scholarly journals The Mousterian loess sequence La Combette (France) and its chronological framework: A re-investigation

Author(s):  
Sebastian KREUTZER ◽  
Hélène VALLADAS ◽  
Pierre-Jean TEXIER ◽  
Virginie MOINEAU ◽  
Carlo MOLOGNI ◽  
...  

The La Combette rock-shelter, located in the Luberon mountains (Southern France), is an essential local archaeological discovery. The site comprises several Palaeolithic layers suggesting multiple phases of Mousterian occupation. The sediment sequence of c. 7 m thickness indicates rapid changes in the environmental conditions, which led to an abandonment of the site. While the first chronological studies were carried out in the late 1990s, in 2014, new sediment samples were taken for state-of-the-art luminescence-dating analyses using fine grain (4-11 µm) quartz and polymineral separates. Samples were taken from the loess-dominated upper archaeological levels A to D (upper main unit) as well as from the anthropogenic layer E, embedded in a fluvial context, and from the bottom deposits of the layer F/G. Here we present the obtained chronological dataset in conjunction with 24 so far unpublished thermoluminescence dating results from burnt flint artefacts from layers E and F/G. We combine and discuss our results against previous chronological datasets, which seem to be broadly confirmed by our new findings framing the sedimentation history of La Combette at 78.3 ka to 39.4 ka. In summary, it appears that the local environmental conditions were deeply impacted by the climatic changes during MIS 4/3. This caused rapid sediment influx that finally rendered the rock shelter uninhabitable as a potential refuge, until its re-discovery in the second half of the 20th century.

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Connah ◽  
S.G.H. Daniels

New archaeological research in Borno by the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, has included the analysis of pottery excavated from several sites during the 1990s. This important investigation made us search through our old files for a statistical analysis of pottery from the same region, which although completed in 1981 was never published. The material came from approximately one hundred surface collections and seven excavated sites, spread over a wide area, and resulted from fieldwork in the 1960s and 1970s. Although old, the analysis remains relevant because it provides a broad geographical context for the more recent work, as well as a large body of independent data with which the new findings can be compared. It also indicates variations in both time and space that have implications for the human history of the area, hinting at the ongoing potential of broadscale pottery analysis in this part of West Africa and having wider implications of relevance to the study of archaeological pottery elsewhere.


This book presents a critical assessment of progress on the use of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the structure of proteins, including brief reviews of the history of the field along with coverage of current clinical and in vivo applications. The book, in honor of Oleg Jardetsky, one of the pioneers of the field, is edited by two of the most highly respected investigators using NMR, and features contributions by most of the leading workers in the field. It will be valued as a landmark publication that presents the state-of-the-art perspectives regarding one of today's most important technologies.


This volume vividly demonstrates the importance and increasing breadth of quantitative methods in the earth sciences. With contributions from an international cast of leading practitioners, chapters cover a wide range of state-of-the-art methods and applications, including computer modeling and mapping techniques. Many chapters also contain reviews and extensive bibliographies which serve to make this an invaluable introduction to the entire field. In addition to its detailed presentations, the book includes chapters on the history of geomathematics and on R.G.V. Eigen, the "father" of mathematical geology. Written to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the International Association for Mathematical Geology, the book will be sought after by both practitioners and researchers in all branches of geology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-338
Author(s):  
Giulia Della Rosa ◽  
Clarissa Ruggeri ◽  
Alessandra Aloisi

Exosomes (EXOs) are nano-sized informative shuttles acting as endogenous mediators of cell-to-cell communication. Their innate ability to target specific cells and deliver functional cargo is recently claimed as a promising theranostic strategy. The glycan profile, actively involved in the EXO biogenesis, release, sorting and function, is highly cell type-specific and frequently altered in pathological conditions. Therefore, the modulation of EXO glyco-composition has recently been considered an attractive tool in the design of novel therapeutics. In addition to the available approaches involving conventional glyco-engineering, soft technology is becoming more and more attractive for better exploiting EXO glycan tasks and optimizing EXO delivery platforms. This review, first, explores the main functions of EXO glycans and associates the potential implications of the reported new findings across the nanomedicine applications. The state-of-the-art of the last decade concerning the role of natural polysaccharides—as targeting molecules and in 3D soft structure manufacture matrices—is then analysed and highlighted, as an advancing EXO biofunction toolkit. The promising results, integrating the biopolymers area to the EXO-based bio-nanofabrication and bio-nanotechnology field, lay the foundation for further investigation and offer a new perspective in drug delivery and personalized medicine progress.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Horacio Merchant-Larios ◽  
Verónica Díaz-Hernández ◽  
Diego Cortez

The discovery in mammals that fetal testes are required in order to develop the male phenotype inspired research efforts to elucidate the mechanisms underlying gonadal sex determination and differentiation in vertebrates. A pioneer work in 1966 that demonstrated the influence of incubation temperature on sexual phenotype in some reptilian species triggered great interest in the environment’s role as a modulator of plasticity in sex determination. Several chelonian species have been used as animal models to test hypotheses concerning the mechanisms involved in temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). This brief review intends to outline the history of scientific efforts that corroborate our current understanding of the state-of-the-art in TSD using chelonian species as a reference.


1990 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl F. Kaestle

The History of Education Quarterly has done it again. Despite many scholars' previous attempts to summarize the state of the art in historical studies of literacy, this special issue will now be the best, up-to-date place for a novice to start. It should be required reading for everyone interested in this subfield. The editors have enlisted an impressive roster of prominent scholars in the field, and these authors have provided us with an excellent array of synthetic reviews, methodological and theoretical discussions, and exemplary research papers.


1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Berggren

In Recent Years, many discoveries in the history of Islamic mathematics have not been reported outside the specialist literature, even though they raise issues of interest to a larger audience. Thus, our aim in writing this survey is to provide to scholars of Islamic culture an account of the major themes and discoveries of the last decade of research on the history of mathematics in the Islamic world. However, the subject of mathematics comprised much more than what a modern mathematician might think of as belonging to mathematics, so our survey is an overview of what may best be called the “mathematical sciences” in Islam; that is, in addition to such topics as arithmetic, algebra, and geometry we will also be interested in mechanics, optics, and mathematical instruments.


Author(s):  
Dimitri Gugushvili ◽  
Tijs Laenen

Abstract Over two decades ago, Korpi and Palme (1998) published one of the most influential papers in the history of social policy discipline, in which they put forward a “paradox of redistribution”: the more countries target welfare resources exclusively at the poor, the less redistribution is actually achieved and the less income inequality and poverty are reduced. The current paper provides a state-of-the-art review of empirical research into that paradox. More specifically, we break down the paradox into seven core assumptions, which together form a causal chain running from institutional design to redistributive outcomes. For each causal assumption, we offer a comprehensive and critical review of the relevant empirical literature, also including a broader range of studies that do not aim to address Korpi and Palme’s paradox per se, but are nevertheless informative about it.


1995 ◽  
Vol 349 (1329) ◽  
pp. 297-297

Many cellular mechanisms use a process of variation and selection to generate specific patterns. Among these, dynamic instability of microtubules has been shown to employ a specific mechanism to intentionally generate variation. In many systems the growth of neurons or neuronal processes is excessive, the final connections being established by stabilization of functional interactions. When changes in neuronal networks take place, such as in metamorphosis, use is made of the plasticity of neuronal connectivity. In the immune system, specific responses are generated by variation and selection. Processes that explore a wide range of conditions and a wide range of structures can be called exploratory processes. These are very robust and capable of responding to damage, variability in the environment and ontogenic changes in the organisms. Such robustness would be useful for adapting to changes that occur during phylogenetic changes as well. Given the extensive history of extinction and radiation in evolution, it may be supposed that these mechanisms have themselves been selected for their capacity to survive rapid changes in the organism and for their ability to generate cellular variation.


Author(s):  
Seyed Mostafa Assi

The history of lexicography in Iran dates back to more than 2,000 years ago, to the time of the compilation of bilingual and monolingual lexicons for the Middle Persian language. After a review of the long and rich tradition of Persian lexicography, the chapter gives an account of the state of the art in the modern era by describing recent advances and developments in this field. During the last three or four decades, in line with the advancements in western countries, Iranian lexicography evolved from its traditional state into a modern professional and academic activity trying to improve the form and content of dictionaries by implementing the following factors: the latest achievements in theoretical and applied linguistics related to lexicography; and the computer techniques and information technology and corpus-based approach to lexicography.


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