The funeral cave of Laang Spean | ល្អា ងបញច្ុះសពនៃស្ថា ៃីយល្អា ងស្ពា ៃ

Discovered in 1965 by Cécile and Roland Mourer in the limestone massifs of the Battambang region in Cambodia, the Lang Spean cave is a karstic cavity with three main chambers with a floor area of about 1000 m2 and a vault height of thirty metres. The archaeological sequence of Laang Spean now includes several meters thick level of ancient activity dated between 71,000 and 26,000 years ago surmounted by a Hoabinhian occupation (11,000-5,000 BP), with a third summit level characterized by Neolithic tombs. Cemeteries and funeral spaces are major sites in Southeast Asia still used to reconstruct the chrono-cultural sequence of the region. However, their studies present a failure to take into account the funerary nature of the studied sites. Archeothanatology, although partly known by colleagues working in Southeast Asian has not been developed sufficiently leading to numerous problems linked to the real nature of the sites. A burial site where individuals chosen by a community have been placed presents an altered vision of the population, whereas a study of funerary gestures and recruitment makes possible to understand these choices. Thus, the discovery of Neolithic burials at Laang Spean was the opportunity to implement an excavation protocol that follows the principles of archeothantology including to determine the positioning of the defunct at the time of burial in order to illustrate the funerary practice carried out by its original population. Despite the fragility of the bones we carried out observations and measurements useful for determining the biological characteristics, including sex, age, stature or pathologies of the individuals uncovered and, direct dating were successful. Finally, the Laang Spean cave appears to be a Neolithic funerary cave according to its dating but showing some characteristics found in the Metal age on the nearby Khorat plateau.

Redescription, Morphogenesis, and Molecular Phylogeny of Pseudosincirra longicirrata nov. comb., With Establishment of a New Genus Pseudosincirra nov. gen. (Ciliophora, Hypotrichia)

The morphology and morphogenesis of Pseudosincirra longicirrata nov. gen. and nov. comb., isolated from southern China, were investigated with living observation and protargol staining. Our population is similar to the original population in living characteristics and ciliary patterns. The main determinable morphogenetic features of P. longicirrata nov. comb. are the presence of five frontoventral-transverse cirral anlagen (FVT-anlagen) and a dorsomarginal kinety anlage. According to the origin of FVT-anlagen IV and V in proter, it can be determined that P. longicirrata nov. comb. possesses two frontoventral rows and one right marginal row. Hence, a new genus, Pseudosincirra nov. gen., is proposed, and the diagnosis of P. longicirrata nov. comb. is improved. The new genus is diagnosed as follows: adoral zone of membranelles and undulating membranes is in a Gonostomum pattern; there are three enlarged frontal cirri, one buccal cirrus, and one parabuccal cirrus; postperistomial cirrus and transverse cirri are lacking; there are two more or less long frontoventral rows and one right and two or more left marginal rows; cirri within all rows very widely spaced; dorsal kinety pattern is of Urosomoida type, that is, three dorsal kineties and one dorsomarginal kinety; and caudal cirri are present. Phylogenetic analyses based on the small subunit ribosomal (SSU rDNA) sequence data indicate that P. longicirrata nov. comb. clusters with Deviata and Perisincirra. It is considered that Pseudosincirra nov. gen. and Perisincirra paucicirrata should be assigned to the family Deviatidae; fine cirri, and cirri within all rows being relatively widely spaced, should be considered as plesiomorphies of Deviatidae; and Deviatidae is closely related to Dorsomarginalia or Strongylidium–Hemiamphisiella–Pseudouroleptus.

Selection Strategy For The Beverage Sensory Characterization In A Large Arabica Coffee Germplasm Bank

This study proposes a selection strategy to be applied to a large number of coffee accessions, which can be useful when exploring many genotypes in breeding programs for beverage quality. Over three consecutive years, 270 Arabica coffee accessions from the Germplasm Bank of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were sensorially characterized. At the end of this period, the 20 genotypes with the greatest potential for specialty coffee production were selected, which were subjected to a second sensory characterization. Additionally, we determined the genetic correlations between the attributes that make up the final beverage score. We did not identify an attribute that was more important than the others in the organoleptic performance of the studied accessions. Through the proposed method, we identified genetic variation in our original population and selected five accessions with beverage quality considered excellent according to the SCA classification. These accessions were planted in field conditions of highly specialized farms to study their interaction with the cultivation environment and to promote the increase in production of such coffees. Additionally, the five selected accessions are being used in crosses with elite cultivars create new segregating populations. We conclude that estimation of the heritable variation of each accession, the use over the years of common check cultivars with known performance, and extremely care of experimental precision in the entire processes warrant fair comparisons.

Combining probability scores to optimize clinical use of the NICHD Neonatal BPD Outcome Estimator

Objective: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to prevail among very preterm infants. While NICHD BPD Outcome Estimator is easy to use, the clinical interpretation remains challenging. This study aims to optimize its use. Study Design: A retrospective study was conducted with 469 infants born between 2015 and 2020. Data were entered into the Estimator to obtain probability scores. Trajectories of the probability scores were modeled using generalized additive modeling. The optimal cutoff number for predicting severe BPD or death was identified by a grid search from a range established by the original population distribution and the ROC curve. Result: Combining probability scores from the severe and death categories and the no-BPD and mild categories may improve BPD outcome prediction. A cutoff of 21% combining outcome probabilities from severe and death categories is predictive of severe BPD or death. Conclusion: Combining probability scores of different categories improves BPD outcome prediction.

Peran Festival Erau sebagai Penguatan Identitas Sosial Melalui Kearifan Lokal

This study aims to determine the role of the Erau Festival through local wisdom in an effort to strengthen social identity in the new adaptation era. Kutai Kartanegara Regency has a variety of cultures that live side by side, in harmony and peace. There are many ethnic groups who live in Kutai Kartanegara Regency and still carry their culture of origin, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Kalimantan to Nusa Tenggara. The number of immigrants is increasing over time, it is estimated that someday the number of immigrants will exceed the original population. Although the number of immigrants in Kutai Kartanegara Regency is quite large, their presence does not change the role of local culture that has been deeply rooted in the people of Kutai Kartanegara Regency. This study uses a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. Data obtained through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results showed that: (1) the relevance of local wisdom to strengthening social identity because the value of local wisdom is not an obstacle in the era of globalization, but is a major force in building regional social identity; (2). The erau festival reflects local wisdom. Keywords: Erau, Kutai Kartanegara, Local Wisdom

Comprehensive benchmarking of tools to identify phages in metagenomic shotgun sequencing data

BackgroundAs the relevance of bacteriophages in shaping diversity in microbial ecosystems is becoming increasingly clear, the prediction of phage sequences in metagenomic datasets has become a topic of considerable interest, which has led to the development of many novel bioinformatic tools. A comprehensive comparative analysis of these tools has so far not been performed.MethodsWe benchmarked ten state-of-the-art phage identification tools. We used artificial contigs generated from complete RefSeq genomes representing phages, plasmids, and chromosomes, and a previously sequenced mock community containing four phage strains to evaluate the precision, recall and F1-scores of the tools. In addition, a set of previously simulated viromes was used to assess diversity bias in each tool’s output.ResultsDeepVirFinder performed best across the datasets of artificial contigs and the mock community, with the highest F1-scores (0.98 and 0.61 respectively). Generally, machine learning-based tools performed better on the artificial contigs, while reference and machine learning based tool performed comparably on the mock community. Most tools produced a viral genome set that had similar alpha and beta diversity patterns to the original population with the notable exception of Seeker, whose metrics differed significantly from the diversity of the underlying data.ConclusionsThis study provides key metrics used to assess performance of phage detection tools, offers a framework for further comparison of additional viral discovery tools, and discusses optimal strategies for using these tools.

More Accurate Estimates of the Accuracy of RT-PCR and Chest CT Tests for COVID-19

In this article, we propose a novel statistical method for estimating the accuracy of chest computed tomography (CT) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests in the diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with a correction for imperfect gold standard and verification bias simultaneously. These two types of bias are often involved in estimating the diagnostic accuracy of COVID-19 tests. Imperfect gold standard bias arises when estimating accuracy measures of chest CT while using the RT-PCR test as a gold standard, despite its tendency to produce false negative results. Meanwhile, verification bias occurs in some studies where the results from chest CT are verified by RT-PCR test in a subsample of suspected cases that is not representative of the original population. Consequently, the accuracy estimates of chest CT and RT-PCR tests could be seriously biased and lead to invalid inference. Our proposed method is able to correct these two types of bias in providing unbiased and more accurate estimates of sensitivity and specificity of the two tests. Our results suggest that chest CT has higher sensitivity and lower specificity than RT-PCR, and the accuracy estimates can serve as an important reference for assessing and comparing the performance of these two tests in the diagnosis of COVID-19, and could guide policy recommendations for the implementation of these tests.

Die Ethnogenese des englischen Volkes

This work manages to breathe new life into the old concept of ethnogenesis research and the associated linking of various modern research disciplines on culture, religion and language by drawing on the results of the latest genetic research on the history of the origin of the English people. In doing so, ethnogenetic processes in England from the original population of the British Isles up to and including the Norman Conquest are analysed, their effects evaluated, and the influence of the Anglo-Saxons and Celts judged to be greatest. It also highlights the applicability of ethnogenesis research today and the extent to which advances in genetics enrich it. With a foreword by Jens Ejnar Olesen.

Variability and genetic structure in fragments of Eugenia involucrata De Candolle established through microsatellite markers

ABSCTRACT: Eugenia involucrata DC. is a forest species with high environmental and economic potential. The objective of this study was to quantify the genetic variability and analyzed the genetic structure of three natural fragments located in the central region of the Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. We used four microsatellite loci developed for the congener species Eugenia uniflora and using GenAlEx 6.5 software, parameters of genetic variability and its partition among and within fragments were estimated for each locus. We observed high levels of genetic variability (3.67 alleles per locus; HO = 0.815; HE = 0.625; FIS = −0.294), most of which (93%) were distributed within the fragments, suggesting that these individuals came from a single original population. Gene flow between fragments was high (2.35 to 4.56 migrants per generation), resulting in low genetic differentiation indexes (FST values ranging from 0.052 to 0.096). The fragments showed high genetic variability, distributed within the remnants themselves, and low genetic differentiation. Our results have repercussions for planning locally adapted germplasm collections for forest restoration programs, thereby avoiding the implantation of populations with an exogamous depression.

The Concept of a Romantic Hero in the Sculpture of Argentina in the 20–40s of the 20th Century

The interest in the history and culture of Argentina in the Russian Federation today has a special char-acter. It is believed that the presence of a huge number of immigrants from Europe, including from Russia, distinguishes Argentina culturally from oth-er countries of the New World, makes its culture more understandable. There is a perception that this is the most Europeanized country in South America. To a large extent, this ideologeme is the result of foreign policy pursued by Argentina itself. At the same time, the process of the formation of national identity in here was complicated and did not end until the 40s of the 20th century. The relevance of the study is to reveal the inconsistency of this process on the material of sculpture as a document of the era, to show the rejection by masters from a remote region of the country, the province of Chaco, the prevailing ideas about the barbarity and savagery of the Indians and Gauchos, the original population of this province and part of other territories of the state. The novelty lies in the comparative compari-son of the positions of the academic art history of Argentina and academic art in the understanding of Indian themes and in how it was interpreted by re-gional masters – K. Dominguez (died in 1969), C. Schenone (1907–1963), J. de la Mena (1897–1954), as well as in the art history analysis of significant works of the considered problematic and the roman-tic tendencies manifested in them. It is advisable to correlate the process of “Europeanization” of Indi-ans, bloody and long-term hostilities in order to expel the gaucho and Indians from their ancestral lands with the understanding of who was the true hero of history in the creations of their descendants. The works of the sculptors Chaco, romantic in spirit, are related to the great J. Hernandez’s poem “Martin Fierro”. Today they are kept not only in the capital of Chaco, Resistencia, but also in museums in Buenos Aires and foreign collections