SKF (France)

• 3D scans of 795 handaxes used to extract variables related to knapping skill. • Comparison of skill from the first two waves of Acheulean occupation in Britain. • Highly significant differences in handaxe thinness, symmetry, and edge regularity. • There was a pronounced increase in hominin skill between MIS15 and MIS13/12. • Increased motor control may have implications for the emergence of speech. Flake scar patterning indicates Acheulean knappers were attempting to make thin, symmetrical handaxes with regular edges. In this study we quantify these elements of handaxe form and test the variation between the first two waves of Acheulean occupation in Britain. The results show a marked contrast between these groups in thinness, symmetry, and edge regularity. Handaxes from sites such as Fordwich dated to > 0.56 Ma are crude, whereas those from sites including Boxgrove dated to ∼0.48 Ma are highly refined. This contrast in biface skill outcomes seems to have been facilitated by the use of soft-hammers and platform preparation, both of which are evident at Boxgrove. Furthermore, it suggests an increase in hominin motor control around half a million years ago that may have implications for the emergence of speech.

Understanding how ageing impacts endometrial function is crucial for preserving fertility in older females. While ageing-related cellular dysfunction and inflammation are observed in the bovine uterus, its effects on endometrial physiology remain unclear. Using an experimental model of young (4-7 years) and old (13-15 years) cloned female cattle, we assessed the effect of ageing on the endometrium through transcriptome profiling and responses of cultured endometrial cells to interferon tau (IFNT) and of cultured endometrial explants to LPS. Progesterone profiles were similar between young and old females. Transcriptomic analysis of endometrial biopsies on day 15 of the estrous cycle identified 859 differentially expressed genes (DEG; p ≤ 0.05, |FC| ≥ 1.5), among which 402 DEG were over-expressed and 457 DEG were under-expresssed in old females. These DEG are linked to immune, inflammatory, metabolic, and cell organization pathways and networks. RT-qPCR validation of selected candidate DEG revealed an increased expression of COL4A3, CPA3, IGFBP1, IGFBP2, RSAD2, SCARA5, and SERPINA14 in young females. In vitro stimulation with IFNT of primary uterine glandular epithelial and stromal cells revealed that glandular epithelial cells exhibit a greater sensitivity to IFNT than stromal cells, both in old and young females. Glandular epithelial cells derived from old females exhibit a weaker response to IFNT, in terms of the number of differentially expressed genes, compared to those from young females. The effect of LPS treatment on cytokine concentrations was lightly more pronounced in young females than in old females, with LPS leading to a significant increase in the concentration of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10 in young females. By altering the transcriptomic profile of the endometrium and its capacity to respond to both the embryo's signal and inflammatory factors, we propose that age may be a key factor underlying uterine-related reproductive failures. Further experiments are required to confirm this hypothesis.

Swarms of UAVs offer enhanced capabilities through coordinated operations. However, effective swarm navigation in GNSS-denied indoor environments relies on robust and precise localization, which presents significant challenges due to harsh conditions. Collaborative Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (C-SLAM) algorithms offer a promising solution, but their success depends heavily on selecting an optimal combination of sensors that balances tradeoffs between accuracy, robustness, energy efficiency, and payload constraints. This paper addresses this challenge by employing the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to systematically evaluate and prioritize perception and ranging sensors for UAV swarms. Through a detailed tradeoff analysis, the study identifies the RGB-D camera, UWB module, and IMU as the most effective sensor combination, enabling enhanced performance and robustness in challenging indoor environments. The findings provide a structured decision-making framework for sensor selection, advancing the design of robust C-SLAM systems for real-world UAV swarm applications.

Abstract We prove that the lamplighter group admits an injective Lipschitz map to any finitely generated metabelian group that is not virtually nilpotent. This implies that finitely generated metabelian groups satisfy the “analytically thin/analytically thick” dichotomy recently introduced by Hume, Mackay, and Tessera.

ABSTRACT The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has made education a central pillar of its programme. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of education interventions and validated guidelines are lacking. Furthermore, athletes with different levels of sport participation are affected by doping issues. This systematic review systematically analysed studies of anti-doping education interventions targeting athletic populations to identify the characteristics of effectiveness and the implications. The study followed the PRISMA guidelines with a protocol registered on PROSPERO. Data were collected via an online search of seven databases and two search engines in both English and French. The systematic review included 28 studies of 21 interventions encompassing a variety of educational strategies grounded in the literature and required by the anti-doping institutions. To be effective over time, interventions should use multifaceted approaches including values development, comprise several sessions, and be delivered by well-trained staff. However, these results should be considered with caution as the evidence of their effectiveness is questionable. By exploring the breadth of anti-doping education interventions, this review provides a clear and updated educational framework targeting a broad athletic population. It points to the urgent need to consolidate the assessment of intervention effectiveness.

When dealing with joints and bearings, high pressures localised at the contact interface lead to residual plastic strain. The present paper combines numerical simulations and experimental tests to investigate the role of the material constitutive law in the indentation process. Numerical indentation tests between similar materials showed a good agreement with the experiments when classical material laws recovered from tensile-compressive tests on bulk samples were accounted for. On the other hand, when simulating indentation between different materials in contact, the comparison between the numerical and experimental results highlighted the limits of using classical material laws. Bilinear material laws were then derived for different steel materials (ASP 2060 PM, 100Cr6, 440C, Marval X12, and Z15 CN17-03) in contact with a ceramic indenter, leading to the correct simulation of the residual indentation profiles (error less than 5%). The proposed approach to determine suitable material laws for indentation between dissimilar materials can be further applied when dealing with applications involving contacts undergoing local plastic deformation.

This paper focuses on acoustic modeling for active noise control applications. The desired model must be finite dimensional and efficient numerically to meet implementation requirements. It must also be parameterized by the position considered inside the cavity. This additional characteristic is desirable for addressing specific active noise control applications such as optimizing microphone placement, estimating acoustic pressure at different positions of the considered cavity, and finally attenuating noise level in a subarea of the cavity. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a finite-dimensional, low-order, and parameterized acoustic model of a cavity, suitable for active noise control applications. The resulting model is defined as a gray box that combines a one-dimensional analytical model of acoustic propagation, which handles the physical parameterization, and a black-box model that copes with actuator and sensor dynamics as well as modeling errors. The parameters of the proposed model are optimized in order to reproduce the frequency behavior of the real system (LS2N active noise control platform) in a frequency range. This model allows one to accurately reproduce the dynamics at any position in the considered cavity. The prediction performance of the proposed model was compared to a classical black-box model (usually used for active noise control applications) and validated experimentally using the LS2N active noise control platform. The analysis highlighted that the proposed gray-box model can predict the acoustic behavior in a great range of positions.