Terahertz time-domain imaging for the examination of gilded wooden artifacts.

Terahertz imaging is unlocking unique capabilities for the analysis of cultural heritage artifacts. This paper uses terahertz time-domain imaging for the study of a gilded wooden artifact, providing a means to perform stratigraphic analysis, yielding information about the composition of the artifact, presence of certain materials identifiable through their THz spectral fingerprint, as well as alterations that have been performed over time. Due to the limited information that is available for many historic artifacts, the data that can be obtained through the presented technique can guide proper stewardship of the artifact, informing its long-term preservation.

Automated 2D, 2.5D, and 3D Segmentation of Coral Reef Pointclouds and Orthoprojections.

Enabled by advancing technology, coral reef researchers increasingly prefer use of image-based surveys over approaches depending solely upon observations, interpretations, and recordings of divers. The images collected, and derivative products such as orthographic projections and 3D models, allow researchers to study a comprehensive digital twin of their field sites. Spatio-temporally located twins can be compared and annotated, enabling researchers to virtually return to sites long after they have left them.

An infant burial from Arma Veirana in northwestern Italy provides insights into funerary practices and female personhood in early Mesolithic Europe.

The evolution and development of human mortuary behaviors is of enormous cultural significance. Here we report a richly-decorated young infant burial (AVH-1) from Arma Veirana (Liguria, northwestern Italy) that is directly dated to 10,211-9910 cal BP (95.4% probability), placing it within the early Holocene and therefore attributable to the early Mesolithic, a cultural period from which well-documented burials are exceedingly rare.

The anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein regulates hair follicle stem cell function.

Maintaining the architecture, size and composition of an intact stem cell (SC) compartment is crucial for tissue homeostasis and regeneration throughout life. In mammalian skin, elevated expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein has been reported in hair follicle (HF) bulge SCs (BSCs), but its impact on SC function is unknown. Here, we show that systemic exposure of mice to the Bcl-2 antagonist ABT-199/venetoclax leads to the selective loss of suprabasal BSCs (sbBSCs), thereby disrupting cyclic HF regeneration.

Cholla cactus frames as lightweight and torsionally tough biological materials.

Biological materials tested in compression, tension, and impact inspire designs for strong and tough materials, but torsion is a relatively neglected loading mode. The wood skeletons of cholla cacti, subject to spartan desert conditions and hurricane force winds, provide a new template for torsionally resilient biological materials. Novel mesostructural characterization methods of laser-scanning and photogrammetry are used alongside traditional optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and micro-computed tomography to identify mechanisms responsible for torsional resistance.