Ashes to Ashes and Dust to Dust : Observations on HumanSkeletal Taphonomy at Two Historic Cemeteries in NorthernRhode Island

This paper reports on a study of human bone taphonomy at two historic period cemeteries in northern Rhode Island. The analyses demonstrate that various local factors contributed to the degradation of human bone at the two cemeteries under investigation. Factors investigated as part of this study include soil pH, soil texture, time elapsed since burial, and the age of the deceased at the time of death. The . study concludes that soil texture and soil permeability were more correlated with bone deterioration at the two historic cemeteries than soil acidity, which is commonly assumed to cause rapid bone deterioration in southern New England soils

Q

© International Union of Crystallography, 2017. Quantum-based refinement utilizes chemical restraints derived from quantum-chemical methods instead of the standard parameterized library-based restraints used in refinement packages. The motivation is twofold: firstly, the restraints have the potential to be more accurate, and secondly, the restraints can be more easily applied to new molecules such as drugs or novel cofactors. Here, a new project called Q|R aimed at developing quantum-based refinement of biomacromolecules is under active development by researchers at Shanghai University together with PHENIX developers. The central focus of this long-term project is to develop software that is built on top of open-source components. A development version of Q|R was used to compare quantum-based refinements with standard refinement using a small model system.Quantum-based refinement software is being developed to refine biomacromolecules against crystallographic or cryo-electron microscopy data

Musculoskeletal Sarcoidosis and Rheumatoid Factor

Articular manifestations of sarcoidosis were present in 19 of our 60 patients (32%). This correlates with previously reported studies. In all of our cases but one, the articular manifestations subsided in eight weeks. This fact and the absence of hyperuricemia are in contradistinction to other studies for which we have no adequate explanation

Coastal peat-beds and peatlands of the southern North Sea: their past, present and future

Peat layers are well represented in the Holocene coastal deposits of the southern North Sea and provide evidence as to the extent and nature of the fens and bogs that occupied the region in the mid and late Holocene. While natural processes contributed to their demise, without human interference extensive areas of peatland would remain. We review the characteristics of the vegetation of these peatlands along with the processes that influenced their development. Spatial and temporal trends are explored through the use of palaeogeographic maps from three areas: the East Anglian Fenland, the Romney Marsh area and the Netherlands. The palaeoecological evidence indicates that eutrophic vegetation promoted by rising relative sea level (RSL) dominated in the mid Holocene, with a trend towards the development of oligotrophic and ombrotrophic vegetation in the late Holocene as the rate of RSL rise declined. Nevertheless, areas of eutrophic vegetation appear capable of long‐term stability with areas of fen woodland and herbaceous fen persisting at some locations for several thousand years in the mid and late Holocene. Areas of active peat growth in the region are now largely confined to small remnants within agricultural settings. To retain their characteristic biodiversity these remnants have been managed using traditional practices, although their small size and fragmented distribution limits their biodiversity value. Biodiversity concerns and the ecosystem services peatlands provide, notably carbon sequestration and flood attenuation, underlie recent restoration projects. These efforts are likely to receive additional impetus as a consequence of rising water levels, given projected rates of RSL rise. Future large‐scale restoration can be informed by a greater understanding of the processes that formed and sustained coastal peatlands in the past. We identify advances in palaeoenvironmental research that could enhance restoration efforts and help maximise the ecosystem services delivered through such projects

Influence of display and control compatibility on pilot-induced oscillations

The differences in techniques used by seven pilots to acquire information from an advanced display for instrument approaches to and landings on a runway were investigated. A fixed base simulator programmed with dynamics resembling the terminal configured vehicle (TCV) was studied. It is shown that the seven pilots can be divided into two groups which used the display with distinctly different strategies for controlling the airplane. A related pattern of performance differences resulted. It is found that pilots who primarily use raw flight path information experience longitudinal oscillations while pilots using attitude information did not

Making sense of information about HPV in cervical screening: a qualitative study

Introducing human papillomavirus (HPV) testing into cervical cancer screening has the potential to change the way that women understand cervical cancer, the psychological impact of abnormal screening results and the likelihood of future participation in screening. The study used in-depth interviews to examine how women make sense of information about HPV in the context of cervical cancer screening. A total of 74 women were recruited following participation in HPV testing. Women varied widely in their beliefs about the aetiology of cervical cancer and its relationship with sexual activity, as well as in their understanding of the sexually transmitted nature of HPV. While some women who understood that HPV is sexually transmitted were able to integrate this into their existing model of cervical cancer, others were shocked by the link between cervical cancer and sex, of which they had been previously unaware. Women were generally reassured to know that HPV is common, has no symptoms, can lie dormant for many years, can clear up on its own and need not raise concerns about transmission to sexual partners. Women's understanding of HPV varied considerably, even after participation in testing. The way in which information is presented to women will be crucial in minimising the negative psychological impact of testing positive and ensuring that participation in screening remains high

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Malignancy

A retrospective study of the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic malignancy was performed using the records of 196 older age patients with classic or definite rheumatoid arthritis. The results were compared to 125 patients in the same age group who had arthritis of a non-rheumatoid type. There was no difference in the incidence of malignancy in the two groups of patients. However, there was a positive correlation between the incidence of malignancy and the use of long term adrenocorticosteroid therapy

Exploratory comparison of methods for combining failure-rate data from different data sources

Thirteen methods are considered for use in pooling failure-rate data from different data sources. A Bayesian approach is taken in which two distinct sources of variation are assumed to be present; namely, prior variation between data sources and statistical error variation within each data source. An exploratory Monte Carlo simulation is used to compare the performance of the methods when used to construct both pooled point and 90% interval estimates of the failure-rate. The results indicated that those methods based on simple averaging techniques are satisfactory when only a small number of data sources are to be pooled. When there are fifteen or more data sets to be pooled, more sophisticated methods, which incorporate additional model structure, are superior. An example is given to illustrate the use of each of the proposed methods