A Mesolithic settlement site at Howick, Northumberland: a preliminary report

Excavations at a coastal site at Howick during 2000 and 2002 have revealed evidence for a substantial Mesolithic settlement and a Bronze Age cist cemetery. Twenty one radiocarbon determinations of the earlier eighth millennium BP (Cal.) indicate that the Mesolithic site is one of the earliest known in northern Britain. An 8m core of sediment was recovered from stream deposits adjacent to the archaeological site which provides information on local environmental conditions. Howick offers a unique opportunity to understand aspects of hunter-gatherer colonisation and settlement during a period of rapid palaeogeographical change around the margins of the North Sea basin, at a time when it was being progressively inundated by the final stages of the postglacial marine transgression. The cist cemetery will add to the picture of Bronze Age occupation of the coastal strip and again reveals a correlation between the location of Bronze Age and Mesolithic sites which has been observed elsewhere in the region

Frequency response in surface-potential driven electro-hydrodynamics

Using a Fourier approach we offer a general solution to calculations of slip velocity within the circuit description of the electro-hydrodynamics in a binary electrolyte confined by a plane surface with a modulated surface potential. We consider the case with a spatially constant intrinsic surface capacitance where the net flow rate is in general zero while harmonic rolls as well as time-averaged vortex-like components may exist depending on the spatial symmetry and extension of the surface potential. In general the system displays a resonance behavior at a frequency corresponding to the inverse RC time of the system. Different surface potentials share the common feature that the resonance frequency is inversely proportional to the characteristic length scale of the surface potential. For the asymptotic frequency dependence above resonance we find a 1/omega^2 power law for surface potentials with either an even or an odd symmetry. Below resonance we also find a power law omega^alpha with alpha being positive and dependent of the properties of the surface potential. Comparing a tanh potential and a sech potential we qualitatively find the same slip velocity, but for the below-resonance frequency response the two potentials display different power law asymptotics with alpha=1 and alpha~2, respectively.Comment: 4 pages including 1 figure. Accepted for PR

Tunneling through nanosystems: Combining broadening with many-particle states

We suggest a new approach for transport through finite systems based on the Liouville equation. By working in a basis of many-particle states for the finite system, Coulomb interactions are taken fully into account and correlated transitions by up to two different contact states are included. This latter extends standard rate equation models by including level-broadening effects. The main result of the paper is a general expression for the elements of the density matrix of the finite size system, which can be applied whenever the eigenstates and the couplings to the leads are known. The approach works for arbitrary bias and for temperatures above the Kondo temperature. We apply the approach to standard models and good agreement with other methods in their respective regime of validity is found.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures included to tex

Prevalence of lifestyle characteristics in glucocorticoid users and non-users: a Danish population-based cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES Lifestyle may affect observed associations between glucocorticoid use and adverse events. This study aimed to investigate whether lifestyle differ according to use of systemic glucocorticoids. DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING The Central Denmark Region. PARTICIPANTS 30 245 adults (≥25 years of age) who participated in a questionnaire-based public health survey in 2010. OUTCOME MEASURES Systemic glucocorticoid use was categorised as never use, current use (prescription redemption ≤90 days before completing the questionnaire), recent use (prescription redemption 91–365 days before completing the questionnaire), former use (prescription redemption >365 days before completing the questionnaire) and according to cumulative dose expressed in prednisolone equivalents (<100, 100–499, 500–999, 1000–1999, 2000–4999, ≥5000 mg). We computed the prevalence of lifestyle factors (body mass index, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity and dietary habits) according to glucocorticoid use. We then estimated age-adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) and 95% CIs, comparing the categories of glucocorticoid users versus never users. All analyses were stratified by sex. RESULTS Of the 30 245 participants (53% women, median age 53 years), 563 (1.9%) were current users, 885 (2.9%) were recent users, 3054 (10%) were former users and 25 743 (85%) were never users. Ever users of glucocorticoids had a slightly higher prevalence of obesity than never users (18% vs 14%, aPR=1.4, 95% CI 1.2 to 1.5 in women and 17% vs 15%, aPR=1.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.4 in men). In women, ever users of glucocorticoids had a slightly lower prevalence of high-risk alcohol consumption compared with never users (17% vs 20%, aPR=0.8, 95% CI 0.7 to 1.0). Smoking, diet and physical activity did not differ substantially according to use of glucocorticoids. CONCLUSION Our study provides a framework for quantifying potential uncontrolled confounding by lifestyle factors in studies of systemic glucocorticoids

Dysregulation of a novel miR-23b/27b-p53 axis impairs muscle stem cell differentiation of humans with type 2 diabetes

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly recognized as fine-tuning regulators of metabolism, and are dysregulated in several disease conditions. With their capacity to rapidly change gene expression, miRNAs are also important regulators of development and cell differentiation. In the current study, we describe an impaired myogenic capacity of muscle stem cells isolated from humans with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and assess whether this phenotype is regulated by miRNAs. Methods: We measured global miRNA expression during in vitro differentiation of muscle stem cells derived from T2DM patients and healthy controls. Results: The mir-23b/27b cluster was downregulated in the cells of the patients, and a pro-myogenic effect of these miRNAs was mediated through the p53 pathway, which was concordantly dysregulated in the muscle cells derived from humans with T2DM. Conclusions: Our results indicate that we have identified a novel pathway for coordination of myogenesis, the miR-23b/27b-p53 axis that, when dysregulated, potentially contributes to a sustained muscular dysfunction in T2DM

Quantum Interaction ϕ44\phi^4_4: the Construction of Quantum Field defined as a Bilinear Form

We construct the solution $\phi(t,{\bf x})$ of the quantum wave equation $\Box\phi + m^2\phi + \lambda:\!\!\phi^3\!\!: = 0$ as a bilinear form which can be expanded over Wick polynomials of the free $in$-field, and where $:\!\phi^3(t,{\bf x})\!:$ is defined as the normal ordered product with respect to the free $in$-field. The constructed solution is correctly defined as a bilinear form on $D_{\theta}\times D_{\theta}$, where $D_{\theta}$ is a dense linear subspace in the Fock space of the free $in$-field. On $D_{\theta}\times D_{\theta}$ the diagonal Wick symbol of this bilinear form satisfies the nonlinear classical wave equation.Comment: 32 pages, LaTe

Calcium from salmon and cod bone is well absorbed in young healthy men: a double-blinded randomised crossover design

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Calcium (Ca) - fortified foods are likely to play an important role in helping the consumer achieve an adequate Ca intake, especially for persons with a low intake of dairy products. Fish bones have a high Ca content, and huge quantities of this raw material are available as a by-product from the fish industry. Previously, emphasis has been on producing high quality products from fish by-products by use of bacterial proteases. However, documentation of the nutritional value of the enzymatically rinsed Ca-rich bone fraction remains unexplored. The objective of the present study was to assess the bioavailability of calcium in bones of Atlantic salmon (oily fish) and Atlantic cod (lean fish) in a double-blinded randomised crossover design.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ca absorption was measured in 10 healthy young men using ⁴⁷Ca whole body counting after ingestion of a test meal extrinsically labelled with the ⁴⁷Ca isotope. The three test meals contained 800 mg of Ca from three different calcium sources: cod bones, salmon bones and control (CaCO₃).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean Ca absorption (± SEE) from the three different Ca sources were 21.9 ± 1.7%, 22.5 ± 1.7% and 27.4 ± 1.8% for cod bones, salmon bones, and control (CaCO₃), respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that bones from Atlantic salmon and Atlantic cod are suitable as natural Ca sources in e.g. functional foods or as supplements.</p