Aqueduct construction in the late-antique east : an agent-based modeling and geoarchaeological approach to building evidence for the water supply of Constantinople

The result of recent research (Snyder, 2013 - PhD thesis) on construction materials and workforce has shown that the Water Supply of Constantinople was one of the largest construction projects undertaken in the ancient world, requiring as much stone as the Great Pyramid of Giza and five times more manpower than of the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. However, with lacking archaeological and textual evidence, many vital questions remain about macro-­-level outcomes of this massive undertaking and the organisation of the labourers involved. This project provides the unique opportunity to explore one of the most under-­-appreciated aspects of modern classical scholarship: the spectrum of large-­-scale construction from the role of the individual to the function of the empire in the late antiquity

Evaluation of ‘Super Bright’ polymer dyes in 13-16-color human immunophenotyping panels

Sirigen Group Limited developed unique polymer 'Brilliant' dyes that have become a staple of modern multicolor panel design. Polymer-based conjugates are often 4-10 times brighter than conventional fluorochromes with similar excitation/emission parameters. A new group of polymer fluorochromes, the 'Super Bright' dyes, was recently launched by eBioscience. The performance of these new dyes in large polychromatic panels is unclear to date. Therefore, we tested several preparations of the Super Bright dyes (such as Super Bright 436 and Super Bright 600) in two polychromatic fluorescent panels (one 13-and one 16-color). Specifically, we evaluated the spillover spread matrices of both panels to evaluate the compatibility of Super Bright dyes with other fluorochromes in a setup with tight placement of fluorochrome emissions over the spectrum. We have also matched Super Bright conjugates with comparable Brilliant Violet-labeled antibodies of same specificity in an existing 13-color panel where those conjugates are staining relatively dim targets, such as CCR6 and CD25, on resting human PBMC cells. Our results show that Super Bright dyes inflict a modest spillover spread in neighboring channels. In a 16x16 spillover spread matrix (3-UV, 5-VIOLET, 5-BLUE, 3-RED) Super Bright dyes demonstrate low to moderate spillover that is very close quantitatively to the Brilliant Violet dyes. In a 13-color human immunophenotyping panel that we previously developed to quantify T cell subsets, the " brightness " (i.e. the staining index of the Super Bright-conjugated antibodies) appears to be lower than comparable Brilliant Violet dyes when titrated, although stained populations in a full panel are still well separated. As the use of up to nine Brilliant polymer dyes simultaneously in large panels is not uncommon, we also tested the performance of Super Bright dyes in staining protocols that include Brilliant Buffer (BD Biosciences) to prevent polymer dye interactions and found them compatible. Overall, we found Super Bright dyes to perform well in large polychromatic panels. This expansion of commercially available conjugated antibody repertoire with the addition of Super Brights is timely and will greatly facilitate the success of larger (13+ color) fluorescent panel design

A GIS-based assessment of the Byzantine water supply system of Constantinople

Despite the extensive archaeological surveys carried out in the last decades, little attention has been paid to one of the longest water supply systems of ancient times - the Byzantine water infrastructure which fed Constantinople from the mid-late fourth century AD. This work uses modern satellite terrain data and Global Positioning System (GPS) data to assess this system and provide an improved description of its route, total length and gradient profile. 44 validated GPS Control Points were correlated with ASTER GDEM V2 digital satellite data and archaeological information in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. We concluded that the total length of the water supply system was 426 km, and possibly even 565 km if the fifth-century aqueduct continued in parallel all the way to Constantinople rather than merging with the fourth-century aqueduct. The gradient of the channels varied across their length, being steepest near the spring sources, with gradient mostly in the region of 5 m/km, and flattest at around 0.4 m/km in the most downstream section nearest the City. This reconstruction of the gradient profile provides valuable insight into the physical characteristics of the system, allowing future study of its hydraulic function

Construction requirements of the water supply of Constantinople and Anastasian Wall

With the end of Western Roman rule and the emergence of new polities in the medieval world, it has been assumed that the technology of mortar reverted to a weak and friable building material. However, this period brought about the implementation of large-scale construction projects that still remain as a testament to their high quality construction techniques and materials. In order to meet the needs of its growing populace, the infrastructure of the new capital city of Constantinople was bolstered by these projects, many rivaling the scale and intricacy of Imperial Rome. A prime example of this is the extensive channel networks of the fourth and fifth centuries, built in the hinterland of Constantinople to supply fresh water from springs hundreds of kilometres away. In addition, the sixth century Long Wall of Thrace was built from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara as a first line of defense against increased aggression. This project examines the tradition of monumental construction in the Late Antique and early Byzantine world through laboratory analysis of mortars and valuations of the structural makeup of the Water Supply of Constantinople and Anastasian Wall. By investigating the material technology, scale, and labour requirements of these systems, a better understanding can be gained of two of the largest building project of the early medieval period

Solubility design leading to high figure of merit in low-cost Ce-CoSb_3 skutterudites

CoSb_3-based filled skutterudite has emerged as one of the most viable candidates for thermoelectric applications in automotive industry. However, the scale-up commercialization of such materials is still a challenge due to the scarcity and cost of constituent elements. Here we study Ce, the most earth abundant and low-cost rare earth element as a single-filling element and demonstrate that, by solubility design using a phase diagram approach, the filling fraction limit (FFL) x in Ce_xCo_4Sb_(12) can be increased more than twice the amount reported previously (x=0.09). This ultra-high FFL (x=0.20) enables the optimization of carrier concentration such that no additional filling elements are needed to produce a state of the art n-type skutterudite material with a zT value of 1.3 at 850 K before nano-structuring. The earth abundance and low cost of Ce would potentially facilitate a widespread application of skutterudites

Dislocation strain as the mechanism of phonon scattering at grain boundaries

Thermal conductivities of polycrystalline thermoelectric materials are satisfactorily calculated by replacing the commonly used Casimir model (freqeuncy-independent) with grain boundary dislocation strain model (frequency-dependent) of Klemens. It is demonstrated that the grain boundaries are better described as a collection of dislocations rather than perfectly scattering interfaces

Compositions and methods for detecting mycobacterium

The present disclosure provides methods of detecting mycobacterium in an individual, generally involving detecting antibody to a mycobacterial lipid in a biological sample obtained from the individual. The present disclosure further provides compositions and kits for carrying out the methodsThe present disclosure provides methods of detecting mycobacterium in an individual, generally involving detecting antibody to a mycobacterial lipid in a biological sample obtained from the individual. The present disclosure further provides compositions and kits for carrying out the method