Isotopes of feather art: location, husbandry, production and antiquity

<p>Comprehensive atmospheric studies have demonstrated that carbonaceous aerosol is one of the main components of atmospheric particulate matter over Europe. Despite its significant role in atmospheric processes, the characteristic of carbonaceous particle sources and the contributions from modern and fossil sources in the Pannonian Basin are still less known. Using radiocarbon as a tracer, the ratio of modern (biological aerosol, wood burning etc.) and fossil (coal or oil burning, transportation) sources for an aerosol sample can unambiguously be determined but identification of exact sources is not possible. Considering other isotopic techniques, carbon stable isotope results can provide us such supplementary information that can be used in separating different large source clusters (e.g. burning of C3 type wood, coal burning or transportation). Different aerosol sources have well defined carbon stable isotope ranges, which can be used in source apportionment models. Nevertheless, these ranges often overlap each other, making the accurate source identification rather difficult. Combined radiocarbon and carbon stable isotope measurements can however help us to differentiate more precisely numerous modern or fossil sources.</p><p>In our study, the isotopic composition of carbon in the PM<sub>2.5 </sub>atmospheric aerosol collected on weekly basis in Debrecen, Hungary was investigated. In doing so, the organic and elemental carbon content, the specific <sup>14</sup>C content and the δ<sup>13</sup>C values of total carbon were measured using a Sunset OC/EC analyser, an accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) and an EA/IRMS instrument, respectively. Based on our three-year long carbon stable isotope data of carbonaceous aerosol, relatively enriched δ<sup>13</sup>C results can be observed in each wintertime period, which are supposed by other authors to be related to the effect of coal combustion (mainly in heavily industrialised areas). Contrarily, radiocarbon measurements imply the dominance of modern sources for the same wintertime periods when the biological activity of vegetation is moderate. Consequently, according to our assumption, these values are caused by modern sources having more positive δ<sup>13</sup>C value such as biomass burning of residences. In contrast to single stable isotope or radiocarbon measurements our study sheds light on the importance of combined carbon isotopic investigations. The research was supported by the European Union and the State of Hungary, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the project of GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 ‘ICER’</p>

Stable and radiocarbon isotopes and carbon cycling in coastal sediments

Introduction: the lands and the peoples - Mesoamerica - the Andean environment the chronological problem anthropology and American antiquity diffusion or polygenesis? the history of art the place of the artist - the early hunters, early villagers, the theocracies, the terminal stages. Part 1 The Mexican civilizations: early central Mexico - formative - 3000-500 BC, Teotihuacan - 100 BC - AD 750 - chronology, architecture, sculpture, painting, Xochicalco central Mexico after AD 800 - the Toltec revolution - architecture, sculpture, the Chichimec interlude, the Aztec confederacy - architecture, sculpture, painting the Gulf coast - the Olmec style - ideographic forms, colossal heads, relief sculpture, figurines of and jade, painting, the central coast - architecture, stone sculpture, clay figurines and heads, the Huastec southern Mexico - the classic Zapotec style - architecture, stone sculpture, sculpture, wall painting, the Mixtecs - mitla, the marriage reliefs, murals, painted books and maps, ceramics Western Mexico - the stone-workers of Guerrero, the potters of Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit, Michoacan, the northern plateaus. Part 2 The Maya and their neighbours: the Maya tradition - architecture: classic Maya - geographical divisions, temporal divisions, classic architecture - the Peten, the river cities, the dry forest - Rio Bec, the well country - Los Chenes, the hill country - the Puuc the Maya tradition - sculpture and painting: sculpture - commemorative monuments and figural reliefs, jades, pottery, architectural decoration painting - pottery painting from the Toltec Maya to the Spaniards - architecture - Chichen Itza, the east coast, the problem of Tula, sculpture - full-round figures, processional reliefs, painting - murals, manuscripts the neighbours of the Maya - the Guatemalan highlands, Eastern Central America - the Ulua marbles, Costa Rican mainland sculpture, the Pacific coast. Part 3 The Andean civilizationis: the northern Andes - Colombia and Ecuador - northern Central America, Colombia - architecture, sculpture, metalwork, the Pacific equatorial coast the central Andes - early northern Peru - pre-Chavin remains, Ancash art the upper north - Mochica and Chimu central Peru the south coast valleys - Paracas and Nazca the south highlands - Altiplano, Tiahuanaco, Mantaro Basin, Cuzco. (Part contents).

Integration of animal husbandry and millet agriculture in Bronze Age East-central Eurasia revealed by faunal stable isotopes at the Jirentai Goukou site, Xinjiang

The spread of bud rot disease in oil palm-growing regions of South America has led to the uptake of interspecific hybrids which show some resistance to the disease, but require assisted pollination.A study was carried out to assess pollen viability from commercial oil palm species [Elaeis guineensis (G), interspecific hybrids (OxG)] and Elaeis oleifera (O) from the Pacific coast and Amazon regions of Ecuador.Elaeis guineensis consistently produced pollen of high viability in the Amazon region (95.0%) and Pacific coast (94.0%), while pollen from E. oleifera had high viability when produced in the Amazon region (93.7%) but lower viability from the Pacific coast (53.2%).Pollen from oil palm hybrids had very low viability on the Pacific coast.Another objective was to determine the impact of applying pollen from E. guineensis and hybrids on fruit set and parthenocarpy by means of assisted pollination trials in both regions.The application of E. guineensis pollen resulted in a higher fruit set in comparison with assisted pollination using hybrid's pollen.A low fruit set was compensated by greater production of parthenocarpic fruits in the hybrids, which increased the final bunch weight.The study provides a guide to pollination in both regions.

Scorpion envenoming in Ecuador: district-level risk, updated scorpion diversity, and challenges for treatment and public health.

Human and animal bones from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site of Nevali Cori (southeast Anatolia) were analyzed with regard to stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in bone collagen, and stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in bone carbonate. The reconstruction of the vertebrate food web at this site revealed that humans may have faced difficulties with meat procurement, since their stable-isotope ratios reflect a largely herbivorous diet. This is in contrast with the preceding Pre-Pottery Neolithic A contexts and late Neolithic sites in the Fertile Crescent, where humans are located at the top of the food chain. Conceivably, Nevali Cori represents a community in the transition from a hunting and gathering subsistence to an economy with agriculture and animal husbandry, since domesticated einkorn and sheep, pigs, and probably also goats are in evidence at the site. In the second half of the 9th millennium calibrated (cal.) BC, however, the contribution of stock on the hoof to the human diet still seems modest. Animals kept under cultural control obviously had a dietary spectrum different from their free-ranging relatives. We conclude that these animals had been deliberately nourished by their owners, whereby the overall low delta(15)N-signatures in both humans and livestock might result from the consumption of protein-rich pulses.

Characterising geographical variation in trophic interactions is an important step towards understanding the consequences of changes in food webs. We characterised geographical variation across ~1000 km in stable isotope values (δ 15 N and δ 13 C) of the widely distributed sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma and macroalgae that are its potential food. Variation in δ 15 N of H. erythrogramma and macroalgae was typically greatest among locations separated by hundreds of km, while variation in δ 13 C was typically greatest among reefs separated by a few km. Geographical variation in δ 15 N and δ 13 C of H. erythrogramma was well-explained by variation in δ 15 N and δ 13 C of the kelp Ecklonia radiata. The slope and intercept of regressions of stable isotope ratios of H. erythro- gramma on kelp were within the range predicted if the sea urchin's diet was exclusively kelp. These results are consistent with high reliance on a single diet across hundreds of km, revealing that H. ery- throgramma likely relies predominantly on a single food source, viz. E. radiata, across southwestern Australia.

The awareness of customers of the origin of foods has become an important issue. The growing demand for foods that are healthy, safe and of high quality has increased the need for traceability and clear labelling. Thus, this study investigates the capability of C and N stable isotope ratios to determine the geographical origin of several apple varieties grown in northern Italy. Four apple varieties (Cripps Pink, Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith) have been sampled in orchards located in the Districts of Bolzano, Ferrara, Verona and Udine (northern Italy). Carbon (δ(13) C) and nitrogen (δ(15) N) isotope values of the whole apple fruits and three sub-fractions (peel, pulp and seed) have been determined simultaneously by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The δ(13) C and δ(15) N values of apples and apple sub-fractions, such as peel, seed and pulp, were significantly affected by the geographical origin and the fruit variety. The four varieties could be distinguished to a certain extent only within each district. A 99% correct identification of the samples according to their origin was, however, achieved by cross validation with the 'leave-one-out' method. This study proves the potential of stable isotopes to discriminate the geographical origin of apples grown in orchards located only a few hundreds of kilometres apart. Stable isotopes were also able to discriminate different apple varieties, although only within small geographical areas.

Genetic ancestry in Afro-descendants from the Andes and Pacific Coast regions of Ecuador

Synthesis of high-Andean peat cores reveals suite of Holocene climate conditions favorable for peat formation

Background: Breast cancer prognosis depends on stage at diagnosis and varies by intrinsic tumor subtype. In the US, the distribution of intrinsic subtypes has been shown to differ between racial/ethnic groups with African American and Hispanic/Latina women more likely to be diagnosed with the more aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacking expression of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), compared to non-Hispanic/Latino White women. Hispanics/Latinos in the US are a heterogeneous group originating from different countries with different cultures and ancestral backgrounds. Information about the distribution of tumor subtypes in Latin American regions is lacking. Methods: Data for these analyses come from the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas (the Peruvian National Cancer Institute), which diagnoses and treats ~20% of all breast cancers diagnosed in Peru. We have abstracted data from clinical records for 303 patients diagnosed with breast cancer between 2010 and 2015 and who are members of Indigenous American communities from the Andean Mountain region (N=232) or the Amazonian region (N=71). We compared tumor characteristics and survival between the two groups. Comparisons between the two regions were conducted using chi-squared tests, as well as a t-test for age at diagnosis. Breast cancer subtype was defined as luminal A (ER/PR+/HER2-), luminal B (ER+/HER2+), HER2 overexpressing (ER/PR- HER2+), and triple-negative (ER/PR- HER2-) based on immunohistochemistry. Survival analyses were conducted using a Cox proportional hazards model and included region, age at diagnosis, stage, and tumor subtype as predictors. Results: Overall, tumors from the 303 Indigenous American women from Peru included in the present study were 37% luminal A, 20% luminal B, 23% HER2 overexpressing, and 19% triple-negative. Our analyses showed that women from the Amazonian region were diagnosed at a younger age (50 vs. 55 mean age at diagnosis, P value =0.001), later stage (61% vs. 48% stage III or IV, P value=0.06), and more frequently with triple-negative tumors compared to women from the Mountain region (31% vs. 17%, P value =0.013). Women from the Amazonian region had a 70% higher mortality hazard than the women from the Mountain region in a model adjusted by age at diagnosis (hazard ratio 1.73, 95%CI 1.06-2.86, p=0.027). In the full model including stage and tumor subtype, the difference in the mortality hazard was no longer statistically significant (HR 1.20, 95%CI 0.71-2.03, p=0.493). Conclusion: Differences in tumor characteristics and survival between Indigenous American women from the Amazonian and Mountain Range regions in Peru could be due to variation in genetic predisposition to particular subtypes of the disease, variation in environmental exposures, as well as to differences in cancer awareness and access to care between the different groups. The more we learn by analyzing diverse populations and subpopulations and revealing heterogeneity within Latin American women, the better equipped we will be to provide adequate care for all women. Citation Format: Lizeth I. Tamayo, Tatiana Vidaurre, Jeannie Navarro Vasquez, Sandro Casavilca, Jessica Ivonne Aramburu Palomino, Monica Calderon, Garth H. Rauscher, Laura Fejerman. Breast cancer characteristics and survival among Indigenous American women from Peru [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr B79.

In the Amazon region, land-use cover change has been identified as the primary factor responsible for deforestation and CO2 emissions. Concurrently, the average sawn yield of wood industries in the Amazon serves as a vital sustainability indicator due to its linkage with forest degradation and CO2 emissions. The first part of this study reviews published works and proposes a unified value of 46.54% with a standard deviation of 7.07% for the sawn yield in the State of Pará—Amazon Region. In the second part of this study, principal component analysis is applied to a ten-year historical series, from 2008 to 2018, encompassing 14 indicators across all 144 municipalities of the State of Pará. The results suggest that the socioeconomic dimension, with component loadings between 0.86 and 0.96, is predominantly influenced by population, value-added tax, and the number of households with electric consumption. The number of medical doctors per 1000 people (DOC) is also tied to the socioeconomic dimension, presenting component loadings between 0.72 and 0.80. Indicators such as cattle, deforestation, and CO2 emissions correlate with the environmental dimension, registering component loadings above 0.7. The factors examined embody the Amazon’s socioeconomic and environmental problems, including cattle rearing, deforestation, agricultural areas, and consequent CO2 emissions. Indeed, deforestation and CO2 emissions arise primarily from agriculture and animal husbandry, particularly cattle rearing. Wood production indicators yield low values of component loadings, suggesting a weak correlation with the environmental dimension. However, they simultaneously imply that wood production activity has been associated with CO2 emissions since 2014 and is therefore connected to land-use change. In summary, this work’s analysis suggests that wood products and wood residues are linked not only to socioeconomic factors but also to forest degradation and CO2 emissions.

\n A conquista e ocupação da Amazônia, no período colonial, foram empreendimentos conduzidos pelo Estado, planejados e executados com prioridade política pelo governo metropolitano, que resultaram na incorporação ao território do Brasil de, aproximadamente, 60% de sua área total atual. Coube a Portugal, ainda durante a vigência da União Ibérica, sob ordens do Rei de Espanha, a expulsão dos franceses de São Luís do Maranhão e a fundação, em 1616, do Forte do Presépio de Santa Maria de Belém. A partir dessa posição, pescadores e comerciantes ingleses e holandeses, que iniciavam sua instalação no baixo Amazonas, foram expulsos pelas forças portuguesas, que passaram então a controlar o acesso à maior bacia hidrográfica do mundo. Com a criação do Estado do Maranhão e Grão-Pará, em 1621 - entidade política autônoma e independente do Estado do Brasil - a administração desses territórios passou a ser diretamente subordinada ao governo de Lisboa, iniciando-se um processo irreversível de exploração e penetração territorial pela vasta rede hidrográfica amazônica. Uma expedição oficial, realizada entre 1637 e 1639, pretendeu estabelecer um limite entre os domínios das duas Coroas ibéricas; foi chefiada por Pedro Teixeira, que lavrou ata de posse para Portugal das terras situadas a oeste da povoação de Franciscana, fundada pelos portugueses em pleno território do Equador atual. Pouco tempo depois, entre 1647 e 1651, o bandeirante Antonio Raposo Tavares realizou uma das maiores expedições geográficas da história, uma viagem de São Paulo a Belém, percorrendo mais de 5.000 km pelos sertões do continente americano. Essa expedição revelou acessos do sul do Brasil para a Amazônia e a importância do Rio Madeira e sua ligação com os altiplanos andinos. Por essa razão, estratégica, a Coroa portuguesa determinou a ocupação do vale do Rio Madeira pelos missionários religiosos, agentes imprescindíveis de conversão e conquista que, em pouco menos de um século depois da construção de Belém, haviam irradiado a ocupação por meio de dezenas de missões fundadas nos mais diversos pontos do território amazônico. Lisboa determinou também: o enfrentamento das incursões francesas no norte do Amazonas; a conquista dos Rios Negro e Branco; a expulsão dos jesuítas a serviço de Espanha do Rio Solimões; e a expedição ao Rio Madeira para conter a presença espanhola a oeste do Rio Guaporé. Todas as ações fizeram parte da estratégia para garantir a posse da Amazônia e tinham por objetivo preservar as conquistas territoriais empreendidas pelas expedições oficiais, pelos missionários, entradistas e bandeirantes. Principalmente a partir do reinado de Dom João V, de 1706 a 1750, Portugal passou a priorizar a definição de suas fronteiras coloniais com o propósito de revisar os acordos anteriores de limites e abolir o Tratado de Tordesilhas, firmado em 1494. A aproximação das Coroas ibéricas e a extraordinária atuação de Alexandre de Gusmão nas negociações de fronteiras resultaram na assinatura, em 1750, do Tratado de Madri: legalizava-se, pelo argumento de posse da terra - uti possidetis - e pela busca das fronteiras naturais, a ocupação da Amazônia e do Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Na Amazônia, Lisboa decidira tomar para si o controle das missões religiosas, realizando um programa de profunda reorganização política, econômica, social, administrativa, judicial e religiosa. Essa política propunha-se, sobretudo, a promover o povoamento do território e a garantir sua defesa e sua posse. Vilas foram fundadas; missões, erguidas à categoria de vilas; e, sobretudo, uma linha defensiva de fortificações portuguesas, construídas para guarnecer os limites exteriores da região: São José de Marabitanas e São Gabriel da Cachoeira, no Rio Negro; São Francisco Xavier de Tabatinga, no Rio Solimões; São Joaquim, no Rio Branco; Santo Antônio do Içá, na desembocadura do Rio Içá com o Solimões; São José de Macapá, na foz do Rio Amazonas; e Real Príncipe da Beira, no Rio Guaporé. Essas fortificações permitiram a ocupação definitiva do território e demonstram o propósito de Lisboa em defender e consolidar o espaço amazônico conquistado. Embora tivesse sido revogado logo após sua assinatura, o Tratado de Madri estabeleceu o princípio doutrinário que acabaria por prevalecer na demarcação definitiva das fronteiras do Brasil. Deve-se à penetração dos sertões pelos expedicionários, missionários, entradistas e bandeirantes a realização física da expansão colonial portuguesa na América; e ao Tratado de Madri, a inteligência e a prioridade política para a manutenção dessa conquista territorial tão singular. Com base nesse acordo, o Brasil independente teria sua área total mais que triplicada e logo trataria de oficializar suas fronteiras com as nações sul-americanas recém-formadas; processo que não ocorreu no restante da América hispânica e nem mesmo na América do Norte, em que as grandes alterações de fronteiras se deram depois da independência. A Amazônia, a despeito de todas as dificuldades para sua colonização, permaneceu brasileira graças ao esforço e ao empenho político empreendidos por Portugal para manter essa vasta região como parte de seu império colonial ultramarino\n

Colombia's rural sector has the potential to mitigate poverty and contribute to the econo- mic development process. For this, its contri- bution must consider environmental, social and economic variables. Environmentally, the conception of agriculture as a depredatory acti- vity is now behind given way to an agriculture that takes into account the needs of future generations. Socially, we view rural popula- tions in terms of political stability, and the need to redistribute resources as a starting point for a process of balanced development. Economi- cally, the agricultural sector increasingly contri- butes to the integration of agricultural activity with the other sectors of the economy, going beyond the net production of raw materials. Incorporating these elements, the cultivation of oil palm in Colombia has evolved to become one of the main government strategies for generating rural employment and income. From the perspective of its progress and achie- vements, this document describes the sustaina- bility of the Colombian oil palm culture in these three important areas: economic, social and environmental. Context The cultivation of oil palm has developed most intensely in Malaysia and Indonesia, who share about 80% of the entire oil palm production area in the world. At the secondary level, by order of importance, are Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia and Ivory Coast. Together, these countries account for about 12% of the world's palm producing area. By 2003, South America harvested about four hundred thousand hectares of oil palm, 40% of them in Colombia producing slightly more than 50% of the region's fruit, due to its higher volume of production per area unit (table 1). Colombia: regional distribution of cultivated area It is estimated that in 2004 Colombia reached a total of 243,000 hectares planted to oil palm. However 80,000 of which are still in the development stage and unproductive (1). Compared to other oil palm producing coun- tries, Colombia has four contrasting oil palm producing zones: 1) the Western Zone: at the south of western Colombia, on the Pacific coast; 2) the Northern Zone: in the northeastern part of the country, near the Atlantic coast; 3) the Central Zone: an inter-Andean valley of the Magdalena River system; and 4) the Eastern Zone: at the foothills of the Eastern chain of the Andes range (figure 1). In 2004, the Eastern Zone concentrated the largest area planted in oil palm, at 31.4%, followed by the Northern Zone at 31%, the Central Zone with 25.2% and finally the Wes- tern Zone with 12.5%. Yet, the potential area for production of oil palms in Colombia, without mayor agronomic restrictions, is more than 3.2 million hectares. These areas are loca- ted mainly in the Eastern Zone (59%), in the Central Zone (21%) and the Northern Zone (18%) (2). In other words, the country has the potential to significantly increase the oil palm growing area. Sector production and GDP