The spatial distribution of Chalcolithic settlements in the East Lower Danube Plain (SE Romania) shows markedly higher densities along small river valleys with low modern discharges, such as the Călmățui, Mostiștea, and Teleorman, which originate in the upper plains (150–300 m a.s.l.). In contrast, valleys of larger Carpathian-sourced rivers (e.g., Buzău, Ialomița, Argeș), host far fewer settlements. Our research explores whet...

In the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), face masks have become a very important safety measure against the main route of transmission of the virus: droplets and aerosols. Concerns that masks contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 infectious particles could be a risk for self-contamination have emerged early in the pandemic as well as solutions to mitigate this risk. The coati...

Tree mortality is a key factor influencing forest functions and dynamics, but our understanding of the mechanisms leading to mortality and the associated changes in tree growth rates are still limited. We compiled a new pan‐continental tree‐ring width database from sites where both dead and living trees were sampled (2970 dead and 4224 living trees from 190 sites, including 36 species), and compared early and recent growth rat...