Dark materials: Pre-Columbian black lithic carvings from St Vincent and the wider Caribbean

A small number of pre-Columbian black lithic carvings have been found at archaeological sites across the Caribbean, as well as in parts of neighbouring mainland South America. The identity of the material used to create these artefacts is often unknown, but suggestions include lignite, wood, petrified wood, manja(c)k, jet (or ‘jet-like’ materials) and hardened asphalt. These identifications are often historical and lacking any scientific basis, and as such can be unreliable. However, identification of the material has the potential to inform on the source of the carving and thereby pre-Columbian trade routes within the circum-Caribbean region. Four analytical techniques (reflectance microscopy, FTIR, Py-GC/MS, x-ray fluorescence) were applied to samples taken from two carvings found on St Vincent and five comparative materials. Both artefacts were found to be most likely carved from cannel coal, indicating that they originated in South America (where cannel coal is found extensively in locations in Colombia and Venezuela), as the material is not found within the Caribbean region

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Fracture of the dimorphic fruits of Aethionema arabicum (Brassicaceae)

Fruits exhibit highly diversified morphology, and are arguably one of the most highly specialised organs to have evolved in higher plants. Fruits range in morphological, biomechanical, and textural properties, often as adaptations for their respective dispersal strategy. While most plant species possess monomorphic (of a single type) fruit and seeds, here we focus on Aethionema arabicum (L.) Andrz. ex DC. (Brassicaceae). Its production of two distinct fruit (dehiscent and indehiscent) and seed types on the same individual plant provides a unique model system with which to study structural and functional aspects of dimorphism. Using comparative analyses of fruit fracture biomechanics, fracture surface morphology, and internal fruit anatomy, we reveal that the dimorphic fruits of A. arabicum exhibit clear material, morpho-anatomical, and adaptive properties underlying their fracture behaviour. A separation layer along the valve–replum boundary is present in dehiscent fruit, whereas indehiscent fruit have numerous fibres with spiral thickening, linking their winged valves at the adaxial surface. Our study evaluates the biomechanics underlying fruit-opening mechanisms in a heteromorphic plant species. Elucidating dimorphic traits aids our understanding of adaptive biomechanical morphologies that function as a bet-hedging strategy in the context of seed and fruit dispersal within spatially and temporally stochastic environments.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author

Terrestrial methane cycle perturbations during the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Terrestrial methane (CH4) emissions couldhave increased during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal 25Maximum (~56millionyears ago; Ma)and promoted additional warming, especially in the high latitudes. Although there is evidence for increased CH4 cyclingin a single Northern Hemisphere site,whether enhanced methane cycling was globally widespread is unknownas there have been no subsequent investigations. The mechanism of CH4 release is alsounknownbecausea direct comparison between temperature and CH4 cyclinghas so far not been possible. Here we use biomarkers to reconstructtemperature change and CH4 cycling in a new PETM-aged succession in New Zealand. Our results indicatethat the stable carbon isotopic composition(δ13C)of bacterial hopanoids decreasedto very low values (-60‰)during the onset of the PETM, indicating enhanced consumption ofCH4.Thesevaluesare much lower than found in modern wetlandsand sggest a major perturbation of the CH4 cycleduring the onset of the PETM.Lowhopanoid δ13C values do not persist into the early Eocene, despite evidence for elevated temperatures. This indicatesthat the terrestrial CH4 cycle operates differently during transient compared to gradual 37warmingevents.EnhancedCH4cycling during the PETM may help to resolve the temperature data-model mismatch in the high-latitudesand could yieldhigher estimates of Earth systemsensitivity than expected from CO2alone

Predictors of immune response and reactogenicity to AS03B-adjuvanted split virion and non-adjuvanted whole virion H1N1 (2009) pandemic influenza vaccines

In 2009, 943 children aged 6 months to 10 years were randomised to receive two doses of an oil-in water AS03B-adjuvanted split virion or a non-adjuvanted whole virion H1N1 (2009) vaccine. The large numbers allowed investigation of possible predictors of immune response and reactogenicity. We used regression analysis to examine the effect of variables including past receipt of seasonal vaccine, antipyretics post-vaccination, interval between doses and pre-existing antibodies to H1N1 (2009) on immunogenicity. We also examined the relationship between immunogenicity and reactogenicity and whether prior infection or underlying conditions affected reactogenicity. For both vaccines, haemagglutination-inhibition titres were 60% higher in children with fever ≥38. °C after vaccination and 29% lower in those previously given seasonal vaccine. Early use of antipyretics did not affect immunogenicity. Post-vaccination titres were higher with longer intervals between doses and in those with evidence of prior infection, but reactogenicity in the latter was unaffected. In the adjuvanted vaccine group, reactions were more common in children with atopy. Both vaccines were safe and immunogenic in those with prior infection. Reduction in the interval between doses for earlier protection would be at the cost of reduced immunogenicity. The effect of seasonal vaccine on immunogenicity merits further investigation. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd

Understanding Gender: Some Implications for Science and Technology

Gender relations and gendered power relations are major defining features of science and technology. This article addresses the question of how to understand gender, and considers their various implications for science and technology. Gender and gender relations can be understood as operating and as relevant to science and technology at several levels: who does science and technology; how science and technology are organized; and the con- struction of knowledge in science and technology. We review five underlying formulations that inform both policy interventions and theorizing around gender and science — gender based on sex; masculinity/femininity and sex roles; categoricalism, structure and plural structures; poststructuralist, discursive and deconstructive approaches; the material-discursive