Proposed policy guidelines for managing heritage at risk based on public engagement and communicating climate change

The deterioration and loss of our historic environment due to natural erosive processes, exacerbated by climate change, already outpaces available resources for preservation and will accelerate over the coming century. While this process is divisive and destructive, it is also bringing together international collaborators who are developing more holistic approaches to addressing heritage at risk. In 2018, an intensive fieldtrip and series of workshops as part of the Learning from Loss project brought researchers and practitioners from both sides of the Atlantic together with community stakeholders. Over twelve days, the delegates considered alternative futures for heritage at risk, exploring diverse perspectives and observing action previously taken at threatened sites by both heritage professionals and local communities, often working in collaboration. Recognising that not everything can be saved, the structured discussions and site visits revealed a number of insights into ways that action could be planned in the future. The suggestions also highlighted differences in the way that heritage is managed in the UK and the US. This paper summarises the findings of the field trip and discusses how there may need to be a sea-change in thinking in the United Sates in order to prepare for the growing disaster facing an increasing number of archaeological monuments.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Blogging to Develop Honors Students’ Writing

After an exciting class discussion, you might want students to write conventional papers directed at you and focused ultimately on a grade, or you might prefer that they bring their further insights to their classmates, continuing and enriching the ongoing class collaboration. Blogging is an excellent way to implement the second option, continuing an exchange of ideas and providing students with another tool to improve their writing skills. Student class blogging offers many benefits—for student and instructor alike—compared to assigning conventional papers directed only at the instructor. The collaborative writing and peer editing inherent in blogging offer challenges as well as benefits, so guidance in facilitating a meaningful exchange as well as navigating the nuts-and-bolts technicalities may be useful to honors faculty who are establishing a class blog. Ideas for class exercises, assignments, and evaluative expectations co-designed by an instructor and a team of honors students may also help bring out maximum creativity and collegiality in the honors blog

Coastal heritage, global climate change, public engagement, and citizen science

Climate change is threatening an uncalculated number of archaeological sites globally, totalling perhaps hundreds of thousands of culturally and paleoenvironmentally significant resources. As with all archaeological sites, they provide evidence of humanity’s past and help us understand our place in the present world. Coastal sites, clustered at the water’s edge, are already experiencing some of the most dramatic damage due to anthropogenic climate change; and the situation is predicted to worsen in the future. In the face of catastrophic loss, organizations around the world are developing new ways of working with this threatened coastal resource. This paper uses three examples, from Scotland, Florida and Maine, to highlight how new partnerships and citizen science approaches are building communities of practice to better manage threatened coastal heritage. It compares methods on either side of the Atlantic and highlights challenges and solutions. The approaches are applicable to the increasing number of heritage sites everywhere at risk from climate change; the study of coastal sites thus helps society prepare for climate change impacts to heritage worldwide.PostprintPeer reviewe

THE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND BALANCE IN HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS - A PILOT STUDY

Concussion is defined as an injury to the brain caused by forces applied to the head. Approximately 10-20% of concussed individuals develop post-concussion syndrome (PCS), characterized by persistent symptoms beyond 10 days including balance and cognitive deficits. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the effect of a four-week exercise program on physiological, cognitive, and balance variables in a sample of healthy, physically active individuals to gather preliminary information to apply to a future PCS population. Statistically significant changes in reaction time and balance measures were observed. No changes in heart rate, blood pressure, memory, or visual motor speed were observed. Balance improvements in this healthy sample suggest that future exploration of a similar exercise program in those experiencing PCS may provide valuable information

STATIC BALANCE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH POST-CONCUSSION SYNDROME

A concussion is an injury to the brain caused by linear and/or rotational forces applied to the head. The majority of concussions typically resolve spontaneously within a period of 7-10 days. In 10-20% of individuals, however, the symptoms persist beyond 10 days and are termed post-concussion syndrome (PCS). The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effects of a supervised and structured four-week aerobic and balance exercise program on static balance measures in a sample of individuals with PCS. Statistically significant changes in velocity and length of centre of pressure during balancing tasks were observed in response to the exercise program. These improvements in balance and symptoms suggest that further research into the benefits of exercise based treatment for improving balance deficits associated with PCS is warranted

Evaluation of site-specific methylation of the CMV promoter and its role in CHO cell productivity of a recombinant monoclonal antibody

We previously demonstrated that increased monoclonal antibody productivity in dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)-amplified CHO cells correlates with phosphorylated transcription factor-cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter interactions. In this article, we extend the characterization to include CMV promoter methylation and its influence on NFκB and CREB1 transcription factor binding to the CMV promoter in two families of DHFR-amplified CHO cell lines. CMV promoter methylation was determined using bisulfite sequencing. To overcome Sanger-sequencing limitations due to high CG bias and multiple transgenes copies, pyrosequencing was used to determine the frequency of methylated cytosines in regions proximal to and containing the NFκB and CREB1 transcription-factor consensus binding sites. Chromatin immunoprecipitation was performed to interrogate transcription factor-DNA interactions. Antibodies to CREB1 and NFκB were used to immunoprecipitate formaldehyde-crosslinked protein-DNA fractions, followed by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to quantitate the number of copies of CMV-promoter DNA bound to the various transcription factors. The relative unmethylated fraction at the CREB1 and NFκB consensus binding sites determined by pyrosequencing was correlated with transcription factor binding as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Azacytidine treatment reduced methylation in all treated samples, though not at all methylation sites, while increasing transcription. Distinct promoter methylation patterns arise upon clonal selection in different families of cell lines. In both cell line families, increased methylation was observed upon amplification. In one family, the NFκB binding-site methylation was accompanied by increased CREB1 interaction with the promoter. In the other cell line family, lower methylation frequency at the NFκB consensus binding site was accompanied by more NFκB recruitment to the promoter region

The Hedgehog Signalling Pathway in the Gastrointestinal Tract: Implications for Development, Homeostasis, and Disease

The hedgehog signalling pathway is critical to normal mammalian gastrointestinal development. Through epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, hedgehog signalling ensures appropriate axial patterning of the embryonic gut. Congenital abnormalities, including malrotations, anorectal malformations, and tracheoesophageal fistula are associated with germ-line mutations/deletion of genes encoding hedgehog signalling components in man and present in genetically engineered animal models. In adults, there is evidence that the pathway plays a role in maintaining stem cell populations in the stomach and directing epithelial cell differentiation in the intestine. Recent data implicate hedgehog signalling in the formation and maintenance of a number of malignancies, including those of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and pancreas, in which abrogation of the pathway offers a novel therapeutic approach in animal models. Most recently, evidence in vitro indicates that there is a recapitulation of embryonic hedgehog signalling in acute epithelial injury and chronic inflammation, a finding with key implications for inflammatory disorders of the intestine, such as inflammatory bowel diseases. This pathway may provide an important link between chronic inflammation and cancer. We summarize the available evidence demonstrating that this developmental pathway has continuing roles in adult homeostasis and is dysregulated in malignancy and inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract

Selecting plant traits for soil erosion control in grassed waterways under a changing climate: A growth room study

Grassed waterways are used to mitigate the offsite transport of sediment generated by soil erosion. This study used a novel trait‐based ranking approach as a method to screen potential candidate grass monocultures and mixes based on their theoretical performance in reducing (1) detachment via rainsplash, (2) detachment via scouring due to concentrated flow and (3) sediment transport and deposition processes. Selected grass species were grown under simulated UK summer and autumn establishment conditions under three different replicated rainfall scenarios: drought, normal rainfall and excess rainfall. The grass species used were the novel hybrid species Festulolium cv Prior (Fest_1), Festulolium Bx511 (Fest_2) and a conventional mixture of Lolium perenne and Festuca rubra (Conv). Monocultures and mixtures of these species were studied. Plant traits pertinent to control of soil erosion by water were measured. Above ground traits included plant height, percentage ground cover, above ground biomass, stem diameter, stem area density and number of tillers. Below ground traits included total root length, root total surface area, below ground biomass, root diameter and % fine roots ≤0.25 mm. For summer conditions, the species treatments which had the highest overall soil erosion mitigation potential were Conv, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Fest_2. For autumn conditions, the best treatments were Fest_1 + 2, Fest_1 + 2 + Conv and Conv. The Fest 1 + 2 + conv had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments for the autumn conditions. The conventional mixture had more desirable traits for erosion control than mono Festulolium treatments in both climate scenarios. The results indicate that the trait‐based ranking approach utilised in this study can be used to inform rapid screening of candidate grass species for soil erosion control

Lanthanide tri- and tetrathionates and their complexes with triphenylphosphine oxide

Lanthanide tri- and tetrathionate containing species have been prepared in solution by the reaction of potassium tri- and tetrathionate with lanthanide perchlorates. Unstable solid materials from these reactions have been examined by infrared spectroscopy and electrospray mass spectrometry (ESI MS). There was evidence of the formation of S3O62- and S4O62- coordination to lanthanide ions, but it was not possible to produce material suitable for single crystal x-ray studies. The reaction of ethanol solutions from Ln(ClO4)3 / K2SnO6 (n = 3,4) with triphenylphosphine oxide yielded crystalline materials which have been characterised by infrared spectroscopy, electrospray mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The trithionate complexes [Ln(S3O6)(Ph3PO)4]ClO4.3H2O (Ln = Nd, Tb) have been isolated. The tetrathionate / Ph3PO reaction gave rise to significant disproportionation giving a small quantity of [Nd(S4O6)(Ph3PO)4(H2O)]ClO4, a different isomer of [Nd(S3O6)(Ph3PO)4H2O]ClO4, neodymium sulfate and elemental sulfur. The crystal structures of the two isomers of [Nd(S3O6)(Ph3PO)4H2O]ClO4 and that of [Nd(S4O6)(Ph3PO)4H2O]ClO4 are reported. The structure of [Er(H2O)5(Ph3PO)2].5Ph3PO.3[ClO-4], formed during the attempted preparation of erbium trithionate complexes, is also described