A re-interpretation of the late Bronze Age metalwork hoards of Essex and Kent

Recent works have offered an alternative to traditional archaeological classification, particularly in the field of ceramic studies. These use theories of human categorisation processes derived from other areas of research, in particular psychology and linguistics. The purpose of this thesis was - through reference to the advances made in studies of this kind - to re-interpret a body of metalwork evidence, in particular the 'founder's hoards' of the 'Carp's Tongue' Complex in Essex and Kent. These hoards include a wide range of artefact categories, often surviving in fragmentary condition, and have traditionally been interpreted as an inevitable by-product of the metalworking process. By examining the nature of the contents and the structure of these hoards, and by making a detailed appraisal of the manner in which each of the individual artefact categories included was treated prior to its inclusion in the hoard, it was possible to establish that there was indeed a strong association with the metalworking process. It also became apparent that regularised methods of destruction were employed upon the artefact categories included in these hoards, and that specific selection processes operated during the accumulation of the hoard contents, with certain artefact categories being favoured for inclusion. It therefore seemed likely that, instead of being a direct by-product of the metalworking process, these hoards were instead collections of metalwork which deliberately referenced the metalworking process, as well as other routine activities, such as the agricultural cycle. By considering these findings within a wider context, it was possible to see these hoards as functioning as material props in ceremonies which created metaphorical associations between activities often perceived by archaeologists as being secular in character with more metaphysical aspects of existence, such as the transformation of the body after death

Expression of a type B RIFIN in Plasmodium falciparum merozoites and gametes

BACKGROUND: The ability of Plasmodium falciparum to undergo antigenic variation, by switching expression among protein variants encoded by multigene families, such as var, rif and stevor, is key to the survival of this parasite in the human host. The RIFIN protein family can be divided into A and B types based on the presence or absence of a 25 amino acid motif in the semi-conserved domain. A particular type B RIFIN, PF13_0006, has previously been shown to be strongly transcribed in the asexual and sexual stages of P. falciparum in vitro. METHODS: Antibodies to recombinant PF13_0006 RIFIN were used in immunofluorescence and confocal imaging of 3D7 parasites throughout the asexual reproduction and sexual development to examine the expression of PF13_0006. Furthermore, reactivity to recombinant PF13_0006 was measured in plasma samples collected from individuals from both East and West African endemic areas. RESULTS: The PF13_0006 RIFIN variant appeared expressed by both released merozoites and gametes after emergence. 7.4% and 12.1% of individuals from East and West African endemic areas, respectively, carry plasma antibodies that recognize recombinant PF13_0006, where the antibody responses were more common among older children. CONCLUSIONS: The stage specificity of PF13_0006 suggests that the diversity of RIFIN variants has evolved to provide multiple specialized functions in different stages of the parasite life cycle. These data also suggest that RIFIN variants antigenically similar to PF13_0006 occur in African parasite populations

Environmental Sensor Placement with Convolutional Gaussian Neural Processes

Environmental sensors are crucial for monitoring weather conditions and the impacts of climate change. However, it is challenging to maximise measurement informativeness and place sensors efficiently, particularly in remote regions like Antarctica. Probabilistic machine learning models can evaluate placement informativeness by predicting the uncertainty reduction provided by a new sensor. Gaussian process (GP) models are widely used for this purpose, but they struggle with capturing complex non-stationary behaviour and scaling to large datasets. This paper proposes using a convolutional Gaussian neural process (ConvGNP) to address these issues. A ConvGNP uses neural networks to parameterise a joint Gaussian distribution at arbitrary target locations, enabling flexibility and scalability. Using simulated surface air temperature anomaly over Antarctica as ground truth, the ConvGNP learns spatial and seasonal non-stationarities, outperforming a non-stationary GP baseline. In a simulated sensor placement experiment, the ConvGNP better predicts the performance boost obtained from new observations than GP baselines, leading to more informative sensor placements. We contrast our approach with physics-based sensor placement methods and propose future work towards an operational sensor placement recommendation system. This system could help to realise environmental digital twins that actively direct measurement sampling to improve the digital representation of reality.Comment: In review for the Climate Informatics 2023 special issue of Environmental Data Scienc

"Obesity" and "Clinical Obesity" Men's understandings of obesity and its relation to the risk of diabetes: A qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The 2007 Wanless report highlights the ever increasing problem of obesity and the consequent health problems. Obesity is a significant cause of diabetes. An increasing evidence base suggests that in terms of reducing diabetes and CVD risk, it is better to be "fit and fat" than unfit and of normal weight. There has been very little previous research into the understandings that men in the general population hold about the issues of weight, exercise and health; we therefore undertook this study in order to inform the process of health promotion and diabetes prevention in this group.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A qualitative study in North East England General Practice using a purposive sample of men aged 25 and 45 years (selection process designed to include 'normal', 'overweight' and 'obese' men). One to one audio-recorded semi structured interviews focused on: overweight and obesity, diet, physical activity and diabetes. Transcripts were initially analysed using framework analysis. Emerging themes interlinked.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The men in this study (n = 17) understand the word obesity differently from the clinical definition; "obesity" was used as a description of those with fat in a central distribution, and understandings of the term commonly take into account fitness as well as weight. Men in their late 30s and early 40s described becoming more aware of health issues. Knowledge of what constitutes a 'healthy lifestyle' was generally good, but men described difficulty acting upon this knowledge for various reasons e.g. increasing responsibilities at home and at work. Knowledge of diabetes and the link between obesity and diabetes was poor.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Men in this study had a complex understanding of the interlinked importance of weight and fitness in relation to health. Obesity is understood as a description of people with centrally distributed fat, in association with low fitness levels. There is a need to increase understanding of the causes and consequences of diabetes. Discussion of increased health awareness by men round the age of 40 may indicate a window of opportunity to intervene at this time.</p

Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey: The colour evolution of galaxies in the distant Universe

The wavelength-coverage and sensitivity of JWST now enables us to probe the rest-frame UV - optical spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies at high-redshift ($z>4$). From these SEDs it is, in principle, through SED fitting possible to infer key physical properties, including stellar masses, star formation rates, and dust attenuation. These in turn can be compared with the predictions of galaxy formation simulations allowing us to validate and refine the incorporated physics. However, the inference of physical properties, particularly from photometry alone, can lead to large uncertainties and potential biases. Instead, it is now possible, and common, for simulations to be \emph{forward-modelled} to yield synthetic observations that can be compared directly to real observations. In this work, we measure the JWST broadband fluxes and colours of a robust sample of $5<z<10$ galaxies using the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) Survey. We then analyse predictions from a variety of models using the same methodology and compare the NIRCam/F277W magnitude distribution and NIRCam colours with observations. We find that the predicted and observed magnitude distributions are similar, at least at $58$ the distributions differ somewhat, though our observed sample size is small and thus susceptible to statistical fluctuations. Likewise, the predicted and observed colour evolution show broad agreement, at least at $5<z<8$. There is however some disagreement between the observed and modelled strength of the strong line contribution. In particular all the models fails to reproduce the F410M-F444W colour at $z>8$, though, again, the sample size is small here.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, submitted to MNRA

Does Cataract Surgery Alleviate Poverty? Evidence from a Multi-Centre Intervention Study Conducted in Kenya, the Philippines and Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Poverty and blindness are believed to be intimately linked, but empirical data supporting this purported relationship are sparse. The objective of this study is to assess whether there is a reduction in poverty after cataract surgery among visually impaired cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A multi-centre intervention study was conducted in three countries (Kenya, Philippines, Bangladesh). Poverty data (household per capita expenditure--PCE, asset ownership and self-rated wealth) were collected from cases aged ≥50 years who were visually impaired due to cataract (visual acuity<6/24 in the better eye) and age-sex matched controls with normal vision. Cases were offered free/subsidised cataract surgery. Approximately one year later participants were re-interviewed about poverty. 466 cases and 436 controls were examined at both baseline and follow-up (Follow up rate: 78% for cases, 81% for controls), of which 263 cases had undergone cataract surgery ("operated cases"). At baseline, operated cases were poorer compared to controls in terms of PCE (Kenya: $22 versus £35 p = 0.02, Bangladesh:$16 vs $24 p = 0.004, Philippines:$24 vs 32 p = 0.0007), assets and self-rated wealth. By follow-up PCE had increased significantly among operated cases in each of the three settings to the level of controls (Kenya: $30 versus £36 p = 0.49, Bangladesh:$23 vs $23 p = 0.20, Philippines:$45 vs $36 p = 0.68). There were smaller increases in self-rated wealth and no changes in assets. Changes in PCE were apparent in different socio-demographic and ocular groups. The largest PCE increases were apparent among the cases that were poorest at baseline. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study showed that cataract surgery can contribute to poverty alleviation, particularly among the most vulnerable members of society. This study highlights the need for increased provision of cataract surgery to poor people and shows that a focus on blindness may help to alleviate poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals

2019 American College of Rheumatology/Arthritis Foundation Guideline for the Management of Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153772/1/acr24131.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153772/2/acr24131_am.pd

Surface Co-Expression of Two Different PfEMP1 Antigens on Single Plasmodium falciparum-Infected Erythrocytes Facilitates Binding to ICAM1 and PECAM1

The Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) antigens play a major role in cytoadhesion of infected erythrocytes (IE), antigenic variation, and immunity to malaria. The current consensus on control of variant surface antigen expression is that only one PfEMP1 encoded by one var gene is expressed per cell at a time. We measured var mRNA transcript levels by real-time Q-PCR, analysed var gene transcripts by single-cell FISH and directly compared these with PfEMP1 antigen surface expression and cytoadhesion in three different antibody-selected P. falciparum 3D7 sub-lines using live confocal microscopy, flow cytometry and in vitro adhesion assays. We found that one selected parasite sub-line simultaneously expressed two different var genes as surface antigens, on single IE. Importantly, and of physiological relevance to adhesion and malaria pathogenesis, this parasite sub-line was found to bind both CD31/PECAM1 and CD54/ICAM1 and to adhere twice as efficiently to human endothelial cells, compared to infected cells having only one PfEMP1 variant on the surface. These new results on PfEMP1 antigen expression indicate that a re-evaluation of the molecular mechanisms involved in P. falciparum adhesion and of the accepted paradigm of absolutely mutually exclusive var gene transcription is required

Visualization for epidemiological modelling: challenges, solutions, reflections and recommendations.

From Europe PMC via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: epub 2022-08-15, ppub 2022-10-01Publication status: PublishedFunder: UK Research and Innovation; Grant(s): ST/V006126/1, EP/V054236/1, EP/V033670/1We report on an ongoing collaboration between epidemiological modellers and visualization researchers by documenting and reflecting upon knowledge constructs-a series of ideas, approaches and methods taken from existing visualization research and practice-deployed and developed to support modelling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Structured independent commentary on these efforts is synthesized through iterative reflection to develop: evidence of the effectiveness and value of visualization in this context; open problems upon which the research communities may focus; guidance for future activity of this type and recommendations to safeguard the achievements and promote, advance, secure and prepare for future collaborations of this kind. In describing and comparing a series of related projects that were undertaken in unprecedented conditions, our hope is that this unique report, and its rich interactive supplementary materials, will guide the scientific community in embracing visualization in its observation, analysis and modelling of data as well as in disseminating findings. Equally we hope to encourage the visualization community to engage with impactful science in addressing its emerging data challenges. If we are successful, this showcase of activity may stimulate mutually beneficial engagement between communities with complementary expertise to address problems of significance in epidemiology and beyond. See https://ramp-vis.github.io/RAMPVIS-PhilTransA-Supplement/. This article is part of the theme issue 'Technical challenges of modelling real-life epidemics and examples of overcoming these'

Two transiting hot Jupiters from the WASP survey : WASP-150b and WASP-176b

Funding: The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the FP/2007-2013 ERC grant Agreement No. 336480 and from the ARC grant for Concerted Research Actions financed by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. A.C.C. acknowledges support from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)consolidated grant No. ST/R000824/1.We report the discovery of two transiting exoplanets from the WASP survey, WASP-150b and WASP-176b. WASP-150b is an eccentric (e = 0.38) hot Jupiter on a 5.6 day orbit around a V = 12.03, F8 main-sequence host. The host star has a mass and radius of 1.4 M⊙ and 1.7 R⊙ respectively. WASP-150b has a mass and radius of 8.5 MJ and 1.1 RJ, leading to a large planetary bulk density of 6.4 ρJ. WASP-150b is found to be ~3 Gyr old, well below its circularization timescale, supporting the eccentric nature of the planet. WASP-176b is a hot Jupiter planet on a 3.9 day orbit around a V = 12.01, F9 sub-giant host. The host star has a mass and radius of 1.3 M⊙ and 1.9 R⊙. WASP-176b has a mass and radius of 0.86 MJ and 1.5 RJ, respectively, leading to a planetary bulk density of 0.23 ρJ.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe