Settlement, economy and lifestyle: the changing social identities of the coastal settlements of West Norfolk, 450-1100 AD.

The thesis explores social transformations in the settlement and economy of Anglo-Saxon England, between c.450 and 1100 AD, by using detailed case studies of rural settlement remains within a sub-region, coastal West Norfolk, to construct a systematic narrative of their development. The archaeological evidence for analysis is mainly composed of portable cultural material from rural settlements, combined with surveyed and excavated evidence of their morphology. Multiple and superimposed forms of evidence such as geophysical survey and fieldwalking survey are employed to analyse the diversity of rural settlements and the material expressions of social and economic change in this period and to challenge existing models. The key findings of this thesis are that surface-find sites discovered by metal detectorists, upon detailed investigation, show themselves to be complex rural settlements engaged in trade and exchange. Importantly, these sites also have the capacity to change over time. The findings of this thesis enables a re-characterisation of early medieval rural social identities as complex, dynamic and ever changing. It is argued that the employment of integrated survey methodologies in other sub-regions of Europe might achieve similar results

Settlement, economy and lifestyle: the changing social identities of the coastal settlements of West Norfolk, 450-1100 AD.

The thesis explores social transformations in the settlement and economy of Anglo-Saxon England, between c.450 and 1100 AD, by using detailed case studies of rural settlement remains within a sub-region, coastal West Norfolk, to construct a systematic narrative of their development. The archaeological evidence for analysis is mainly composed of portable cultural material from rural settlements, combined with surveyed and excavated evidence of their morphology. Multiple and superimposed forms of evidence such as geophysical survey and fieldwalking survey are employed to analyse the diversity of rural settlements and the material expressions of social and economic change in this period and to challenge existing models. The key findings of this thesis are that surface-find sites discovered by metal detectorists, upon detailed investigation, show themselves to be complex rural settlements engaged in trade and exchange. Importantly, these sites also have the capacity to change over time. The findings of this thesis enables a re-characterisation of early medieval rural social identities as complex, dynamic and ever changing. It is argued that the employment of integrated survey methodologies in other sub-regions of Europe might achieve similar results

Detection of elliptical shapes via cross-entropy clustering

The problem of finding elliptical shapes in an image will be considered. We discuss the solution which uses cross-entropy clustering. The proposed method allows the search for ellipses with predefined sizes and position in the space. Moreover, it works well for search of ellipsoids in higher dimensions

The Crystal Structure of Human Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase, Tdp1

AbstractTyrosyl-DNA phosphodiesterase (Tdp1) catalyzes the hydrolysis of a phosphodiester bond between a tyrosine residue and a DNA 3′ phosphate. The enzyme appears to be responsible for repairing the unique protein-DNA linkage that occurs when eukaryotic topoisomerase I becomes stalled on the DNA in the cell. The 1.69 Å crystal structure reveals that human Tdp1 is a monomer composed of two similar domains that are related by a pseudo-2-fold axis of symmetry. Each domain contributes conserved histidine, lysine, and asparagine residues to form a single active site. The structure of Tdp1 confirms that the protein has many similarities to the members of the phospholipase D (PLD) superfamily and indicates a similar catalytic mechanism. The structure also suggests how the unusual protein-DNA substrate binds and provides insights about the nature of the substrate in vivo

Towards a novel carbon device for the treatment of sepsis

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to infection in which the balance of pro- andanti-inflammatory mediators, which normally isolate and eliminate infection, is disrupted[1]. Gram negative sepsis is initiated by bacterial endotoxin release which activatesmacrophages and circulating monocytes to release TNF and IL-1β followed by IL-6 andother inflammatory cytokines [2]. As the disease progresses, an unregulatedinflammatory response results in, tissue injury, haematological dysfunction and organdysfunction. Severe sepsis, involving organ hypoperfusion may be further complicatedby hypotension that is unresponsive to adequate fluid replacement, resulting in septicshock and finally death [3].Despite improvements in anti-microbial and supportive therapies, sepsis remains asignificant cause of morbidity and mortality in ICUs worldwide [4]. The complexity ofprocesses mediating the progression of sepsis suggests that an extracorporeal devicecombining blood filtration with adsorption of a wide range of toxins, and inflammatorymediators offers the most comprehensive treatment strategy. However, no such deviceexists at present. A novel, uncoated, polymer pyrolysed synthetic carbon device isproposed which combines the superior adsorption properties of uncoated activatedcarbons with the capacity to manipulate porous structure for controlled adsorption oftarget plasma proteins and polypeptides [5]. Preliminary haemocompatibility andadsorptive capacity was assessed using a carbon matrix prototype

The structure of Phocaeicola vulgatus sialic acid acetylesterase

Sialic acids terminate many N- and O-glycans and are widely distributed on cell surfaces. There are a diverse range of enzymes which interact with these sugars throughout the tree of life. They can act as receptors for influenza and specific betacoronaviruses in viral binding and their cleavage is important in virion release. Sialic acids are also exploited by both commensal and pathogenic bacteria for nutrient acquisition. A common modification of sialic acid is 9-O-acetylation, which can limit the action of sialidases. Some bacteria, including human endosymbionts, employ esterases to overcome this modification. However, few bacterial sialic acid 9-O-acetylesterases (9-O-SAEs) have been structurally characterized. Here, the crystal structure of a 9-O-SAE from Phocaeicola vulgatus (PvSAE) is reported. The structure of PvSAE was determined to resolutions of 1.44 and 2.06 Å using crystals from two different crystallization conditions. Structural characterization revealed PvSAE to be a dimer with an SGNH fold, named after the conserved sequence motif of this family, and a Ser-His-Asp catalytic triad. These structures also reveal flexibility in the most N-terminal α-helix, which provides a barrier to active-site accessibility. Biochemical assays also show that PvSAE deacetylates both mucin and the acetylated chromophore para-nitrophenyl acetate. This structural and biochemical characterization of PvSAE furthers the understanding of 9-O-SAEs and may aid in the discovery of small molecules targeting this class of enzyme.Bio-organic Synthesi

A study of debinding behaviour and microstructural development of sintered Al-Cu-Sn alloy

A new approach is explored to achieve sintered aluminium alloy from metallic powder mixtures without compression or adding Mg. In this approach, mixtures of micron-sized aluminium powder (average size of 2.5 μm) and nano-sized alloying elemental powder of Cu and Sn (less than of 70nm), at appropriate proportions to compositions of Al-6wt%Cu, Al-6wt%Cu-3wt%Sn with and without adhesive binder were prepared by magnetic stirring. Then, the powder mixture was poured into a crucible and heat treated at a temperature of 600°C for 11 hours in inert atmosphere of N2 or Ar. In this paper, we investigate the debinding behavior of loosely packed Al-based powder mixture and the microstructural development and mechanical property sintered parts using a combination of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractrometry (XRD) and hardness test

Making alumina microcomponents from Al powder

Alumina microcomponents have distinguishing advantages over Si counterparts. However, the shrinkage of alumina, as high as 20%, makes it difficult to produce precision components that require a high tolerance. A new fabrication process is presented to greatly reduce the shrinkage. The process consists of forming an Al powdered component through sintering and transforming the Al powdered component into an alumina part. In this way, the shrinkage occurring in sintering the Al powder component will be compensated by the expansion occurred when Al transforms into alumina. The process involves producing micro-moulds, preparing metallic paste, filling the micro-moulds with the metallic paste, demoulding, sintering the green Al patterns and finally oxidising the sintered Al-based components to achieve alumina components. The process was proven successful. Characterization of the sintered alumina microcomponents has been undertaken, including SEM image analysis, density and scale measurements