BradPhys to BradViz or from archaeological science to heritage science

YesArchaeology is a broad church and its role as a “two culture” discipline is frequently cited. This position at the interface of the arts and sciences remains central to archaeological activity but there have been significant changes in the structure of archaeology and its relationship to society overall. The growth of heritage science, in particular, is driving change and development within archaeology at a national and international level. This paper discusses these developments in relation to the author's own research trajectory and discusses the significance of such change

Validation of a chloroquine-induced cell death mechanism for clinical use against malaria

An alternative antimalarial pathway of an ‘outdated’ drug, chloroquine (CQ), may facilitate its return to the shrinking list of effective antimalarials. Conventionally, CQ is believed to interfere with hemozoin formation at nanomolar concentrations, but resistant parasites are able to efflux this drug from the digestive vacuole (DV). However, we show that the DV membrane of both resistant and sensitive laboratory and field parasites is compromised after exposure to micromolar concentrations of CQ, leading to an extrusion of DV proteases. Furthermore, only a short period of exposure is required to compromise the viability of late-stage parasites. To study the feasibility of this strategy, mice malaria models were used to demonstrate that high doses of CQ also triggered DV permeabilization in vivo and reduced reinvasion efficiency. We suggest that a time-release oral formulation of CQ may sustain elevated blood CQ levels sufficiently to clear even CQ-resistant parasites

Cityscapes without figures: geophysics, computing and the future of urban studies

Ye

From Uruk to Ur: Automated Matching of Virtual Tablet Fragments

Unlike jigsaw puzzles of thousands of pieces, which computers can now solve, fragmented tablets constitute much more complex freeform three-dimensional “puzzles” whose pieces can belong to an unknown number of complete or incomplete tablets. Computer-aided reconstruction of archaeological fragments has been an active area of research in recent years, although most published work has been specific to the joining of potsherds. Challenges in automated reassembly, aside from the difficulties of acquiring three dimensional scans, include the extremely difficult search problems, the large numbers of false-positive matches and the incorporation of surface imagery with object geometry. We have produced and refined a means of automatically joining fragments. The process of automated computer joining comprises three main stages: preprocessing, pairwise matching and match ranking. Pairwise matching is an enormously computationally intensive problem that significantly benefits from the parallel computing capacity of modern graphical processing units. The first successful pair of automated fragment joins was achieved in 2014 for a pair of fragments from Uruk. Further automated joins have since been made using fragments from Ur, currently held by the British Museum. The 3D virtual Ur fragments were acquired with high-resolution photographic texture using a novel, portable, low-cost “scannerless” rotary photogrammetric scanning system. The workflow for the method was designed such that minimal user intervention or training is required for both the 3D acquisition and the automated joining. Future ambitions include the achievement of long-distance photogrammetric matches, for example, of London and Pennsylvania virtual tablet fragments

Insulin trafficking in a glucose responsive engineered human liver cell line is regulated by the interaction of ATP-sensitive potassium channels and voltage- gated calcium channels

Type I diabetes is caused by the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta (â) cells [1]. Current treatment requires multiple daily injections of insulin to control blood glucose levels. Tight glucose control lowers, but does not eliminate, the onset of diabetic complications, which greatly reduce the quality and longevity of life for patients. Transplantation of pancreatic tissue as a treatment is restricted by the scarcity of donors and the requirement for lifelong immunosuppression to preserve the graft, which carries adverse side-effects. This is of particular concern as Type 1 diabetes predominantly affects children. Lack of glucose control could be overcome by genetically engineering "an artificial â-cell" that is capable of synthesising, storing and secreting insulin in response to metabolic signals. The donor cell type must be readily accessible and capable of being engineered to synthesise, process, store and secrete insulin under physiological conditions

Uncovering treatment burden as a key concept for stroke care: a systematic review of qualitative research

<b>Background</b> Patients with chronic disease may experience complicated management plans requiring significant personal investment. This has been termed ‘treatment burden’ and has been associated with unfavourable outcomes. The aim of this systematic review is to examine the qualitative literature on treatment burden in stroke from the patient perspective.<p></p> <b>Methods and findings</b> The search strategy centred on: stroke, treatment burden, patient experience, and qualitative methods. We searched: Scopus, CINAHL, Embase, Medline, and PsycINFO. We tracked references, footnotes, and citations. Restrictions included: English language, date of publication January 2000 until February 2013. Two reviewers independently carried out the following: paper screening, data extraction, and data analysis. Data were analysed using framework synthesis, as informed by Normalization Process Theory. Sixty-nine papers were included. Treatment burden includes: (1) making sense of stroke management and planning care, (2) interacting with others, (3) enacting management strategies, and (4) reflecting on management. Health care is fragmented, with poor communication between patient and health care providers. Patients report inadequate information provision. Inpatient care is unsatisfactory, with a perceived lack of empathy from professionals and a shortage of stimulating activities on the ward. Discharge services are poorly coordinated, and accessing health and social care in the community is difficult. The study has potential limitations because it was restricted to studies published in English only and data from low-income countries were scarce.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Stroke management is extremely demanding for patients, and treatment burden is influenced by micro and macro organisation of health services. Knowledge deficits mean patients are ill equipped to organise their care and develop coping strategies, making adherence less likely. There is a need to transform the approach to care provision so that services are configured to prioritise patient needs rather than those of health care systems