scholarly journals Assessing the Function of Palaeolithic Hearths: Experiments on Intensity of Luminosity and Radiative Heat Outputs from Different Fuel Sources

Author(s):  
Sally Hoare

AbstractAssessing the function of Palaeolithic hearths is a key research issue that can benefit from the application of experimental archaeology when examining whether the behaviourally related purposes of fire, e.g. heat, light and cooking, could be correlated with combustion features in the archaeological record. Not all species of wood and types of fuel burn the same way. Variability exists in the amount of ash and smoke produced, along with differences in speed of burning and outgoing light and heat. This paper examined the light and heat properties of nine different types of fuels (eight individual species of wood and fresh bone) by assessing intensity of luminosity and radiative heat outputs using a lux metre and thermal imaging camera. Results show that there is considerable variation between bone and wood in terms of light and heat output and between the individual species of wood. In order to assess whether heat efficiency may vary seasonally, experiments were performed overnight and repeated at ambient air temperature ranges of 11 to 13 and 0 to 3 °C. Results show that in the current data set fuels that emit lower to intermediate heat outputs could be more efficient at colder temperatures in terms of warmth. This represents a preliminary step forward towards attributing behaviourally relevant functions such as light and heat to Palaeolithic combustion features with regard to fuel selectivity.

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. e018753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-An Ko ◽  
Salim Hayek ◽  
Pratik Sandesara ◽  
Ayman Samman Tahhan ◽  
Arshed Quyyumi

PurposeThe Emory Cardiovascular Biobank (EmCAB) is an ongoing prospective registry of patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation, which was established to identify novel factors associated with the pathobiological process and treatment of cardiovascular disease.ParticipantsIndividuals aged 18 years and older undergoing cardiac catheterisation at three Emory Healthcare sites in Atlanta are asked to participate in this prospective registry. Around 95% agree to participate. Around 7000 unique patients have been enrolled. The current data set contains detailed phenotyping, patient outcomes, genomics, protein biomarkers, regenerative markers, transcriptomic analysis, metabolomics profiling and longitudinal follow-up for adverse cardiovascular outcomes.Findings to dateThus far, the EmCAB has approximately 3000 major cardiovascular events. About 48% of the EmCAB participants have more than 5 years of follow-up. It is a great resource for discovery of novel predictive factors for cardiovascular disease outcomes, including genomics, transcriptomics, protein biomarkers, oxidative stress markers and circulating progenitor cells. Several circulating inflammatory markers have shown to improve risk prediction metrics beyond standard risk factors.Future plansFuture integrative –omics analyses will provide the cardiovascular research community opportunities for subsequent mechanistic confirmation studies, which will promote the development of effective personalised therapy that leads to clinical care tailored to the individual patient.


2019 ◽  
Vol 488 (1) ◽  
pp. 830-846
Author(s):  
Marcelo D Mora ◽  
Sergio Torres-Flores ◽  
Verónica Firpo ◽  
Jose A Hernandez-Jimenez ◽  
Fernanda Urrutia-Viscarra ◽  
...  

Abstract Nearby merging pairs are unique laboratories in which one can study the gravitational effects on the individual interacting components. In this manuscript, we report the characterization of selected H ii regions along the peculiar galaxy NGC 2936, member of the galaxy pair Arp 142, an E+S interaction, known as ‘The Penguin’. Using Gemini South spectroscopy, we have derived a high enhancement of the global star formation rate (SFR) = 35.9 M⊙ yr−1 probably stimulated by the interaction. Star-forming regions on this galaxy display oxygen abundances that are consistent with solar metallicities. The current data set does not allow us to conclude any clear scenario for NGC 2936. Diagnostic diagrams suggest that the central region of NGC 2936 is ionized by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity and the eastern tidal plume in NGC 2936 is experiencing a burst of star formation, which may be triggered by the gas compression due to the interaction event with its elliptical companion galaxy: NGC 2937. The ionization mechanism of these sources is consistent with shock models of low velocities of 200–300 km s −1. The isophotal analysis shows tidal features on NGC 2937: at inner radii non-concentric (or off-centring) isophotes, and at large radii, a faint excess of the surface brightness profile with respect to de Vaucouleurs law. By comparing the radial velocity profiles and morphological characteristics of Arp 142 with a library of numerical simulations, we conclude that the current stage of the system would be about 50 ± 25 Myr after the first pericentre passage.


Author(s):  
D. E. Becker

An efficient, robust, and widely-applicable technique is presented for computational synthesis of high-resolution, wide-area images of a specimen from a series of overlapping partial views. This technique can also be used to combine the results of various forms of image analysis, such as segmentation, automated cell counting, deblurring, and neuron tracing, to generate representations that are equivalent to processing the large wide-area image, rather than the individual partial views. This can be a first step towards quantitation of the higher-level tissue architecture. The computational approach overcomes mechanical limitations, such as hysterisis and backlash, of microscope stages. It also automates a procedure that is currently done manually. One application is the high-resolution visualization and/or quantitation of large batches of specimens that are much wider than the field of view of the microscope.The automated montage synthesis begins by computing a concise set of landmark points for each partial view. The type of landmarks used can vary greatly depending on the images of interest. In many cases, image analysis performed on each data set can provide useful landmarks. Even when no such “natural” landmarks are available, image processing can often provide useful landmarks.


2020 ◽  

BACKGROUND: This paper deals with territorial distribution of the alcohol and drug addictions mortality at a level of the districts of the Slovak Republic. AIM: The aim of the paper is to explore the relations within the administrative territorial division of the Slovak Republic, that is, between the individual districts and hence, to reveal possibly hidden relation in alcohol and drug mortality. METHODS: The analysis is divided and executed into the two fragments – one belongs to the female sex, the other one belongs to the male sex. The standardised mortality rate is computed according to a sequence of the mathematical relations. The Euclidean distance is employed to compute the similarity within each pair of a whole data set. The cluster analysis examines is performed. The clusters are created by means of the mutual distances of the districts. The data is collected from the database of the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic for all the districts of the Slovak Republic. The covered time span begins in the year 1996 and ends in the year 2015. RESULTS: The most substantial point is that the Slovak Republic possesses the regional disparities in a field of mortality expressed by the standardised mortality rate computed particularly for the diagnoses assigned to the alcohol and drug addictions at a considerably high level. However, the female sex and the male sex have the different outcome. The Bratislava III District keeps absolutely the most extreme position. It forms an own cluster for the both sexes too. The Topoľčany District bears a similar extreme position from a point of view of the male sex. All the Bratislava districts keep their mutual notable dissimilarity. Contrariwise, evaluation of a development of the regional disparities among the districts looks like notably heterogeneously. CONCLUSIONS: There are considerable regional discrepancies throughout the districts of the Slovak Republic. Hence, it is necessary to create a common platform how to proceed with the solution of this issue.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 797
Author(s):  
Davide Mugetti ◽  
Mattia Tomasoni ◽  
Paolo Pastorino ◽  
Giuseppe Esposito ◽  
Vasco Menconi ◽  
...  

The Mycobacterium fortuitum group (MFG) consists of about 15 species of fast-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). These globally distributed microorganisms can cause diseases in humans and animals, especially fish. The increase in the number of species belonging to MFG and the diagnostic techniques panel do not allow to clarify their real clinical significance. In this study, biomolecular techniques were adopted for species determination of 130 isolates derived from fish initially identified through biochemical tests as NTM belonging to MFG. Specifically, gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were used based on a fragment of the gene encoding the 65 KDa heat shock protein (hsp65). The analyzes made it possible to confirm that all the isolates belong to MFG, allowing to identify the strains at species level. Phylogenetic analysis substantially confirmed what was obtained by gene sequencing, except for six strains; this is probably due to the sequences present in NCBI database. Although the methodology used cannot represent a univocal identification system, this study has allowed us to evaluate its effectiveness as regards the species of MFG. Future studies will be necessary to apply these methods with other gene fragments and to clarify the real pathogenic significance of the individual species of this group of microorganisms.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-207
Author(s):  
SHIVANI KASHYAP ◽  
CHANDAN KUMAR SAHU ◽  
ROHIT KUMAR VERMA ◽  
LAL BABU CHAUDHARY

Due to large size and enormous morphological plasticity, the taxonomy of the genus Astragalus is very complex and challenging. The identification and grouping of species chiefly based on macromorphological characters become sometimes difficult in the genus. In the present study, the micromorphology of the seeds of 30 species belonging to 14 sections of Astragalus from India has been examined applying scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with light microscopy (LM) to evaluate their role in identification and classification. Attention was paid to colour, shape, size and surface of seeds. The overall size of the seeds ranges from 1.5–3.2 × 0.8–2.2 mm. The shape of the seeds is cordiform, deltoid, mitiform, orbicular, ovoid and reniform. The colour of seeds varies from brown to blackish-brown to black. Papillose, reticulate, ribbed, rugulate and stellate patterns were observed on the seed coat surface (spermoderm) among different species. The study reveals that the seed coat ornamentations have evolved differently among species and do not support the subgeneric and sectional divisions of the genus. However, they add an additional feature to the individual species, which may help in identification in combination with other macro-morphological features.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 172988141881470
Author(s):  
Nezih Ergin Özkucur ◽  
H Levent Akın

Self-localization in autonomous robots is one of the fundamental issues in the development of intelligent robots, and processing of raw sensory information into useful features is an integral part of this problem. In a typical scenario, there are several choices for the feature extraction algorithm, and each has its weaknesses and strengths depending on the characteristics of the environment. In this work, we introduce a localization algorithm that is capable of capturing the quality of a feature type based on the local environment and makes soft selection of feature types throughout different regions. A batch expectation–maximization algorithm is developed for both discrete and Monte Carlo localization models, exploiting the probabilistic pose estimations of the robot without requiring ground truth poses and also considering different observation types as blackbox algorithms. We tested our method in simulations, data collected from an indoor environment with a custom robot platform and a public data set. The results are compared with the individual feature types as well as naive fusion strategy.


Author(s):  
Julie M. Fives ◽  
F. I. O'Brien

The Galway Bay area was sampled quantitatively for plankton during 1972–3. The larvae and/or post-larvae of 67 species of fish were identified from the plankton. The recorded occurrence per m3 and the percentage occurrence of the individual species is presented and discussed, and reference is made to the concurrent occurrence of various chaetognath species and copepod species. The results of previous investigations of the plankton of the Galway Bay area are mentioned.


1975 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Horvath ◽  
P. B. Raven ◽  
T. E. Dahms ◽  
D. J. Gray

Previous studies had indicated that maximum aerobic power (VO2 max) would be seriously impaired when HbCO levels were above 7% but was not altered if HbCO was around 2.7%. The present studies indicated that the critical level at which HbCO influenced VO2 max was approximately 4.3%. This was accompanied as in the above-noted studied with a reduction in total work time to the attainment of VO2 max. Two procedures to raise HbCO to appropriate levels were employed, i.e., a buildup wherin HbCO was incrementally increased by breathing ambient air containing 75 or 100 ppm CO and a bolus plus maintenance procedure. In the latter, HbCO was raised to the level attained in the buildup test by giving a “bolus” of CO followed by the continued inhalation of CO at a level to just maintain this level of HbCO regardless of the magnitude of the ventilation. Regardless of the mode of presentation, the decrement in VO2 max occurred at the same level of HbCO. These observations are of considerable significance, since it indicated that even low ambient levels of CO (23.7 ppm) would result in lowering maximum aerobic power if the individual had been previously exposed to CO such that the level was raised to this critical point.


Author(s):  
Lorena Lanthemann ◽  
Sofia van Moorsel

Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) are increasingly studied for their potential for phytoremediation of heavy-metal polluted water bodies. A prerequisite for metal removal, however, is the tolerance of the organism to the pollutant, e.g., the metal zinc (Zn). Duckweeds have been shown to differ in their tolerances to Zn, however, despite them most commonly co-occurring with other species, there is a lack of research concerning the effect of species interactions on Zn tolerance. Here we tested whether the presence of a second species influenced the growth rate of the three duckweed species Lemna minor, Lemna gibba, and Lemna turionifera. We used four different Zn concentrations in a replicated microcosm experiment under sterile conditions, either growing the species in isolation or in a 2-species mixture. The response to Zn differed between species, but all three species showed a high tolerance to Zn, with low levels of Zn even increasing the growth rates. The growth rates of the individual species were influenced by the identity of the competing species, but this was independent of the Zn concentration. Our results suggest that species interactions should be considered in future research with duckweeds and that several duckweed species have high tolerance to metal pollution, making them candidates for phytoremediation efforts.


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