Radiocarbon Protocols and First Intercomparison Results From The Chronos¹⁴ Carbon-Cycle Facility, University Of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

The Chronos 14Carbon-Cycle Facility is a new radiocarbon laboratory at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Built around an Ionplus 200 kV MIni-CArbon DAting System (MICADAS) Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) installed in October 2019, the facility was established to address major challenges in the Earth, Environmental and Archaeological sciences. Here we report an overview of the Chronos facility, the pretreatment methods currently employed (bones, carbonates, peat, pollen, charcoal, and wood) and results of radiocarbon and stable isotope measurements undertaken on a wide range of sample types. Measurements on international standards, known-age and blank samples demonstrate the facility is capable of measuring 14C samples from the Anthropocene back to nearly 50,000 years ago. Future work will focus on improving our understanding of the Earth system and managing resources in a future warmer world

Conserved Charged Amino Acids within Sendai Virus C Protein Play Multiple Roles in the Evasion of Innate Immune Responses

One of the accessory proteins of Sendai virus (SeV), C, translated from an alternate reading frame of P/V mRNA has been shown to function at multiple stages of infection in cell cultures as well as in mice. C protein has been reported to counteract signal transduction by interferon (IFN), inhibit apoptosis induced by the infection, enhance the efficiency of budding of viral particles, and regulate the polarity of viral genome-length RNA synthesis to maximize production of infectious particles. In this study, we have generated a series of SeV recombinants containing substitutions of highly conserved, charged residues within the C protein, and characterized them together with previously-reported C′/C(−), 4C(−), and F170S recombinant viruses in infected cell cultures in terms of viral replication, cytopathogenicity, and antagonizing effects on host innate immunity. Unexpectedly, the amino acid substitutions had no or minimal effect on viral growth and viral RNA synthesis. However, all the substitutions of charged amino acids resulted in the loss of a counteracting effect against the establishment of an IFN-α-mediated anti-viral state. Infection by the virus (Cm2′) containing mutations at K77 and D80 induced significant IFN-β production, severe cytopathic effects, and detectable amounts of viral dsRNA production. In addition to the Cm2′ virus, the virus containing mutations at E114 and E115 did not inhibit the poly(I:C)-triggered translocation of cellular IRF-3 to the nucleus. These results suggest that the C protein play important roles in viral escape from induction of IFN-β and cell death triggered by infection by means of counteracting the pathway leading to activation of IRF-3 as well as of minimizing viral dsRNA production

Microscopy in forensic science

This chapter examines the use of electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and other analytical techniques in forensic investigation and research. These tools can be used to enhance examination of human remains and trace evidence to improve understanding of cause of death, victim identification or post mortem interval.A police-designed scenario is used to highlight trace evidence such as glass, gun shot residue and paint. The validity of forensic techniques is discussed, with reference to international standards, repeatability, and false convictions. Ballistic evidence is used to highlight the complexities in evidence interpretation, including manufacturing variability, environmental effects and likelihood ratios.The use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and other techniques in the development of forensic research is showcased, with particular examples from the field of fingerprints. Examples include improvements in the development of fingermarks from difficult surfaces, interaction of evidence types, and added intelligence from the crime scene, such as forensic timeline or gender of perpetrator

Data for: The potential for rapid determination of charcoal from wetland sediments using infrared spectroscopy

Data and calculations for manuscript "The potential for rapid determination of charcoal from wetland sediments using infrared spectroscopy". Includes sheets used to calculate various measures of charcoal area and volume, optimization for cross-polarized NMR spectra, mixing models to determine organic compounds from NMR, loss-on-ignition, total organic carbon contents and size fractionated carbon contents

Data for: The potential for rapid determination of charcoal from wetland sediments using infrared spectroscopy

Data and calculations for manuscript "The potential for rapid determination of charcoal from wetland sediments using infrared spectroscopy". Includes sheets used to calculate various measures of charcoal area and volume, optimization for cross-polarized NMR spectra, mixing models to determine organic compounds from NMR, loss-on-ignition, total organic carbon contents and size fractionated carbon contents

Can we infer vegetation change from peat carbon and nitrogen content? A palaeoecological test from Tasmania, Australia

We set out to test the ability to detect vegetation change from organic soil nutrient, carbon and nitrogen, composition in the fire-determined forest, non-forest mosaic of western Tasmania, Australia. We find no relationship between organic soil nitrogen and carbon content, despite widely varying local vegetation and fire regimes. Pollen evidence supports the role of fire in driving an initial vegetation state change from forest to non-forest, while carbon and nitrogen analysis of the peat section suggest that factors other than peat nutrient, carbon and nitrogen, content are responsible for the observed meta-stability of non-forest at the site for, years. We find that we cannot validate the use of organic soil nitrogen and carbon content for inferring vegetation type and question the degree of post-European vegetation change inferred from this method.Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Haidee R Cadd and Simon G Haberl

(Ton)silly seasons? Do atmospheric conditions actually affect post-tonsillectomy secondary haemorrhage rates?

Tonsillectomy is a common procedure, with potentially life-threatening complications. Previous investigations into post-tonsillectomy secondary haemorrhage rates suggest an influence of climactic and atmospheric conditions on haemorrhage rate, particularly temperature and water vapour pressure. With a single emergency department and a large variance in atmospheric conditions, Darwin, Australia, is ideal for investigating the effects of local climate on rates of post-operative haemorrhage. A five-year retrospective review was conducted of all tonsillectomy procedures performed between 2008 and 2013. Effects of atmospheric variables were examined using Pearson's correlation coefficient and analysis of variance. A total of 941 patients underwent tonsillectomy in the study period. The bleeding rate was 7.7 per cent. No variation was found between wet and dry season tonsillectomies (p = 0.4). Temperature (p = 0.74), water vapour pressure (p = 0.94) and humidity (p = 0.66) had no effect on bleeding. The findings revealed no correlation between humidity, season, water vapour pressure and haemorrhage rates. Further research should use multi-site data to investigate the effect of air conditioning, humidification and climactic conditions between different regions in Australia