Archaeological building investigation and evaluation : City Tower, Todd Street, Manchester

In July 2016, Salford Archaeology was commissioned by Unique Boutique Hotels (Manchester) Ltd to undertake an historic building investigation of the former Cathedral School on Todd Street, Manchester (centred on SJ 8406 9886). Following the demolition of the building in November 2016, Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd commissioned Salford Archaeology to carry out an archaeological evaluation on the land. Both elements of the project were required as part of a redevelopment scheme. The historic building investigation was commensurate with a Level I-type survey, and the evaluation comprised the excavation of a single trench, which aimed to establish the presence or absence of buried archaeological remains within the proposed development area. An archaeological desk-based assessment compiled in 2010 demonstrated that the study area had the potential for the survival of remains relating to 18th- and 19th-century buildings, including housing, public houses and a series of schools. The site’s proximity to the original medieval core of Manchester also raised the possibility for earlier medieval remains being present in uncellared areas of the site, particularly within a former central courtyard. The historic building investigation concluded that the remnants of the former Cathedral School had been subject to considerable remodelling and alterations during the later 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the basement and ground floor, with a resultant loss of historic fabric. The investigation has enabled an appropriate record of the building to be completed prior to its demolition. The evaluation trench excavated across the study area revealed that basements had removed all remains at the south-east and north-west ends of the trench. Natural gravels were observed between these basements, but did not contain any features of archaeological significance. The natural gravels were tested by excavating a sondage to 4.2m, and were shown to be consistent throughout, becoming much more indurated at depth. The results obtained from the evaluation trenches have indicated that no remains of archaeological significance survive within the study area, and that no further archaeological work in advance of development is merited

Archaeological Excavation and Historic Building Investigation : Local Crescent, The Crescent, Salford

In July 2017, Salford Archaeology was commissioned by Domis Property Group,acting on behalf of Property (Done) Ltd, to undertake an historic building investigationof the former Black Horse Hotel on The Crescent on the fringe of Salford city centre,coupled with an archaeological excavation on land bounded by The Crescent,Gaythorn Street, Hulme Street and by Back Hulme Street (centred on NGR SJ 8247498493; Plate 1). The archaeological work was required to mitigate the impact of theproposed redevelopment of the site on known significant archaeological remains, andsatisfy the wording of a condition attached to planning consent for a large residentialdevelopment (Planning Ref 15/67356/FUL).The excavation has provided a valuable opportunity to examine a range of examplesof early 19th-century workers’ housing in Salford, and investigate the probable postmedieval settlement of White Cross. However, the excavation yielded very little firmevidence for any activity on the site prior to the 18th century, although a single sherdof slipware recovered from one of the trenches has been ascribed a 17th-century date;there was no evidence for any medieval activity on the site, although any remainsfrom this period that may have existed will be been largely or entirely removed by theintensive development of the site in the 19th century

The Vulcan Works, Southport : the archaeology of an Edwardian car factory

The widespread adoption of the motor car had what was perhaps the greatest impact on the physical and social landscape of 20th-century Britain, and yet virtually none of the early car factories have been subject to formal archaeological investigation. In 2019-20, Salford Archaeology carried out a comprehensive survey of the former Vulcan Works, a purpose-built factory that was erected near Southport in 1907 by Thomas and Joseph Hampson, two pioneers of the British motor-manufacturing industry. Initially, this ‘state-of-the-art’ factory comprised an architecturally impressive two-storey office with a single-storey machine and erecting shop to the rear, together with the associated power plant. Extensive additions had increased the size of the works to more than 3.6 hectares by 1924, and whilst the buildings were repurposed as a general engineering works in 1937, the original Edwardian car factory remained largely unaltered. The archaeological survey, coupled with historical research and limited excavation, has provided a unique record of a rare survivor of Britain’s fledgling car-manufacturing industry prior to its demolition

Metabolomics Unravel Contrasting Effects of Biodiversity on the Performance of Individual Plant Species

In spite of evidence for positive diversity-productivity relationships increasing plant diversity has highly variable effects on the performance of individual plant species, but the mechanisms behind these differential responses are far from being understood. To gain deeper insights into the physiological responses of individual plant species to increasing plant diversity we performed systematic untargeted metabolite profiling on a number of herbs derived from a grassland biodiversity experiment (Jena Experiment). The Jena Experiment comprises plots of varying species number (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60) and number and composition of functional groups (1 to 4; grasses, legumes, tall herbs, small herbs). In this study the metabolomes of two tall-growing herbs (legume: Medicago x varia; non-legume: Knautia arvensis) and three small-growing herbs (legume: Lotus corniculatus; non-legumes: Bellis perennis, Leontodon autumnalis) in plant communities of increasing diversity were analyzed. For metabolite profiling we combined gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and UPLC coupled to FT-ICR-MS (LC-FT-MS) analyses from the same sample. This resulted in several thousands of detected m/z-features. ANOVA and multivariate statistical analysis revealed 139 significantly changed metabolites (30 by GC-TOF-MS and 109 by LC-FT-MS). The small-statured plants L. autumnalis, B. perennis and L. corniculatus showed metabolic response signatures to increasing plant diversity and species richness in contrast to tall-statured plants. Key-metabolites indicated C- and N-limitation for the non-leguminous small-statured species B. perennis and L. autumnalis, while the metabolic signature of the small-statured legume L. corniculatus indicated facilitation by other legumes. Thus, metabolomic analysis provided evidence for negative effects of resource competition on the investigated small-statured herbs that might mechanistically explain their decreasing performance with increasing plant diversity. In contrast, taller species often becoming dominant in mixed plant communities did not show modified metabolite profiles in response to altered resource availability with increasing plant diversity. Taken together, our study demonstrates that metabolite profiling is a strong diagnostic tool to assess individual metabolic phenotypes in response to plant diversity and ecophysiological adjustment

Pulmonary retransplantation:Predictors of graft function and survival in 230 patients

Background. Despite improving results in lung transplantation, a significant number of grafts fail early or late postoperatively. The pulmonary retransplant registry was founded in 1991 to determine the predictors of outcome after retransplantation. We hypothesized that ambulatory status of the recipient and center retransplant volume, which had been previously shown to predict survival after retransplantation, would also be associated with improved graft function postoperatively. Methods. Two hundred thirty patients underwent retransplantation in 47 centers from 1985 to 1996. Logistic regression methods were used to determine variables associated with, and predictive of, survival and lung function after retransplantation. Results. Kaplan-Meier survival was 47% +/- 3%, 40% +/- 3%, and 33% +/- 4% at 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. On multivariable analysis, the predictors of survival included ambulatory status or lack of ventilator support preoperatively (p = 0.005; odds ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.15 to 2.27), followed by retransplantation after 1991 (p = 0.048; odds ratio, 1.41; 95% confidence interval, 1.003 to 1.99). Ambulatory, nonventilated patients undergoing retransplantation after 1991 had a 1-year survival of 64% +/- 5% versus 33% +/- 4% for nonambulatory, ventilated recipients. Eighty-one percent, 70%, 62%, and 56% of survivors were free of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years after retransplantation, respectively. Factors associated with freedom from stage 3 (severe) bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome at 2 years after retransplantation included an interval between transplants greater than 2 years (p = 0.01), the lack of ventilatory support before retransplantation (p = 0.03), increasing retransplant experience within each center (fifth and higher retransplant patient, p = 0.04), and total center volume of five or more retransplant operations (P = 0.05). Conclusions. Nonambulatory, ventilated patients should not be considered for retransplantation with the same priority as other candidates. The best intermediate-term functional results occurred in more experienced centers, in nonventilated patients, and in patients undergoing retransplantation more than 2 years after their first transplant. In view of the scarcity of lung donors, patient selection for retransplantation should remain strict and should be guided by the outcome data reviewed in this article. (C) 1998 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons