An Archaeomineralogy of the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, and Middle Bronze Pottery from Tapeh Kelar

Pottery is of particular importance in archaeology as an indicator of chronology, art, technology, and subsistence system of ancient populations. Pottery discloses contacts and exchanges between different regions. Kelar Hill (henceforth: Tapeh Kelar) of the Kelardasht region is a major prehistoric site in western Mazandaran. The site contains cultural evidences spanning the Late Chalcolithic (fourth millennium BCE) through the Islamic period. Amost significant component of the site’s sequence is a Kura-Araxes deposit. As the Kura-Araxes culture originated far from Tapeh Kelar (in South Caucasia), the primary concern of the present study revolves around the structureof the pottery from the site dating to the transition from the Late Chalcolithic to the Kura-Araxes period to spot the existing variations or discrepancies. The study also tries to answer the question whether or not the Kura-Araxes material represented exotic products at Tapeh Kelar. Some 25 sherds dating to the Late Chalcolithic, and Early‒Middle Bronze Age were picked up for petrographic analysis to compare the mineralogical texture of the LateChalcolithic and Middle Bronze Age ceramics with those of the Kura-Araxes material. The analyses suggest that the Kura-Araxes pieces from Tapeh Kelar were local products despite some disparities in their texture, which stemmed from the difference in raw material sources. Therefore, the presumption that the Kura-Araxes-type pottery first entered the site through exchange or trade before the related forms were copied by local potters is refuted

Proces kulturne spremembe v času bakrene dobe na območju zahodnega Iranskega višavja na najdišču Tepe Gheshlagh

Tepe Gheshlagh is located in the center of Talvar Valley in Bijar County, Kurdistan province of Iran, on the east bank of Talvar River. It is rested on a Natural terrace, less than 30 meters above the current bed of the river. The mound is about one hectare in area, oval in shape, and rises more than 14 meters above the surrounding fields. Three seasons of salvage excavation carried out in the site which has revealed significant information on Early, Middle and Late Chalcolithic period (5500-3850 BC) in this region. Unfortunately no accurate Archeological research has been undertaken to gain a better understanding of Chalcolithic period, especially the Early this issue highlights current excavation. In fact, Exploration of cultural traces and, in particular, the important settlement of Tepe Gheshlagh as well as recognition of the subsistence economy of its residents can increase our knowledge of cultural traditions in this region. Tepe Gheshlagh se nahaja na osrednjem delu doline reke Talvar (okraj Bijar, Kurdistan) v Iranu, in sicer je najdišče locirano na vzhodnem bregu reke. Pozicija najdišča je na naravni terasi, ki se dviga manj kot 30 metrov nad današnjim koritom reke. Ovalna gomila zajema območje enega hektarja in se dviga 14 metrov nad okoliška polja. V treh sezonah zaščitnih izkopavanj smo pridobili pomembne informacije o zgodnji, srednji in pozni bakreni dobi (5000–3850 pr. n. št.) na tem območju. Z novejšimi izkopavanji smo osvetlili tudi čas zgodnje bakrene dobe, ki do sedaj na tem območju ni bila primerno arheološko raziskana. S pomočjo analize kulturnih ostalin in naselbine Tepe Gheshlagh ter analize subsistence takratnih prebivalcev smo povečali naše vedenje o kulturni tradiciji v regiji

The process of cultural change in Chalcolithic period in highland Western Iran at Tepe Gheshlagh

Tepe Gheshlagh is located in the center of Talvar Valley in Bijar County, Kurdistan province of Iran, on the east bank of Talvar River. It is rested on a Natural terrace, less than 30 meters above the current bed of the river. The mound is about one hectare in area, oval in shape, and rises more than 14 meters above the surrounding fields. Three seasons of salvage excavation carried out in the site which has revealed significant information on Early, Middle and Late Chalcolithic period (5500-3850 BC) in this region. Unfortunately no accurate Archeological research has been undertaken to gain a better understanding of Chalcolithic period, especially the Early this issue highlights current excavation. In fact, Exploration of cultural traces and, in particular, the important settlement of Tepe Gheshlagh as well as recognition of the subsistence economy of its residents can increase our knowledge of cultural traditions in this region

Micostratigraphic approaches to settlement history: integrating field and laboratory analyses at the Neolithic site of Jani, western Iran

This article address settlement history at the Neolithic site of Jani in western Iran, through integrated application of field and laboratory approaches

Tissue engineered flexible ear-shaped cartilage

BACKGROUND: Previous attempts to engineer human ear-shaped constructs mimicked human shape but lacked the flexibility and size of a human ear. Recently, the authors engineered flexible cartilage by incorporating a perichondrium-like layer into the construct. In this study, they used lyophilized swine perichondrium as a pseudoperichondrium, examined its ability to confer flexibility to tissue-engineered cartilage, and used it to engineer flexible cartilage in the shape and size of a human ear. METHODS: Auricular chondrocytes and perichondrium were isolated from swine. Chondrocytes were mixed with fibrin polymer and gelled to form 5 x 20-mm constructs. Constructs alone (control, n = 6) or constructs sandwiched between two layers of lyophilized swine perichondrium (experimental, n = 6) were implanted into athymic mice. Auricular chondrocytes in fibrin polymer and lyophilized perichondrium were also used to form a tri-layer, ear-shaped construct, which was implanted into an athymic rat and externally stented for 6 weeks (n = 1). At 12 weeks, constructs were analyzed with histology and gross mechanical testing. RESULTS: New cartilaginous tissue was engineered in both the experimental and control groups. In samples laminated with lyophilized swine perichondrium, the intimate integration of the laminate with the neocartilage closely resembled the histoarchitecture of the native swine ear. Experimental constructs had mechanical properties similar to those of the native swine ear, while control constructs fractured with similar testing. The engineered ear could not be fractured with gross mechanical testing, and its size, shape, and flexibility remained stable. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that it is possible to engineer a cartilage construct that resembles the human ear not only in shape but also in size and flexibility. This study also confirms that lamination is a reliable method to confer elastic-like flexibility to an engineered cartilage construct

COVID and Cancer: A Complete 3D Advanced Radiological CT-Based Analysis to Predict the Outcome

Background: Cancer patients infected with COVID-19 were shown in a multitude of studies to have poor outcomes on the basis of older age and weak immune systems from cancer as well as chemotherapy. In this study, the CT examinations of 22 confirmed COVID-19 cancer patients were analyzed. Methodology: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 28 cancer patients, of which 22 patients were COVID positive. The CT scan changes before and after treatment and the extent of structural damage to the lungs after COVID-19 infection was analyzed. Structural damage to a lung was indicated by a change in density measured in Hounsfield units (HUs) and by lung volume reduction. A 3D radiometric analysis was also performed and lung and lesion histograms were compared. Results: A total of 22 cancer patients were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection. A repeat CT scan were performed in 15 patients after they recovered from infection. Most of the study patients were diagnosed with leukemia. A secondary clinical analysis was performed to show the associations of COVID treatment on the study subjects, lab data, and outcome on mortality. It was found that post COVID there was a decrease of >50% in lung volume and a higher density in the form of HUs due to scar tissue formation post infection. Conclusion: It was concluded that COVID-19 infection may have further detrimental effects on the lungs of cancer patients, thereby, decreasing their lung volume and increasing their lung density due to scar formation