The Early to Middle Pleistocene Transition (EMPT) is characterised by major environmental changes and evolutionary innovations within the genus Homo but the scarcity of the African EMPT fossil and archaeological records obscures its palaeoecological context. Here, we present archaeological and faunal evidence from a newly excavated West-Turkana EMPT site—Kanyimangin.

Gonorrhoea cases in women have been rising in Australia in the 2010s but the cause of the increase is not well understood. This cross-sectional study aimed to describe the characteristics of genital gonorrhoea infection in women attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Australia. Gonorrhoea cases were diagnosed by nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) and/or culture. Genitourinary specimens were obtained in 12 869 clinic visits in women aged 16 years or above between August 2017 and August 2018. Genital gonorrhoea was detected in 142 (1.1%) of the visits. Almost half of the cases were asymptomatic, 47.9% [95% confidence interval (CI) 39.8–56.1%]; yellow, green or pus-like vaginal discharge was present in 11.3% (95% CI 7.0–17.6%) and other genital symptoms in 40.8% (95% CI 33.1–49.1%) of the cases. The mean time between last sexual contact and onset of symptoms was 7.3 days and between the onset of symptoms to presentation to the clinic was 12.1 days. Half of the cases of genital gonorrhoea among women are asymptomatic and these cases would have been missed by testing of only symptomatic women. Further epidemiological and behavioural research is required to understand the temporal changes in sexual practices among women in Australia.

There are few papers that focus on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of earthen mortars. These mortars are abundant in historical buildings in northwestern Spain. The Basílica da AscensiónyForno da Santa building is an unfinished church built on a previous structure that was transformed into a crypt (Allariz, Ourense, NW Spain). Previous archaeological studies established a sequence of phases of construction, the first dating back to the Iron Age, with significant changes occurring in the Early and Late Medieval ages. The only datable material in the crypt is earthen mortar. Thus, eight mortar samples (seven joint mortars and one wall infill) were taken, seven of them dated by OSL. The dose rate was assessed, and the expected equivalent doses estimated based on the established archaeological age. Several grain sizes (from fine to coarse) were used in small multigrain aliquots to assess the equivalent doses and ages. No evidence of partial bleaching was observed in most samples and grain sizes. The resulting ages are younger than expected for most samples. This is explained by the fact that joints were repaired with new mortar from the 16th century onwards.

Based on the data from the Next Generation Virgo cluster Survey (NGVS), we statistically study the photometric properties of globular clusters (GCs), ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) and dwarf nuclei in the Virgo core (M87) region. We found an obvious negative color (g - z) gradient in GC system associate with M87, i.e. GCs in the outer regions are bluer. However, such color gradient does not exist in UCD system, neither in dwarf nuclei system around M87. In addition, we found that many UCDs are surrounded by extended, low surface brightness envelopes. The dwarf nuclei and UCDs show different spatial distributions from GCs, with dwarf nuclei and UCDs (especially for the UCDs with visible envelopes) lying at larger distances to the Virgo center. These results support the view that UCDs (at least for a fraction of UCDs) are more tied to dwarf nuclei than to GCs.

The molecular, neurobiological, and physical health impacts of child maltreatment are well established, yet mechanistic pathways remain inadequately defined. Telomere length (TL) decline is an emerging molecular indicator of stress exposure with definitive links to negative health outcomes in maltreated individuals. The multiple confounders endemic to human maltreatment research impede the identification of causal pathways. This study leverages a unique randomized, cross-foster, study design in a naturalistic translational nonhuman primate model of infant maltreatment. At birth, newborn macaques were randomly assigned to either a maltreating or a competent control mother, balancing for sex, biological mother parenting history, and social rank. Offspring TL was measured longitudinally across the first 6 months of life (infancy) from peripheral blood. Hair cortisol accumulation was also determined at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. TL decline was greater in animals randomized to maltreatment, but also interacted with biological mother group. Shorter TL at 6 months was associated with higher mean cortisol levels through 18 months (juvenile period) when controlling for relevant covariates. These results suggest that even under the equivalent social, nutritional, and environmental conditions feasible in naturalistic translational nonhuman primate models, early adverse caregiving results in lasting molecular scars that foreshadow elevated health risk and physiologic dysregulation.

Beyond academic vocabulary, the constellation of skills that comprise academic language proficiency has remained imprecisely defined. This study proposes an expanded operationalization of this construct referred to as core academic language skills (CALS). CALS refers to the knowledge and deployment of a repertoire of language forms and functions that co-occur with school learning tasks across disciplines. Using an innovative instrument, we explored CALS in a cross-sectional sample of 235 students in Grades 4–8. The results revealed between- and within-grade variability in CALS. Psychometric analyses yielded strong reliability and supported the presence of a single CALS factor, which was found to be predictive of reading comprehension. Our findings suggest that the CALS construct and instrument appear promising for exploring students’ school-relevant language skills.

This article examines changes in ritual practices during the Epiclassic period in central Mexico. It presents data recovered from recent excavations of a shrine discovered in Lake Xaltocan in the northern Basin of Mexico. Pottery and AMS dates place the construction and use of the shrine in the Epiclassic period. The shrine was first built during or soon after the collapse of the Teotihuacan state. With the decline of Teotihuacan and the emergence of competing centers, ritual practitioners began human sacrifice: the remains of over 30 individuals were documented, including 13 complete severed crania. This practice suggests conflict as the political landscape became decentralized. Despite how broader processes may have affected behavior, the shrine, ritual practice was fundamentally local. We present archaeobotanical evidence of offerings of food, incense, and flowers that elucidates the microlevel nature of ritual at the shrine.

A novel synthetic pathway to obtain collagen-silica biohybrids using a co-gelation process is described. Concentration control of the inorganic and organic precursors leads to various morphologies. Of special interest is the possibility to obtain, through collagen templating, silica fibres that are maintained after protein removal.

The resistance of Al thin film metallization interconnects has been measured during temperature cycling where thermal expansion mismatch between the Al and the substrate and passivation is used to induce interconnect strain. Both passivated and unpassivated interconnects were thermally cycled between 80K and 373K. The coefficient of piezoresistivity, defined as dp/dE, where ρ= resistivity and εv = volumetric strain, is measured to be 2.0 10−5Ω-cm in tension, consistent with previous results determined in bulk Al under hydrostatic pressure. We describe a model which incorporates the thermal, geometrical, and piezoresistance effects on the measured interconnect resistance during temperature changes. Thermal expansion mismatch strains and the degree of interconnect constraint by the rigid surrounding materials, which vary with interconnect aspect ratio, are considered. The application of piezoresistance analysis to measurement of local stresses and stress relaxation in advanced interconnects will be described.

Sensitive measurements of electromigration-induced resistance changes in metallization interconnects have been previously interpreted as due to precipitation effects, vacancy concentration changes and local stress changes (due to the piezoresistance effect). The latter have the potential for characterizing the early stages of electromigration-induced diffusive phenomena prior to larger scale effects such as voiding and subsequent localized joule heating which seriously complicate the interpretation of small resistance changes. However the utility of such “early" measurements is also hindered by lack of an accurate knowledge of the stress coefficient of resistivity as a proper characterization of the change in strain state of the Al. We present measurements of the effects of volumetric strain on the resistivity of Al interconnects where the strain is induced by thermal expansion mismatch between the Al and surrounding passivations. The piezoresistance effect is characterized by properly accounting for the degree of interconnect constraint (and volumetric strain) induced by thermal expansion mismatch as a function of temperature for both passivated and unpassivated lines. Sensitive interconnect resistance versus temperature measurements for differently constrained interconnects (with different volumetric strains) thus allows for the measurement of the piezoresistance effect. Other effects such as solute or vacancy concentration changes with temperature are minimized since the measurements are performed by cooling the passivated and unpassivated lines from room temperature to approximately 70K, rather than by significant heating above room temperature. We determine the piezoresistance coefficient, defined as dρ/dɛv, where ρ = resistivity and ɛv = volumetric strain, to be approximately 1.5−5 Ω-cm, in rough agreement with previous work. The interpretation of sensitive resistance measurements as volumetric strains in isolated sections of interconnects undergoing electromigration-induced diffusion processes is described for specialized test structures.