Aboriginal artefacts on the continental shelf reveal ancient drowned cultural landscapes in northwest Australia

This article reports Australia’s first confirmed ancient underwater archaeological sites from the continental shelf, located off the Murujuga coastline in north-western Australia. Details on two underwater sites are reported: Cape Bruguieres, comprising > 260 recorded lithic artefacts at depths down to −2.4 m below sea level, and Flying Foam Passage where the find spot is associated with a submerged freshwater spring at −14 m. The sites were discovered through a purposeful research strategy designed to identify underwater targets, using an iterative process incorporating a variety of aerial and underwater remote sensing techniques and diver investigation within a predictive framework to map the submerged landscape within a depth range of 0–20 m. The condition and context of the lithic artefacts are analysed in order to unravel their depositional and taphonomic history and to corroborate their in situ position on a pre-inundation land surface, taking account of known geomorphological and climatic processes including cyclone activity that could have caused displacement and transportation from adjacent coasts. Geomorphological data and radiometric dates establish the chronological limits of the sites and demonstrate that they cannot be later than 7000 cal BP and 8500 cal BP respectively, based on the dates when they were finally submerged by sea-level rise. Comparison of underwater and onshore lithic assemblages shows differences that are consistent with this chronological interpretation. This article sets a foundation for the research strategies and technologies needed to identify archaeological targets at greater depth on the Australian continental shelf and elsewhere, building on the results presented. Emphasis is also placed on the need for legislation to better protect and manage underwater cultural heritage on the 2 million square kilometres of drowned landscapes that were once available for occupation in Australia, and where a major part of its human history must lie waiting to be discovered

A strategy for assessing continuity in terrestrial and maritime landscapes from Murujuga (Dampier Archipelago), North West Shelf, Australia

Over the last 20,000 years one-third of the continental land mass of Australia, or 2.12 million km2, has been drowned by postglacial sea-level rise. Much of this drowned territory is thought to have been occupied by humans and where archaeological remains have survived inundation, they can be investigated by underwater and airborne remote sensing, survey and ground-truthing. This study of the Dampier Archipelago of NW Australia is contextualised by a review of the current state of the art of underwater prehistory. In the absence of known sites, we propose terrestrial analogy as a predictive tool for targeting submerged archaeological sites. Geological and topographic contexts are important for assessing preservation potential as is identifying landforms and features around which people may have focused their occupation. Analysis of over 2,500 known archaeological sites from the extraordinarily rich Dampier Archipelago reveals that the vast majority are rock art sites but these are interspersed by a significant number of artefact scatters, myriad stone structures, shell middens and quarry and reduction areas. The majority of these sites are focused on coastal and interior valleys, associated uplands and coastal embayments. While over two-thirds of sites occur on granophyre and basalt substrates, the others are located on quaternary sediments. Regional research on nearby continental islands shows that use of these environments can be expected to pre-date sea level rise. The most likely submerged sites include (i) compacted middens associated with rock pools and estuarine features; (ii) stone structures with associated midden on limestone pavements or with granophyre and basalt boulder fields; (iii) buried midden and other occupation deposits on protected sand sheets; (iv) quarry outcrops, extraction pits and associated reduction debris in areas of fine-grained granophyre and basalt; and (v) midden in consolidated calcarenite shoreline contexts to the north and west of the volcanic suites of the Dampier Archipelago

Crop Updates 2002 - Lupins

This session covers twenty four papers from different authors: LUPIN INDUSTRY ISSUES AND RESEARCH DIRECTIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Amelia McLarty LUPIN CONVENOR DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VARIETIES 1. Evaluation of lupinus mutabilis in Western Australia, Bob French, Laurie Wahlsten and Martin Harries, Department of Agriculture 2. Adaption of restricted-branching lupins in short-growing season environments, Bob French, Laurie Wahlsten, Department of Agriculture ESTABLISHMENT 3. Moisture delving for better lupin establishment, Dr Paul Blackwell, Department of Agriculture 4. Lupins, tramlines, 600mm rows, rolling and shield spraying … a good result in a dry season! Paul Blackwell and Mike Collins, Department of Agriculture 5. Lupin wider row spacing data and observations, Bill CrabtreeA, Geoff FosberyB, Angie RoeB, Mike CollinsCand Matt BeckettA,AWANTFA, BFarm Focus Consultants and CDepartment of Agriculture NUTRITION 6. Lupin genotypes respond differently to potash, Bob French and Laurie Wahlsten, Department of Agriculture 7. Consequence of radish competition on lupin nutrients in a wheat-lupin rotation, Abul Hashem and Nerys Wilkins, Department of Agriculture 8. Consequence of ryegrass competition on lupin nutrients in a wheat-lupin rotation, Abul Hashem and Nerys Wilkins, Department of Agriculture PESTS AND DISEASES 9. Fungicide sprays for control of lupin anthracnose, Geoff Thomas and Ken Adcock, Department of Agriculture 10. Estimated yield losses in lupin varieties from sowing anthracnose infected seed, Geoff Thomas, Department of Agriculture 11. Effect of variety and environment (northern and southern wheatbelt) on yield losses in lupins due to anthracnose, Geoff Thomas and Ken Adcock, Department of Agriculture, 12. A decision support system for the control of aphids and CMV in lupin crops, Debbie Thackray, Jenny Hawkes and Roger Jones, Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture and Department of Agriculture 13. Integrated management strategies for virus diseases of lupin, Roger Jones, Crop Improvement Institute, Department of Agriculture, and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, University of WA 14. Quantifying yield losses caused by the non-necrotic strain of BYMV in lupin, Roger Jones and Brenda Coutts, Department of Agriculture, and Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture 15. Screening for pod resistance to phomopsis in various lupin species, Manisha Shankar1, Mark Sweetingham1&2and Bevan Buirchell2 1Co-operative Research Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 2 Department of Agriculture 16. Lupin disease diagnostics, Nichole Burges and Dominie Wright, Department of Agriculture QUALITY AND MARKET DEVELOPMENT 17. To GM or not to GM pulses – that is the question, Dr Susan J. Barker, The University of Western Australia 18. Towards a management package for grain protein in lupins, Bob French, Senior Research Officer, Department of Agriculture 19. Yield and seed protein response to foliar application of N among lupin genotypes, Jairo A Palta1&2, Bob French2&3and Neil C Turner1&2 , 1 CSIRO Plant Industry, Floreat Park, 2 CLIMA, University of Western Australia,3Department of Agriculture 20. Foliar nitrogen application to improve protein content in narrow-leafed lupin, Martin Harries, Bob French, Laurie Wahlsten, Department of Agriculture, Matt Evans, CSBP 21. Effect of time of swathing of lupins on grain protein content, Martin Harries, Department of Agriculture 22. Putting a value on protein premiums for the animal feed industries: Aquaculture, Brett Glencross and John Curnow, Department of Fisheries, Wayne Hawkins, Department of Agriculture 23. Progress in selecting for reduced seed hull and pod wall in lupin, Jon C. Clements, CLIMA, University of Western Australia 24. Contact details for principal author

Be prepared: communism and the politics of scouting in 1950s Britain

This article examines the exposure, and in some cases dismissal, of Boy Scouts who belonged or sympathised with the Young Communist League in Britain during the early 1950s. A focus on the rationale and repercussions of the organisation's approach and attitudes towards ‘Red Scouts’ found within their ‘ranks’ extends our understanding of youth movements and their often complex and conflicting ideological foundations. In particular, the post-World War Two period presented significant challenges to these spaces of youth work in terms of broader social and political change in Britain. An analysis of the politics of scouting in relation to Red Scouts questions not only the assertion that British McCarthyism was ‘silent’, but also brings young people firmly into focus as part of a more everyday politics of communism in British society

Introduction to special issue:New Times Revisited: Britain in the 1980s

The authors in this volume are collectively engaged with a historical puzzle: What happens if we examine the decade once we step out of the shadows cast by Thatcher? That is, does the decade of the 1980s as a significant and meaningful periodisation (equivalent to that of the 1960s) still work if Thatcher becomes but one part of the story rather than the story itself? The essays in this collection suggest that the 1980s only makes sense as a political period. They situate the 1980s within various longer term trajectories that show the events of the decade to be as much the consequence as the cause of bigger, long-term historical processes. This introduction contextualises the collection within the wider literature, before explaining the collective and individual contributions made

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Hepatic injury in metabolic syndrome : the role of selenium in models of hepatic injury and healing

Oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, and endotoxaemia with cytokine-mediated injury have been implicated as factors in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The degree of insulin resistance together with co-existing inadequacies of vital antioxidant defence mechanisms may be important determinants of progression to fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Current therapies are targeted at improving insulin sensitivity as well as addressing hepatic repair including anti-inflammatory strategies. Anti-oxidants remedies have also been tested but the role of selenoenzymes with antioxidant action, namely thioredoxin reductase 1 (TR1) and glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) have been ignored. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the role of selenium in the pathophysiology of NAFLD both in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro studies used cell lines representing the cell types involved in the disorder; hepatocytes (C3A line) and hepatic stellate cells (LX-2 line). In order to assess the influence of selenium status and selenoenzymes expression on the pathogenesis of NAFLD it was necessary to develop a culture system which allowed good cell viability in selenium free culture medium. This was achieved by the use of an insulin and transferrin (IT)-supplemented medium which importantly was free of any animal serum additions. Using this IT culture medium, selenium addition (as selenite) produced a significant increase in the expression of GPX1 and TR1 in both C3A and LX2 cells. TR1 and GPX1 were expressed at similar levels in both C3A and LX-2 cells. It was also necessary to develop an in-vitro model for fat loading C3A cells to mimic fatty liver pathophysiology. Two models of fat loading were investigated. One model used lactate, pyruvate, octanoate and ammonium (LPON). LPON has been previously used to increase the functionality of C3A cells but it was observed that fat droplets accumulated in these LPON treated cells. Dissection of the agents in the LPON revealed that octanoate was the factor that increased the triglyceride accumulation. Interestingly, octanoate also increased the expression of TR1 and GPX1, suggesting that it could induce oxidative stress leading to the induction of selenoenzymes to afford a protective defence mechanism. In the second model, oleate and/or palmitate were used to fat-load C3A cells. These cells had significantly higher triglyceride content than the LPON-fat-loaded cells. However, oleate and/or palmitate treatments did not increase the expression of either TR1 or GPX1 in C3A cells suggesting perhaps these cells were not under oxidative stress. LPON and oleate/palmitate were also capable of fat loading LX2 cells. Selenium-supplementation of C3A and LX-2 cells efficiently protected (measured by their lactate dehydrogenase retention) them from oxidative damage induced by t-butylhydroperoxide. This suggests that selenium supplementation through its incorporation into selenoenzymes could protect the cells from the oxidative damage. The role of selenium was also investigated in the regulation of α-1 pro-collagen mRNA expression. In LX-2 cells, the expression of α-1 pro-collagen mRNA was unaffected by the selenium status of the cell. Similarly the selenium status of C3A cells had no effect on modifying α-1 pro-collagen mRNA of LX2 cells when co-culture or conditioned medium experiments were performed. These results suggest that LX-2 cells were already largely activated and at a stage unable to be ameliorated by selenium treatment. In contrast, studies on C3A cells revealed that TGF-β1 (common inducer of α-1 pro-collagen mRNA in hepatic stellate cells) dramatically increased the expression of α-1 pro-collagen mRNA in C3A cells to the levels observed in LX-2 cells. More interestingly, selenium supplementation of C3A cells notably decreased α-1 pro-collagen mRNA expression in response to TGF-1. In the in vivo study, plasma selenium in type 2 diabetics (high risk of developing NAFLD) were inversely related to the body mass index and in most patients selenium levels were below that required to maximally express GPX1 in red cells. Furthermore, type 2 diabetics had lower plasma selenium levels compared to the healthy control group. Collectively, this suggests that in the UK population, obesity is a risk factor for both insulin resistance and decreased selenium status leading to sub-optimal antioxidant protection. In conclusion, this study provides evidence that selenium through increasing the expression of selenoenzymes is beneficial in protecting liver cells from oxidative stress. Furthermore, selenium is capable of suppressing α-1 pro-collagen mRNA expression in hepatocytes although not in activated hepatic stellate cells. Taken together these data support the view that suboptimal selenium intake in the UK may be a risk factor in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo