Abstract: The investigation of hunter-gatherers archaeological sites in the Limay river basin, Patagonia, Argentina, raised questions concerning the lithic technology. The chemical characterization of artifacts, rocks and possible sources of provenances could help to elucidate the hunter-gatherer mobility. In three archaeological sitesRincón Chico 2 (RCh2/87; 14C 710 ± 60 BP), Cueva Traful I (CTI; 14C 9430 ± 230 BP) and Casa de Piedra de Ortega (CPO; 14C 2840 ± 80 BP), tools and debitage or discarded flakes made in black volcanic rock have been found. Nearby an extensive rock outcrop of black volcanite, Paso Limay quarry (CPL), with similar characteristics was located. Samples coming from these four sites were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. This characterization allowed the geochemical classification of the lithic material and to correlate the samples with the suspected source after a previous statistical analysis. The majority of the samples were classified as dacites and rhyolites. Only samples coming from CPO site, the closest place to CPL were made exclusively with the quarry rocks. A set of five samples from RCh2/87 and two samples from CTI appear to have same chemical composition as CPL in spite of this site is placed in the opposite bank of the Limay river suggesting that hunter-gatherers could accede to the quarry, eventually. Finally, only a set of five samples coming from RCh2/87 and CTI do not group with the quarry. This fact evidences the existence of secondary sources of supply. The information of this research allowed inferring ancient human mobility patterns in the region.

Abstract: The conventional treatment of municipal wastewater by means of activated sludge is typically energy demanding. Here, the potential benefits of: (1) the optimization of mesophilic digestion; and (2) transitioning to thermophilic sludge digestion in three wastewater treatment plants (Tilburg-Noord, Land van Cuijk and Bath) in the Netherlands is evaluated, including a full-scale trial validation in Bath. In Tilburg-Noord, thermophilic sludge digestion covered the energy requirements of the plant (102%), whereas 111% of sludge operational treatment costs could be covered in Bath. Thermophilic sludge digestion also resulted in a strong increase in nutrient release. The potential for nutrient recovery was evaluated via: (1) stripping/absorption of ammonium; (2) autotrophic removal of ammonium via partial nitritation/anammox; and (3) struvite precipitation. This research shows that optimization of sludge digestion may lead to a strong increase in energy recovery, sludge treatment costs reduction, and the potential for advanced nutrient management in full-scale sewage treatment plants. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Abstract: Purpose This paper aimed to investigate the determinants of loans and advances from commercial banks in the case of Ethiopian private commercial banks. Design/methodology/approach The study randomly selected seven commercial banks to represent the population stratified on their asset, deposit and paid-up capital amounts. The study utilized an unbalanced panel data model as each bank started operation at a different period of time and considered the period 1995-2016 for secondary details. Findings The findings showed that the deposit size, credit risk, portfolio investment, average lending rate, real gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation rate had significant and optimistic effects on the lending and advancement of private commercial banks. On the contrary, liquidity ratio had significant and negative effects on private commercial bank loans and advances. Finally, the study forwarded a feasible recommendation for concerned organs to focus on deposit size, credit risk, portfolio investment, average lending rate, real GDP, inflation rate and liquidity ratio. The results of this study will help banking industry policymakers and planners understand how to minimize inflation and unemployment by improving development and sustainable economic growth. Originality/value The findings of this study can also affect the general attitudes of a society by increasing knowledge and improve the quality of life for the general public.

Abstract: To sustain human deep space exploration or extra-terrestrial settlements where no resupply from the Earth or other planets is possible, technologies for in situ food production, water, air, and waste recovery need to be developed. The Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) is such a Regenerative Life Support System (RLSS) and it builds on several bacterial bioprocesses. However, alterations in gravity, temperature, and radiation associated with the space environment can affect survival and functionality of the microorganisms. In this study, representative strains of different carbon and nitrogen metabolisms with application in the MELiSSA were selected for launch and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) exposure. An edible photoautotrophic strain (Arthrospira sp. PCC 8005), a photoheterotrophic strain (Rhodospirillum rubrum S1H), a ureolytic heterotrophic strain (Cupriavidus pinatubonensis 1245), and combinations of C. pinatubonensis 1245 and autotrophic ammonia and nitrite oxidizing strains (Nitrosomonas europaea ATCC19718, Nitrosomonas ureae Nm10, and Nitrobacter winogradskyi Nb255) were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) for 7 days. There, the samples were exposed to 2.8 mGy, a dose 140 times higher than on the Earth, and a temperature of 22 degrees C +/- 1 degrees C. On return to the Earth, the cultures were reactivated and their growth and activity were compared with terrestrial controls stored under refrigerated (5 degrees C +/- 2 degrees C) or room temperature (22 degrees C +/- 1 degrees C and 21 degrees C +/- 0 degrees C) conditions. Overall, no difference was observed between terrestrial and ISS samples. Most cultures presented lower cell viability after the test, regardless of the type of exposure, indicating a harsher effect of the storage and sample preparation than the spaceflight itself. Postmission analysis revealed the successful survival and proliferation of all cultures except for Arthrospira, which suffered from the premission depressurization test. These observations validate the possibility of launching, storing, and reactivating bacteria with essential functionalities for microbial bioprocesses in RLSS.

Abstract: Electrocatalysts play a pivotal role in advancing the application of water splitting for hydrogen production. This research unveils the potential of defective biphenylenes as high-efficiency catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction. Using first-principles simulations, we systematically investigated the structure, stability, and catalytic performance of defective biphenylenes. Our findings unveil that defect engineering significantly enhances the electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution. Specifically, biphenylene with a double-vacancy defect exhibits an outstanding Gibbs free energy of -0.08 eV, surpassing that of Pt, accompanied by a remarkable exchange current density of -3.08 A cm(-2), also surpassing that of Pt. Furthermore, we find the preference for the Volmer-Heyrovsky mechanism in the hydrogen evolution reaction, with a low energy barrier of 0.80 eV. This research provides a promising avenue for developing novel metal-free electrocatalysts for water splitting with earth-abundant carbon elements, making a significant step toward sustainable hydrogen production.

Abstract: The analytical methods which are often used for the determination of cocaine in complex biological matrices are a prescreening immunoassay and confirmation by chromatography combined with mass spectrometry. We suggest an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography combined with a potentiometric detector, as a fast and practical method to detect and quantify cocaine in biological samples. An adsorption/desorption model was used to investigate the usefulness of the potentiometric detector to determine cocaine in complex matrices. Detection limits of 6.3ngmL(-1) were obtained in plasma and urine, which is below the maximum residue limit (MRL) of 25ngmL(-1). A set of seven plasma samples and 10 urine samples were classified identically by both methods as exceeding the MRL or being inferior to it. The results obtained with the UPLC/potentiometric detection method were compared with the results obtained with the UPLC/MS method for samples spiked with varying cocaine concentrations. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.997 for serum (n =7) and 0.977 for urine (n =8). As liquid chromatography is an established technique, and as potentiometry is very simple and cost-effective in terms of equipment, we believe that this method is potentially easy, inexpensive, fast and reliable. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract: According to Thompson’s principle of similarity, the area of an object should be proportional to its length squared. However, leaf area–length data of some plants have been demonstrated not to follow the principle of similarity. We explore the reasons why the leaf area–length allometry deviates from the principle of similarity and examine whether there is a general model describing the relationship among leaf area, width and length. We sampled more than 11,800 leaves from six classes of woody and herbaceous plants and tested the leaf area–length allometry. We compared six mathematical models based on root-mean-square error as the measure of goodness-of-fit. The best supported model described a proportional relationship between leaf area and the product of leaf width and length (i.e., the Montgomery model). We found that the extent to which the leaf area–length allometry deviates from the principle of similarity depends upon the extent of variation of the ratio of leaf width to length. Estimates of the parameter of the Montgomery model ranged between 1/2, which corresponds to a triangular leaf with leaf length as its height and leaf width as its base, and π/4, which corresponds to an elliptical leaf with leaf length as its major axis and leaf width as its minor axis, for the six classes of plants. The narrow range in practice of the Montgomery parameter implies an evolutionary stability for the leaf area of large-leaved plants despite the fact that leaf shapes of these plants are rather different.

Abstract: It is generally known that radiographic inspection of 1517th century paintings can easily be done with a polychromatic X-ray source using a voltage between 20 kV and 40 kV in combination with classic X-ray films. Unfortunately, the spatial structure of numerous 19th and early 20th century paintings cannot be visualized with conventional radiography due to several reasons such as the use of lead white grounds or low absorbing pigments. Radiographic images are blurred or worse, they do not contain the picture of the painting. During the last decades, many technological innovations have been introduced in the field of radiography but their possibilities in cultural heritage have not been explored in full detail. In our investigation we used phosphor imaging plates, energy dispersive detectors and CCD-cameras in combination with synchrotron radiation and conventional X-ray tubes in order to improve the quality of radiographic images. Several promising techniques that could improve the quality of radiographs of paintings were identified.

Abstract: In the present study depth profiles of light, oxygen, pH and photosynthetic performance in an artificial biofilm of the green alga Halochlorella rubescens in a porous substrate photobioreactor (PSBR) were recorded with microsensors. Biofilms were exposed to different light intensities (50-1,000mol photons m(-2) s(-1)) and CO2 levels (0.04-5% v/v in air). The distribution of photosynthetically active radiation showed almost identical trends for different surface irradiances, namely: a relatively fast drop to a depth of about 250 mu m, (to 5% of the incident), followed by a slower decrease. Light penetrated into the biofilm deeper than the Lambert-Beer Law predicted, which may be attributed to forward scattering of light, thus improving the overall light availability. Oxygen concentration profiles showed maxima at a depth between 50 and 150m, depending on the incident light intensity. A very fast gas exchange was observed at the biofilm surface. The highest oxygen concentration of 3.2mM was measured with 1,000mol photons m(-2) s(-1) and 5% supplementary CO2. Photosynthetic productivity increased with light intensity and/or CO2 concentration and was always highest at the biofilm surface; the stimulating effect of elevated CO2 concentration in the gas phase on photosynthesis was enhanced by higher light intensities. The dissolved inorganic carbon concentration profiles suggest that the availability of the dissolved free CO2 has the strongest impact on photosynthetic productivity. The results suggest that dark respiration could explain previously observed decrease in growth rate over cultivation time in this type of PSBR. Our results represent a basis for understanding the complex dynamics of environmental variables and metabolic processes in artificial phototrophic biofilms exposed to a gas phase and can be used to improve the design and operational parameters of PSBRs. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1046-1055. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Abstract: A nonurban base line has been established for nine trace element constituents of aerosol particles as a function of particle size at ground level sampling stations in north Florida up to 50 km from the Gulf of Mexico. The particle size range 0.25- to >4-μm aerodynamic diameter was investigated by cascade impactor sampling and elemental analysis by proton-induced X ray emission. By using a strategy of sampling at urban, forest, and coastal locations and by choosing approximately 48-hour sample averaging intervals the potential dependence of the base line levels both on local pollution and natural sources and on local particle size specific aerosol removal processes could be evaluated. It is found that elements contained in the largest particles, especially those of >4 μm, display the greatest degree of average concentration difference between sites, a result suggesting short atmospheric residence times and the importance of local dispersion sources and atmospheric cleansing processes in regulating the particle concentrations in air. Elements contained in particles of <2-μm diameter show little average concentration difference between sites unless they are influenced by local pollution sources, a finding suggesting that their concentrations in air are regulated by large-scale sources and transport processes. Sulfur in the smallest particles shows a marked constancy of concentration, but it may be modified in the largest particle size ranges in relation to proximity to the seacoast. No evidence is found for dependence of particulate sulfur concentrations on local pollution sources. K, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Zn appear to be regulated in the main by terrestrial source processes, and Cl by marine source processes, but Br and Pb appear to be accounted for adequately by assuming automotive fuel combustion as their major source. Limited data obtained for V indicate that it may vary considerably with fluctuations in aerosol transport from oil-fired electric power plant sources in the region. Limited additional data also suggest that Mn is derived from sources of natural terrestrial composition. In view of these findings, certain criteria may be set for the design of a meaningful nonurban aerosol monitoring network.