Analysis of ancient mycolic acids by using MALDI TOF MS: response to “Essentials in the use of mycolic acid biomarkers for tuberculosis detection” by Minnikin et al., 2010

The mycobacterial cell wall is consists of several long chain lipid and glycolipid components. Mycolic acids are major and unique fraction of the cell envelope of mycobacteria that include the ancient causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy. The analytical investigation of these lipid biomarker residues is one of the most promising perspectives in the field of molecular paleopathology. Recently published in this journal, Minnikin et al. present a systematic critique of the MALDI TOF MS analysis for determination of ancient mycolic acids, focusing on our previous paper. In this study, our mass spectrometric investigations by commonly used 2,5 DHB matrix were presented with our comments to the critique authors. On the base of our previous and recent mass spectrometric results we have to realize that the clinical protocols and standards cannot directly be used for the biomolecular paleopathological investigations. The applicability of the recent mycobacterial and clinical results is very limited in the biomolecular archaeology, thus the recent scientific results and protocols should be adapted carefully to bioarchaeological sciences.     

Talking class,talking race: language,class, and race in the call center industry in South Africa

Against a backdrop of declining manufacturing employment, this article uses a study of the call center industry to argue that English language proficiency is central to new service jobs in post-apartheid South Africa. Drawing on research in Durban, we in this study show that access to call center work—especially the highest paid niches—is heavily mediated by English language skills generally attainable only at the most elite high schools. In doing so, we argue that access to English-medium education can challenge racial disadvantage, but simultaneously that English can help to consolidate white privilege through the continued association of a ‘prestigious’ accent with whiteness. The study accordingly reveals the importance of language in the changing intersectionality of race and class and, in doing so, underlines the value of social and cultural perspectives in labor geography.     

Diet,Mobility, Technology,and Lithics: Neolithization on the Andean Altiplano, 7.0–3.5 ka

Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory - Neolithization was a complex, protracted process of domestication, sedentarization, and technology change that occurred in various combinations in...     

Funding the arts and culture through dedicated state lotteries—Part II: Opening the way for alternative decision making and funding structures

CULTURAL POLICY AND THE POLITICS OF CULTURE, Forum organised by the Remarque Institute, held at White Oak Conference Center, Florida November 19–22, 1998     

On the Progress and Prospects of Science in Scotland at the Close of the Sixteenth and Commencement of the Seventeenth Centuries,as Compared with the same at Cambridge a Century Later: With Illustrations of Several Remarkable Coincidences Between The Genius,The Studies,and The Discoveries of Napier of Merchiston,and Sir Isaac Newton

In a recent paper in this journal, the crossing tower built at Rochester Cathedral in the early nineteenth century by L. N. Cottingham was identified as constituting an essay in the Perpendicular style and, furthermore, one based on elements from the medieval tower which it replaced. This paper identifies the style of the tower as Decorated and suggests that Cottingham's design was a specific response to context, one more strongly motivated by structural considerations than aesthetic theory or antiquarian or historicist attitudes.     

A Test of Ideological Bias in House Subcommittees, 1979-2000

Committees play a pivotal role in the legislative process. Since the mid-1970s, subcommittees have been important in the lawmaking process as well. Given this enhanced performance, the membership of subcommittees can be a key element in the direction that the legislative process takes. In this article, we develop and test a set of expectations regarding the ideological makeup of subcommittees. Resting firmly on the shoulders of Cox and McCubbins (1993), we assert that those subcommittees with particularized interests will possess memberships which are ideologically distinguishable from their parent committees, while those that affect a wider range of interests will have contingents ideologically indistinguishable from their parent committees. Employing a Monte Carlo simulation technique on ideological composition data of members of subcommittees of the House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees from the 96th to 106th Congresses, we expect to find that the occurrence of subcommittee outliers are generally consistent (with some notable exceptions) in their direction over time. Additionally, we test the hypothesis that there were no significant changes in the mix of subcommittee outliers from the 103rd to the 104th Congresses and beyond. We find that the change in partisan control of the House resulted in few shifts in outliers.