Keramikken og ovnen fra Hellum samt en beskrivelse af brændingsforløbet

The pottery and kiln from Hellum and a discription of the firing By Annette B. Bibby & Inge Sell Duplicating the Hellum kiln consists of reconstructing both the kiln itself and the pottery vessels to be fired in it. The original vessels are all spherical pots of different sizes, produced without a fast wheel and unglazed. The reconstructed pots are therefore built in the lap, and when the clay is sufficiently stable the outer surface is clapped with a clapping bat. After finishing the rim by bending it out over the righthand thumb, the pots are left to dry completely before being fired in the kiln. The kiln consists of an underground firing chamber with a narrow stoking channel and a firing chamber above ground. To build the floor of the firing chamber a large stone was placed in the middle of the firing chamber, with thick clay bars spreading out to the outer walls. For the reconstruction of the kiln the building site is dug and the floor and outer walls of the firing chamber are moulded in clay. The large stone is placed in the middle and covered with clay. Then the difficult task of building the floor of the firing chamber begins. Thick bars of clay are arched between the stone and the outer walls. The finished floor looks like a wheel with thick spokes. Finally the walls of the firing chamber are moulded, narrowing upward and leaving an outlet for smoke. Stacking produces a problem, because some of the pots have to hang, firmly wedged by those standing on the bars, over the holes down to the firing chamber. Taking great care in placing the pots solves this problem, and the rest of the stacking is easily done. The firing starts very slowly with a small fire in the stoking channel. After two hours with moderate feeding, the fire is allowed to burn more freely and wood fuel and embers are pushed into the fire chamber. A problem with steam in the outlet smoke from very wet fuel forces us to keep the outlet open for longer than planned, but after five hours’ firing it is narrowed to ten by ten centimetres. After a further five hours’ of firing the temperature reaches 820 degrees Celsius, and a glance down into the kiln shows the pots glowing a translucent red. Thereafter the kiln is closed

In vitro activity of the novel indoloquinone EO-9 and the influence of pH on cytotoxicity.

The novel indoloquinone compound EO-9 is shortly to undergo phase I clinical evaluation as a potential bioreductive drug. Preclinical studies have shown that EO-9 has greater activity against cells derived from human solid tumours than leukaemias in vitro. The results of this study extend the preclinical data available on EO-9 by demonstrating that EO-9 induces a broad spectrum of activity (IC50 values range from 8 to 590 ng ml-1) against a panel of human and murine tumour cell lines. Some evidence exists of selectivity towards leukaemia and human colon cell lines as opposed to murine colon cells. The response of cells to Mitomycin C were not comparable to EO-9 suggesting that the mechanism of action of these compounds is different. The cytotoxic properties of EO-9 under aerobic conditions are significantly influenced by extracellular pH. Reduction of pH from 7.4 to 5.8 increases cell kill from 40% to 95% in DLD-1 cells. In addition, EO-9 is unstable at acidic pH (T1/2 = 37 min at pH 5.5) compared to neutral pH T1/2 = 6.3 h). The major breakdown product in vitro was identified as EO-5A which proved relatively inactive compared to EO-9 (IC50 = 50 and 0.6 ug ml-1 respectively). These studies suggest that if EO-9 can be delivered to regions of low pH within solid tumours, a therapeutic advantage may be obtained

The molecular basis of phosphite and hypophosphite recognition by ABC-transporters

Inorganic phosphate is the major bioavailable form of the essential nutrient phosphorus. However, the concentration of phosphate in most natural habitats is low enough to limit microbial growth. Under phosphate-depleted conditions some bacteria utilise phosphite and hypophosphite as alternative sources of phosphorus, but the molecular basis of reduced phosphorus acquisition from the environment is not fully understood. Here, we present crystal structures and ligand binding affinities of periplasmic binding proteins from bacterial phosphite and hypophosphite ATP-binding cassette transporters. We reveal that phosphite and hypophosphite specificity results from a combination of steric selection and the presence of a P-H…π interaction between the ligand and a conserved aromatic residue in the ligand-binding pocket. The characterisation of high affinity and specific transporters has implications for the marine phosphorus redox cycle, and might aid the use of phosphite as an alternative phosphorus source in biotechnological, industrial and agricultural applications

Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms

Plants lacking the main light-harvesting complex retain photosystem II macro-organization

Photosystem II (PSII) is a key component of photosynthesis, the process of converting sunlight into the chemical energy of life. In plant cells, it forms a unique oligomeric macrostructure in membranes of the chloroplasts. Several light-harvesting antenna complexes are organized precisely in the PSII macrostructure—the major trimeric complexes (LHCII) that bind 70% of PSII chlorophyll and three minor monomeric complexes—which together form PSII supercomplexes. The antenna complexes are essential for collecting sunlight and regulating photosynthesis, but the relationship between these functions and their molecular architecture is unresolved. Here we report that antisense Arabidopsis plants lacking the proteins that form LHCII trimers have PSII supercomplexes with almost identical abundance and structure to those found in wild-type plants. The place of LHCII is taken by a normally minor and monomeric complex, CP26, which is synthesized in large amounts and organized into trimers. Trimerization is clearly not a specific attribute of LHCII. Our results highlight the importance of the PSII macrostructure: in the absence of one of its main components, another protein is recruited to allow it to assemble and function

Temperament Systems Influence Emotion Induction but not Makam Recognition Performance in Turkish Makam Music

We tested how induced emotions and Turkish makam recognition are influenced by participation in an ear training classes, and if either is influenced by the temperament system employed. The ear training class was attended by 19 music students and was based on the Hicaz makam presented as a between-subjects factor in either unfamiliar Turkish Original Temperament (OT, pitches unequally divided into 24 intervals) or familiar Western Equal Temperament (ET, pitches equally divided into 12 intervals). Before the and after the class, participants listened to 20 music excerpts from five different Turkish makams (in both OT and ET versions). Emotion-induction was assessed via GEMS-25, and participants were also asked to identify the makam that was present in the excerpt. The unfamiliar original temperament was experienced as less vital and more uneasy before the ear training class, and recognition of the Hicaz makam increased after ear training classes (independent of the temperament system employed). Results suggest that unfamiliar temperament systems are experienced as less vital and more uneasy. Furthermore, being exposed to this temperament system for just one hour does not seem to be enough to change participants’ mental representations of it or their emotional responses to it

Mathematical stories: Why do more boys than girls choose to study mathematics at AS-level in England?

Copyright @ 2005 Taylor & FrancisIn this paper I address the question: How is it that people come to choose mathematics and in what ways is this process gendered? I draw on the findings of a qualitative research study involving interviews with 43 young people all studying mathematics in post-compulsory education in England. Working within a post-structuralist framework, I argue that gender is a project and one that is achieved in interaction with others. Through a detailed reading of Toni and Claudia’s stories I explore the tensions for young women who are engaging in mathematics, something that is discursively inscribed as masculine, while (understandably) being invested in producing themselves as female. I conclude by arguing that seeing ‘doing mathematics’ as ‘doing masculinity’ is a productive way of understanding why mathematics is so male dominated and by looking at the implications of this understanding for gender and mathematics reform work.This work is funded by the ESR