An Intensive Cultural Resources Survey of the 13.0-Acre Manadas Wastewater Treatment Plant Project in Laredo, Webb County, Texas

On 29 November 2017, Horizon Environmental Services, Inc. (Horizon) conducted an intensive cultural resources survey of the City of Laredo’s (City) proposed 13.0-acre Manadas Wastewater Treatment Plant Project in Laredo, Webb County, Texas (Project Area). To facilitate its construction, the City is pursuing federal funding through the Texas Water Development Board’s (TWDB) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). As these funds are ultimately federal monies issued by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the undertaking falls under the regulations of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended. Additionally, the Project Area will be located on property owned by the City of Laredo. Because the City is a political subdivision of the state, the Project Area also falls under the regulations of the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT). At the request of Zephyr Environmental Corporation (Zephyr), Horizon conducted the cultural resources survey of the Project Area on behalf of the City in compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA and the ACT. The purpose of the survey was to determine if any archeological sites were located within the Project Area and, if any existed, to determine if the undertaking had the potential to have any adverse impacts on sites eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) or for formal designation as State Antiquities Landmarks (SALs). The investigations were conducted under Texas Antiquities Committee (TAC) permit number 8230. The cultural resources survey of the Project Area resulted in the documentation of 1 newly recorded prehistoric archeological site. Site 41WB842 was recorded as a prehistoric open campsite covering the entirety of the 13.0-acre Project Area. Hundreds of chert flakes, fire-cracked rock (FCR) specimens, multiple bifaces, and 2 dart point fragments were observed on the site, suggesting that it may have served as a long-term campsite. Artifacts were observed scattered on the surface of the site, as well as subsurface in shovel tests to a depth of 31.4 inches (80.0 cm). The site was only recorded within the current Project Area, and undocumented portions of the site undoubtedly extend beyond the current Project Area. Considering the high artifact density on the site, along with the presence of temporally diagnostic tools and deeply buried deposits, it is Horizon’s opinion that the portion of site 41WB842 within the current Project Area could be a contributing element to the overall NRHP/SAP eligibility of the site. Based on the limited information about site 41WB842 gathered during the survey phase of activities, insufficient data are currently available to determine whether or not the site meets the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the NRHP and/or for designation as an SAL. As such, the site is currently considered to be of undetermined NRHP and/or SAL eligibility. Horizon recommends avoidance of all ground-disturbing activities within the documented site boundaries in order to avoid any adverse effects to archeological deposits that may meet the criteria of significance. If avoidance is not feasible, then a supplemental phase of archeological significance testing investigations may be required to fully assess the eligibility of the site for inclusion in the NRHP and/or for designation as a SAL

Mitotic catenation is monitored and resolved by a PKCε-regulated pathway.

Exit from mitosis is controlled by silencing of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). It is important that preceding exit, all sister chromatid pairs are correctly bioriented, and that residual catenation is resolved, permitting complete sister chromatid separation in the ensuing anaphase. Here we determine that the metaphase response to catenation in mammalian cells operates through PKCε. The PKCε-controlled pathway regulates exit from the SAC only when mitotic cells are challenged by retained catenation and this delayed exit is characterized by BubR1-high and Mad2-low kinetochores. In addition, we show that this pathway is necessary to facilitate resolution of retained catenanes in mitosis. When delayed by catenation in mitosis, inhibition of PKCε results in premature entry into anaphase with PICH-positive strands and chromosome bridging. These findings demonstrate the importance of PKCε-mediated regulation in protection from loss of chromosome integrity in cells failing to resolve catenation in G2

Attitudes Toward the Ethics of Research Using Social Media: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Although primarily used for social networking and often used for social support and dissemination, data on social media platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate research. However, the ethical challenges in conducting social media research remain of great concern. Although much debated in the literature, it is the views of the public that are most pertinent to inform future practice. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to ascertain attitudes on the ethical considerations of using social media as a data source for research as expressed by social media users and researchers. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted, wherein 16 databases and 2 Internet search engines were searched in addition to handsearching, reference checking, citation searching, and contacting authors and experts. Studies that conducted any qualitative methods to collect data on attitudes on the ethical implications of research using social media were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the quality of reporting tool (QuaRT) and findings analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis. RESULTS: In total, 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Attitudes varied from overly positive with people expressing the views about the essential nature of such research for the public good, to very concerned with views that social media research should not happen. Underlying reasons for this variation related to issues such as the purpose and quality of the research, the researcher affiliation, and the potential harms. The methods used to conduct the research were also important. Many respondents were positive about social media research while adding caveats such as the need for informed consent or use restricted to public platforms only. CONCLUSIONS: Many conflicting issues contribute to the complexity of good ethical practice in social media research. However, this should not deter researchers from conducting social media research. Each Internet research project requires an individual assessment of its own ethical issues. Guidelines on ethical conduct should be based on current evidence and standardized to avoid discrepancies between, and duplication across, different institutions, taking into consideration different jurisdictions

Very Strong Atmospheric Methane Growth in the 4 Years 2014–2017:Implications for the Paris Agreement

Atmospheric methane grew very rapidly in 2014 (12.7 ± 0.5 ppb/year), 2015 (10.1 ± 0.7 ppb/year), 2016 (7.0 ± 0.7 ppb/year), and 2017 (7.7 ± 0.7 ppb/year), at rates not observed since the 1980s. The increase in the methane burden began in 2007, with the mean global mole fraction in remote surface background air rising from about 1,775 ppb in 2006 to 1,850 ppb in 2017. Simultaneously the 13 C/ 12 C isotopic ratio (expressed as δ 13 C CH4 ) has shifted, has shifted, now trending negative for more than a decade. The causes of methane's recent mole fraction increase are therefore either a change in the relative proportions (and totals) of emissions from biogenic and thermogenic and pyrogenic sources, especially in the tropics and subtropics, or a decline in the atmospheric sink of methane, or both. Unfortunately, with limited measurement data sets, it is not currently possible to be more definitive. The climate warming impact of the observed methane increase over the past decade, if continued at >5 ppb/year in the coming decades, is sufficient to challenge the Paris Agreement, which requires sharp cuts in the atmospheric methane burden. However, anthropogenic methane emissions are relatively very large and thus offer attractive targets for rapid reduction, which are essential if the Paris Agreement aims are to be attained

Sex Differences in the Impact of Racial Discrimination on Mental Health Among Black Americans

Purpose of Review Greater racial discrimination is associated with poorer mental health among Black Americans; yet, there remains an incomplete understanding of sex differences in exposure to racial discrimination, and further, of how sex differences in coping with racial discrimination may heighten or diminish risk for poorer mental health. Recent Findings Black men may experience greater exposure to both structural and communal forms of racial discrimination, whereas Black women may face both a wider range of potential sources, as well as encounter greater variability in the subjective experience of racial discrimination. For both Black women and men, racial discrimination may be similarly associated with maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., emotional eating, rumination) that also are linked to poorer mental health; however, emerging findings suggest that mindfulness may partially buffer these deleterious effects. Summary Overall, the recent literature reveals mixed findings with respect to sex differences in the experience and negative mental health impact of racial discrimination. Despite this heterogeneity, evidence documents sex differences in the settings, type, and qualitative experience of racial discrimination among Black Americans. Additionally, growing evidence indicating that racial discrimination is associated with physiological markers of stress reactivity and psychopathology risk further bolsters its characterization as a unique form of chronic stress among Black Americans and other minority groups in the USA

Author Correction: The Aurora B specificity switch is required to protect from non-disjunction at the metaphase/anaphase transition.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

Rising atmospheric methane: 2007-2014 growth and isotopic shift

From 2007 to 2013, the globally averaged mole fraction of methane in the atmosphere increased by 5.7±1.2ppb yr$^{-1}$. Simultaneously, $\delta^{13}$C$_\text{CH4}$ (a measure of the $^{13}$C/$^{12}$C isotope ratio in methane) has shifted to significantly more negative values since 2007. Growth was extreme in 2014, at 12.5±0.4ppb, with a further shift to more negative values being observed at most latitudes. The isotopic evidence presented here suggests that the methane rise was dominated by significant increases in biogenic methane emissions, particularly in the tropics, for example, from expansion of tropical wetlands in years with strongly positive rainfall anomalies or emissions from increased agricultural sources such as ruminants and rice paddies. Changes in the removal rate of methane by the OH radical have not been seen in other tracers of atmospheric chemistry and do not appear to explain short-term variations in methane. Fossil fuel emissions may also have grown, but the sustained shift to more $^{13}$C-depleted values and its significant interannual variability, and the tropical and Southern Hemisphere loci of post-2007 growth, both indicate that fossil fuel emissions have not been the dominant factor driving the increase. A major cause of increased tropical wetland and tropical agricultural methane emissions, the likely major contributors to growth, may be their responses to meteorological change.This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council projects NE/N016211/1 The Global Methane Budget, NE/M005836/1 Methane at the edge, NE/K006045/1 The Southern Methane Anomaly and NE/I028874/1 MAMM. We thank the UK Meteorological Office for flask collection and hosting the continuous measurement at Ascension, the Ascension Island Government for essential support, and Thumeka Mkololo for flask collection in Cape Tow

Intracranial injection of AAV expressing NEP but not IDE reduces amyloid pathology in APP+PS1 transgenic mice

The accumulation of β-amyloid peptides in the brain has been recognized as an essential factor in Alzheimer\u27s disease pathology. Several proteases, including Neprilysin (NEP), endothelin converting enzyme (ECE), and insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), have been shown to cleave β-amyloid peptides (Aβ). We have previously reported reductions in amyloid in APP+PS1 mice with increased expression of ECE. In this study we compared the vector-induced increased expression of NEP and IDE. We used recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors expressing either native forms of NEP (NEP-n) or IDE (IDE-n), or engineered secreted forms of NEP (NEP-s) or IDE (IDE-s). In a six-week study, immunohistochemistry staining for total Aβ was significantly decreased in animals receiving the NEP-n and NEP-s but not for IDE-n or IDE-s in either the hippocampus or cortex. Congo red staining followed a similar trend revealing significant decreases in the hippocampus and the cortex for NEP-n and NEP-s treatment groups. Our results indicate that while rAAV-IDE does not have the same therapeutic potential as rAAV-NEP, rAAV-NEP-s and NEP-n are effective at reducing amyloid loads, and both of these vectors continue to have significant effects nine months post-injection. As such, they may be considered reasonable candidates for gene therapy trials in AD