An endemic pathway to sheep and goat domestication at Aşıklı Höyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey).

Sheep and goats (caprines) were domesticated in Southwest Asia in the early Holocene, but how and in how many places remain open questions. This study investigates the initial conditions and trajectory of caprine domestication at Aşıklı Höyük, which preserves an unusually high-resolution record of the first 1,000 y of Neolithic existence in Central Anatolia. Our comparative analysis of caprine age and sex structures and related evidence reveals a local domestication process that began around 8400 cal BC.

Ancient DNA shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age.

Despite the important roles that horses have played in human history, particularly in the spread of languages and cultures, and correspondingly intensive research on this topic, the origin of domestic horses remains elusive. Several domestication centers have been hypothesized, but most of these have been invalidated through recent paleogenetic studies. Anatolia is a region with an extended history of horse exploitation that has been considered a candidate for the origins of domestic horses but has never been subject to detailed investigation.

Beam-on imaging of short-lived positron emitters during proton therapy.

In vivo dose delivery verification in proton therapy can be performed by positron emission tomography (PET) of the positron-emitting nuclei produced by the proton beam in the patient. A PET scanner installed in the treatment position of a proton therapy facility that takes data with the beam on will see very short-lived nuclides as well as longer-lived nuclides. The most important short-lived nuclide for proton therapy is N (Dendooven et al 2015 Phys.

Short-lived positron emitters in beam-on PET imaging during proton therapy.

The only method for in vivo dose delivery verification in proton beam radiotherapy in clinical use today is positron emission tomography (PET) of the positron emitters produced in the patient during irradiation. PET imaging while the beam is on (so called beam-on PET) is an attractive option, providing the largest number of counts, the least biological washout and the fastest feedback. In this implementation, all nuclides, independent of their half-life, will contribute.

Data sharing reveals complexity in the westward spread of domestic animals across Neolithic Turkey.

This study presents the results of a major data integration project bringing together primary archaeozoological data for over 200,000 faunal specimens excavated from seventeen sites in Turkey spanning the Epipaleolithic through Chalcolithic periods, c. 18,000-4,000 cal BC, in order to document the initial westward spread of domestic livestock across Neolithic central and western Turkey. From these shared datasets we demonstrate that the westward expansion of Neolithic subsistence technologies combined multiple routes and pulses but did not involve a set 'package' comprising all four livestock species including sheep, goat, cattle and pig.

A forager-herder trade-off, from broad-spectrum hunting to sheep management at Aşıklı Höyük, Turkey.

Aşıklı Höyük is the earliest known preceramic Neolithic mound site in Central Anatolia. The oldest Levels, 4 and 5, spanning 8,200 to approximately 9,000 cal B.C.

Kaletepe Deresi 3 (Turkey): archaeological evidence for early human settlement in Central Anatolia.

Located in the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province, Kaletepe Deresi 3 was discovered in the summer of 2000 and has been under investigation since that time. Volcanic activity in the region generated a number of obsidian intrusions that have attracted humans to the area throughout prehistory. The stratigraphic sequence at Kaletepe Deresi 3, more than 7 m in depth, presents a series of archaeological horizons representing the Lower and Middle Paleolithic.

Therapy for ocular toxoplasmosis.

We conducted a prospective multicenter study of the efficacy of current therapeutic strategies for ocular toxoplasmosis in 149 patients. Treatment consisted of the following three triple-drug combinations: group 1, pyrimethamine, sulfadiazine, and corticosteroids; group 2, clindamycin, sulfadiazine, and corticosteroids; and group 3, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole and corticosteroids. Patients with peripheral retinal lesions were not treated systemically.

Uveitis and systemic disease.

A prospective study was conducted of 865 patients with uveitis to determine the frequency of associated systemic diseases and to assess the value of limited laboratory screening of these patients. All patients underwent a standard diagnostic protocol followed--when indicated--by special tests and procedures performed in order of likelihood ('tailored approach'). For 628 patients (73%) a specific diagnosis was established based on history, ophthalmologic examination, and laboratory and radiographic studies.

Cyclosporin in the treatment of severe chronic idiopathic uveitis.

In a randomised double-masked study of 27 patients with a severe chronic idiopathic uveitis we evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of cyclosporin. All received prednisone in a low dose (0.3 mg/kg/day).

Comparison of the vitamins K1, K2 and K3 as cofactors for the hepatic vitamin K-dependent carboxylase.

The vitamins phylloquinone (K1), menadione (K3) and various menaquinones (K2) were compared for their ability to serve as a cofactor for the hepatic vitamin K-dependent carboxylase. It was found that the cofactor activity of the menaquinones varied with the length of the aliphatic side-chain and showed an optimum at MK-3. Menadione was not active at all.

Therapy of ocular toxoplasmosis.

We performed a prospective multicentre study to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic strategies currently used for ocular toxoplasmosis in a large number of patients (n = 106). Treatment was given for at least four weeks and consisted of three triple drug combinations: group 1, pyrimethamine, sulphadiazine and corticosteroids (n = 29); group 2. clindamycin, sulphadiazine and corticosteroids (n = 37); and group 3.

Vitamin K-dependent carboxylase: minimized escape of CO2 from solution may prolong linearity of the reaction rate.

Escape of 14CO2 from the reaction mixture into the gas phase may seriously affect the accuracy of in vitro measurement of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity (and probably that of other carboxylases as well). In this paper we describe the effect of (a) the volume of the test tubes in which the reaction is performed, (b) the addition of an excess of NaH12CO3 in parallel with standard amounts of NaH14CO3, and (c) the incubation temperature. In this way optimal conditions are defined and used for the carboxylation of various peptide and protein substrates.

Risk factors for ocular sarcoidosis.

We reviewed 121 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis who visited the sarcoidosis clinic of the University Hospital in Amsterdam, to determine the risk factors for the development of ocular manifestations. Of 121 patients 52 (43%) were black. Ocular disease developed in 50 (41%) patients and was more common in female and in black patients.

Acute anterior uveitis (AAU) and HLA-B27.

A group of 30 consecutive HLA-B27 positive acute anterior uveitis (AAU) patients was compared to 30 consecutive HLA-B27 negative AAU patients. The B27 positive group was characterized by male preponderance, earlier age of onset, unilateral uveitis and favourable outcome with therapy. It is concluded that HLA-B27 typing is a useful diagnostic discriminant in AAU.