LA EXPLOTACIÓN DE LOS VEGETALES COMO RECURSO ALIMENTICIO DURANTE LA PREHISTORIA: DATOS Y REFLEXIONES

Carpological remains found in the archaeological sites result from the activities of cleaning and dispersion of the remains produced during the preparation of food and these kinds of activities must also be understood as decisions of the group in the context of the social organization of the habitat and the perception of domestic remains. The application of the archaeobotanical studies in archaeology give us direct data about cultivated and foraged plants, as well as information about the ecological conditions on the cultivated lands andother aspects of agricultural activities. Although the archaeobotanical studies do not reveal properly the importance of this because of different questions, the investigation about the management of plants constitutes a main element in the studies of subsistence and feeding habits.Los restos carpológicos hallados en los yacimientos arqueológicos son el resultado de las actividades de limpieza y dispersión de los residuos producidos durante la preparación de los alimentos, y este tipo de actividades también deben ser entendidas como decisiones del grupo relacionadas con la organización social del espacio y la percepción de los desechos domésticos. La aplicación de los estudios arqueobotánicos en la arqueología proporciona datos directos acerca de las plantas cultivadas y recolectadas, así como información sobrelas condiciones ecológicas de los campos de cultivos y otros aspectos de las actividades agrícolas. Aunque los estudios arqueobotánicos no traslucen debidamente esta importancia por cuestiones diversas, la investigación sobre la gestión de las plantas constituye un elemento clave en los estudios de subsistencia y alimentación

Agronomic conditions and crop evolution in ancient Near East agriculture

The appearance of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent propelled the development of Western civilization. Here we investigate the evolution of agronomic conditions in this region by reconstructing cereal kernel weight and using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of kernels and charcoal from a set of 11 Upper Mesopotamia archaeological sites, with chronologies spanning from the onset of agriculture to the turn of the era. We show that water availability for crops, inferred from carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C), was two- to fourfold higher in the past than at present, with a maximum between 10,000 and 8,000 cal BP. Nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) decreased over time, which suggests cultivation occurring under gradually less-fertile soil conditions. Domesticated cereals showed a progressive increase in kernel weight over several millennia following domestication. Our results provide a first comprehensive view of agricultural evolution in the Near East inferred directly from archaeobotanical remains

La caserna de Sant Pau del camp (Barcelona): Una aproximación a los modelos de circulación de productos e ideas en un contexto funerario postcardial

El asentamiento al aire libre de Caserna de Sant Pau del Camp, situado en el actual barrio del Raval de Barcelona, presenta una secuencia que abarca desde el Neolítico Antiguo Cardial al Bronce Final, con ocupaciones posteriores en época romana y moderna. Es a través de los niveles de Neolítico Antiguo Postcardial procedentes de un conjunto funerario formado por 24 sepulturas que se pretende realizar una aproximación a la selección de los materiales recuperados y a la intencionalidad en la procedencia y recurrencia en la composición de este tipo de depósitos. El análisis de los distintos materiales de origen biótico y abiótico desde una perspectiva pluridisciplinar ha permitido identificar la procedencia de parte de los materiales de origen lítico y cerámico, y de los procesos tecnológicos asociados a su manufactura y manipulación. La contextualización de este conjunto, así como su formación y origen nos aporta información de las distintas prácticas de este grupo, principalmente aquellas relacionadas con la circulación de materias y productos y la intencionalidad inherente en su manipulación

Silibinin Suppresses Tumor Cell-Intrinsic Resistance to Nintedanib and Enhances Its Clinical Activity in Lung Cancer

The anti-angiogenic agent nintedanib has been shown to prolong overall and progression-free survival in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progress after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy and second-line immunotherapy. Here, we explored the molecular basis and the clinical benefit of incorporating the STAT3 inhibitor silibinin-a flavonolignan extracted from milk thistle-into nintedanib-based schedules in advanced NSCLC. First, we assessed the nature of the tumoricidal interaction between nintedanib and silibinin and the underlying relevance of STAT3 activation in a panel of human NSCLC cell lines. NSCLC cells with poorer cytotoxic responses to nintedanib exhibited a persistent, nintedanib-unresponsive activated STAT3 state, and deactivation by co-treatment with silibinin promoted synergistic cytotoxicity. Second, we tested whether silibinin could impact the lysosomal sequestration of nintedanib, a lung cancer cell-intrinsic mechanism of nintedanib resistance. Silibinin partially, but significantly, reduced the massive lysosomal entrapment of nintedanib occurring in nintedanib-refractory NSCLC cells, augmenting the ability of nintedanib to reach its intracellular targets. Third, we conducted a retrospective, observational multicenter study to determine the efficacy of incorporating an oral nutraceutical product containing silibinin in patients with NSCLC receiving a nintedanib/docetaxel combination in second- and further-line settings (n = 59). Overall response rate, defined as the combined rates of complete and partial responses, was significantly higher in the study cohort receiving silibinin supplementation (55%) than in the control cohort (22%, p = 0.011). Silibinin therapy was associated with a significantly longer time to treatment failure in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio 0.43, p = 0.013), despite the lack of overall survival benefit (hazard ratio 0.63, p = 0.190). Molecular mechanisms dictating the cancer cell-intrinsic responsiveness to nintedanib, such as STAT3 activation and lysosomal trapping, are amenable to pharmacological intervention with silibinin. A prospective, powered clinical trial is warranted to confirm the clinical relevance of these findings in patients with advanced NSCLC

Impacts of use and abuse of nature in Catalona with proposal for sustainable management

This paper provides an overview of the last 40 years of use, and in many cases abuse, of the natural resources in Catalonia, a country that is representative of European countries in general, and especially those in the Mediterranean region. It analyses the use of natural resources made by mining, agriculture, livestock, logging, fishing, nature tourism, and energy production and consumption. This use results in an ecological footprint, i.e., the productive land and sea surface required to generate the consumed resources and absorb the resulting waste, which is about seven times the amount available, a very high number but very similar to other European countries. This overexploitation of natural resources has a huge impact on land and its different forms of cover, air, and water. For the last 25 years, forests and urban areas have each gained almost 3% more of the territory at the expense of agricultural land; those municipalities bordering the sea have increased their number of inhabitants and activity, and although they only occupy 6.7% of the total surface area, they account for 43.3% of the population; air quality has stabilized since the turn of the century, and there has been some improvement in the state of aquatic ecosystems, but still only 36% are in good condition, while the remainder have suffered morphological changes and different forms of nonpoint source pollution; meanwhile the biodiversity of flora and fauna remains still under threat. Environmental policies do not go far enough so there is a need for revision of the legislation related to environmental impact and the protection of natural areas, flora, and fauna. The promotion of environmental research must be accompanied by environmental education to foster a society which is more knowledgeable, has more control and influence over the decisions that deeply affect it. Indeed, nature conservation goes hand in hand with other social and economic challenges that require a more sustainable vision. Today's problems with nature derive from the current economic model, which is environmentally unsustainable in that it does not take into account environmental impacts. Lastly, we propose a series of reasonable and feasible priority measures and actions related to each use made of the country's natural resources, to the impacts they have had, and to their management, in the hope that these can contribute to improving the conservation and management of the environment and biodiversity and move towards sustainability

Agronomic conditions and crop evolution in ancient Near East agriculture

The appearance of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent propelled the development of Western civilization. Here we investigate the evolution of agronomic conditions in this region by reconstructing cereal kernel weight and using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope signatures of kernels and charcoal from a set of 11 Upper Mesopotamia archaeological sites, with chronologies spanning from the onset of agriculture to the turn of the era. We show that water availability for crops, inferred from carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C), was two- to fourfold higher in the past than at present, with a maximum between 10,000 and 8,000 cal BP. Nitrogen isotope composition (δ15N) decreased over time, which suggests cultivation occurring under gradually less-fertile soil conditions. Domesticated cereals showed a progressive increase in kernel weight over several millennia following domestication. Our results provide a first comprehensive view of agricultural evolution in the Near East inferred directly from archaeobotanical remains

Espeleotemas de ópalo y pseudocarst granítico

The amorphous silica (opal-A) speleothems associated to the open structural system of granitic rocks where the slow circulation of runoff is produced are mainly the result of the biological degradation of the rock. These speleothems are found in many different geographic, climatic and geological environments though always associated to granitoids. They show two different morphologies: cylindrical or long bodies and laminar or layered forms. They are internally formed by a mass of clasts and spheres of opal-Awith a porous texture that evolves to compact and massive due to the reiteration of the re-dissolution/re-precipitation of the amorphous opal by the water that circulates through it after each rainfall period. A final characteristic of each growth stage (end of rainy period) is the development of whiskers of minerals, normally gypsum, on the water output points of the speleothems. The dimensions of the speleothems are millimetric (length and/or thickness). In this paper their morphology and mineralogy are described based on their study by SEM, XRD and XRF, and there is established a new and more complete genetic hypothesis than the one that exists up to now to understand their formationLos espeleotemas de sílice amorfa (ópalo A) asociados al sistema estructural abierto de las rocas graníticas por las que se produce la circulación lenta de la escorrentía son resultado de la degradación biológica de la roca. Están presentes en muy diferentes ámbitos geográficos, climáticos y geológicos aunque siempre se asocian a granitoides. Presentan dos morfologías diferentes: cuerpos cilíndricos o alargados y formas laminares o en capas. Internamente están formados por un aglomerado de clastos y esferoides de ópalo A con una textura porosa que evoluciona a compacta y masiva, por reiteración de la redisolución/reprecipitación del ópalo amorfo por la circulación del agua a su través después de cada período de lluvia. Una característica final de cada etapa de crecimiento (fin del período lluvioso) es el desarrollo de triquitos o whiskers de minerales, normalmente yeso, en los puntos de salida del agua del espeleotema. Las dimensiones de los espeleotemas son de orden milimétrico (longitud y/o espesor). En este trabajo se describe su morfología y mineralogía a partir de su estudio por M.E.B., DRX. y F.R.X. y se establece una hipótesis genética nueva y más completa que la existente hasta el momento para entender su formaci

Estudio comparado de la génesis de espeleotemas silíceos en granitoides de climas semiáridos y templados húmedos

Silica speleothems take differenr forms such as cylindrical stems growing from either the floor or the ceiling in granitic caves. Mineralogically they are opal-A and accumulate in successive layers with a whiskery druse tip formed by gypsum crystals. Initially they are porous but progressively become infilled by opal precipitation. This results in formation of solid speleothems. their size is only a few millimetres long. Bacterial activity accelerate quartz dissolutio