Sex estimation using cervical dental measurements in an archaeological population from Iran

Sex estimation of skeletal remains is one of the major components of forensic identification of unknown individuals. Teeth are a potential source of information on sex and are often recovered in archaeological or forensic contexts due to their post-mortem longevity. Currently, there is limited data on dental sexual dimorphism of archaeological populations from Iran. This paper represents the first study to provide a dental sex estimation method for Iron Age populations. The current study was conducted on the skeletal remains of 143 adults from two Iron Age populations in close temporal and geographic proximity in the Solduz Valley (West Azerbaijan Province of Iran). Mesiodistal and buccolingual cervical measurements of 1334 maxillary and mandibular teeth were used to investigate the degree of sexual dimorphism in permanent dentition and to assess their applicability in sex estimation. Data was analysed using discriminant function analysis (SPSS 23), and posterior probabilities were calculated for all produced formulae. The results showed that incisors and canines were the most sexually dimorphic teeth, providing percentages of correct sex classification between 86.4 and 100 % depending on the measurement used. The combination of canines and other teeth improved significantly the level of correct sex classification. The highest percentages of sex classification were obtained by the combination of canines and incisors (100 %) and canines and molars (92.3 %). The present study provided the first reference standards for sex estimation using odontometric data in an Iranian archaeological population. Cervical measurements were found to be of value for sex assessment, and the method presented here can be a useful tool for establishing accurate demographic data from skeletal remains of the Iron Age from Iran.     

Identifying handedness at knapping; an analysis of the scatter pattern of lithic remains

Determining hand laterality during human evolution is important in order to identify brain hemispheric lateralization for motor tasks and, indirectly, to gain information on the complex cognitive functions of the human brain. In this paper, we present a new method for inferring handedness from lithic evidence. The study is based on an analysis of the scatter patterns of lithic remains from stone-knapping episodes. An experimental programme was carried out by 14 knappers (eight right-handed and six left-handed), ranging from individuals that had never even struck two pebbles together to individuals who were quite familiar with prehistoric tools and had some degree of practice. The results of the experiment show that the material scatter patterns of right- and left-handed knappers at group level are different, but they do overlap at certain intervals. At the individual level, the probability of falsely ascribing left- and right-handedness has also been estimated. In addition, we have adapted this method to be applied to the archaeological record. In this case, only well-preserved knapping events with no post-depositional alterations can be used to assign left- or right-handed knappers, with the former being more reliably detected than the latter.     

整理解读明代财政数据应注意的几个问题——以赖建诚《边镇粮饷:明代中后期的边防经费与国家财政危机,1531～1602》为例

明代留存下来不少财政数据,这些数据均以叙述性文字罗列,给今人利用造成极大困难,急需运用现代统计技术加以整理。但是,由于这些财政数据的来源和性质十分复杂,整理起来有相当的难度。赖建诚教授的《边镇粮饷:明代中后期的边防经费与国家财政危机,1531~1602》一书,在这方面进行了值得充分肯定的尝试,但也出现了一些比较重大的错误。这些错误带有一定的普遍性。这提醒我们在整理解读明代财政数据时应特别注意以下问题:历时性研究必须准确判断财政数字的年代;转录财政数字必须辨清各项目之间的分合关系;比较财政数字必须以性质相同、口径一致为原则;解读财政数字必须明了当时的财政制度。     

Potential Use of Foamed Mortar (FM) for Thermal Upgrading of Chinese Traditional Hui-Style Residences

The Hui-style residence is an important architectural heritage of China. The hollow wall structures are widely used to build its exterior wall system. However, the thermal performance of the hollow wall is no longer able to meet the new energy-saving and environmental requirement. This article describes a laboratory study of the development of foamed mortar (FM), with the potential for use in thermal upgrading of the Hui-style hollow wall system without dramatically changing its traditional structure. The key early age, physical, mechanical and thermal properties were systematically measured. Two extended models were respectively developed to calculate compressive strength and thermal conductivity, as a function of porosity. Environment chamber test was also employed to investigate the effectiveness of this novel thermal upgrading approach and the results show that filling the voids with FM can effectively improve the overall thermal resistance of the hollow wall system by 44%, which is almost equal to the overall thermal resistance when using the more expensive commercial inorganic stucco system. In addition, the combination of these two methods yielded an overall thermal resistance of 0.701 m²·K/W, which is even higher than 0.67 m²·K/W for the code required in the hot summer/cold winter climate zone.     

AN ECOLOGICAL SAFETY SHELTER ESTABLISHED ON THE SNOWY HIGHLAND

<正>On the snowy highland,the splendid view of mountains and waters vie with each other;the birds and beasts stroll idly as in a courtyard,and the flourishing woods and grasses stretch as far as the eyes can see.Is"Shambhala"a fairyland?Over the years,the central government and Tibet have focused on protecting the highland ecology and have attained impressive achievements.Under the blue sky     

Quantifying Animal Trajectories Using Spatial Aggregation and Sequence Analysis: A Case Study of Differentiating Trajectories of Multiple Species

The increasing availability of telemetry data with high spatial and temporal resolution promises to greatly advance scientific understandings of the movement patterns of individual organisms across space and time. The amount of data provided by such methods, however, can be challenging to analyze and interpret. In this study, we present a new approach for analyzing animal movements that aggregates telemetry locations into spatial clusters and extracts the information from sequences formed by individuals passing through these spatial clusters. We applied this integrated approach of spatial aggregation and sequence analysis to quantify and compare trajectories of cattle (Bos taurus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and elk (Cervus elaphus) tracked by automated telemetry at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range in northeastern Oregon, USA. Our approach effectively differentiated movement patterns of the three species. It provides a useful mean of quantifying movement patterns of species in a landscape.     

Margaret Cavendish contre Robert Hooke : Le duel impossible

In 1665, Robert Hooke published his major work in microscopy, Micrographia, a defense of experimental philosophy. The following year, Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle, published at her own expense a treatise and a novel that undermined the basis of this new science. The dispute broke out at the initiative of the Duchess, in the context of a vast controversy about the legitimacy and the efficiency of optical instruments in natural philosophy. All the figures of the dual are used, except one: the counterattack. Cavendish, indeed, was alone on the battlefield. Is it possible to call a dual a battle with only one combatant? This particular case of dispute that stops owing to the shortage of combatants is the subject of this article.     

Auf gute Nachbarschaft!

Companies' community involvement turns out to be spatially relevant and–in many cases–to be focused on the near surroundings of the place of business. Some companies strategically align their involvement in order to systematically address local challenges. The essay at hand addresses the subject of corporate social responsibility from a local development perspective. Using the example of two family-owned enterprises based in Duisburg, Haniel and Grillo, it illustrates how socially committed companies can get involved with their local community by acting as good neighbours. Furthermore, it argues that socially committed companies can function as producers of space concerning matters of urban and local development. The specific local settings as well as the economic conditions of the local community serve as an explanatory background of the companies' involvement. The cases presented in this paper prove the firms' specific knowledge of local development needs and possibilities. This makes them qualified partners for local government actors and civil society actors. Thus, in the future, it is worth addressing corporate local responsibility from a governance point of view both in theory and in practice.     

„Was für Grün in der Stadt?“

Urban green space is a key subject of actual urban negotiation processes on how the city shall develop. Visions of the ideal city are reflected in the meanings currently ascribed to urban gardening. Thereby the relation between human and nature as well as between build and natural environment in the city plays a central role. Results from different Swiss cities show that allotment gardens as well as newer forms of urban gardening are oscillating between a compensatory and a complementary understanding of nature, and they equally combine the desire for pristine nature with the demand for functional green space in the city.