Terminal Pleistocene emergence of maritime interaction networks across Wallacea

The crossing of the Wallacean islands and settlement of Sahul by modern humans over 50,000 years ago, represents the earliest successful seafaring of our species anywhere in the world. Archaeological research throughout this vast island archipelago has recovered evidence for varied patterns in island occupation, with accumulating evidence suggesting a significant change in cultural activities and interaction amongst island communities following the LGM. New forms of technology such as shell fish hooks and adzes appear alongside standardised forms of shell beads, indicating that these technological innovations were accompanied by shared styles of personal ornamentation. Simultaniously, obsidian from a single, off-island source is found in the archaeological assemblages on at least four islands. We explore these implied spheres of interaction across Wallacea, with a focus on the terminal-Pleistocene/early-Holocene cultural materials and customs linking the southeastern Wallacean islands of Alor, Timor, and Kisar, and other parts of greater Wallacea and Near Oceania

Neolithic dispersal implications of murids from late Holocene archaeological and modern natural deposits in the Talaud Islands, northern Sulawesi

The Sangihe-Talaud Archipelago represents a group of 77 remote islands located between the Philippines and North Sulawesi, in the northern sector of Wallacea. The Talaud Islands have a rich and significant archaeological record going back to the Pleistocene and are instrumental in understanding Pleistocene colonisation of small islands and later models of Austronesian language dispersal. Here we report on vertebrate material excavated from Leang Mande'et, a late Holocene rockshelter on Karakelang, the main island in the Talaud group. The site represents a periodically occupied shelter used for gardening. Fauna recovered predominately comprises murid elements, with at least four taxa (Rattus rattus, Rattus exulans and two Melomys species) found. The rodents show clear signs of being deposited by raptors rather than humans, unlike the small number of fish remains also recovered. DNA sequences from several Rattus rattus specimens are referrable to Rattus rattus complex lineage IV, a lineage with a southern Indochinese origins and broad modern representation through Indonesia and the Philippines. The lack of any Rattus rattus complex lineage II from Leang Mande’et suggests that the first agricultural inhabitants of this island did not come from Taiwan or northern Indochina, but rather that they either originated from the south or that, once established in the Talauds, opened up significant trade networks to the south and in the process acquired a significant pest

Metal-Age maritime culture at Jareng Bori rockshelter, Pantar Island, eastern Indonesia

The archaeological record of Wallacea remains exceptionally fragmentary. This is especially the case for late Holocene human occupation of the region when lifestyle and culture in marginal island environments is relatively unknown. Here we report on the archaeology of Jareng Bori rockshelter, a Metal-Age site spanning c. 1800 cal. BP up to the late historic period and situated on the eastern coast of Pantar Island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of eastern Indonesia. We use osteoarchaeological (human and vertebrate remains), invertebrate zooarchaeological (crustacean and molluscan remains), technological (lithics, shell, and pottery) and chemical sourcing (obsidian and metal) datasets to discuss networking, migration, and human subsistence strategies during this recent period of history. While some communities were no doubt living in open village settlements where they were producing pottery, the data indicate that aspects of maritime life-ways continued much as in earlier Pleistocene settlements, with people using rockshelters like Jareng Bori to pursue a range of subsistence activities focused on the shoreline. Shellfishing of rocky and reef intertidal species and fishing for mostly small herbivorous and omnivorous fishes was practised, while domestic animals only appear in the late historic period. Wider regional cultural interactions and networking are epitomized by obsidian exchange, dental modification practices, and pottery decorations, while lithic analyses indicates continuity of stone tool technology up until recent times

Earliest known funerary rites in Wallacea after the last glacial maximum [published version]

The insular region of Wallacea has become a focal point for studying early human evolution in island environments. Here we focus on how socioeconomic adaptations, under changing climatic conditions, influenced the belief systems and burial practices of past foragers at Ratu Mali 2, an elevated coastal cave site on the small, impoverished island of Kisar dated to 15.5–3.7 ka. This multidisciplinary study reveals the impressive flexibility of our species in the most marginal of environments by demonstrating extreme marine dietary adaptations as well as engagement with an extensive trade and exchange network across open seas. A male and a female, interred in a single grave at Ratu Mali 2 by 14.7 ka are the oldest known human burials in Wallacea with established funerary rites. These findings enable exploration of how human societies and belief systems adapted to rising sea levels in Wallacea after the Last Glacial Maximum.Introduction Ratu Mali 2 site and chronology Dietary adaptations on a small island The establishment of maritime networks and technology in Wallacea Prehistoric burials in Island Southeast Asia Maritime belief systems in Prehistoric Island Southeast Asia Discussion and Conclusions Methods - Excavation and Radiocarbon dating - Mortuary practices - Faunal analyses - Stable carbon (δ13C), oxygen (δ18O) isotope analysis - Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis - Peptide analysis - Artefacts - Obsidian Geochemistr

A review of analytical methods for the determination of four new phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors in biological samples and pharmaceutical preparations

The introduction of oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor therapy in 1998 revolutionized the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction is the most common sexual problem in men. It often has a profound effect on intimate relationships and quality of life. The analysis of pharmaceuticals is an important part of the drug development process as well as for routine analysis and quality control of commercial formulations. Whereas the determination of sildenafil citrate, vardenafil and tadalafil are well documented by a variety of methods, there are few publications about the determination of udenafil, lodenafil carbonate, mirodenafil and avanafil. The paper presents a brief review of the action mechanism, adverse effects, pharmacokinetics and the most recent analytical methods that can determine drug concentration in biological matrices and pharmaceutical formulations of these four drugs.A introdução da terapia oral com inibidores da fosfodiesterase tipo 5, em 1998, revolucionou o tratamento da disfunção erétil. A disfunção erétil é o problema sexual mais comum em homens. Muitas vezes tem um efeito profundo nas relações íntimas e na qualidade de vida. A análise de produtos farmacêuticos é uma parte importante do processo de desenvolvimento de fármacos, bem como para a análise de rotina e controle de qualidade das formulações comerciais. Enquanto a determinação do citrato de sildenafila, vardenafila e tadalafila está bem documentada por uma variedade de métodos, existem poucas publicações sobre a determinação de udenafila, carbonato de lodenafila, mirodenafila e avanafila. O artigo apresenta uma breve revisão do mecanismo de ação, efeitos adversos, farmacocinética e os mais recentes métodos analíticos, que podem determinar a concentração do fármaco em matrizes biológicas e formulações farmacêuticas destes quatro fármacos

Data for: Kisar, a small island participant in an extensive obsidian network in the Wallacean Archipelago

Original pXRF data used in the articl

Post-colonization interaction between Vanuatu and Fiji reconsidered: the re-analysis of obsidian from Lakeba Island, Fiji

PIXE–PIGME analysis of 19 obsidian artefacts from Lakeba Island in east Fiji identified contact with northern Vanuatu in the post-colonization period (c. 2500–1000 BP) of Fiji. The Lakeba obsidian is the only physical evidence for interaction across the 850 km water gap separating the archipelagos of Vanuatu and Fiji in the first millennium AD. New research on the Vanuatu obsidian sources with laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) casts serious doubt on the validity of a long-distance inter-archipelago connection in the post-Lapita era. This paper presents the re-analysis of 18 obsidian artefacts from Lakeba using LA–ICP–MS and radiogenic isotope results that demonstrate that the Lakeba obsidian is not from Vanuatu, and it most likely derives from the Fiji–Tonga region. Geochemical evidence for long-distance interaction and migration between the West and Central Pacific in the post-Lapita era has yet to be identified

Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Thalidomide in Tablets, Capsules, and Raw Materials

Abstract A simple, isocratic liquid chromatographic method for assay of thalidomide in tablets, capsules, and raw materials was developed. The method uses a Nova-Pak octadecylsilane bonded-phase column (150 × 3.9 mm, 4 μm particle size), a mobile phase of acetonitrile-water (15 + 85), a flow rate of 1 mL/min, detection at 237 nm, and phenacetin as internal standard. Phosphoric acid was used in preparation of sample solutions to inhibit thalidomide hydrolysis. Assays ranged from 99.3 to 100.4% in raw materials from 4 manufacturers, from 79.7 to 104.8% in tablets from 7 manufacturers, and from 75.3 to 102.6% in capsules from 4 manufacturers. Assay method precisions for triplicate analyses on 5 days were 0.30% for tablets, 0.22% for capsules, and 0.22% for raw materials. Recovery from simulated tablet formulations was 100%. The method has been used to analyze individual tablets and capsules for determination of content uniformity.</jats:p