The ethnolinguistic identity of the domesticators of Asian rice

Linguistic palaeontology permits the identification of two language families whose linguistic ancestors pose the likeliest candidates for the original domesticators of rice, viz. Hmong-Mien and Austroasiatic. In the 2009 model, the ancient Hmong-Mien was identified as the primary domesticators of Asian rice, and the ancient Austroasiatics as the secondary domesticators. Recent rice genetic research leads to the modification of this model for rice domestication, but falls short of identifying the original locus of rice domestication. At the same time, the precise whereabouts of the Austroasiatic homeland remains disputed. Linguistic evidence unrelated to rice agriculture has been adduced to support a southern homeland for Austroasiatic somewhere within the Bay of Bengal littoral. The implications of new rice genetic research are discussed, the linguistic palaeontological evidence is reassessed, and an enduring problem with the archaeology of rice agriculture is highlighted.

Sur une inscription hébrai͏̈que relative à la synagogue de Tàdif : extrait

M. Euting

Novel unsymmetrically functionalized BEDT–TTF derivatives: synthesis, crystal structure and electrochemical characterization

Novel functionalized bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT–TTF) derivatives 4 and 5 have been synthesized in good yields from cyano precursor via a cross-coupling reaction. Their redox potentials have been studied by cyclic voltammetry in a dichloromethane solution; this indicated that they are slightly weaker electron donors than BEDT–TTF. Compound 4 has been studied by X–ray crystallography; this revealed that, in the crystal, the molecules were held together by some unconventional C–H···N and C–H···S hydrogen bonds.

Magnetic measurements performed on sediments from the Bay of Seine seafloor (France) from 2011 to 2013

Impact and monitoring of dredge spoils are an important environmental issue. This investigation aims to map two dredge-spoil dispersals in the Bay of Seine by using an innovative application of well-established environmental magnetic proxies. Low-field magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed on discrete samples from dredge sediments and from the Bay of Seine seafloor before & after dumping. The fingerprinting of the dispersion of dredge-dumped sediments is efficient due to the higher susceptibility of the dredge sediments with respect to the background. Besides, terrestrial input is also monitored in our susceptibility maps. Dilution of the susceptibility signal allows an estimation of the resilience of the sedimentary environment on a six-month survey. This susceptibility signal is controlled by the ferromagnetic fraction of the sediment. A constant magnetic mineralogy carried by magnetite is observed in the study area, thus a qualitative parameter for magnetic grain size was selected that shows an in-progress resilience pattern over the survey.

(Table 1) Water storage changes of the 33 world's largest river basins between 2002-2009

Global change in land water storage and its effect on sea level is estimated over a 7-year time span (August 2002 to July 2009) using space gravimetry data from GRACE. The 33 World largest river basins are considered. We focus on the year-to-year variability and construct a total land water storage time series that we further express in equivalent sea level time series. The short-term trend in total water storage adjusted over this 7-year time span is positive and amounts to 80.6 ± 15.7 km**3/yr (net water storage excess). Most of the positive contribution arises from the Amazon and Siberian basins (Lena and Yenisei), followed by the Zambezi, Orinoco and Ob basins. The largest negative contributions (water deficit) come from the Mississippi, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Aral, Euphrates, Indus and Parana. Expressed in terms of equivalent sea level, total water volume change over 2002-2009 leads to a small negative contribution to sea level of -0.22 ± 0.05 mm/yr. The time series for each basin clearly show that year-to-year variability dominates so that the value estimated in this study cannot be considered as representative of a long-term trend. We also compare the interannual variability of total land water storage (removing the mean trend over the studied time span) with interannual variability in sea level (corrected for thermal expansion). A correlation of ~0.6 is found. Phasing, in particular, is correct. Thus, at least part of the interannual variability of the global mean sea level can be attributed to land water storage fluctuations.

Geochemistry of surface sediment samples from the equatorial Atlantic south of the Azores

In order to recognize the distribution of hydrothermal tracers south of the Azores, a series of cores has been sampled during the GEOFAR cruise. The distribution of the Mn concentrations shows that the hydrothermal influence is maximum within and to the north-west of the Lucky Strike segment. North of the East-Azores Fracture Zone the sediments are enriched in Ba which could be derived from different sources. The chemical composition of the interstitial water shows that water advection is limited. Mn, Cu, Ni fluxes evaluated in one site have increased during isotopic stages 4 and 2 and the deglaciation.