have accumulated under and over rock art, have also been recently dated.
Upper Palaeolithic figures as a reflection of human morphology and social organization
Authors: Duhard Jean-Pierre
Published: January 2016

Whilst there is no evidence that human representations in Palaeolithic art are an accurate reflection of contemporary social demography, they can yield valuable data on Palaeolithic populations and their social organization. The paper analyses a group of Palaeolithic figures which show that women seem to have been accorded a privileged role in hunter-gatherer society, based on their physiological functions as mothers and sexual and social partners.
Mapping La Milpa: a Maya city in northwestern Belize
Authors: Tourtellot Gair , Clarke Amanda , Hammond Norman
Published: January 2016

The first major season of field operations at this major Lowland Maya site, located on the eastern edge of the Classic Maya core area, has revealed a great deal of information about the layout of the site and also demonstrated that its history was a long one.
Late colonization of East Polynesia
Authors: Spriggs Matthew , Anderson Atholl
Published: January 2016

In a recent ANTIQUITY article (65: 767–95) Atholl Anderson presented a detailed analysis of radiocarbon dates to show that the settlement of New Zealand occurred later than previously thought. In this paper Anderson teams up with another proponent of ‘chronometric hygiene’, Matthew Spriggs (see ANTIQUITY 63: 587–613), to examine the dates for the colonization of the rest of East Polynesia. Once again the generally accepted dates for initial settlement are found wanting and a later chronology is suggested.
The Neolithic timber hall at Balbridie, Grampian Region, Scotland: the building, the date, the plant macrofossils
Authors: Fairweather Alan D. , Ralston Ian B.M.
Published: January 2016

Excavation of a cropmark in northeast Scotland revealed a substantial timber hall of the general form one expects from the early medieval period. Yet it turned out to be Neolithic in date! The structure produced copious quantities of charred cereal grains from contexts intimately associated with its destruction. Accelerator dates confirm the integrity of selected species with the period of use of the building. Hexaploid wheat and cultivated flax were both identified.
The changing pattern of archaeological excavation in England; as reflected by the Excavation Index
Authors: Sargent Andrew
Published: January 2016

The Excavation Index, a national index of excavations compiled by the Royal Commission, makes it possible to generate some statistics on the changing pattern of English archaeology, as reflected in the number and periods of sites dug.
The new European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage
Authors: Trotzig Gustaf
Published: January 2016

During the years of expansion following World War I1 which culminated in the 1980s, the problems of preserving and maintaining the archaeological heritage became increasingly apparent within the memberstates of the Council of Europe. Ancient monuments and sites were being disturbed or destroyed by vast development schemes for roads, gas pipelines, urban centre renewal, intensive exploitation of natural resources, etc.
The management of change: archaeology and planning
Authors: Wainwright G.J.
Published: January 2016

For over a century there have been arrangements in England for the “scheduling” (i.e. identification for protection) of ancient monuments. Central government consent is required for any works to Scheduled sites or monuments. Essentially sites and monuments have to be of national archaeological significance to merit scheduling; nonstatutory criteria have been defined for that purpose and over 13,000 have so far been scheduled. These represent only a small proportion of known archaeological sites, the total of which in England is currently put at over 600,000. English Heritage are currently engaged on a comprehensive survey programme, known as the Monuments Protection Programme, which is expected to result in a significant increase in the numbers of monuments qualifying for scheduling, perhaps raising the total to some 60,000 by the end of the decade.
The childhood of William Lanne: contact archaeology and Aboriginality in Tasmania
Authors: Murray Tim
Published: January 2016

Excavation of a site not just of the ‘contact period’ but of contact itself gives a new view of those darkest years around 1840 when the remaining free Tasmanian Aboriginal people were tracked down and transported to death in exile.
Dating the Cassis rufa shell from the Mousterian levels of the Grotte du Prince, Monaco
Authors: Hayden Brian , Nelson D. E. , Cataliotti-Valdina Jean
Published: January 2016

A fragment of Cassis rufa shell, in modern times a species of the Indian Ocean, was reliably reported from the deep Mousterian deposits excavated at the beginning of the century from the Grotte du Prince, Monaco. Because its known habitat is so distant and exotic, there has always been question about the specimen's authenticity. A radiocarbon determination shows it to be recent, and no evidence for long-distance movement of shell in the European Middle Palaeolithic.
Establishing weight systems in Bronze Age Scandinavia
Authors: Sperber Erik
Published: January 2016

A further statistical study of the weights of distinctive objects from the Scandinavian Bronze Age finds, again, a system of standardized units, and looks as far as Egypt for an identity of pattern.
Changing fortunes of Southern African archaeology: comment on A.D. Mazel's ‘history’
Authors: Dowson Thomas A.
Published: January 2016

A different vision from southern Africa challenges Mazel's view of the region's archaeology, and of the place for rock art in knowing its history.
The Berlin Wall: production, preservation and consumption of a 20th-century monument
Authors: Baker Frederick
Published: January 2016

A new wall has joined the classics of history, the Great Wall of China and Hadrian's Wall. This story of the central monument of 20th-century European history is a remarkable case-study in the meaning of a single item of material culture, showing the richness of confused meaning that must also envelop the older walls of arcaheological concern.
Late Glacial prehistory of central and southern Portugal
Authors: Bicho Nuno Ferreira
Published: January 2016

Very little is known of the Upper Palaeolithic of Portugal, although it has been assumed to have the same general characteristics as elsewhere in southwestern Europe. New evidence suggests clear technological distinctions between Portugal and other areas of southwestern Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum, c. 18,000 (uncalibrated) years ago, and allows an initial synthesis for Portuguese Late Glacial prehistory, 16,000-8500 b.p.
Middens and cheniers: implications of Australian research
Authors: Sullivan Marjorie , O'Connor Sue
Published: January 2016

In watery places people prefer to live where they can keep their feet dry, and an elevation of a metre or two can make a difference. The simple distinction between humanly created middens and naturally built features does not easily apply in the Australian tropics, where the natural causes include cyclones, shellfish die-off and the building of mounds by scrub turkeys, and where foragers are not directed in where they choose to camp by concern for the classification by which tidy-minded archaeologists may want to order mounds in the wetlands.
Chariot and horse burials in ancient China
Authors: Liancheng Lu
Published: January 2016

Later in this number of ANTIQUITY is a review, page 930, of our knowledge, direct and often indirect, about chariots and wagons in the Europe of 2000 years ago. How much greater is our knowledge in China, where sacrificial burials of vehicles with their horses and drivers may give evidence of chariots by the fleet!
The conservation of Chinese historic cities
Authors: Yisan Ruan
Published: January 2016

The modernizing of China brings up once more the twin needs to sweep away that which is old and bad, and to hold on to that which is old and good. A report illustrates the particular issue and some outcomes.
British sites and their Roman coins
Authors: Reece Richard
Published: January 2016

An analysis of the Roman coins lost on different types of site within Roman Britain shows strong chronological and geographical trends, as well as providing a critique for the current classification of sites.
Bohemia from the air: seven decades after Crawford
Authors: Gojda Martin
Published: January 2016

It is more than 70 years since O.G.S. Crawford, founder of ANTIQUITY, was given air photographs from southern England which led him to realize their potential for archaeology. Leo Deuel's book Flights into yesterday was translated into Czech in 1979, providing a first impetus to the new programme of work in Bohemia presented here, a programme made possible by the new freedom to fly and photograph that followed the revolution of 1989.
Shell beads from Mandu Mandu Creek rock-shelter, Cape Range peninsula, Western Australia, dated before 30,000 b.p.
Authors: Morse Kate
Published: January 2016

A site dated well back into the Pleistocene in Western Australia yields modified shells, seen as a further evidence of the attributes of modern humans from an early Australian context.
Infanticide in Roman Britain
Authors: Mays Simon
Published: January 2016

Age-distributions of perinatal infants from Romano-British sites and a medieval site are different and may reflect different major causes of death. Whilst the medieval infants probably represent natural deaths, the Romano-British infants, from both cemetery and non-cemetery sites, may mainly represent victims of infanticide.
Rock art and Natal Drakensberg hunter–gatherer history: a reply to Dowson
Authors: Mazel Aron D.
Published: January 2016

A further contribution on art, history and archaeological attitude in South Africa.
Dunmisk and glass-making in Early Christian Ireland
Authors: Henderson Julian , Ivens Richard
Published: January 2016

Dunmisk fort (Co. Tyrone), in Northern Ireland, has produced the first evidence recognized in early medieval Europe for the making/modification of glass using primary raw materials. Going beyond the evidence for glass-working – the softening of glass to form and decorate artefacts – a series of sophisticated industrial processes can be identified, and shows that not all glass was imported to Early Christian Ireland.
Unquiet slumbers: the return of the Kow Swamp burials
Authors: Bowdler Sandra
Published: January 2016

Another view is given on issues arising from the return of the Kow Swamp human remains, discussed by John Mulvaney in the March 1991 ANTIQUITY.
Empire and hinterland in lower Central America
Authors: Helms Mary W.
Published: January 2016

The European discovery of a separate and distinctive ‘new’ world was an event of cosmic proportion not only because of the enormous social, political and economic expansion potential for the developing nation-states of the European peninsula; discovery of this distant realm also required significant reconstruction of basic European cosmography. In the centuries prior to the Age of Discovery, Europe, focussing on Rome and Byzantium, had balanced its own geo-political centricity with cosmological interpretations of mystically paradisiacal or demonic distant lands generally situated to the East, places filled with exotic creatures and things, some dangerous while others constituted kingly riches. A new era began when the ocean to the west, long regarded as a restrictive barrier, became a possible route, a direction, which could lead to the exotica of the East. Realization that this western direction led instead to distinctive new western lands, new places, re-ordered the European cosmological paradigm (Helms 1988: chapter 6).
The British Archaeological Bibliography
Authors: Heyworth Michael , Holroyd Isabel
Published: January 2016

The Council for British Archaeology pioneered bibliographical information services and its British Archaeological Abstracts was the model for similar services in other European countries. A consortium of archaeological organizations has now been formed to produce a fully computerized bibliographical service which will be available in a variety of output formats.
Not drowning but waving: one approach to the problem of the publication of large archaeological assemblages
Authors: McCarthy Mike , Padley Tim , Brooks Cathy
Published: January 2016

A further contribution to the continuing debate on the best means of making the voluminous results of rescue excavations available to the archaeological community (see ANTIQUITY 64: 667–71; 65: 822–8).
Discussion: the Fengate/Northey landscape
Authors: Pryor Francis
Published: January 2016

On 14 February 1992, all the archaeological participants in the project met for a seminar at Flag Fen. Drafts of the papers published in this Special section were presented by their authors, and after each paper there was a lively general discussion.

This concluding paper does not pretend to be a synthesis of that discussion, because good archaeology cannot be done by committee. Having said that, I have tried to include the views of all dissenting voices, to give balance to the interpretations offered here. I have also tried to credit those individuals who put forward some of the excellent ideas that came from the meeting. In the discussion that follows ‘pers. comm.’ should be read as a coded reference to the St Valentine’s Day Seminar.
Lactobacillus acidophilus modulates inflammatory activity by regulating the TLR4 and NF-κB expression in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells after lipopolysaccharide challenge
Authors: Lee Sang In , Kim Hyun Soo , Koo Jin Mo , Kim In Ho
Published: January 2016

A total of forty weaned pigs ((Landrace×Yorkshire)×Duroc) were used to evaluate the effects of Lactobacillus acidophilus on inflammatory activity after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Experimental treatments were as follows: (T1) control diet+saline challenge; (T2) control diet with 0·1 % L. acidophilus+saline challenge; (T3) control diet+LPS challenge; and (T4) control diet with 0·1 % L. acidophilus+LPS challenge. On d-14, piglets were challenged with saline (T1 and T2) or LPS (T3 and T4). Blood samples were obtained at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 12 h after being challenged and analysed for immune cell cytokine production and gene expression pattern. The L. acidophilus treatment increased the average daily weight gain (ADWG) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) compared with the control diet. With the control diet, the LPS challenge (T3) increased the number of immune cells and expression of TNF-α and IL-6 compared with the saline challenge (T1). Whereas with the saline challenge L. acidophilus treatment (T2) increased the number of leucocytes and CD4 compared with the control diet (T1), with the LPS challenge L. acidophilus treatment (T4) decreased the number of leucocytes, lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ and expression of TNF-α and IL-6 compared with the control diet (T3). L. acidophilus treatment decreased the expression of TRL4 and NF-κB in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after LPS challenge, which leads to inhibition of TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-8 and IL1B1 and to induction of IL-4 and IL-10. We suggested that L. acidophilus improved ADWG and ADFI and protected against LPS-induced inflammatory responses by regulating TLR4 and NF-κB expression in porcine PBMC.
Association between alcohol consumption and serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities: a cross-sectional study within the Bavarian population
Authors: Schwedhelm Carolina , Nimptsch Katharina , Bub Achim , Pischon Tobias , Linseisen Jakob
Published: January 2016

High alcohol consumption is an important risk factor for chronic disease and liver degeneration. Paraoxonase (PON1) and arylesterase (AE) are functions of the enzyme paraoxonase, which is synthesised by the liver. Paraoxonase circulates in plasma bound to HDL and hydrolyses lipid peroxides, protecting lipoproteins against oxidative modification. It has been shown that excessive alcohol consumption leads to a reduction of serum PON1 and AE activities; however, studies investigating the association with low and moderate alcohol consumption are scarce. We investigated the cross-sectional association between alcohol consumption and serum activities of PON1 and AE using data from the population-based Bavarian Food Consumption Survey II survey. PON1 and AE activities were quantified in serum samples of 566 male and female study participants (aged 18–80 years), and dietary intake including alcohol consumption was estimated from three 24-h dietary recalls. The association between alcohol consumption and PON1 and AE activities was analysed using linear regression, adjusted for age, sex and socio-economic status. There was no strong association between alcohol consumption and enzymatic activities of PON1 and AE in the Bavarian population. PON1 activity was seen to be lowest in non-drinkers (0 g/d) and highest in people who consumed 15·1–30 g of alcohol/d. AE activity increased across alcohol consumption categories, with a mean maximum difference of 14 U/ml (Pfor linear trend0·04). These associations were attenuated after adjustment for blood concentrations of HDL. The results of this study do not support the hypothesis that alcohol consumption is related to important alterations in PON1 and AE activities.