Analysis of Heavy Metals in Smoke Deposits in the Limewash of the Royal Artillery Factory of Seville (17th Century): Contributions to the Location of the Furnaces

The Royal Artillery Factory of Seville in Spain originated from pre‐existing private bronze foundries dating from the 16th century. The paper analyses the stratigraphy of wall cladding in the areas traditionally known as the ‘Old Foundry’ and the ‘New Foundry’, through its characterization by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry (SEM‐EDX), micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (μ‐XRF) and micro‐X‐ray diffraction (μ‐XRD), in order to analyse the metal deposits that have accumulated since the 17th century. The data obtained allowed the verification of the available historiographical information and the location of the original bronze smelting furnaces. The analysis of patinas deposited on the overlapping layers of lime also confirmed that neither the raw materials nor the composition of the alloys used presented any substantial changes.     

Exposure to Cadmium and Lead in an Agropastoral Iron Age Population

Metals present in the environment (soil, water and atmosphere) can affect food safety and human health through bio‐accumulation and bio‐magnification phenomena. Human exposure to the metals may take place through the environment and by ingesting contaminated food (including water), determining harmful effects usually detectable over the long term. Starting with the Industrial Revolution, local occurrence and concentration of metallic contaminants in the environment have been exponentially increasing: it has been assessed that, nowadays, daily absorption of lead, by North American people, is noticeably greater than that during prehistoric times. In this study, we measured concentrations of cadmium, lead and zinc in 153 bone samples (femurs) of Iron Age inhabitants of Central Italy (Abruzzo): the Samnites from the Alfedena Necropolis (2600–2400 bp ). The data found are in agreement with the results of similar published studies. Heavy metal concentrations varied widely among samples with the exception of zinc. A significant difference (p same Mann–Whitney test <0.05) in cadmium bone levels was found between male (0.08–1.8 mg/kg, median 0.31 mg/kg) and female samples (0.05–1.3 mg/kg, median 0.53 mg/kg). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

20世纪50年代中国在引进基础上的技术创新

20世纪50年代中国的技术引进和技术创新活动集中在“一五”时期和“大跃进”时期,虽然这两个时期在引进基础上的创新活动都是在重工业优先发展战略下的体制框架内进行的,但在引进技术的行业构成、规模、项目建设的实施和技术的消化乃至技术创新机制、成效等方面都有所不同。“一五”时期采用了全面、系统、灵活多样的方式和重点攻关,在消化、吸收引进技术方面取得了明显的成效,某些领域实现了技术再造,技术创新能力得到了迅速积累,但从总体上看仍处于对引进技术的翻版、修改阶段。“大跃进”时期的技术创新机制被严重干扰,群众运动代替了深入细致的科学研究,在群众性技术革新运动中引进基础上的创新活动格外活跃,通过技术革新运动学会了自行制造一些成套设备、生产工艺,但并没有从产业部门或行业整体上真正实现引进基础上的再次创新,其整体水平依然停留在对引进技术的“初级模仿”阶段。     

Towards the identification of dyestuffs in Early Iron Age Scandinavian peat bog textiles

A large systematic dye investigation of prehistoric Danish and Norwegian bog textiles was carried out using high performance liquid chromatography with photo diode array detection. After the selection of the most suitable protocol for dye extraction and HPLC analysis for this specific group of archaeological samples, the second part included the characterisation of the dyes detected in the whole series of the Early Iron Age textiles and the interpretation of the dyeing technology. Natural organic dyes were found from the three main categories of natural dyes, hence throwing new light on the use of biological dye sources in Early Iron Age Scandinavia. The results clearly indicate that most Scandinavian peat bog textiles originally were dyed and that already during the 1st millennium BC, the populations in Scandinavia were familiar with the dyeing technology.     

Towards an early warning system for oxidative degradation of protein fibres in historical tapestries by means of calibrated amino acid analysis

Flemish 15–17th century tapestries are among the most precious testimonies of European cultural heritage. Even in their deteriorated condition, they are still highly valued and exhibited in many museums all over the world. The present state of degradation evidenced by visual assessment in conservation practice, and confirmed with macro-scaled tensile strength tests, reveals the vulnerability of the wool and silk fibres to light exposure.     

出土汉代饱水苇编物的清理和加固

本文详细叙述了对一件汉代饱水苇编物的清洗和加固,并对乙二醛加固剂的浓度和酸度控制以及加固剂组成和结构进行了讨论。     

D’Arcy Thompson’s Legacy in Contemporary Studies of Patterns and Morphology

Abstract

D’Arcy Thompson’s views on the forms of biomaterials are assessed in the light of current thinking on biomorphology in selected areas of biology. It is clear that his guiding concepts — that biological materials are structured in response to physical forces, and that the biological and abiotic realms share many common features — remain valid. Advances in the physical and biological sciences are discussed, from quantum mechanics and molecular biology to liquid crystalline materials and macroscopic forms. These reveal Thompson’s clear-sighted view of the role of physical and mathematical sciences in biology, as well as his blind-spots.     

Laboratory Research on the Effects of Heavy Equipment Compaction on the in situ Preserved Archaeological Remains

Following the Malta Convention/Valletta Treaty the preferable way for the physical protection of archaeological sites is in situ preservation. When planning in situ preservation, in addition to other issues, it is also necessary to consider changes in physical environment and their impact on in situ preserved remains. This is especially important when human interaction takes place. Recently, an increase in construction on the top of archaeological sites has occurred, thus the effects of heavy equipment compaction need to be studied in more detail.

This paper presents research on the effects of the use of heavy equipment (e.g. rammers and rollers) compaction on archaeological remains. For the purpose of our research, laboratory testing has been performed. In a custom-made steel box, artificial archaeological sites were created using layers of sandy silt and gravel. A variety of archaeological and modern artefacts were placed in these created environments. Some of them were equipped with strain gauges for deformation recording. Through a series of tests a servo-hydraulic piston was used, which simulated the dynamic loading of the artificial sites. Humidity and temperature were recorded before, during, and after each test. Since layers and artefacts were three-dimensionally recorded before and after each test, compaction of layers and movements of artefacts could be studied. With attached strain gauges and visual inspection following each test, deformations and thus damage to artefacts during different stages of loadings was recorded.

The goals of our laboratory tests were the development of a new methodological approach to study the effects of heavy equipment compaction to the archaeological sites, getting an insight into the problems of such tests, and the estimation of the applicability of their results. With the presented results, our research has been a step towards better understanding the effects of heavy equipment compaction on archaeological remains and thus to the preservation of archaeological sites in situ.     

20世纪50～70年代中国西北地区重工业化道路的选择与反思

西北地区由于历史的、环境的、经济的因素,依靠国家政策、资金的投入,形成了重工业化结构。西北地区重工业化道路经历了20世纪三四十年代重工业奠基、新中国计划经济模式下重工业化的进一步发展、国防指向下的再次重工业化等几个发展阶段。西北地区矿产资源优势与重工业布局使西北五省区形成了嵌入型、跳跃式发展的重工业化结构,对西北五省区工业经济的发展产生了深远的影响。     

基于重化工业发展的珠江三角洲工业空间结构演变研究

本文在对改革开放以来珠江三角洲工业空间现状特征细致分析的基础上,探讨了重化工业空间的一般特征及基于重化工业发展的珠三角工业空间结构演变。结果表明,珠三角重化工业发展的空间结构效应主要表现为形成工业空间集聚的新要素;大城市工业核心功能更加突出,工业发展空间分异日益显著;形成新的地方性工业节点以及临海工业空间逐步形成,并从促进珠三角区域经济、空间协调发展的角度提出了几点建议。