Analysis of prehistoric brown earth paleosols under the podzol soils of Exmoor, UK

The deforestation of the upland landscapes in southwest Britain during prehistory is an established archaeological narrative, documenting human impacts on the environment and questioning the relationship of prehistoric societies to the upland landscapes they inhabited. Allied to the paleoenvironmental analyses of pollen sequences, which have provided the evidence of this change, there has been some investigation of prehistoric paleosols fossilized under principally Bronze Age archaeological monuments. These analyses identified brown earth soils that were originally associated with temperate deciduous woodland, on occasion showing evidence of human impacts such as tilling. However, the number of analyses of these paleosols has been limited. This study presents the first analysis of a series of pre‐podzol brown earth paleosols on Exmoor, UK, two of which are associated with colluvial soil erosion sediments before the formation of peat. This study indicates these paleosols are spatially extensive and have considerable potential to inform a more nuanced understanding of prehistoric human impacts on the upland environments of the early‐mid Holocene and assess human agency in driving ecosystem change

Medium-term performance and maintenance of SUDS:a case-study of Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, UK

One of the main barriers to implementing SUDS is concern about performance and maintenance costs since there are few well-documented case-studies. This paper summarizes studies conducted between 2000 and 2008 of the performance and maintenance of four SUDS management trains constructed in 1999 at the Hopwood Park Motorway Service Area, central England. Assessments were made of the wildlife value and sedimentation in the SUDS ponds, the hydraulic performance of the coach park management train, water quality in all management trains, and soil/sediment composition in the grass filter strip, interceptor and ponds. Maintenance procedures and costs were also reviewed. Results demonstrate the benefits of a management train approach over individual SUDS units for flow attenuation, water treatment, spillage containment and maintenance. Peak flows, pond sediment depth and contaminant concentrations in sediment and water decreased through the coach park management train. Of the 2007 annual landscape budget of £15,000 for the whole site, the maintenance costs for SUDS only accounted for £2,500 compared to £4,000 for conventional drainage structures. Furthermore, since sediment has been attenuated in the management trains, the cost of sediment removal after the recommended period of three years was only £554 and, if the design is not compromised, less frequent removal will be required in future

Effectiveness of short-term heat acclimation on intermittent exercise in thermoneutral and hot environments

It is well-established that repetition of heat stress exposure has been shown to facilitate adaptations to the heat but these protocols have tended to be of a fixed work intensity, continuous exercise, long-term in duration (>7 days) and use hydration. Secondly, there is limited information on the potential use of heat acclimation as a training method for human performance in thermoneutral conditions. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of short-term heat acclimation (STHA) for 5 days, using the controlled hyperthermia technique with dehydration, on intermittent exercise in thermoneutral and hot environments

Calculation of the polarization fraction and electron-impact excitation cross sectionfor the Cd+ (5 p) 2 P3/2 state

We present relativistic convergent close-coupling and Breit-Pauli R-matrix calculations for the polarization of the light emitted after electron-impact excitation of the (5s)2S1/2→(5p)2P3/2 transition in Cd+. While we find consistency between the theoretical predictions, a discrepancy persists with the measurements of Goto et al. [Phys. Rev. A 27, 1844 (1983)]. Cascade contributions and hyperfine depolarization effects were calculated and found to have negligible effect on the polarization fraction. We also present angle-integrated cross sections for the (5p)2P3/2 state to compare with the measurements of Gomonai [Optc. Spect. 94, 488 (2003)]. Agreement between theory and experiment is far from perfect, especially at low energies, where they disagree both in the absolute values and the energy dependence of the cross sections

Effect of Vacuum on the Performance of the Flame Ionization Detector Used for Vacuum-Outlet Gas Chromatography

Vacuum-outlet operation of short fused-silica open tubular columns for gas chromatography provides benefits to analysis speed by increasing the optimum velocity while minimizing the loss in resolution. Vacuum-outlet operation of a column with a gas chromatographic detector necessitates that the detector also be under vacuum. Simple modifications were made to a gas chromatograph-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) for vacuum-inlet and vacuum-outlet operation. The vacuum-inlet system was operated in the splitless mode to allow for efficient sample loading prior to operation at reduced pressures. The goal of FID operation at 100 torr or less was achieved by using oxygen in place of air and optimizing the gas flows under vacuum to maintain a stable flame at pressures as low as 46 torr. An outlet pressure of 85 torr with optimized gas flows allowed for routine operation of the FID without solvent flame-out. It was discovered that the sensitivity is enhanced compared to atmospheric operation over a range of outlet pressures from approximately 200 to 400 torr; however, operation of the FID at the lowest possible pressures decreases the analytical sensitivity due to both the outlet pressure and the absence of helium makeup gas

THEY MUDDLED, JUMPED, AND SOMETIMES FLEW: WHEN PROFESSIONAL MEN IN THEIR THIRTIES MAKE A SELF-CHOSEN CAREER CHANGE

THEY MUDDLED, JUMPED, AND SOMETIMES FLEW: WHEN PROFESSIONAL MEN IN THEIR THIRTIES MAKE A SELF-CHOSEN CAREER CHANGEChristopher K. BrayThe research and literature on career and personal transitions have mainly focused on the mid-life career changer. Little research has been conducted with the man in his thirties who decides to make a career change when all seems to be going well. This qualitative Narrative Inquiry study was designed to understand the career transitions of men who make a self-chosen career change while in their thirties. It will seek to understand the fifteen participant's motive to change, process of transition and the lessons/reflections they experienced from the career transition.The study's sample consists of fifteen men who made a decision to change careers in their thirties. Data for the study was obtained through 1-2 hour interviews and also a follow-up interview. The theoretical perspectives for this study center on adult development, career development and personal transitions.The findings emanating from this study include: (1) all participants were compelled to change careers by some external or internal motivation. The specific motivation to change played a role in the success of the vocational transition; (2) the ability to reflect upon the motivations to change, and then apply the lessons learned throughout the transition process is a key aspect of the transition process; (3) choosing to transition careers is more than a career change, it becomes a significant life event; and (4) the importance of a strong support system throughout the transition process

Detecting and managing suspected admixture and genetic drift in domestic livestock: modern Dexter cattle - a case study.

This study combines a range of contemporary genetic analysis methods to analyse the Dexter cattle breed in conjunction with the development of a novel method of admixture determination. The Dexter was chosen for its heterogeneous genetic composition due to a complex population history. Comparison against other European cattle breeds showed the Dexter to be one of the most diverse breeds and clearly distinguishable from other breed populations. The levels of migrant individuals exchanged between the Dexter and other European breeds was seen to be in the middle of the range for all breeds, as was the conservation value of the Dexter as determined through the Weitzman genetic distance approach. The Dexter was shown to stand out from other European cattle breeds due to high levels of subdivision into different regions of the herd book. The hypothesis that the ancestry of subdivisions was entirely responsible for this genetic divergence could not be proven. The quantification of admixture proportions were made for two putative ancestral representative breeds, Red Devon and Kerry. It was found that a selection of carefully chosen Traditional Dexter individuals were more closely related to the Kerry breed. Admixture contributions for remaining breed populations were inconclusive with the exception of a small sample group representing the breed in America which demonstrated a higher Red Devon contribution. Genetic drift is heavily implicated in the results shown and it is notable that high levels of variance were associated with admixture contributions. An approximate Bayesian computation approach was designed and developed to better model the admixture scenario of interest. A method allowing for two admixture events was constructed in order to calculate parental contributions and compare them to simulated datasets according to a genetic model. Initial testing proved successful using a single admixture event. The addition of a second admixture event reduced the accuracy of the method. Testing scenarios of up to half a million simulations with nine loci were unable to successfully quantify either simulated or real admixture events here. Testing suggests that the effectiveness of the approach is thought to increase with numbers of simulated datasets used. Recommendations for the successful application of the method are made