We present here the first direct evidence for regular fire making by Neandertals. Isolated zones of macroscopic and microscopic traces suggesting repeated percussion and/or forceful abrasion with a... Show moreWe present here the first direct evidence for regular fire making by Neandertals. Isolated zones of macroscopic and microscopic traces suggesting repeated percussion and/or forceful abrasion with a hard mineral material were identified on dozens of large late Middle Palaeolithic bifacial tools using microwear analytical techniques. These bifaces were curated tools used for relatively long periods of time, and therefore possess a higher probability of preserving traces from multiple uses, including more infrequent activities. Both the distribution and nature of the observed mineral polish and associated striations are in many respects comparable to those obtained experimentally by obliquely percussing fragments of pyrite (FeS2) against the flatter 'faces' of a biface to make fire. The striations are always oriented roughly parallel to the long axis of the tool and are in some cases crosscut by subsequent flake removals, together arguing against a taphonomic origin for these traces. Such a percussive method is effective at regularly producing sparks that are easily directed towards tinder material while leaving the edges of the tool sharp for other tasks. These directional percussive and frictive use wear traces are present on bifacial tools recovered from archaeological layers primarily attributed to the Mousterian of Acheulean Tradition (MTA) technoculture (ca. 50,000 years BP) at multiple sites throughout France. We discuss findings from five of these sites: Chez-Pinaud/Jonzac (Charente-Maritime) and Pech de l’Azé I, Fonseigner, Bout des Vergnes and Meyrals in the Dordogne-. The use of bifaces as strike-a-light tools is a technocultural feature shared among the MTA peoples that represents the ‘smoking gun’ attesting to Neandertal fire making capabilities. Show less
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman depict a removal of the boundary between man and nature. This imagined coalescence between humanity and the earth is portrayed through... Show moreRalph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Walt Whitman depict a removal of the boundary between man and nature. This imagined coalescence between humanity and the earth is portrayed through a unique fusion of form and content. Emerson’s Nature (1836), Thoreau’s “Walking” (1862), and Whitman’s Leaves of Grass (1855) illuminate the vision of breaking down the boundary between man and nature through their combinations of sentiment and style. While many critics have focused on Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman’s explicit programmatic statements about connecting with nature, I will focus on the ways in which this message is conveyed by their use of metaphor, simile, and symbolic imagery. Through a comparative analysis of their uses of the cyclical nature images water and sun, I will attempt to elucidate the intricate differences and similarities between their conceptions of freedom and fulfillment. I will investigate how each author’s treatment of these nature images provides a window of understanding their perspectives on the ways the spirit flows through the self – whether freedom is attained in complete isolation or in the company of others – and the place of divinity in nature. Show less
Vorst, E.P.C. van der; Theodorou, K.; Hoeksema, M.A.; Wu, Y.; Goossens, P.; Eck, M. van; ... ; Donners, M.M.P. 2016
Membrane cholesterol modulates a variety of cell signaling pathways and functions. While cholesterol depletion by high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) has potent anti-inflammatory effects in various... Show moreMembrane cholesterol modulates a variety of cell signaling pathways and functions. While cholesterol depletion by high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) has potent anti-inflammatory effects in various cell types, its effects on inflammatory responses in macrophages remain elusive. Here we show overt pro-inflammatory effects of HDL-mediated passive cholesterol depletion and lipid raft disruption in murine and human primary macrophages in vitro. These pro-inflammatory effects were confirmed in vivo in peritoneal macrophages from apoA-I transgenic mice, which have elevated HDL levels. In line with these findings, the innate immune responses required for clearance of P. aeruginosa bacterial infection in lung were compromised in mice with low HDL levels. Expression analysis, ChIP-PCR, and combinatorial pharmacological and genetic intervention studies unveiled that both native and reconstituted HDL enhance Toll-like-receptor-induced signaling by activating a PKC-NF-κB/STAT1-IRF1 axis, leading to increased inflammatory cytokine expression. HDL's pro-inflammatory activity supports proper functioning of macrophage immune responses.KEYWORDS: bacterial infection; high-density lipoproteins; immune response; inflammation; inflammatory signaling; macrophages; passive cholesterol depletion Show less
An annotated Latin translation of Arthur Schopenhauer, "Über Gelehrte und Gelehrsamkeit", Parerga und Paralipomena. Kleine philosophische Schriften II (1851; Sämtliche Werke V; ed. W. von Lohneysen... Show moreAn annotated Latin translation of Arthur Schopenhauer, "Über Gelehrte und Gelehrsamkeit", Parerga und Paralipomena. Kleine philosophische Schriften II (1851; Sämtliche Werke V; ed. W. von Lohneysen; Darmstadt 1976) cap. 21, §§ 244-256 by Martin F.J. Baasten. Show less
