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Tomb 26 on Sai Island : a new kingdom elite tomb and its relevance for Sai and beyond
New Kingdom burial customs in Nubia (northern Sudan) are well traceable by means of large cemeteries, in particular Egyptian style rock-cut shaft tombs with pyramidal superstructures. These tombs and their contents have lately been discussed as important data sets offering insights into the diverse population, material culture, funerary and social practices in New Kingdom Nubia.A new rock-cut shaft tomb, potentially with pyramidal superstructure (Tomb 26), was discovered by the AcrossBorders project on Sai Island in 2015. This tomb yielded intact interments of officials connected with the Egyptian administration of colonial Nubia, buried together with family members and rich burial assemblages. Tomb 26 allows a close comparison with contemporaneous evidence from the nearby New Kingdom town of Sai, therefore providing a more complete picture of life and death in New Kingdom colonial Nubia. This book is the final publication of Tomb 26, its architecture and material culture, including chapters on geology, human remains, scientific analyses and a compilation of the material discovered. New information provided by AcrossBorders excavations of Tomb 26 contribute to recently discussed questions regarding cultural encounters and social practices in New Kingdom Nubia. Comparable material from other tombs on Sai and elsewhere in Nubia is discussed in order to stress the relevance of the new discovery.The archaeological contextualisation of Tomb 26, in combination with scientific analyses like strontium isotope analysis, offers fresh information on the complex coexistence of various cultural groups on Sai with slightly different approaches to their cultural and social affinities during the New Kingdom. Overall, Tomb 26 and its associated finds are of prime significance for understanding lived experience on New Kingdom Sai and more broadly in New Kingdom
Nubia.
eBook
“`Because I am a woman. Being a woman, you have to do most!”: A Qualitative Study of Hmong Women’s Nutrition Experiences and Health Outcomes In Rural Northern Thailand.
Many factors shape nutrition practices for Hmong Thai Women. The aim of this study was to explore the cultural, social, and economic factors that shape the experiences and health outcomes related to nutrition among Hmong Thai women in rural northern Thailand. Data were collected through focus group discussions (FGDs), key informants, and individual interviews and analyzed using grounded theory. The socio-ecological approach identified factors contributing to the causes of women’s health and experiences relating to nutrition and the life course approach. We recruited women from three different age groups of Hmong Thai women to participate in the FGDs. Four main themes were identified: (1) Hmong Cultural Expectations, (2) Family Nutrition Practices, (3) Health and Dietary Practices, and (4) Barriers and Challenges to Nutrition. Findings highlighted the complexity of nutrition practices and experiences among Hmong Thai women. Findings will inform SEASA program development and help guide interventions.
Journal Article
Response of streamflow and sediment variability to cascade dam development and climate change in the Sai Gon Dong Nai River basin
Future changes in streamflow and sediment, influenced by anthropogenic activities and climate change, have a crucial role in watershed management. This study aimed to quantify the effects of anthropogenic and natural drivers on future streamflow and sediment changes in the tropical Sai Gon Dong Nai River basin using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. Specifically, the model incorporated thirty-six reservoirs and analyzed twenty future climate projected scenarios from four Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) General Circulation Models (GCMs) for 2023–2100. These models include BCC-CSM2-MR (China), CanESM5 (Canada), MIROC6 (Japan), and MRI-ESM2-0 (Japan). Our findings indicate that (1) dam operation and diversion lead to a 0.5% decrease in streamflow during the dry season and a 4.1% increase during the rainy season compared to those in scenarios without dams; (2) there is a 37.4% decrease in annual sediment across the entire basin under same climate conditions; and (3) rainfall is projected to decrease (24.6% – 6.2%), resulting in a decrease in streamflow (0.2 – 32.2%) and sediment (39.3 – 56.0%) compared to historical records. Streamflow is expected to decrease during the rainy season (16.7 – 23.1%) and increase during the dry season (14.5 – 25.4%). Further potential degradation of the environmental conditions and water mismanagement are caused by the synergies between too much and too little rainfall conditions. The anticipated reductions in future streamflow and sediment could adversely affect ecological streamflow, water security, and sediment dynamics in the Sai Gon Dong Nai River basin. Our approach effectively identifies future changes in streamflow and sediment due to the combined effects of climate change and reservoir operations, providing valuable insights for integrated water resource management in tropical regions.
Journal Article
Remote Sensing Indices for Spatial Monitoring of Agricultural Drought in South Asian Countries
Drought is an intricate atmospheric phenomenon with the greatest impacts on food security and agriculture in South Asia. Timely and appropriate forecasting of drought is vital in reducing its negative impacts. This study intended to explore the performance of the evaporative stress index (ESI), vegetation health index (VHI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and standardized anomaly index (SAI) based on satellite remote sensing data from 2002–2019 for agricultural drought assessment in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The spatial maps were generated against each index, which indicated a severe agricultural drought during the year 2002, compared to the other years. The results showed that the southeast region of Pakistan, and the north, northwest, and southwest regions of India and Afghanistan were significantly affected by drought. However, Bangladesh faced substantial drought in the northeast and northwest regions during the drought year (2002). The longest drought period of seven months was observed in India followed by Pakistan and Afghanistan with six months, while, only three months were perceived in Bangladesh. The correlation between drought indices and climate variables such as soil moisture has remained a significant drought-initiating variable. Furthermore, this study confirmed that the evaporative stress index (ESI) is a good agricultural drought indicator, being quick and with greater sensitivity, and thus advantageous compared to the VHI, EVI, and SAI vegetation indices.
Journal Article
Using Explainable Artificial Intelligence to Quantify “Climate Distinguishability” After Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
Stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) has been proposed as a possible response option to limit global warming and its societal consequences. However, the climate impacts of such intervention are unclear. Here, an explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) framework is introduced to quantify how distinguishable an SAI climate might be from a pre‐deployment climate. A suite of neural networks is trained on Earth system model data to learn to distinguish between pre‐ and post‐deployment periods across a variety of climate variables. The network accuracy is analogous to the “climate distinguishability” between the periods, and the corresponding distinctive patterns are identified using XAI methods. For many variables, the two periods are less distinguishable under SAI than under a no‐SAI scenario, suggesting that the specific intervention modeled decelerates future climatic changes and leads to a less novel climate than the no‐SAI scenario. Other climate variables for which the intervention has negligible effect are also highlighted. Plain Language Summary We use Earth system model predictions for two scenarios of the future: one policy‐relevant climate change scenario where global temperatures continue rising in the coming decades, and that same scenario but with humans intervening in the climate system to limit warming to 1.5°C. We then train a machine to learn to classify annual maps of climate variables based on whether they originate from the period before or after the intervention. The more successful the machine is at this task, the more distinguishable the pre‐ and post‐intervention periods are with respect to the variable analyzed. Our results show that for many climate variables, the two periods are less distinguishable under the climate intervention scenario than the no‐intervention scenario. In those cases, the intervention ends up decelerating future climate change. However, we also show that there are important climate variables for which the intervention has a negligible effect. Key Points An explainable artificial intelligence framework is introduced to quantify the “climate distinguishability” after a climate intervention The distinctive patterns between the pre‐ and post‐intervention climates are not predefined but are learned directly from the data For the climate simulations analyzed, stratospheric aerosol injection is shown to reduce distinguishability for some climate variables
Journal Article
Sulfur Exposure for Airplane Passengers From Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
Injection of sulfur dioxide to create a stratospheric sulfate aerosol cloud is the most studied method of climate intervention. It has been suggested that airplanes be used at high latitudes to create such a cloud at lower altitudes. Commercial airplanes routinely fly at altitudes of 11 km in the Arctic, and therefore passengers could be exposed to sulfur from the clouds. We show here, based on calculations from three Earth system models, UKESM1, CESM2‐WACCM6, and E3SMv3, simulating 6 Tg SO2 injections in each hemisphere per year that the resulting sulfuric acid concentration would be about 5–45 μg H2SO4/m3 inside the cabin on the average, but could be much higher on some flights. As the air quality exposure guideline is 50 μg H2SO4/m3 for an 8‐hr exposure, the potential hazard requires further research. The hazard would depend on the injection scenario, with more massive injections producing more hazardous conditions.
Journal Article
Tropical cyclone size asymmetry index and climatology
Size of tropical cyclone (TC) is often asymmetric in nature. Yet, there is a lack of systematic, clean, and intuitive definition/expression to specify the asymmetry of TC size. Here, we introduce a novel index, TC size asymmetry index (SAI), which specifies both the degree and pattern of the asymmetry synthetically. In particular, the symbolic form of SAI is vividly designated for identifying the latter. The SAI proposes 1 quasi-symmetric pattern and 28 asymmetric patterns in total. The 41-year (1979–2019) global climatology of SAI shows that the distribution of the degree of TC size asymmetry is trimodal. Elementarily, the degree and pattern of asymmetry are found to be TC intensity, TC movement, time, and space dependent. The introduction of SAI provides an insight into the subject and lays an important foundation for future applications and research. Furthermore, besides meteorology, it could inspire other fields to index the geometric asymmetries of other kinds.
Journal Article
Switchable targeting of solid tumors by BsCAR T cells
The development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has become a critical milestone in modern oncotherapy. Despite the remarkable in vitro effectiveness, the problem of safety and efficacy of CAR T cell therapy against solid tumors is challenged by the lack of tumor-specific antigens required to avoid on-target off-tumor effects. Spatially separating the cytotoxic function of CAR T cells from tumor antigen recognition provided by protein mediators allows for the precise control of CAR T cell cytotoxicity. Here, the high affinity and capability of the bacterial toxin-antitoxin barnase-barstar system were adopted to guide CAR T cells to solid tumors. The complementary modules based on (1) ankyrin repeat (DARPin)-barnase proteins and (2) barstar-based CAR (BsCAR) were designed to provide switchable targeting to tumor cells. The alteration of the DARPin-barnase switches enabled the targeting of different tumor antigens with a single BsCAR. A gradual increase in cytokine release and tunable BsCAR T cell cytotoxicity was achieved by varying DARPin-barnase loads. Switchable BsCAR T cell therapy was able to eradicate the HER2⁺ ductal carcinoma in vivo. Guiding BsCAR T cells by DARPin-barnase switches provides a universal approach for a controlled multitargeted adoptive immunotherapy.
Journal Article
The Role of Pozzolanic Activity of Siliceous Fly Ash in the Formation of the Structure of Sustainable Cementitious Composites
The following article introduces, in a thorough manner, how the chemical pozzolanic reaction takes place in cement composites containing the fly ash (FA) additive. In the research part, however, the development of phases in the structure of the cement paste in the initial period of its curing and after 28 days from its preparation was traced. For this purpose, a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) was used. In order to accurately highlight all the characteristic stages of the formation of the structure of the composite containing FA, an analysis of the cement matrix was carried out between 0.5 and 28 days of their curing. Microstructural studies were complemented by tests of pozzolanic activity of FAs used. In order to conduct a full analysis of this feature, experiments were carried out using two types of research methods, i.e., chemical and physical. On the basis on the conducted studies it was found that: in cement composites with the addition of FA, in the period until the third day of curing, the development of the material structure is mainly the result of the hydration reaction, and between the seventh and fourteenth day after sample preparation, the first signs of the pozzolanic reaction on FA grains are visible; however, in the period between 14 and 28 days, there is a clear homogenization of the structure of the cement composite with the addition of FA, resulting from the change of disordered phases into compact and homogeneous forms and filling in the composite of porous places with pozzolanic reaction products. The use of cement composites based on materials whose application makes it possible to reduce GHG emissions to the atmosphere, reduce energy consumption, and reduce industrial waste landfills leads towards the development of ecological and sustainable building engineering.
Journal Article