Correlation of gravimetric and satellite geodetic data Interim progress report, 11 Sep. 1967 - 29 Feb. 1968

Gravimetric and geodetic data correlation for satellite position prediction accuracy with error analysi

Correlation of gravimetric and satellite geodetic data, part 2 Interim scientific report, 11 Sep. 1967 - 29 Feb. 1968

Graphical output from computer correlated gravimetric and satellite geodetic dat

An interdisciplinary approach to the study of kiln firing: a case study from the Campus Galli open-air museum (southern Germany)

Pottery kilns are a common feature in the archaeological record of different periods. However, these pyrotechnological installations are still seldom the target of interdisciplinary investigations. To fill this gap in our knowledge, an updraft kiln firing experiment was run at the Campus Galli open-air museum (southern Germany) by a team consisting of experimental archaeologists, material scientists, geoarchaeologists, and palaeobotanists. The entire process from the preparation of the raw materials to the firing and opening of the kiln was carefully recorded with a particular focus on the study of the raw materials used for pottery making, as well as on fuel usage. The temperatures were monitored by thermocouples placed at different positions in the combustion and firing chambers. In addition, thermocouples were installed within the kiln wall to measure the temperature distribution inside the structure itself. Unfired raw materials as well as controlled and experimentally thermally altered ceramic samples were then characterised with an integrated analysis including ceramic petrography, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). Our work provides data about mineralogical and microstructural developments in both pottery kiln structures and the ceramics produced in this type of installations. This is helpful to discuss the limits and potential of various scientific analyses commonly used in ancient ceramic pyrotechnological studies. Overall, our work contributes to a better understanding of updraft kiln technology and offers guidelines on how to address the study of this type of pyrotechnological installations using interdisciplinary research strategies

Embryonic Lethality in Mice Lacking the Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells 5 Protein Due to Impaired Cardiac Development and Function

Nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 protein (NFAT5) is thought to be important for cellular adaptation to osmotic stress by regulating the transcription of genes responsible for the synthesis or transport of organic osmolytes. It is also thought to play a role in immune function, myogenesis and cancer invasion. To better understand the function of NFAT5, we developed NFAT5 gene knockout mice. Homozygous NFAT5 null (NFAT5−/−) mouse embryos failed to develop normally and died after 14.5 days of embryonic development (E14.5). The embryos showed peripheral edema, and abnormal heart development as indicated by thinner ventricular wall and reduced cell density at the compact and trabecular areas of myocardium. This is associated with reduced level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and increased caspase-3 in these tissues. Cardiomyocytes from E14.5 NFAT5−/− embryos showed a significant reduction of beating rate and abnormal Ca2+ signaling profile as a consequence of reduced sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) and ryanodine receptor (RyR) expressions. Expression of NFAT5 target genes, such as HSP 70 and SMIT were reduced in NFAT5−/− cardiomyocytes. Our findings demonstrated an essential role of NFAT5 in cardiac development and Ca2+ signaling. Cardiac failure is most likely responsible for the peripheral edema and death of NFAT5−/− embryos at E14.5 days

GSK-3 Activity Is Critical for the Orientation of the Cortical Microtubules and the Dorsoventral Axis Determination in Zebrafish Embryos

The formation of dorsal-ventral (D–V) axis is the earliest event that breaks the radial symmetry and determines the bilateral body plan of a vertebrate embryo, however, the maternal control of this process is not fully understood. Here, we discovered a new dorsalizing window of acute lithium treatment, which covers only less than 10 minutes after fertilization. Lithium treatment in this window was not able to reverse the ventralized phenotype in tokkeabi (tkk) mutant embryos, and its dorsalizing activity on wild-type embryos was inhibited by nocodazole co-treatment. These evidences indicate that the underlying mechanism is independent of a direct activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, but depends on the upstream level of the microtubule mediated dorsal determinant transport. In order to identify the target of lithium in this newly discovered sensitive window, GSK-3 inhibitor IX as well as the IMPase inhibitor L690, 330 treatments were performed. We found that only GSK-3 inhibitor IX treatment mimicked the lithium treatment in the dorsalizing activity. Further study showed that the parallel pattern of cortical microtubules in the vegetal pole region and the directed migration of the Wnt8a mRNA were randomized by either lithium or GSK-3 inhibitor IX treatment. These results thus revealed an early and critical role of GSK-3 activity that regulates the orientation of the cortical microtubules and the directed transport of the dorsal determinants in zebrafish embryos

North Mesopotamian Comb-Incised and Comb-Impressed Pottery

Tis contribution focuses on a distinctive kind of pottery decoration, geometric in nature and characterised by multiple parallel line incisions and/or impressions obtained before fring by means of a comb-like toothed tool operating on the potter’s wheel; therefore, in the archaeological literature it is usually referred to as “Comb-incised Ware” or, more generally, “Combed Ware”

Investigating Jubaniyah. A Late Chalcolithic site on the Upper Tigris River, Iraqi Kurdistan. Preliminary report

Jubaniyah is a blufftop settlement of 4 hectares set on a terrace overlooking the River Tigris in northern Iraq (Iraqi Kurdistan) demonstrating a significant and almost exclusive occupation during the Late Chalcolithic period (ca. 4800-3000 BC). Besides an agricultural-pastoral orientation, the site presumably also functioned as a central hub in riverine communication and exchange with the hinterland during most of this long period. Set within the catchment area of the Mosul Dam reservoir, Jubaniyah is also one among more than 150 flooded sites which periodically resurface due to the reservoir’s annual or cyclical water fluctuation, thus intermittingly revealing the spolia of their past. This interim report presents the results of a multiscalar research program undertaken by the University of Tübingen jointly with the KAO of Duhok, and aims at demonstrating the continued importance of such sites, and the necessity to develop a program for their monitoring and preservation. Intensive survey, targeted soundings, a salvage operation, and artefact analysis are herein outlined, supplemented by a study of the site’s “emersion pattern” over the past 40 years, and a proposal for post-flood monitoring and future recording strategies

Social Lives of Monumental Walls: Hunting along the Upper Tigris

On the left bank of the Tigris in northern Iraq, in an area today partially flooded by the Mosul Dam reservoir, lies an enigmatic monumental enclosure known in the literature as the “Tigris Wall.” Before its partial submersion under the waters of the modern lake, the large L-shaped embankment, about 4 × 4 km long, enclosed an area of ca. 1600 ha, overlooking the Tigris and its alluvial plain. By means of a holistic strategy that includes different levels of analysis (remote sensing, pedestrian and UAV photogrammetric surveys, excavation, and settlement pattern analysis), this paper addresses the structure, its context, and its environment. Relying on the results of this multi-disciplinary approach, we present an updated and detailed discussion of the structure’s possible functions and interpretations. Parallels from northern Mesopotamia and neighboring regions are used to suggest that the Tigris Wall may be the first archaeologically known hunting park in the region, probably dating to the Late Sasanian or Early Islamic epoch