Search results for "fire"

Neanderthal firewood management: Evidence from Stratigraphic Unit IV of Abric del Pastor (Eastern Iberia)

2015

This paper presents anthracological data from Abric del Pastor (Alcoi, Spain), a Middle Paleolithic rock shelter site. Analysis of 1077 wood charcoal remains from Stratigraphic Unit IV (S.U. IV), collected within archaeological combustion structures and from loose sediment outside of structures, allowed us to characterise the local landscape, as well as to approach the interaction between Neanderthal groups and their local environment. Taxonomic identification suggests that firewood was gathered from nearby sources, with predominance of juniper (Juniperus sp.) followed by thermophilous shrubby taxa. Additional analysis focussing on post-depositional processes affecting charcoal have shown f…

1200 years of decadal-scale variability of Mediterranean vegetation and climate at Pantelleria Island, Italy.

2013

A new sedimentary sequence from Lago di Venere on Pantelleria Island, located in the Strait of Sicily between Tunisia and Sicily was recovered. The lake is located in the coastal infra-Mediterranean vegetation belt at 2 m a.s.l. Pollen, charcoal and sedimentological analyses are used to explore linkages among vegetation, fire and climate at a decadal scale over the past 1200 years. A dry period from ad 800 to 1000 that corresponds to the 'Medieval Warm Period' (WMP) is inferred from sedimentological analysis. The high content of carbonate recorded in this period suggests a dry phase, when the ratio of evaporation/precipitation was high. During this period the island was dominated by thermop…

Discovery of 5-benzyl-3-phenyl-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles and 5-benzyl-3-phenyl-1,4,2-dioxazoles as potent firefly luciferase inhibitors.

2013

Luciferase reporter assays are commonly used in high-throughput screening methods. Here, we report new firefly luciferase (FLuc) inhibitors based on 5-benzyl-3-phenyl-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles and 5-benzyl-3-phenyl-1,4,2-dioxazoles, which showed up as "false positives" in a luciferase reporter gene-based assay for nuclear receptor antagonists. The inhibition was shown to be noncompetitive for both natural enzyme substrates (d-luciferin and ATP) and selective to FLuc and proven to arise from a direct interaction between the enzyme and the inhibitor. Of the 63 evaluated compounds, 28 showed significantly better inhibition potency than the well-known inhibitor resveratrol (IC(50) = 59 nM), with fi…

Mucoadhesive Polymeric Films to Enhance Barbaloin Penetration Into Buccal Mucosa: a Novel Approach to Chemoprevention.

2018

Nowadays, chemoprevention by administering natural supplements is considered an attractive strategy to reverse, suppress, or prevent the evolution of premalignant oral lesions. In particular, Barbaloin exhibits anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties, and it results useful in multi-therapy with classic chemotherapeutics. Therefore, in this work, mucoadhesive buccal films, as locoregional drug delivery system able to provide a targeted and efficient therapeutic delivery of Barbaloin, are proposed. Thus, Aloin extract-loaded Eudragit (R) RL100 or Eudragit (R) RS100-based buccal films were designed in order to obtain an easily self-administrable formulation capable of…

CHARACTERIZATION OF SHIP AND WILDFIRE EMISSION TRANSPORT EVENTS IN SOUTHERN SICILY, BASED ON BLACK CARBON OBSERVATIONS ANALYSIS DURING 2015 – 2016 AT…

Analysis of the Characteristics in the Meudon Constrained Evolution Scheme

2007

A first analysis of the characteristics associated with the evolving modes in the constraint evolution scheme proposed by the Meudon group in 2004 is presented. The system is written in a first-order hyperbolic form and a so-called generalized Dirac gauge is considered. Applications to inner boundary conditions in an excised approach to black hole evolutions are discussed.

Comparison between Willingness-to-Pay expressed by a panel of forestry experts and by a sample of non-expert respondents in a pilot survey conducted …

2005

This work deals with an empirical analysis aiming to check the possibility to substitute a panel of forestry experts for a sample of non-expert respondents in a pilot survey for a CVM study. This methodology in the case study has focussed on the estimate of the economic value associated with the reduction in wood fire risk in a protected area of southern Sicily. The experiment consisted in carrying out two surveys by means of the same questionnaire with an open-ended elicitation question for WTP’s. The first survey was addressed to a sample of 227 “non-expert” respondents, whereas in the second one 15 forest technicians working in Sicily were interviewed in their quality of experts in fores…

Multi-Frequency Estimation of Canopy Penetration Depths from SMAP/AMSR2 Radiometer and IceSAT Lidar Data

2018

In this study, the $\tau-\omega$ model framework is used to derive extinction coefficient and canopy penetration depths from multi-frequency SMAP and AMSR2 retrievals of vegetation optical depth together with ICESat LiDAR vegetation heights. The vegetation extinction coefficient serves as an indicator of how strong absorption and scattering processes within the canopy attenuate microwaves at $\mathrm{L}$ and C-band. Through inversion of the extinction coefficient, the penetration depth into the canopy can be obtained, which is analyzed on local (Sahel, Illinois) and continental scale (Africa, parts of North America) as well as for a one year time series (04/2015-04/2016). First analyses of …

Estimation of vegetation loss coefficients and canopy penetration depths from SMAP radiometer and IceSAT lidar data

2017

In this study the framework of the τ — ω model is used to derive vegetation loss coefficients and canopy penetration depths from SMAP multi-temporal retrievals of vegetation optical depth, single scattering albedo and ICESat lidar vegetation heights. The vegetation loss coefficients serve as a global indicator of how strong absorption and scattering processes attenuate L-band microwave radiation. By inverting the vegetation loss coefficients, penetration depths into the canopy can be obtained, which are displayed for the global forest reservoirs. A simple penetration index is formed combining vegetation heights and penetration depth estimates. The distribution and level of this index reveal…

Preventing early age chloride migration into low-carbon concrete

2019

The use of substituting cementitious materials (SCMs) to produce low-carbon concrete is escalating. This contributes to reducing the anthropogenic emission of CO2, and to reduce harmful temperature gradients during cement hydration in massive structures. Mature low-carbon concretes are known to perform well on both strength and durability. However, the maturity process is slow compared to that of standard concrete. Structures made from low-carbon concrete are subject to penetration of agents like chloride at early age, accelerating degrading processes. Chloride penetration is a major problem especially to infrastructure, due to seawater proximity and the use of de-icing agents. Solutions fo…