Dairy Ingredients for Chocolate and Confectionery Products.

End of Project ReportHigh free-fat, spray-dried powders were successfully produced at a lower fat content (40% rather than 56%) using ultrafiltration. Chocolates made from these powders had improved flow properties and superior quality. The stability, viscosity and firmness of toffees were improved by optimising the casein, whey protein and lactose levels of skim milk powders used in their manufacture.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

The Elamite Cylinder Seal Corpus, c.3500 - 1000 BC

The ancient region of Elam (southwestern Iran) has produced a significant assemblage of cylinder seals across a considerable chronological span. Unlike the glyptic material from the related and neighbouring region Mesopotamia, the Elamite cylinder seals have not previously been studied in detailed reference to one another, nor has there been an established paradigm of stylistic development articulated. This study addresses this lacuna by compiling all the published cylinder seals from Elam (as defined here, thus incorporating the historical provinces of Khuzistan, Luristan and Fars), from their earliest appearance (c.3500 BC), throughout the era of their typological dominance (over stamp seals, thus this study departs c.1000 BC). This compilation is presented in the Elamite Cylinder Seal Catalogue (Volume II), and is annotated and described through the annunciation of eighteen chronologically defined developmental styles (with another two non-chronological type classifications and four miscellaneous groups). Through the further analysis of this data, including the newly formulated and articulated styles, several facets and problems of Elamite glyptic material have been addressed (and thus the reliance upon assumed similarity in type and function with the Mesopotamian glyptic material is abandoned). These problems particularly pertain to the function of cylinder seals in Elam and the type and form of the Elamite-Mesopotamian glyptic interaction. In regards to function, a standard administrative function can be discerned, though of varying types and forms across the region and the period of study. Other, non-standard, symbolic glyptic functions can also be demonstrated in the Corpus, including the apparent proliferation of a form known as the ‘votive’ seal, perhaps a specifically Elamite form. The analysis of the style type (whether ‘Elamite’, ‘Mesopotamian Related’ or ‘Shared Elamite-Mesopotamian’), in association with their relative geographical and chronological distribution, has also enabled the discussion of the nature of Elamite-Mesopotamian glyptic interaction, and thereby the constitution of Elamite civilisation (especially in regards to Mesopotamian cultural impact and influence, and thus the testing of several previously presented paradigms [Amiet 1979a; 1979b; Miroschedji 2003])

Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume

The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (rg =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness

The Great Markarian 421 Flare of 2010 February: Multiwavelength Variability and Correlation Studies

We report on variability and correlation studies using multiwavelength observations of the blazar Mrk 421 during the month of 2010 February, when an extraordinary flare reaching a level of ∼27 Crab Units above 1 TeV was measured in very high energy (VHE) γ-rays with the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System (VERITAS) observatory. This is the highest flux state for Mrk 421 ever observed in VHE γ-rays. Data are analyzed from a coordinated campaign across multiple instruments, including VHE γ-ray (VERITAS, Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov), high-energy γ-ray (Fermi-LAT), X-ray (Swift, Rossi X-ray Timing Experiment, MAXI), optical (including the GASP-WEBT collaboration and polarization data), and radio (Metsahovi, Owens Valley Radio Observatory, University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory). Light curves are produced spanning multiple days before and after the peak of the VHE flare, including over several flare "decline" epochs. The main flare statistics allow 2 minute time bins to be constructed in both the VHE and optical bands enabling a cross-correlation analysis that shows evidence for an optical lag of ∼25-55 minutes, the first time-lagged correlation between these bands reported on such short timescales. Limits on the Doppler factor (δ ⪆ 33) and the size of the emission region (δ-1RB≲ 3.8 × 1013cm) are obtained from the fast variability observed by VERITAS during the main flare. Analysis of 10 minute binned VHE and X-ray data over the decline epochs shows an extraordinary range of behavior in the flux-flux relationship, from linear to quadratic to lack of correlation to anticorrelation. Taken together, these detailed observations of an unprecedented flare seen in Mrk 421 are difficult to explain with the classic single-zone synchrotron self-Compton model.</p

Dairy Ingredients for Chocolate and Confectionery Products.

End of Project ReportHigh free-fat, spray-dried powders were successfully produced at a lower fat content (40% rather than 56%) using ultrafiltration. Chocolates made from these powders had improved flow properties and superior quality. The stability, viscosity and firmness of toffees were improved by optimising the casein, whey protein and lactose levels of skim milk powders used in their manufacture.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin

Could hot fluids be the cause of natural pyrolysis at the ragged edge of Herrin coal, Millport 7 ½’ quadrangle, Hopkins County, Kentucky?

The Herrin coal (Western Kentucky No. 11) “ragged edge” is composed of peculiar organic materials, including voids, which defy conventional maceral classification. These materials seem to have originated from natural pyrolysis caused by hot fluids migrating through low-rank coal. However, the observed petrographic patterns and the reflectance analysis were not enough to confirm this hypothesis. In order to obtain for the first time an approximate composition and temperature value of the fluids that may have thermally affected the Herrin coal, the origin of the “ragged edge” of the Herrin coal seam was studied via a combination of analytical techniques mainly focused on the carbonates including optical microscopy, cathodoluminescence, X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron microprobe, and Raman microspectroscopy. The sum of indicators is collectively considered evidence that ascending hot fluids thermally affected the coal. These indicators include the ambient reflectance increase due to forced coalification; liptinite fading and “cryptic liptinite” formation at the bottom of the coal seam; the carbonate stable isotopes model temperature that indicates a range of 150 °C to 200 °C, and the Raman spectra proxy of the thermally affected particles indicating a temperature between 160 and 220 °C