Prospecting the physicochemical past. Three dimensional geochemical investigation into the use of space in Viking Age sites in southern Norway using portable XRF.

This research centres on the use of portable X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) as a tool for archaeological geochemistry. The instrument was used as part of varied contextual, vertical and horizontal sampling strategies on three Viking Age sites in southern Norway in order to investigate archaeological geochemistry as a method of better understanding spatial and temporal variation in occupation deposits. Archaeological deposits are often truncated, redeposited or otherwise disturbed, which limits the application of more established methods for geochemical sampling by means of a static, horizontal grid. Instead, flexible sampling strategies were developed that included coring as a prospection method combined with high-resolution GPR data. The combination of portable XRF and coring, both within excavation contexts and as prospection, allowed high resolution analysis directly onto the core. The minimal sample preparation allowed a greater data volume to be gathered, and the data provided a geochemical chronological sequence for the deposits. Thus, both spatial and temporal planes were accessible where the archaeological material was suitable. The validity of this method, as well as the use of portable XRF for geochemical analysis in archaeology, was assessed critically throughout this research. The results suggest that there is a loss of accuracy and resolution by using portable XRF on unprepared samples; here this is deemed offset by the benefits. The method of coring, and thus preserving the stratigraphy for sampling and analysis, allows not only the continuity and change within the archaeological deposits to be assessed, but also details soil processes to a greater extent than established, extraction based methods such as ICP-MS. XRF analyses the whole sample, and whilst this can mute certain trends in the anthropological inputs, it means that interpretation can include the impact soil processes have had on these inputs by stratigraphic phase. Moreover, on sites where preservation is limited, deposits that would previously be disregarded for geochemistry can be used to form some understanding of past occupation from the little that remains. This approach is developed though the course of the three case studies, and the data statistically treated using principal component analysis, and interpreted from a geoarchaeological perspective. The research also attempts to embrace theoretical perspectives that enhance insight into past social and cultural practices. As archaeological geochemistry aims to understand space, it is also fundamental to understand the social meaning of space within the contexts investigated

Altered Calcium Homeostasis Does Not Explain the Contractile Deficit of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

OBJECTIVE—This study examines the extent to which the contractile deficit of diabetic cardiomyopathy is due to altered Ca2+ homeostasis

Question-answer sequences in survey interviews

Interaction analysis was used to analyze a total of 14,265 question-answer sequences of (Q-A Sequences) 80 questions that originated from two face-to-face and three telephone surveys. The analysis was directed towards the causes and effects of particular interactional problems. Our results showed that problematic respondent behavior is affected by the questionnaire design, whereas inadequate interviewer behavior is affected by respondent behavior, rather than directly by the questionnaire design. Two surveys used questions for which validating information was available. It appeared that the occurrence of such irregularities of interviewer and respondent behavior was related to the validity of the eventual responses. Explanations for the occurrence of problematic respondent behavior were proposed, concerning both cognitive and conversational factors, related to the wording of questions and response alternatives. © Springer 2006

What Makes a Mound? Earth-sourced materials in late iron age burial mounds

The interpretation of Late Iron Age burial mounds often focuses exclusively on the discovered contents, the social identity or role of the interred and the economic and political implications that can be extracted. This article considers the mound itself as a basis for archaeological interpretation, and attempts to place substantial late Iron Age burial mounds within the landscape they are made of. Within these burial mounds internal references to time, place and the transformations and imbued associations within the earth-sourced materials are purposeful and significant. This is illustrated via comparable examples from southern Norway, and to add contrast, cases from the Viking Age Isle of Man will be explored. This article will outline why the selected mounds should be seen as closely related to each other in the references they contain, and how the materials used can be seen as a purposeful link to the land itself

Poorer breeding by little penguins near Perth, Western Australia is correlated with above average sea surface temperatures and a stronger Leeuwin Current

Using 20 years of data (1986 to 2008), we examined relationships between oceanographic variables (Fremantle sea level (FSL) a proxy for the strength of the Leeuwin Current and sea surface temperature (SST)) and five measures of little penguin, Eudyptula minor, breeding performance near Perth, Western Australia: namely (1) the laying date, (2) the number of chicks produced per pair, (3) the proportion of eggs that hatched, (4) the overall breeding success, defined as the proportion of total eggs laid that resulted in successful fledglings and (5) chick mass at fledging. The next three years of data (2009 to 2011) were used to test the performance of our statistical predictive models. FSL provided more accurate predictions of timing of laying, whereas SST provided more accurate predictions of breeding success. A later end to laying was associated with a high FSL during the summer (December to February) before breeding. Higher SSTs in the pre-breeding period from April to May corresponded to reduced breeding success, with lower fledgling success, fewer chicks per pair and generally a lower mean mass of chicks at fledging. The models predict that future oceanographic warming is expected to reduce the breeding success of this colony of little penguins

The tree-crop interface: representation by coupling of forest and crop process-models.

Abstract in full: Three process-based approaches to agroforestry modelling are described. These are (a) coupling a continuous-canopy forest model (Hybrid) and tropical crop model (PARCH); (b) coupling an individual-tree model (MAESTRO) with a crop model (PARCH); and (c) incorporating a combined model of evaporation and radiation interception by neighbouring species (ERIN). The coupled Hybrid/PARCH was parameterised for maize and eucalyptus, and run in five contrasting weather-types, As expected, shade is the most important factor limiting yield in wet sites; water in dry sites. Year-to-year variability in crop yield is increased by light and water competition, MAESTRO/PARCH was run with similar assumptions, and gave comparable yield predictions, except at the driest site where it allows small areas distant from the tree sufficient water to produce a modest yield. Hybrid/PARCH predicted total crop failure in the same climate. Yields on drier sites were higher in the shade, but water competition was severe close to the tree. ERIN is simpler than the above models, but is unique in including the transfer of heat and water vapour between the two canopies. Transpiration from a moist understorey can humidify air in the overstorey, and reduce its transpiration; whilst a dry understorey will give off sensible heat, which increases the vapour pressure deficit in the overstorey and causes its transpiration to increase. Changes in overstorey transpiration due to fluxes from the understorey may approach 15-20%