The Application of Digital Photogrammetric Techniques and Aerial Photography to the Preservation of Archaeological Detail. Case Study: The Copney Stone Circle Complex, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland

The Copney Stone Circle Complex, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland, is an important Bronze Age site forming part of the Mid-Ulster Stone Circle Complex. The Environment Service: Historic Monuments and Buildings (ESHMB) initiated a program of bog-clearance in August 1994 to excavate the stone circles. This work was completed by October 1994 and the excavated site was surveyed in August 1995. Almost immediately, the rate at which the stones forming the circles were breaking down was noted and a program of study initiated to make recommendations upon the conservation of this important site. Digital photogrammetric techniques were applied to aerial images of the stone circles and digital terrain models created from the images at a range of scales. These provide base data sets for comparison with identical surveys to be completed in successive years and will allow the rate of deterioration, and the areas most affected, of the circles to be determined. In addition, a 2D analysis of the stones provides an accurate analysis of the absolute 2D dimensions of the stones for rapid desktop computer analysis by researchers remote from the digital photogrammetric workstation used in the survey.

The products of this work are readily incorporated into web sites, educational packages and databases. The technique provides a rapid and user friendly method of presentation of a large body of information and measurements, and a reliable method of storage of the information from Copney should it become necessary to re-cover the site.

Dynamics and Function of Langerhans Cells In Vivo: Dermal Dendritic Cells Colonize Lymph Node Areas Distinct from Slower Migrating Langerhans Cells

Langerhans cells (LCs) are prominent dendritic cells (DCs) in epithelia, but their role in immunity is poorly defined. To track and discriminate LCs from dermal DCs in vivo, we developed knockin mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of the langerin (CD207) gene. By using vital imaging, we showed that most EGFP(+) LCs were sessile under steady-state conditions, whereas skin inflammation induced LC motility and emigration to lymph nodes (LNs). After skin immunization, dermal DCs arrived in LNs first and colonized areas distinct from slower migrating LCs. LCs reaching LNs under steady-state or inflammatory conditions expressed similar levels of costimulatory molecules. Langerin and EGFP were also expressed on thymic DCs and on blood-derived, CD8alpha(+) DCs from all secondary lymphoid organs. By using a similar knockin strategy involving a diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) fused to EGFP, we demonstrated that LCs were dispensable for triggering hapten-specific T cell effectors through skin immunization.

Higher incidence of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus in remote areas: a UK regional small-area analysis

Aims/hypothesis: We investigated the association between the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus and remoteness (a proxy measure for exposure to infections) using recently developed techniques for statistical analysis of small-area data.

Subjects, materials and methods: New cases in children aged 0 to 14 years in Northern Ireland were prospectively registered from 1989 to 2003. Ecological analysis was conducted using small geographical units (582 electoral wards) and area characteristics including remoteness, deprivation and child population density. Analysis was conducted using Poisson regression models and Bayesian
hierarchical models to allow for spatially correlated risks that were potentially caused by unmeasured explanatory variables.

Results: In Northern Ireland between 1989 and 2003, there were 1,433 new cases of type 1 diabetes, giving a directly standardised incidence rate of 24.7 per 100,000 personyears. Areas in the most remote fifth of all areas had a significantly (p=0.0006) higher incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (incidence rate ratio=1.27 [95% CI 1.07, 1.50]) than those in the most accessible fifth of all areas. There was also a higher incidence rate in areas that were less deprived (p<0.0001) and less densely populated (p=0.002). After adjustment for deprivation and additional adjustment for child population density the association between diabetes and remoteness remained significant (p=0.01 and p=0.03, respectively).

Conclusions/interpretation: In Northern Ireland, there is evidence that remote areas experience higher rates of type 1 diabetes mellitus. This could reflect a reduced or delayed exposure to infections, particularly early in life, in these areas.

Selective migration from deprived areas in Northern Ireland and the spatial distribution of inequalities: implications for monitoring health and inequalities in health

Much of the evidence suggesting that inequalities in health have been increasing over the last two decades has come from studies that compared the changes in relative health status of areas over time. Such studies ignore the movement of people between areas. This paper examines the population movement between small areas in Northern Ireland in the year prior to the 1991 census as well as the geographical distribution of migrants to Northern Ireland over the same period. It shows that deprived areas tended to become depopulated and that those who left these areas were the more affluent residents. While immigrants differed a little from the indigenous population, the overall effect of their distribution would be to maintain the geographical socio-economic status quo. The selective movement of people between areas would result in the distribution of health and ill-health becoming more polarized, i.e. produce a picture of widening inequalities between areas even though the distribution between individuals is unchanged. These processes suggest potential significant problems with the area-based approaches to monitoring health and inequalities in health.