Interdisciplinary approaches to a connected landscape: upland survey in the Northern Ochils

The key to understanding a landscape is through its connections, which tie together people and environment within and beyond that landscape and across many different periods. This is particularly true of the northern face of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland, which is characterised by dense networks of connections between lowlands and uplands, local and regional. To trace those connections we integrate the results of walkover survey, aerial archaeology, excavations, documentary analysis and place name analysis, revealing significant continuities and differences in the networks and relationships that have connected this landscape across time and space. Iron Age hillforts used their prominence and monumentality to guide people along very specific routes across the Ochils. Regular seasonal movements of cattle and herders in the medieval and post-medieval periods were closely related to the agriculture and settlement they encountered on the way: this interaction can be clearly seen in the elaborate intertwining of paths, braided cattle tracks, farmsteads and enclosures, most strikingly in the 18th century. Such intricate connections across the landscape are equally keyed in to the specifics of particular locations and to much broader networks and historical change

Advances in Computational Social Science and Social Simulation

Aquesta conferència és la celebració conjunta de la "10th Artificial Economics Conference AE", la "10th Conference of the European Social Simulation Association ESSA" i la "1st Simulating the Past to Understand Human History SPUHH".Conferència organitzada pel Laboratory for Socio­-Historical Dynamics Simulation (LSDS-­UAB) de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.Readers will find results of recent research on computational social science and social simulation economics, management, sociology,and history written by leading experts in the field. SOCIAL SIMULATION (former ESSA) conferences constitute annual events which serve as an international platform for the exchange of ideas and discussion of cutting edge research in the field of social simulations, both from the theoretical as well as applied perspective, and the 2014 edition benefits from the cross-fertilization of three different research communities into one single event. The volume consists of 122 articles, corresponding to most of the contributions to the conferences, in three different formats: short abstracts (presentation of work-in-progress research), posters (presentation of models and results), and full papers (presentation of social simulation research including results and discussion). The compilation is completed with indexing lists to help finding articles by title, author and thematic content. We are convinced that this book will serve interested readers as a useful compendium which presents in a nutshell the most recent advances at the frontiers of computational social sciences and social simulation researc

Northstowe Phase 2, Cambridgeshire. Archaeological Post Excavation Assessment (Vol 6) Areas AA1, AA2, AA3/4, & AA6

Excavations occurred across four different areas within the boundary of the former Oakington Airfield, Longstanton, Cambridgeshire between October 2016 and April 2019. A coherent but complex settlement landscape was revealed, orientated around a Late Iron Age to Roman period trackway. This lay together with a dispersed scattering of post-holes, pits, watering holes, wells, field systems, structures and enclosures dating from the Late Bronze Age through to medieval and post-medieval times. The main settlement horizon started in the Middle to later Iron Age until the Late Iron Age, with clusters of roundhouses. An impressive, large (1km long), complex, polyfocal Roman settlement subsequently developed, using and adapting the earlier Iron Age arrangement. The immediate post-Roman and Early Anglo-Saxon arrangements, that to a large degree respected the earlier Roman settlement, was formed of post-built structures and pitting. The medieval and post-medieval evidence was largely related to arable agricultural practices in the form of furrows, headlands, as well as several large ponds in some of the key spots where much earlier water and spring exploitation had occurred during the Roman period. The excavation also revealed an extensive drainage and electrical system related to the airfield and military role of the 'site'

Archaeological Monitoring of Works for Drainage and Water Supply at St Mary Magdalene Church, Madingley (SMM18)

Archaeological monitoring (test pit and watching brief) for drainage and water supply (across 6 different trenches). The main findings were related to the churchyard's extension (mainly disturbed human bone was found, and one in situ individual). There was evidence for 18th century landscaping (relating to Capability Brown), and some evidence for medieval and pre-18th century remains relating to the adjacent settlement (a small gully and a disturbed surfaces relating to a building). The latter included residual 12th century pottery, but also 16th-17th century pottery and clay pipe (along with glass, brick and tile) that was probably contemporary with the settlement remains

Out with the old in with the new? Online presentation of excavation archives

This article reflects the participation of the Institute of Archaeology, Iceland, in the actions of the ARENA project. In particular the article highlights issues along the pathway to interoperability that the Institute found most important in its participation; that is communication and dissemination of information to the public. Archiving material is not enough, the material to be archived must demonstrate its value, through its diversity and as a commentator on archaeological practice across Europe. Access to archives more than anything else imbues them with value. The archives prepared as part of the ARENA project highlighted a number of problems and tensions that are considered here, they also demonstrated the dissemination advantages of digital publication. The preparation of archives for preservation purposes is also considered, in particular the possibilities explored in Iceland for representing old data transformed into new data

Somerset and Exmoor Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC)

The Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) project for Somerset and Exmoor National Park (NP) was carried out between 1999-2000 with funding from English Heritage by the Environment & Property Department of Somerset County Council. The project developed a method of identifying the historic landscape character of the present-day landscape, defining the landscape through a series of attributes, primarily the morphology of field boundaries, as well as processes of enclosure and measurement of past landscape changes. The Somerset method was based on the philosophy used in the Cornwall's Historic Landscape Characterisation, though the increased use of GIS and its adoption in the techniques of characterisation since that project allowed a more complex characterisation method to be used

When monoclonal antibodies are not monospecific: Hybridomas frequently express additional functional variable regions.

Monoclonal antibodies are commonly assumed to be monospecific, but anecdotal studies have reported genetic diversity in antibody heavy chain and light chain genes found within individual hybridomas. As the prevalence of such diversity has never been explored, we analyzed 185 random hybridomas, in a large multicenter dataset. The hybridomas analyzed were not biased towards those with cloning difficulties or known to have additional chains. Of the hybridomas we evaluated, 126 (68.1%) contained no additional productive chains, while the remaining 59 (31.9%) contained one or more additional productive heavy or light chains. The expression of additional chains degraded properties of the antibodies, including specificity, binding signal and/or signal-to-noise ratio, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. The most abundant mRNA transcripts found in a hybridoma cell line did not necessarily encode the antibody chains providing the correct specificity. Consequently, when cloning antibody genes, functional validation of all possible VH and VL combinations is required to identify those with the highest affinity and lowest cross-reactivity. These findings, reflecting the current state of hybridomas used in research, reiterate the importance of using sequence-defined recombinant antibodies for research or diagnostic use

When monoclonal antibodies are not monospecific: Hybridomas frequently express additional functional variable regions.

Monoclonal antibodies are commonly assumed to be monospecific, but anecdotal studies have reported genetic diversity in antibody heavy chain and light chain genes found within individual hybridomas. As the prevalence of such diversity has never been explored, we analyzed 185 random hybridomas, in a large multicenter dataset. The hybridomas analyzed were not biased towards those with cloning difficulties or known to have additional chains. Of the hybridomas we evaluated, 126 (68.1%) contained no additional productive chains, while the remaining 59 (31.9%) contained one or more additional productive heavy or light chains. The expression of additional chains degraded properties of the antibodies, including specificity, binding signal and/or signal-to-noise ratio, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. The most abundant mRNA transcripts found in a hybridoma cell line did not necessarily encode the antibody chains providing the correct specificity. Consequently, when cloning antibody genes, functional validation of all possible VH and VL combinations is required to identify those with the highest affinity and lowest cross-reactivity. These findings, reflecting the current state of hybridomas used in research, reiterate the importance of using sequence-defined recombinant antibodies for research or diagnostic use

When monoclonal antibodies are not monospecific: Hybridomas frequently express additional functional variable regions.

Monoclonal antibodies are commonly assumed to be monospecific, but anecdotal studies have reported genetic diversity in antibody heavy chain and light chain genes found within individual hybridomas. As the prevalence of such diversity has never been explored, we analyzed 185 random hybridomas, in a large multicenter dataset. The hybridomas analyzed were not biased towards those with cloning difficulties or known to have additional chains. Of the hybridomas we evaluated, 126 (68.1%) contained no additional productive chains, while the remaining 59 (31.9%) contained one or more additional productive heavy or light chains. The expression of additional chains degraded properties of the antibodies, including specificity, binding signal and/or signal-to-noise ratio, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. The most abundant mRNA transcripts found in a hybridoma cell line did not necessarily encode the antibody chains providing the correct specificity. Consequently, when cloning antibody genes, functional validation of all possible VH and VL combinations is required to identify those with the highest affinity and lowest cross-reactivity. These findings, reflecting the current state of hybridomas used in research, reiterate the importance of using sequence-defined recombinant antibodies for research or diagnostic use