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The appearance of Beaker pottery in Britain and Ireland during the twenty-fifth century bc marks a significant archaeological horizon, being synchronous with the first metal artefacts. The adoption of arsenical copper, mostly from Ireland, was followed by that of tin-bronze around 2200 bc. However, whilst the copper mine of Ross Island in Ireland is securely dated to the Early Bronze Age, and further such mines in the UK have been dated to the Early and Middle Bronze Age, the evidence for the exploitation of tin ores, the other key ingredient to make bronze, has remained circumstantial. This article contains the detailed analyses of seven stone artefacts from securely dated contexts, using a combination of surface pXRF and microwear analysis. The results provide strong evidence that the tools were used in cassiterite processing. The combined analysis of these artefacts documents in detail the exploitation of Cornish tin during this early phase of metal use in Britain and Ireland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EPIC Systems Corporation provides a widely used electronic medical record. Beaker Anatomic Pathology is a newly developed laboratory information system (LIS) that has been implemented at a small number of academic pathology departments. Pathologist opinions of EPIC Beaker AP have not been well described in the literature. A 37-question survey was administered to pathologists and pathology trainees to assess overall satisfaction and efficiency of report generation using Beaker AP. Data about experience in pathology, signout responsibilities, Beaker AP usage, and the legacy LIS was also collected. Seventy-four pathologists (51 faculty, 23 residents) responded to the survey (overall response rate 29.7%). Overall pathologist satisfaction with Beaker AP showed high inter-institutional variability; institutions with legacy LISs with a graphical interface had a generally neutral to negative assessment of Beaker AP. The majority of respondents disagreed with the statement "Beaker AP is easy to use and designed for my needs". Pathologists felt that Beaker AP was useful for reviewing clinical information and billing; areas of weakness included searching for prior cases and grossing efficiency. Overall, pathologists had a neutral opinion of whether generating and signing out a complete report was faster in Beaker AP, with marked inter-institutional variation. This variability was likely due to a combination of the efficacy of the legacy LIS, familiarity with Beaker AP at the time of the survey, and institution-specific optimization efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a ease of designing experiment in the course of “College Physics Experiment”, which happens in a non-key university. A new method of sound velocity measurement is obtained by analyzing the anomalous phenomena in the designing experiment “Determination of Intrinsic Frequency of Water Beakers”. The students proved that high-end instruments and genius experimenters are not necessarily required in designing experiments. The ordinary instruments under limited conditions and constantly improving experiment schemes could lead to perform well, and general universities, ordinary equipment, non-key institutions, ordinary students can also do well. General institutions can develop designing experiments considering actual conditions to stimulate students’ interest in science research and innovation, and to enhance their sense of self-confidence and accomplishment so as to improve the comprehensive quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Implementing a laboratory-developed test sometimes requires incorporating an unconventional device into the laboratory information system (LIS) and customizing an interface to reduce transcription error and improve turnaround time. Such a custom interface is a necessity for complicated high-volume tests such as 25-OH Vitamin D by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) when there is no vendor-or LIS-supplied interface available. Here, we describe our work and experience interfacing a API 5000 LC-MS/MS instrument with our newly implemented LIS, Epic Beaker, using a combination of in-house scripting software and a middleware vendor, Data Innovations. Materials and Methods: For input interfacing, custom scripting software was developed to transcribe batched order lists generated by Epic into files usable by the instrument software, Analyst®. For output interfacing, results from the LC-MS/MS system were fed to a unidirectional instrument driver made by Data Innovations and selected data were transferred to the LIS. Results: Creation and validation of a new driver by Data Innovations took approximately 6 months. The interface was adopted for 25-OH Vitamin D and testosterone testing during periods of increasing test volume (4.5-fold over 8 years and 1.25-fold over 5 years). The amount of time spent reporting 25-OH Vitamin D results decreased 82% per order resulting in a savings of 1370 technician work hours and the amount of time spent reporting testosterone results decreased 75% per order resulting in a savings of 400 technician work hours. Conclusions: A mixed model using custom scripting and curated commercial middleware serve as a durable interface solution for laboratory instrumentation such as an LC-MS/MS and are flexible to future changes in instrument software, networking protocols, and the scope of LISs and work area managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the plain common pottery associated with Beaker contexts in the Southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. The detailed systematic study focuses on the pottery assemblage provided by one of the region’s most important settlements, San Blas (Badajoz, Spain), while comparisons are made with other important sites in the study area. By means of the stratigraphic, typological and statistical analysis of the data, the main patterns of change in this material culture throughout the temporal sequence are identified and the historical explanatory factors are inferred. Specifically, during the second half of the 3rd millennium cal BC, an important change took place in the management of economic risk, which is materialised by a significant reduction in food storage and by the more immediate direct or indirect consumption of resources. We suggest that these patterns reflect a shift towards a short-term projection of the future, in a context with strong evidence of instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A project focused on the development of solid fuel at maximum emission reduction from the waste wood resulting from the main waste from timber companies in Agbede located in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria has been carried out. This waste wood currently lacks a useful purpose, and its indiscriminate burning generates CO emissions. This paper presents the results of formulated composite solid fuels at reduced gaseous emission with the use of clay (kaolinite) solution. The formulations were made using clay (kaolinite) solution (1:2 of clay: water) and sawdust. The pure sample and a total of three formulations were used. The formulations were in the ratios of 2:1 sawdust: clay solution, 1.5:1 sawdust: clay solution and 1:1 sawdust: clay solution respectively. 200???? sieve, 500???? beaker and pdt-crowcon gasman single trace gas (CO) analyzers were all used in the solution formulation and emission analysis. The results show that clay incorporated in sawdust for indoor heating has considerable advantages over pure sawdust. The environment has been enhanced through the development of less harmful and environmentally tolerable fossil fuel types. The negative impact of the use of pure biomass energy on the daily lives of populations (especially women and children) in the poorest parts of the developing world cannot be underestimated. The sawdust- based composite fuels which were produced from a mixture of the solid fuels and clay solution yield its minimum emission for a formulation of 1:1 of saw dust: clay solution (1:2 of clay: water) by mass fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of emission measurements made on formulated composite solid fuels with the use of kaolinite for minimizing gaseous emissions and for pollution control. The composite solid fuels have been primarily developed to immensely minimize pollution from solid fuels used as alternative fuels to electricity, petrol and diesel on daily basis. The results show that the addition of the clay content has immensely contributed in channelling the routes of release of some of the compounds in the fuels to accompany the ash residue rather than as gaseous emissions. Therefore, the advantages include high emission reduction. The charcoal- based composite fuels which were produced from a mixture of the solid fuels and clay solution yield its minimum emission for a formulation of 1:1 of saw dust: clay solution (1:2 of clay: water) by mass fraction. Clay incorporated in charcoal for indoor heating has been shown to demonstrate considerable advantages over pure charcoal. The negative impact of the use of pure biomass energy on the daily lives of populations (especially women and children) in the poorest parts of the developing world cannot be underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of a small cairnfield was carried out at Elvanfoot, South Lanarkshire, in advance of the construction of an electrical substation. A pit located beneath one of the cairns contained sherds of Beaker pottery, but there were no artefacts recovered from the remaining cairns. It is thought that the cairnfield may have been field clearance associated with the North Shortcleugh (also known as Harryburn Brae) platform settlements and field system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrasting lifestyles are recorded by the isotope composition of Bronze Age Beaker people (c. 2500–2000bc) from three burial sites (Boscombe Down, Normanton Down and the ditch around Stonehenge) at or near to the Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, southern England. Seven individuals (three adults, a sub-adult, two juveniles and an infant) were recovered from a single grave at Boscombe Down. Strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel from two teeth (a premolar and third molar) from each of three of the adults in this grave (referred to as Boscombe Bowmen) show that they had all shared a pattern of mobility and migration during their lives. The three adult males spent their early childhood (as represented by data from the premolar teeth) in an area with a radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr isotope signature of around 0.7135. They each then moved, during early adolescence (as represented by the third molar results), to a less radiogenic area, where they acquired an 87Sr/86Sr signature of around 0.7112. This implies that they must then have travelled to the Stonehenge area of Wiltshire at a later time in their lives. Wales provides the closest area with rocks that supply suitable 87Sr/86Sr ratios and δ18O isotope compositions for these individuals, although other areas of Palaeozoic rock, such as Scotland and parts of Europe, cannot be ruled out. Enamel from the two juveniles from the Boscombe Down burial yields 87Sr/86Sr ratios of 0.7098 and 0.7099, and strontium concentrations for both of 55 ppm. The very close match of the data for the two juveniles supports the possibility that they were raised in the same environment. The difference in strontium isotope data between the juveniles and three adult males described above shows that the children did not come from the same homeland as the adults with whom they share a grave. The two adult males from the single burials at Normanton Down, and from Stonehenge itself, had static lifestyles and show no evidence of migration, in contrast to the Boscombe Bowmen. Their oxygen and strontium data are consistent with a childhood in the Stonehenge area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A narrow relation has been hold between the beginnings of the metallurgy and social hierarchical structuring, in the sense of breaking with previous social organizations, has been discussed in this paper from the data obtained by the anthropomorphous drawings. From the ancient megaliths, the human figures were described with instruments that provide power and individuality. This fact, joined to the evidence of grave goods with prestige elements, propose the beginning of the hierarchy in the own social evolution of the production society, constituting the megalithic culture and his drawings the trustworthy expression of this hypothesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Implementing a laboratory-developed test sometimes requires incorporating an unconventional device into the laboratory information system (LIS) and customizing an interface to reduce transcription error and improve turnaround time. Such a custom interface is a necessity for complicated high-volume tests such as 25-OH Vitamin D by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) when there is no vendor-or LIS-supplied interface available. Here, we describe our work and experience interfacing a API 5000 LC-MS/MS instrument with our newly implemented LIS, Epic Beaker, using a combination of in-house scripting software and a middleware vendor, Data Innovations. Materials and Methods: For input interfacing, custom scripting software was developed to transcribe batched order lists generated by Epic into files usable by the instrument software, Analyst®. For output interfacing, results from the LC-MS/MS system were fed to a unidirectional instrument driver made by Data Innovations and selected data were transferred to the LIS. Results: Creation and validation of a new driver by Data Innovations took approximately 6 months. The interface was adopted for 25-OH Vitamin D and testosterone testing during periods of increasing test volume (4.5-fold over 8 years and 1.25-fold over 5 years). The amount of time spent reporting 25-OH Vitamin D results decreased 82% per order resulting in a savings of 1370 technician work hours and the amount of time spent reporting testosterone results decreased 75% per order resulting in a savings of 400 technician work hours. Conclusions: A mixed model using custom scripting and curated commercial middleware serve as a durable interface solution for laboratory instrumentation such as an LC-MS/MS and are flexible to future changes in instrument software, networking protocols, and the scope of LISs and work area managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]