Stable isotope relationships between apatite phosphate (δ18O), structural carbonate (δ18O, δ13C), and collagen (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) in modern human dentine

Rationale The use of multi‐isotopic analysis (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N, δ18O, and δ34S values) of modern human body tissues for provenancing of unknown individuals in forensics is increasing. Tooth dentine develops during childhood and adolescence, therefore providing geographical information from that period of life. Tooth apatite δ18O values are commonly used for the reconstruction of drinking water values, and H–C–N–S isotope ratios in collagen supply additional information about the composition of diet. We tested if dentine collagen δ2H values provide similar information to apatite δ18O values with a proof‐of‐concept study. Methods Tooth samples were taken from modern‐day individuals born in different regions of the world. Apatite and collagen were prepared from dentine. Stable isotope analyses were performed on apatite phosphate oxygen (δ18Ophos); oxygen and carbon of the structural carbonate (δ18Ocarb, δ13Ccarb); and hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur of the collagen (δ2Hcoll, δ13Ccoll, δ15N, δ34S). Results δ18Ophos, δ18Ocarb, and δ2Hcoll values are highly correlated in modern human dentine. There are significant relationships of δ18O values in the apatite fraction and δ2H values in the collagen fraction with local δ18O and δ2H precipitation values, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients indicate no direct relationship between δ15N values and the isotope ratios of any other element. Weak relationships exist between collagen δ34S values and δ18Ocarb or δ18Ophos values. Conclusions The highly significant correlation of δ18Ophos, δ18Ocarb, and δ2Hcoll values in the modern human dentine implies that measurement of δ2H values in collagen or δ18O values in bioapatite will provide reliable information about the climate at the person's whereabouts

Valuing the social and environmental contribution of woodlands and trees in England, Scotland and Wales

Final published report. This publication is also available on the Foresty Commission website at: www.forestry.gov.uk/publicationsFirst published by the Forestry Commission in 2017.A second edition of this report is available in ORE: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/36539The diverse resources provided by trees and woodlands contribute to the production of a wide array of benefits ranging from timber to wildlife habitats and from carbon storage to water purification. This diversity is further complicated by the fact that, while some of the goods associated with forests are traded in markets and hence have associated prices, others arise outside markets and, while valuable, lack prices. The need to make evidencebased decisions regarding woodlands, including decisions such as how much public funding should be allocated to support the non-market benefits they generate, has necessitated the estimation of the value of those benefits. This scoping study provides a structured review of the state of knowledge regarding the economic valuation of social and environmental benefits derived from trees and woodlands in order to support policy and practice. Particular (although not exclusive) attention is paid to recent extensions to the literature since previous reviews (especially Eftec, 2011)

Proof Theory and Ordered Groups

Ordering theorems, characterizing when partial orders of a group extend to total orders, are used to generate hypersequent calculi for varieties of lattice-ordered groups (l-groups). These calculi are then used to provide new proofs of theorems arising in the theory of ordered groups. More precisely: an analytic calculus for abelian l-groups is generated using an ordering theorem for abelian groups; a calculus is generated for l-groups and new decidability proofs are obtained for the equational theory of this variety and extending finite subsets of free groups to right orders; and a calculus for representable l-groups is generated and a new proof is obtained that free groups are orderable

Common Genetic Variants Explain the Majority of the Correlation Between Height and Intelligence : The Generation Scotland Study

Creative Commons Attribution LicensePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Damage function for historic paper. Part I: Fitness for use

Background In heritage science literature and in preventive conservation practice, damage functions are used to model material behaviour and specifically damage (unacceptable change), as a result of the presence of a stressor over time. For such functions to be of use in the context of collection management, it is important to define a range of parameters, such as who the stakeholders are (e.g. the public, curators, researchers), the mode of use (e.g. display, storage, manual handling), the long-term planning horizon (i.e. when in the future it is deemed acceptable for an item to become damaged or unfit for use), and what the threshold of damage is, i.e. extent of physical change assessed as damage. Results In this paper, we explore the threshold of fitness for use for archival and library paper documents used for display or reading in the context of access in reading rooms by the general public. Change is considered in the context of discolouration and mechanical deterioration such as tears and missing pieces: forms of physical deterioration that accumulate with time in libraries and archives. We also explore whether the threshold fitness for use is defined differently for objects perceived to be of different value, and for different modes of use. The data were collected in a series of fitness-for-use workshops carried out with readers/visitors in heritage institutions using principles of Design of Experiments. Conclusions The results show that when no particular value is pre-assigned to an archival or library document, missing pieces influenced readers/visitors’ subjective judgements of fitness-for-use to a greater extent than did discolouration and tears (which had little or no influence). This finding was most apparent in the display context in comparison to the reading room context. The finding also best applied when readers/visitors were not given a value scenario (in comparison to when they were asked to think about the document having personal or historic value). It can be estimated that, in general, items become unfit when text is evidently missing. However, if the visitor/reader is prompted to think of a document in terms of its historic value, then change in a document has little impact on fitness for use

The National Pain Audit for specialist pain services in England and Wales 2010–2014

Introduction: Numerous reports highlight variations in pain clinic provision between services, particularly in the provision of multidisciplinary services and length of waiting times. A National Audit aims to identify and quantify these variations, to facilitate raising standards of care in identified areas of need. This article describes a Quality Improvement Programme cycle covering England and Wales that used such an approach to remedy the paucity of data on the current state of UK pain clinics. Methods: Clinics were audited over a 4-year period using standards developed by the Faculty of Pain Medicine of The Royal College of Anaesthetists. Reporting was according to guidance from a recent systematic review of national surveys of pain clinics. A range of quality improvement measures was introduced via a series of roadshows led by the British Pain Society. Results: 94% of clinics responded to the first audit and 83% responded to the second. Per annum, 0.4% of the total national population was estimated to attend a specialist pain service. A significant improvement in multidisciplinary staffing was found (35–56%, p < 0.001) over the 4-year audit programme, although this still requires improvement. Very few clinics achieved recommended evidence-based waiting times, although only 2.5% fell outside government targets; this did not improve. Safety standards were generally met. Clinicians often failed to code diagnoses. Conclusion: A National Audit found that while generally safe many specialist pain services in England and Wales fell below recommended standards of care. Waiting times and staffing require improvement if patients are to get effective and timely care. Diagnostic coding also requires improvement

Osteogenic sarcoma of the breast arising in a cystosarcoma phyllodes: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Primary tumors of the breast containing bone and cartilage are extremely rare, and an osteogenic sarcoma arising from a cystosarcoma phyllodes is exceptional.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 40-year-old Indian woman presented with a breast mass which was diagnosed as osteosarcoma of the breast on biopsy. Our patient was treated with a simple mastectomy after excluding the presence of skeletal primary and extra-mammary metastases. Final pathology showed a cystosarcoma phyllodes with signs of osteogenic sarcoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although osteogenic sarcomas of the breast are rare, they need to be distinguished from carcinosarcomas and metaplastic carcinomas as the management of the two differ.</p

Comparison and Mapping Facilitate Relation Discovery and Predication

Relational concepts play a central role in human perception and cognition, but little is known about how they are acquired. For example, how do we come to understand that physical force is a higher-order multiplicative relation between mass and acceleration, or that two circles are the same-shape in the same way that two squares are? A recent model of relational learning, DORA (Discovery of Relations by Analogy; Doumas, Hummel & Sandhofer, 2008), predicts that comparison and analogical mapping play a central role in the discovery and predication of novel higher-order relations. We report two experiments testing and confirming this prediction