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The article discusses the success of chemical sourcing in a study of the medieval whiteware and redware ceramic industries in Scotland. The aims of the research included producing a provisional vessel typology for the Scottish White Gritty Ware (SWGW) industry. The researchers applied inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for chemical analysis since it determines with suitable accuracy and precision the contents of a wide range of elements.

Excavations were undertaken in 1981 and 1990-1 at the site of the 18th-/19th-century ceramics manufacturing complex of West Pans, near Musselburgh. The foundations of several structures were uncovered although many proved impossible to interpret or date. Several puddling pits, most of them quite small, were identified, as was part of a hovel (the circular structure surrounding a kiln) and the remains of two kilns, one of which might have been for glass-making. Other buildings could have been drying rooms or stores. The large quantities of ceramics front several phases of occupation between the early 18th and the early 19th century included porcelain wasters front the period when William Littler was at West Pans, c 1764 and 1777. Some evidence of the 19th-century village of West Pans was uncovered to the north of the area, on land reclaimed from the sea. To the east of the main site, a watching brief in 2002 and a salvage excavation in 2003 revealed part of a brick structure possibly associated with salt-making, another important early industry at West Pans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little surface trace now remains of the royal burgh of Roxburgh in the Scottish Borders, which flourished between the 12th and 15th centuries AD. By the early 16th century it had been abandoned. Documentary sources, maps, topographical analysis and aerial photography have been brought together in a preliminary attempt to define the burgh's location, defences, internal morphology, historical and environmental contexts, and associated extramural features including bridges, roads, suburbs, churches and mills. Some of these assessments have been tested by geophysical survey and small-scale excavation sanctioned by Historic Scotland and conducted by GSB Prospection and Wessex Archaeology on behalf of Channel 4's Time Team. Work to date is summarized as a basis for formulating a long-term research agenda and management structure for this important site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive decline is a feared aspect of growing old. It is a major contributor to lower quality of life and loss of independence in old age. We investigated the genetic contribution to individual differences in nonpathological cognitive ageing in five cohorts of older adults. We undertook a genome-wide association analysis using 549 692 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 3511 unrelated adults in the Cognitive Ageing Genetics in England and Scotland (CAGES) project. These individuals have detailed longitudinal cognitive data from which phenotypes measuring each individual's cognitive changes were constructed. One SNP--rs2075650, located in TOMM40 (translocase of the outer mitochondrial membrane 40 homolog)--had a genome-wide significant association with cognitive ageing (P=2.5 × 10(-8)). This result was replicated in a meta-analysis of three independent Swedish cohorts (P=2.41 × 10(-6)). An Apolipoprotein E (APOE) haplotype (adjacent to TOMM40), previously associated with cognitive ageing, had a significant effect on cognitive ageing in the CAGES sample (P=2.18 × 10(-8); females, P=1.66 × 10(-11); males, P=0.01). Fine SNP mapping of the TOMM40/APOE region identified both APOE (rs429358; P=3.66 × 10(-11)) and TOMM40 (rs11556505; P=2.45 × 10(-8)) as loci that were associated with cognitive ageing. Imputation and conditional analyses in the discovery and replication cohorts strongly suggest that this effect is due to APOE (rs429358). Functional genomic analysis indicated that SNPs in the TOMM40/APOE region have a functional, regulatory non-protein-coding effect. The APOE region is significantly associated with nonpathological cognitive ageing. The identity and mechanism of one or multiple causal variants remain unclear.

Deprivation is associated with poor pregnancy outcome but the role of nutrition as a mediating factor is not well understood. We carried out a prospective cohort study of 1461 singleton pregnancies in Aberdeen, UK during 2000-6. We measured nutrient intake and supplement use, B vitamin and homocysteine status, birth weight, gestational age, neonatal treatment and socio-economic deprivation status. Women in the most deprived deciles were approximately 6 years younger and half as likely to take folic acid supplements periconceptually as the least deprived mothers. Deprivation was associated with low blood folate, high homocysteine and diets low in protein, fibre and many of the vitamins and minerals. The diets of the more deprived women were also characterised by low intakes of fruit, vegetables and oily fish and higher intakes of processed meat, fried potatoes, crisps and snacks. Deprivation was related to preterm birth (OR 1.14 (95 % CI 1.03, 1.25); P = 0.009) and whether the baby required neonatal treatment (OR 1.07 (95 % CI 1.01, 1.14); P = 0.028). Low birth weight was more common in women consuming diets low in vitamin C (OR 0.79 (95 % CI 0.64, 0.97); P = 0.028), riboflavin (OR 0.77 (95 % CI 0.63, 0.93); P = 0.008), pantothenic acid (OR 0.79 (95 % CI 0.65, 0.97); P = 0.023) and sugars (OR 0.78 (95 % CI 0.64, 0.96); P = 0.017) even after adjustment for deprivation index, smoking, marital status and parity. Deprivation in pregnancy is associated with diets poor in specific nutrients and poor diet appears to contribute to inequalities in pregnancy outcome. Improving the nutrient intake of disadvantaged women of childbearing age may potentially improve pregnancy outcome.

Associations between adult blood pressure and birth weight were investigated in 122 same-sex twin pairs aged 18-50 years and 86 singleton controls matched according to maternal age and parity, gender, gestational age, and current age who were recruited via an obstetric database in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1999. Twins weighed on average 425 g less than controls at birth (p < 0.001) but did not differ significantly in adult height or systolic or diastolic blood pressure from the controls. Among controls, the differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure per kg of difference in birth weight, adjusted for gender, gestational age, current age, body mass index, smoking, physical activity level, and alcohol intake, were -4.3 (95% confidence interval (CI): -12.8, 4.3) and -6.1 (95% CI: -10.8, -1.5) mmHg/kg, respectively. In unpaired analysis among all twins, the equivalent values were -0.1 (95% CI: -4.0, 3.8) mmHg/kg for systolic pressure and -0.4 (95% CI: -2.9, 2.2) mmHg/kg for diastolic pressure, while in within-pair analysis the values were -0.9 (95% CI: -6.4, 4.6) mmHg/kg for systolic pressure and -0.2 (95% CI: -4.1, 3.7) mmHg/kg for diastolic pressure. The results suggest that in-utero growth restriction in twins is not a major determinant of their blood pressure as adults.