Subsistence and mobility strategies of hunter-gatherers in the Mediterranean Basin during the transition from the late Pleistocene to the early Holocene have been the object of few studies, even ...though its karst coastal regions have high densities of prehistoric sites. One such area is the territory of the Conca d’Oro in NW Sicily, which has numerous sites with faunal remains testifying to economies mainly based on hunting of terrestrial ungulates and on the regular consumption of molluscs. This paper presents results from the study of faunal remains from cave sites occupied by hunter-gatherers in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, and of isotope analyses on shells of marine molluscs collected for food and on collagen from the bones of the hunter-gatherers buried in these caves. The mollusc assemblages are dominated by inter-tidal rocky shore species of the genera
Patella and
Osilinus, which from 16 to 9 kyrs cal BP were the principal marine resources exploited by the hunter-gatherers of the Conca d’Oro. Oxygen isotope analyses on shells of
Osilinus turbinatus show that in the late Pleistocene the exploitation of marine molluscs at the Addaura caves, relatively close to the shoreline, was restricted to late autumn and winter, while at Grotta Niscemi, which is further inland, these resources were exploited less intensively but for longer in the year, from autumn to the early spring. The data from the shells (both isotope and biometrical) suggest that late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers spent the coldest months of the year close to the coast, moving inland in late spring and for the summer. In the early Holocene, by contrast, marine molluscs were exploited longer during the year, attesting to a change in mobility strategies and, probably, frequent moves within more restricted territories. Carbon and nitrogen isotopes in human bone collagen from Grotta Addaura Caprara and Grotta della Molara show that marine foods were marginal in the diets of both late Pleistocene and early Holocene hunter-gatherers. Overall, the data indicate that the territory of the Conca d’Oro hunter-gatherers probably extended from the coastal plain to the upland areas during the late Pleistocene, but became more restricted in the early Holocene. This model might have broader application to hunter-gatherer settlement systems in other karst coastal areas of the Mediterranean.
K+Λ(1405) photoproduction has been studied at the BGOOD experiment via the all neutral decay, Λ(1405)→Σ0π0. The unique BGOOD experimental setup allows both the cross section and Λ(1405) invariant ...mass distribution (line shape) to be measured over a broad K+ polar angle range, extending to extreme forward K+ angles unattainable at previous experiments.
Evidence is provided for the role of a triangle singularity driven by the N⁎(2030) resonance, which appears to contribute significantly to K+Λ(1405) photoproduction. This is observed in the integrated cross section which was determined with unprecedented energy resolution and supported by the angular distributions. The measured line shape is also in agreement with the previous results of CLAS and ANKE, and is consistent with two poles derived in χPT based models.
The results of an experimental trial, carried out using a specifically prepared microbial starter, in an automated pilot plant, are presented. The microbial starter was composed by
Lb
.
pentosus
...strains. The automatized process was compared with natural fermentation in plastic vats, as control. Relevant process parameters, chemico-physical determinations, instrumental texture, and microbiological analyses were carried out to monitor the fermentation process. Driving the process in controlled conditions resulted in a more rapid acidification, pH reaching lower values than the control. In controlled conditions, inoculated lactobacilli carried out a fast colonization supplanting more rapidly spoilage microflora. In started samples, yeasts number increased until reaching 5 log at 60 days, keeping this value constant until the end of the trials, while, in control batches, their growth was more rapid, reaching 5 log from 15 to 30 days, but their number decreased to 3 log at 90 days. The two processes produced olives with comparable texture profile. However, olives coming from the controlled process resulted debittered in 3 months (descriptive sensory analyses and oleuropein quantification in HPLC), while naturally fermented olives resulted not yet debittered at the end of the trial (180 days). Slight differences were found in few other sensory descriptors. Our results showed that, along with the use of effective autochthonous microbial starters, the innovation of processing plants is the next step towards the shortening of the processing time and the safety assurance of the product, while retaining the sensory quality of naturally fermented olives, using an environmentally friendly technology.
The coherent reaction, γd→π0π0d was studied with the BGOOD experiment at ELSA from threshold to a centre-of-mass energy of 2850MeV. A full kinematic reconstruction was made, with final state ...deuterons identified in the forward spectrometer and π0 decays in the central BGO Rugby Ball. The strength of the differential cross section exceeds what can be described by models of coherent photoproduction and instead supports the three isoscalar dibaryon candidates reported by the ELPH collaboration at 2.38, 2.47 and 2.63GeV/c2. A low mass enhancement in the π0π0 invariant mass is also observed at the d⁎(2380) centre-of-mass energy which is consistent with the ABC effect. At higher centre-of-mass energies, a narrow peak in the π0d invariant mass at 2114MeV/c2 with a width of 20MeV/c2 supports a sequential two-dibaryon decay mechanism.
The paper investigates the effects of bank–firm relationships on the cost and the availability of credit for a sample of small Italian firms, focusing on possible differential effects related to the ...local and/or cooperative nature of lending banks. We find that with banks other than cooperative banks, lending rates tend to increase with the length of the relationship for all customers, whereas with local cooperative banks (CCBs) this is the case for non-member customers only; by contrast, long-standing relationships have no significant effect on lending rates for CCBs' own members. This evidence is in line with bank capture theories, which may not apply to CCB members. We also find that CCB members enjoy easier access to credit, unlike non-member customers. Our results indicate that the main distinctive features of CCBs relative to commercial banks stem from their cooperative ownership rather than their local nature.
The γp→K+Σ0 differential cross section at extremely forward angles was measured at the BGOOD experiment. A three-quarter drop in strength over a narrow range in energy and a strong dependence on the ...polar angle of the K+ in the centre-of-mass of the reaction is observed at a centre-of-mass energy of 1900 MeV. Residing close to multiple open and hidden strangeness thresholds, the structure appears consistent with meson-baryon threshold effects which may contribute to the reaction mechanism.
Zoonoses and potential zoonoses of bears Di Salvo, Andrew R.; Chomel, Bruno B.
Zoonoses and public health,
February 2020, 2020-Feb, 2020-02-00, 20200201, Letnik:
67, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Captive and free‐ranging wild bears can carry and transmit several zoonotic pathogens. A review of nearly 90 years of scientific publications concerning confirmed and potential zoonotic diseases that ...can be present in any of the eight species of bears in the world was conducted. The findings were organized amongst the following disease sections: bacterial, viral, protozoal, mycotic, helminth and arthropod‐borne. The most commonly reported pathogens of concern were of parasitic (Trichinella, Toxoplasma) and bacterial (Francisella, Brucella) origin.
Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has been shown to be lower than physiological values during exercise with a strong negative correlation with exercise intensity. Among new markers of renal function, ...neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) seems to be very promising. It is an early, sensitive and specific marker of acute kidney injury (AKI) with two isoforms: plasma NGAL (pNGAL) and urinary NGAL (uNGAL). The aim of the present study was to assess acute variations in NGAL plasma levels after performing high endurance physical exercise in a group of professional cyclists during the two major European professional cycling competitions (Giro D’Italia and Tour de France). Eighteen professional cyclistis were recruited for the study. A blood sample was collected during rest (after 8 hours fasting) and immediately after the competition (mountain stages) in order to assess the effect of very intense exercise on kidney function by measuring the variations of pNGAL. We also assessed plasma levels of creatinine, creatine-kinase (CK), LDH, transaminases and electrolytes. The results showed that Creatinine, CK and electrolytes levels remained almost stable between rest and post-competition. The levels of transaminases and NGAL showed a mild increase between rest and post-competition, with a significant difference between the two values only for transaminases (p=0.005). However, post-competition values of all investigated variables remained within the physiological range. The results of the present study suggest that even if NGAL values mildly rose after competition, no kidney injury occurred in these highly trained athletes during mountain stages of professional competitions. Other studies in literature confirmed that high endurance physical exercise seems not to cause renal injury in elite athletes. This is probably due to adaptive mechanisms of renal function and to the adaptation to physical stress gained with training.
The differential cross section for the reaction p(γ,ηp) has been measured from threshold to 1100 MeV photon laboratory energy. For the first time, the region of the S11(1535) resonance is fully ...covered in a photoproduction experiment and will allow a precise extraction of its parameters at the photon point. These high precision data together with the already measured beam asymmetry data will provide stringent constraints on the extraction of new couplings of baryon resonances to the η meson.
In some recent papers, the so called (H,ρ)-induced dynamics of a system S whose time evolution is deduced adopting an operatorial approach, borrowed in part from quantum mechanics, has been ...introduced. Here, H is the Hamiltonian for S, while ρ is a certain rule applied periodically (or not) on S. The analysis carried on throughout this paper shows that, replacing the Heisenberg dynamics with the (H,ρ)-induced one, we obtain a simple, and somehow natural, way to prove that some relevant dynamical variables of S may converge, for large t, to certain asymptotic values. This cannot be so, for finite dimensional systems, if no rule is considered. In this case, in fact, any Heisenberg dynamics implemented by a suitable hermitian operator H can only give an oscillating behavior. We prove our claims both analytically and numerically for a simple system with two degrees of freedom, and then we apply our general scheme to a model describing a biological system of bacteria living in a two-dimensional lattice, where two different choices of the rule are considered.
•Fermionic operatorial models for macroscopic systems ruled by a Hamiltonian.•Time evolution enriched by the action of a rule acting on the state.•Time evolution enriched by the action of a rule acting on the parameters.•Dynamics admitting asymptotic equilibria.•Application to a model of a stressed bacterial population in a 2d region.
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