“Conducted Properly,Published Incorrectly”: The Evolving Status of Gel Electrophoresis Images Along Instrumental Transformations in Times of Reproducibility Crisis

For the last ten years, within molecular life sciences, the reproducibility crisis discourse has been embodied as a crisis of trust in scientific images. Beyond the contentious perception of “questionable research practices” associated with a digital turn in the production of images, this paper highlights the transformations of gel electrophoresis as a family of experimental techniques. Our aim is to analyze the evolving epistemic status of generated images and its connection with a crisis of trust in images within that field. From the 1980s to the 2000s, we identify two key innovations (precast gels and gel docs) leading to a “two-tiered” gel electrophoresis with different standardization procedures, different epistemic statuses of the produced images and different ways of generating (dis)trust in images. The first tier, exemplified by differential gel electrophoresis (DIGE), is characterized by specialized devices processing images as quantitative data. The second tier, exemplified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), is described as a routine technique making use of image as qualitative “virtual witnessing.” The difference between these two tiers is particularly apparent in the ways images are processed, even though both tiers involve image digitization. Our account thus highlights different views on reproducibility within the two tiers. Comparability of images is insisted upon in the first tier while traceability is expected in the second tier. It is striking that these differences occur not only within the same scientific field, but even within the same family of experimental techniques. In the second tier, digitization entails distrust, whereas it implies a collective sentiment of trust in the first tier.     

Outsmarting geography: implementing territorial innovation strategies in sparsely populated regions

The smart specialization literature has hardly addressed the role of geography in promoting novel approaches to local and regional innovation processes beyond classic clustering approaches. Based on empirical observations from five sparsely populated regions, the present article proposes original insights that contribute to the theoretical debate on the place-based nature and spatial dimension of entrepreneurial discovery, the key functional mechanism behind smart specialization. First, it advocates the added-value of integrating strategic spatial planning approaches at different stages of smart specialization implementation, from design to operationalization. Second, it suggests that more effective ways of creating domains through shared knowledge bases of existing sectors should aim at promoting collaboration between second-tier economic agents. Finally, the specificity of the territorial preconditions found in sparsely populated regions brings to the fore new forms of proximity relations based on institutional, cognitive and organizational proximity rather than on geographical clustering.     

Unstabilized and stabilized compressed earth blocks with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates

This article aims to characterize the physical, mechanical, and water-resistant behavior of unstabilized and stabilized compressed earth blocks (CEB) produced with partial incorporation of recycled fine aggregates from construction debris. The objective was to produce an alternative-earth construction material with lower embodied energy. To this end, different types of common CEB were covered, namely: unstabilized CEB; stabilized CEB with 8% cement; stabilized CEB with 4% cement and 4% lime. CEB were characterized in terms of density, thermal conductivity, compressive and tensile strength, water absorption, permeability, and resistance to water erosion from drip and spray tests. The influence of moisture content was also analyzed. Lime stabilization had little effect on the early age mechanical and durability behavior of CEB. Design coefficients are suggested for common cement-stabilized CEB under different environmental conditions. A minimum of 4% cement content was sufficient to produce water-resistant CEB with partial incorporation of recycled aggregates.     

Assessment of the Lines of Torres Vedras defensive system with visibility analysis

A method to assess the coherence of defensive systems based on the individual and combined visual coverage of fortifications is presented. The case study is the complex fortification system of Lines of Torres Vedras, around Lisbon, Portugal, activated in the first decade of the 19th century to halt the French armies of Napoleon in the Peninsular War. As messages between fortifications are known to have been exchanged visually by semaphore, GIS-based viewshed calculations enabled the assessment of the system's coherence and the exploration of how the undocumented communication with the defensive forces' headquarters in Lisbon might have been achieved. Results show that the defensive system with its two lines was highly effective per se with respect to the visual coverage of the terrain and the exchange of messages between fortifications, but it could have been improved with minor changes to the location of communication devices. It is also found that communication with the headquarters in Lisbon was not adequate, suggesting that additional devices were needed.     

The lower jaw and dentition of the traversodontid Exaeretodon riograndensis Abdala,Barberena & Dornelles,from the Brazilian Triassic (Santa Maria 2 Sequence,Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone)

Exaeretodon riograndensis Abdala, Barberena, & Dornelles, 2002 Abdala, F., Barberena, M.C. and Dornelles, J.E.F. 2002. A new species of the traversodontid cynodont Exaeretodon from the Santa Maria Formation (Middle/Late Triassic) of Southern Brazil. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 22: 313–325. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] is the most abundant traversodontid preserved in the basal Santa Maria 2 Sequence (Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone), southern Brazil and is closely related to Exaeretodon argentinus Cabrera, 1943 Cabrera, A. 1943. El primer hallazgo de terápsidos en la Argentina. Notas del Museo de La Plata, Paleontología, 8: 317–331.  [Google Scholar] from the Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina. Previous anatomical studies of E. riograndensis have focused mainly on cranial material and little is known about the morphology of its lower dentition or postdentary bones. We describe the first fairly complete postdentary series of the mandible of E. riograndensis and provide additional information on its lower dentition. The postdentary bones of E. riograndensis include a complex coronoid, an angular with a delicate reflected lamina and a stout retroarticular process of the articular, contrasting with the morphology reconstructed for Argentinean specimens, which possess a small retroarticular process. Apart from that, the postdentary bones do not differ significantly from those known for E. argentinus, a fact expected due to the great similarity between other skeletal features of these species. Furthermore, the lower postcanines of E. riograndensis have virtually the same structure as those of E. argentinus, with an approximate quadrangular shape in occlusal view. Moreover, the transverse cusp row is placed anteriorly and comprises a lingual and a buccal cusp, and the occlusal basin delimited by the four main cusps is relatively deep. The new material does not add any taxonomically diagnostic features to E. riograndensis. However, the fossils greatly improve our understanding of the anatomy of the Brazilian species.     

FISHERS OF THE CORDED WARE CULTURE IN THE EASTERN BALTIC

Between 2800 and 2400 cal BC pastoralists from Central Europe migrated into the eastern Baltic paving the way for the Corded Ware Culture (CWC), and a new type of economy, animal husbandry. Traditionally the CWC people were viewed as highly mobile due to the lack of substantial traces of dwellings and material culture at settlement sites; they were reliant on an economy based on animal husbandry as demonstrated by zooarchaeological and stable isotopic evidence. However, this paradigm is beginning to shift. Here, we present new AMS radiocarbon (¹⁴C) measurements, pollen and macrobotanical data from sediment samples and a portable fish screen, as well as technological, molecular and isotopic data obtained from ceramic vessels from three CWC sites in the eastern Baltic. Overall, our results indicate a de-Neolithisation process undergone by some CWC groups, particularly in lacustrine and coastal ecotones, and a shift to hunting, gathering and fishing.