Article
Humanities, Multidisciplinary
Patrick Schmidt, Matthias A. Blessing, Tabea J. Koch, Klaus G. Nickel
Summary: The study found that birch tar made with different techniques exhibited varying adhesive performance, suggesting that the simple and low-investment open-air condensation method might have been the preferred production method in the Palaeolithic era.
Article
Anthropology
Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Matthias A. Blessing, F. Alexandros Karakostis, Katerina Harvati, Veit Dresely, Armelle Charrie-Duhaut
Summary: Birch tar, the oldest synthetic substance made by early humans, was associated with Neanderthals. Recent research suggests that birch tar can be produced with simple processes or result from accidents, but it has not answered how Neanderthals actually made it or evaluated the implications of their behavior. Through comparative chemical analysis of birch tar samples, researchers found that Neanderthals used a more complex method to distill tar in an intentionally created underground environment. This suggests that Neanderthals invented or developed this process based on previous simpler methods, indicating cumulative cultural evolution in the European Middle Paleolithic.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Archaeology
Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Christoph Berthold, Frieder Lauxmann, Klaus G. Nickel
Summary: Birch tar, the first adhesive produced by humans, has implications for human evolution and craftsmanship development. Our study reveals the evolution of tar's mechanical properties during cooking, providing insights for adhesive production.
Article
Archaeology
Matthias A. Blessing, Patrick Schmidt
Summary: Birch tar, an ancient adhesive used in the European Middle Palaeolithic, has been studied for its production methods and efficiency. Research found that while there are differences in efficiency between different production methods, all methods are capable of producing usable amounts of tar. Efficiency alone cannot determine the likelihood of specific techniques being used in the Palaeolithic period.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE-REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Experimental
Yoshiko Lily Ishioka, Yukie Masui, Takeshi Nakagawa, Madoka Ogawa, Hiroki Inagaki, Saori Yasumoto, Kazunori Ikebe, Kei Kamide, Yasumichi Arai, Tatsuro Ishizaki, Yasuyuki Gondo
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of cognitively stimulating environments throughout life on late-life cognition. The researchers assessed early-life education, work complexity, and engagement in late-life leisure activities. The results showed that work complexity in the data domain and late-life leisure activities directly influenced late-life cognitive performance. The effects of education and work complexity on late-life cognition were mediated through subsequent environments. However, the effects of work complexity in the people and things domains were insignificant. The findings suggest that engaging in cognitively stimulating activities in adulthood and beyond may have long-term effects on cognitive function in late life.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Hongmei Wu, Dongyu Min, Buxun Sun, Yifan Ma, Hongpeng Chen, Jing Wu, Ping Ren, Jiabi Wu, Yonggang Cao, Baoshan Zhao, Peng Wang
Summary: The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term effects of prenatal and early-life exposure to WIFI signals on neurodevelopment, behaviors, and biochemical changes in Wistar rats. The results showed that prenatal WIFI exposure had no effects on hippocampal CA1 neurons, oxidative equilibrium in the brain, and neurodevelopment of rats. However, it did affect body weight, spatial memory and learning function, and behavioral hyperactivity in male rats.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Guosheng Yi, Liufang Wang, Chunguang Chu, Chen Liu, Xiaodong Zhu, Xiao Shen, Zhen Li, Fei Wang, Manyi Yang, Jiang Wang
Summary: The study analyzed the abnormal brain activity of early Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (ePD-MCI) patients by examining the dynamic fluctuation of EEG signals and information communication between EEG signals. Significant differences were found in EEG signal complexity between ePD-MCI and ePD-nMCI patients, with ePD-MCI patients showing higher complexity. The study also observed lower temporal correlation coefficients and functional connectivity strength in ePD-MCI patients compared to ePD-nMCI patients, indicating potential biomarkers for early intervention and treatment of ePD-MCI.
COGNITIVE NEURODYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
C. Clouard, R. Resmond, A. Prunier, C. Tallet, E. Merlot
Summary: This study investigated the social behaviors and early social styles of suckling piglets. Three social styles, including inactive, active, and avoiders, were identified. The allocation to specific social styles was influenced by sex and remained stable over time for the inactive and active styles. Haptoglobin and growth rate were found to be higher in active pigs compared to inactive pigs. These findings suggest the existence of transient social styles in piglets, which may be related to sexual dimorphism or health status.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Ann Dhondt, Ines Van Keer, Annette van der Putten, Bea Maes
Summary: This study examines the longitudinal changes in communicative behavior of young children with significant cognitive and motor developmental delays, and determines their individual communicative trajectories. The results show that ten out of sixteen different variables related to communicative behavior changed significantly over a two-year period. Children with more focus on prompt on the first datapoint showed a significantly larger increase of signs of functionality.
JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Dawn Michele Moore, Andrew R. A. Conway
Summary: This study used baseline data from the ABCD Study to examine the relationship between cognitive abilities and problem behaviors in children aged 9 to 10 years. The findings revealed a small correlation between cognitive abilities and problem behaviors.
JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENCE
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Rebecca Davis, Megan Owens
Summary: The study compared driving awareness and behaviors between individuals with AD/MCI and a control group of similar age, showing significant differences in self-confidence, concerns about getting lost, and driving behaviors. This indicates that individuals with early stage AD may have self-awareness of their driving ability and self-regulate their driving to enhance safety.
JOURNAL OF GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Melissa R. Dvorsky, Stephen P. Becker, Leanne Tamm, Michael T. Willoughby
Summary: This study used parent and teacher ratings to investigate SCT and IN behaviors from early childhood through Grade 5, finding that SCT and IN are distinguishable but correlated constructs showing longitudinal invariance for both informants. SCT levels modestly increased with age, especially between 5 years old and first grade, while IN was more stable. Lower parental education was associated with higher levels of parent- and teacher-reported SCT, male sex with higher teacher-reported IN, and African American race with higher teacher-reported IN but lower teacher-reported SCT.
Article
History
Stefano Pello
Summary: This article discusses the notion of tahqiq in the poetic work "The Sinai of Knowledge" by Mirza Abd al-Qadir Bidil, an important Indo-Persian poet-philosopher of the late seventeenth century. It analyzes how the concept of verification/realization is central to Bidil's method of observing natural phenomena through imagination, and explores the connection between Bidil's poetic conceptualization of nature and Italian naturalistic thought during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance periods.
JOURNAL OF EARLY MODERN HISTORY
(2023)
Proceedings Paper
Computer Science, Information Systems
Victor Hugo Santiago C. Pinto, Alberto Luiz Oliveira Tavares De Souza
Summary: The main goal of software design is to slice the code to fit the human mind. Cognitive-Driven Development (CDD) aims to support developers in defining cognitive complexity constraints for the source code. The experimental study suggests that CDD can guide developers to achieve better software quality with more concentrated metric values.
ICEIS: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 24TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENTERPRISE INFORMATION SYSTEMS - VOL 2
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Haomiao Jin, Doerte U. Junghaenel, Bart Orriens, Pey-Jiuan Lee, Stefan Schneider
Summary: This paper describes a research project protocol funded by the US National Institute on Aging to develop early markers of cognitive decline and dementia based on survey response behaviors. The study will create two types of indices summarizing older adults' survey response behaviors and conduct in-depth examinations to evaluate their validity and predictability. The study is expected to provide innovative approaches for early detection of cognitive decline and dementia.
JMIR RESEARCH PROTOCOLS
(2023)
Article
Archaeology
Julie Bachellerie, Patrick Schmidt
Summary: This study on the heat treatment of lithic raw material in the Solutrean culture of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe utilized roughness measurements and infrared spectroscopy to understand the chemical and physical processes involved. The study confirmed the use of controlled heating and showed promising results in recognizing heat treatment through the quantification of surface luster.
Article
Archaeology
Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Christoph Berthold, Frieder Lauxmann, Klaus G. Nickel
Summary: Birch tar, the first adhesive produced by humans, has implications for human evolution and craftsmanship development. Our study reveals the evolution of tar's mechanical properties during cooking, providing insights for adhesive production.
Article
Anthropology
Li Li, Sam C. Lin, Shannon P. McPherron, Aylar Abdolahzadeh, Annie Chan, Tamara Dogandzic, Radu Iovita, George M. Leader, Matthew Magnani, Zeljko Rezek, Harold L. Dibble
Summary: This article reviews the work of Dibble and colleagues on controlled flaking experiments and summarizes their findings to date. These experiments have provided valuable insights into flake variability and the complexity of the flake formation process.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHOD AND THEORY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Klaus G. Nickel, Patrick Schmidt
Summary: We propose a quantitative framework for understanding the force required for stone tool knapping using different raw materials. Our model explains the process of crack formation and continued stressing during knapping, leading to flake detachment. Our findings allow for understanding the differences in knapping quality between raw materials.
Article
Zoology
Alba Motes-Rodrigo, Claudio Tennie, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar
Summary: Bone tools are the second most abundant artefact type in the Early Pleistocene archaeological record, but their scarcity limits our understanding of their production and use. By observing chimpanzees, researchers can study the technological forms and behaviours exhibited by our hominin ancestors. In experiments, it was found that inexperienced chimpanzees were more likely to use provided bones as tools, while experienced chimpanzees showed a preference for using plant tools.
Article
Anthropology
Matthias A. Blessing, Nicholas J. Conard, Gregor D. Bader
Summary: South Africa is a highly studied region in Stone Age research, but research intensity varies for different regions and time periods. This article presents a lithic assemblage from the site Umbeli Belli near Scottburgh and highlights relatively short-term changes in material cultural traditions.
AFRICAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL REVIEW
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biology
Claudio Tennie
PHYSICS OF LIFE REVIEWS
(2023)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Claudio Tennie
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Matthias A. Blessing, F. Alexandros Karakostis, Katerina Harvati, Veit Dresely, Armelle Charrie-Duhaut
Summary: Birch tar, the oldest synthetic substance made by early humans, was associated with Neanderthals. Recent research suggests that birch tar can be produced with simple processes or result from accidents, but it has not answered how Neanderthals actually made it or evaluated the implications of their behavior. Through comparative chemical analysis of birch tar samples, researchers found that Neanderthals used a more complex method to distill tar in an intentionally created underground environment. This suggests that Neanderthals invented or developed this process based on previous simpler methods, indicating cumulative cultural evolution in the European Middle Paleolithic.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Patrick Schmidt, Peter Hiscock, Alex Mackay
Summary: Recent research at the Klein Kliphuis site in South Africa has revealed that during the Middle Stone Age (MSA), around 60% of the silcrete was heat-treated before knapping, with this number increasing to 85% in two Howiesons Poort assemblages. This suggests that early anatomically modern humans in Africa had the ability to adapt their tool-making behavior based on the availability and quality of raw materials. Late-stage heat treatment was also occasionally used to prolong the usability of small cores.
Article
Anthropology
Hannah Huber, Yvonne Tafelmaier, Claus-Joachim Kind, Patrick Schmidt
Summary: Unambiguous evidence for heat treatment in the Early Mesolithic of Southwestern Germany is restricted to one type of raw material and to cave sites of the Swabian Jura region. At the open-air site Rottenburg-Siebenlinden, heat treatment of an additional raw material was proposed. This paper reexamines the lithic assemblage of horizon III and investigates the timing of heat treatment within the reduction sequence using gloss contrast as the criterion. The results show that heat treatment was regularly applied to a wider range of raw materials during blank production, suggesting a more widespread phenomenon than previously thought.
Article
Anthropology
Tabea J. Koch, Patrick Schmidt
Summary: In this study, birch tar was experimentally produced using four common aceramic techniques, and their mechanical properties were evaluated through lap-shear tests. The results showed that tar made with the aboveground condensation method exhibited the highest adhesive strength and the most consistent behavior throughout the tests. The weakest adhesive was observed in tar made with an underground technique resembling double-pot distillation, while two supplementary methods yielded intermediate values. This study enhances our understanding of adhesive performance of birch tar made with different aceramic techniques and provides insights into the potential use of one method over another.
JOURNAL OF PALEOLITHIC ARCHAEOLOGY
(2023)