Collective Re-Excavation and Lost Media from the Last Century of British Prehistoric Studies

There are thousands of forgotten archaeological archives hidden away in repositories all over the world, lost worlds where many scholars have toiled away for years, trying to record every detail and bit of information available about rare and precious archaeological objects in an attempt to bring order and understanding to an almost incomprehensible past. This paper discusses how these archives can be approached through Huhtamo's definition of media archaeology as a 'historically-attuned enterprise' that involves 'excavating forgotten media-cultural phenomena', focusing on the MicroPasts digitization project. It is shown that greater utilization of digital media simply changes and extends the terms of engagement, accessibility, and flow of information from antiquated archaeological archives to the community and back again

Acute kidney injury electronic alerts: mixed methods Normalization Process Theory evaluation of their implementation into secondary care in England

Objective Around one in five emergency hospital admissions are affected by acute kidney injury (AKI). To address poor quality of care in relation to AKI, electronic alerts (e-alerts) are mandated across primary and secondary care in England and Wales. Evidence of the benefit of AKI e-alerts remains conflicting, with at least some uncertainty explained by poor or unclear implementation. The objective of this study was to identify factors relating to implementation, using Normalization Process Theory (NPT), which promote or inhibit use of AKI e-alerts in secondary care. Design Mixed methods combining qualitative (observations, semi-structured interviews) and quantitative (survey) methods. Setting and participants Three secondary care hospitals in North East England, representing two distinct AKI e-alerting systems. Observations (>44 hours) were conducted in Emergency Assessment Units (EAUs). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with clinicians (n=29) from EAUs, Vascular or General Surgery, or Care of the Elderly. Qualitative data were supplemented by NoMAD surveys (n=101). Analysis Qualitative data were analysed using the NPT framework, with quantitative data analysed descriptively and using Chi Square and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test for differences in current and future normalization. Results Participants reported familiarity with the AKI e-alerts but that the e-alerts would become more normalized in the future (p<0.001). No single NPT mechanism led to current (un)successful implementation of the e-alerts, but analysis of the underlying sub-constructs identified several mechanisms indicative of successful normalization (internalization, legitimation) or unsuccessful normalization (initiation, differentiation, skill set workability, systematization). Conclusions Clinicians recognised the value and importance of AKI e-alerts in their practice, though this was not sufficient for the e-alerts to be routinely engaged with by clinicians. To further normalize the use of AKI e-alerts, there is a need for tailored training on use of the e-alerts and routine feedback to clinicians on the impact that e-alerts have on patient outcomes

Citizen Archaeologists. Online Collaborative Research about the Human Past

Archaeology has a long tradition of volunteer involvement but also faces considerable challenges in protecting and understanding a geographically widespread, rapidly dwindling and ever threatened cultural resource. This paper considers a newly launched, multi-application crowdsourcing project called MicroPasts that enables both community-led and massive online contributions to high quality research in archaeology, history and heritage. We reflect on preliminary results from this initiative with a focus on the technical challenges, quality control issues and contributors motivations

Ubiquitylation activates a peptidase that promotes cleavage and destabilization of its activating E3 ligases and diverse growth regulatory proteins to limit cell proliferation in Arabidopsis

The characteristic shapes and sizes of organs are established by cell proliferation patterns and final cell sizes, but the underlying molecular mechanisms coordinating these are poorly understood. Here we characterize a ubiquitin-activated peptidase called DA1 that limits the duration of cell proliferation during organ growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. The peptidase is activated by two RING E3 ligases, Big Brother (BB) and DA2, which are subsequently cleaved by the activated peptidase and destabilized. In the case of BB, cleavage leads to destabilization by the RING E3 ligase PROTEOLYSIS 1 (PRT1) of the N-end rule pathway. DA1 peptidase activity also cleaves the deubiquitylase UBP15, which promotes cell proliferation, and the transcription factors TEOSINTE BRANCED 1/ CYCLOIDEA/PCF 15 (TCP15) and TCP22, which promote cell proliferation and repress endoreduplication. We propose that DA1 peptidase activity regulates the duration of cell proliferation and the transition to endoreduplication and differentiation during organ formation in plants by coordinating the destabilization of regulatory proteins

The integrated LIM-peptidase domain of the CSA1-CHS3/DAR4 paired immune receptor detects changes in DA1 peptidase inhibitors in Arabidopsis

White blister rust, caused by the oomycete Albugo candida, is a widespread disease of Brassica crops. The Brassica relative Arabidopsis thaliana uses the paired immune receptor complex CSA1-CHS3/DAR4 to resist Albugo infection. The CHS3/DAR4 sensor NLR, which functions together with its partner, the helper NLR CSA1, carries an integrated domain (ID) with homology to DA1 peptidases. Using domain swaps with several DA1 homologs, we show that the LIM-peptidase domain of the family member CHS3/DAR4 functions as an integrated decoy for the family member DAR3, which interacts with and inhibits the peptidase activities of the three closely related peptidases DA1, DAR1, and DAR2. Albugo infection rapidly lowers DAR3 levels and activates DA1 peptidase activity, thereby promoting endoreduplication of host tissues to support pathogen growth. We propose that the paired immune receptor CSA1-CHS3/DAR4 detects the actions of a putative Albugo effector that reduces DAR3 levels, resulting in defense activation

Crowd-sourced archaeological research. The MicroPasts project. Open Access: http://www.ai-journal.com/article/view/ai.1705

This paper offers a brief introduction to MicroPasts, a web-enabled crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding project whose overall goal is to promote the collection and use of high quality research data via institutional and community collaborations, both on- and off-line. In addition to introducing this initiative, the discussion below is a reflection of its lead author’s core contribution to the project and will dwell in more detail on one particular aspect of MicroPasts: its relevance to research and practice in public archaeology, cultural policy and heritage studies

A demonstration of a service oriented virtual environment for complex system analysis

Distributed virtual simulation is increasingly in demand within the automotive industry. A distributed and networked approach to system level design and simulation stands to benefit from a unifying relational oriented modeling and simulation framework. This will permit innovative use of existing independent simulations for increased concurrency in design and verification and validation. This paper demonstrates an analysis of the vehicle as a complex system through the combination of a relational framework, high level syntax and semantics for representing models and distributed simulation. This promises to provide a rigorous, traceable and agile approach to conceptual vehicle design and analysis

Epidemiological and Molecular Characterization of an Invasive Group A Streptococcus32.2 Outbreak

Anemm32.2 invasive group A streptococcus (iGAS) outbreak occurred in Liverpool from January 2010 to September 2012. This genotype had not previously been identified in Liverpool, but was responsible for 32% (14/44) of all iGAS cases reported during this time period. We performed a case-case comparison ofemm32.2 iGAS cases with non-emm32.2 control iGAS cases identified in the Liverpool population over the same time period to assess patient risk factors foremm32.2 iGAS infection. Theemm32.2 iGAS cases were confined to the adult population. We show that homelessness, intravenous drug use, and alcohol abuse predisposed patients toemm32.2 iGAS disease; however, no obvious epidemiological linkage between the patients withemm32.2 iGAS could be identified. Comparative whole-genome sequencing analysis ofemm32.2 iGAS and non-emm32.2 control isolates was also performed to identify pathogen factors which might have driven the outbreak. We identified 19 genes, five of which had previously been implicated in virulence, which were present in all of theemm32.2 iGAS isolates but not present in any of the non-emm32.2 control isolates. We report that a novelemm32.2 genotype emerged in Liverpool in 2010 and identified a specific subset of genes, which could have allowed this novelemm32.2 genotype to persist in a disadvantaged population in the region over a 3-year period.</p

Neutral B-meson mixing from three-flavor lattice QCD: Determination of the SU(3)-breaking ratio \xi

We study SU(3)-breaking effects in the neutral B_d-\bar B_d and B_s-\bar B_s systems with unquenched N_f=2+1 lattice QCD. We calculate the relevant matrix elements on the MILC collaboration's gauge configurations with asqtad-improved staggered sea quarks. For the valence light-quarks (u, d, and s) we use the asqtad action, while for b quarks we use the Fermilab action. We obtain \xi=f_{B_s}\sqrt{B_{B_s}}/f_{B_d}\sqrt{B_{B_d}}=1.268+-0.063. We also present results for the ratio of bag parameters B_{B_s}/B_{B_d} and the ratio of CKM matrix elements |V_{td}|/|V_{ts}|. Although we focus on the calculation of \xi, the strategy and techniques described here will be employed in future extended studies of the B mixing parameters \Delta M_{d,s} and \Delta\Gamma_{d,s} in the Standard Model and beyond.Comment: 36 pages, 7 figure

An Integrated Physical, Genetic and Cytogenetic Map of Brachypodium distachyon, a Model System for Grass Research

The pooid subfamily of grasses includes some of the most important crop, forage and turf species, such as wheat, barley and Lolium. Developing genomic resources, such as whole-genome physical maps, for analysing the large and complex genomes of these crops and for facilitating biological research in grasses is an important goal in plant biology. We describe a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based physical map of the wild pooid grass Brachypodium distachyon and integrate this with whole genome shotgun sequence (WGS) assemblies using BAC end sequences (BES). The resulting physical map contains 26 contigs spanning the 272 Mb genome. BES from the physical map were also used to integrate a genetic map. This provides an independent vaildation and confirmation of the published WGS assembly. Mapped BACs were used in Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) experiments to align the integrated physical map and sequence assemblies to chromosomes with high resolution. The physical, genetic and cytogenetic maps, integrated with whole genome shotgun sequence assemblies, enhance the accuracy and durability of this important genome sequence and will directly facilitate gene isolation