Paleoenvironments and human adaptations during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Iberian Peninsula: A review

The Iberian Peninsula is considered one of the most well-suited regions in Europe to develop studies on the relationship between environmental changes and human adaptations across the Late Pleistocene. Due to its southwesternmost cul-de-sac position and eco-geographical diversity, Paleolithic Iberia was the stage of cyclical cultural/technological changes, linked to fluctuations in climate and environments, human demographics, and the size, extension, and type of social exchange networks. Such dynamics are particularly evident during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) timeframe, with a series of innovations emerging in the archaeological record, marking the transitions between the traditionally defined Gravettian, Proto-Solutrean, Solutrean, and Magdalenian technocomplexes. Stemming from a workshop organized in Erlangen in 2019 on ?The Last Glacial Maximum in Europe - state of knowledge in Geosciences and Archaeology?, this paper presents, in the first part, an updated review on the paleoenvironments and human adaptations across four macro-regions (Northern, Inland, Mediterranean, and Western Atlantic Fa?ade) in Iberia during the LGM; and, in a second part, a discussion on the pronounced interregional variability, unresolved research questions, and the most promising research topics for future studies.Friedrich-Alexander-Universitat Erlangen - Nurnberg; Fundacao para a Ciencia e TecnologiaPortuguese Foundation for Science and TechnologyEuropean Commission [DL 57/2016/CP1361/CT0026]; Spanish Ministry of ScienceSpanish Government [HAR2017-82483-C3-1-P]; Consolidated Research Group in Prehistory of the University of the Basque Country [IT-1223-19]; European Research Council MULTIPALEOIBERIA project [ERC-2018-STG-805478]; Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation PALEOINTERIOR project [HAR2017-82483-C3-3-P]; Comunidad de MadridComunidad de Madrid [2016-T2/HUM-1251]; NPI of the Generalitat Valenciana, Direccio General d'Universitat, Investigacio i Ciencia [Aico/2018/125, Aico 2020/97]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A context for the last Neandertals of interior Iberia: Los Casares cave revisited

Introduction and objectives Although the Iberian Peninsula is a key area for understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and the demise of the Neandertals, valuable evidence for these debates remains scarce and problematic in its interior regions. Sparse data supporting a late Neandertal persistence in the Iberian interior have been recently refuted and hence new evidence is needed to build new models on the timing and causes of Neandertal disappearance in inland Iberia and the whole peninsula. In this study we provide new evidence from Los Casares, a cave located in the highlands of the Spanish Meseta, where a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic site was discovered and first excavated in the 1960's. Our main objective is twofold: (1) provide an updated geoarcheological, paleoenvironmental and chronological framework for this site, and (2) discuss obtained results in the context of the time and nature of the last Neandertal presence in Iberia. Methods We conducted new fieldwork in an interior chamber of Los Casares cave named 'Seno A'. Our methods included micromorphology, sedimentology, radiocarbon dating, Uranium/Thorium dating, palinology, microfaunal analysis, anthracology, phytolith analysis, archeo-zoology and lithic technology. Here we present results on site formation processes, paleoenvironment and the chronological setting of the Neandertal occupation at Los Casares cave-Seno A. Results and discussion The sediment sequence reveals a mostly in situ archeological deposit containing evidence of both Neandertal activity and carnivore action in level c, dated to 44,899 +/- 42,175 calendar years ago. This occupation occurred during a warm and humid interval of Marine Isotopic Stage 3, probably correlating with Greenland Interstadial 11, representing one of the latest occurrences of Neandertals in the Iberian interior. However, overlying layer b records a deterioration of local environments, thus providing a plausible explanation for the abandonment of the site, and perhaps for the total disappearance of Neandertals of the highlands of inland Iberia during subsequent Greenland Stadials 11 or 10, or even Heinrich Stadial 4. Since layer b provided very few signs of human activity and no reliable chronometric results, and given the scarce chronostratigrapic evidence recorded so far for this period in interior Iberia, this can only be taken as a working hypothesis to be tested with future research. Meanwhile, 42,000 calendar years ago remains the most plausible date for the abandonment of interior Iberia by Neandertals, possibly due to climate deterioration. Currently, a later survival of this human species in Iberia is limited to the southern coasts

Seven Additional Patients with <i>SOX17</i> Related Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Review of the Literature

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an infrequent disorder characterized by high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. It may lead to premature death or the requirement for lung and/or heart transplantation. Genetics plays an important and increasing role in the diagnosis of PAH. Here, we report seven additional patients with variants in SOX17 and a review of sixty previously described patients in the literature. Patients described in this study suffered with additional conditions including large septal defects, as described by other groups. Collectively, sixty-seven PAH patients have been reported so far with variants in SOX17, including missense and loss-of-function (LoF) variants. The majority of the loss-of-function variants found in SOX17 were detected in the last exon of the gene. Meanwhile, most missense variants were located within exon one, suggesting a probable tolerated change at the amino terminal part of the protein. In addition, we reported two idiopathic PAH patients presenting with the same variant previously detected in five patients by other studies, suggesting a possible hot spot. Research conducted on PAH associated with congenital heart disease (CHD) indicated that variants in SOX17 might be particularly prevalent in this subgroup, as two out of our seven additional patients presented with CHD. Further research is still necessary to clarify the precise association between the biological pathway of SOX17 and the development of PAH

Germline variation at 8q24 and prostate cancer risk in men of European ancestry (vol 9, 4616, 2018)

Genotyping of the OncoArray was funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) [U19 CA 148537 for ELucidating Loci Involved in Prostate Cancer SuscEptibility (ELLIPSE) project and X01HG007492 to the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) under contract number HHSN268201200008I]. Additional analytic support was provided by NIH NCI U01 CA188392 (PI: Schumacher). The PRACTICAL consortium (http://practical.icr.ac.uk/) was supported by Cancer Research UK Grants C5047/A7357, C1287/A10118, C1287/A16563, C5047/A3354, C5047/A10692, C16913/A6135, European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175), and The National Institute of Health (NIH) Cancer PostCancer GWAS initiative grant: No. 1 U19 CA 148537-01 (the GAME-ON initiative

Germline variation at 8q24 and prostate cancer risk in men of European ancestry (vol 9, 4616, 2018)

Genotyping of the OncoArray was funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) [U19 CA 148537 for ELucidating Loci Involved in Prostate Cancer SuscEptibility (ELLIPSE) project and X01HG007492 to the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR) under contract number HHSN268201200008I]. Additional analytic support was provided by NIH NCI U01 CA188392 (PI: Schumacher). The PRACTICAL consortium (http://practical.icr.ac.uk/) was supported by Cancer Research UK Grants C5047/A7357, C1287/A10118, C1287/A16563, C5047/A3354, C5047/A10692, C16913/A6135, European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175), and The National Institute of Health (NIH) Cancer PostCancer GWAS initiative grant: No. 1 U19 CA 148537-01 (the GAME-ON initiative