Metapodial asymmetry in draft cattle

Traction work by oxen has been well documented in various pictorial and written sources throughout human history. Analysis of metapodial dimensions has been carried out with the aim of quantifying asymmetry related to sexual dimorphism, body size and possibly heavy duty traction work. A modern reference sample of 103 animals from Hungary and Rumania has been used for this purpose. Bone measurements were correlated with bone density and morphological characteristics in order to make the results applicable for the identification of remains from draft cattle in archaeozoological assemblages. Asymmetry is more pronounced in the thoracic extremity and metacarpals of older or heavier animals, sometimes showing excessive widening of the third, medial ray within the fused bone. Relative broadening is also intensive in the distal end of medial metatarsals of cows and oxen. The bone mineral content of the medial carpal region attains mature density first. The weight of phalanges increases for a longer time in the laterally located toes.     

MODELLING OF NONLINEAR DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF A SHALLOW STRIP FOUNDATION WITH MACRO-ELEMENT

A new nonlinear soil-structure interaction macroelement is presented. It models the dynamic behaviour of a shallow strip foundation under seismic action. Based on sub-structured methods, it takes into account the dynamic elastic effect of the infinite far field, and the material and geometrical nonlinear behaviour produced in the near field of the foundation. Effects of soil yielding below the foundation as well as uplift at the interface are considered. Through the concept of macro-element, the overall elastic and plastic behaviour in the soil and at the interface is reduced to its action on the foundation. The macro-element consists of a non linear joint element, expressed in the three degrees of freedom of the strip foundation, reflecting the limited bearing capacity of the foundation. This model provides a practical and efficient tool to study the seismic response of a structure in interaction with the surrounding soil medium. Applications to a bridge pier show the potentialities of this kind of model.     

A Cognitive Approach to Extant Boat Structure in Goa,India

This article presents information derived from unfunded fieldwork undertaken between 2008 and 2014 in Goa, India. Traditional boat structure is understood in the context of the use of local materials in response to climatic, geophysical, and cultural factors. Expanded and unexpanded logboats are shown to affect differently the pirogues based on them. The outrigger is not used as a sailing aid. Small sailed boats with sewn strakes on a keel‐plank are compared with 19th‐century records. Simple techniques are used on larger sewn and metal‐fastened vessels still being built. Today some factors combine to compromise traditional construction, while others are bringing about the demise of the vessels themselves.     

Ideological Migration and War Resistance in British Columbia’s West Kootenays: An Analysis of Counterculture Politics and Community Networks among Doukhobor,Quaker, and American Migrants during the Vietnam War Era

This paper addresses migration, war resistance, and counterculture activity in the West Kootenays region of British Columbia during the 1960s and 1970s. Through a combination of perspectives including S.N. Eisenstadt’s discussion of “multiple modernities,” it reveals an ongoing pattern of alternative, values-based migration we refer to as “ideological migration.” Most immediately associated with the influx of thousands of young Americans who came to the West Kootenays during the Vietnam War, this pattern, in fact, began much earlier, first with the arrival of the Doukhobors beginning in 1908, and subsequently in the 1950s with the development of a community of American Quakers at the north end of Kootenay Lake. From there, we show how common experiences of marginalization along with with shared values of pacifism, war resistance, community-building, and self-sufficiency facilitated the arrival of this new group, and with them the entrenchment in the region of a vibrant counterculture identity.     

A Late Pleistocene coral fauna from Evans Head,N.S.W.

An assemblage of hermatypic scleractinian corals occurring landwards of the Pleistocene sandy Inner Barrier system has been referred to the last interglacial period. It comprises at least 20 species, many of which are in growth position, and is accompanied by a substantial association of molluscans. The richness of the assemblage is indicative of good access of oceanic waters at the time of its formation, so the deposit predates barrier emplacement. The coral occurrences are compared with present-day southern ranges of the scleractinian species (all extant), and the implications for climatic and sea-level conditions in the last interglacial are discussed. A sea-level stand of 4–6 m above that at present obtaining (in accord with Marshall & Thom, 1976) and a climatic shift towards a cooler regime equivalent to a minimum of 2° of latitude are concluded.     

挽王天培联不是刘莘园先生所作——读《辛亥革命老人刘莘园遗稿》发现的一个错误

2003年12月贵州人民出版社出版发行的《辛亥革命老人刘莘园遗稿》,其中《联语十则》之第八则有“功在定黔,罪在定黔,乱世为人真不易;朝言革命,暮言革命,先生结局竞如斯”这样一副挽联,根据有关文史资料所述,结合《遗稿》中的作者观点,以及联语中的错字来分析,可知该挽联并非刘莘园作品。     

Impact of transition zones, variable fluid viscosity and anthropogenic activities on coupled fluid-transport processes in a shallow salt-dome environment

In the Schleswig–Holstein region (S–H) of Germany, most observed near-surface saline ground waters originate from dissolution of shallow salt domes. Previous numerical simulations of thermohaline flow clarified the major mechanisms controlling large-scale density-driven flow. It has been found that, in addition to topographically driven flow, gravitational and thermohaline convection are the primary mechanisms for extensive solute exchange between shallow and deep aquifers. Geological features such as glacial channels control recharge/discharge processes at the surface. Here we address several previously unresolved issues: (i) the impact of a permeable unit (transition zone) between the salt and adjacent units; (ii) the role of variable brine viscosity in affecting regional- (i.e. km-) scale heat and mass patterns; and (iii) the influence of anthropogenic activities such as pumping stations on density-driven flow. We found that geophysical factors play a major role in determining the dynamics of fluid processes. The transition zone significantly influences the flow field and the distribution of heat, slowing the formation of highly concentrated salty plumes. The impact of variable fluid viscosity on the coupled heat and brine flow is twofold. In a colder and highly concentrated environment, such as a shallow salt-dome crest, it retards brine flow. In a less saline environment, variable fluid viscosity enhances thermally induced upward fluid flow. Groundwater extraction from production wells only affects brine and heat flow locally within the upper aquifers.