Les Horologia romana en Hispanie, mobilier, histoire et realités archéologiques

There has been no previous global study of the Horologia in Hispania. The purpose of the present study is to collect together current knowledge with archaeological discoveries as well as iconographical or epigraphical one. The archaeological remains, most often under-exploited, reveal a clear predominance of objects discovered in private contexts and a local production in most cases. Nevertheless, the existence of sundials in public centres is also attested not only by the epigraphy, well known, but also by the archaeological discoveries. Finally the opportunity is taken to review the available information about the so-called ‘sundial’ from Yecla with its unusual design. Although not discussed recently its use as a sundial is still open to question.El estudio de los Horologia romana en Hispania no ha sido hecho hasta ahora. Este es el propósito del presente artículo que constituye al mismo tiempo una síntesis de los conocimientos existentes sobre este aspecto de la civilización romana en Hispania y un catálogo y estudio de toda la evidencia arqueológica, iconográfica y epigráfica. Los restos arqueológicos, en ocasiones poco estudiados por los descubridores, revelan un claro predominio de objetos descubiertos en ámbitos privados y una producción local en muchos casos. No obstante, la existencia de relojes en centros públicos está atestiguada no sólo por la epigrafía, bien conocida, sino también por los descubrimientos arqueológicos. Finalmente, el artículo brinda la oportunidad de redescubrir el llamado reloj de Yecla, de una iconografía totalmente inusual, prácticamente olvidado por los investigadores, pero que todavía hoy está sometido a discusión

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Geo mar. lett.

The present study investigates the history of the northern Sfax coast by means of subsurface sediments of the sebkhas El Merdessia and El Awebed through a multiproxy approach. Ostracod and mollusk assemblages, diversity index, sedimentological criteria, correspondence analysis, and radiocarbon datings together provide an overview of the development of this coast over the last 5000 years. Original data give evidence for periods of predominantly lagoonal and brackish water conditions. These data testify to the emersion of sebkha El Awebed during Holocene, while sebkha El Merdessia recorded three marine transgressions toward 4599, 2225, and 1396 years cal BP. These transgressions are indicated by the richness of sediments in lagoonal and marine ostracod assemblages coupled with marine mollusks and the high values of species richness and diversity index. Sandwiched between 2225 and 1396 years BP, a period of sea-level stability and buildup of sand barriers in front of the estuaries was evidenced. Toward 250 years cal BP, a tsunami event is evidenced by the deposition of a shelly bed containing angular and sharpened Cerithium vulgatum in coarser marine sands overlaid by silts and clays rich in charcoal particles and pottery fragments. The comparison between the proxies analyzed of the studied area and those of Skhira coast leads to the conclusion that the two coasts were subjected to the same factors. However, a time shift of sedimentation is due to the uplift of Sfax northern coast favored by the activity of the faults, unlike the southern Skhira subsidence

Comparison of living and dead benthic foraminifera on the Portuguese margin: Understanding the taphonomical processes

Dead benthic foraminifera (> 150 μm) were studied in 23 sediment cores from the Portuguese Margin at water depths between 20 and 2000 m and located on 4 transects off the Douro, Mondego, Tagus and Sado river mouths and 1 transect in the Estremadura. For 10 stations, the dead faunal vertical distribution (0–8 cm) was first investigated in 4 different sediment horizons per core to evaluate the sampling effort necessary to have a representation of the dead fauna deposited under different environmental areas. As a result, it appears that the faunal vertical distribution is constant, except for the deepest environments where fragile taxa were identified in the top layers only. Dead foraminiferal assemblages in the 4–5 cm layer for all stations were then compared to previously published living foraminiferal assemblages (of March 2011) from the same cores to evaluate the taphonomical processes affecting major species. This improves the knowledge of the faunal distribution for a better benthic foraminiferal proxy for paleostudies. There was a considerable loss of some species in the dead fauna. Firstly, this concerns the fragile organic-cemented agglutinated taxa such as Reophax spp., Glomospira charoides, or Bathysiphon spp. Secondly, some calcitic species such as Nonion scaphum, Cancris auriculus, Ammonia beccarii or Bulimina aculeata that were particularly abundant in the living fauna on the inner shelf under the late winter high river discharge conditions, were also far less dominant in the dead fauna. Lastly, other species like Cassidulina carinata, Valvulineria bradyana, and Bulimina marginata systematically showed higher abundance in the dead fauna at the mid shelf. These species, related to eutrophic conditions occurring in summer during the upwelling activity, were therefore not well represented in the living fauna, collected in March. Transport of allochthonous specimens may also account for higher contribution in the dead community of some species like Cibicides lobatulus, Asterigerinata mamilla or Haynesina depressula, especially in coastal environments where hydrodynamic processes (river flood, winter storm, coastal drift) are more vigorous. Several species (U. mediterranea, U. bifurcata, T. agglutinans, H. balthica or B. costata), however, show little or no difference in both abundance and spatial occurrence between the living and dead faunas and provide a stable signal for paleoclimatic investigations

Agroécologie, génétique végétale et amélioration des plantes

il s'agit d'un type de produit dont les métadonnées ne correspondent pas aux métadonnées attendues dans les autres types de produit : ACTIVITY_REPORTabsen

TEXL86-based oceanic temperatures in sediment core MD03-2601

We reconstructed subsurface (~45-200 m water depth) temperature variability in the eastern Antarctic continental margin during the late Holocene, using an archaeal lipid-based temperature proxy (TEX86L). Our results reveal that subsurface temperature changes were probably positively coupled to the variability of warmer, nutrient-rich Modified Circumpolar Deep Water (MCDW, deep water of the Antarctic circumpolar current) intrusion onto the continental shelf. The TEX86L record, in combination with previously published climatic records, indicates that this coupling was probably related to the thermohaline circulation, seasonal variability in sea ice extent, sea temperature, and wind associated with high frequency climate dynamics at low-latitudes such as internal El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). This in turn suggests a linkage between centennial ENSO-like variability at low-latitudes and intrusion variability of MCDW into the eastern Antarctic continental shelf, which might have further impact on ice sheet evolution