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Recent excavations and survey at the Roman and late antique city of Aeclanum provide important insights into developments across the fourth and fifth centuries CE at this site. Located in the inland region of Hirpinia, on the border of Apulia et Calabria and Campania, Aeclanum was insulated from some of the disasters that plagued the coastal regions in this period. It was, however, struck by two natural disasters: an earthquake in the mid-fourth century and the eruption of Vesuvius in 472 CE. Despite these events, new work suggests that the city remained a vital urban center even into the sixth century. In light of this new evidence, this article explores what the built remains, ceramics, and epigraphy reveal about the changing cityscape, economy, and society of Aeclanum. It further situates this evidence within its regional context to demonstrate how urban living was upheld, even in the face of significant environmental, religious, and administrative change. Our focus is on how human agency—of different forms—is manifest in the material evidence, and how this manifestation varies across available datasets and the networks between them. The availability of different datasets makes it a unique case study in this region and allows us to explore aspects of urban life in greater detail than is possible for many nearby cities. By using a pluralistic approach to material output, these examples reveal that, among some communities, circumstances and events long considered to be catastrophic to urban success were not as absolute as once thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines the progress made at the United Kingdom's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for nanomaterial research using three case studies. First, we examine the measurement of metal impurities in graphene as part of the development of international standards. Then, we assess the uranium uptake of graphene oxide (GO) to optimize functionalization of the material for decontamination of aqueous nuclear waste. Finally, we establish the uptake mechanism of different cell and nanoparticle (NP) types to optimize radiation dosimetry assessments. Further advancements made in ICP-MS analysis to characterize single-particles (SP-ICP-MS) are also discussed with recommendations for future work., The widespread use of nanomaterials has shown significant benefits in the areas of sensors, nuclear waste treatment, and nuclear medicine. This is evident because of the increasing number of publications [...]

Turf is not a material frequently associated with construction. However, as a cheap, easily available, and versatile material it was used in antiquity (and has been used in various contexts since) to form unit-based and mass walls, embankments, and ramparts. Some of the best-preserved evidence for historical turf use comes from the Roman period, when it was a mainstay of military construction, being widely used in forts (e.g. along the Rhine and in Britain) and large-scale linear earthworks, most notably thewalls of Hadrian (northern England) and Antoninus Pius (central Scotland). To our knowledge, turf has never been examined as a construction material; its interest has, until now, been restricted to the soil and agricultural sciences and sports engineering. This paper presents the first exploration of turf water retention properties, assessed to understand whether turf behaviour can be collated with that of more traditionalearthen materials, for example cob or rammed earth. Tensiometer and psychrometer methods were used to estimate the water retention curves of turf, representative of that used for construction, harvested from two sites near Crieff, Scotland. The obtained data were analysed in terms of unimodal type functions to understand qualities of the full range of the soil water retention curve for Scottish turf. This work supports a larger project examining how engineering materials principles can explain ancient construction practices. In so doing, we will be well positioned to reintroduce this low-carbon material to the modern construction market.

The rheology of air or moisture sensitive liquids, gels, and glasses requires complicated rheometer-in-glovebox laboratory setups. Here, we demonstrate the use of a heavier-than-air cover gas, sulfur hexafluoride, and the design of a cover gas container that can attach to the lower geometry plate of any rheometer to carry out rheology experiments on air-sensitive liquids and soft solids. Rheological measurements of air-reactive ionic liquid trimethylsulfonium bromide–AlCl3, moisture sensitive titanium(IV) propoxide, and glycerin demonstrate the effectiveness of the cover-gas method for loading samples on acquiring correct temperature dependent viscosity data of the sample in the absence of reaction products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Science Museum has in its East Hall one of the finest collections of steam engines anywhere. The collection has traditionally been interpreted in formal taxonomical terms. However, as the display scheme has become physically fragmented, and the museum's relationship with its visitors has been assessed in new ways, so new approaches to interpreting the collection have been sought. The primary and secondary source review underpinning development of a revised gallery scheme for the East Hall suggested the existence of an 'imaginarium of steam', a body of historic material illustrating how the steam engine exerted an imaginative hold on those who built, worked with, and observed it. The steam engine was as much a symbolic and imaginative machine as it was a tangible one. This is reflected in a rich range of sources, stretching far beyond the technical sources so traditionally and closely identified with the engine. This paper will outline some of these primary sources with particular reference to the museum's collection and other appropriate material culture, and attempt to identify some of their shared characteristics, which together form the imaginarium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This update covers the literature published between approximately June 2022 and April 2023 and is the latest part of a series of annual reviews. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art with respect to the atomic spectrometric analysis of various metals, chemicals and materials. Advances have been made in several areas. For cultural heritage scientists, it is worth noting that, after many years of inserting analytical data into chemometric tools in an attempt to elucidate provenance, several free to use algorithms that take an inexperienced analyst through the entire process have been developed. It is envisaged that such algorithms will also be developed for forensic samples. In other areas, there has been a big increase in papers reporting methods for analysing coals, with many of these applications employing LIBS. This increase is presumably a result of the use of coal increasing rapidly in some countries. The use of LIBS for analyses is still growing in many areas. For ferrous and non-ferrous metals, the development of more reliable calibration strategies for LIBs has been a common theme. The standoff ability of LIBS has also been put to good use in the nuclear industry and for the detection of explosives. Waste management of assorted materials, e.g. polymers, metals, etc. has also used LIBS analyses, often used in conjunction with chemometric data analysis tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate, low-level measurement of the long-lived fission product 129I is important for waste characterisation and long-term monitoring of waste facilities and the surrounding environment. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is well-suited to high throughput, sensitive measurement of 129I as a cost-effective alternative to other mass spectrometric and decay counting techniques. Accurate 129I measurement by ICP-MS is affected by the multiple interferences on m/z = 129, necessitating multi-stage sample preparation and/or mathematical correction. This study assesses the capabilities of tandem ICP-MS/MS for rapid and routine measurement of 129I in nuclear wastes. The advantages of the tandem setup for removal of isobaric, polyatomic and tailing interferences are demonstrated, as are the improvements in sensitivity through matrix modification and the importance of selecting an appropriate internal standard. The optimised setup was applied to measurement of various decommissioning waste simulants following direct extraction of 129I. The procedure achieved an instrument detection limit of 1.05 × 10−4 Bq g−1 (0.017 ng g−1) for 129I, which is two orders of magnitude below the target out-of-scope limit of 0.01 Bq g−1 (1.57 ng g−1), with good agreement between ICP-MS/MS and liquid scintillation counting (LSC). The results show that rapid, routine, low-level measurement of 129I is achievable by ICP-MS/MS for end users in decommissioning and environmental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear metrology is an essential aspect to consider for further improvements of the initial characterization of sites under decommissioning. The H2020 Euratom project INSIDER in June 2017 aims at improving the management of contaminated materials arising from decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) operations by proposing an integrated methodology for radiological characterization. This methodology is based on advanced statistical processing and modelling, coupled with adapted or innovative measurement methods. A metrological approach supports the qualification of this integrated methodology with a concrete application to real projects representative of the use cases identified in the project. Assessment of the outcomes will be used for providing recommendations and guidance resulting in pre-standardization texts.

This paper assesses the work of Henry Winram Dickinson of the Science Museum in the decade following the end of the Great War. Archival material in the Science Museum's collections builds a detailed picture of Dickinson's work covering the period from 1919 until 1930, during which the Newcomen Society was founded, the Science Museum's present East Hall was opened, and highly significant acquisitions of material relating to James Watt were made. In so doing it shines a light on a peak period in the history of engineering curatorship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This update covers the literature published between approximately June 2021 and May 2022 and is the latest part of a series of annual reviews. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art with respect to the atomic spectrometric analysis of various metals, chemicals and materials. These materials include ferrous and non-ferrous metals, glasses, polymers, ceramics, engineered nanostructures, fuels, nuclear materials, building materials, catalysts and electronic components. Also included is the analysis of forensic samples such as explosives and gunshot residue. It is not a comprehensive review of all papers that have used an atomic spectrometric technique. Instead, it includes only those papers that have some novelty through making an advance in either knowledge or the application of atomic spectrometry. Those papers that maximise the information gleaned from analytical data, e.g. the provenance of cultural heritage or forensic samples, through the use of chemometric analysis will also be included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In aspiring to investigate diverse industrial and technological collections the Congruence Engine project highlights the fragmentation and loss of knowledge that often occurs when an industry or an individual workplace closes, or when a technology becomes obsolescent or redundant. Until relatively recently (often due to narrow institutional responsibilities and collecting policies) the heritage sector has had little ability to secure a holistic understanding of workplaces and the interconnectedness of people, places, technology, objects and their associated records. The Historic England Archive, [1] which is essentially a place-based collection, may be unfamiliar to many in the museum sector and academia. This paper introduces its archive collections that relate to industry and technology, describes their evolution through past recording and collecting policies and discusses how they might be used to further a deeper contextualisation of museum objects. A case study of recent work at the Science Museum to secure the historical legacy of post-war power stations follows. It describes the processes and challenges involved in collecting large industrial heritage objects and illustrates how closer working relationships between heritage institutions might ensure that a more rounded response is made to the loss of obsolescent industries, plant and technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This update covers the literature published between June 2020 and May 2021 and is the latest part of a series of annual reviews. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the current state of the art with respect to the atomic spectrometric analysis of various metals, chemicals and materials. It is not designed to be a comprehensive review of all papers that have used an atomic spectrometric technique. Instead, it includes only those papers that have some novelty through making an advance in either knowledge or the application of atomic spectrometry. Also included, especially for forensic-based applications, for recycling applications and for cultural heritage samples, are those papers that have treated the analytical data produced with chemometric packages to provide invaluable information on provenance or to aid identification. Other research has focussed on calibration strategies for LIBS analyses and improving the resolution of depth and lateral profiling to facilitate the elucidation of mechanistic aspects of electronic components. An additional topic of interest includes the identification of oxidation states and neighbouring atoms using techniques such as XPS and XANES, again attempting to elucidate mechanisms for electronic components or to elicit speciation data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological evidence and the text of the Strategikon show that it was only in the late sixth century AD that the Roman-Byzantine military adopted the stirrup. It is now widely argued that the Avars, who settled in the Carpathian basin in the sixth century, played a key role in introducing iron stirrups to the Roman-Byzantine world. However, the evidence to support this assertion is limited. Although hundreds of stirrups have been found in Avar graves in the Carpathian basin, very few stirrups of sixth- or seventh-century date are known from the Roman-Byzantine empire - no more than seven - and only two of these are of definitively Avar type. The text of the Strategikon, sometimes argued to support this Avar source, can be interpreted differently, as indeed can the archaeological evidence. While the debate about the Roman-Byzantine adoption of the stirrup has focused mostly on finds from the Balkans, two early stirrups are known from Asia Minor, from Pergamon and Sardis. This paper presents a third, previously unpublished stirrup, from a seventh-century deposit at Aphrodisias in Caria; this is the first stirrup found in Asia Minor from a datable context. Here we present this find and its context, and use it to reconsider the model of solely Avar stirrup transmission that has dominated scholarship to date. So varied are the early stirrups that multiple sources of influence, Avar and other, and even a degree of experimentation, seem more likely to underpin the Roman-Byzantine adoption of this technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review has been modified somewhat compared with its predecessors in that the cultural heritage applications have been grouped together in their own section rather than being split between assorted other sections throughout the review. Hopefully, this will enable readers interested in that topic to locate all of the relevant papers more easily. There is no doubting that laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) is still the most rapidly expanding technique of interest for "industrial" samples. Its use for on-line or standoff analysis covers many topic areas including the metals production, scrap metal and plastic sorting industries, nuclear applications, in situ analysis of remote systems, e.g. power cable insulators, etc. It is also regarded as being minimally damaging to samples and has therefore found extensive use in the analysis of cultural heritage samples; especially when used in conjunction with chemometric tools to identify provenance or chronology. For the analysis of fuels, it was disappointing to see so many papers re-inventing the wheel, with numerous applications being published that offer little improvement on existing standard methods. In many cases, the protocols described were very lengthy or complicated and succeeded only in obtaining a similar result to an existing method, but with poorer precision and with no benefit to the end user. Other areas, e.g. catalysts has a huge amount of interest. However, the techniques used to characterise the materials are mature and often, many of the papers published do not discuss the analytical science in any detail. The analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products has had a large increase in research interest during this review period. This is potentially because of traditional methods, e.g. atomic absorption, slowly being replaced by more modern techniques, e.g. ICP-MS. Other growth areas of research have been the analysis of thin films, semiconductors and solar cells. Here, it is often X-ray-based analytical methods that are most commonly used, although some depth-profiling applications will use either LIBS or LA-ICP-MS. Another very popular area of research is that of nanoparticles. Here, the research focus has shifted from toxicological studies to the analysis of nanoparticles being used as carriers for drugs. This area is likely to increase further over the coming years. Consequently, analytical methods have also changed from using field flow fractionation to X-ray-based techniques such as XPS and XANES that describe the chemical composition of the particles rather than their size. Single particle ICP-MS for particle sizing is still an area of interest though. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gadolinium is a commonly used contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The goal of this work was to determine how MRI contrast agents affect radiosensitivity for tumour cells. Using a 225kVp X-ray cabinet source, immunofluorescence and clonogenic assays were performed on six cancer cell lines: lung (H460), pancreas (MiaPaCa2), prostate (DU145), breast (MCF7), brain (U87) and liver (HEPG2). Dotarem® contrast agent, at concentrations of 0.2, 2 and 20 mM, was used to determine its effect on DNA damage and cell survival. Measurements were performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the amount of gadolinium taken up by each cell line for each concentration. A statistically significant increase in DNA damage was seen for all cell lines at a dose of 1 Gy for concentrations of 2 and 20 mM, at 1 h postirradiation. At 24 h postirradiation, most of the DNA damage had been repaired, with approximately 90% repair for almost all doses of radiation and concentrations of Dotarem. Clonogenic results showed no statistically significant decrease in cell survival for any cell line or concentration. Uptake measurements showed cell line-specific variations in uptake, with MCF7 and HEPG2 cells having a high percentage uptake compared to other cell lines, with 151.4 ± 0.3 × 10–15 g and 194.8 ± 0.4 × 10–15 g per cell, respectively, at 2 mM Dotarem concentration. In this work, a variability in gadolinium uptake was observed between cell lines. A significant increase was seen in initial levels of DNA damage after 1 Gy irradiation for all six cancer cell lines; however, no significant decrease in cell survival was seen with the clonogenic assay. The observation of high levels of repair suggest that while initial levels of DNA damage are increased, this damage is almost entirely repaired within 24 h, and does not affect the ability of cells to survive and produce colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear metrology is an essential aspect to consider for further improvements of the initial characterization of sites under decommissioning. The H2020 Euratom project INSIDER in June 2017 aims at improving the management of contaminated materials arising from decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) operations by proposing an integrated methodology for radiological characterization. This methodology is based on advanced statistical processing and modelling, coupled with adapted or innovative measurement methods. A metrological approach supports the qualification of this integrated methodology with a concrete application to real projects representative of the use cases identified in the project. Assessment of the outcomes will be used for providing recommendations and guidance resulting in pre-standardization texts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been a large increase in the number of papers published that are relevant to this review over this review period. The growth in popularity of LIBS is rapid, with applications being published for most sample types. This is undoubtedly because of its capability to analyse in situ on a production line (hence saving time and money) and its minimally destructive nature meaning that both forensic and cultural heritage samples may be analysed. It also has a standoff analysis capability meaning that hazardous materials, e.g. explosives or nuclear materials, may be analysed from a safe distance. The use of mathematical algorithms in conjunction with LIBS to enable improved accuracy has proved a popular area of research. This is especially true for ferrous and non-ferrous samples. Similarly, chemometric techniques have been used with LIBS to aid in the sorting of polymers and other materials. An increase in the number of papers in the subject area of alternative fuels was noted. This was at the expense of papers describing methods for the analysis of crude oils. For nanomaterials, previous years have seen a huge number of single particle and field flow fractionation characterisations. Although several such papers are still being published, the focus seems to be switching to applications of the nanoparticles and the mechanistic aspects of how they retain or bind with other analytes. This is the latest review covering the topic of advances in the analysis of metals, chemicals and materials. It follows on from last year's review 1–6 and is part of the Atomic Spectrometry Updates series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lysozyme is one of the most commonly used proteins for encapsulating gold nanoclusters, yielding Ly-AuNC complexes. While possible applications of Ly-AuNCs in environmental, biological and trace metal sensing in solution have been demonstrated, there is currently a poor understanding of the physical characteristics of the Ly-AuNC complex. In this study we have employed fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to gain an understanding of the formation of Au clusters within the protein. It was found that in order to form AuNCs in the simulations, an approach of targeted insertion of Au atoms at a critical surface residue was needed. Tyrosine is known to be crucial for the reduction of Au salts experimentally, and our simulations showed that Tyr20 is the key residue for the formation of an AuNC beneath the protein surface in the α-helical domain. It is hoped these observations will aid future improvements and modification of Ly-AuNCs via alterations of the alpha-helix domain or Tyr20. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein misfolding plays a critical role in the manifestation of amyloidosis type diseases. Therefore, understanding protein unfolding and the ability to track protein unfolding in a dynamic manner are of considerable interest. Fluorescence-based techniques are powerful tools for gaining real-time information about the local environmental conditions of a probe on the nanoscale. Fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) are a new type of fluorescent probes which are ＜2 nm in diameter, incredibly robust and offer highly sensitive, wavelength tuneable emission. Their small size minimises intrusion and makes AuNCs ideal for studying protein dynamics. Lysozyme has previously been used to encapsulate AuNCs. The unfolding dynamics of lysozyme under different environmental conditions have been well-studied and being an amyloid type protein makes lysozyme an ideal candidate for encapsulating AuNCs in order to test their sensitivity to protein unfolding. In this study, we tracked the fluorescence characteristics of AuNCs encapsulated in lysozyme while inducing protein unfolding using urea, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and elevated temperature and compared them to complimentary circular dichroism spectra. It is found that AuNC fluorescence emission is quenched upon induced protein unfolding either due to a decrease in Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) efficiency between tryptophan and AuNCs or solvent exposure of the AuNC. Fluorescence lifetime measurements confirmed quenching to be collisional via oxygen dissolved in a solution which increases as the AuNC was exposed to the solvent during unfolding. Moreover, the longer decay component τ1 was observed to decrease as the protein unfolded, due to the increased collisional quenching. It is suggested that AuNC sensitivity to solvent exposure might be utilised in the future as a new approach to studying and possibly even detecting amyloidosis type diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]