mean square error was reduced by more than 50%. The new method is also more reasonable for locating non- reservoir segments. Moreover, this novel approach can further enhance the TOC prediction accuracy and may even constitute a new research direction for improving the existing logging interpretation theory. These novel principles can ultimately help evaluate source rock reservoirs.

Zhu, Z., Yu, C., Luo, W., Miao, Y., Lu, Z., Liu, L., Yang, J., 2020. Accurate identification of the pastry contained in a ceramic pot excavated from Jurou Li's grave from the Jin dynasty (1115 - 1234 ce) in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Archaeometry 62, 130-140.

https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12490 In order to identify accurately the circular object contained in the ceramic pot excavated from Jurou Li's grave of the Jin dynasty (1115 - 1234 ce) in Xi'an, Shaanxi, China, mass spectrometry was applied to determine the amino acid sequences of the residual proteins extracted from the sample, after preliminary starch grain analysis. The sequences were searched against a standard protein sequence database. The proteins extracted were Hordeum vulgare Glycine max identified as originating from domesticated barley ( ), soybean ( ), and fermentative Kluyveromyces lactis Lipomyces starkeyi Wickerhamomyces ciferrii Nadsonia fulvescens microorganisms ( , , , Zygosaccharomyces rouxii and ). These findings indicate that the extremely degraded object in the ceramic pot was made from barley by fermentation with the addition of soy sauce, providing direct evidence of culinary culture in the Jin dynasty.

Ziervogel, K., Arnosti, C., 2020. Substantial carbohydrate hydrolase activities in the water column of the Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California). Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 815. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019. 00815.

https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2019.00815 The Guaymas Basin spreading center situated in the Gulf of California is characterized by a thick layer of organic-rich sediments that are thermally altered by hydrothermal fluids, thereby providing a bottom water source of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the water column. The potential for heterotrophic microbial communities in the water column to metabolize this organic matter source has not yet been investigated, however. In order to assess heterotrophic potential in the water column of the Guaymas Basin, we measured the activities of carbohydrate-hydrolyzing extracellular enzymes at the chlorophyll maximum, the oxygen minimum, the deep-water turbidity plume, and bottom waters. These measurements were carried out using water obtained from repeat CTD casts over the course of a week, and from bottom water collected by HOV Alvin at hydrothermally active areas with extensive chemosynthetic microbial mats. Repeat measurements at subsurface depths were very comparable across sampling dates and CTD casts. Exo-acting (terminal-unit- cleaving) monosaccharide hydrolase activities were typically higher in deeper waters than in surface waters, despite colder temperatures. In bottom water, the spectrum of endo-acting (mid-chain-cleaving) polysaccharide hydrolase activities was broader than at shallower depths. The high enzyme activities in Guaymas Basin bottom waters indicate an unusually active heterotrophic community that is responding to influx of DOC and nutrients into bottom waters from the hydrothermally affected sediments, or to the availability of chemosynthetically produced biomass.

Zou, J., Rezaee, R., Yuan, Y., Liu, K., Xie, Q., You, L., 2020. Distribution of adsorbed water in shale: An experimental study on isolated kerogen and bulk shale samples. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering 187, 106858.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920410519312744 Bakken shale samples were studied for distribution of adsorbed water using low-pressure nitrogen sorption. By comparing results between dry and wet samples, the distribution of adsorbed water in shale was determined. Two of the isolated kerogen samples show a striking change of pore size distribution (PSD) in large pores (>16 nm), indicating the pronounced distribution of adsorbed water in large pores of organic matter. As for the bulk shale, water can adsorb in both small (<16 nm) and large pores (>16 nm) depending on hydrophilic sites.