Continuous vegetation record of the Greater Cape Floristic Region (South Africa) covering the past 300 000 years (IODP U1479)

The Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot of global significance, and its archeological record has substantially contributed to the understanding of modern human origins. For both reasons, the climate and vegetation history of southwestern South Africa is of interest to numerous fields. Currently known paleoenvironmental records cover the Holocene, the last glacial–interglacial transition and parts of the last glaciation but do not encompass a full glacial–interglacial cycle. To obtain a continuous vegetation record of the last Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles, we studied pollen, spores and micro-charcoal of deep-sea sediments from IODP Site U1479 retrieved from SW of Cape Town. We compare our palynological results of the Pleistocene with previously published results of Pliocene material from the same site. We find that the vegetation of the GCFR, in particular fynbos and afrotemperate forest, responds to precessional forcing of climate. The micro-charcoal record confirms the importance of fires in the fynbos vegetation. Ericaceae-rich and Asteraceae-rich types of fynbos could extend on the western part of the Paleo-Agulhas Plain (PAP), which emerged during periods of low sea level of the Pleistocene.

MENGENAL KETOKOHAN QURAISH SHIHAB SEBAGAI PAKAR TAFSIR INDONESIA

Quraish Shihab is not the only expert on the interpretation of the Qur'an in Indonesia, but his ability to translate and convey the messages of the Qur'an in the present and modern context makes him superior to other Qur'anic experts. His works on the Qur'an can easily be accepted not only academics, but the general public. This study aims to examine the thoughts of Quraish Shihab in the field of tafsir in general by using a literature review approach. The results showed that Quraish Shihab was a competent commentator in the archipelago. He tries to touch the Qur'an with the reality of modern human life today which is called with the term grounding the Qur'an. In terms of method, he tends to use thematic interpretation because it is more appropriate to reveal the content of the Qur'an on various problems of Muslims today.

Virtual-Digital Self of Public Human

The purpose of the article is distinguishing between "internal" and "external" public human through comprehending the phenomenon of Self in its virtual-digital essence as a popular demonstrative-project space "BETWEEN" aggression and harmony. Theoretical basis of the work is based on the study of the phenomenon of modern human aggression in the virtual-digital space and the "project space" of the living environment through understanding the nature of the human "I". The penetration limits of the Self of the public human into the "project space" are comprehended and the nature of the self-realization and self-search models of human through the "transcendent ego" is revealed. Originality is demonstrated through comprehending the Self phenomenon of the public human, which forms new anthropological research direction and represents a conceptual paradigm of relationship of "human I – publicity – human We – the living space of the Other". Conclusions. The Self of the public human as the space "BETWEEN" does not completely "dissolve" in a separate ontological basis, but is the basis for the formation of his/her "I", while only participation in the existence of others reveals the meaning of his/her own existence. Such interaction requires significant human efforts – skills and competencies of public communication, which are able to create a successful self-identification of a public human without aggression and conflict.

Gene-Cultura: E o Problema da Influência do Ambiente na Evolução dos Seres Vivos

O objetivo do presente artigo é expor e discutir a problemática relação da influência da cultura e da determinação genética no processo de evolução dos seres vivos, em especial dos seres humanos. Para tanto, dentre os procedimentos metodológicos foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica e descritiva, analisando aspectos de natureza biológica, social e antropológica. O artigo buscou fazer conexões com a natureza genética dos seres humanos e sua evolução e coevolução relativa a aspectos socioambientais e culturais. É possível depreender pela análise dos resultados que as sociedades humanas modernas apresentam um processo de construção que tem influências mais significativas da natureza sociocultural que genética, apesar de que esses fatores sempre serão indissociáveis.Palavras-chave: Cultura, gene-cultura, coevolução, sociobiodiversidade, sustentabilidade Gene-Culture: And the Problem of the Influence of the Environment on the Evolution of Living BeingsABSTRACTThe aim of this article is to discuss the relationship between the influence of culture and genetic determination on the evolution process of living beings, especially human beings. Therefore, among the methodological procedures, bibliographical and descriptive research was carried out, analyzing aspects of the biological, social and anthropological nature. The article sought to search with the genetic nature of human beings and their evolution and co-evolution related to socio-environmental and cultural aspects. It is possible to infer from the analysis of the results that modern human societies present a construction process that has more important influences of sociocultural nature than genetics, although these factors will always be inseparable.Keywords: Culture, gene-culture, co-evolution, sociobiodiversity, sustainability

Służba cywilna w ujęciu Strategii Zarządzania Zasobami Ludzkimi w Służbie Cywilnej do 2020 roku

The subject of this study is the issue of modern human resource management in the civil service in government administration offices. The basis of government administration human resources management are public service motivation (PSM) supported by the Human Resource Management Strategy in the Civil Service until 2020. The aim of the study was to investigate how the Strategy supports the development of government administration staff based on the methodology of human resource management. The methods of motivation of administration staff are training courses, individual professional development programs, and the remuneration and promotion system. These activities support the institutional efficiency of the state by improving the quality of services in government administration offices and the competences of civil service corps members. The strategy also finds its justification in the implementation of the systemic assumptions of the Civil Service, according to which the civil service corps acts to ensure professional, reliable, impartial and politically neutral performance of the state’s tasks (Article 153).

Comparative genomics of Acinetobacter baumannii and therapeutic bacteriophages from a patient undergoing phage therapy

In 2016, a 68-year-old patient with a disseminated multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infection was treated using lytic bacteriophages in one of the first modern human clinical uses of phage therapy in the United States. Due to the emergency nature of the treatment there was little time to thoroughly characterize the phages used in this intervention or the pathogen itself. Here we report the genomes of the nine phages used for treatment and three strains of A. baumannii isolated prior to and during treatment. The eight phages used in the initial treatment were found to be a group of closely related T4-like myophages; the ninth phage, AbTP3Φ1, was found to be an unrelated Fri1-like podophage. Analysis of 19 A. baumannii isolates collected before and during phage treatment showed that resistance to the T4-like phages appeared as early as two days following the start of treatment. Three A. baumannii strains (TP1, TP2 and TP3) collected before and during treatment were sequenced to closure, and all contained a 3.9 Mb chromosome of sequence type 570 with a KL116 capsule locus and identical 8.7 kb plasmids. Phage-insensitive mutants of A. baumannii strain TP1 were generated in vitro and the majority of identified mutations were located in the bacterial capsule locus. The presence of the same mutation in both the in vitro mutants and in phage-insensitive isolates TP2 and TP3, which evolved in vivo during phage treatment, indicate that in vitro investigations can produce results that are relevant and predictive for the in vivo environment.

Quarantine

<p>This thesis is set in a world similar to many pieces of science fiction literature and film. The world is fighting against the outbreak of a lethal and highly infectious pathogen that threatens to decimate the global population. The virus spreads quickly and has no current known cures or vaccines. Whilst the backdrop for this thesis is fictional, it addresses a very real concern that could face society. The research and outcomes of this thesis were based on a detailed study of quarantine solutions with the intention to quickly control and treat a virus pandemic. The focus was given to the architecture of emergency quarantine hospitals but also to a specific pathogen that this proposal is based upon, the H5N1 virus, more commonly known as Bird Flu. This thesis proposes to investigate a movable architecture dedicated to quarantine which can transport itself between cities and set up where it is most needed, be that in a busy city or a cluster of small villages. This allows for ease of access for those infected as well as quick integration back into society should those who are isolated respond well to treatment. The thesis will propose a potential direction for the further development of modern human quarantine, a system that will be ready and waiting for the day that it is desperately required.</p>

Quarantine

<p>This thesis is set in a world similar to many pieces of science fiction literature and film. The world is fighting against the outbreak of a lethal and highly infectious pathogen that threatens to decimate the global population. The virus spreads quickly and has no current known cures or vaccines. Whilst the backdrop for this thesis is fictional, it addresses a very real concern that could face society. The research and outcomes of this thesis were based on a detailed study of quarantine solutions with the intention to quickly control and treat a virus pandemic. The focus was given to the architecture of emergency quarantine hospitals but also to a specific pathogen that this proposal is based upon, the H5N1 virus, more commonly known as Bird Flu. This thesis proposes to investigate a movable architecture dedicated to quarantine which can transport itself between cities and set up where it is most needed, be that in a busy city or a cluster of small villages. This allows for ease of access for those infected as well as quick integration back into society should those who are isolated respond well to treatment. The thesis will propose a potential direction for the further development of modern human quarantine, a system that will be ready and waiting for the day that it is desperately required.</p>

Palaeolithic Assemblages associated with Youngest Toba Tuff deposits from the Upper Gundlakamma river basin, Andhra Pradesh, India

Archaeological and geological remains associated with the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT) deposits in India are seen as significant proxies for reconstructing 1) Initial modern human colonization of India and 2) Possible climatic impacts of the Toba super-eruption of 74 ka on Indian climate and hominin behaviour. In order to gain further insights into the environmental impacts and behavioural adaptations of human populations in India before and after the Toba eruption, we investigated archaeological horizons associated with the Toba ash beds along the Gundlakamma basin in Prakasam District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Here, lithic artefacts were identified below and above the YTT deposits. The YTT deposits in the Gundlakamma river basin has a maximum thickness of 50 cm, comparatively thinner than those at the better investigated valleys of the adjacent Jurreru and Sagileru in Andhra Pradesh and the Son, Madhya Pradesh, India. Our surveys indicate that the Palaeolithic assemblages associated with YTT deposits from the Gundlakamma river basin can provide significant insights on the issues and debates surrounding the Toba archaeology.Supplementary material at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5729449