Towton, 1461: An integrated approach to battlefield archaeology

Ye

Love your polygons: powerful processing of vectorised geophysics data

By converting raster data to vectors several spatial attributes become readily available. For non-gridded data the vectorisation can happen after creating a raster, from a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN), or directly from the xyz data using an efficient spatial index. Classification, clustering and envelop creation is simple from vectorised data. Examples of aggregation and analysis of results are provided using different data sources

Single-channel electrophysiology reveals a distinct and uniform pore complex formed by α-synuclein oligomers in lipid membranes.

Synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy and dementia with Lewy bodies are characterized by deposition of aggregated α-synuclein. Recent findings indicate that pathological oligomers rather than fibrillar aggregates may represent the main toxic protein species. It has been shown that α-synuclein oligomers can increase the conductance of lipid bilayers and, in cell-culture, lead to calcium dyshomeostasis and cell death. In this study, employing a setup for single-channel electrophysiology, we found that addition of iron-induced α-synuclein oligomers resulted in quantized and stepwise increases in bilayer conductance indicating insertion of distinct transmembrane pores. These pores switched between open and closed states depending on clamped voltage revealing a single-pore conductance comparable to that of bacterial porins. Pore conductance was dependent on transmembrane potential and the available cation. The pores stably inserted into the bilayer and could not be removed by buffer exchange. Pore formation could be inhibited by co-incubation with the aggregation inhibitor baicalein. Our findings indicate that iron-induced α-synuclein oligomers can form a uniform and distinct pore species with characteristic electrophysiological properties. Pore formation could be a critical event in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies and provide a novel structural target for disease-modifying therapy

Structural stability of Polylactide rope drums with a hybrid Gyroid-spokes infill structure, manufactured through fused filament fabrication

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers greater design freedom than conventional manufacturing processes. AM allows for components with complex infill structures of e. g. triply periodic-minimal surfaces (TPMS) that lead to significant weight reduction. Nevertheless, AM is mainly used in specialised engineering branches such as aerospace and medical engineering. This is due to high system cost and the high energy costs of the machines used, which utilise selective laser sintering (SLS), laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), or stereolithography (SLA). Fused filament fabrication (FFF) can offer cheaper and more energy-efficient machines. A series of tensile tests with FFF rope drum bodies made from polylactide (PLA) aims to investigate the stability of FFF machine elements. The test specimens possess a novel, hybrid infill structure comprised of straight spokes and a TPMS-gyroid surface. Compared to previous investigations, the specific breaking force – relative to the test specimens’ weight – increased by up to 159%. Whereas the infill density affects tensile strength as well as deformation, the infill distribution between the TPMS and spokes part of said hybrid structure affects especially the deformation behaviour. The results show that FFF machine elements such as the tested drum bodies have a realistic perspective for use in future products with regard to static strength

Exploiting Soil and Remote Sensing Data Archives for 3D Mapping of Multiple Soil Properties at the Swiss National Scale

Soils play a central role in ecosystem functioning, and thus, mapped soil property information is indispensable to supporting sustainable land management. Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) provides a framework to spatially estimate soil properties. However, broad-scale DSM remains challenging because of non-purposively sampled soil data, large data volumes for processing extensive soil covariates, and high model complexities due to spatially varying soil–landscape relationships. This study presents a three-dimensional DSM framework for Switzerland, targeting the soil properties of clay content (Clay), organic carbon content (SOC), pH value (pH), and potential cation exchange capacity (CECpot). The DSM approach is based on machine learning and a comprehensive exploitation of soil and remote sensing data archives. Quantile Regression Forest was applied to link the soil sample data from a national soil data base with covariates derived from a LiDAR-based elevation model, from climate raster data, and from multispectral raster time series based on satellite imagery. The covariate set comprises spatially multiscale terrain attributes, climate patterns and their temporal variation, temporarily multiscale land use features, and spectral bare soil signatures. Soil data and predictions were evaluated with respect to different landcovers and depth intervals. All reference soil data sets were found to be spatially clustered towards croplands, showing an increasing sample density from lower to upper depth intervals. According to the R2 value derived from independent data, the overall model accuracy amounts to 0.69 for Clay, 0.64 for SOC, 0.76 for pH, and 0.72 for CECpot. Reduced model accuracies were found to be accompanied by soil data sets showing limited sample sizes (e.g., CECpot), uneven statistical distributions (e.g., SOC), and low spatial sample densities (e.g., woodland subsoils). Multiscale terrain covariates were highly influential for all models; climate covariates were particularly important for the Clay model; multiscale land use covariates showed enhanced importance for modeling pH; and bare soil reflectance was a major driver in the SOC and CECpot models

ADAPTATION PATTERNS IN AGILE INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT TEAMS

This research draws on team adaptation theory to study how agile information systems development (ISD) teams respond to non-routine events in their work environment. Based on our findings from a qualitative case study of three ISD teams, we identified non-routine events that could be distinguished according to the three categories task volatility, technological disruption, and team instability. In addition, we found three patterns of reacting to these events that differed regarding complexity and team learning. Our results show that the theoretical link between different types of events and adaption patterns depends on the type of event and the reach of the events´ impact as well as on the extent to which the teams followed an iterative development approach. While previous literature either examined ISD team agility as the extent to which agile techniqus and methods are applied, or as a capability to adapt to changes, this research is the first to study how more or less agile teams react to non-routine events. By taking a process view and examining the influnce of iterativeness on the link between events and adaptation patterns, this study helps reconcile the behavioral and capability perspectives on agility that have so far been disconnected

19th century excavations, research program, geophysical survey and archaeological investigation: converge, complete and reinterpret

We used GPR to delineate a building excavated in the 19th century. Data from old excavations and geophysical surveys are incorporated in the methodology applied to developer-led archaeology in France. The case study exemplifies the benefits of a cross-disciplinary approach as to allow a better interpretation of archaeological data

How Agile Practices Influence the Performance of Software Development Teams: The Role of Shared Mental Models and Backup

This study draws on team adaptation theory to examine how agile behavior within Information Systems development (ISD) teams influences team performance. We conceptualize agile behavior as the degree to which ISD teams use agile practices and test a theoretical model that links agile practice use to two key components of team adaptation—shared mental models and backup behavior. Moreover, in line with team adaption theory, shared mental models among team members are hypothesized to increase backup behavior, which in turn is suggested to lead to higher levels of ISD team performance in complex environments. To test our hypotheses, we collected data from Scrum masters, project leaders and more than 490 professional software engineers of a global enterprise software development company. Our findings broadly confirm our theoretical model linking agility, adaptation, and ISD team performance, leading to several theoretical and practical contributions

Dauerndes Lernziel: bewusst konsumieren!; Verknappung der Ressourcen erfordert neuen Lebensstil

Der gemäßigte oder ungebremste Konsum und die Diversifizierung von Lebensstilen können im Hinblick auf den aktuellen Ressourcen- und Energieverbrauch zum Problem werden, das voraussichtlich in den nächsten Jahren massive Folgen in den unterschiedlichsten Dimensionen haben wird: eine Herausforderung für die Erwachsenenbildung