Proper identification of behavioral patterns is an important prerequisite for the identification of any trace fossil and even more so for its interpretation. For the last 70 yr, the continually advancing state of ichnological knowledge has led to a gradual recognition of recurrent patterns of organismal behavior documented in the fossil record, which in turn gave rise to the ethological categories. “Mortichnia” was proposed for traces created during a death struggle of the tracemaker but has been reported only in a few cases. Fish mortichnia so far have only been reported in one specimen recovered from the Upper Jurassic Plattenkalk of Nusplingen (SW Germany). The category mortichnia is refined herein, but remains ambiguous. Eight newly discovered unique specimens of mortichnia from Upper Cretaceous marine sediments in central Lebanon (Haqil, En Nammoura) are preserved together with their tracemakers and described herein. In addition, 14 further incomplete specimens were collected where no tracemakers are present. However, morphology and close provenance allow them to be assigned to the same ichnotaxon.

The Lebanese mortichnia originate from fish that were subjected to significant environmental or individual stress leading to their deaths. During death convulsions, their bodies created sedimentary structures with a specific recurring morphology. The ichnogenus Pinnichnus n. igen. with ichnospecies P. haqilensis and P. emmae n. ispp. is proposed for these specimens.

This project focuses on the subsistence strategies of Early Neolithic communities that inhabited the upland region of South Bohemia. Its results reveal a distinctive trajectory for this peripheral area that was colonised significantly later, brought incoming farmers into close contact with hunter-gatherers and made them adapt their conservative farming practices.

The authors present preliminary results from a new research project based in Jebel Shaqadud, Sudan. Their findings highlight the potential for this region's archaeological record to expand our understanding of the adaptation strategies used by human groups in arid north-east African environments away from rivers and lakes during the Holocene. Furthermore, they present exceptionally early radiocarbon dates that push postglacial human occupation in the eastern Sahel back to the twelfth millennium BP.

The design and the early commissioning of the ELI-Beamlines laser facility’s 30 J, 30 fs, 10 Hz HAPLS (High-repetition-rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System) beam transport (BT) system to the P3 target chamber are described in detail. It is the world’s first and with 54 m length, the longest distance high average power petawatt (PW) BT system ever built. It connects the HAPLS pulse compressor via the injector periscope with the 4.5 m diameter P3 target chamber of the plasma physics group in hall E3. It is the largest target chamber of the facility and was connected first to the BT system. The major engineering challenges are the required high vibration stability mirror support structures, the high pointing stability optomechanics as well as the required levels for chemical and particle cleanliness of the vacuum vessels to preserve the high laser damage threshold of the dielectrically coated high-power mirrors. A first commissioning experiment at low pulse energy shows the full functionality of the BT system to P3 and the novel experimental infrastructure.

The design of proper antenna element (AE) for microwave-based head imaging or brain stroke detection is a crucial challenge in the development process of microwave imaging (MWI) systems. The main purpose of this paper was to design, fabricate, and experimentally verify the compact and dimensions-reduced H-slot antenna suitable for the new generation of multichannel MWI system for brain stroke detection. The slot antenna type was chosen based on the numerical study of three AEs available in the literature, i.e. bow tie, slot, and waveguide-based. The study was focused on the sensitivity of the antennae (change of magnitude and phase of S21) due to dielectric parameters change or type and diameter of inclusion in a head phantom representing a hemorrhagic (HEM) or ischemic (ISCH) stroke phantom, respectively. Further, the analysis of antenna radiation to lossy medium/air and its immunity against plane wave exposure was carried out. The H-slot antenna was fabricated and experimentally verified (measurements of reflection as well as transmission coefficients) using a liquid head phantom with inserted HEM stroke phantom (both prepared as a mixture of propylene glycol, water, and salt). The phantoms were filled inside the designed two-port test system. Numerical models were validated by comparing calculated and measured S-parameters. The sensitivity of the H-slot antenna to the presence of the HEM stroke phenomenon within the phantom of the head was also demonstrated. The main advantage of the proposed H-slot antenna is its small dimensions, easy, inexpensive, and repeatable fabrication as well as mechanical stability.

Structures of tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) of the circular cross-section of 50 and 200 nm and length up to 1 mm form a communication system between cells. While transport of material such as endocytic vesicles, mitochondria, proteins, cytoplasmic molecules, etc., is experimentally proven, a possible transfer of electric and electromagnetic energy across TNTs corresponding to electrotechnical processes of excitation, propagation, and amplification in cavity systems is yet in a beginning stage of research. The ideas presented in this paper are based on technical mechanisms applied to submicroscopic systems. Main features of corrugated periodic structures, electromagnetic circular waveguides, the Manley–Rowe amplification, the Fröhlich non-linear interaction of coherent electric polar vibrations, and description of cut-off frequency propagating limits in the waveguide and cavities and along periodic structures are discussed. We suggest that cell-to-cell connection with TNTs may form a unified coherent cavity system which enables simultaneity and mutual cooperation in multicellular organisms.

Social cognition is a crucial factor influencing development, progress, and treatment of psychiatric disorders. However, social cognition skills are insufficiently targeted by current treatment approaches. In particular, patients suffering from depression show an increased negative reaction to social exclusion and deficits in empathy. The 5HT-1A/2A receptor agonist psilocybin has previously been shown to reduce the neural response to negative emotional stimuli. However, it is not known if this extends to negative social interaction and whether 5HT-1A/2A receptor stimulation induces changes in empathy. Given the clear need for improved treatment of socio-cognitive functioning in psychiatric disorders, it is important to better understand the neuronal and neuromodulatory substrates of social cognition.

In a double-blind, randomized, cross-over design we therefore investigated the neural response to ostracism after the acute administration of psilocybin (0.215mg/kg) and placebo in healthy volunteers using fMRI. Furthermore, we assessed cognitive and emotional empathy using the Multifaceted Empathy Test.

The neural response to social exclusion in the ACC – a brain region associated with ‘social pain”- was reduced after psilocybin administration compared to placebo. Furthermore, emotional empathy was enhanced after treatment with psilocybin while no significant differences were found in cognitive empathy.

These results show that the 5HT-1A/2A receptor subtypes play an important role in the modulation of socio-cognitive functioning and therefore may be relevant for the treatment of social cognition deficits in psychiatric disorders. In particular, they may be important for the normalization of empathy deficits and increased negative reaction to social exclusion in depressed patients.

Circumstellar discs are known to exist in great variety, from gas-rich discs around the youngest stars to evolved debris discs such as the solar system’s zodiacal cloud. Through gravitational interaction, exoplanets embedded in these discs can generate density variations, imposing potentially observable structural features on the disc such as rings or gaps. Here we report on a mirrored double crescent pattern arising in simulations of discs harbouring a small, moderately eccentric planet - such as Mars. We show that the structure is a result of a directed apsidal precession occurring in particles that migrate the planet’s orbital region under Poynting-Robertson drag. We further analyze the strength of this effect with respect to planet and particle parameters.

Eradication is often stated as an essential element of weed management. Assessing the costs and benefits of eradication programs is often difficult because doing so requires speculation about the impacts and spread of weeds if eradication measures were not undertaken. The objective of this article is to describe and assess the Montana Dyer's Woad Cooperative Project, a program aimed at eradicating dyer's woad from Montana. The Project comprises four key components: early detection, treatment technologies, repeated site visits with monitoring, and education. To evaluate the success of the Montana Dyer's Woad Cooperative Project, we used monitoring data to observe the change in the number of counties where dyer's woad is present, plotted the trend in population size over time, and evaluated change in infestation size. We also predicted population spread based on the 1999 population size and demographic characteristics of dyer's woad. Dyer's woad has been eradicated from 9 of 13 infested counties in Montana, and infestation sizes have decreased in the remaining infested counties. In some counties, a containment effort was needed in conjunction with repeated inventories and treatment applications to prevent spread while depleting the seedbank to the point where eradication is possible. If not for the Project, our analysis suggests that some dyer's woad populations might consist of millions of plants, potentially covering 39,021 ha in Montana and costing $1.9 million/yr to manage. In comparison, the Project has reduced the total area infested in Montana to 2.6 ha and cost the state only $142,000 for the past 7 yr of management. In Montana, dyer's woad eradication from individual counties has been successful because of persistence and ongoing cooperative efforts.

Invasive plants need to be managed after wildfire to suppress the invasive plant and to maintain or restore a desired plant community. Our study tested treatments that influence species availability and performance following a disturbance (wildfire). The overall objective was to determine the ability of herbicide and revegetation treatments to restore spotted knapweed–infested areas to desired plant communities after wildfire. The study consisted of a factorial combination of three herbicide application treatments (broadcast application, spot application, and no herbicide) and three seed mixture treatments (grass-only seed mix, a grass and forb seed mix, no seeding). Picloram was used for the herbicide. Both the broadcast and spot picloram application methods decreased spotted knapweed cover and density up to 80% while increasing desired grass cover and density up to 20% compared with the control. However, broadcast spraying picloram decreased species richness from 5.7 to 3.6 species 0.1 m−2 and decreased desired forb density and cover compared with spot-applied picloram treatment. Spot spraying resulted in an increase in other undesired forbs compared with broadcast spraying. Seeding with desired species had no effect on spotted knapweed cover or density. Spot spraying may help maintain desired species richness while managing spotted knapweed.

Types of melter feed materials affect glass production rates. This study focuses on the effects of alumina sources on melting behavior of high-alumina high-level-waste melter feeds containing different alumina sources, namely, gibbsite, boehmite, and corundum. The heat flow from the glass melt to the cold cap, a floating layer of the reacting feed, is partially hindered by a foam layer at the bottom of the cold cap. Volume expansion tests and thermoanalytical methods revealed that a slow-melting feed with corundum foamed extensively, whereas a fast-melting feed with boehmite had a low reaction heat and produced less stable foam. The foam thickness, a critical factor for the rate of melting, estimated using the relationship between the heat conductivity and foam porosity was in reasonable agreement with experimental observation.

Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) biopolymer nano- and micro-fibers have been fabricated at high rates up to 14.0 grams per hour using a needleless and collectorless alternating current electrospinning technique. By combining the ac-voltage, glacial acetic acid (AA) as the solvent and sodium acetate (NaAc) as an additive, beadless PCL fibers with diameters tunable from 150 nm to 2000 nm, varying surface morphology and degree of self-bundling were obtained. In this new approach, the addition of NaAc plays a crucial role in improving the spinnability of PCL solution and fiber morphology. NaAc revealed the concentration-dependent effect on charge transfer and rheological properties of the PCL/AA precursor, which results in broader ranges of spinnable PCL concentrations and ac-voltages suitable for rapid manufacturing of PCL-based fibers with different textural properties.

Background: Single fetal death (sFD) in monochorionic twin pregnancies is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in the survivor. The aim of our study was to evaluate the rate of cerebral lesions detected at fetal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and to correlate the results with the neurologic outcome of the survivors of monochorionic twin pregnancies after sFD. Methods: Between 2005 and 2012, 11 monochorionic twin pregnancies with sFD and subsequent fetal MRI of the survivor were included. All neonates underwent neurologic assessment after birth and 56% of surviving infants underwent long-term neurologic assessment. MRI findings and neurologic outcome of the survivors were evaluated. Results: Gestational age at sFD was 20.9 (±2.9) weeks; 55% (6/11) of survivors of monochorionic twin pregnancies after sFD showed cerebral lesions at fetal MRI; 72% (8/11) of all survivors had normal neonatal neurologic outcome: all survivors with normal fetal MRI and 50% of survivors with cerebral lesions at fetal MRI. Long-term neurologic assessment was normal in all tested patients with normal fetal MRI and in one of three tested patients with cerebral lesions at fetal MRI. Conclusion: Survivors of monochorionic twin pregnancies after sFD show a high rate of cerebral lesions at fetal MRI. The importance of cerebral lesions at fetal MRI in survivors after sFD in monochorionic twin pregnancies is uncertain. All tested survivors with normal fetal MRI showed normal neurologic outcome but only one of three survivors with cerebral lesions at fetal MRI showed normal long-term neurologic outcome.

Polar regions represent a unique environment for the study of mercury cycling in the global ecosystem. Our research was focused on the assessment of the origin and mobility of mercury in the geochemical cycle in Maritime Antarctic (James Ross Island) by means of atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury content in a set of extrusive (subaerial, subaqueous) and intrusive (dyke) alkaline basalts ranged between 1.6 µg kg-1 (for samples without xenoliths) and 8 µg kg-1 (for samples containing crustal xenoliths). The mercury content in alkaline basalts indicates a very low concentration of mercury in peridotitic mantle sources. Samples of regolith from James Ross Island were subjected to a comprehensive analytical procedure proposed for ultra-trace mercury concentrations involving fractionation and thermal analysis. Total mercury contents in regolith (2.7–11.3 µg kg-1) did not deviate from the natural background in this part of Antarctica. Additionally, the obtained results are about two orders of magnitude smaller than values formerly assumed for primary mercury contents in basaltic lavas. Our results from Antarctica were compared with mercury contents in basaltic rocks from Greenland and the findings were confirmed. It seems that the input of mercury of geological origin into the polar ecosystem is apparently lower than expected.

The crop growth model HERMES was used to model crop rotation cycles at 12 experimental sites in the Czech Republic. A wide range of crops (spring and winter barley, winter wheat, maize, potatoes, sugar beet, winter rape, oats, alfalfa and grass), cultivated between 1981 and 2009 under various soil and climatic conditions, were included. The model was able to estimate the yields of field crop rotations at a reasonable level, with an index of agreement (IA) ranging from 0·82 to 0·96 for the calibration database (the median coefficient of determination (R2) was 0·71), while IA for verification varied from 0·62 to 0·93 (median R2 was 0·78). Grass yields were also estimated at a reasonable level of accuracy. The estimates were less accurate for the above-ground biomass at harvest (the medians for IA were 0·76 and 0·72 for calibration and verification, respectively, and analogous medians of R2 were 0·50 and 0·49). The soil mineral nitrogen (N) content under the field crops was simulated with good precision, with the IA ranging from 0·49 to 0·74 for calibration and from 0·43 to 0·68 for verification. Generally, the soil mineral N was underestimated, and more accurate results were achieved at locations with intensive fertilization. Simulated yields, soil N, water and organic carbon (C) contents were compared with long-term field measurements at Němčice, located within the fertile Moravian lowland. At this station, all of the observed parameters were reproduced with a reasonable level of accuracy. In the case of the organic C content, HERMES reproduced a decrease ranging from c. 85 to 77 tonnes (t)/ha (for the 0–0·3 m soil layer) between the years 1980 and 2007. In spite of its relatively simple approach and restricted input data, HERMES was proven to be robust across various conditions, which is a precondition for its future use for both theoretical and practical purposes.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of gestational diabetes mellitus on weight discrepancy in twin pregnancies. Methods: 200 twin pregnancies were included in the study. 157 nondiabetic pregnant women with twin gestations and 43 twin pregnancies with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with viable fetuses born after 24 weeks of gestation were enrolled. Influence of maternal age, body-mass-index at the time of the oral glucose tolerance test, parity, smoking, chorionicity, gestational age at delivery and diagnosis of GDM on weight discrepancy of the twins was evaluated. Results: Mean weight discrepancy of all analyzed twin pregnancies was 285 grams (± 231), relative weight discrepancy was 11.3% (± 8.6). Univariate regression analyses showed that GDM, chorionicity and gestational age at delivery were significantly associated with weight discrepancy. In the multivariate model only diagnosis of GDM was significantly associated with weight discrepancy. Conclusion: Twin pregnancies with insulin requiring gestational diabetes seem to have less birth weight discrepancy than twin pregnancies with normal glucose tolerance.