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Archaeological evidence indicates that pig domestication had begun by ∼10,500 y before the present (BP) in the Near East, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) suggests that pigs arrived in Europe alongside farmers ∼8,500 y BP. A few thousand years after the introduction of Near Eastern pigs into Europe, however, their characteristic mtDNA signature disappeared and was replaced by haplotypes associated with European wild boars. This turnover could be accounted for by substantial gene flow from local European wild boars, although it is also possible that European wild boars were domesticated independently without any genetic contribution from the Near East. To test these hypotheses, we obtained mtDNA sequences from 2,099 modern and ancient pig samples and 63 nuclear ancient genomes from Near Eastern and European pigs. Our analyses revealed that European domestic pigs dating from 7,100 to 6,000 y BP possessed both Near Eastern and European nuclear ancestry, while later pigs possessed no more than 4% Near Eastern ancestry, indicating that gene flow from European wild boars resulted in a near-complete disappearance of Near East ancestry. In addition, we demonstrate that a variant at a locus encoding black coat color likely originated in the Near East and persisted in European pigs. Altogether, our results indicate that while pigs were not independently domesticated in Europe, the vast majority of human-mediated selection over the past 5,000 y focused on the genomic fraction derived from the European wild boars, and not on the fraction that was selected by early Neolithic farmers over the first 2,500 y of the domestication process.

Studded disc-shaped cheekpieces were elements of the bridle used to control chariot horses in the Pokrovsk-Abashevo and Sintashta-Petrovka cultures (late 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC) of the Pontic-Caspian steppe and forest-steppe area. A few such items were also found in the Carpathian-Danube region. The present paper presents the results of the investigations focused on three studded disc-shaped cheekpieces from the Bronze Age settlement at Sărata Monteoru (Romania). Computed tomography and digital microscopy were used to identify the raw material, as well as the technological processes and traces of use-wear. These studies indicated that the cheekpieces from Sărata Monteoru were made of elk antler, as were most of the disc-shaped items from the region between the Don and the southern Trans-Urals and made by a similar technique. The use-wear traces on our artefacts indicate by their manner of attachment to the bridle that they were used to control horses harnessed to chariots, the same as the disc-shaped cheekpieces of the Pokrovsk-Abashevo and Sintashta-Petrovka cultures. The results of this investigation suggest that the three cheekpieces from Sărata Monteoru are of Eastern origin, and they arrived in the Carpathian-Danube area very probably along with the horses who wore the bridle.

The emergence of separate cemeteries for disposal of the dead represents a profound shift in mortuary practice in the Late Neolithic of southeast Europe, with a new emphasis on the repeated use of a specific space distinct from, though still often close to, settlements. To help to time this shift more precisely, this paper presents 25 dates from 21 burials in the large cemetery at Cernica, in the Lower Danube valley in southern Romania, which are used to formally model the start, duration of use and end of the cemetery. A further six dates were obtained from four contexts for the nearby settlement. Careful consideration is given to the possibility of environmental and dietary offsets. The preferred model, without freshwater reservoir offsets, suggests that use of the Cernica cemetery probably began in 5355–5220 cal BC (95% probability) and ended in 5190–5080 cal BC (28% probability) or 5070–4940 (67% probability). The implications of this result are discussed, including with reference to other cemeteries of similar age in the region, the nature of social relations being projected through mortuary ritual, and the incorporation of older, Mesolithic, ways of doing things into Late Neolithic mortuary practice.

This article presents the discovery of 25 abraded and perforated ovicaprid astragals in a burned house at the Gumelnita Copper Age settlement at Iepuresti in Southern Romania. They were analysed in terms of their processing, of the taphonomic processes that affected them (burning), and of their spatial distribution. These astragals were also analysed in the wider context of more or less similar discoveries made mainly south and east of the Carpathian Mountains, in Romania, but also south of the Danube, in Bulgaria.

The life time of the metallic materials exposed to marine environment is influenced by their corrosion resistance. The marine environment is considered to be very aggressive to metallic materials used in the marine industry. In order to protect metallic substrates against corrosion process, important efforts have been made to develop corrosion resistance coatings, besides the cathodic protection systems. Thus, during the last years there were developed a series of organic protective coatings that have as principal component one or more polymers. This paper present a comparative investigation regarding the corrosion resistance of: i) uncoated naval steel EN32, ii) coated naval steel EN32 with a two-component polymeric primer and iii) coated naval steel EN32 with two-component polymeric primer followed by epoxy polyurethane paint coating. All the samples have been subjected to corrosion in seawater collected from the Black Sea (Mangalia sea port). In situ electrochemical measurements as: open circuit potential (OCP), polarization resistance (Rp), potentiodynamic polarization (PD) and cyclic voltammetry polarization (CV) were performed to monitor the corrosion process. The results showed an improved corrosion resistance of polymeric coatings in marine environment compared with uncoated naval steel EN32

Vegetable extracts have become important as an environmentally acceptable, readily available and renewable source for wide range of inhibitors. They are the rich sources of ingredients which have very high inhibition efficiency. The aim of the present work is to study the corrosion inhibition characteristics of aqueous extract of USINHIB (the abbreviation attributed to garlic extract, derived from romanian language, which was used as vegetable inhibitor), which have been studied as an eco-friendly green inhibitor for corrosion control of carbon steel in 0.5 M hydrochloric acid. The inhibitive effect of naturally available vegetable extract USINHIB toward the corrosion of carbon steel in 0.5 M HCl solution has been investigated by electrochemical techniques. Open circuit potential, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry in presence and absence of vegetable inhibitor were used to provide detailed information about the corrosion of steel surface which occurs in acidic environment. The three electrode electrolytic cell was used. The obtained results showed the increase in the inhibition efficiency.

The paper discusses the electrochemical interactions of Co-Cr alloy with different physiological solutions and organic substances, containing different ions and different pH values, which should play a key role in the materials lifetime. The physical and chemical reactions are numerous and the passivity of the Co-Cr alloy is submitted to the influence of the liquid environment. Some electrochemical investigations were carried out for understanding and predicting the passivity and the corrosion resistance of Co-Cr alloy in three types of simulated body fluids (SBF), namely Fusayama Meyer artificial saliva (pH=5), Hank’s solution (pH=7.4), Ringer's solution (pH=6.6) and citric acid as organic solution. The reason of using another type of environment (other than SBF), such as citric acid is that this medium is a powerful oxidant and has a lower pH value (pH=1.8). This acid environment can influence the state (the formation and growth) of the oxide layer on the surface of the alloy. Research has shown different behavior of the cobalt chromium alloy according to the pH, the chloride content and the oxidizing nature of the environment. Co-Cr alloy biomaterial, immersed in four aqueous media reveals that there are different levels of stabilization of the potential and different current densities depending on the pH value. The Co-Cr alloy biomaterial is very sensitive to localized corrosion (pitting) in Hank solution.

The aim of this paper is to present an interesting archaeological assemblage discovered during archaeological research at the settlement of Șoimuș-La Avicola (Ferma 2) (Romania). So far, this is the only example of a Turdaș culture osseous assemblage published. It is numerically representative, with 901 pieces, of which 796 are bone, 94 antler, 8 tooth and 3 valve. Among the bone pieces, a high standardisation in the selection of blanks is noticeable, with Bos taurus ribs being prevalent. At the same time, the techniques and procedures vary only a little within the groups, which allows for the identification of typological series. The recovery of all the products and sub-products resulting from the operational sequences of raw material transformation and the analysis of the wear and technological traces led us to try to reconstruct a behavioural model of the ways raw material was acquired, processing techniques and activities developed with them, or in other words to outline the economic and cultural features of the Șoimuș-La Avicola (Ferma 2) community.

Domestication of horses fundamentally transformed long-range mobility and warfare 1 . However, modern domesticated breeds do not descend from the earliest domestic horse lineage associated with archaeological evidence of bridling, milking and corralling 2 – 4 at Botai, Central Asia around 3500 bc 3 . Other longstanding candidate regions for horse domestication, such as Iberia 5 and Anatolia 6 , have also recently been challenged. Thus, the genetic, geographic and temporal origins of modern domestic horses have remained unknown. Here we pinpoint the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region, as the homeland of modern domestic horses. Furthermore, we map the population changes accompanying domestication from 273 ancient horse genomes. This reveals that modern domestic horses ultimately replaced almost all other local populations as they expanded rapidly across Eurasia from about 2000 bc , synchronously with equestrian material culture, including Sintashta spoke-wheeled chariots. We find that equestrianism involved strong selection for critical locomotor and behavioural adaptations at the GSDMC and ZFPM1 genes. Our results reject the commonly held association 7 between horseback riding and the massive expansion of Yamnaya steppe pastoralists into Europe around 3000 bc 8 , 9 driving the spread of Indo-European languages 10 . This contrasts with the scenario in Asia where Indo-Iranian languages, chariots and horses spread together, following the early second millennium bc Sintashta culture 11 , 12 . Analysis of 273 ancient horse genomes reveals that modern domestic horses originated in the Western Eurasian steppes, especially the lower Volga-Don region.

Hybrid metal-ceramic or metal-polymer nanocomposite layers containing dispersed second-phase particulates usually have various special properties such self-lubricity, good wear and corrosion resistance, or tribocorrosion resistance. This accounts for the increased application of metal-based hybrid nanocomposite in industry applications and open also a way to biocompatible layers. In order to meet the requirement for developing novel metal-based hybrid nanocomposite, many preparation techniques have been investigated. As a technique conducted at a normal pressure and temperature, with low costs and high deposition rate, electrodeposition is considered to be one of the most important techniques for producing hybrid nanocomposite layers with micro or nano structured surfaces. The paper presents some results regarding the electro-codeposition of nano-ceramic dispersed phases as CeO2, TiO2, WC or polymeric dispersed phases as ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) during cobalt or nickel electroplating process in view of obtaining bio composite layers or resistant industrial coating applications. Electro-codeposition of many dispersed phases with metals is still challenging processes for parameters optimization as well as for expected properties of hybrid layers obtained. The micro and nano particles incorporation into the metal matrix by electro-codeposition usually causes a noticeable grain refinement and thus an increase to the corrosion and tribocorrosion resistance of hybrid composite layers obtained in aqueous or specific environments.