Contemporary perspectives in philosophy and methodology of science

[Abstract] Nowadays, philosophy and methodology of science appear as a combination of novelty and continuity. This blend is clear both in the general approaches to science (those thought of as any science) and in the specific perspectives on every science, either formal or empirical. There are new topics for philosophical reflection, such as key issues in philosophy of medicine and central problems raised by neuroscience. Thus, new contents have brought attention to aspects that previously went almost unnoticed. In addition, there are new angles for philosophical study, such as the repercussion of society on scientific activity (in aims, processes, and results). But the background of the main philosophical and methodological trends of the twentieth century is, in many ways, still in place

Arte paleolítico de la meseta española.

Sin resume

La Cueva de Los Casares (Riba de Saelices, Guadalajara) y su contenido gráfico pleistocénico: un nuevo proyecto de análisis contextual

We present the basic lines and first preliminary results of a new research project aimed at the systemic study of the Quaternary graphic expressions of Los Casares Cave. This site is located in inland Iberia (Guadalajara province, Spain), and a comprehensive and updated study of the rock art found on its walls has been lacking since the pioneering work of Juan Cabré in the 1930"s. Our methods are focused on (1) the systemic recording of cave depictions and their topographic and geological setting through 3D laser-scanning and terrestrial photogrammetry, and (2) the contextual analysis of graphic expressions by means of archaeological excavations beneath decorated panels, chronometric dating of black pigments and calcite crusts, and spectroscopic analysis of pigments. Fieldworks started in the summer of 2018, and thus results are still scarce and preliminary. However, they have already shown some evidence that enables us to shed light on the Palaeolithic graphic activity and associated human behaviors that took place in Los Casares cave.European Research Council (ERC)Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónJunta de Castilla-La Manch

New investigations at Los Casares cave (Riba de Saelices, Guadalajara, Spain). A comprehensive research project on a classic site of the Iberian Palaeolithic

In this article we present a research project focused on the reevaluation and study of the archaeological record of Los Casares Cave (inland Iberia). This project started in 2014 and is aimed at the systemic recording of the archaeological site and prehistoric graphic expressions found in the cave interior. We have adopted an interdisciplinary approach, allowing for a complete documentation and understating of both the historical/anthropological meaning of the site and its heritage value. This approach includes a multi-proxy geoarchaeological, palaeoecological and techno-economic investigation, as well as the topographic and digital recording of the cave graphic expressions, including 3D modelling and photogrammetric techniques. We present preliminary results of these investigations based on our current state of knowledge concerning the prehistoric human presence at the cave.Presentamos un nuevo proyecto de reestudio de la realidad arqueológica de la cueva de Los Casares (Riba de Saelices, Guadalajara). En marcha desde 2014, el proyecto persigue documentar de manera integral tanto el yacimiento de ocupación como el conjunto de grafías prehistóricas que encierra la cavidad. Para ello se ha adoptado un enfoque interdisciplinar que permita cubrir todos los aspectos necesarios para comprender el valor histórico y patrimonial de la gran cueva castellana; desde el corpus analítico para conocer los procesos de formación y la evolución paleoambiental y tecno-económica registrada en su yacimiento hasta la implementación de tecnologías de registro espacial y tridimensional para estudiar sus manifestaciones rupestres. En estas líneas glosamos los primeros resultados obtenidos y planteamos una primera aproximación a la historia de la frecuentación humana de la cueva.Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciónEuropean Research Council (ERC

First VLBI mapping of circumstellar 29SiO maser emission

We report the first VLBI map of the v=0 J=1-0 maser line of 29SiO in the long-period variable star IRC+10011. We have found that this maser emission is composed of multiple spots distributed in an incomplete ring, suggesting that this maser is also amplified tangentially, as already proposed in other SiO circumstellar masers. We present also VLBI maps for the 7 mm 28SiO v=1 and 2 J=1-0 and the 3 mm v=1 J=2-1 lines. The 29SiO masing region appears to be located in a layer in between the 28SiO v=1 J=1-0 and 28SiO v=1 J=2-1 lines. In addition, we confirm that the 86 GHz maser v=1 J=2-1 forms in an outer region of the circumstellar envelope compared to the other 28SiO masers studied. Finally, we discuss the possible implications of the observational results on the SiO maser pumping theory.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Temperature increase prevails over acidification in gene expression modulation of amastigote differentiation in Leishmania infantum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The extracellular promastigote and the intracellular amastigote stages alternate in the digenetic life cycle of the trypanosomatid parasite <it>Leishmania</it>. Amastigotes develop inside parasitophorous vacuoles of mammalian phagocytes, where they tolerate extreme environmental conditions. Temperature increase and pH decrease are crucial factors in the multifactorial differentiation process of promastigotes to amastigotes. Although expression profiling approaches for axenic, cell culture- and lesion-derived amastigotes have already been reported, the specific influence of temperature increase and acidification of the environment on developmental regulation of genes has not been previously studied. For the first time, we have used custom <it>L. infantum </it>genomic DNA microarrays to compare the isolated and the combined effects of both factors on the transcriptome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immunofluorescence analysis of promastigote-specific glycoprotein gp46 and expression modulation analysis of the amastigote-specific A2 gene have revealed that concomitant exposure to temperature increase and acidification leads to amastigote-like forms. The temperature-induced gene expression profile in the absence of pH variation resembles the profile obtained under combined exposure to both factors unlike that obtained for exposure to acidification alone. In fact, the subsequent fold change-based global iterative hierarchical clustering analysis supports these findings.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The specific influence of temperature and pH on the differential regulation of genes described in this study and the evidence provided by clustering analysis is consistent with the predominant role of temperature increase over extracellular pH decrease in the amastigote differentiation process, which provides new insights into <it>Leishmania </it>physiology.</p

First modern human settlement recorded in the Iberian hinterland occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions

As the south-westernmost region of Europe, the Iberian Peninsula stands as a key area for understanding the process of modern human dispersal into Eurasia. However, the precise timing, ecological setting and cultural context of this process remains controversial concerning its spatiotemporal distribution within the different regions of the peninsula. While traditional models assumed that the whole Iberian hinterland was avoided by modern humans due to ecological factors until the retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum, recent research has demonstrated that hunter-gatherers entered the Iberian interior at least during Solutrean times. We provide a multi-proxy geoarchaeological, chronometric and paleoecological study on human?environment interactions based on the key site of Peña Capón (Guadalajara, Spain). Results show (1) that this site hosts the oldest modern human presence recorded to date in central Iberia, associated to pre-Solutrean cultural traditions around 26,000 years ago, and (2) that this presence occurred during Heinrich Stadial 2 within harsh environmental conditions. These findings demonstrate that this area of the Iberian hinterland was recurrently occupied regardless of climate and environmental variability, thus challenging the widely accepted hypothesis that ecological risk hampered the human settlement of the Iberian interior highlands since the first arrival of modern humans to Southwest Europe.Tis research was carried out in the context of the ERC MULTIPALEOIBERIA project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2018-STG-805478), and the PALEOINTERIOR project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (HAR2017-82483-C3-3-P)

The recording of open-air Palaeolithic engravings as support to a complex management: a proposal from Côa (Portugal) and Siega Verde (Salamanca, Spain)

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Proctitis in patients with monkeypox infection: a single‑center analysis of 42 consecutive cases from a multidisciplinary observational study on monkeypox proctitis

Background: The current monkeypox (MP) virus outbreak was declared an international emergency in July 2022. The aim of this report is to describe our initial experience with patients with MP, focusing on proctitis. Methods: We conducted an observational study between 20 May and 31 July 2022, on patients with MP at a reference tertiary center in Madrid, Spain. A descriptive analysis on MP was performed, focusing on its characteristics, symptoms, diagnosis, and outcomes. Results: A total of 143 positive MP cases were diagnosed in our center; 42 of them [all male, median age 39 years (range: 22–57 years)] had proctitis (29.37%), and 3 patients (2.09%/MP total cases and 7.14%/MP proctitis) required surgical drainage of a perianal abscess. Conclusions: General and digestive surgeons must be aware of the presence of proctological impairment and complications due to MP viru

Discovery of water vapour in the carbon star V Cygni from observations with Herschel/HIFI

We report the discovery of water vapour toward the carbon star V Cygni. We have used Herschel's HIFI instrument, in dual beam switch mode, to observe the 1(11) - 0(00) para-water transition at 1113.3430 GHz in the upper sideband of the Band 4b receiver. The observed spectral line profile is nearly parabolic, but with a slight asymmetry associated with blueshifted absorption, and the integrated antenna temperature is 1.69 \pm 0.17 K km/s. This detection of thermal water vapour emission, carried out as part of a small survey of water in carbon-rich stars, is only the second such detection toward a carbon-rich AGB star, the first having been obtained by the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite toward IRC+10216. For an assumed ortho-to-para ratio of 3 for water, the observed line intensity implies a water outflow rate ~ (3 - 6) E-5 Earth masses per year and a water abundance relative to H2 of ~ (2-5) E-6. This value is a factor of at least 1E+4 larger than the expected photospheric abundance in a carbon-rich environment, and - as in IRC+10216 - raises the intriguing possibility that the observed water is produced by the vapourisation of orbiting comets or dwarf planets. However, observations of the single line observed to date do not permit us to place strong constraints upon the spatial distribution or origin of the observed water, but future observations of additional transitions will allow us to determine the inner radius of the H2O-emitting zone, and the H2O ortho-to-para ratio, and thereby to place important constraints upon the origin of the observed water emission.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (HIFI special issue