977 research outputs found

    Ist das Erleben Teil des Erlebten?

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    If the inner consciousness of a mental state is a part of the mental state itself, then one is forced to admit an 'inner consciousness of the inner consciousness'. This counterintuitive consequence can however be avoided, if we conceive of the inner consciousness of the mental state as a 'mode of giveness' of the state itself. This paper discusses Brentano's theory of inner consciousness from the point of view of Husserl's philosophy

    Sulphate concentration in cave dripwater and speleothems:long-term trends and overview of its significance as proxy for environmental processes and climate changes

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    Sulphate concentrations in speleothems identify major volcanic eruptions, provide useful information on soil and aquifer dynamics and, in similar fashion to the 14C bomb peak, its Anthropocene peak can be used to date recent cave formations. However, the transmission of S from the atmosphere to cave dripwater and its incorporation in speleothems is subjected to biogeochemical cycling and accurate studies of each cave site are needed in order to assess how the S atmospheric signal is modified and eventually encoded in speleothems. This study investigates the role of biogeochemical cycling and aquifer hydrology by utilising published and new dripwater and speleothem data from Grotta di Ernesto (ER) in northern Italy. Here we provide the first long-term record of sulphate concentration in cave dripwater based on over 20 years of measurements. Fast drip site st-ER1 is characterised by a continuous decrease in SO4 concentration from a high of 7.5 ± 0.8 mg/l in 1993–1994 to a low of 2.2 ± 0.2 mg/l in 2013–2014, and replicates with a delay of ∼15 years the decline in the atmospheric SO2 emissions. The S-series of slow flow ER78 site is further delayed by ∼4.5 years in relation to the S retention in the aquifer matrix. The dripwater data are used to extend the previously published S record (1810–1998 AD) of stalagmite ER78 and reconstruct the anthropogenic S-peak: this displays a delay of ∼20 years with respect to the atmospheric S emission peak due to biogeochemical cycling and aquifer storage. However, sulphur recycling above the cave did not operate with the same degree of efficiency through time, which resulted in a variable time delay between S deposition and incorporation into the stalagmite. In the pre-Anthropocene era, and in particular during the cold Little Ice Age, biogeochemical cycling was far less efficient than today, and the fast transmission of the atmospheric signal allowed capture of S released during major volcanic eruptions by stalagmites

    Functional bisphosphonate synthesis for the development of new anti-resorption bone drug candidates

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    Herein we present the synthesis of b-mono and b-bis-substituted vinylidenebisphosphonate esters bearing a carboxylic ester moiety to be used as building blocks for further functionalizations. Reactions of these new bisphosphonate scaffolds through hydrogenation of the unsaturated CQC bond and through metal mediated addition of aryl boronic acids and indoles provide a wide range of new bisphosphonate products as potential leads to contrast osteoporosis

    The Ernesto Cave, northern Italy, as a candidate auxiliary reference section for the definition of the Anthropocene series

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    Annually laminated stalagmites ER77 and ER78 from Grotta di Ernesto provide an accurate annual record of environmental and anthropogenic signals for the last ~200 years. Two major transitions are recorded in the stalagmites. The first coincides with the year 1840 CE, when a change from porous and impurity-rich-laminae to clean, translucent laminae occurs. This is accompanied by a steady increase in the growth rate, a decrease in fluorescence and a sharp increase in δ13C values. These changes concur with the end of the Little Ice Age. The second transition takes place around the year 1960 CE and corresponds with an increase in both annual growth rate and sulfur concentration in stalagmite ER78 at 4.2 mm from the top, and with the deflection point in the 14C activity curve in stalagmite ER77 at 4.8 mm from the top. This latter is the stratigraphic signal proposed as the primary guide for the definition of the Anthropocene series. The following shift toward depleted δ34S–SO4 in stalagmite ER78 suggests that industrial pollution is a major source of sulfur. The interpretation of atmospheric signals (S, δ34S, 14C) in the stalagmites is affected by attenuation and time lags and the environmental signals are influenced by soil and ecosystem processes, while other anthropogenic signals (δ15N, 239Pu) are not recorded. For these reasons, the stalagmite record is here proposed as an auxiliary (reference) section rather than a global standard. In summary, Grotta di Ernesto contains one of the best stalagmite records documenting the Anthropocene, and one of only two stalagmite records where the S peak has been measured at high resolution

    Exploring the dating of “dirty” speleothems and cave sinters using radiocarbon dating of preserved organic matter

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    Speleothems and other carbonate deposits such as tufa containing high proportions of detrital material can be difficult to chemically date due to detrital thorium levels causing a high level of error in conventional U-Th disequilibrium dating. Here we investigate the use of an alternative technique centring on radiocarbon dating of organic matter preserved within the detrital fraction. Non-acid soluble humic, particulate and detritally absorbed organic matter was recovered from eight samples from a flowstone sinter formed within a roman aqueduct at Trento in Italy with a maximum age of 100 CE (1850 cal yr BP), and two repeat samples from a dripstone formed within the 20th Century on a wire fence at Lilly-Pilly Cave, Buchan Caves Reserve in Victoria, Australia. In the aqueduct samples the median calibrated 14C ages ranged from 2232 to 2889 cal yr BP, with 95.4% probability age range in the youngest and oldest samples of 2153–2337 and 2342–3449 cal yr BP respectively. The median age of the more modern dripstone was 336 cal yr BP, with a 95.4% probability age range of 148–486 cal yr BP. These results provide very approximate ball-park estimates of the age of the sample, but are consistently too old when compared to the known maximum ages of formation. It is hypothesised that this offset is due to a combination of the nature of the organic carbon transported from the source organic matter pools, and reworking of both modern and old organic carbon by in situ microbial communities

    Virtual excavation and analysis of the early Neanderthal cranium from Altamura (Italy).

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    The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04644-1.Complete Neanderthal skeletons are almost unique findings. A very well-preserved specimen of this kind was discovered in 1993 in the deepest recesses of a karstic system near the town of Altamura in Southern Italy. We present here a detailed description of the cranium, after we virtually extracted it from the surrounding stalagmites and stalactites. The morphology of the Altamura cranium fits within the Neanderthal variability, though it retains features occurring in more archaic European samples. Some of these features were never observed in Homo neanderthalensis, i.e. in fossil specimens dated between 300 and 40 ka. Considering the U-Th age we previously obtained (>130 ka), the morphology of Altamura suggests that the archaic traits it retains may have been originated by geographic isolation of the early Neanderthal populations from Southern Italy.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEItalian Ministry of Education, University and Researchpu

    Hydroclimate of the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in southern Australia's arid margin interpreted from speleothem records (23-15 ka)

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    Terrestrial data spanning the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and deglaciation from the southern Australian region are sparse and limited to discontinuous sedimentological and geomorphological records with relatively large chronological uncertainties. This dearth of records has hindered a critical assessment of the role of the Southern Hemisphere mid-latitude westerly winds on the region's climate during this time period. In this study, two precisely dated speleothem records for Mairs Cave, Flinders Ranges, are presented, providing for the first time a detailed terrestrial hydroclimatic record for the southern Australian drylands during 23-15 ka. Recharge to Mairs Cave is interpreted from the speleothem record by the activation of growth, physical flood layering, and δ18O and δ13C minima. Periods of lowered recharge are indicated by 18O and 13C enrichment, primarily affecting δ18O, argued to be driven by evaporation of shallow soil/epikarst water in this water-limited environment. A hydrological driver is supported by calcite fabric changes. These include the presence of laminae, visible organic colloids, and occasional dissolution features, related to recharge, as well as the presence of sediment bands representing cave floor flooding. A shift to slower-growing, more compact calcite and an absence of lamination is interpreted to represent reduced recharge. The Mairs Cave record indicates that the Flinders Ranges were relatively wet during the LGM and early deglaciation, particularly over the interval 18.9-15.8 ka. This wetter phase ended abruptly with a shift to drier conditions at 15.8 ka. These findings are in agreement with the geomorphic archives for this region, as well as the timing of events in records from the broader Australasian region. The recharge phases identified in the Mairs Cave record are correlated with, but antiphase to, the position of the westerly winds interpreted from marine core MD03-2611, located 550 km south of Mairs Cave in the Murray Canyons region. The implication is that the mid-latitude westerlies are located further south during the period of enhanced recharge in the Mairs Cave record (18.9-16 ka) and conversely are located further north when greater aridity is interpreted in the speleothem record. A further comparison with speleothem records from the northern Australasian region reveals that the availability of tropical moisture is the most likely explanation driving enhanced recharge, with further amplification of recharge occurring during the early half of Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), possibly influenced by a more southerly displaced Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). A rapid transition to aridity at 15.8 ka is consistent with a retraction of this tropical moisture source.The stable isotope measurements on MC-S1 and MC-S2 were supported by Australian Research Council LIEF grants LE0989624 and LE0668400, and U-Th age measurements by Australian Research Council LIEF grant LE098906

    Characterisation of Herschel-selected strong lens candidates through HST and sub-mm/mm observations

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    We have carried out HST snapshot observations at 1.1 μ\mum of 281 candidate strongly lensed galaxies identified in the wide-area extragalactic surveys conducted with the Herschel space observatory. Our candidates comprise systems with flux densities at 500μ500\,\mumS50080 S_{500}\geq 80 mJy. We model and subtract the surface brightness distribution for 130 systems, where we identify a candidate for the foreground lens candidate. After combining visual inspection, archival high-resolution observations, and lens subtraction, we divide the systems into different classes according to their lensing likelihood. We confirm 65 systems to be lensed. Of these, 30 are new discoveries. We successfully perform lens modelling and source reconstruction on 23 systems, where the foreground lenses are isolated galaxies and the background sources are detected in the HST images. All the systems are successfully modelled as a singular isothermal ellipsoid. The Einstein radii of the lenses and the magnifications of the background sources are consistent with previous studies. However, the background source circularised radii (between 0.34 kpc and 1.30 kpc) are \sim3 times smaller than the ones measured in the sub-mm/mm for a similarly selected and partially overlapping sample. We compare our lenses with those in the SLACS survey, confirming that our lens-independent selection is more effective at picking up fainter and diffuse galaxies and group lenses. This sample represents the first step towards characterising the near-IR properties and stellar masses of the gravitationally lensed dusty star-forming galaxies.Comment: 57 pages, 18 figures, 11 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA

    Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

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    The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns
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