A non-destructive technique for chemical mapping of insect inclusions in amber
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Synchrotron-based techniques offer a wealth of elemental, molecular, and structural insights in biological samples, but the application of these techniques to fossils is a relatively new development. Here we examine how Synchrotron Radiation Micro X-Ray Fluorescence (SR µXRF) provides insights into the chemical composition of insects trapped in amber, while leaving the inclusions unaltered. By analyzing a series of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) that range from modern material, to Eocene Baltic amber, and Late Cretaceous North Carolina amber, we investigate how variable preservation influences the results obtained through SR µXRF analyses, as well as the various merits and pitfalls associated with the application of this technique to amber inclusions. The initial results from this line of research are encouraging. They provide new avenues to study elements that are original to the specimens involved, as well as those generated through decay, or introduced during taphonomic processes. This new technique also suggests a range of complementary techniques that may allow future studies to pursue traces of original colour and cuticular reinforcement in amber inclusions. Ultimately, this work serves as an introduction to the underlying principles, strengths, and limitations associated with applying SR µXRF in a palaeontological context.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".