FutureGRID: A Program for long-term research into GRID systems architecture

Proceedings of the 2003 UK e-Science All Hands Meeting, 31st August - 3rd September, Nottingham UKThis is a project to carry out research into long-term GRID architecture, in the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and the Cambridge eScience Center, with support from the Microsoft Research Laboratory, Cambridge. It is part of a larger vision for future systems architectures for public computing platforms, including both scientitic GRID and commodity level computing such as games, peer2peer computing and storage services and so forth, based on work in the laboratories in recent years into massively scaleable distributed systems for storage, computation, content distribution and collaboration[26]

From the parochial to the universal; comparing cloth cultures in the Bronze Age. European Journal of Archaeology

The aim of this research is to compare the cloth cultures of Europe and Egypt in the Bronze Age and New Kingdom. The comparison focuses on the fourteenth century cal bc and includes four geographically separate areas, including the oak coffin burials of southern Scandinavia, the Hallstatt salt mines of central Europe, Late Minoan Crete, and the tombs and towns of the later Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. The comparative approach can bring insights even when applied to unconnected cultures or regions. However, in this study I concentrate on a restricted chronological period and areas that were connected, directly or indirectly, by widespread networks of trade or exchange. The concept of cloth cultures is used to include both textiles and animal skins as these were closely related materials in the prehistoric past. Information was gathered according to the following categories: raw materials, including textile fibre, and species of skins; fabric structure and thread count (only for textiles); decoration and finish; and use and context. From this study, it is possible to recognize the universally shared principles of cloth cultures and the great versatility and creativity in the regional cloth cultures of the Bronze Age

Sensible dress: experiments with the sight, sound, touch and smell of Late Ertebølle, Mesolithic cloth types.

The aim of this article is to investigate the sight, sound, smell and touch of different cloth types in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia and to argue that such an approach provides stimulating new insights into an area of material culture that has previously been studied by archaeologists in a highly empirical manner. The archaeological evidence drawn together in this article points to this as a time when furs and skin products were of prime importance and plant fibres were the basis for knotted nets, looped cloth and basketry. In the archaeological literature these cloth types are usually treated separately and described according to the species of raw materials, such as pine marten fur, or the technology of their production, such as couched button-hole stitch. Using an experiment where participants are asked to handle modern cloth types and answer structured questionnaires, it is possible to create a sensory description of these cloth types. These descriptive results are then used to reconsider aspects of cloth and clothing in the Late Ertebølle of southern Scandinavia. By moving from the standard technological description to a sensory description, the Mesolithic cloth types investigated in this article are placed within a sensory and phenomenological theoretical framework. The presentation of these results seeks to provide a new description of these materials and allow archaeologists to revaluate the culturally-embedded nature of cloth and clothing at that time

Hide-working with dry scrape technique using stone and bone tools

My research into prehistoric leather in Europe has led to an interest in the techniques and tools used to process animal skins by methods such as oiling, drying and smoking using stone and bone tools (Harris 2011). There are many excellent sources outlining historical and present day methods of tanning or curing skins other than vegetable tanning (Aksaajuq Otak 2005, Kellogg 1984, 88-95, Klokkernes 2007, Mason 1891, Oakes and Riewe 1996, Richards 2004). Like many archaeologists who wish to improve their understanding of the archaeological evidence, I have attempted several of these techniques myself. As those who have tried will know, preparing skins is not so straightforward and I have several examples of hard, crinkly skins with the hair falling out. To improve my understanding I took Pier Chandler's course on “Natural Hideworking” which promised to teach a dry-scrape technique using stone tools. I made these notes of the day and thought they may be of interest to other members

Introduction. Leather in archaeology: between material properties, materiality and technological choices

The study of leather is a specialist field in archaeology, yet focuses on one of the major materials in the past, the use of which continues into the present. The common occurrence of these animal skin products through time, whether tanned leather, parchment, vellum, oil or fat cured skins or rawhide attest to the enduring utility and desirability of animal skins as a material. Traditionally, these products have all been grouped together as leather (Hodges 1995, 151), although their fundamental differences are increasingly recognised and published in the archaeological literature (Thomson 2006a, 1-3). For those without a specialist interest in leather it is easy to overlook the variability of products among this group of materials and to lose sight of the specific reasons behind the choice of leather in particular situations and according to different cultural and temporal contexts. In this volume, the authors address the question ‘Why leather?’ through investigating the nature of animal skins, the behaviour of skins and leather in use and the network of decisions made by the makers, designers and users in bringing raw materials to a finished object and its place in the social fabric of life. The authors also address why leather works in certain situations, and indeed sometimes why other materials were and are chosen in preference to leather. The response to such questions is not only addressed through the properties of materials, but also how leather, like all materials, is viewed with the dimensions of culture and beliefs which surround it. The aim of this introduction is to place the conference theme and chapters herein within the field of leather in archaeology and current issues surrounding the study of materials in the past. This volume benefits from the insights of archaeologists and authors from other professions, whose specialist knowledge provides the archaeologists with a new perspective of seeing their topic

Studi Perbandingan Karakteristik Suhu Transisi, Struktur Mikro Dan Sifat Kekerasan Pada Logam Induk, Logam Las Dan Daerah Pengaruh Panas (HAZ) Baja Tahan Karat AISI 304 Setelah Diannealing Pada Bermacam-Macam Suhu

Studi perbandingan karakteristik suhu transisi, struktur mikro dan sifat kekerasan dilakukan pada Iogam induk, logam las dan daerah pengaruh panas baja tahan karat AISI 304 setelah diannealing pada suhu antara 1008°C sampai 1120 °C. Suhu pada pengujian impak dilakukan pada bermacam macam .suhu, suhu terendah -196°C (suhu cryogenic) dan suhu tertinggi 31 °C (suhu kamar), dimana pengujian ini dilakukan untuk memperoleh kurva suhu transisi pada logam induk, Iogam las dan daerah pengaruh panas (HAZ) yang menunjukkan hubungan antara prosentase kepecahan ulet-getas (shear fracture) dengan suhu. Suhu transisi yang paling rendah terletak pada daerah HAZ dan yang paling tinggi terletak pada daerah logam las. Uji kekerasan pada logam induk, logam las, dan daaerah pengaruh panas (HAZ) dilakukan dengan pengujian kekerasan vickers, dimana pengujian ini menggunakan piramida intan sebagai penekan (indentor).Hasil uji kekerasan pada baja AlSl 304 dengan perlakuan menunjukan nilai kekerasan logam las<logam induk<daerah pengaruh panas (HAZ), sedangkan tanpa perlakuan menunjukkan nilai kekerasan Logam dasar<logam las<daerah pengaruh panas (HAZ). Gambar mikrostruktur logam induk, logam las dan daerah pengaruh panas (HAZ) dengan perbesaran 400 X diambil dengan menggunakan foto mikro setelah terlebih dahulu digosok dan dietsa. Hasil foto mikro menunjukkan adanya presipitasi karbida krom (Cr23C6) pada daerah pengaruh panas (HAZ) yang dapat mengurangi ketangguhan dan ketahanan korosi, terbentuknya butir-butir baru yang equiaxe pada daerah logam dasar sehingga terjadi penurunan nilai kekerasan dan kekuatan Jogam, struktur dendritik pada logam las yang terdiri austenitik dan delta ferrite . ============================================================ The comparison characteristic of base metal, weld metal and heat affective zone (1-lAZ) of stainless steels AISI 304 was studied in impact test, hardness test and microstructure after heat treated by annealing which temperature betwen 1008°C to 1120 oc. The temperature of impact test was held in various, the low temperature was -196°C (the cryogenic temperature) and the higher temperature was 31 oc (room temperature) and it was to aimed the transition temperature curves of percentage shear fracture versus temperature each of the three elements (base metal, weld metal and heat affective zone) of speciments.The lowest transition temperature was on heat effective zone and the higher transition temperature was on weld metal. Hardness test was using vickers test with diamond pyramid indentor to resulted the hardness value of base metal, weld metal and heat affective zone (HAZ).The resulted of hardness test on stainless steel AISI 304 with heat treatment shown hardness value of weld metal<base metal<heat effective zone (HAZ), and without heat treatment shown hardness value of base metal<weld metal<heat effective zone (HAZ). Microstructure image of base metal, weld metal and heat affective zone (HAZ) magnified 400 X was taken by using photo micro after the three elements had polished and etsa treated. Foto micro result of heat effective zone (HAZ) showing chromium carbide was precipitated in which reducing corrosion resistance and toughness, new equiaxe grains in which reducing hardness value and strength of steel was created., dendritic structure of weld metal contains austenitic and delta ferrite

Initiation of Psychotropic Medication after Partner Bereavement: A Matched Cohort Study

Background Recent changes to diagnostic criteria for depression in DSM-5 remove the bereavement exclusion, allowing earlier diagnosis following bereavement. Evaluation of the potential effect of this change requires an understanding of existing psychotropic medication prescribing by non-specialists after bereavement. Aims To describe initiation of psychotropic medication in the first year after partner bereavement. Methods In a UK primary care database, we identified 21,122 individuals aged 60 and over with partner bereavement and no psychotropic drug use in the previous year. Prescribing (anxiolytic/hypnotic, antidepressant, antipsychotic) after bereavement was compared to age, sex and practice matched controls. Results The risks of receiving a new psychotropic prescription within two and twelve months of bereavement were 9.5% (95% CI 9.1 to 9.9%) and 17.9% (17.3 to 18.4%) respectively; an excess risk of initiation in the first year of 12.4% compared to non-bereaved controls. Anxiolytic/hypnotic and antidepressant initiation rates were highest in the first two months. In this period, the hazard ratio for initiation of anxiolytics/hypnotics was 16.7 (95% CI 14.7 to 18.9) and for antidepressants was 5.6 (4.7 to 6.7) compared to non-bereaved controls. 13.3% of those started on anxiolytics/hypnotics within two months continued to receive this drug class at one year. The marked variation in background family practice prescribing of anxiolytics/hypnotics was the strongest determinant of their initiation in the first two months after bereavement. Conclusion Almost one in five older people received a new psychotropic drug prescription in the year after bereavement. The early increase and trend in antidepressant use after bereavement suggests some clinicians did not adhere to the bereavement exclusion, with implications for its recent removal in DSM-5. Family practice variation in use of anxiolytics/hypnotics suggests uncertainty over their role in bereavement with the potential for inappropriate long term use