Dating the humans by radiocarbon

Radiocarbon has become a very powerful tool used for dating. This paper deals with a specific application of 14C, i.e. dating of humans. Attention is focused on those aspects that, if neglected, might lead to a misinterpretation of the results or to an unsatisfying accuracy of the measurement. After a brief description of the main principles on which the radiocarbon method is based and of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, examples taken from the research activity of INFN-LABEC (Laboratorio di Tecniche Nucleari per i Beni Culturali) in Florence are presented. The case of the relics of St. Francis represents an example of dating not directly human remains but other objects that can be associated to them. The case of two burials from the archaeological area of Baratti-Populonia, in Tuscany, gives the possibility to show the importance of estimating the human palaeodiet when dating bone samples

Growth of Rhodococcus sp. strain BCP1 on gaseous n-alkanes: New metabolic insights and transcriptional analysis of two soluble di-iron monooxygenase genes

Rhodococcus sp. strain BCP1 was initially isolated for its ability to grow on gaseous n-alkanes, which act as inducers for the co-metabolic degradation of low-chlorinated compounds. Here, both molecular and metabolic features of BCP1 cells grown on gaseous and short-chain n-alkanes (up to n-heptane) were examined in detail. We show that propane metabolism generated terminal and sub-terminal oxidation products such as 1- and 2-propanol, whereas 1-butanol was the only terminal oxidation product detected from n-butane metabolism. Two gene clusters, prmABCD and smoABCD-coding for Soluble Di-Iron Monooxgenases (SDIMOs) involved in gaseous n-alkanes oxidation-were detected in the BCP1 genome. By means of Reverse Transcriptase-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis, a set of substrates inducing the expression of the sdimo genes in BCP1 were assessed as well as their transcriptional repression in the presence of sugars, organic acids, or during the cell growth on rich medium (Luria-Bertani broth). The transcriptional start sites of both the sdimo gene clusters were identified by means of primer extension experiments. Finally, proteomic studies revealed changes in the protein pattern induced by growth on gaseous- (n-butane) and/or liquid (n-hexane) short-chain n-alkanes as compared to growth on succinate. Among the differently expressed protein spots, two chaperonins and an isocytrate lyase were identified along with oxidoreductases involved in oxidation reactions downstream of the initial monooxygenase reaction step

MATLAB-based Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Data Mining as a Tool for Environment Management

Abstract—The application of data mining to environmental monitoring has become crucial for a number of tasks related to emergency management. Over recent years, many tools have been developed for decision support system (DSS) for emergency management. In this article a graphical user interface (GUI) for environmental monitoring system is presented. This interface allows accomplishing (i) data collection and observation and (ii) extraction for data mining. This tool may be the basis for future development along the line of the open source software paradigm

ANALISIS KEBUTUHAN INFORMASI BAGI PENYUSUNAN RENCANA RESOLUSI KONFLIK DI TAMAN WISATA PERAIRAN (TWP) PULAU PIEH: Analysis of Information Needs for The Preparation of Conflict Resolution Plans in Pieh Island Aquatic Tourism Park (TWP)

The difference in fishing gear between traditional and modern fishermen triggers conflicts; for the sustainability of the Pieh Island Marine Tourism Park (TWP) area, efforts are needed to prepare an efficient conflict resolution plan by considering relevant data and information. The study aims to identify conflicts in the Pieh Island TWP area, identify data and information needs to develop conflict resolution, analyze the availability of management data in the Pieh Island TWP, and provide recommendations for data and information collection. The research was conducted in the form of field observations and structured interviews through several questions that have been systematically prepared, as well as focus group discussions (FGDs) with the managers of the Work Unit (Satker) who are directly responsible to the Pekanbaru National Marine Protected Area Workshop (LKKPN Pekanbaru) as the Technical Implementation Unit of the TWP National Marine Protected Area Pieh Island. The results of the study are qualitative and quantitative data through descriptive and comparative methods in the form of identification of the type/nature of conflict in TWP, data and information needed in the preparation of conflict resolution, data and information that is already available and that must be collected, the ability of managers to support technically but financially need additional funds, and appropriate conflict resolution as well as some descriptions of recommendations for collecting data and information in TWP. Keywords:       information needs, management plan, conflict resolution

Aerobic growth of Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 using selected naphthenic acids as the sole carbon and energy sources

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are an important group of toxic organic compounds naturally occurring in hydrocarbon deposits. This work shows that Rhodococcus aetherivorans BCP1 cells not only utilize a mixture of eight different NAs (8XNAs) for growth but they are also capable of marked degradation of two model NAs, cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CHCA) and cyclopentanecarboxylic acid (CPCA) when supplied at concentrations from 50 to 500 mgL-1. The growth curves of BCP1 on 8XNAs, CHCA, and CPCA showed an initial lag phase not present in growth on glucose, which presumably was related to the toxic effects of NAs on the cell membrane permeability. BCP1 cell adaptation responses that allowed survival on NAs included changes in cell morphology, production of intracellular bodies and changes in fatty acid composition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of BCP1 cells grown on CHCA or CPCA showed a slight reduction in the cell size, the production of EPS-like material and intracellular electron-transparent and electron-dense inclusion bodies. The electron-transparent inclusions increased in the amount and size in NA-grown BCP1 cells under nitrogen limiting conditions and contained storage lipids as suggested by cell staining with the lipophilic Nile Blue A dye. Lipidomic analyses revealed significant changes with increases of methyl-branched (MBFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) examining the fatty acid composition of NAs-growing BCP1 cells. PUFA biosynthesis is not usual in bacteria and, together with MBFA, can influence structural and functional processes with resulting effects on cell vitality. Finally, through the use of RT (Reverse Transcription)-qPCR, a gene cluster (chcpca) was found to be transcriptionally induced during the growth on CHCA and CPCA. Based on the expression and bioinformatics results, the predicted products of the chcpca gene cluster are proposed to be involved in aerobic NA degradation in R. aetherivorans BCP1. This study provides first insights into the genetic and metabolic mechanisms allowing a Rhodococcus strain to aerobically degrade NAs

Bouguer gravity field of the Tuscan Archipelago (central Italy)

In this paper, we present a new Bouguer gravity map of the Northern Tuscan offshore (central Italy), based on original gravity data acquired on the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. Our dataset integrates 274 unpublished gravity field measurements with 126 available marine gravity data of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. The Bouguer anomaly map shows a westward and southward increase of the regional gravity field associated with the uplift of the Moho boundary from central Apennines towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. At a local scale, several Bouguer anomalies are well associated with the igneous plutons of the Elba, Montecristo and Capraia islands, as a result of a deep density contrast between the granitoid intrusive rocks and the embedding metamorphic basement. The presented Bouguer anomaly map represents a useful tool for future studies of the complex geological and geodynamical setting of the Tuscan Archipelago and of the buried and deep igneous structures

A Computationally Efficient Tool for Assessing the Depth Resolution in Potential-Field Inversion

In potential-field inversion problems, it can be difficult to obtain reliable information about the source distribution with respect to depth. Moreover, spatial resolution of the solution decreases with depth, and in fact the more ill-posed the problem – and the more noisy the data – the less reliable the depth information. Based on early work in depth resolution, defined in terms of the singular value decomposition, we introduce a tool APPROXDRP which uses an approximation of the singular vectors obtained by the iterative Lanczos bidiagonalization algorithm, making it well suited for large-scale problems. This tool allows a computational/visual analysis of how much the depth resolution in a computational potential-field inversion problem can be obtained from the given data.We show that when used in combination with a plot of the approximate SVD quantities, APPROXDRP may successfully show the limitations of depth resolution resulting from noise in the data. This allows a reliable analysis of the retrievable depth information and effectively guides the user in choosing the optimal number of iterations, for a given problem

Improved techniques in data analysis and interpretation of potential fields: examples of application in volcanic and seismically active areas

Geopotential data may be interpreted by many different techniques, depending on the nature of the mathematical equations correlating specific unknown ground parameters to the measured data set. The investigation based on the study of the gravity and magnetic anomaly fields represents one of the most important geophysical approaches in the earth sciences. It has now evolved aimed both at improving of known methods and testing other new and reliable techniques. This paper outlines a general framework for several applications of recent techniques in the study of the potential methods for the earth sciences. Most of them are here described and significant case histories are shown to illustrate their reliability on active seismic and volcanic areas

Tingkat Kecemasan Dan Apresiasi Matematika Ditinjau Dari Gender Pada Siswa Kelas VIII SMP Negeri Sekecamatan Poco Ranaka Barat, Kabupaten Manggarai Timur Tahun Ajaran 2013/2014

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk: (1) Mendeskripsikan tingkat kecemasan dan apresiasi matematika siswa kelas VIII SMP negeri sekecamatan Poco Ranaka Barat, (2) mengetahui perbedaan tingkat kecemasan dan apresiasi matematika ditinjau dari gender pada siswa kelas VIII SMP negeri sekecamatan Poco Ranaka Barat. Jenis penelitian ini adalah deskriptif-kuantitatif. Populasi penelitian adalah 560 siswa kelas VIII SMP negeri sekecamatan Poco Ranaka Barat-Manggarai Timur-NTT, tahun ajaran 2013/2014. Jumlah sampel 228 siswa, yakni 114 siswa laki-laki dan 114 siswa perempuan yang diambil dengan teknik proporsional random sampling.Data yang diambil adalah kecemasan matematika dan apresiasi matematika siswa.Data dikumpulkan dengan angket dan wawancara.Data dianalisis dengan uji-t dan uji Kolmogorof-Smirnov. Hasil penelitian adalah: (1) kecemasan matematika siswa berada pada tingkat sedang (48,00 ≤ X1 < 72,00) dengan nilai rata-rata 63,69; (2) apresiasi matematika siswa berada pada tingkat sedang (24,00≤ X