Chronostratigraphy of an eroding complex Atlantic Round House, Baile Sear, Scotland

The excavation team would like to thank Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) and the University of St Andrews for providing funding.A high-resolution chronostratigraphy has been established for an eroding Atlantic round house at Sloc Sàbhaidh (North Uist, Scotland), combining detailed OSL profiling and dating of sediments encompassing the main bracketing events associated with the monument, radiocarbon AMS dates on bone recovered from excavated features and fills within it, and TL dates on pottery and burnt clay. Concordant OSL and radiocarbon evidence place construction of the wheelhouse in the first to second centuries AD, contemporary with dates from the primary occupation. Beneath the wheelhouse, clay deposits containing burnt material, attest to cultural activity in vicinity to the monument in the preceding second to first centuries BC. At a later date, the southern wall collapsed, was rebuilt, and the interior spaces to the monument re-structured. The chronology for the later horizons identified from the sediment luminescence dates extends to the second half of the first millennium AD, which goes beyond the range of the radiocarbon dates obtained. The data from ceramics encompass both periods. The juxtaposition of the dating evidence is discussed relative to short and longer chronologies for this Iron Age monument. Corollaries of this research are the implications that based on the long chronology, some of the ecofacts (bone) appear to be residual, and that the temporal duration of Hebridean Coarse Ware may extend into the second half of the first millennium AD.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Thermodynamic Prediction of Protein Neutrality

We present a simple theory that uses thermodynamic parameters to predict the probability that a protein retains the wildtype structure after one or more random amino acid substitutions. Our theory predicts that for large numbers of substitutions the probability that a protein retains its structure will decline exponentially with the number of substitutions, with the severity of this decline determined by properties of the structure. Our theory also predicts that a protein can gain extra robustness to the first few substitutions by increasing its thermodynamic stability. We validate our theory with simulations on lattice protein models and by showing that it quantitatively predicts previously published experimental measurements on subtilisin and our own measurements on variants of TEM1 beta-lactamase. Our work unifies observations about the clustering of functional proteins in sequence space, and provides a basis for interpreting the response of proteins to substitutions in protein engineering applications

Computationally designed libraries of fluorescent proteins evaluated by preservation and diversity of function

To determine which of seven library design algorithms best introduces new protein function without destroying it altogether, seven combinatorial libraries of green fluorescent protein variants were designed and synthesized. Each was evaluated by distributions of emission intensity and color compiled from measurements made in vivo. Additional comparisons were made with a library constructed by error-prone PCR. Among the designed libraries, fluorescent function was preserved for the greatest fraction of samples in a library designed by using a structure-based computational method developed and described here. A trend was observed toward greater diversity of color in designed libraries that better preserved fluorescence. Contrary to trends observed among libraries constructed by error-prone PCR, preservation of function was observed to increase with a library's average mutation level among the four libraries designed with structure-based computational methods

In the light of directed evolution: Pathways of adaptive protein evolution

Directed evolution is a widely-used engineering strategy for improving the stabilities or biochemical functions of proteins by repeated rounds of mutation and selection. These experiments offer empirical lessons about how proteins evolve in the face of clearly-defined laboratory selection pressures. Directed evolution has revealed that single amino acid mutations can enhance properties such as catalytic activity or stability and that adaptation can often occur through pathways consisting of sequential beneficial mutations. When there are no single mutations that improve a particular protein property experiments always find a wealth of mutations that are neutral with respect to the laboratory-defined measure of fitness. These neutral mutations can open new adaptive pathways by at least 2 different mechanisms. Functionally-neutral mutations can enhance a protein's stability, thereby increasing its tolerance for subsequent functionally beneficial but destabilizing mutations. They can also lead to changes in “promiscuous” functions that are not currently under selective pressure, but can subsequently become the starting points for the adaptive evolution of new functions. These lessons about the coupling between adaptive and neutral protein evolution in the laboratory offer insight into the evolution of proteins in nature

“Till the muddle in my mind have cleared awa”: can we help shape policy using systems modelling?

This paper considers how some well-documented deficiencies of mental models make it difficult to create effective policies, and suggests that systems modelling can begin to address this issue. To illustrate the argument three short cases are presented. These relate to specific domains but demonstrate how systems modelling can illuminate different general phenomena: effects on labour costs (unintended consequences and feedback); fishery management (accumulation and non-linearity) and child protection (worldviews and sense-making). Six levers for increasing the use of systems modelling in the policy arena are then discussed. The paper closes by emphasising the opportunities for systems modellers in the Anthropocene Era

Exploring places and landscapes of everyday experience in the Outer Hebridean Iron Age: a study of theory, method and application in experiential landscape archaeology

This thesis explores aspects of everyday experience and the creation of place within the Iron Age island landscapes of the Outer Hebrides. While investigations of place and landscape, as experiential phenomena, are well developed in the context of Neolithic and Bronze Age research such approaches have been largely neglected within British Iron Age studies and in the study of the Outer Hebridean Iron Age more specifically. A hitherto focus upon ritual landscapes partly explains the lack of uptake within British Iron Age contexts more frequently defined by concepts of domesticity. The experience of place and landscape, however, are not only of significance within 'ritual' contexts but play an important role in the shaping of human action in the realm of the everyday. Instead, the principal barrier appears to be methodological - how does one go about investigating everyday experiences within prehistoric landscapes? A major component of this research has therefore been to explore and develop a methodology for this research. Current archaeological practice provides two contrasting methods for the study of landscape experience - one rooted in the analysis of field observations, inspired more directly by phenomenology, and the other via the application of GIS as a means of modeling landscapes from the perspective of human engagement. Despite much shared theoretical ground there remains little dialogue between practitioners of these respective approaches. It is proposed, however, that both approaches can make valued contributions to our understanding of the past and this thesis aims to contribute to an emerging discourse between what are commonly conceived as contradictory methods of enquiry. By exploring the character and diversity of island landscape settlement locales and the everyday experiences of Iron Age places this research offers an alternative framework for understanding the Iron Age societies of the Outer Hebrides

Projeto de intervenção para redução do alcoolismo na população da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança equipe - 13, Distrito Vargem das Flores município Contagem - Minas Gerais

O alcoolismo é considerado um dos principais problemas de saúde na sociedade contemporânea e especificamente da área de abrangência da Equipe de Saúde 13 da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança. Este trabalho teve como objetivo elaborar um projeto de intervenção por meio de ações educativas que promovam a diminuição/controle dos fatores de riscos de alcoolismo na área de abrangência da pela equipe 13 da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança, município de Contagem - Minas Gerais. Para a elaboração do Plano de Intervenção, foram utilizados os passos de um plano de ação descritos na disciplina de Planejamento e Avaliação das Ações de Saúde do Curso de Especialização Gestão do Cuidado em Saúde da Família e uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema. Espera-se, com este estudo, diminuir estes riscos que provocam o agravamento das doenças já existentes na população. Pretende-se, também, diminuir a incidência de casos novos e as causa

Projeto de intervenção para redução do alcoolismo na população da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança Equipe-13, distrito Vargem das Flores município Contagem - Minas Gerais

Alcoholism is considered one of the main health problems in contemporary society and specifically the area of coverage of the Health Team 13 of the Vila Nova Esperança Basic Health Unit. This study aimed to elaborate a project of intervention through educational actions that promote the reduction / control of the risk factors of alcoholism in the area covered by the team 13 of the Basic Health Unit Vila Nova Esperança, municipality of Contagem - Minas Gerais. For the preparation of the Intervention Plan, the steps of an action plan described in the discipline of Planning and Evaluation of Health Actions of the Specialization Course on Family Health Care Management and a bibliographic review on the subject were used. It is hoped, with this study, to reduce these risks that cause the aggravation of diseases already existing in the population. It is also intended to reduce the incidence of new cases and the causesO alcoolismo é considerado um dos principais problemas de saúde na sociedade contemporânea e especificamente da área de abrangência da Equipe de Saúde 13 da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança. Este trabalho teve como objetivo elaborar um projeto de intervenção por meio de ações educativas que promovam a diminuição/controle dos fatores de riscos de alcoolismo na área de abrangência da pela equipe 13 da Unidade Básica de Saúde Vila Nova Esperança, município de Contagem - Minas Gerais. Para a elaboração do Plano de Intervenção, foram utilizados os passos de um plano de ação descritos na disciplina de Planejamento e Avaliação das Ações de Saúde do Curso de Especialização Gestão do Cuidado em Saúde da Família e uma revisão bibliográfica sobre o tema. Espera-se, com este estudo, diminuir estes riscos que provocam o agravamento das doenças já existentes na população. Pretende-se, também, diminuir a incidência de casos novos e as causas

Archaeological signatures of landscape and settlement change on the Isle of Harris

Between 2004 and 2011, a programme of archaeological investigation by the University of Birmingham on the Isle of Harris, a distinctive island forming part of the Western Isles of Scotland, has allowed the archaeological remains of this enigmatic place to be further characterised and understood. Despite intensive archaeological interest in the archipelago for a number of decades, the Isle of Harris has been overlooked and only now are we beginning to identify the archaeological resource and make comparisons to the wealth of published data from islands such as the Uists, Barra and Lewis. This paper highlights some generic overall patterns of archaeological signatures on the Isle which has been identified through a range of archaeological methods including field walking, intrusive excavation, aerial reconnaissance, geophysical and topographical survey, and documentary research. Several key case studies will be introduced including upland shieling complexes and mulitperiod settlement sites on the west coast machair systems. The purpose of the paper is not to present a gazetteer of the results of the work to date, but to highlight some of the key findings with a view to demonstrating that the Isle of Harris is directly comparable with the archaeologically rich landscapes of the other islands