Early Period Research Articles

New Advances in Iberian Medieval Agriculture: Plant Remains from the Islamic Site of Castillo de Valtierra (Navarre, Northern Spain)

There has been a notable lack of archaeological research into the medieval period in Iberia, particularly in comparison to earlier periods. Consequently, the majority of our current understanding of agricultural practices and plant food sources in this region is derived from textual sources. However, there has been a notable increase in interest in archaeobotanical studies in medieval contexts over the past decade. In this context, this paper presents the results of a study of plant remains from Castillo de Valtierra (Navarre), with the objective of providing insights into agricultural practices and dietary habits during the Islamic period. In this area (the Ebro Valley), the Islamic period is divided as follows: Emiral period 756–929 AD, Caliphal period 929–ca.1012 AD, Taifal period ca.1012–1119 AD. This period was followed by the Christian period from 1119 AD onwards. Samples were collected from a variety of contexts in a systematic manner. A total of 2574 remains were recovered, and 57 taxa were identified. The findings of this study demonstrate that the community that inhabited Valtierra was primarily engaged in agricultural activities and had access to a diverse range of crops sourced from various productive areas, including cereal fields, home gardens, and forests.

Effectiveness of Cartoons, Comics, and Animation-Based Sexual Health Promotion and Education Interventions: A Scoping Review

Objective Sexual health education is crucial for promoting healthy sexual behaviors among people of all ages. Interventions involving cartoons, comics, and animations have emerged as effective tools due to their engaging and accessible nature. This scoping review explores the effectiveness of these interventions across different time frames and age groups. Methods Using the PICOS framework and PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, a review was conducted across 14 databases to include relevant studies published between 2000 and 31 May 2024. Results Analyzing 51 intervention studies meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria revealed varied outcomes in interventions that highlight a significant shift in focus from developing educational tools and empowering youth in the earlier period (2000–2010) to implementing advanced technology-based cartoons, comics, and animations interventions and addressing diverse populations in the later period (2011–2024). The results of these studies were predominantly positive, with many reporting significant improvements in knowledge, behaviors, and engagement. Conclusion While many studies report positive outcomes, further investigation is needed into the long-term impact of digital-based cartoons, comics, and animation interventions on behavior change and health outcomes. Research should also explore the effectiveness of these tools in different cultural and socioeconomic contexts to ensure their broad applicability. Ongoing research and iterative development are warranted to ensure that these interventions continue to evolve and meet the changing needs of users in an increasingly digital world across diverse populations

Temporal trends in major bleeding after primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction from 2003 to 2017: the Western Denmark Heart Registry

Abstract Background Management of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has changed during the last two decades. Introduction of more potent platelet inhibitors may carry an increased risk of bleeding complications, while other therapeutic options, such as use of radial artery access and proton pump inhibitors may reduce bleeding risk. The combined impact of these treatment changes on bleeding risk in patients with STEMI remains unknown. Purpose To examine temporal trends in 1-year risk of major bleeding after STEMI treated with primary PCI from 2003 to 2017. Methods We used the Western Denmark Heart Registry to identify first-time PCI-treated patients undergoing primary PCI for STEMI from 2003 to 2017. Patients were divided into 4 calendar periods based on the time of STEMI. The main outcome was 1-year risk of major bleeding defined as a hospital admission for bleeding using a validated definition with high accuracy. Additionally, the 1-year risk of major bleeding in STEMI patients was compared with the risk in an age- and sex-matched general population cohort without prior coronary artery disease. Results From 2003 to 2017, we identified 18,540 patients treated with primary PCI for STEMI (median age 64 years, 75% men)and 92,700 age- and sex-matched individuals. The 1-year risk of major bleeding after STEMI was similar across the different time periods; 4.1% in 2003-2006, 3.8% in 2007-2010, 3.8% in 2011-2014, and 4.5% in 2015-2017. The adjusted HR for bleeding in STEMI patients was 1.03 (95% CI 0.83-1.26) when comparing the latest period with the earliest period. The age- and sex-matched general population exhibited a 1-year risk of major bleeding of around 1% in all time periods (Figure 1). Conclusions Despite changes in management, the 1-year risk of major bleeding remained stable around 4% after primary PCI-treated STEMI from 2003 to 2017. This risk was approximately 4 times higher than the bleeding risk observed in an age- and sex-matched general population.

Application of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) to ceramics and clay sources for the late period (c. 950 years BP) in the Southern Argentine Puna: Interweaving sources, objects and practices

AbstractThe study of the raw materials used in the production of ceramic objects involves studying the materiality of the objects themselves while providing insights into the factors that guided the choice of a particular resource over another. Simultaneously, this article focuses on the social contexts in which these objects were produced. We present the results obtained through an instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) of ceramics from the Corral Alto site (Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca) of Argentina. The results suggest that most ceramic pieces were locally manufactured, contrasting with earlier periods and coinciding with the emergence of new ways of dwelling in the Southern Argentine Puna.

Echoes of Solidarity in the Gaza Protests

Abstract This article provides an overview of the historical development of Palestine solidarity globally since the 1960s and compares the historical evidence to today’s protest movement since the 7 October 2023 Gaza War. Through a reading of a recent collection of testimonies by activists worldwide, the article reflects on the historical coherence of the movement from the formation of the Palestinian liberation movements in the 1960s, the emergence of global solidarity groups in the 1970s and the fragmentation of the Palestinian political landscape since then. The article asks what this decades-long development of solidarity registers and strategies has meant for the Gaza protests since 2023. What is the significance of the structure and scope of early Palestine solidarity for the mobilization we are witnessing today? Which echoes can we observe from the earlier periods of protests, and how are memories and histories of the development of the movement reactivated today?

Relapse-Associated and Relapse-Independent Contribution to Overall Expanded Disability Status Scale Progression in Multiple Sclerosis Patients Diagnosed in Different Eras.

The introduction of disease-modifying therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) has led to a deceleration of disease course over the years. Although decreased relapse rate constitutes a factor, the role of relapse-associated worsening (RAW) and progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) in MS course deceleration is still unclear. We retrospectively examined long-term Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) progression in patients referred to the MS Center of Montichiari (Italy) and diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS from 1980 to 2022. To isolate PIRA, we deducted all EDSS changes associated with relapses from overall EDSS change. We compared the relative contribution of PIRA and RAW to EDSS progression in patients diagnosed in different periods using mixed-effects models. A total of 1,405 patients were included in the study, of whom 231 were diagnosed in 1980-1996 (pre-treatment era), 577 in 1997-2008 (injectable disease-modifying therapy era), and 597 after 2008 (oral drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and anti-CD20 era). Across ages, both PIRA and RAW were reduced in patients diagnosed in more recent periods as compared with earlier periods. The average contribution of PIRA to overall EDSS progression was already predominant in patients diagnosed in 1980-1996 (78%) and in 1997-2008 (76%), but it was significantly increased (p = 0.0009) in patients diagnosed in later years (87%). The deceleration of MS course observed throughout the years is determined not only by fewer RAW events, but also by a reduction in PIRA. However, the shift toward a mostly relapse-independent progression highlights the importance of evaluating new therapies based on their effect on PIRA. ANN NEUROL 2024.

The Structure of the Late Bronze Age Population of Western Siberia: Craniometric Evidence

To assess the sources of population differentiation in Late Bronze Age Western Siberia, measurements of 68 cranial samples of this and earlier periods were processed with multivariate statistical methods. Results support the idea of at least two post-Afanasyevo migrations to Siberia from the west—pre-Andronovo and Andronovo. The former was represented by Chaa-Khol, Yelunino, and Samus people. Those associated with Karakol culture partly resemble the above and partly both autochthonous populations—that of Baraba (“Northern Eurasian formation”) and that of Okunev culture (“Southern Eurasian formation”), which appear to be two extremes of a single continuum. Differences between the two Andronovo traditions, Fedorovka and Alakul, are likely due to the local substratum in the former rather than to various origins. The Karasuk group arose through admixture between Okunev and Andronovo. People associated with the classic Karasuk culture are closer to the former, while those of the Kamenny Log stage tend toward the latter. People of the Upper Irtysh and the Mongun-Taiga people from Baidag III resemble those of Karasuk. Two pooled groups, Irmen and Mongun-Taiga, and the Pakhomovskaya sample indicate a possible admixture between both autochthonous formations, Northern and Southern, as well as Andronovo and Karasuk. Among the so-called Andronoid groups, only Yelovka and Pakhomovskaya, as well as a sample from Yelovka I, suggest admixture between Andronovans and Western Siberian natives, while Cherkaskul and Korchazhka, like the Late Krotovo groups from Sopka and Cherno-Ozerye and the Begazy-Dandybai group of Baraba, deviate from the Northern Eurasian formation toward Okunev rather than Andronovo. Among the two Eurasian formations, the Southern one (i.e., Okunev) was more affected by admixture between the autochthones and the immigrants.

Assessment of climatic and anthropogenic influences on vegetation dynamics in China: a consideration of climate time-lag and cumulative effects.

Determining the factors that drive vegetation variation is complicated by the intricate interactions between climatic and anthropogenic influences. Neglecting the short-term time-lag and cumulative effects of climate on vegetation growth (i.e., temporal effects) exacerbates the uncertainty in attributing long-term vegetation dynamics. This study evaluated the climatic and anthropogenic influences on vegetation dynamics in China from 2000 to 2019 by analyzing normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, and ten anthropogenic indicators through linear regression, correlation, multiple linear regression (MLR), residual, and principal component analyses. Across most regions, growing season NDVI (G-NDVI) exhibited heightened sensitivity to climatic variables from earlier periods or from both earlier and current periods, signaling extensive temporal climatic effects. Constructing new time series for temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation from 2000 to 2019, based on the optimal vegetation response timing to each climatic variable, revealed significant correlations with G-NDVI across 27.9%, 26.7%, and 23.3% of the study area, respectively. Climate variability and anthropogenic activities contributed 45% and 55% to the G-NDVI increase in China, respectively. Afforestation significantly promoted vegetation greening, while agricultural development had a marginally positive influence. In contrast, urbanization negatively impacted vegetation, particularly in eastern China, where farmland conversion to constructed land has been prevalent over the past two decades. Neglecting temporal effects would significantly reduce the areas with robust MLR models linking G-NDVI to climatic variables, thereby increasing uncertainty in attributing vegetation changes. The findings highlight the necessity of integrating multiple anthropogenic factors and climatic temporal effects in evaluating vegetation dynamics and ecological restoration.

«Non-conforming Pleasures»: Representations of Homosexuality in Casanova’s Histoire de Ma Vie

Giacomo Casanova’s Histoire de Ma Vie offers an interesting perspective for exploring same-sex eroticism in the eighteenth century. Despite its reputation as a classic focused on heterosexual adventures, the Memoirs reveal references to sodomy and eroticism between same-sex individuals. This article aims to identify and place in the historical context traces of this theme within the literary source. It documents biases and captures shifts in sensibilities through Casanova’s firsthand account, delving into male homoeroticism, lesbian encounters, and the evolution of Casanova’s attitude towards male sodomy at a time when terms like «homosexuality» had yet to be defined. The challenge of anachronism is addressed by acknowledging that the absence of a specific terminology in earlier periods does not negate the existence of same-sex love and intimacy. Examining the representations of same-sex eroticism in Casanova’s Histoire provides insights into the historical contextualization of male subjectivity, the understanding of emotions, and the physiological-moral discourse regarding the body-mind connection, during a pivotal turning point in the history of emotions and sexuality.

Morfológiai vizsgálatok Magyarország délnyugati határfolyóin = Morphological Studies on South-Western Border Rivers in Hungary

Nowadays, the preservation and sustainable use of our natural values are increasingly coming to the fore, and this has implications not only for economic and field development but also for ecological aspects. In recent years, attention has shifted towards river morphological studies, which were previously relegated to the background. Understanding long-term changes and assessing the current state is essential to estimate future processes. In this article, we present our morphological studies on the Hungarian–Croatian border sections of the Mura and the Drava rivers. Historical changes were analyzed through a comparative study of historical maps from earlier periods, while the evaluation of the current state was conducted based on a detailed terrain model from a recent survey. GIS evaluation was also compared with sediment transport and flow measurement results. This comparison suggests that the morphological status of the river section under study is consistent with the typical parameters of transport processes.

Modeling movements improves capture–recapture estimates for mobile species with sparse data: Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Viscount Melville sound

AbstractWildlife management requires estimates of demographic parameters that are difficult to obtain for mobile species at low densities. Biased parameter estimates often result from capture–recapture (CR) studies due to small sample sizes and unequal recapture probabilities, the latter of which can be caused by animal movements with respect to the sampling area. We developed a multistate CR model designed to minimize biases by including multiple data types (capture, harvest, natural mortality, and telemetry) and accounting for temporary emigration. We applied the model to data collected intensively from 2012 to 2014, and intermittently since the 1970s, for the Viscount Melville (VM) subpopulation of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic. The number of bears within the VM subpopulation boundary likely increased from an average of 145 (Bayesian 95% credible interval [CRI] [109, 221]) in 1989–1992 to 235 (95% CRI [148, 569]) in 2012–2014. Survival probability increased for all sex and age classes except adult females, for which estimates declined due to unknown reasons. Polar bear movements exhibited Markovian dependence with approximately 28% of the subpopulation located outside of the sampling area each spring. This contributed to inaccurate parameter estimates when using a simpler, single‐state CR model that only included capture data. Although the interpretation of demographic status was complicated by statistical uncertainty and changes in study design, our findings suggest that—as of 2014—the VM polar bear subpopulation had likely recovered from an earlier period of overharvest, was stable, and had not exhibited detectable negative effects of climate warming.

QUANTIFYING THE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF CARBON-BIASED TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS AND ITS DRIVING FACTORS IN CHINA

The carbon resource’s role in guiding energy conservation and emission reduction through technological progress has become a focal point in theoretical research and policy discussions. By introducing carbon resource as a production factor into the transcendental logarithmic function, this study comprehensively employs statistical methods and GeoDetector to investigate carbon-biased technological progress in China from 2010 to 2020. The findings reveal an overall U-shaped trend in carbon-biased technological progress. As technology advances, the high-level areas of DLC and DKC shift toward the inland northwest, and each region’s carbon-biased technological progress is demarcated by the Heihe–Tengchong Line, exhibiting higher levels in the northwest and lower levels in the southeast. The spatial variation of carbon-biased technological progress is influenced by multiple factors, with the level of economic development playing a dominant role in the earlier period and the role of R&D investment becoming more significant in the later stage. In-depth research on carbon-biased technological progress is of great significance for optimizing carbon factor market allocation and achieving sustainable green economic development in China.

Effects of experimental in situ seabed disturbance on deep-sea macrofaunal communities of Chatham Rise, Southwest Pacific

ABSTRACT With the possibility of deep-sea mining of mineral resources occurring, it is necessary to understand potential impacts on benthic communities. Previous simulated mining experiments revealed direct benthic impacts; however, indirect impacts of sedimentation are not well understood. A disturbance experiment was conducted on Chatham Rise, New Zealand, to assess the resilience of benthic communities to sedimentation that could result from future deep-sea phosphorite mining. Macrofaunal and sediment samples were collected before, immediately after, and one year after a disturbance in areas directly physically disturbed and subjected to induced sedimentation (DI), and undisturbed or subjected to sedimentation only (UI). Macrofaunal abundance significantly decreased in DI areas but not in UI areas. However, abundance-based community structure changed in both areas; in DI areas this was mostly driven by decreases in dominant fauna, but in UI areas by changes in more sensitive fauna. One year after disturbance, abundance-based community structure had recovered in both areas and was correlated most strongly with variations in sediment C:N molar ratios. Biomass-based community structure in DI areas differed one-year post disturbance from communities sampled at the two earlier periods. These results are useful for informing the management of impacts from offshore industries where sedimentation is an issue.

Trends in medicine utilisation in public and private healthcare facilities before and during COVID-19: a nationwide analysis of medicine procurement and sales data, 2018-2022.

There was a fluctuation in medication demand and supply during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess the trend of drug utilisation in Malaysia in 2018-2022 and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on drug utilisation rates. We conducted a repeated cross-sectional study of pharmaceutical sales data from public and private sectors in Malaysia from 2018 to 2022. Drug utilisation rates for the period after the onset of COVID-19 (2020-2022) was compared with the earlier period (2018-2019). Interrupted time-series regression analyses evaluated level and slope changes compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic level for quarterly rates of drugs utilisation in public and private sectors. There was an immediate reduction in the utilisation rates for all drugs after COVID-19 in public (-20.4%; p = 0.043) and private sectors (-22.4%; p = 0.003). In both sectors, significant level changes were observed for anti-infectives, musculoskeletal, neurological, respiratory, and sensory organs preparations following COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a sustained increase in trend from 2020 to 2022. Public sector had a 22.2% reduction in the utilisation of cardiovascular drugs (p = 0.002), particularly for renin-angiotensin system (RAS) agents (-47.4%, p = 0.019). Private sector had large changes for anti-infectives (-53.6%, p < 0.001) and neurological drugs (-51.4%, p < 0.001), driven by an immediate level reduction in antibacterials (-54.2%, p < 0.001) and cough and cold preparations (-59.2%, p < 0.001). Classes with agents used for COVID-19 treatment, such as systemic corticosteroids, antibiotics, and antivirals had an increasing trend between April 2020 and December 2022, although some slope changes were not statistically significant. A significant reduction in the overall drug utilisation rates was observed in the public and private sectors in Malaysia as an immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The impacts varied by therapeutic class and health sector. This finding provides an understanding of the changing patterns of drug utilisation that were affected by disease outbreaks for future planning of pandemic preparedness.

The Preston Strike in Literature: Dickens, Gaskell and Bamford

This article maps the fictional responses of Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell and Samuel Bamford to the Preston dispute, arguing that they were based more on cultural sources than reportage. It includes the first scholarly analysis of Bamford’s contribution, three linked dialogues published in Cassell’s Illustrated Family Paper in 1854. This article also examines the relationship of Victorian fiction and the reading public to unrest and northern working-class life, demonstrating how ideology trumped the facts. Dickens’s priority was well crafted fiction. Gaskell attempted to base her fiction on reality, but only partly extricated herself from the assumptions of the period. Bamford, living in London at the time, was bound by his need to appeal to his middle-class audience, because of his precarious position and physical distance. He projected personal experience from an earlier period onto the Preston dispute, reinforcing the assumption that it was a strike rather than a lock-out. He knew no more of Preston than Dickens. It would take the cotton famine to shift prejudices against the northern working classes. This article was published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 .

Family Farmers as Agents in the Struggle for Survival: A Case Study from Turkey☆

AbstractThis paper discusses the survival strategies of small family farms in a western Anatolian village in the context of ongoing debates in the current literature concerning the future of small or peasant family farms under the conditions of the neoliberal era. The main argument of the paper is that even though the neoliberal agrarian policies in Turkey put into effect since the early 1980s have divested farmers of much of the protective policies in force in earlier periods—thereby putting them under much severe market pressures—other pressure mechanisms in this case under investigation have a more central impact on their survival. These pressures are the patterns of social and cultural change that occur due to modernization, alongside regulations concerning access to land which the farmers seem to be able to counter by organizing and mobilizing their internal, material, and social resources, within cultural norms. The arguments presented are based on the analysis of empirical data collected through field work carried out in a village of farmers specializing and engaged in the production of dried figs. The study emphasizes the multi‐causal, multi‐layered, contingent, and hybrid nature of the question of survival for these villagers and argues that it should be evaluated as a process, rather than an outcome, with the villagers themselves as agents in this process.

PSI-21 Limited impact of hypothyroidism on porcine fetal growth during mid to late gestation

Abstract In the fetal pig, both circulating thyroid hormone and growth rate are known to increase throughout gestation; however, the functional association between these coincident factors has not been established. Thus, the objective of this project was to investigate this cause-and-effect relationship by evaluating the impact of induced fetal hypothyroidism on fetal growth during mid to late gestation. To induce fetal hypothyroidism, n = 12 pregnant gilts were orally treated with the goitrogen methimazole (MMI) at a dose of 5 mg/kg/d for 21 d, with n = 3 gilts starting treatment on gestation d 34, 45, 55 and 65. An equivalent group n = 12 of gilts were sham treated for the same periods to produce gestationally age-matched euthyroid control litters (CON). Upon completion of the treatment period, gilts were humanely euthanized, and the resulting populations of n = 174 MMI and n = 166 CON fetuses deeply phenotyped. No meconium-stained fetuses were observed at any time point, and only 5 mummified fetuses were observed (3 CON, 2 MMI), indicating treatment has no effect on fetal viability. Fetal body weight (BW) and the weights of individual organs including thyroid, liver, heart, lung, kidney, spleen, and brain were collected. In addition, fetuses were imaged in both left and right lateral recumbency for subsequent morphometric assessment using a custom analysis pipeline in ImageJ. Image analysis yielded parameters including crown-rump length, girth, brow length, depth at the snout/skull junction, depth at the snout/nose junction, and area under the skull curvature (AUC). Left and right measurements for all morphometric parameters were found to be highly correlated (r2 &amp;gt; 0.9) indicating a repeatable measure using this approach. Statistical analysis of all phenotypic differences was carried out using a linear mixed effect model including gestational age and treatment as fixed effects and gilt as a random effect. A significant increase in both absolute and relative thyroid weights indicated the development of goiter and thus, successful induction of hypothyroidism within the MMI litters. In addition, a significant treatment by time interaction was observed, with 0.014 g and 0.21 g increase at d 55 and 66, respectively, indicating reduced compensatory action within the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis during this earliest period. Liver weight as a percentage of BW decreased from 6.06% to 2.56% between d 55 and 86 in the CON group but was significantly increased at all time points in response to MMI induced hypothyroidism (P &amp;lt; 0.01). A corresponding increase in brain to liver weight ratio over time was suppressed in MMI fetuses (P &amp;lt; 0.05). While all other phenotypic parameters were significantly altered by gestational age, there was no significant impact of fetal hypothyroidism. Collectively, the results indicate that fetal growth during mid to late gestation is not driven by fetal thyroid hormone.

Hindcasting and updating Landsat-based forest structure mapping across years to support forest management and planning

Forest vegetation mapping that integrates forest inventory data with multispectral remote sensing data provides valuable geospatial products for public land management agencies, but resource managers may require rapid updating of maps as new imagery becomes available (updating) or retrospective mapping for times prior to forest inventory plot measurement (hindcasting). While forest attribute mapping using Landsat multispectral imagery is common, the accuracy of applying models outside of reference epoch to support long-term forest monitoring is not normally quantified. We examine whether a Landsat-based mapping approach can support robust, temporally consistent multivariate mapping of forest structure and composition data in support of forest management planning and landscape analysis. Specifically, we ask: how accurate forest attribute mapping was when hindcasting or updating outside of a period of time when forest inventory plot data were available (reference epoch)? In the western Cascade Mountains of Oregon and California, USA, we used the gradient nearest neighbor approach to annually impute USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plot data (2001–2016) to all 30-m forested pixels based on temporally smoothed Landsat multispectral imagery (1986–2021), including basal area, canopy cover, quadratic mean diameter of dominant trees, stand height, and the density of large diameter trees. We made extrapolations from models fit to a 10-year reference epoch to both earlier periods (2001–2006 hindcast) and to later period (2011–2016 update) and quantified prediction accuracies relative to models based on the full data (2001–2016). To evaluate the influence of spatial scale on hindcasting and updating, we compared full and extrapolation model predictions at pixel-level (0.09 ha) and hexagon-level (780 ha).At the plot-level, we found no strong differences between the full and extrapolation model predictions for R2 and mean error nor among predicted vs. observed regression coefficients. At the pixel-level, average differences due to hindcasting and updating were near zero, though differences varied up to 20 % across pixels. At the hexagon-level, the range in map differences was small (+/- 5 %), but hindcasting resulted in lesser forest attribute predictions. We observed greater variability in pixel-level and hexagon-level prediction differences when hindcasting or updating was temporally further away from the reference period. Using 2001 hindcast and 2016 updated maps as a case study, we found that with hindcasting and updating map differences were spatially aggregated across the study region. Our results support Landsat-based hindcasting and updating of forest attribute mapping beyond the time period covered by forest plot data. Our results suggest aggregating data to coarse spatial resolutions may minimize differences due to hindcasting and updating. Further research is needed to identify the key drivers for prediction differences to improve the accuracy of both hindcasting and updating as a basis for forest monitoring.

Obsidian and Rock Crystal Artefacts as Prestige Finds Based on Raw Material Resources in Çine-Tepecik

Abstract Within its location on the Çine plain, south of the Great Meander River, Çine-Tepecik is an important settlement inhabited continuously from the Chalcolithic to the end of the Bronze Age. Çine-Tepecik reflects an advanced lithic assemblage based on different raw material resources from the earliest period. Obsidian is among the earliest finds in Tepecik showing interregional trade based on the system of exchange, and is a resource that societies prioritized in their social lives and interregional communication since the beginning of the settlement process. Starting from the 4th millennium BCE until the end of the 2nd millennium BCE, obsidian was obtained from three main resources in the Aegean. These are Melos and Antiparos from the Cyclades; Giali from the Dodecanese and Göllü Dağ, Nenezi and Acıgöl from Central Anatolia. These connections, based on trade with the Aegean and Central Anatolia, reveal a skilled craft of obsidian tool production, as well as an obsidian and rock crystal vessel tradition in Tepecik during the Middle Bronze Age. The assemblage, which has a special meaning among prestige products, belongs to a craft activity that requires skill and experience, and is an indicator of socio-cultural richness. During the 2nd millennium BCE, in the wide geographical region covering Anatolia, Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean obsidian and rock crystal vessels were among the special items produced for the royal or elite class. The stone vessel assemblage reflects the political and economic power of these regions, and also provides an understanding of interregional cultural and commercial connections. In the Çine-Tepecik Middle Bronze Age settlement, the obsidian and rock crystal vessel traditions followed a similar chronological development as the geography extending to Anatolia, the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, and brings new finds to regional archaeology.

Perkembangan Pendidikan Islam di Era Khulafa Ar-Rasyidin

This research discusses the history of Islamic education before and during the era of the Rashidun Caliphate, focusing on the earlier period led by Prophet Muhammad and the period of the Rashidun Caliphs, which includes the leadership of Abu Bakr, Umar ibn Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan, and Ali ibn Abi Talib. The study employs a Literature Review approach to gather and analyze data from various relevant sources. The findings indicate that Islamic education during these periods experienced significant development, with each caliph making unique contributions to the formation and dissemination of Islamic education. However, there were also challenges and disruptions affecting the educational process, especially during the caliphate of Ali ibn Abi Talib. This research provides profound insights into the role of Islamic education in shaping the identity and character of Muslim communities and contributes to a better understanding of the development of Islamic education in the present and future.