Enamel amino acid racemisation dating and its application to building Proboscidean geochronologies

Analysis of the predictable breakdown of proteins and amino acids in ancient biominerals enables age estimation over the Quaternary, but to date, its application to mammalian remains has been challenging. It has been postulated that enamel is a suitable biomineral for the long-term survival of endogenous amino acids and thus, it can be used for age estimation. Directly dating mammalian remains is integral to understanding mammalian evolution and for understanding palaeoecology and palaeoclimatology. Analysis of multiple amino acids for geochronological studies is typically achieved using a RP-HPLC method. However, the low concentrations of amino acids coupled with high concentrations of inorganic species makes accurate determination of amino concentrations challenging. The initial focus of this thesis covers the development of a novel method for the separation of amino acids from inorganic species. This was initially attempted via a HILIC SPE, but was later superseded by a biphasic separation method, which was shown to greatly improve the RP-HPLC analysis of amino acids in enamel. Bleaching experiments have shown that the amino acids isolated from enamel through prolonged exposure to a strong oxidant, exhibit effectively closed system behaviour, signifying a potentially stable environment over geological time-scales. Elevated temperature experiments investigating the processes of intra-crystalline protein degradation do not appear to match the fossil patterns, reinforcing the need for a comprehensive understanding of the underlying mechanisms of protein degradation. The methods developed in this thesis have been used to build an enamel amino acid racemisation geochronology based on Proboscidean teeth from UK sites with independent evidence of age. This model has shown good adherence to the UK stratigraphical framework, signifying enamel is a suitable biomineral for AAR age estimation. Finally, enamel AAR has been used in a pilot study to begin to build a chronology for elephants from the isle of Sicily. This framework has been constructed to aid in understanding the process behind island dwarfing of insular elephant species on Sicily

The Evolution of Early-type Field Galaxies Selected from a NICMOS Map of the Hubble Deep Field North

The redshift distribution of well-defined samples of distant early-type galaxies offers a means to test the predictions of monolithic and hierarchical galaxy formation scenarios. NICMOS maps of the entire Hubble Deep Field North in the F110W and F160W filters, when combined with the available WFPC2 data, allow us to calculate photometric redshifts and determine the morphological appearance of galaxies at rest-frame optical wavelengths out to z ~ 2.5. Here we report results for two subsamples of early-type galaxies, defined primarily by their morphologies in the F160W band, which were selected from the NICMOS data down to H160_{AB} < 24.0. The observed redshift distributions of our two early-type samples do not match that predicted by a monolithic collapse model, which shows an overabundance at z > 1.5. A hierarchical formation model better matches the redshift distribution of the HDF-N early-types at z > 1.5, but still does not adequately describe the observed early-types. The hierarchical model predicts significantly bluer colors on average than the observed early-type colors, and underpredicts the observed number of early-types at z < 1. [abridged]Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal; 54 pages, 21 figures. Figures 10 and 11 are included separately in JPEG forma

Galaxy Nurseries: Crowdsourced analysis of slitless spectroscopic data

We present the results of Galaxy Nurseries project, which was designed to enable crowdsourced analysis of slitless spectroscopic data by volunteer citizen scientists using the Zooniverse online interface. The dataset was obtained by the WFC3 Infrared Spectroscopic Parallel (WISP) Survey collaboration and comprises NIR grism (G102 and G141) and direct imaging. Volunteers were instructed to evaluate indicated spectral features and decide whether it was a genuine emission line or more likely an artifact. Galaxy Nurseries was completed in only 40 days, gathering 414,360 classifications from 3003 volunteers for 27,333 putative emission lines. The results of Galaxy Nurseries demonstrate the feasibility of identifying genuine emission lines in slitless spectra by citizen scientists. Volunteer responses for each subject were aggregated to compute $f_{\mathrm{Real}}$, the fraction of volunteers who classified the corresponding emission line as "Real". To evaluate the accuracy of volunteer classifications, their aggregated responses were compared with independent assessments provided by members of the WISP Survey Science Team (WSST). Overall, there is a broad agreement between the WSST and volunteers' classifications, although we recognize that robust scientific analyses typically require samples with higher purity and completeness than raw volunteer classifications provide. Nonetheless, choosing optimal threshold values for $f_{\mathrm{Real}}$ allows a large fraction of spurious lines to be vetoed, substantially reducing the timescale for subsequent professional analysis of the remaining potential lines.Comment: Accepted for publication in Research Notes of the AA

Research on understanding localised policy interventions in business support and skills

ICF GHK was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in April 2013 to provide robust evidence and analysis relating to four early case study examples of localised business and skills support policy interventions: Greater Manchester Business Growth Hub; Plymouth Growth Acceleration and Investment Network (GAIN); The New Anglia Business Information Portal; and, West of England LEP Employability Charter Mark. This document is the final report and includes the key findings and synthesis of the research, outlining the implications for future policy intervention, in particular the national policy statement on business support to be published in autumn 2013, and identifying a number of recommendations and areas for consideration moving forward. The overall objective of the study is to gather and present early evidence on the effective implementation and delivery of these four early examples of localised policy interventions that support and/or complement national provision. In particular the research aims to identify: How the policy intervention was designed and implemented (e.g. strategic and operational context, delivery and funding model); how the local intervention is different from national delivery, understanding the rationale for local differentiation; the key enablers, drivers and conditions to achieving outcomes and impact; barriers faced and how they were overcome; and, identify lessons learned in order to inform wider policy development, including opportunities for replication in other areas of the country

Dating the Paleolithic:Trapped charge methods and amino acid geochronology

Despite the vast array of different geochronological tools available, dating the Paleolithic remains one of the discipline's greatest challenges. This review focuses on two different dating approaches: trapped charge and amino acid geochronology. While differing in their fundamental principles, both exploit time-dependent changes in signals found within crystals to generate a chronology for the material dated and hence, the associated deposits. Within each method, there is a diverse range of signals that can be analyzed, each covering different time ranges, applicable to different materials and suitable for different paleoenvironmental and archaeological contexts. This multiplicity of signals can at first sight appear confusing, but it is a fundamental strength of the techniques, allowing internal checks for consistency and providing more information than simply a chronology. For each technique, we present an overview of the basis for the time-dependent signals and the types of material that can be analyzed, with examples of their archaeological application, as well as their future potential

Computer vision for kinetic analysis of lab- and process-scale mixing phenomena

A software platform for the computer vision-enabled analysis of mixing phenomena of relevance to process scale-up is described. By bringing new and known time-resolved mixing metrics under one platform, hitherto unavailable comparisons of pixel-derived mixing metrics are exemplified across non-chemical and chemical processes. The analytical methods described are applicable using any camera and across an appreciable range of reactor scales, from development through to process scale-up. A case study in nucleophilic aromatic substitution run on 5L-scale shows how camera and offline concentration measurements can be correlated. In some cases, it can be shown that camera data holds the power to predict reaction progress

Molecular Gas in the z=1.2 Ultraluminous Merger GOODS J123634.53+621241.3

We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission from the z=1.2 ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) GOODS J123634.53+621241.3 (also known as the sub-millimeter galaxy GN26). These observations represent the first discovery of high-redshift CO emission using the new Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). Of all high-redshift (z>1) galaxies within the GOODS-North field, this source has the largest far-infrared (FIR) flux observed in the Spitzer 70um and 160um bands. The CO redshift confirms the optical identification of the source, and the bright CO(2-1) line suggests the presence of a large molecular gas reservoir of about 7x10^10 M(sun). The infrared-to-CO luminosity ratio of L(IR)/L'(CO) = 80+/-30 L(sun) (K Km/s pc^2)^-1 is slightly smaller than the average ratio found in local ULIRGs and high-redshift sub-millimeter galaxies. The short star-formation time scale of about 70 Myr is consistent with a starburst associated with the merger event and is much shorter than the time scales for spiral galaxies and estimates made for high-redshift galaxies selected on the basis of their B-z and z-K colors.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter