Book Review: Cultural Resource Laws and Practices: An Introductory Guide by Thomas F. King

Book Review: Cultural Resource Laws and Practices: An Introductory Guide by Thomas F. King, 1998, Altamira Press, Walnut Creek, CA. 303 pages, 9 figures, $46.00 (cloth);$22.95 (paper)

Home Thoughts from Abroad: Some Observations on Contract Archaeology in England

This paper was written following a recent visit by the author to the United States and Canada. It aims to provide a view of contemporary archaeological practice in England for North American readers and to draw comparisons between the working environment of field archaeologists on either side of the Atlantic. Reference is made to the relatively recent growth of commercial archaeology in England and to tensions that have emerged as a consequence of the re-structuring of the profession. It is argued that despite a substantial increase in the level of funding available from the private sector there has been little corresponding advance in research methods or output. As a result, archaeological theory and field practice have drifted ever farther apart. Attention is drawn to the dissatisfaction of a growing number of senior archaeologists who have chosen to question the orthodoxy of English Archaeological Resource Management (ARM), suggesting that current legislation and an over-reliance upon developer-led contracting threaten the integrity of the subject as a research discipline

Graphical game Theory with Mobility

This study aimed to resolve disparities between the human behaviour predicted by game theoretic models and the behaviours observed in the real world. The existing model of graphical games was analysed and expanded to create a new model in which agents can move themselves around the graph over time. By adopting different configurations of variables, this model can simulate a very wide range of different scenarios. The concept of meta-games was applied to expand this range yet further and introduce more real-world applications. The interactions between different elements of the configuration were investigated to develop an understanding of the model's emergent properties. The study found that this new model is more accurate and more widely applicable than all other pre-existing candidate models. This suggests that human irrationality can generally be accounted for with a better understanding of the environment within which interaction is occurring

The investigation of the characterisation of flotation froths and design of a machine vision system for monitoring the operation of a flotation cell ore concentration

Electrical and Electronic EngineeringThis dissertation investigates the application of digital image processing techniques in the development of a machine vision system that is capable of characterising the froth structures prevalent on the surface of industrial flotation cells. At present, there is no instrument available that has the ability to measure the size and shape of the bubbles that constitute the surface froth. For this reason, research into a vision based system for surface froth characterisation has been undertaken. Being able to measure bubble size and shape would have far reaching consequences, not only in enhancing the understanding of the flotation process but also in the control and optimization of flotation cells

Agency Design and State Administrators: Political Insulation and Managers’ Views of Their Workplace

This paper examines the impact of agency design upon the perceived workplace conditions within state agencies. The research examines whether insulating features of agency structure such as independent commission status, removal of officers only for cause, and fixed terms for agency leaders are associated with perceptions by state agency managers that their work processes and environments are free of micromanagement and interference from political actors. Data are drawn from the National Administrative Studies Project III, with additional information collected from state agency web sites and statutes. We largely find that administrators working within agencies headed by officials with fixed terms of service believe that top management trusts employees much more than do employees in other agencies. They also have much more pride in the agencies in which they work. We also find that agencies having a commission structure have managers that are perceived to be willing to take risks

Brown adipose tissue activation as measured by infrared thermography by mild anticipatory psychological stress in lean healthy females

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity, type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome and is a potential therapeutic target. Brown adipose tissue can have a significant impact on energy balance and glucose homeostasis through the action of uncoupling protein 1, dissipating chemical energy as heat following neuroendocrine stimulation. We hypothesized that psychological stress, which is known to promote cortisol secretion, would simultaneously activate BAT at thermoneutrality. Brown adipose tissue activity was measured using infrared thermography to determine changes in the temperature of the skin overlying supraclavicular BAT (TSCR). A mild psychological stress was induced in five healthy, lean, female, Caucasian volunteers using a short mental arithmetic (MA) test. The TSCR was compared with a repeated assessment, in which the MA test was replaced with a period of relaxation. Although MA did not elicit an acute stress response, anticipation of MA testing led to an increase in salivary cortisol, indicative of an anticipatory stress response, that was associated with a trend towards higher absolute and relative TSCR. A positive correlation between TSCR and cortisol was found during the anticipatory phase, a relationship that was enhanced by increased cortisol linked to MA. Our findings suggest that subtle changes in the level of psychological stress can stimulate BAT, findings that may account for the high variability and inconsistency in reported BAT prevalence and activity measured by other modalities. Consistent assessment of this uniquely metabolic tissue is fundamental to the discovery of potential therapeutic strategies against metabolic disease

Exercise-induced ‘browning’ of adipose tissues

Global rates of obesity continue to rise and are necessarily the consequence of a long-term imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure. This is the result of an expansion of adipose tissue due to both the hypertrophy of existing adipocytes and hyperplasia of adipocyte pre-cursors. Exercise elicits numerous physiological benefits on adipose tissue, which are likely to contribute to the associated cardiometabolic benefits. More recently it has been demonstrated that exercise, through a range of mechanisms, induces a phenotypic switch in adipose tissue from energy storing white adipocytes to thermogenic beige adipocytes. This has generated the hypothesis that the process of adipocyte ‘browning’ may partially underlie the improved cardiometabolic health in physically active populations. Interestingly, ‘browning’ also occurs in response to various stressors and could represent an adaptive response. In the context of exercise, it is not clear whether the appearance of beige adipocytes is metabolically beneficial or whether they occur as a transient adaptive process to exercise-induced stresses. The present review discusses the various mechanisms (e.g. fatty acid oxidation during exercise, decreased thermal insulation, stressors and angiogenesis) by which the exercise-induced ‘browning’ process may occur

Getting the jump on skeletal muscle disuse atrophy: preservation of contractile performance in aestivating Cyclorana alboguttata (Gunther 1867)

Prolonged immobilisation or unloading of skeletal muscle causes muscle disuse atrophy, which is characterised by a reduction in muscle cross-sectional area and compromised locomotory function. Animals that enter seasonal dormancy, such as hibernators and aestivators, provide an interesting model for investigating atrophy associated with disuse. Previous research on the amphibian aestivator Cyclorana alboguttata (Gunther 1867) demonstrated an absence of muscle disuse atrophy after 3 months of aestivation, as measured by gastrocnemius muscle contractile properties and locomotor performance. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of aestivation on iliofibularis and sartorius muscle morphology and contractile function of C. alboguttata over a longer, more ecologically relevant time-frame of 9 months. We found that whole muscle mass, muscle cross-sectional area, fibre number and proportions of fibre types remained unchanged after prolonged disuse. There was a significant reduction in iliofibularis fibre cross-sectional area (declined by 36% for oxidative fibre area and 39% for glycolytic fibre area) and sartorius fibre density (declined by 44%). Prolonged aestivation had little effect on the isometric properties of the skeletal muscle of C. alboguttata. There was a significant reduction in the isometric contraction times of the relatively slow-twitch iliofibularis muscle, suggesting that the muscle was becoming slower after 9 months of aestivation (time to peak twitch increased by 25%, time from peak twitch to half relaxation increased by 34% and time from last stimulus to half tetanus relation increased by 20%). However, the results of the work-loop analysis clearly demonstrate that, despite changes to muscle morphology and isometric kinetics, the overall contractile performance and power output levels of muscles from 9-month aestivating C. alboguttata are maintained at control levels