The effectiveness of music therapy on anxiety and the feeling of loneliness: quasi-experimental study

La ansiedad y el sentimiento de soledad son estados emocionales que las personas pueden experimentar con mayor o menor intensidad. Además de las terapias farmacológicas no curativas, la musicoterapia viene asentándose en los últimos años como una terapia eficaz para paliar estos trastornos evitando que se vuelvan crónicos y deriven en diversas patologías. Este estudio de investigación cuasiexperimental evalúa la eficacia de las técnicas de musicoterapia en la mejora de los trastornos mencionados en personas que experimentan situaciones emocionales difíciles de gestionar por diversas circunstancias. Un total de 31 personas (28 mujeres y 3 hombres, con edad mediana de 45,6 años) reciben sesiones semanales de musicoterapia de 1 hora de duración, durante 10 semanas. En la primera y última sesión de cada período, se auto administran las escalas de ansiedad de Hamilton (HAS) y de soledad (Universidad de California Los Angeles, UCLA) lo cual permite conocer su evolución durante el tratamiento recibido. En total, se halla que un 74% y un 77% de los participantes han mejorado, respectivamente, en los trastornos de ansiedad y de soledad, obteniéndose en promedio, una reducción del 27% y del 16% aproximadamente de las puntuaciones iniciales antes del tratamiento.Anxiety and the feeling of loneliness are emotional states that individuals may experience with greater or lesser intensity. Besides non-curative pharmacological therapies, music therapy has been settling in recent years as an effective therapy to ease these disorders preventing them from becoming chronic and lead to various pathologies. This quasi-experimental research study assesses 31 individuals (28 women and 3 men, with an average age of 45,6) that receive weekly one-hour music therapy sessions during 10 weeks. In the first and the last session of each period they self-administer the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and UCLA Loneliness Scale which allows to know their evolution during the treatment. The results show that a 74% and a 77% of the participants experienced a significant reduction of the initial disorders, obtaining on average, a reduction of 27% and 16% of the scores initially assigned.Cátedra Libre Musicoterapi

La eficacia de la musicoterapia ante la ansiedad y el sentimiento de soledad

Anxiety and the feeling of loneliness are emotional states that individuals may experience with greater or lesser intensity. Besides non-curative pharmacological therapies, music therapy has been settling in recent years as an effective therapy to ease these disorders preventing them from becoming chronic and lead to various pathologies. This quasi-experimental research study assesses 31 individuals (28 women and 3 men, with an average age of 45,6) that receive weekly one-hour music therapy sessions during 10 weeks. In the first and the last session of each period they self-administer the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and UCLA Loneliness Scale which allows to know their evolution during the treatment. The results show that a 74% and a 77% of the participants experienced a significant reduction of the initial disorders, obtaining on average, a reduction of 27% and 16% of the scores initially assigned.La ansiedad y el sentimiento de soledad son estados emocionales que las personas pueden experimentar con mayor o menor intensidad. Además de las terapias farmacológicas no curativas, la musicoterapia viene asentándose en los últimos años como una terapia eficaz para paliar estos trastornos evitando que se vuelvan crónicos y deriven en diversas patologías. Este estudio de investigación cuasiexperimental evalúa la eficacia de las técnicas de musicoterapia en la mejora de los trastornos mencionados en personas que experimentan situaciones emocionales difíciles de gestionar por diversas circunstancias. Un total de 31 personas (28 mujeres y 3 hombres, con edad mediana de 45,6 años) reciben sesiones semanales de musicoterapia de 1 hora de duración, durante 10 semanas. En la primera y última sesión de cada período, se auto administran las escalas de ansiedad de Hamilton (HAS) y de soledad (Universidad de California Los Angeles, UCLA) lo cual permite conocer su evolución durante el tratamiento recibido. En total, se halla que un 74% y un 77% de los participantes han mejorado, respectivamente, en los trastornos de ansiedad y de soledad, obteniéndose en promedio, una reducción del 27% y del 16% aproximadamente de las puntuaciones iniciales antes del tratamiento. &nbsp

Mid-Holocene Palaeoenvironment, Plant Resources and Human Interaction in Northeast Iberia: An Archaeobotanical Approach

MDPI accés obert UTPThe role of the adoption of farming economies in the transformation of mid-Holocene landscapes in Northeast Iberia is under discussion given that the Neolithization coincides with the cold climatic phase dated ca. 7500-7000 cal BP. The main aim of this paper is to assess whether human activities or climate were the main driver of vegetation changes during the Middle Holocene through the study of the archaeobotanical data from three case studies: Cova del Sardo, La Draga, and Coves del Fem. The application of diverse archaeobotanical techniques to the different plant remains provides a complete picture of the vegetation composition and plant uses. During the early Neolithic, settlement surroundings were intensively exploited for firewood, wood raw material, timber, and plant fibers. The resources were obtained mainly from deciduous and pine forests, de-pending on the site localization, but also from riparian zones. The diversity of plants exploited was high, not only trees but shrubs and herbs. Evidence of deforestation has been identified in the settlement surroundings in La Draga and Cova del Sardo. The combination of plant exploitation with other agropastoral activities favored the expansion of colonizing species and enhanced biodiversity at a local scale

Livestock management at the Late Iron Age site of Baltarga (eastern Pyrenees): an integrated bio-geoarchaeological approach

Despite the important role of livestock farming amongst Iron Age communities living in mountain regions, there is little information about livestock management, and particularly stabling practises, breeding systems, and grazing/foddering patterns. The study of the ground floor of Building G in Tossal de Baltarga has provided valuable insights into these important issues and has given us a better understanding of the social and economic patterns involved in all these livestock activities. It revealed the existence of a stable from the Late Iron Age, thanks to unique in situ finds of the stabled animals, including four sheep, a goat, and a horse, in addition to a range of organic remains preserved by fire and penning deposits. It is the first documented to date in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. Through an integrated bio-geoarchaeological approach, combining a range of analytic procedures, including osteology, dental microwear, stable isotopes, phytoliths, dung spherulite analyses, and thin-section micromorphology, for the first time, this study has provided new, high-resolution evidence of livestock management strategies. Specifically, the research shed light on animal penning and feeding practises, revealing variable herbivorous regimes between species, the practise of seasonal movements, and the possible use of fodder as the main dietary regime of the animals stabled there. At the same time, the Baltarga case-study illustrates an indoor production unit that could reveal possible private control of some domestic animals in the Pyrenean Late Iron Age.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. LC is currently supported by a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC2019-026732-I-AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033). CM has the financial support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca de la Generalitat de Catalunya and European Social Fund (ESF) “Investing in your future” (2022 FI_B2 00070). The funding for this research has been partially provided within the framework of the projects “Control, gestión y explotación del territorio en la Hispania romana”, PID2021-122879OB-I00, MICIN, and “PATCA-3”, Generalitat de Catalunya, 9071-55/2022

Pyrosequencing versus methylation-specific PCR for assessment of MGMT methylation in tumor and blood samples of glioblastoma patients

Circulating biomarkers in blood may provide an interesting alternative to risky tissue biopsies in the diagnosis and follow-up of glioblastoma patients. We have assessed MGMT methylation status in blood and tissue samples from unresected glioblastoma patients who had been included in the randomized GENOM-009 trial. Paired blood and tissue samples were assessed by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and pyrosequencing (PYR). After establishing the minimum PYR cut-off that could yield a significant difference in overall survival, we assessed the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value (NPV) of the analyses. Methylation could be detected in cfDNA by both MSP and PYR but with low concordance with results in tissue. Sensitivity was low for both methods (31% and 38%, respectively), while specificity was higher for MSP in blood than for PYR in plasma (96% vs 76%) and NPV was similar (56 vs 57%). Concordance of results in tissue by MSP and PYR was 84.3% (P < 0.001) and correlated with outcome. We conclude that detection of cfDNA in the blood of glioblastoma patients can be an alternative when tumor tissue is not available but methods for the detection of cfDNA in blood must improve before it can replace analysis in tumor tissue

Nuevo hallazgo de arte mueble de estilo Paleolítico en el Noreste peninsular: la plaqueta grabada de les Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona)

El hallazgo de un canto de esquisto con 7 zoomorfos (ciervos, cápridos y/o bóvidos) y restos informes grabados en el yacimiento de Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona), contribuye a enriquecer el exiguo repertorio de arte mueble de tradición paleolítica del noreste de la península Ibérica. Su análisis detallado y su comparación con el registro artístico de la vertiente mediterránea peninsular resultan claves para determinar su adscripción crono-cultural. La pieza conserva un complejo palimpsesto de motivos figurativos y no figurativos distribuidos por ambas caras, cuyas características formales, técnicas y compositivas (asociaciones no escénicas), nos remiten al final del ciclo artístico paleolítico. Este hallazgo amplía el inventario de arte paleolítico catalán, reafirma la importancia de la provincia de Tarragona, que concentra la mayoría de los hallazgos de arte mueble paleolítico de Cataluña, y abre nuevas perspectivas en el estudio del yacimiento, al ampliar su cronología hasta momentos finales del Paleolítico superior. ABSTRACT: This paper reports the discovery of a schist slab with 7 zoomorphic figures (deer, wild goats and/or bulls) and other engraved remains at Coves del Fem site (Ulldemolins, Priorat, Tarragona) in 2020. This find adds to the limited, although unique, repertoire of portable art of Palaeolithic style found so far in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed analysis of this piece and comparison with the artistic record known so far for the Mediterranean side of Iberia are key to establish the relative chronology of this find. The themes (a combination of animals and non-figurative motifs), the formal (simplified representations of animals with elongated bodies), technical (a schist slab with fine incised engravings filled with striated strokes) and compositional patterns of the motifs, with a complex palimpsest of figurative and non-figurative engravings distributed on both sides creating two non-scenic compositions, recall an art from the end of the Paleolithic artistic cycle. To these common elements, this slab adds certain singularities. First, two animals of different species are involved in a mirror symmetry composition, which is not unique to this site, but it is more common in older periods and with the animals distributed on both sides of a vertical axis, rather than horizontal, as in this case. Such distribution has no parallels in this final phase of the artistic sequence. Second, the microscopic analysis of the art reveals the preservation of red pigment inside the engraved grooves, showing the use of a mixed technique, involving a combination of incision and painting. This practice, used probably to enhance motifs and improve visualization, has been recorded in a limited number of Palaeolithic sites, most likely due to conservation problems. Third, the slab includes the first example of an engraved goat known in the Catalan repertoire. Overall, this find contributes to expand the repertoire of Catalan Paleolithic art, confirms the importance of the Tarragona province, concentrating most of the finds of Paleolithic portable art in Catalonia, and opens new perspectives in the study of Coves del Fem, substantially expanding the chronology of this site until the end of the Upper Paleolithic period. Finally, it brings a new example with its own peculiarities (the type of composition) for characterizing the art of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in south-western Europe

Nuevo hallazgo de arte mueble de estilo Paleolítico en el Noreste peninsular : la plaqueta grabada de les Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona)

El hallazgo de un canto de esquisto con 7 zoomorfos (ciervos, cápridos y/o bóvidos) y restos informes grabados en el yacimiento de Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona), contribuye a enriquecer el exiguo repertorio de arte mueble de tradición paleolítica del noreste de la península Ibérica. Su análisis detallado y su comparación con el registro artístico de la vertiente mediterránea peninsular resultan claves para determinar su adscripción crono-cultural. La pieza conserva un complejo palimpsesto de motivos figurativos y no figurativos distribuidos por ambas caras, cuyas características formales, técnicas y compositivas (asociaciones no escénicas), nos remiten al final del ciclo artístico paleolítico. Este hallazgo amplía el inventario de arte paleolítico catalán, reafirma la importancia de la provincia de Tarragona, que concentra la mayoría de los hallazgos de arte mueble paleolítico de Cataluña, y abre nuevas perspectivas en el estudio del yacimiento, al ampliar su cronología hasta momentos finales del Paleolítico superior.This paper reports the discovery of a schist slab with 7 zoomorphic figures (deer, wild goats and/or bulls) and other engraved remains at Coves del Fem site (Ulldemolins, Priorat, Tarragona) in 2020. This find adds to the limited, although unique, repertoire of portable art of Palaeolithic style found so far in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed analysis of this piece and comparison with the artistic record known so far for the Mediterranean side of Iberia are key to establish the relative chronology of this find. The themes (a combination of animals and non-figurative motifs), the formal (simplified representations of animals with elongated bodies), technical (a schist slab with fine incised engravings filled with striated strokes) and compositional patterns of the motifs, with a complex palimpsest of figurative and non-figurative engravings distributed on both sides creating two non-scenic compositions, recall an art from the end of the Paleolithic artistic cycle. To these common elements, this slab adds certain singularities. First, two animals of different species are involved in a mirror symmetry composition, which is not unique to this site, but it is more common in older periods and with the animals distributed on both sides of a vertical axis, rather than horizontal, as in this case. Such distribution has no parallels in this final phase of the artistic sequence. Second, the microscopic analysis of the art reveals the preservation of red pigment inside the engraved grooves, showing the use of a mixed technique, involving a combination of incision and painting. This practice, used probably to enhance motifs and improve visualization, has been recorded in a limited number of Palaeolithic sites, most likely due to conservation problems. Third, the slab includes the first example of an engraved goat known in the Catalan repertoire. Overall, this find contributes to expand the repertoire of Catalan Paleolithic art, confirms the importance of the Tarragona province, concentrating most of the finds of Paleolithic portable art in Catalonia, and opens new perspectives in the study of Coves del Fem, substantially expanding the chronology of this site until the end of the Upper Paleolithic period. Finally, it brings a new example with its own peculiarities (the type of composition) for characterizing the art of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in south-western Euro

Los objetos elaborados con fibras vegetales del Neolítico Antiguo de Coves del Fem, Ulldemolins (Tarragona)

Los objetos manufacturados con materias orgánicas raramente se conservan excepto bajo condiciones ambientales específicas, ya sea en medios de sequedad constante, en contextos anaeróbicos sumergidos, bajo congelación o por carbonización. Por ello, las técnicas de cestería y cordelería, así como las materias primas utilizadas están escasamente documentadas en el registro arqueológico del Neolítico peninsular. Se aporta aquí nueva información acerca de las técnicas cesteras y de cordelería, así como de las materias primas utilizadas en Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona). Estos restos fueron recuperados en una fosa adscribible al Neolítico antiguo. La cestería estudiada se encuentra manufacturada a través de la técnica de espiral cosida, mientras que en el caso de la cordelería se trata de un único fragmento torsionado. Se discute su funcionalidad en un contexto de hábitat en cueva, así como su tecnología y materias primas usadas, contextualizándolos con otros ejemplos de cestería de espiral cosida de la península ibérica.Plant-based artefacts are considered one of the first technologies used by human populations playing an important role in the daily life of all societies. Even though, they are made of perishable material which usually disappears in archaeological contexts except for some specific environmental conditions that permit their conservation as arid, anaerobic, waterlogged atmospheres or carbonization. Some examples of the f irst implements produced by organic materials are baskets and cords which are documented since the very beginning of human populations. Nevertheless, these fibre-based materials have been excluded from archaeological studies. The lack of knowledge in this vegetal technology is a consequence of the difficulty of organic material preservation and the non-suitable analysis and identification methodologies. Even they represent a living material culture as history and ethnography demonstrate, vegetal fibres were probably used for producing indispensable everyday objects and artefacts in the past. The aim of this paper is to provide new information about vegetal technology as basketry and cordage techniques, as well as the raw materials used in Neolithic chronologies in the North-East of the Iberian Peninsula. The materials analyzed in this study were recovered at the site of Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona) which is a rock shelter preserved thanks to the fallen rock blocks. Basketry and cordage fragments came from the archaeological fieldwork of 2019 and were recovered inside a pit in levels of the final Early Neolithic. They were preserved thanks to the carbonization and dehydration they were submitted to. Both basketry and cordage examples from Coves del Fem, were deeply described considering their morphology and technology, as well as the raw materials they were made of. The methodology consisted of describing the technique used and taking measures of the different fragments aiming to obtain information about the way the basket and the cord were made. The identification of raw materials was performed by observing cross, peridermal and longitudinal sections of samples using a transmitted optical microscope. Descriptions were based on microanatomical observation by comparing with reference modern material and specialized technical literature. The results showed the basketry assemblage was produced using the coiling technique and all the fragments belong to a single object. In the case of the cordage fragment, it was made by twisting the fibres which had been previously mechanically processed. The identification of raw materials revealed at least the use of sedges for basketry and non-identified herbaceous plants for making cordage. The functionality of the objects is discussed, and they are also contextualized with other Neolithic fibre productions examples from the Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East, both technologically and the chosen raw materials. In summary, fibre-based productions from Coves del Fem, along with the assemblage from the lake dwelling site of La Draga, fill the gap of this archaeological record from the Iberian Peninsula to Europe, demonstrating the long history of the technical skills related to plant exploitation