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This paper presents a rare example of the conservation of a piece of marine oval-shaped tableware, commonly known as a ‘cloche’, made of nickel silver with silver electroplating that was recovered in 2006 from the 19th-century Patris paddle-wheel shipwreck in Greece. Our study found that the cloche is made of two components of differing compositions of nickel-silver alloy, also known as German silver: a forged body and a cast handle, joined by lead soldering. The body also has an impressed decorative stamp bearing the ‘Greek Steamship’ signature in Greek. The condition assessment found the object was covered in thick concretion formations and suffered galvanic corrosion, along with dealloying, resulting in redeposition of copper. The conservation treatment carried out in 2007 is detailed along with diagnostic examination using microscopic analysis, radiographic imaging, and chemical analysis of the corrosion and metal, using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The conservation of the object involved mechanical and chemical methods (formic acid 5–10% v/v, stabilisation treatment with sodium sesquicarbonate 1% w/v), including spot electrolysis, and the object was coated with 15% w/v Paraloid B72 in acetone. Since its conservation, the object has been on display in the Industrial Museum of Hermoupolis in Syros. In 2025, the object was inspected for its coated surface as well as to carry out pXRF again with a more advanced system to better understand the alloy composition of the object. These results are presented here for this unique object.

Nowadays many parts of the Czechoslovak border fortification built in 1935 – 1938 have been sold to the private owners who want to reconstruct it. One of the biggest problems while reconstructing these objects is missing cloches. The aim of this study is to find solution of this problem. Authors wanted to offer the owners (usually clubs of military history) authentic design of the cloche for low cost, high durability and full functionality of the cloche that enables installation of original weapons.A result of the work was a development of a technical solution of the cloche consisting of a replica of the upper part made of reinforced concrete in combination with lower part made of concrete. This unique technical solution was confirmed as an utility model CZ32920(U1). Remediation measure was approved by the team at the pillbox T-S 20 in Červený Kostelec in 2019.

The Upper Ordovician (Sandbian-Katian) bathyurid trilobite Raymondites Sinclair is revised using new collections from Missouri and Ontario, and archival material from Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, and Ontario. Phylogenetic analysis supports monophyly of Raymondites, but recognition of this genus renders Bathyurus Billings paraphyletic. We treat Raymondites as a subgenus of Bathyurus and label the paraphylum of species traditionally assigned to the latter as Bathyurus sensu lato. Bathyurus (Raymondites) is composed of five previously named species, B. (R.) spiniger (Hall), B. (R.) longispinus (Walcott), B. (R.) ingalli (Raymond), B. (R.) bandifer Sinclair, and B. (R.) trispinosus (Wilson), and two new species, B. (R.) clochensis, and B. (R.) missouriensis; an eighth species is placed in open nomenclature. All species share tuberculate sculpture on the glabella, a relatively short palpebral lobe whose length is less than half of preoccipital glabellar length, and a pygidial outline that is well rounded posteriorly. Aside from the most basal species, B. (R.) longispinus, they also possess occipital spines and, where the pygidium is known, axial pygidial spines.

Previous studies have identified two zebrafish mutants, cloche and groom of cloche , which lack the majority of the endothelial lineage at early developmental stages. However, at later stages, these avascular mutant embryos generate rudimentary vessels, indicating that they retain the ability to generate endothelial cells despite this initial lack of endothelial progenitors. To further investigate molecular mechanisms that allow the emergence of the endothelial lineage in these avascular mutant embryos, we analyzed the gene expression profile using microarray analysis on isolated endothelial cells. We find that the expression of the genes characteristic of the mesodermal lineages are substantially elevated in the kdrl + cells isolated from avascular mutant embryos. Subsequent validation and analyses of the microarray data identifies Sox11b , a zebrafish ortholog of SRY-related HMG box 11 (SOX11), which have not previously implicated in vascular development. We further define the function sox11b during vascular development, and find that Sox11b function is essential for developmental angiogenesis in zebrafish embryos, specifically regulating sprouting angiogenesis. Taken together, our analyses illustrate a complex regulation of endothelial specification and differentiation during vertebrate development.

Cette étude propose de montrer la relative polyvalence des cloches romaines antiques (tintinnabulum) à partir d’un corpus régional circonscrit ayant fait l’objet de plusieurs enquêtes muséales. Après une présentation du catalogue et en convoquant les données littéraires et iconographiques liées à cet artefact archéologique, nous interrogeons et présenterons les différentes fonctions et usages de ces instruments dans les sociétés anciennes, en particulier dans la société romaine.

Cast in Peking around 1420 and covered with rich religious inscriptions in Chinese and lantsa, the great Buddhist bell of the Yongle reign was first placed in the Wanshou temple from 1607 to 1743 and then in the Juesheng temple, where one can still see it today. At each moment when it was moved, the Peking literati redefined the symbolism of its ringing and redrew the boundaries of its acoustic space. Thus, the bell became the soundmark of each temple that sheltered it. Towards the end of the Ming, it was believed that this gigantic instrument nearly 7 metres high was able to recite all the sutras and dhāraṇī inscribed on it and produced sounds that spread not only across the capital but also in the netherworld. After the change of dynasty, the Ming literati's explanation was no longer accepted by the Qing authors for historical and political reasons. Emperor Qianlong reinterpreted the power of this large bell by claiming that it helped with the attainment of nirvāṇa. He placed it in an imperial Buddhist site and recreated a sound space, by marking several sites in Peking where one could hear its ringing. This article is an attempt to retrace the history of the soundscape formed by this huge Buddhist bell and it proposes a historical analysis of the acoustic environment in a Chinese temple. Fondue à Pékin autour de 1420 et couverte de riches inscriptions religieuses en chinois et en lantsa, la grande cloche bouddhique de l'ère Yongle fut d'abord, de 1607 à 1743, placée dans le temple Wanshou. Elle fut ensuite installée dans le temple Juesheng, où elle se trouve encore aujourd'hui. À chacun de ses déplacements, les lettrés de Pékin redéfinirent le symbolisme de son carillon et redessinèrent la carte de son rayonnement acoustique. Elle était comme le « marqueur sonore » du temple qui l'abritait. Vers la fin des Ming, la voix de cet instrument de près de sept mètres de haut passait pour une manière de récitation des sūtra et des dhāraṇī inscrits sur sa surface. Elle convertissait les masses et ses sons, qui couvraient l'ensemble de la capitale, franchissaient même la frontière entre le monde des vivants et celui des morts. Après le changement de dynastie, les lettrés des Qing rejetèrent cette interprétation pour des raisons historiques et politiques. L'empereur Qianlong réinterpréta le chant de la grande cloche, lui prêtant le pouvoir d'aider les hommes à réaliser le nirvāṇa. Il installa la cloche dans un nouveau site bouddhique et traça le périmètre de son espace sonore en identifiant les lieux d'où l'on pouvait l'entendre. Cet article tente de retracer l'histoire du paysage sonore constitué par cette cloche exceptionnelle et propose une analyse historique de l'environnement acoustique d'un temple chinois.

Passive cloches were deployed at three altitudinally distinct sites on Signy Island, maritime Antarctica, to investigate the effect of ameliorated thermal environment upon fellfield microarthropod communities. Temperature was monitored at 1.5 m height, at ground surface level, and at 5 cm depth in cloche and control plots. During summer (December - March), cloches elevated monthly mean temperatures by up to 2.46°C at the soil surface and 2.20°C at 5 cm depth. Integrated air temperatures over consecutive 10 d periods were up to 4.65°C warmer in cloches than controls. During winter (April - November), snow cover of the fellfield sites buffered temperature variation and reduced the treatment effect. After eight years of these manipulations, sampling of the upper 50 mm of soil revealed consistently greater microarthropod populations within cloches than in controls (treatment effect: p < 0.05). Maximum difference occurred at high altitude where thermal amelioration was greatest (site effect: p < 0.05). Cloche populations of the numerically dominant collembolan Cryptopygus antarcticus Willem contained an increased proportion of small (length < 750 μm) individuals. No species new to Signy Island were recorded. Relating these microarthropod populations to the ameliorated thermal environment suggests that Antarctic invertebrate communities may respond to global warming, as predicted by global circulation models, with an increase in abundance with little increase in diversity. However, this response could be indirect, the intermediate controlling factor being the percentage cover of the soil surface by vegetation, itself a function of climate change.

The zebrafish has become a valuable model for examining ocular lens development, physiology and disease. The zebrafish cloche mutant, first described for its loss of hematopoiesis, also shows reduced eye and lens size, interruption in lens cell differentiation and a cataract likely caused by abnormal protein aggregation. To facilitate the use of the cloche mutant for studies on cataract development and prevention we characterized variation in the lens phenotype, quantified changes in gene expression by qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq and compared the ability of two promoters to drive expression of introduced proteins into the cloche lens. We found that the severity of cloche embryo lens cataract varied, while the decrease in lens diameter and retention of nuclei in differentiating lens fiber cells was constant. We found very low expression of both αB-crystallin genes (cryaba and cryabb) at 4 days post fertilization (dpf) by both qRT-PCR and RNA-Seq in cloche, cloche sibling and wildtype embryos and no significant difference in αA-crystallin (cryaa) expression. RNA-Seq analysis of 4 dpf embryos identified transcripts from 25,281 genes, with 1,329 showing statistically significantly different expression between cloche and wildtype samples. Downregulation of eight lens β- and γM-crystallin genes and 22 retinal related genes may reflect a general reduction in eye development and growth. Six stress response genes were upregulated. We did not find misregulation of any known components of lens development gene regulatory networks. These results suggest that the cloche lens cataract is not caused by loss of αA-crystallin or changes to lens gene regulatory networks. Instead, we propose that the cataract results from general physiological stress related to loss of hematopoiesis. Our finding that the zebrafish αA-crystallin promoter drove strong GFP expression in the cloche lens demonstrates its use as a tool for examining the effects of introduced proteins on lens crystallin aggregation and cataract prevention.

A simple, efficient protocol for in vitro micropropagation of guayule is reported. Shoot cultures were maintained on MS (Murashige and Skoog, 1962) medium supplemented with$1.0 mg l^{-1}$($4.4 \\mu M$) 6-benzylaminopurine and$0.025 mg l^{-1}$($0.13 \\mu M$)$\\alpha-naphthaleneacetic$acid. Excised shoots were treated for 14-18 h with$100 mg l^{-1}$($492.1 \\mu M$) indole-3-butyric acid in 0.5 x MS salts to induce rooting. The shoots were subsequently inserted into cellulose plugs which were packed in sterile, ventilated plastic culture vessels and moistened with 0.5 x MS medium without growth regulators. Use of cellulose plugs, liquid medium and ventilated culture vessels facilitated acclimation. Rooted shoots were transplanted into potting medium and acclimated to greenhouse conditions by covering with a cloche for 2 d, followed by daily watering for the first week.