Symbolic plant(s) of the Olympic Games

The victors of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece were awarded crowns made of olive branches. In Antiquity, the symbolism of plants was related to myths, properties, aesthetic values, and civilization. Theophrastus first classifies and identifies plants, and gathers information about them, in his classic books (4th century BC). Symbolic plants are native to the Mediterranean region and they exhibit some convergent behaviour with respect to their functional characteristics. These plants were collected (among other species) by Professor J. Sibthorp and his partners in two botanical journeys in the Levant during the 18th century, and they have been illustrated for Flora Graeca Sibthorpiana.     

Theory and practice: the impact of Mendelism on agriculture

The purpose of this paper is a reexamination of the success story of how Mendelian genetics gave birth to a revolution in plant and animal breeding which produced the spectacular 20th century agricultural progress and made it possible to feed the exploding population of the Earth. Critics have pointed to the problematic social effect of the agricultural revolution, and they have doubted the importance of the new genetics, especially during the first three or four decades of the 20th century. This paper argues that the criticism has tended to take a narrow instrumental view of science underestimating the guiding role of theory in practical matters. Plant and animal breeding continued to depend mainly on the old 19th century techniques, hybridization, mass selection and individual selection. But they were combined and used in much more efficient ways than before. New theoretical knowledge, general theories as well as particular knowledge about species, strains and individuals, radically improved the planning and execution of breeding work.     

Retrospective analysis of the effect of Ukraine and USA research interrelations on the development of sport biochemistry in the XX century

This review highlights some of the important developments in Sport Biochemistry and relates these endeavors to the current understanding of muscle biochemistry and function. Attempts have been made to establish some scientific links involved in the evolution of such research, in particular the influences shared by scientists working in some premier institutions in Ukraine and the USA in the 20th century. Research initiated in the United States by Sutherland lead to further Ukrainian investigations that aided in the understanding of the role cAMP and cAMP-dependent protein kinase in muscle metabolism during exercise. Topics covered include Palladin's pioneering research on muscle creatine in Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century, Russian program on creatine supplements in the 1970s-1980s and its implementation at Olympic games.     

3 discoveries of amputations in Bern canton, Switzerland

At La Neuveville (Switzerland) close to the Blanche Eglise a separately buried amputated leg from the 19th century was discovered. The pathological lesions of the knee joints are most likely due to a nonspecific infection (Osteomyelitis). However, postmortal defects made an exact diagnosis difficult. Two foot-amputated male burials were discovered on St. Petersinsel (Switzerland) in the monastery cemetery of the 11th to 15th century. The possible causes of these amputations are being discussed within the historical context.     

Water level fluctuations in Lake Baringo,Kenya, during the 19th and 20th centuries: Evidence from lake sediments

This article presents a fossil diatom-based, semi-quantitative reconstruction of water level fluctuations for Lake Baringo over the past 200 years as a consequence of climatic variations. A 285 cm long sediment core sample was collected using a Rod-Operated Single-drive Stationary Piston corer. Lake level was inferred using indices based on the proportion of planktonic to benthic diatom taxa (P/B ratio). The sediment archive presented distinct zones dominated by planktonic and benthic diatom flora. An initial transgression in the early 19th century was characterised as a shallow water environment dominated by planktonic Aulacoseira spp. This was a response to extreme drought during the late 18th to early 19th century. Mid-19th century was defined by a high lake stand. The late 19th to early 20th centuries experienced low water level following the widely documented aridity at the time. The mid-20th century was marked by a spectacular rise in water level that coincided with remarkably wet years during the early 1960s and late 1970s. The first decade of the 21st century witnessed widespread changes in water level. The proxy records show that lake ramping and drawdown over the years follow approximately 50-year climatic cycles.     

Early influence of the steppe tribes in the peopling of Siberia

The Yakuts, Middle Age Turkic speakers (15th-16th centuries), are widely accepted as the first settlers of the Altai-Baikal area in eastern Siberia. They are supposed to have introduced horses and developed metallurgy in this geographic area during the 15th or 16th century A.D. The analysis of the Siberian grave of Pokrovsk, recently discovered near the Lena River (61 degrees 29' N) and dated by accelerator mass spectrometry from 2,400 to 2,200 years B.P., may provide new elements to test this hypothesis. The exceptional combination of various artifacts and the mitochondrial DNA data extracted from the bone remains of the Pokrovsk man might prove the existence of previous contacts between autochthonous hunters of Oriental Siberia and the nomadic horse breeders from the Altai-Baikal area (Mongolia and Buryatia). Indeed, the stone arrowhead and the harpoons relate this Pokrovsk man to the traditional hunters of the Taiga. Some artifacts made of horse bone and the pieces of armor, however, are related to the tribes of Mongolia and Buryatia of the Xiongnu period (3rd century B.C.). This affinity has been confirmed by the match of the mitochondrial haplotype of this subject with a woman of the Egyin Gol necropolis (Mongolia, 2nd/3rd century A.D.) as well as with two modern Buryats. This result allows us to postulate that contacts between southern steppe populations and Siberian tribes occurred before the 15th century.     

“艺术的外貌、科学的内涵、使命的担当”——植物园500年来的科研与社会功能变迁(二):科学的内涵

世界植物园500多年来的科研行进轨迹既是整个生物学发展史的一个缩影, 也表现出人类对植物资源发掘与利用, 使之服务于经济与社会发展的不懈追求。从16-17世纪的植物园主要研究药用植物并发掘药物, 到18-20世纪以来从植物分类学逐步拓展至众多植物学分支学科, 进一步发展到当今的植物分子生物学及基因组、代谢组学等等。植物园在长达几个世纪的发展进程中, 其科学研究内涵始终贯穿其中, 既奠定了18世纪植物分类学的根基, 也对18世纪以来许多生物学发现及其理论体系的建立作出了不可磨灭的贡献。同时, 16世纪以来跨大陆、跨地区、跨国家之间的植物引种驯化及其发掘利用与传播深刻改变了世界经济社会格局, 影响了一些国家的兴衰。在近代500多年的植物引种驯化与传播过程中, 植物园发挥了引领作用。本文试图对植物园500年来的科学研究轨迹进行梳理, 展望当今植物园在植物宏观与微观生物学及其大数据时代相关研究领域的发展趋势, 为我国植物园的科研方向提供可借鉴的参考。     

Latest developments of dendro-archaeology in the French Alps: Assessing changes in mountain forests exploitation over the last millennium

Dendrochronological studies are carried out on rural buildings in the French Alps for twenty years. In this contribution, we examine an extensive dataset of larch timbers (n = 1294) that were dendrochronologicaly dated at 139 buildings. This material yielded felling dates spanning the 11th century to the 20th century and contributed to improve our knowledge of human occupation and exploitation of mountain forests during the second millennium CE. From the 11th to the 14th century, rural populations increasingly exploited older forests. The crises of the 14th century led to a significant decrease in construction and by extension in tree cutting. The beginning of the 15th century marks a resumption of construction and felling which is continuous until the beginning of the 20th century. There is a relationship between the age of harvested trees, the number of dates and population fluctuations, which corroborates findings at the European scale. Regional trade probably influenced the stem diameters used in constructions in the immediate vicinity of the forests. Logging regulations can be perceived through variations in the age of harvested trees. The 14th century gap in felling dates would also mark a transition period in the exploitation of mountain forests and by extension a transformation of the economy.     

Detecting potential regional effects of increased atmospheric CO2 on growth rates of western juniper

Evidence of an atmospheric CO₂ fertilization effect on radial growth rates was uncovered by examining climate–growth relationships for seven western juniper tree‐ring chronologies in central Oregon using multiple regression models. Consistent upward trends of the residuals from dendroclimatic models indicated a decreased ability for climate parameters to predict growth with time. Additionally, an assessment was made of whether enhanced growth was detectable under drought conditions, because a major benefit of elevated atmospheric CO₂ is the reduction of water stress. Mean ring indices were compared between ecologically comparable drought years, when atmospheric CO₂ was lower (1896–1949), and more recent drought years that occurred under higher atmospheric CO₂ concentrations (1950–96/98). The results presented herein show that: (i) residuals from climate/growth models had a significant positive trend at six of seven sites, suggesting the presence of a nonclimatic factor causing increased growth during recent decades; (ii) overall growth was 23% greater in the latter half of the 20th century; (iii) growth indices during matched drought and matched wet years were 63% and 30% greater, respectively, in the later 20th century than the earlier 20th century; and (iv) harsher sites had greater responses during drought periods between early and late periods. While it is not possible to rule out other factors, these results are consistent with expectations for CO₂ fertilization effects.     

The gene pool of the Belgorod oblast population: changes in the endogamy indices of district populations with time

Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations of the Central Chernozem region of Russia during the past 100 years were studied. The size of an elementary population in this region increased from that of a rural municipality in the mid-20th century to that of an administrative district in the late 20th century.     

The gene pool of the belgorod oblast population: Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations with time

Changes in the endogamy indices of district populations of the Central Chernozem region of Russia during the past 100 years were studied. The size of an elementary population in this region increased from that of a rural municipality in the mid-20th century to that of an administrative district in the late 20th century.     

The Austral floristic realm revisited

The classification of the Earth's flora into floristic regions has been the major goal of plant geography since the 19th century. A detailed revision of 19th and 20th century classifications is presented herein, with particular emphasis on the delimitation of the Austral floristic realm. A comparison between Chile, New Zealand, and the Cape Floristic Region is made at the genus level. Using the vascular flora of these biogeographical regions, the analysis revises previous attempts to define the Austral realm, while also assessing differences made by changes in taxonomic delimitations from recent molecular phylogenetic studies. The results indicate that the Austral floristic realm can nowadays be better described as a circum-Antarctic generalized track, composed of some 60 genera and 15 families restricted to South America and Australasia, possibly including South Africa.     

Re-evaluating the Silk Road's Qinghai Route using dendrochronology

The opening of the Silk Road vigorously promoted economic and cultural exchanges between Central Asia, Europe, northern India and China. The easternmost section of the ancient trade route was established during the Qin-Han period (221 BC to 220 AD). Previous research has shown that there were three routes: the first is known as the “Hexi Route”, the second is known as the “Juyan Route” or “Prairie Route”, and the third is known as the “Qinghai Route”. The Qinghai Route has long been viewed as merely an auxiliary line of the Hexi Route which was used when the main Hexi Route was blocked by warfare. Others believe that the Qinghai Route was used during the 5th to 6th century when it was controlled by Tuyuhun Kingdom. Yet, by the 7th to 8th century, after the Tibetan occupation of the region, it was no longer a main trade route. Dendrochronology, the study of tree-rings, is a precise dating method that can be accurate to the year. In this study, wood remains excavated from tombs along the ancient Qinghai Route were studied by the means of dendrochronology in order to determine the date and better understand when Qinghai Route was used. In the tombs a lot of commercial goods such as silk products, pottery, lacquer carpentry were found. The date of the tombs determined by dendrochronology when viewed together with other archaeological data, showed that from the early Tang Dynasty to the High Tang Dynasty (early 7th century to late 8th century), the Qinghai Route was one of the routes of communication between the West and China. This disproves the hypothesis that this route was only used during the 5th to 6th century.     

Recent environmental change in North African wetland lakes: diatom and other stratigraphic evidence from nine sites in the CASSARINA Project

All nine wetland lakes in the CASSARINA North African suite of sample sites have been disturbed strongly by human activity during the 20th century. Dated lake sediment core were used to provide evidence of the extent of recent environmental change at each site. Sedimentary diatoms at seven sites were useful for inferring salinity change trends during the last century. At two sites preservation problems severely degraded the sedimentary diatom record. Sediment core integrity was otherwise established.Lithostratigraphic measurements indicated some site specific changes in soil erosion and sediment composition but, for the Egyptian Delta lakes, no physical signal synchronous with Aswan High Dam construction was found. Sedimentary diatom assemblages were generally site characteristic and halophilous taxa were common. At two sites planktonic diatoms indicated some recent eutrophication but generally the assemblages were more indicative of salinity changes. Diatom-inferred salinity trends for the seven sites typically indicated that reductions in water salinity occurred sometime during the early or mid 20th century.Rather than climate, hydrological modification of water resources is implicated as the primary driver of salinity changes during most of the 20th century. In the western North African region these modifications were mainly local land drainage and water diversion programmes to alleviate winter flooding and/or promote summer water availability. In the Delta region, the Nile has been intensively exploited since antiquity and intensively so from the late 19th century to release more fresh water for agriculture. Here, diatom records indicate that freshening began well before the Aswan High Dam but salinity fluctuations have tended to diminish during the latter part of the 20th century. A small reversal in the water freshening trend in the 1980/90s was possibly a response to land subsidence/sea-level change or to reduced freshwater supply.Freshwater supply to the sites is generally diminishing as former freshwater surpluses switch to deficit. One site (Merja Bokka, Morocco) became completely dry in 1998 as agriculture encroached and Megene Chitane, the only acid lake in Tunisia, is currently affected by excessive inflow abstraction. At the beginning of the 21st century, eight of the nine CASSARINA sites persist as viable but modified aquatic ecosystems. They nevertheless continue to support valuable aquatic biodiversity, especially in the Delta sites and in Chitane. The modern diatom communities are clearly tolerant of considerable environmental change but the remaining sites are increasingly threatened by major hydrological disturbance. Base-line floristic data for the late 20th century are given but continuous biomonitoring combined with effective management is needed urgently to help conserve North Africa's diminishing natural wetland lake resources.     

Identification Keys,the “Natural Method,” and the Development of Plant Identification Manuals

The origins of field guides and other plant identification manuals have been poorly understood until now because little attention has been paid to 18th century botanical identification guides. Identification manuals came to have the format we continue to use today when botanical instructors in post-Revolutionary France combined identification keys (step-wise analyses focusing on distinctions between plants) with the “natural method” (clustering of similar plants, allowing for identification by gestalt) and alphabetical indexes. Botanical works featuring multiple but linked techniques to enable plant identification became very popular in France by the first decade of the 19th century. British botanists, however, continued to use Linnaeus’s sexual system almost exclusively for another two decades. Their reluctance to use other methods or systems of classification can be attributed to a culture suspicious of innovation, anti-French sentiment and the association of all things Linnaean with English national pride, fostered in particular by the President of the Linnean Society of London, Sir James Edward Smith. The British aversion to using multiple plant identification technologies in one text also helps explain why it took so long for English botanists to adopt the natural method, even after several Englishmen had tried to introduce it to their country. Historians of ornithology emphasize that the popularity of ornithological guides in the 19th and 20th centuries stems from their illustrations, illustrations made possible by printing technologies that improved illustration quality and reduced costs. Though illustrations are the most obvious features of late 19th century and 20th century guides, the organizational principles that make them functional as identification devices come from techniques developed in botanical works in the 18th century.     

Museum specimens reveal changes in the population structure of northern Fennoscandian domestic reindeer in the past one hundred years

Traditional reindeer herding of northern Fennoscandia has been based on seasonal movements independent of national borders. At the beginning of the 19th century, these yearly movements of reindeer were excessive, but during that century the borders between the Fennoscandian countries were closed. By analysing a 190‐base pair fragment of the mitochondrial DNA control region in 79 museum samples, we show that the reindeer of northern Fennoscandia were one homogenous population shortly after the national borders were closed. However, anthropogenic activity has effectively ended genetic exchange within northern Fennoscandia and has made the reindeer population within this region heterogeneous. Genetic input of eastern origin is also suggested within the extant Russian reindeer of the Kola Peninsula.     

The main trends in the palaeodemography of the 7th-18th century population of Latvia

The study represents palaeodemographic research of osteological material of 3304 individuals from the funds of the Anthropological Laboratory of the Institute of History of the University of Latvia in Riga, dating from the 7th to the 18th century AD. Compensated life expectancy at birth is varying between 20.3 and 22.2 years during the research period. Crude mortality has changed between 49.3 and 45% per hundred. In the early period (7th-13th century) there is a significant male prevalence (2.2-1.4); female life expectancy at the age of 20 is on average 6.6 years less than for males. This difference decreases to 5.4 years in the 13th-18th century. According to historical demography, female life span exceeded male only in the 2nd half of 19th century. The palaeodemographic data indicate that in the 7th-18th century, women in Latvia gave birth to a mean of 4-5 children (the figure includes childless women), of whom half, at most 2-2.5, reached reproductive age, on account of high child mortality. The net reproductive rate R0 (the number of descendants per individual of the parents' generation) varies between 1 and 1.25 in the study period. Concerning the completely excavated cemeteries of Lejasbiteni (7th-10h century) and Daudziesi (16th-17th century), it was possible to calculate the size and structure of the populations that had used these cemeteries. They were similar, having 45.3-49.9% of children up to an age of 14 and 24-28% individuals over the age of 30. According to historical demography, radical improvement of the demographic situation in Latvia began in the second half of the 19th century, when the process of demographic transition in Latvia started.     

Inequality,low-intensity immigration and human capital formation in the regions of Chile, 1820-1939

This article traces inequality and numeracy development in the regions of Chile during the 19th and early 20th century. Inequality, measured with anthropometric methods, was associated with a lower speed of human capital formation. Not all talents received the necessary education to make full use of their talent for the regional economy, especially in the south in the early period. However, Chile became slightly less unequal over time and more numerate during the late 19th century. In addition, we study the correlates of low-intensity immigration in Chile. Regions with a relatively high share of North European migrants developed faster in terms of numeracy.     

Nostalgia,Memory, and Modernity: Bridal Portraits in Contemporary Beijing

This article examines the multiple ways in which persons of mixed descent were invisible in most New Zealand cities during the first half of the 20th century. It is argued that living as mixed descent was a highly visible experience during the 19th century, but this increasingly gave way to invisibility during an era of state-sponsored assimilation. Invisibility was a strategy for survival and success in the mainstream society, but was often accompanied by cultural loss. It is argued that oral histories, in conjunction with the family photograph album, provide an important way in which to recover lost histories, and that the descendants of persons who disappeared into urban New Zealand in the first half of the twentieth century are employing the family photograph album to assert their Māori identity and overcome a history of dispersal and loss.