Exotic Elements Research Articles

EXPLORING THE HISTORICAL LAYERS OF VICTORIAN SOCIETY & FASHION TRENDS: A LITERARY REVIEW

The Victorian era, spanning Queen Victoria's reign from 1837 to 1901, witnessed a complex interplay of societal norms, cultural trends, economic factors, and gender roles that profoundly influenced fashion. This era was characterized by a strict code of morality and respectability, leading to clothing that emphasized modesty and concealment, along with a distinctive class-based approach to attire. The fascination with Orientalism and the Arts and Crafts Movement left a distinct mark on fashion, introducing exotic elements and handmade details. Economic and technological factors, notably the Industrial Revolution, transformed the fabric market and influenced clothing availability and affordability. The proliferation of visual media disseminated fashion trends, while distinct men's and women's fashion reflected the "separate spheres" ideology. This exploration of Victorian fashion is not merely a retrospective analysis but an examination of how clothing serves as a mirror to society. The legacy of this era endures, influencing contemporary fashion and underscoring the enduring relationship between attire and culture. The study of Victorian fashion offers a deeper understanding of how societal values, cultural dynamics, economic forces, and gender constructs intertwine to shape the clothing choices of a bygone era, leaving a rich and resonant tapestry of historical and cultural significance.

Enhancing Diagnostic Capabilities for Occupational Lung Diseases Using LIBS Imaging on Biopsy Tissue.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) imaging continues to gain strength as an influential bioanalytical technique, showing intriguing potential in the field of clinical analysis. This is because hyperspectral LIBS imaging allows for rapid, comprehensive elemental analysis, covering elements from major to trace levels consistently year after year. In this study, we estimated the potential of a multivariate spectral data treatment approach based on a so-called convex envelope method to detect exotic elements (whether they are minor or in trace amounts) in biopsy tissues of patients with occupational exposure-related diseases. More precisely, we have developed an approach called Interesting Features Finder (IFF), which initially allowed us to identify unexpected elements without any preconceptions, considering only the set of spectra contained in a LIBS hyperspectral data cube. This task is, in fact, almost impossible with conventional chemometric tools, as it entails identifying a few exotic spectra among several hundred thousand others. Once this detection was performed, a second approach based on correlation was used to locate their distribution in the biopsies. Through this unique data analysis pipeline to processing massive LIBS spectroscopic data, it was possible to detect and locate exotic elements such as tin and rhodium in a patient's tissue section, ultimately leading to a possible reclassification of their lung condition as an occupational disease. This review will thus demonstrate the potential of this new diagnostic tool based on LIBS imaging in addressing the shortcomings of approaches developed thus far. The proposed data processing approach naturally transcends this specific framework and can be leveraged across various domains of analytical chemistry, where the detection of rare events is concealed within extensive data sets.

From Hai Yao, Yang Yao to Xi Yao: Sinification of Material Medical from the West

In ancient China, Daoist philosophers developed the concepts of qi (energy), Wu Xing (five elements), and yin (feminine, dark, negative) and yang (masculine, bright, positive) opposite forces between 200 and 600 BCE. Based on these philosophies, Zhen Jiu (acupuncture), Ben Cao (materia medica), and the practice of Qi Gong (energy optimization movements) evolved as the three interrelated therapeutic regimens of Chinese medicine (Note 1). Since the time of Zhang Qian, who discovered China’s western regions in the 1st century BCE, Hai Yao (the exotic elements of materia medica from the maritime Silk Road countries), had been transmitted from the ancient land and maritime routes of the Silk Road to China in the past two millennia (Note 2). Since the late 17th century, the English East India Company, later called the British East India Company, introduced Yang Yao (opium) to the Manchu Qing Empire to balance a growing trade deficit for tea export from China to the British Empire. After the First Opium War ended in 1842, enterprising expatriate chemists and druggists in the treaty ports imported Xi Yao (modern medicines from the Western world) for sale to the merchant navy and the local market. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, both Hai Yao and Xi Yao have become a fully integrated part of modern China’s armamentarium for the Chinese medicine and Western hospitals and retail pharmacy sectors. This paper articulates the journey of adoption of exotic elements of materia medica from the ancient land and sea routes of the Silk Road, including the western regions and the rest of the world in the past two millennia. Opium traders, ship surgeons, medical and pharmaceutical missionaries, enterprising traders, and policymakers together transformed Ben Cao into Xi Yao during the late Manchu Qing dynasty and the early Nationalist Era.

The Influence of Classical Chinese Poetry on the Innovation of Ezra Pound

Recognised as one of the 20th century’s most challenging poets, Ezra Pound made a major contribution to modernist poetry. Inspired by ancient Chinese poetry, Pound was drawn to its vivid imagery and concise diction. He was determined to supersede the Victorian style of complicated verse and breathe fresh energy into poetry. This essay provides a detailed analysis of Pound’s most well-known composition, In a Station of the Metro, which is characterised by its modern and exotic elements. Contrasted with his translation work, Taking Leave of a Friend, selected from Cathay, this paper aims to analyse Pound’s renewal of imagery, language and metres. After the World War I, Pound became increasingly engaged with Chinese Confucian literature and resolved to write a chapter in his modern epic poem, Cantos, to address the indispensable role of Confucian culture in the restoration of post-war civilisation. Therefore, this article additionally evaluates his innovation within the context of his China Cantos and further investigates how Pound’s imagism paved the way for modernist poetry. It is also hoped that this essay will serve as a valuable resource for future studies on related topics.

중서부지역 청동기시대 후기 취락의 특징과 전개

This paper analyzes the cultural contact and cultural change process of late Bronze Age societies in the Midwest region. First of all, the late Bronze Age was divided into three periods and examined the change in the location of settlement, subsistence economy of each location, intensity of culture contact, motives of culture contact. The settlement was initially built in the highlands, but gradually expanded to the lowlands over time. These changes in location type were closely related to subsistence economy. The strength of cultural contact between the Round Clay-stripe pottery culture and the Yeoksamdong/Songgukri assemblage also intensified with time Because the number of Suseokri-type pottery increased in Yeoksamdong/Songgukri assemblage. The background of this cultural contact is presumed to be closely related to subsistence exchange between assemblages, as can be seen from the use of utilitarian pottery.
 Next, This study traced the emergence and change process of exotic elements in Yeoksamdong and Songgukri assemblage settlements. In the first period, it was confirmed that a set of Round Clay-stripe pottery and Black burnished long-necked jar were mainly buried in the graves of indigenous people. It can be seen that the Yeoksamdong and Songgukri assemblage accepted foreign culture to a certain extent, but it is highly likely that the cultural contact between assemblages was once-off event such as a one-time migration rather than a continuous cultural contact since the number of Suseokri-type pottery found in the settlements is small. In the second period, the Round Clay-stripe pottery culture settlement begin to expand the hilly location, and contact between assemblages also increases. a number of Suseokri-type pottery or a imitation pottery are found in some villages. Evidence of production of Suseokri-type pottery has been identified. These trends are believed to be associated with the resolution of conflict between assemblages and the initiation of a symbiotic relationship, leading to the activation of subsistence exchange. As a result, it is thought that cultural contact has diversified and various cultural acculturation have appeared. In the third period, the process of change to the Round Clay-stripe pottery culture beyond the symbiotic relationship between the assemblage is confirmed. In the Yeoksamdong and Songgukri assemblage settlements, foreign material culture such as Suseokri-type dwelling and wooden coffin tomb with stone mound appeared, and the proportion of foreign pottery is also higher than that of indigenous pottery. Thus, The societies in the late Bronze Age of midwest region gradually show a resolution oftombs of Pyoungyang Jinpari of Koguryo Kang, Hyun-sook conflicts and an increasing intensity of cultural contact over time, resulting in various forms of cultural acculturation. Ultimately, it can be summarized that cultural changes occurred in the Round Clay-stripe pottery culture.

The Exoticism of Olivier Messiaen

"In the final decades of the 19th century and in the 20th century, exoticism and orientalism contributed greatly to the evolution and innovation of Western music composition. Using the rules and techniques of Western music, composers incorporated in their works elements pertaining to or inspired by foreign cultures and their music. The current study continues the investigations brought to attention by the authors in their previous articles: it desires to reveal and analyze the way exoticism and orientalism influenced the creation of various composers, pointing to those aspects that represented innovation brought about by the contact with the music and culture of other cultures than the Western world. The musical language of Messiaen is deeply rooted in the universal musical heritage, comprising elements belonging to the music of the Ancient Greeks, the Orient, Africa, or Europe. The present paper presents and offers examples regarding the way rhythm and melody are organized and employed by Messiaen using means that are inspired by Hindu music: the correspondence between the deçî-tâlas (Hindu rhythms) and Messiaen’s use of rhythm, as well as the similarities between the Hindu rāga and the modes of limited transposition. Apart from the Hindu influences on rhythm and melody, Messiaen was also inspired by the Japanese Gagaku, its instruments, and relation between harmony and melody, as well as Indonesian music (Balinese and Javanese), both having an important influence on the way the composer perceives and creates timbre. But apart from striving to create new means of musical expression using exotic elements, Messiaen desired to unveil certain spiritual and theological truths, mirrored in his music and the construction of his musical discourse. Keywords: exoticism, Hindu, Japanese, Bali, Messiaen"

A Chinese indicine pangenome reveals a wealth of novel structural variants introgressed from other Bos species.

Chinese indicine cattle harbor a much higher genetic diversity compared with other domestic cattle, but their genome architecture remains uninvestigated. Using PacBio HiFi sequencing data from 10 Chinese indicine cattle across southern China, we assembled 20 high-quality partially phased genomes and integrated them into a multiassembly graph containing 148.5 Mb (5.6%) of novel sequence. We identified 156,009 high-confidence nonredundant structural variants (SVs) and 206 SV hotspots spanning ∼195 Mb of gene-rich sequence. We detected 34,249 archaic introgressed fragments in Chinese indicine cattle covering 1.93 Gb (73.3%) of the genome. We inferred an average of 3.8%, 3.2%, 1.4%, and 0.5% of introgressed sequence originating, respectively, from banteng-like, kouprey-like, gayal-like, and gaur-like Bos species, as well as 0.6% of unknown origin. Introgression from multiple donors might have contributed to the genetic diversity of Chinese indicine cattle. Altogether, this study highlights the contribution of interspecies introgression to the genomic architecture of an important livestock population and shows how exotic genomic elements can contribute to the genetic variation available for selection.

Racial depictions in visual culture during World War One

How can we understand British depictions of the German ‘race’, if they are understood as belonging to the same racial category? We argue that an analysis of racial depictions must be based on historical and cultural understandings. We present ‘race’ as an all-encompassing, flexible historical phenomenon, that includes cultural racism. We found that cultural and biological racism overlapped, working in tandem to create a single depiction within a spectrum of culturally or biologically based racial stereotypes. We argue that racialized stereotypes were deployed in both intra-white and non-white depictions depending on the desired function of the propaganda resulting in both positive or/and negative portrayals that worked mainly in consolidating the Self and Othering the enemy – with the exception of white depictions of non-white soldiers often showcasing Othering exotic elements.

Covalent sulfur/CoS2-decorated honeycomb-like carbon hierarchies for high-performance sodium storage with ultra-long high-rate cycling stability

Transition metal sulfides (TMSs) with high theoretical sodium storage capacity have been regarded as one of the most competitive and promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, great challenges still exist for TMS to achieve long-cycle life owing to the poor conductivity and volume expansion during the sodiation/desodiation process. The conventionally used pure carbon coating method can effectively solve the above problems. However, the low sodium ion storage capability of carbon will decrease the capacity of the anode. Thus the functionalization of well-designed carbon nanostructures with exotic elements (e.g., sulfur) or high-specific-capacity materials has been regarded as an efficient route to enhance sodium storage performance. Herein, we developed a facile strategy to incorporate covalent sulfur and CoS2 nanoparticles into honeycomb-like carbon matrices (denoted as S/CoS2@C), where sulfur is vaporized under vacuum and reacted with the Co-decorated carbon hierarchies, leading to the formation of CoS2 nanoparticles as well as the covalent C–Sx–C bonds. Consequently, the as-prepared S/CoS2@C composite demonstrates excellent sodium storage performance, with high initial coulomb efficiency (ICE) of 83 % and capacity retention of 95 % (478.5 mAh g−1) after 700 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, and an outstanding high-rate long-term cycling stability with a high reversible capacity of 396.1 mAh g−1 after 5000 cycles at 2 A g−1 (an average decay rate of only 0.0014 %). Furthermore, electrochemical analyses reveal that both covalent sulfur and CoS2 contribute to the sodium storage capacity via a predominantly surface-induced capacitive process, and the well-designed S/CoS2@C composite with encapsulation of covalent sulfur and CoS2 into the highly interconnected porous carbon matrices efficiently buffer the volume changes and well maintain the electrode integrity/conductivity upon sodiation/desodiation cycling.

Toward the Image of Agapit Pechersky in Ukrainian Redactions of Walking of Agapios to Paradise in the 16th–17th Centuries

The article sheds light on the cultural reception of Walking of Agapios to Paradise, an apocryphal Christian apocalypse of early Byzantine origin, in Ukrainian medieval and early modern literature. In the territory of Rus’ the earliest known translation into Old Church Slavonic was found in the Uspensky Codex of the 12th – 13th century with the title “The Narration of Our Father Agapios about whoever takes his cross and follows Christ”. Along with “The Walk of Zosima to Rahman”, and “The Tale of Macarius of Rome”, this text is a part of the apocryphal corpus full of marvels and fantastic elements and dedicated to the theme of extremely difficult and voluntary journeys of mortals to the earthly paradise. This study is an attempt to trace national varieties of Ukrainian adaptations of the legendary plot and compare Greek redactions of the text (focusing on the Athens manuscript), “The Narration of Our Father Agapious...” from the Uspensky Codex with the late versions of “Walking of Agapios to Paradise” in Ukrainian compilations of the 16th and 17th centuries. It is proven that, in contrast to numerous works of translated literature, “paradisal” apocrypha during adaptation to the local culture were not subjected to radical changes, apart from the fact that both in the Uspensky Codex and early modern Ukrainian manuscripts exotic and fantastic elements found in the Greek original text are reduced to a minimum, whereas the symbolic dimension of narration is fundamental. Special attention is paid to translation strategies of scribes of the Uspensky Codex, Belarusian manuscript from the Chudov Monastery (the 16th century), and Stepan Komarevsky’s manuscript (the 17th century). It is hypothesized that transformation of Agapios the Pilgrim into Agapit the Healer in the late Ukrainian compilations, as well as completely rewritten final episodes of the text in Belarusian manuscript from the Chudov Monastery, can be influenced by the original literature of the Kyivan State, namely “Kyiv-Pechersk Patericon” and the local cult of St. Agapit Pechersky.

A critical review of bioactive glasses and glass–ceramics in cancer therapy

AbstractThere is an ongoing profound shift in using glass as a primarily passive material to one that instills active properties. We believe and demonstrate that bioactive glasses (BGs) and glass–ceramics (BGCs) as functional biomaterials for cancer therapy can transform the world of healthcare in the 21st century. Melt/gel‐derived BGs and BGCs can carry many exotic elements, including less common rare‐earth, and trigger highly efficient anticancer properties via the combination of radiotherapy, photothermal therapy, magnetic hyperthermia, along with drug or therapeutic ions delivery. The addition of these dopants modifies the bioactivity, imparts novel functionalities, and induces specific biological effects that are not achievable using other classes of biomaterials. In this paper, we have briefly reviewed and discussed the current knowledge on promising compositions, processing parameters, and applications of BGs and BGCs in treating cancer. We also envisage the need for further research on this particular, unique class of BGs and BGCs.

A relation among Hopkins’ Picard groups of the localized categories with respect to finite wedges of the Morava 𝐾-theories

We work in the stable homotopy category of p p -local spectra for a fixed prime number p p . Let E E be a spectrum and L E \mathcal {L}_E denote the stable homotopy category of localized spectra with respect to E E in the sense of Bousfield. Then, M. Hopkins introduced a Picard group P i c ( L E ) Pic(\mathcal {L}_E) of the category L E \mathcal {L}_E . If the spectra E E and F F satisfy the relation ⟨ E ⟩ ≥ ⟨ F ⟩ \left \langle {E}\right \rangle \ge \left \langle F\right \rangle of the Bousfield classes, then we have a homomorphism ℓ : P i c ( L E ) → P i c ( L F ) \ell \colon Pic(\mathcal {L}_E)\to Pic(\mathcal {L}_F) . We consider the spectra K m n = E ( n ) ∧ M J m K_m^n=E(n)\wedge MJ_m for the n n -th Johnson-Wilson spectrum E ( n ) E(n) and a type m m generalized Moore spectrum M J m MJ_m for 0 ≤ m ≤ n 0\le m\le n . For E = K m n E=K_m^n , we have a subgroup P i c 0 ( L E ) Pic^0({\mathcal {L}_E}) of P i c ( L E ) Pic(\mathcal {L}_E) consisting of exotic elements. In this paper, we study the homomorphism ℓ : P i c 0 ( L E ( n ) ) → P i c 0 ( L K m n ) \ell \colon Pic^0({\mathcal {L}_{E(n)}})\to Pic^0({\mathcal {L}_{K_m^n}}) , and give conditions under which it is an isomorphism. This is a generalization of the result P i c 0 ( L 2 ) ≅ κ 2 Pic^0(\mathcal {L}_2)\cong \kappa _2 (P. Goerss, H.-W. Henn, M. Mahowald, and C. Rezk [J. Topol. 8 (2015), 267–294, Remark. 6.5]) for ( p , n , m ) = ( 3 , 2 , 2 ) (p,n,m)=(3,2,2) .

Nonlinear Reconstruction of Images from Patterns Generated by Deterministic or Random Optical Masks-Concepts and Review of Research.

Indirect-imaging methods involve at least two steps, namely optical recording and computational reconstruction. The optical-recording process uses an optical modulator that transforms the light from the object into a typical intensity distribution. This distribution is numerically processed to reconstruct the object’s image corresponding to different spatial and spectral dimensions. There have been numerous optical-modulation functions and reconstruction methods developed in the past few years for different applications. In most cases, a compatible pair of the optical-modulation function and reconstruction method gives optimal performance. A new reconstruction method, termed nonlinear reconstruction (NLR), was developed in 2017 to reconstruct the object image in the case of optical-scattering modulators. Over the years, it has been revealed that the NLR can reconstruct an object’s image modulated by an axicons, bifocal lenses and even exotic spiral diffractive elements, which generate deterministic optical fields. Apparently, NLR seems to be a universal reconstruction method for indirect imaging. In this review, the performance of NLR isinvestigated for many deterministic and stochastic optical fields. Simulation and experimental results for different cases are presented and discussed.

제작패턴을 통해 본 점토대토기의 변천-사천 방지리유적을 중심으로-

The most important changes in the process of transition from round-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim to triangular-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim are by far the shape and production techniques. Although many studies have been conducted so far, it is true that there was little interest in the factors of rims of pottery with clay band rim change. The original purpose of this work was to infer the factors that caused the change of the old part by paying attention to the manufacturing rule and symbolic meanings contained in the old part of rims of pottery with clay band rim. The research target is rims of pottery with clay band rim excavated from Sacheon-Bangjiri site, where continuity is recognized among the sites where round-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim and triangular-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim are identified, and the concept of rims of pottery with clay band rim production patterns was established. The production pattern shows how the rims of pottery with clay band rim was constructed from intention and in some way, and serves as the basis for understanding the characteristics of mouth of rims of pottery with clay band rim and changes in rims of pottery with clay band rim. According to the analysis of the concept of the pan-shaped design, the production of round-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim and triangular-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim was organic, and the change in rims of pottery with clay band rim was caused by the change in the method of making the structure. The composition of rims of pottery with clay band rim is an expression of the identity of the manufacturer and the group, and it is assumed that the rims of pottery with clay band rim was produced under the manufacturing rules to maintain the shape of the clay stone. The reason for the change to triangular-shaped rims of pottery with clay band rim is the weakening of these manufacturing rule, which coincided with the production group's notion of rims of pottery with clay band rim and the perception of the convenience of fabrication. After all, the change from circle to triangle is not due to the influence of the exotic elements or to the consequences of immigrants, but rather to within the same group.

Buddhist exoticism in the works of Eduard Limonov: philosophical and aesthetic criticism

The article analyses the specifics of the perception of Buddhism by Eduard Limonov. The reception of Buddhism is determined in his work by a system of double coding – he is a writer, but also a politician and publicist. Artistic and political narrative in his works are inextricably linked. Eduard Limonov is a critic of Buddhism, but the consistency of his views is not absolute. For the writer, Buddhism is an unoriginal religion, in the national versions of which there are too much exotic and irrational elements. In addition, Buddhism is a religion with philosophical assumptions of which, Eduard Limonov disagrees. The vision of reality as full of suffering and the desire to escape from it contradicts the active life position of the writer. At the same time, in the work of Eduard Limonov, the tendency towards the Russification of Buddhism, characteristic for the modern Russian literature, manifests itself. The writer also explores the mystical side of this religion in its Tibeto-Mongolian version, perceiving and actualising its superhuman component.

The Kyrenia Terrane (Northern Cyprus): Detrital Zircon Evidence for Exotic Elements in the Southern Neotethys

AbstractThe Kyrenia terrane of northern Cyprus comprises a tectonic stack of Triassic to Eocene rock units interleaved with basic and acid volcanics and minor metamorphic inliers, alongside an Oligocene‐Miocene flysch. Our U‐Pb‐Hf detrital zircon investigation in the Kyrenia Triassic to Eocene section reveals Precambrian, Silurian (∼430 Ma), Carboniferous (∼300 Ma), Triassic (∼240 Ma), and Upper Cretaceous (∼85 Ma) zircons. The presence of 300 Ma zircons, as early as in Triassic sediments, is enigmatic because Carboniferous magmatism is confined to the Paleotethyan realm which is traced north of the Taurides. Deposition of the Kyrenia sequence closer to a Northern Tethyan province would better fit its detrital zircon signal. The detrital signal of the Kyrenia, indicative for derivation from areas north of the Mediterranean, also differs significantly from that of the Mamonia Complex (SW Cyprus) in which only Afro‐Arabian sources are distinguished. Thus, in view of its unusual detrital zircon content, the Kyrenia sequence stands out in the Eastern Mediterranean as an exotic rock pile that cannot be straightforwardly correlated with its neighboring geologic environment. We defined the metamorphic inliers of Kyrenia as an ophiolitic mélange and recognized blueschist‐greenschist facies metamorphism to which we infer an Upper Cretaceous age. A U‐Pb zircon age of 555 ± 9 Ma (Cadomian) was obtained for the crystallization of a metabasic rock in the mélange. These findings support the geodynamic linkage of the Kyrenia with the Alanya and Bitlis massifs that were also affected by Upper Cretaceous HP‐LT metamorphism and accreted to the southern Tauride.

Marital Realism: Beauty and Pettiness inMiddlemarch

Marital Realism: Beauty and Pettiness in<i>Middlemarch</i>

Paratexts and Translation of the Exotic

This article investigates how the covers of two novels, Vaffelhjarte (Waffle Hearts, 2005) and Tonje Glimmerdal (Astrid the Unstoppable, 2009) by the Norwegian children’s fiction author Maria Parr, are visually and verbally translated into German, French, and English. The central question of this study is how representations of characters, theme, and geographical context are rendered in the target text paratexts. Methodologically, the study is inspired by Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen’s grammar of visual design. The results show that the target paratexts to a large extent reflect the novel, but in different ways and not necessarily by staying close to the source paratexts. Previous research on paratexts and translation shows that exotic source text elements tend to be foregrounded in translation. This is something that we also see regarding the French and the British Parr translations, but not the German. Drawing on previous research by Kathryn Batchelor and Maria Pujol-Valls, we would like to put forward the hypothesis that verbal text – that is, the narrative in the novel – and paratexts behave differently in translation. As verbal text, according to previous research, often is more adapted to the target culture when migrating from a peripheral system (Norway) to more central ones (France and Great Britain), the opposite seems to be the case for translated paratexts, where exotic source culture elements are reinforced in central systems. Concerning the German cover, where there was no foregrounding of exotic source culture elements, we raise the possibility that such foregrounding is not needed, since German readers are already familiar with Scandinavian children’s literature.

Late Oligocene leaf and pollen flora of Southwestern Siberia: taxonomy, biogeography and palaeoenvironments

ABSTRACT Late Oligocene leaf assemblages from four sites in Southwestern Siberia (Kurgan, Tyumen, Omsk oblasts) are described. Twenty-three leaf taxa and 3 reproductive structures represent local vegetation of a lake (Salvinia, Typha, Phragmites, Nelumbo, Hemitrapa, Liquidambar, Pterocarya, Alnus, Populus, Salix, Nyssa). Additionally, 57 spore and pollen taxa were recorded from one site (Shish River). Gymnosperms dominate the assemblage with ~30% Pinaceae and ~25% taxodiaceous (papillate) Cupressaceae pollen. Ferns and peat mosses (Sphagnaceae) comprised ~6%. Angiosperms were dominated by Fagaceae, Betulaceae, Juglandaceae and Ulmus and comprised a few exotic elements (Liquidambar, Eucommia, Nyssa, Symplocos); scarce herbaceous plants reflect lakeshore vegetation. The flora of the Turgay type comprised old elements (Nelumbo protospeciosa, Liquidambar europaea, taxodiaceous/papillate Cupressaceae, Quercus sect. Protobalanus) and taxa present in Siberia/Kazakhstan during the Paleogene with later arrivals in Europe (Ulmus pyramidalis, Quercus pseudocastanea, Alnus julianiformis, Byttneriophyllum tiliifolium). A few taxa were endemic in the late Oligocene of western Siberia (Trapa praeconocarpa, Platycrater iljinskajae sp. nov.). Combined macrofossil and palynological evidence places the Shish River site flora into the late Oligocene Zhuravka (Turtas) Formation. Floras of similar composition from western Eurasia are commonly middle Miocene or younger in age highlighting the dynamic spatiotemporal evolution of temperate Eurasian floras during the Cenozoic.

(Invited) Electrodeposition of Aluminium Containing Alloys from Molten Fluoride Electrolytes Containing Metal Oxides

Aluminium is produced by the Hall-Heroult process by electrowinning in a molten fluoride electrolyte with dissolved alumina at ~950 oC. Several metallic impurities typically end up in the produced metal due to the fact that most metals are more noble than aluminium. Such co-deposition of metals may be utilized to form aluminium alloys. Another advantage is that many metal oxides are readily soluble in molten cryolite based electrolytes. The more noble metals will deposit at the limiting current density. The alloy composition is essentially determined by the bath concentration of the dissolved cations of the alloying element. Therefore it is possible to produce alloys of certain compositions by controlled addition of metal oxides. Interesting candidate alloying elements are silicon, iron, titanium and manganese but also exotic elements such as scandium are possible. Electrochemical studies were carried out in laboratory experiments and the behaviour of dissolved metal oxides was studied in industrial cells. High current efficiencies for the co-deposition of the alloying elements Si, Fe, Ti and Mn were confirmed. Significant savings for producing alloys by this method are expected.