Symbolism in Prehistoric Man

The aptitude for symbolization, characteristic of man, is revealed not only in artistic representations and funerary practices. It is exhibited by every manifestation of human activity or representation of natural phenomena that assumes or refers to a meaning.We can recognize functional symbolism (tool-making, habitative or food technology), social symbolism, (language and social communication) and spiritual symbolism (funerary practices and artistic expressions). On the basis of these concepts, research into symbolism in prehistoric man allows us to recognize forms of symbolism already in the manifestations of the most ancient humans, starting with Homo habilis (or rudolfensis). Toolmaking, social organization and organization of the territory are oriented toward survival and the life of the family group. They attest to symbolic behaviors and constitute symbolic systems by means of which man expresses himself, lives and transmits his symbolic world. The diverse forms of symbolism are discussed with reference to the different phases of prehistoric humanity

CN rings in full protoplanetary disks around young stars as probes of disk structure

Bright ring-like structure emission of the CN molecule has been observed in protoplanetary disks. We investigate whether such structures are due to the morphology of the disk itself or if they are instead an intrinsic feature of CN emission. With the intention of using CN as a diagnostic, we also address to which physical and chemical parameters CN is most sensitive. A set of disk models were run for different stellar spectra, masses, and physical structures via the 2D thermochemical code DALI. An updated chemical network that accounts for the most relevant CN reactions was adopted. Ring-shaped emission is found to be a common feature of all adopted models; the highest abundance is found in the upper outer regions of the disk, and the column density peaks at 30-100 AU for T Tauri stars with standard accretion rates. Higher mass disks generally show brighter CN. Higher UV fields, such as those appropriate for T Tauri stars with high accretion rates or for Herbig Ae stars or for higher disk flaring, generally result in brighter and larger rings. These trends are due to the main formation paths of CN, which all start with vibrationally excited H2* molecules, that are produced through far ultraviolet (FUV) pumping of H2. The model results compare well with observed disk-integrated CN fluxes and the observed location of the CN ring for the TW Hya disk. CN rings are produced naturally in protoplanetary disks and do not require a specific underlying disk structure such as a dust cavity or gap. The strong link between FUV flux and CN emission can provide critical information regarding the vertical structure of the disk and the distribution of dust grains which affects the UV penetration, and could help to break some degeneracies in the SED fitting. In contrast with C2H or c-C3H2, the CN flux is not very sensitive to carbon and oxygen depletion.Comment: New version of paper, correcting too high H2 excitation rates and consequently too high CN column densities. Qualitative conclusions of the paper remain unchanged. Quantitatively, the CN column densities are an order of magnitude lower whereas fluxes decrease by a factor of 3-4. Rings are larger by up to a factor of 2. 13 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in A&

A new clinical tool for assessing numerical abilities in neurological diseases: numerical activities of daily living

The aim of this study was to build an instrument, the numerical activities of daily living (NADL), designed to identify the specific impairments in numerical functions that may cause problems in everyday life. These impairments go beyond what can be inferred from the available scales evaluating activities of daily living in general, and are not adequately captured by measures of the general deterioration of cognitive functions as assessed by standard clinical instruments like the MMSE and MoCA. We assessed a control group (n = 148) and a patient group affected by a wide variety of neurological conditions (n = 175), with NADL along with IADL, MMSE, and MoCA. The NADL battery was found to have satisfactory construct validity and reliability, across a wide age range. This enabled us to calculate appropriate criteria for impairment that took into account age and education. It was found that neurological patients tended to overestimate their abilities as compared to the judgment made by their caregivers, assessed with objective tests of numerical abilities

Anthropological and Cultural Features of a Skeletal Sample of Horsemen from the Medieval Necropolis of Vicenne-Campochiaro (Molise, Italy)

In the medieval necropolis of Vicenne (Italy) among 130 skeletons, thirteen horsemen, recognized on the basis of the contextual burials with horse, have been found. This rite, rarely found in Europe, recalls an Asian rite, attested from the Iron Age to the Age of Migration in nomadic Asian populations. Local and Germanic goods were also found. In order to study the anthropological composition of this population, some morphometrical skeletal features have been analyzed. Heterogeneity both in the horsemen and in the other males of the necropolis has been observed. Besides the multicultural context testified by archaeological data, a multiethnic society seems to emerge by the anthropological analysis. In these Italian territories, involved by migrations, Asian and Germanic population probably crossed with the local ones

The Power of the Weak

A landmark result in the study of logics for formal verification is Janin and Walukiewicz’s theorem, stating that the modal μ-calculus (μML) is equivalent modulo bisimilarity to standard monadic second-order logic (here abbreviated as SMSO) over the class of labelled transition systems (LTSs for short). Our work proves two results of the same kind, one for the alternation-free or noetherian fragment μNML of μML on the modal side and one for WMSO, weak monadic second-order logic, on the second-order side. In the setting of binary trees, with explicit functions accessing the left and right successor of a node, it was known that WMSO is equivalent to the appropriate version of alternation-free μ-calculus. Our analysis shows that the picture changes radically once we consider, as Janin and Walukiewicz did, the standard modal μ-calculus, interpreted over arbitrary LTSs. The first theorem that we prove is that, over LTSs, μNML is equivalent modulo bisimilarity to noetherian MSO (NMSO), a newly introduced variant of SMSO where second-order quantification ranges over “conversely well-founded” subsets only. Our second theorem starts from WMSO and proves it equivalent modulo bisimilarity to a fragment of μNML defined by a notion of continuity. Analogously to Janin and Walukiewicz’s result, our proofs are automata-theoretic in nature: As another contribution, we introduce classes of parity automata characterising the expressiveness of WMSO and NMSO (on tree models) and of μCML and μNML (for all transition systems)

Migration, friendship ties, and cultural assimilation

We study migrants’ assimilation by analyzing whether friendship with natives is a measure of cultural assimilation and by investigating the formation of social ties. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel, we find that migrants with a German friend are more similar to natives than those without along several important dimensions, including concerns about the economy, interest in politics and a host of policy issues. Turning to friendship acquisition, we find that becoming employed, time spent in the host country, the birth of a child, residential mobility and additional education acquired in the host country are significant drivers of social network variation

A time-dependent multi-layered mathematical model of filtration and solute exchange, the revised Starling principle and the Landis experiments

Cell oxygenation and nutrition is vitally important for human and animal life. Oxygen and nutrients are transported by the blood stream and cross microvessel walls to penetrate the cell's membrane. Pathological alterations in the transport of oxygen, and other nutrition elements, across microvessel walls may have serious consequences to cell life, possibly leading to localized cell necrosis. We present a transient model of plasma filtration and solute transport across microvessel walls by coupling flow and transport equations, the latter being non-linear in solute concentration. The microvessel wall is modeled through the superimposition of two or more membranes with different physical properties, representing key structural elements. With this model, the combined effect of the endothelial cells, the glycocalyx and other coating membranes specific of certain microvessels, can be analyzed. We investigate the role of transient external pressures in the study of trans-vascular filtration and solute exchange during the drop of blood capillary pressure due to the pathological decrease of blood volume called hypovolaemia, as well as hemorrhage. We discuss the advantage of using a multi-layered model, rather than a model considering the microvessel wall as a single and homogeneous membrane