The transmission of pottery technology among prehistoric European hunter-gatherers.

Human history has been shaped by global dispersals of technologies, although understanding of what enabled these processes is limited. Here, we explore the behavioural mechanisms that led to the emergence of pottery among hunter-gatherer communities in Europe during the mid-Holocene. Through radiocarbon dating, we propose this dispersal occurred at a far faster rate than previously thought. Chemical characterization of organic residues shows that European hunter-gatherer pottery had a function structured around regional culinary practices rather than environmental factors. Analysis of the forms, decoration and technological choices suggests that knowledge of pottery spread through a process of cultural transmission. We demonstrate a correlation between the physical properties of pots and how they were used, reflecting social traditions inherited by successive generations of hunter-gatherers. Taken together the evidence supports kinship-driven, super-regional communication networks that existed long before other major innovations such as agriculture, writing, urbanism or metallurgy.

Telecommunication Facilities, Key Support for Data Management and Data Sharing by a Biological Mobile Laboratory Deployed to Counter Emerging Biological Threats and Improve Public Health Crisis Preparedness.

In the case of rapid outbreaks of infectious diseases in remote locations, the lack of real-time information from the field and rapid spread of misinformation can be a major issue. To improve situational awareness and decision-making at all levels of operational deployment, there is an urgent need for accurate, reliable, and timely results from patients from the affected area. This requires a robust and fast channel of communication connecting first responders on-site, crisis managers, decision-makers, and the institutions involved in the survey of the crisis at national, regional, and international levels. This has been the rationale sustaining the development of advanced communication tools in the Biological Light Fieldable Laboratory for Emergencies (B-LiFE). The benefit of terrestrial (TETRA, LTE, 5G, and Wi-Fi-Fi) and SatCom communications is illustrated through a series of missions and exercises conducted in the previous five years. These tools were used by B-LiFE operators to provide accurate, comprehensive, timely, and relevant information and services in real time. The focus of this article is to discuss the development and benefits of the integration of multi-mission, multi-user nomadic, rapidly deployable telecommunication nodes for emergency uses (TEN) in the capacity of B-LiFE. Providing reliable communication channels through TEN enables the development and use of an ICT toolbox called MIML_LIMS (multi-institution, multi-mission, multi-laboratory LIMS), a tool which is mandatory for efficient and secure data management and data sharing by a mobile laboratory.

Diagnostic Value of IgM and IgG Detection in COVID-19 Diagnosis by the Mobile Laboratory B-LiFE: A Massive Testing Strategy in the Piedmont Region.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) identified in 2019. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to have devastating consequences for human lives and the global economy. The B-LiFe mobile laboratory in Piedmont, Italy, was deployed for the surveillance of COVID-19 cases by large-scale testing of first responders. The objective was to assess the seroconversion among the regional civil protection (CP), police, health care professionals, and volunteers. The secondary objective was to detect asymptomatic individuals within this cohort in the light of age, sex, and residence. In this paper, we report the results of serological testing performed by the B-LiFe mobile laboratory deployed from 10 June to 23 July 2020. The tests included whole blood finger-prick and serum sampling for detection of SARS-CoV-2 spike receptor-binding domain (S-RBD) antibodies. The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was approximately 5% (294/6013). The results of the finger-prick tests and serum sample analyses showed moderate agreement (kappa = 0.77). Furthermore, the detection rates of serum antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (NP) and S-RBD among the seroconverted individuals were positively correlated (kappa = 0.60), at least at the IgG level. Seroprevalence studies based on serological testing for the S-RBD protein or SARS-CoV-2 NP antibodies are not sufficient for diagnosis but might help in screening the population to be vaccinated and in determining the duration of seroconversion.