The death of infants in Early Iron Age Cyprus. A jar burial from Kition-Bamboula

During recent excavations of the French Archaeological Mission at Kition-Bamboula, in modern day Larnaka, Cyprus, an infant jar burial was discovered. It was found under a floor layer in a domestic context, and is dated to the beginning of the Late Cypriot IIIB period (end of the 12th– early 11th century BC). This jar burial is part of a series which seems to be attested, at least in the present state of documentation, only in eastern Cyprus (Enkomi, Salamis and, on a lesser scale, Kition) during a period that spans the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. The Kition-Bamboula jar burial is notable for its wealth (jewellery, vase offerings, and food deposit). This article proposes a detailed and multidisciplinary study of the burial, as well as a comprehensive consideration of the treatment of infants’ dead bodies in Early Iron Age Cyprus.

Effects of the Invasive Tree Species Ailanthus altissima on the Floral Diversity and Soil Properties in the Pannonian Region

Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is one of the most dangerous and widespread invasive woody plant species in Europe. Despite the fact that A. altissima is in the focus of an increasing number of research projects, the impact of its mass spread on native vegetation, its diversity, and changes in soil quality are still incomplete. The current study addresses the effects of this invasive species on plant diversity and soil parameters simultaneously. The main objective of our research is to determine the impact of cover and mass of A. altissima on the diversity of each forest layer; the examined soil parameters and on other selected environmental variables. For botanical and pedological investigations we selected nine A. altissima-dominated sites in Central Europe, in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region. Based on our results, it can be stated that fully grown A. altissima-dominated stands can displace other taxa by their shading and allelopathy, thereby reducing canopy layer diversity. The increase in the species richness of the shrub layer had a positive correlation with the diversity of the floor layer and also with the humus and ammonia content of the soil. As the diversity of shrub layer and floor layer positively correlated with many soil parameters, the diverse vegetation of these layers can represent a potential opportunity for the regeneration of areas infected with A. altissima.

Impact of reinforcement on shrinkage in the concrete floors of a residential building

The type of floor in a building object results from the serviceability requirements, technical possibilities, and costs of its implementation. Concrete screeds constituting the structural layer of the floor can be made without reinforcement, with dispersed reinforcement, or reinforced with meshes of various materials. Due to the large surface dimensions, concrete screeds are susceptible to scratches as a result of occurring strains, service loads and unevenness of the floor. There are detailed recommendations on how to make floors, and on the materials used. However, the conditions in which floors are made often differ from those recommended. The article presents the results of measured strains on the surfaces of three screeds constituting the floor layer in a residential building. The screeds, which were made in identical environmental conditions, differed in the type of reinforcement used: steel mesh, dispersed polypropylene fibres, fibreglass mesh. In addition, strain measurements were carried out on concrete and fibre-reinforced concrete specimens made of the mix used to make the screeds. The results allowed the assessment of the effectiveness of the reinforcement used, the impact of environmental conditions on the values, and the analysis of differences in the course of strains in real elements and the specimens.

Mikromorfologie v archeologickém kontextu jako nástroj pro interpretace vzniku výplní pravěkých objektů: případová studie z Tvrdonic, okr. Břeclav

Micromorphology in the archaeological context is a methodological tool of modern multidisciplinary archeology. It is basically a microscopic characterization of sediments in a direct context of archaeological situations with the aim of detecting formation processes, the knowledge of which is essential for further interpretations. This method was applied to the sediment fill of two features in a stratigraphic relationship from the locality Tvrdonice – “Pole od Týnecka”. Samples were taken from a La Tène recessed structure fill and an earlier Bronze Age pit that is superimposed below the La Tène feature. From a macroscopic and micromorphological point of view, it is evident that the fill of an Early Bronze Age feature consists of wind-blown sands in superposition with in situ or slightly displaced soil material. Micro-layers detected macroscopically are only related to object leveling. The layer of soil beneath the “floor” of the La Tène recessed building displays signs of long-term bioturbated soil, i.e. the La Tène building was founded in an existing depression. The active floor layer of the La Tène building is represented by alternating layers of lighter and darker laminae. While the darker laminae represent the trampled layer, the lighter laminae consist of recrystallized ash, which impregnates the trampled layer. On a social level, this finding can be interpreted as the creators of the La Tène recessed building choosing to minimize labour costs by using the recessed terrain and thus avoiding the excavation of the building floor. The utility area possessed a purposefully modified surface, which is related to ergonomic efficiency, but its function is unknown. The uppermost part of the fill is formed by backfill that does not show any signs of pedogenic influences, which indicates that the object was intentionally filled (leveled).

A Design Approach to IoT Endpoint Security for Production Machinery Monitoring

The Internet of Things (IoT) has significant potential in upgrading legacy production machinery with monitoring capabilities to unlock new capabilities and bring economic benefits. However, the introduction of IoT at the shop floor layer exposes it to additional security risks with potentially significant adverse operational impact. This article addresses such fundamental new risks at their root by introducing a novel endpoint security-by-design approach. The approach is implemented on a widely applicable production-machinery-monitoring application by introducing real-time adaptation features for IoT device security through subsystem isolation and a dedicated lightweight authentication protocol. This paper establishes a novel viewpoint for the understanding of IoT endpoint security risks and relevant mitigation strategies and opens a new space of risk-averse designs that enable IoT benefits, while shielding operational integrity in industrial environments.

Application of minidisk infiltrometer to estimate water repellency in Mediterranean pine forest soils

Assessment of soil water repellency (SWR) was conducted in the decomposed organic floor layer (duff) and in the mineral soil layer of two Mediterranean pine forests, one in Italy and the other in Spain, by the widely-used water drop penetration time (WDPT) test and alternative indices derived from infiltration experiments carried out by the minidisk infiltrometer (MDI). In particular, the repellency index (RI) was calculated as the adjusted ratio between ethanol and water soil sorptivities whereas the water repellency cessation time (WRCT) and the specifically proposed modified repellency index (RIm) were derived from the hydrophobic and wettable stages of a single water infiltration experiment. Time evolution of SWR and vegetation cover influence was also investigated at the Italian site. All indices unanimously detected severe SWR conditions in the duff of the pine forests. The mineral subsoils in the two forests showed different wettability and the clay-loam subsoil at Ciavolo forest was hydrophobic even if characterized by organic matter (OM) content similar to the wettable soil of an adjacent glade. It was therefore assumed that the composition rather than the total amount of OM influenced SWR. The hydraulic conductivity of the duff differed by a factor of 3.8–5.8 between the two forested sites thus influencing the vertical extent of SWR. Indeed, the mineral subsoil of Javea showed wettable or weak hydrophobic conditions probably because leaching of hydrophobic compounds was slowed or prevented at all. Estimations of SWR according to the different indices were in general agreement even if some discrepancies were observed. In particular, at low hydrophobicity levels the SWR indices gathered from the MDI tests were able to signal sub-critical SWR conditions that were not detected by the traditional WDPT index. The WRCT and modified repellency index RImyielded SWR estimates in reasonable agreement with those obtained with the more cumbersome RI test and, therefore, can be proposed as alternative procedures for SWR assessment.

Transport and accumulation of heavy metals in undisturbed soil columns

The podzolic soils of the Kola Peninsula, Russia, have in localised areas been highly contaminated with copper and nickel from smelting activities. Migration and retention of these metals were investigated in undisturbed soil columns irrigated with simulated background and polluted precipitation in order to study the temporal processes of retention and release within the soil. The mineral layers were strongly acidified by the contaminated precipitation. Forest floor layers demonstrated a high capacity to retain input Ni and Cu under all conditions. Mineral layers accumulated some Cu, but released Ni. In general, Ni leached through the soil faster than Cu. Since metals are strongly retained in the forest floor layer, even after reduction or cessation of inputs there may be a significant long–term risk of their leaching to deeper soil and groundwater. This risk cannot be ameliorated without remediative intervention.

Research of Optimization Design on Floating Floor Insulation

In order to acquire a high quality of living environment, it is necessary to investigate the subjects of floor impact sound insulation. According to the characteristics of optimization design method and restricted optimization math model, the sound transmission between floor and adjacent room down through floating floor has been modeled in a finite-element method. Floating floor structure are studied to realize the design optimization when the room average sound pressures are selected as objective function. Predicted results show that when keep the whole thickness of floating floor fixed, result of dynamics optimization design can reduce room average sound pressure effectively. And when keep the whole thickness of floating floor unfixed, optimization results have been gotten on the total thickness of floor layer and resilient interlayer of the floating floor, and the average sound-pressure in room is lower than original one availably.

Seismic Design of R.C. Stairs in Masonry Structure

In view of masonry structures with rigid floor slab, seismic behavior of R. C. stairs and influence of stairs on the stiffness of lateral walls of stair well was analyzed, calculation formulae of the seismic internal forces of stairs were deduced, calculation method of the seismic shear forces considering the seismic effect of stairs on main structure were given out. Analysis and comparison on engineering ensamples were carried out. The results show K-type bracing function of step slabs to main structure is evident. Considering the bracing function, shear deformation of the floor layer and shear forces in the seismic walls are decreased, internal forces in R. C. stairs are increased. Seismic design recommendation of step slab to decrease the seismic forces was presented.