Isotope analysis of incremental human dentine: towards higher temporal resolution

YesHere we present a novel method which allows the measurement of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) from much smaller samples of dentine than previously possible without affecting the quality parameters. The reconstruction of the diet of past populations using isotopic analysis of bone collagen is a well-established tool. However, because of remodelling of bone throughout life, this gives a blurred picture of the diet. The analysis of δ13C and δ15N from tiny increments of dentine utilizes tissue that does not remodel and permits comparison, at the same age, of those who survived infancy with those who did not at high temporal resolution. This new method has been tested on archaeological teeth from two sites: three molar teeth from the 19th Century Kilkenny Union Workhouse Famine cemetery, Ireland; and three from the Anglian (5-7th centuries AD) cemetery at West Heslerton, Yorkshire, England, selected on the basis of their varied preservation. The methods of incremental dentine sectioning described in Beaumont et al (2013)[1] were carried out and a sub-section removed prior to denaturing and lyophilisation. The two sample sets, dentine and collagen from each section, were measured by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The profiles produced from each of the six teeth studied show close correlation in isotope ratios indicating that demineralized dentine which has not been denatured and lyophilised produces isotope ratios comparable with dentine collagen. This finding allows analysis of extremely small samples of dentine which could previously not be measured using current instruments and methods

High Quality, Transferable Graphene Grown on Single Crystal Cu(111) Thin Films on Basal-Plane Sapphire

The current method of growing large-area graphene on Cu surfaces (polycrystalline foils and thin films) and its transfer to arbitrary substrates is technologically attractive. However, the quality of graphene can be improved significantly by growing it on single-crystal Cu surfaces. Here we show that high quality, large-area graphene can be grown on epitaxial single-crystal Cu(111) thin films on reusable basal-plane sapphire (alpha-Al2O3(0001)) substrates and then transferred to another substrate. While enabling graphene growth on Cu single-crystal surfaces, this method has the potential to avoid the high cost and extensive damage to graphene associated with sacrificing bulk single-crystal Cu during graphene transfer.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Protocol for sectioning human dentine: expanded from Methods 1 and 2

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Community treatment orders for patients with psychosis (OCTET): a randomised controlled trial

The trial is funded by a Programme Grant for Applied Research from the National Institute of Health Research (RP-PG-0606–1006

Have Anglo-Catholics lost their vision for mission agencies? : an empirical enquiry among newly ordained clergy in Britain

Attitude toward Christian mission agencies was investigated in a sample of 827 Anglican clergy ordained in the UK from 2002 to 2006. The Scale of Attitude Toward Mission Agencies (SATMA) consisted of six items related to the work that agencies do, and whether clergy wished to engage with this work. It had a high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80). After controlling for theological liberalism or conservatism, attitudes were most positive among evangelicals and least positive among Anglo-Catholics. Both liberal and conservative Anglo-Catholic clergy showed less positive attitudes toward mission agencies than did other clergy

Characterization of meta-Cresol Purple for spectrophotometric pH measurements in saline and hypersaline media at sub-zero temperatures

Accurate pH measurements in polar waters and sea ice brines require pH indicator dyes characterized at near-zero and below-zero temperatures and high salinities. We present experimentally determined physical and chemical characteristics of purified meta-Cresol Purple (mCP) pH indicator dye suitable for pH measurements in seawater and conservative seawater-derived brines at salinities (S) between 35 and 100 and temperatures (T) between their freezing point and 298.15 K (25 °C). Within this temperature and salinity range, using purified mCP and a novel thermostated spectrophotometric device, the pH on the total scale (pHT) can be calculated from direct measurements of the absorbance ratio R of the dye in natural samples as pHT=−log(kT2e2)+log(R−e11−Re3e2) Based on the mCP characterization in these extended conditions, the temperature and salinity dependence of the molar absorptivity ratios and − log(kT2e2) of purified mCP is described by the following functions: e1 = −0.004363 + 3.598 × 10−5T, e3/e2 = −0.016224 + 2.42851 × 10−4T + 5.05663 × 10−5(S − 35), and − log(kT2e2) = −319.8369 + 0.688159 S −0.00018374 S2 + (10508.724 − 32.9599 S + 0.059082S2) T−1 + (55.54253 − 0.101639 S) ln T −0.08112151T. This work takes the characterisation of mCP beyond the currently available ranges of 278.15 K ≤ T ≤ 308.15 K and 20 ≤ S ≤ 40 in natural seawater, thereby allowing high quality pHT measurements in polar systems

Novel use of field-portable-XRF for the direct analysis of trace elements in marine macroalgae.

Samples of dried marine macroalgae (Fucus serratus, Palmaria palmata and Ulva lactuca) have been analysed for trace elements by a novel, non-destructive approach involving a Niton field-portable-X-ray fluorescence (FP-XRF) spectrometer configured in a low density plastics mode with thickness correction. Detection limits for a 200-s counting time ranged from <5 μg g(-1) for As and Pb in F. serratus and As in P. palmata to several tens of μg g(-1) for Cd, Sb and Sn in all species tested. Arsenic, Cu, Pb and Zn were detected by the XRF in samples collected from a protected beach (n = 18) and in samples therefrom that had been exposed to additional aqueous elements in combination (n = 72) with concentrations returned (in μg g(-1)) ranging from 3.9 to 39.7 for As, 13.0 to 307 for Cu, 6.1 to 14.7 for Pb and 12.5 to 522 for Zn. Independent measurements of trace elements in the macroalgae by ICP-MS following nitric acid digestion revealed a direct and significant proportionality with concentrations returned by the XRF, with slopes of the XRF-ICP relationships (As = 1.0; Cu = 2.3; Pb = 2.4; Zn = 1.7) that can be used to calibrate the instrument for direct measurements. The approach shows potential for the in situ monitoring of macroalgae in coastal regions that is currently being investigated

Are Proto-Planetary Nebulae Shaped by a Binary? Results of a Long-Term Radial Velocity Study

The shaping of the nebula is currently one of the outstanding unsolved problems in planetary nebula (PN) research. Several mechanisms have been proposed, most of which require a binary companion. However, direct evidence for a binary companion is lacking in most PNs. We have addressed this problem by obtaining precise radial velocities of seven bright proto-planetary nebulae (PPNs), objects in transition from the asymptotic giant branch to the PN phases of stellar evolution. These have F-G spectral types and have the advantage over PNs of having more and sharper spectral lines, leading to better precision. Our observations were made in two observing intervals, 1991-1995 and 2007-2010, and we have included in our analysis some additional published and unpublished data. Only one of the PPNs, IRAS 22272+5435, shows a long-term variation that might tentatively be attributed to a binary companion, with P $>$ 22 years, and from this, limiting binary parameters are calculated. Selection effects are also discussed. These results set significant restrictions on the range of possible physical and orbital properties of any binary companions: they have periods greater than 25 years or masses of brown dwarfs or super-Jupiters. While not ruling out the binary hypothesis, it seems fair to say that these results do not support it.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to appear Astrophys J, 734 (2011 June 10

A statistical gap-filling method to interpolate global monthly surface ocean carbon dioxide data

We have developed a statistical gap-filling method adapted to the specific coverage and prop-erties of observed fugacity of surface ocean CO2(fCO2). We have used this method to interpolate the Sur-face Ocean CO2Atlas (SOCAT) v2 database on a 2.5832.58 global grid (south of 708N) for 1985–2011 atmonthly resolution. The method combines a spatial interpolation based on a ‘‘radius of influence’’ to deter-mine nearby similar fCO2values with temporal harmonic and cubic spline curve-fitting, and also fits long-term trends and seasonal cycles. Interannual variability is established using deviations of observations fromthe fitted trends and seasonal cycles. An uncertainty is computed for all interpolated values based on thespatial and temporal range of the interpolation. Tests of the method using model data show that it performsas well as or better than previous regional interpolation methods, but in addition it provides a near-globaland interannual coverage

Creativity and commerce: Michael Klinger and new film history

The crisis in film studies and history concerning their legitimacy and objectives has provoked a reinvigoration of scholarly energy in historical enquiry. 'New film history' attempts to address the concerns of historians and film scholars by working self-reflexively with an expanded range of sources and a wider conception of 'film' as a dynamic set of processes rather than a series of texts. The practice of new film history is here exemplified through a detailed case study of the independent British producer Michael Klinger (active 1961-87) with a specific focus on his unsuccessful attempt to produce a war film, Green Beach, based on a memoir of the Dieppe raid (August 1942). This case study demonstrates the importance of analysing the producer's role in understanding the complexities of film-making, the continual struggle to balance the competing demands of creativity and commerce. In addition, its subject matter - an undercover raid and a Jewish hero - disturbed the dominant myths concerning the Second World War, creating what turned out to be intractable ideological as well as financial problems. The paper concludes that the concerns of film historians need to engage with broader cultural and social histories. © 2010 Taylor & Francis