OBJECTIVE To investigate possible neurotoxic effects in groups of aluminium pot room and foundry workers, aluminium welders, and a small group of workers exposed to aluminium in the production of flake powder. METHODS Exposure to aluminium was evaluated with aluminium concentrations in blood and urine as well as a questionnaire. The groups exposed to aluminium were compared with a group of mi...

Stone-flaking technology is the most enduring evidence for the evolving cognitive abilities of our early ancestors. Flake-making was mastered by African hominins ~3.3 ma, followed by the appearance of handaxes ~1.75 ma and complex stone reduction strategies by ~1.6 ma. Handaxes are stones flaked on two opposed faces ('bifacially'), creating a robust, sharp-edged tool, and complex reduction stra...

The Kubo formula for the electrical conductivity of per stratum of few-layer graphene, up to five, is analytically calculated in both simple and Bernal structures within the tight-binding Hamiltonian model and Green's function technique, compared with the single-layer one. The results show that, by increasing the layers of the graphene as well as the interlayer hopping of the nonhybridized p z ...

Ssangjungri (SJ), an open-air site with several Paleolithic horizons, was recently discovered in South Korea. Most of the identified artifacts are simple core and flake tools that indicate an expedient knapping strategy. Bifacially worked core tools, which might be considered non-classic bifaces, also have been found. The prolific horizons at the site were dated by accelerator mass spectrometry...

The Acheulean technological tradition, characterized by a large (>10 cm) flake-based component, represents a significant technological advance over the Oldowan. Although stone tool assemblages attributed to the Acheulean have been reported from as early as circa 1.6-1.75 Ma, the characteristics of these earliest occurrences and comparisons with later assemblages have not been reported in detail...

Glycinin-rich and beta-conglycinin-rich products are prepared by soy protein fractionation. Physicochemical characteristics of these proteins affect their unique, important functionality in food systems and industrial applications. Soybean isoflavones and saponins are phytochemicals with potential health benefits. Objectives of this protein fractionation research were to (1) improve protein and...