In this article, I take up the case of runic writing to reflect upon James Scott’s view of the nexus between writing and various forms of domination in early states, especially the use of literacy for taxation in cereal-growing societies. Scott’s theses provide interesting matter “to think with,” even when his grasp of historical detail has been found wanting. It is not controversial to grant Scott that cuneiform writing was a remarkable tool for statecraft, and exploitation, in the first states of Mesopotamia, around 3500 BC. The same is true of writing in other early states. But in the first states of Scandinavia, particularly Denmark ca. AD 500–800, writing had a more troubled relationship with the state. No evidence survives that runic writing was used to administer taxation or much else, as it was in other agrarian civilisations. It is true that the runic script was used to commemorate kings, most famously by Haraldr Blátǫnn (r. ca. 958–ca. 986.). But, statistically speaking, it was more often used to aggrandize the sort of local big men who usually resisted centralized power. In this article, I survey the relationship between runic writing and administration. I consider what the Danish situation suggests about the relationship between states and writing and offer a tentative hypothesis of a short-lived attempt at runic bureaucracy around 800, which created—and quickly lost control of—a shortened variety of the runic script (the Younger Futhark).

The variants of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) require careful differentiation from primary psychiatric disorders as the neuropsychiatric manifestations can overshadow the unique cognitive deficits. The language variants of FTD are less readily recognised by trainees despite making up around 43% of cases.1 This educational article presents an anonymised case of one of the language variants: semantic dementia. The cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric manifestations (delusions and hyperreligiosity) are explored in terms of aetiology and management. By the end of the article, readers should be able to differentiate FTD from Alzheimer's disease, understand the principles of management and associated risks, and develop a multifaceted approach to hyperreligiosity in dementia.

Prisons are susceptible to outbreaks. Control measures focusing on isolation and cohorting negatively affect wellbeing. We present an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a large male prison in Wales, UK, October 2020 to April 2021, and discuss control measures.

We gathered case-information, including demographics, staff-residence postcode, resident cell number, work areas/dates, test results, staff interview dates/notes and resident prison-transfer dates. Epidemiological curves were mapped by prison location. Control measures included isolation (exclusion from work or cell-isolation), cohorting (new admissions and work-area groups), asymptomatic testing (case-finding), removal of communal dining and movement restrictions. Facemask use and enhanced hygiene were already in place. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and interviews determined the genetic relationship between cases plausibility of transmission.

Of 453 cases, 53% (n = 242) were staff, most aged 25–34 years (11.5% females, 27.15% males) and symptomatic (64%). Crude attack-rate was higher in staff (29%, 95% CI 26–64%) than in residents (12%, 95% CI 9–15%).

Whole-genome sequencing can help differentiate multiple introductions from person-to-person transmission in prisons. It should be introduced alongside asymptomatic testing as soon as possible to control prison outbreaks. Timely epidemiological investigation, including data visualisation, allowed dynamic risk assessment and proportionate control measures, minimising the reduction in resident welfare.

The Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF) members typically work in cores (shared resources) or in support of them. ABRF's mission is to define excellence for shared resources worldwide. While our vision is to accelerate breakthroughs in scientific discovery, ABRF is committed to advancing the integration of technologies, education, communication, and reproducible research in the operations of shared scientific resources worldwide. Our members support best practices, research excellence, and reproducibility in scientific discovery. ABRF promotes a collaborative community that cultivates professional development and technological innovation. This document outlines a number of things about ABRF, including ABRF's mission and value statements, examples of its research groups and activities, an example of an ABRF outreach program to inform and guide the scientific community about optimization of shared resources nationwide, and an example of an international outreach and collaborative program with like-minded colleagues and organizations in Africa.

We describe 14 yr of public data from the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA), an ongoing project that is producing precise measurements of pulse times of arrival from 26 millisecond pulsars using the 64-m Parkes radio telescope with a cadence of approximately 3 weeks in three observing bands. A comprehensive description of the pulsar observing systems employed at the telescope since 2004 is provided, including the calibration methodology and an analysis of the stability of system components. We attempt to provide full accounting of the reduction from the raw measured Stokes parameters to pulse times of arrival to aid third parties in reproducing our results. This conversion is encapsulated in a processing pipeline designed to track provenance. Our data products include pulse times of arrival for each of the pulsars along with an initial set of pulsar parameters and noise models. The calibrated pulse profiles and timing template profiles are also available. These data represent almost 21 000 h of recorded data spanning over 14 yr. After accounting for processes that induce time-correlated noise, 22 of the pulsars have weighted root-mean-square timing residuals of $<\!\!1\,\mu\text{s}$ in at least one radio band. The data should allow end users to quickly undertake their own gravitational wave analyses, for example, without having to understand the intricacies of pulsar polarisation calibration or attain a mastery of radio frequency interference mitigation as is required when analysing raw data files.

Even gods are not always above bureaucracy. Societies very different from each other have entertained the idea that the heavens might be arranged much like an earthly bureaucracy, or that mythological beings might exercise their power in a way that makes them resembles bureaucrats. The best-known case is the Chinese “celestial bureaucracy,” but the idea is also found in (to take nearly random examples) Ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the Hebrew Bible, Late Antiquity, and modern popular culture. The primary sources discussed in this essay pertain to an area of history where bureaucracy was historically underdeveloped, namely medieval Scandinavia. Beginning with the Glavendrup runestone from the 900s, I examine a way of thinking about divine power that seems blissfully bureaucracy-free. Moving forwards in time to Adam of Bremen’s description of the temple at Uppsala (1040s–1070s), I find traces of a tentative, half-formed bureaucracy in the fading embers of Scandinavian paganism. In the 1220s, well into the Christian era, I find Snorri Sturluson concocting a version of Old Norse myth which proposes a novel resolution between the non-bureaucratic origins of his mythological corpus and the burgeoning bureacratization of High Medieval Norway. Although my focus is on medieval Scandinavia, transhistorical comparisons are frequently drawn with mythological bureaucrats from other times and places. In closing, I synthesise this comparative material with historical and anthropological theories of the relationship between bureaucracy and the divine.

The WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) Divide deep ice core was recently completed to a total depth of 3405 m, ending 50 m above the bed. Investigation of the visual stratigraphy and grain characteristics indicates that the ice column at the drilling location is undisturbed by any large-scale overturning or discontinuity. The climate record developed from this core is therefore likely to be continuous and robust. Measured grain-growth rates, recrystallization characteristics, and grain-size response at climate transitions fit within current understanding. Significant impurity control on grain size is indicated from correlation analysis between impurity loading and grain size. Bubble-number densities and bubble sizes and shapes are presented through the full extent of the bubbly ice. Where bubble elongation is observed, the direction of elongation is preferentially parallel to the trace of the basal (0001) plane. Preferred crystallographic orientation of grains is present in the shallowest samples measured, and increases with depth, progressing to a vertical-girdle pattern that tightens to a vertical single-maximum fabric. This single-maximum fabric switches into multiple maxima as the grain size increases rapidly in the deepest, warmest ice. A strong dependence of the fabric on the impurity-mediated grain size is apparent in the deepest samples.

Timing of weed emergence and seed persistence in the soil influence the ability to implement timely and effective control practices. Emergence patterns and seed persistence of kochia populations were monitored in 2010 and 2011 at sites in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Weekly observations of emergence were initiated in March and continued until no new emergence occurred. Seed was harvested from each site, placed into 100-seed mesh packets, and buried at depths of 0, 2.5, and 10 cm in fall of 2010 and 2011. Packets were exhumed at 6-mo intervals over 2 yr. Viability of exhumed seeds was evaluated. Nonlinear mixed-effects Weibull models were fit to cumulative emergence (%) across growing degree days (GDD) and to viable seed (%) across burial time to describe their fixed and random effects across site-years. Final emergence densities varied among site-years and ranged from as few as 4 to almost 380,000 seedlings m−2. Across 11 site-years in Kansas, cumulative GDD needed for 10% emergence were 168, while across 6 site-years in Wyoming and Nebraska, only 90 GDD were needed; on the calendar, this date shifted from early to late March. The majority (>95%) of kochia seed did not persist for more than 2 yr. Remaining seed viability was generally >80% when seeds were exhumed within 6 mo after burial in March, and declined to <5% by October of the first year after burial. Burial did not appear to increase or decrease seed viability over time but placed seed in a position from which seedling emergence would not be possible. High seedling emergence that occurs very early in the spring emphasizes the need for fall or early spring PRE weed control such as tillage, herbicides, and cover crops, while continued emergence into midsummer emphasizes the need for extended periods of kochia management.

The effects of topsoil thickness on winter annual weed growth and nutrient concentration were assessed for three consecutive years in soybean plots. The topsoil treatments had high fertility levels, uniform textures, and no herbicides were used in the study. Common chickweed composed 75% of the winter annual weed species. Weed biomass production decreased as topsoil thickness decreased from 22.5 cm to 0. Topsoil thickness of 22.5 cm produced 800 kg ha–1 more weed growth than 0 cm topsoil. The weed biomass grown in thicker topsoil had higher total amounts of N, K, Mg, and Ca.

Annual ryegrass has been proposed as a cover crop in the corn–soybean cropping systems of the U.S. Midwest because of its low seed cost, rapid establishment, contribution to soil quality, weed suppressive abilities, and susceptibility to common broad-spectrum herbicides. However, cover crops can reduce the subsequent main crop yield by creating unfavorable germination and emergence conditions, harboring pests, and if not controlled, competing with the main crop. This study, conducted in Illinois, Oregon, and Tennessee, investigated the efficacy of glyphosate for annual ryegrass winter cover crop removal. Glyphosate at 415, 830, and 1,660 g ae/ha was applied to annual ryegrass at late tiller, second node, boot, and early flowering stages. Annual ryegrass control was consistently maximized with the highest glyphosate rate applied at the boot or early flower stage. Annual ryegrass biomass was generally the lowest with the highest rate of glyphosate applied at the earlier stages. Overall, no single application timing at any glyphosate rate provided complete control or biomass reduction of the annual ryegrass cover crop. A sequential herbicide program or a glyphosate plus a graminicide tank-mix probably will be needed for adequate annual ryegrass stand removal.

Research was conducted from 2011 to 2014 to determine weed population dynamics and frequency of glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth with herbicide programs consisting of glyphosate, dicamba, and residual herbicides in dicamba-tolerant cotton. Five treatments were maintained in the same plots over the duration of the experiment: three sequential POST applications of glyphosate with or without pendimethalin plus diuron PRE; three sequential POST applications of glyphosate plus dicamba with and without the PRE herbicides; and a POST application of glyphosate plus dicamba plus acetochlor followed by one or two POST applications of glyphosate plus dicamba without PRE herbicides. Additional treatments included alternating years with three sequential POST applications of glyphosate only and glyphosate plus dicamba POST with and without PRE herbicides. The greatest population of Palmer amaranth was observed when glyphosate was the only POST herbicide throughout the experiment. Although diuron plus pendimethalin PRE in a program with only glyphosate POST improved control during the first 2 yr, these herbicides were ineffective by the final 2 yr on the basis of weed counts from soil cores. The lowest population of Palmer amaranth was observed when glyphosate plus dicamba were applied regardless of PRE herbicides or inclusion of acetochlor POST. Frequency of GR Palmer amaranth was 8% or less when the experiment was initiated. Frequency of GR Palmer amaranth varied by herbicide program during 2012 but was similar among all herbicide programs in 2013 and 2014. Similar frequency of GR Palmer amaranth across all treatments at the end of the experiment most likely resulted from pollen movement from Palmer amaranth treated with glyphosate only to any surviving female plants regardless of PRE or POST treatment. These data suggest that GR Palmer amaranth can be controlled by dicamba and that dicamba is an effective alternative mode of action to glyphosate in fields where GR Palmer amaranth exists.

We studied neuroinflammation in individuals with late-life, depression, as a risk factor for dementia, using [11C]PK11195 positron emission tomography (PET). Five older participants with major depression and 13 controls underwent PET and multimodal 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with blood taken to measure C-reactive protein (CRP). We found significantly higher CRP levels in those with late-life depression and raised [11C]PK11195 binding compared with controls in brain regions associated with depression, including subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, and significant hippocampal subfield atrophy in cornu ammonis 1 and subiculum. Our findings suggest neuroinflammation requires further investigation in late-life depression, both as a possible aetiological factor and a potential therapeutic target.

Retrograde transport is a process in which proteins are trafficked from the plasma membrane and endosomes to biosynthetic and secretory organelles, namely the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum (ER). A number of plant and bacterial toxins, including cholera toxin and ricin toxin, exploit retrograde transport to gain entry into host cells, although the specifics of this process have remained difficult to probe by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Here we demonstrate the use of super-resolution and live-cell imaging [stimulated emission depletion (STED)] to visualize exogenously applied ricin toxin within the ER. The improved resolution obtained by STED, as compared with LSCM (0.09 versus 0.19 μm), provides a more accurate determination of the amount of ricin that had trafficked to the ER.

This work provides new insights into human responses to and perceptions of sea-level rise at a time when the landscapes of north-west Europe were radically changing. These issues are investigated through a case study focused on the Channel Islands. We report on the excavation of two sites, Canal du Squez in Jersey and Lihou (GU582) in Guernsey, and the study of museum collections across the Channel Islands. We argue that people were drawn to this area as a result of the dynamic environmental processes occurring and the opportunities these created. The evidence suggests that the area was a particular focus during the Middle Mesolithic, when Guernsey and Alderney were already islands and while Jersey was a peninsula of northern France. Insularisation does not appear to have created a barrier to occupation during either the Middle or Final Mesolithic, indicating the appearance of lifeways increasingly focused on maritime voyaging and marine resources from the second half of the 9th millennium BC onwards.

It is widely accepted that between the beginning of the Early Neolithic period and the end of the Early Bronze Age different regions of Britain were connected to one another by sea, but little is known about the nature of maritime contacts before plank-built boats developed during the 2nd millennium bc. This paper considers a series of coastal sites, some of which were first settled from Mesolithic times. From the early 4th millennium they were also associated with artefact production and the use of imported objects and raw materials. Their distribution focuses on the region of isostatic uplift in northern Britain where the ancient shoreline still survives. It is considered in relation to a new model of coastal change which suggests that these locations were characterised by natural havens sheltered behind islands or bars. The sites can be compared with the ‘landing places’ and ‘beach markets’ discussed by historical archaeologists in recent years.

Objectives: The headroom approach to medical device development relies on the estimation of a value-based price ceiling at different stages of the development cycle. Such price-ceilings delineate the commercial opportunities for new products in many healthcare systems. We apply a simple model to obtain critical business information as the product proceeds along a development pathway, and indicate some future directions for the development of the approach.

Methods: Health economic modelling in the supply-side development cycle for new products.

Results: The headroom can be used: initially as a ‘reality check’ on the viability of the device in the healthcare market; to support product development decisions using a real options approach; and to contribute to a pricing policy which respects uncertainties in the reimbursement outlook.

Conclusions: The headroom provides a unifying thread for business decisions along the development cycle for a new product. Over the course of the cycle attitudes to uncertainty will evolve, based on the timing and manner in which new information accrues. Within this framework the developmental value of new information can justify the costs of clinical trials and other evidence-gathering activities. Headroom can function as a simple shared tool to parties in commercial negotiations around individual products or groups of products. The development of similar approaches in other contexts holds promise for more rational planning of service provision.

Federalism is a core principle of American government; yet, how much attention is given to federalism beyond introductory courses? A 1969 study described American federalism as the “dark continent” of political science teaching. Based on surveys of chairs of US departments of political science and members of the APSA’s section on federalism and intergovernmental relations in 2013, the authors found that these course offerings have increased markedly since 1969, that the courses cover a range of topics, and that many department chairs are interested in offering these courses in the future. However, the teaching of comparative federalism lags far behind American federalism. Thus, comparative federalism remains a “dark continent” of federalism teaching.