Illite age analysis (IAA) is a classical method for extracting diagenetic and detrital ages from mixed ages measured by K-Ar. This approach is based on measuring the masses of diagenetic and detrital illitic components in a few different grain-size fractions of one rock sample and measuring the mixed ages of these fractions. The 1Md illitic polytype is usually considered to be diagenetic, while 2M1 is considered detrital. A plot of the function: exp(λt)−1 (where t is time and λ is the decay constant) vs. weight percent of the detrital fraction is constructed. On the basis of linear extrapolation to end-member fractions, the diagenetic and the detrital age is obtained. This approach does not take into account various K contents in different polytypes (%Kdetrital and %Kdiagenetic). In order to do that, the detrital mass fraction (wt.%detrital) should be recalculated into the percentage of detrital K (%Id(K)):

Analytical constraint of the K content of different polytypes is very difficult, so a new approach to this problem has been developed. In the present study, the plot of 40Ar*/40K vs. %Id(K) for a precisely determined ratio of 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic was observed to be linear. On the basis of this observation, a computer program, MODELAGE, was written in the Java programming language using as input a few measured detrital illite mass fractions along with the mixed K-Ar ages of the relevant grain fractions. It then calculates the end-member ages and the 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic ratio using genetic algorithms.

The errors in diagenetic and detrital illite mass-fraction determination mean that the 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic ratio and the end-member ages can be evaluated only with some uncertainty. The best results are obtained if the measured mass fractions represent a relatively broad range. Constraining one of the unknowns (particularly the 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic ratio) improves the results significantly.

Evaluation of data obtained from the literature using the proposed approach leads to the conclusion that the 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic ratio is often >1.00, and some of 1Md illite polytype materials may be of detrital origin. If this is not the case, if a broad range of mass fractions is covered, and if the differences between end-member ages are relatively small, IAA analysis still gives appropriate results, even if the true 40Kdetrital/40Kdiagenetic ratio is different from 1.00.

Professor Marc de Leval (16 April 1941 –26 June 2022) was a pioneer in the field of congenital cardiothoracic surgery and former chair of the British Congenital Cardiac Association [https://www.bcca-uk.org/]. Professor de Leval was appointed as a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1974. Throughout his distinguished career at Great Ormond Street Hospital, he worked with dedication to improve outcomes for cardiothoracic surgery. His contribution to academic cardiothoracic surgery was significant and far-reaching with over 300 peer-reviewed publications. Of particular note was his work in improving the palliation of children with cyanotic congenital heart disease by the use of the modified Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt and his pioneering work over many years to improve understanding of the Fontan circulation using in vitro modelling and computational fluid dynamics that led to the development of the total cavopulmonary connection. His other significant contributions include the importance of analysing surgical failures, being the co-editor of the most readable textbook in our field, and so much more. During his career, he trained many eminent surgeons from around the world, and a Marc de Leval Fellowship of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery [https://www.aats.org/about-the-foundation/the-reach-of-our-programs/foundation-honoring-our-mentors-program/marc-r-de-leval-md] now allows the opportunity for a trainee to study congenital cardiac surgery in the UK or Europe. Marc is fondly remembered by the staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital. The nurses recall his arrival at the break of day on the intensive care unit, having already been for a swim, and the diligence with which he observed his patients following surgery. Former trainees remember a man who, despite his standing, always remained courteous, approachable, and kind. Professor de Leval will be remembered not only as a skilled and dedicated surgeon but also as a distinguished scholar, one with a quest for knowledge in the pursuit of excellence.

Long-term exploration of the Groningen gas field in the Netherlands led to induced seismicity. Over the past nine years, an increasingly sophisticated Ground Motion Model (GMM) has been developed to assess the site response and the related seismic hazard. The GMM output strongly depends on the shear-wave velocity (VS), among other input parameters. To date, VS model data from soil profiles (Kruiver et al., Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 15(9): 3555–3580, 2017; Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 96(5): s215–s233, 2017) have been used in the GMM. Recently, new VS profiles above the Groningen gas field were constructed using ambient noise surface wave tomography. These so-called field VS data, even though spatially limited, provide an independent source of VS to check whether the level of spatial variability in the GMM is sufficient. Here, we compared amplification factors (AF) for two sites (Borgsweer and Loppersum) calculated with the model VS and the field VS (Chmiel et al., Geophysical Journal International, 218(3), 1781–1795, 2019 and new data). Our AF results over periods relevant for seismic risk (0.01–1.0 s) show that model and field VS profiles agree within the uncertainty range generally accepted in geo-engineering. In addition, we compared modelled spectral accelerations using either field VS or model VS in Loppersum to the recordings of an earthquake that occurred during the monitoring period (ML 3.4 Zeerijp on 8 January 2018). The modelled spectral accelerations at the surface for both field VS and model VS are coherent with the earthquake data for the resonance periods representative of most buildings in Groningen (T = 0.2 and 0.3 s). These results confirm that the currently used VS model in the GMM captures spatial variability in the site response and represents reliable input for the site response calculations.

At the close of the Bronze Age, a tendency developed in Central Europe towards the concentration of settlement and fortification of sites which served special economic and social functions. One of the largest centers of this kind in the northern part of Central Europe is the Łubowice stronghold (SW Poland). Archaeological excavations allowed the stratigraphy of the fortification remnants to be comprehensively investigated. In their final stage, these fortifications comprised of a monumental earthen rampart with timber structures, which were later destroyed in a violent fire. Originally, the destruction of the Łubowice stronghold was linked with the raids by nomadic Scythians and dated to the first half of the 6th century BC. However, radiocarbon analyses of charcoal from the burned rampart relics have shown that the destruction of the fortifications took place in the 9th century BC. The new dating of the moment when the Łubowice fortifications was burned down, i.e. “shortly after 845–802 cal BC” places this event within historical processes which reshaped the cultural picture in much of Central Europe at the dawn of the Iron Age. The spreading of a new, Hallstatt cultural model was associated with deep changes in social structures.

This article is to commemorate and celebrate achievements of Professor Milan Šamánek who passed away on 29 April, 2020. Milan was an excellent and visionary paediatric cardiologist who helped to establish paediatric cardiology as a speciality in Czechoslovakia and several other east European countries in the late 1970s. Milan was also paramount for connecting the East and West, helping in no small way to establish the Association for European Paediatric Cardiology (AEPC) as the leading learned society in Europe.

In all countries, the organic sector of the agricultural industry is increasing, with Europe traditionally leading this trend. A survey of different stakeholders (employers) was carried out in 2015 in seven European countries to evaluate the employment market for the organic agricultural industry in Europe. Results indicate the willingness to employ qualified graduates. From the employers' perspective, the most desirable knowledge skills among the graduates of organic agricultural studies include plant production, food quality and plant protection. Further, the study revealed the work skills most desired by the employers are practical expertise, teamwork and problem-solving, and the most important method of learning is cooperation with enterprises (internships/training) in the organic agricultural sector.

In this paper, the possibility of using neural networks for fast tomographic reconstructions of tokamak plasma soft X-ray (SXR) emissivity is investigated. Indeed, the radiative cooling of heavy impurities like tungsten could be detrimental for the plasma core performances of ITER, thus developing robust and fast SXR diagnostic tools is a crucial issue to monitor the impurities and to mitigate in real-time their central accumulation. As preliminary work, a database of emissivity phantoms with associated synthetic measurements is used to train the neural network to solve the inversion problem. The inversion method, training process, and first tomographic reconstructions are presented with the perspectives about our future work.

The Roman-barbarian interactions along the riverine borderline of the Middle Danube Limes exhibit a wide range of forms, from peaceful contacts and trading activities to full-scale military conflicts. The direct evidence of the latter type of events represents a specific source of archaeological information—generally referred to as temporary camps. The regions of Moravia, SW Slovakia and Lower Austria currently encompass more than 30 verified Roman military field installations. The specifics of these archaeological contexts and the present unsatisfactory state of knowledge have raised the necessity of approaching the given questions with advanced techniques, not least with respect to their chronological position. Along with multiple methods and analytical procedures of relevant natural sciences (geophysics and geochemistry, archaeobotany, microstratigraphy, etc.), radiocarbon (14C) dating has also been involved in order to further establish the chronological position of temporary camps because the archaeological data provide limited possibilities in this respect. In multiple cases, the method has augmented traditional dating techniques and allowed more precise and secure establishment of the chronological position of the field camps of the Roman army.

The a-index samples the flux of the 5200 Å region by comparing the flux at the center with the adjacent regions. The final intrinsic peculiarity index Δa was defined as the difference between the individual a-values and the a-values of normal stars of the same colour (spectral type). Here we present, for the first time, a case study to detect and analyse Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars in the Magellanic Clouds. For this, we use our photometric survey of the Magellanic Clouds within the a-index. We find that AGB stars can be easily detected on the basis of their Δa index in an efficient way.

Major efforts are being undertaken to quantify seismic hazard and risk due to production-induced earthquakes in the Groningen gas field as the basis for rational decision-making about mitigation measures. An essential element is a model to estimate surface ground motions expected at any location for each earthquake originating within the gas reservoir. Taking advantage of the excellent geological and geophysical characterisation of the field and a growing database of ground-motion recordings, models have been developed for predicting response spectral accelerations, peak ground velocity and ground-motion durations for a wide range of magnitudes. The models reflect the unique source and travel path characteristics of the Groningen earthquakes, and account for the inevitable uncertainty in extrapolating from the small observed magnitudes to potential larger events. The predictions of ground-motion amplitudes include the effects of nonlinear site response of the relatively soft near-surface deposits throughout the field.

During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), long valley glaciers developed on the northern and southern sides of the High Tatra Mountains, Poland and Slovakia. Chlorine-36 exposure dating of moraine boulders suggests two major phases of moraine stabilization, at 26–21 ka (LGM I — maximum) and at 18 ka (LGM II). The dates suggest a significantly earlier maximum advance on the southern side of the range. Reconstructing the geometry of four glaciers in the Sucha Woda, Pańszczyca, Mlynicka and Velicka valleys allowed determining their equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) at 1460, 1460, 1650 and 1700 m asl, respectively. Based on a positive degree-day model, the mass balance and climatic parameter anomaly (temperature and precipitation) has been constrained for LGM I advance. Modeling results indicate slightly different conditions between northern and southern slopes. The N–S ELA gradient finds confirmation in slightly higher temperature (at least 1 °C) or lower precipitation (15%) on the south-facing glaciers during LGM I. The precipitation distribution over the High Tatra Mountains indicates potentially different LGM atmospheric circulation than at the present day, with reduced northwesterly inflow and increased southerly and westerly inflows of moist air masses.