Land-use history of the Axlarp area in the Småland uplands,southern Sweden: palaeoecological and archaeological investigations

The results of pollen analysis, magnetic measurements (SIRM), and archaeological and historical investigations, in the Axlarp area are presented. With respect to natural conditions and the distribution of prehistoric features, this area is typical of the higher parts of the Småland uplands, which, agriculturally, is a marginal region of southern Sweden. The study shows that farming in the Axlarp area began at ca. 700 B.C. (dates in calibrated/calendar years). The period 700 B.C.-A.D. 500 was characterized by shifting cultivation of Hordeum and Triticum and much pasture. Between A.D. 500 and A.D. 1200 farming declined but some pasturage was still practised, possibly on a seasonal basis. Two farms were established in the Middle Ages, probably between A.D. 1200–1300. Cereals were sown in stone-cleared fields and pastoral farming and hay making was carried out. One farm was deserted during the 15th or early 16th century and the other developed into the hamlet Axlarp whose farmers practised a three-course cropping system. Land-use history as recorded in the pollen diagram can be related to activities associated with these farms. Cereals grown after A.D. 1200 included Hordeum and Avena, and possibly Triticum and Secale. There are no indications of slash-and-burn cultivation in the area.     

Evidence from charcoal analysis for environmental change during the interval late Bronze Age to Roman,at the archaeological site of Castro de Penices,N.W. Portugal

Vegetation and environmental change from late Bronze Age to the Roman period in north-west Portugal is reconstructed on the basis of charcoal analyses. The site was occupied by people of the Castrejo culture, i.e. an Iron Age culture that developed in the north-west Iberian peninsula. The pattern of exploitation of natural wood resources by local populations during this period appears to be similar during the three phases of occupation. The frequencies of light-demanding plant species, mostly Leguminosae, testify to considerable destruction and degeneration of the climax woodlands. The preference of particular wood for specific uses, such as roofing, is discussed and the Holocene history of selected trees within the wider region is considered.     

Fine needle aspiration (FNA) in the diagnosis of soft tissue tumours; a review of 22 years experience

FNA plays an important role in preoperative diagnosis of soft tissue tumours. A close clinical/morphologic cooperation is essential. FNA should be performed on the most accessible part of the tumour, avoiding penetration of the deep portions of the tumour. Needles 0.7 mm (22 G) are recommended. For deep lesions, needles with a stylet should be used. After the FNA, tattooing of the aspiration channel is recommended, and the channel is surgically removed together with the tumour, if a sarcoma. Material from the FNA can be used for additional examinations, i.e. electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, DNA ploidy analysis and chromosomal analysis. Those techniques are of great importance in the differential diagnosis, particularly in the paediatric small/round cell tumours. the majority of sarcomas can be defined as low grade or high grade malignant in FNA. For malignancy grading the following parameters are used: cellularity, pleomorphism, chromatin pattern, nucleolar structure, mitotic figures and necroses. Cytodiagnostic details of the most common soft tissue tumours and their differential diagnoses are presented.     

Surface modification of polymers: chemical, biological and surface analytical challenges

Surface modification methods can optimise the biocompatibility or the specificity of biointeraction of a biosensor or medical device. With only the surface modified, the manufacture and implantation protocol remain unchanged. This review article summarises some of the chemical, surface analytical and biological challenges associated with surface modification of biosensors and biomedical devices.     

AIDS in Africa: distinguishing fact and fiction

The data widely purporting to show the existence and heterosexual transmission in Africa of a new syndrome caused by a retrovirus which induces immune deficiency are critically evaluated. It is concluded that both acquired immune deficiency (AID) and the symptoms and diseases which constitute the clinical syndrome (S) are of long standing in Africa, affect both sexes equally and are caused directly and indirectly by factors other than human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Seropositivity to HIV in Africans usually represents no more than cross-reactivity caused by an abundance of antibodies induced by the numerous infectious and parasitic diseases which are endemic in Africa. The apparently high prevalence of AIDS and HIV seropositives is therefore not surprising and is not proof of heterosexual transmission of either HIV or AIDS.E. Papadopulos-Eleopulos is with the Department of Medical Physics, The Royal Perth Hospital, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia; V.F. Turner is with the Department of Emergency Medicine, The Royal Perth Hospital, Perth 6000, Western Australia, Australia, J.M. Papadimitriou is with the Department of Pathology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia. H. Bialy is with Bio/Technology, 65 Becker St, New York, NY 10012, USA.     

A procedure for detecting structural domains in proteins.

A procedure is described for detecting domains in proteins of known structure. The method is based on the intuitively simple idea that each domain should contain an identifiable hydrophobic core. By applying the algorithm described in the companion paper (Swindells MB, 1995, Protein Sci 4:93-102) to identify distinct cores in multi-domain proteins, one can use this information to determine both the number and the location of the constituent domains. Tests have shown the procedure to be effective on a number of examples, even when the domains are discontinuous along the sequence. However, deficiencies also occur when hydrophobic cores from different domains continue through the interface region and join one another.     

A multivariate approach to the selection of biological reserves

Multivariate analysis provides an effective context for the examination of some significant aspects of biodiversity and conservation. The framework is a multidimensional space that integrates sample sites, taxa and environments. This approach enables terms such as representativeness, complementarity and irreplaceability to be integrated within an intuitive and practical framework for reserve design. Cluster analysis is proposed to determine what is there by defining a set of complementary clusters. These clusters are sampled in a representative manner; from the core outward. The degree of irreplaceability of a site is defined as the multivariate distance of each potential reserve site to its nearest neighbour.     

Ethanol utilization regulatory protein: profile alignments give no evidence of origin through aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenase gene fusion.

The suggestion that the ethanol regulatory protein from Aspergillus has its evolutionary origin in a gene fusion between aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenase genes (Hawkins AR, Lamb HK, Radford A, Moore JD, 1994, Gene 146:145-158) has been tested by profile analysis with aldehyde and alcohol dehydrogenase family profiles. We show that the degree and kind of similarity observed between these profiles and the ethanol regulatory protein sequence is that expected from random sequences of the same composition. This level of similarity fails to support the suggested gene fusion.     

Resolving genetic relationships with microsatellite markers: a parentage testing system for the swallow Hirundo rustica

Eight polymorphic microsatellite markers from the swallow were isolated and characterized. Extraordinary variability was revealed at the HrU6 locus with 45 different alleles scored among 46 unrelated individuals. The probability that the same genotype combination would occur in two random and unrelated individuals at six selected loci was as low as 1.3 × 10^-8 and the combined exclusion probability was 0.9996. Stable Mendelian inheritance was observed in about 1000 meioses. No significant linkage was revealed and for almost all combinations of marker-pairs, linkage closer than 5 cM could be excluded. At two loci, null (nonamplifying) alleles were encountered. Thirteen (30%) extra-pair offspring were identified in 5 (56%) broods when applying the marker set on a nearly complete swallow colony. We were able to identify a single male from the other families in the colony as the most likely father for nine of the 13 extra-pair offspring.     

β-glucuronidase as a marker for clonal analysis of tomato lateral roots

In higher plants, the root-shoot axis established during embryogenesis is extended and modified by the development of primary and lateral apical meristems. While the structure of several shoot apical meristems has been deduced by combining histological studies with clonal analysis, the application of this approach to root apical meristems has been limited by a lack of visible genetic markers. We have tested the feasibility of using a synthetic gene consisting of the maize transposable elementActivator (Ac) inserted between a 35S CaMV promoter and the coding region of a -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene as a means of marking cell lineages in roots. The GUS gene was activated in individual cells byAc excision, and the resulting sectors of GUS-expressing cells were detected with the histochemical stain X-Gluc. Sectors in lateral roots originated from bothAc excision in meristematic cells and from parent root sectors that bisect the founder cell population for the lateral root initial. Analysis of root tip sectors confirmed that the root cap, and root proper have separate initials. Large sectors in the body of the lateral root encompassed both cortex and vascular tissues. The number of primary initial cells predicted from the size and arrangement of the sectors observed ranged from two to four and appeared to vary between roots. We conclude that transposon-based clonal analysis using GUS expression as a genetic marker is an effective approach for deducing the functional organization of root apical meristems.