Geochemical evidence for the manufacture,logistics and supply‐chain management of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army,China

Non‐invasive materials characterisation of reconstructed statues of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Terracotta Army has revealed distinct micro‐geochemical patterning within the clay paste used in their manufacture. The significance of this is explored in terms of the production sequence, logistics and supply‐chain management involved in the construction of this enormous funerary assemblage. Of particular interest is a compositional distinction between figures marked with the names ‘Gong’ (宫) and ‘Xianyang’ (咸阳). These seem to represent the products of two workshops involved in the supply of ceramic objects for this ambitious, large‐scale building project undertaken by the Qin Empire during the third century bce .     

Refugee Shelter in a Logistical World: Designing Goods for Supply‐Chain Humanitarianism

Focusing on the design and production of the IKEA Foundation “Better Shelter” and on its use in a camp on the island of Lesvos, Greece, this article explores the role of logistical calculative rationales in the provision of emergency shelters to refugees. It argues that an engagement with the critical geographies of logistics contributes to the study of such “humanitarian goods” in two main ways. First, it foregrounds the technologies that allow emergency shelter products to circulate across production sites and disaster and border zones, and their connections to broader infrastructures and commercial networks in what recent literature has called “supply‐chain humanitarianism”. Second, a logistical lens highlights the disruptions that characterise the production and usage of emergency shelter products. The analysis adds to a body of work that exposes humanitarian technology and design as sites of friction, deeply embedded in global processes of bordering and accumulation.     

Low‐temperature catalytic CO2 hydrogenation with geological quantities of ruthenium: a possible abiotic CH4 source in chromitite‐rich serpentinized rocks

Metal‐catalysed CO₂ hydrogenation is considered a source of methane in serpentinized (hydrated) igneous rocks and a fundamental abiotic process germane to the origin of life. Iron, nickel, chromium and cobalt are the catalysts typically employed in hydrothermal simulation experiments to obtain methane at temperatures >200°C. However, land‐based present‐day serpentinization and abiotic gas apparently develop below 100°C, down to approximately 40–50°C. Here, we document considerable methane production in thirteen CO₂ hydrogenation experiments performed in a closed dry system, from 20 to 90°C and atmospheric pressure, over 0.9–122 days, using concentrations of non‐pretreated ruthenium equivalent to those occurring in chromitites in ophiolites or igneous complexes (from 0.4 to 76 mg of Ru, equivalent to the amount occurring approximately in 0.4–760 kg of chromitite). Methane production increased with time and temperature, reaching approximately 87 mg CH₄ per gram of Ru after 30 days (2.9 mgCH₄/g_ru/day) at 90°C. At room temperature, CH₄ production rate was approximately three orders of magnitude lower (0.003 mgCH₄/g_ru/day). We report the first stable carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of abiotic CH₄ generated below 100°C. Using initial δ¹³C_CO2 of ‐40‰, we obtained room temperature δ¹³C_CH4 values as ¹³C depleted as ?142‰. With time and temperature, the C‐isotope separation between CO₂ and CH₄ decreased significantly and the final δ¹³C_CH4 values approached that of initial δ¹³C_CO2. The presence of minor amounts of C₂‐C₆ hydrocarbons is consistent with observations in natural settings. Comparative experiments at the same temperatures with iron and nichel catalysts did not generate CH₄. Ru‐enriched chromitites could potentially generate methane at low temperatures on Earth and on other planets.     

中国外资银行空间网络演化的结构特征及其影响因素

本文基于外资银行网点数据,借鉴连锁型网络模型,构建了1990年、2001年和2015年中国外资银行空间网络并分析演化结构特征,最后借助条件Logit模型探讨了外资银行空间分布的影响因素。研究表明：①中国外资银行空间网络小世界网络特征明显,具有较大的集聚系数和较小的平均路径长度,网络中局域小集团网络化特征和核心-边缘结构明显。②随着网络规模的平稳增长,网络的有序性呈现出增强趋势,网络中金融连接度和金融可达性增加,金融传输效率和组织效率进一步提高,核心-边缘结构现象有所加剧。③外资银行空间分布的主导因素在不同时期不一样,1990年主导因素是市场机会和区位效应,2001年和2015年的主导因素是金融集聚,但指标的具体影响概率有所降低。     

位置照片表征的景区游客拍照行为时空模式

基于九寨沟景区的地理标记照片数据,利用Voronoi图、点中心度和马尔科夫链方法,从景点、景段和风景线尺度分析游客在景区内的拍照行为模式。根据数据呈现的时间转移峰值特征和空间转移概率特征,将景点尺度下的游客拍照行为总结为邻近快速转移、多中心慢速转移、跨越缓慢转移3种模式,景段尺度下的游客拍照行为总结为单向快速转移、跨越慢速转移两种模式,风景线尺度下的游客拍照行为总结为直接快速转移和间接慢速转移两种转移模式。景区内时空转移模式整体上呈现邻近景点、景段之间的空间转移概率较大,出现拍照高峰的时间较为接近,转移概率较高的区域都集中在热度较高的景点、景段,研究结果可以为游客规划游览路径提供理论依据,为景区管理人员提供决策支持。     

Globalization of the animation industry: multi-scalar linkages of six animation production centers

This paper examines the change in animation production over time and analyzes the different scales of internal and external linkages among six animation production centers. Four types of producers were identified based on their roles in the animation industry and their multi-scalar linkages were investigated for similarities and differences. Several factors including production costs, local skills, government policy and domestic markets were found to affect the growth of new production centers. High value-capture occurs mostly in production centers where tacit knowledge is created. The governance of each animation production center was found to have evolved based on its unique development path within the industry’s global value chain.     

Ancient DNA in human bones from Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete

Attempts were made to detect ancient DNA (aDNA) in samples of 88 human skeletons from eight Neolithic and Bronze Age sites in Greece and Crete. Ancient DNA was absent in specimens from Nea Nikomedia, Lerna, Karaviádena (Zakro), Antron Grave Circle A and Mycenae Grave Circle A. For each of three skeletons from Antron Grave Circle B that were sampled, polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) gave products for nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA, but amplicon yield was low and inconsistent with replicate PCRs failing to give reproducible results. With specimens from Mycenae Grave Circle B, evidence for mitochondrial aDNA was obtained for four of the 22 skeletons that were studied, and at Kouphovouno evidence for mitochondrial and/or nuclear aDNA was obtained with eight of the 20 skeletons that were examined. We conclude that, although aDNA might be present in some Eastern Mediterranean skeletons from later centuries of the Bronze Age, it is not commonly found in material from this period and is likely to be absent from older material.     

An experimental and modeling study of Na-rich hydrothermal alteration

Sodic alteration assemblages including clinoptilolite, mordenite, analcime and Na‐montmorillonite were locally observed in sediments in the eastern part of the Hachimantai geothermal region, northeast Japan. This study investigated the mechanisms of sodic enrichment in the sediments during alteration. Kinetic results for water/rock interaction experiments are reported here. Batch‐type experiments were conducted at 150–250°C under saturated vapor pressure. Pyroclastic rocks dissolved incongruently in these experiments, and the solubility and dissolution rates among elements varied as follows: the apparent steady‐state concentrations of major elements are Si > Na ? K > Ca > Al and the order of the dissolution rates is Si > Al > Na ? K > Ca. Na had the highest steady‐state concentration and fastest dissolution rate of the alkali and alkali earth metal ions. Based on surface analysis of plagioclase, dissolution was effected via a reaction layer of Na‐montmorillonite on the mineral surface. Additionally, a reaction model constructed based on the experimentally observed reaction mechanism quantitatively explains the dissolution behavior. These results show that Na‐montmorillonite can be precipitated by pyroclastic rock/meteoric water interactions without seawater involvement: the Na is derived from the host rocks.     

Chemical modification of pyroclastic rock by hot water: an experimental investigation of mass transport at the fluid–solid interface

Hydrothermal water–(pyroclastic) rock interactions were examined using flow-through experiments to deduce the effect of mass transport phenomena on the reaction process. A series of experiments were conducted over the temperature range 75–250°C, with a constant temperature for each experiment, and at saturated vapour pressure, to estimate the apparent rate constants as a function of temperature.
Based on the chemistry of analysed solutions, the water–rock interaction in the experiments was controlled by diffusion from the reaction surface and by the existence of a surface layer at the rock–fluid interface, which regulated the chemical reaction rate. The reaction progress depended to a high degree on flow velocity and temperature conditions, with element abundances in the fluid significantly affected by these factors. Mass transport coefficients for diffusion from the rock surface to the bulk solution have been estimated. Ca is selectively depleted under lower temperature conditions ( T  < 150°C), whereas Na is greatly depleted under higher temperature conditions ( T  > 150°C), and K reaction rates are increased when flow velocity increases. Using these conditions, specific alkali and alkali earth cations were selectively leached from mineral surfaces. The 'surface layer' comprised a 0.5–1.8 mm boundary film on the solution side (the thickness of this layer has no dependence on chemical character) and a reaction layer. The reaction layer was composed of a Si, Al-rich cation-leached layer, whose thickness was dependent on temperature, flow velocity and reaction length. The reaction layer varied in thickness from about 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻⁷ mm under high temperature/low fluid velocity and low temperature/high fluid velocity conditions, respectively.