NEANDERTHAL SUBSISTENCE STRATEGIES IN THE NORTH-EAST OF ITALY: Inferring seasonality of occupations at De nadale, San Bernardino and Fumane Caves, combining dental wear analyses and cementochronology

Les estratègies de subsistència dels neandertals han estat sempre un tema desafiant en el camp dels estudis paleolítics. En els últims anys, el nord-est d'Itàlia s’ha tornat cada vegada més rellevant en el debat, especialment a mesura que el nombre de jaciments investigats i la qualitat de les metodologies han anat creixent i millorant. En aquest escenari, De Nadale Cave és un lloc clau per ampliar el nostre coneixement sobre els patrons de mobilitat i les estratègies de subsistència: la bona preservació i l’elevat volum de material osteològic, ha permès realitzar un exhaustiu anàlisi zooarqueològic. Per ampliar els estudis zoològics, es van aplicar els anàlisis de desgast dental i cimentocronologia a mostres de dos jaciments propers - San Bernardino Cave, a les muntanyes Berici i la Fumane Cave, a les Muntanyes Lessini-, a més del material obtingut a De Nadale Cave. Vam combinar les dues metodologies amb l'objectiu de superar qualsevol possible falta d'informació, a causa de l'ús d'un únic mètode. Aquest estudi està dirigit a produir dades que donen suport a la interpretació de l'origen dels dos conjunts arqueofaunistics com a resultat d'esdeveniments de caça estacionals que van tenir lloc principalment a l'hivern. En aquest context geogràfic i mediambiental específic, les nostres dades adquireixen una millor comprensió de les estratègies de subsistència neandertal i els patrons d’ocupació.Las estrategias de subsistencia de los neandertales siempre han sido un tema desafiante en el campo de los estudios paleolíticos. En los últimos años, el noreste de Italia se volvió cada vez más relevante en el debate, a medida que crecía el número de yacimientos investigados y mejoraba la calidad de las metodologías. En este escenario, De Nadale Cave es un sitio clave para ampliar nuestro conocimiento sobre patrones de movilidad y estrategias de subsistencia: gracias al número y a la buena conservación del material osteológico, fue posible un análisis zooarqueológico exhaustivo. Para ampliar los estudios zooarqueológicos, se aplicaron el análisis de desgaste dental y la cementocronología dental a muestras de dos yacimientos cercanos: San Bernardino Cave, en las colinas de Berici y Fumane Cave, en los montes Lessini, además del material de De Nadale Cave. Combinamos las dos metodologías con el objetivo de superar cualquier posible falta de información, debido al uso de un solo método. Este estudio está dirigido a producir datos que apoyen la interpretación del origen de los dos conjuntos arqueofaunísticos como resultado de eventos de caza estacional que tuvieron lugar principalmente en invierno. En este contexto geográfico y ambiental específico, nuestros datos obtienen una mejor comprensión de las estrategias de subsistencia y los patrones ocupacionales de los neandertales.Neanderthal subsistence strategy has always been a challenging topic in the field of Paleolithic studies. In the last years, the North-east of Italy became more and more relevant in the debate, as the number of investigated deposits grew, and the quality of methodologies improved. De Nadale Caves is a key site to enlarge our knowledge about mobility patterns and subsistence strategies: thanks to the number and to the good preservation of the osteological material, an intensive zooarchaeological analysis was possible. To broaden the zooarchaeological studies, dental wear analysis and cementochronology were applied to samples from two sites nearby – San Bernardino Cave, on the Berici Hills and Fumane Cave, on the Lessini Mounts – in addition to material yielded by De Nadale Cave. We combined the two methodologies with the aim to overcome any possible lack of information, due to the use of a single method. This study is addressed to produce data supporting the interpretation of the origin of the two archaeofaunal assemblages as a result of seasonal hunting events that took place mainly in winter. In this specific geographic and environmental context, our data gain a better understanding of Neanderthal subsistence strategies and occupational patterns

Hox3 duplication and divergence in the Lepidoptera

Using the Speckled Wood Butterfly Pararge aegeria as the model species, this thesis presents the possible evolutionary significance of a set of duplications found in the Hox cluster of the Lepidoptera, called the Special Homeobox genes. An annotation of this duplicated cluster across a wide number of Lepidoptera was performed in order to assess patterns of duplication and loss across the order. The sequences recovered revealed a large amount of variation associated with the duplicate genes, indicating these are evolving very rapidly in different lineages. Patterns of sequence variation were examined to ascertain whether the observed variation was maintained due to selection at three separate levels of divergence: within the Ditrysia, within the more recently diverged Heliconius genus, and at the intraspecific level by quantifying nucleotide polymorphism within Pararge aegeria. Selective pressures were found to be operating between paralogous and orthologous genes, suggesting these have evolved, in part, under positive selection. The potential function of the duplicates was examined by means of CRISPR/Cas9 geneome editing, but revealed inconclusive results. Genome editing, however, was shown to be largely applicable to P. aegeria, and resulted in consistent mutations associated with wing patterning genes. The potential significance of the duplications for Lepidopeteran biology are discussed, as well as future applications for genome editing techniques in P. aegeria

Liver resection or combined chemoembolization and radiofrequency ablation improve survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Background/ Aims: To evaluate the long-term outcome of surgical and non-surgical local treatments of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We stratified a cohort of 278 HCC patients using six independent predictors of survival according to the Vienna survival model for HCC (VISUM- HCC). Results: Prior to therapy, 224 HCC patients presented with VISUM stage 1 (median survival 18 months) while 29 patients were classified as VISUM stage 2 (median survival 4 months) and 25 patients as VISUM stage 3 (median survival 3 months). A highly significant (p < 0.001) improved survival time was observed in VISUM stage 1 patients treated with liver resection ( n = 52; median survival 37 months) or chemoembolization (TACE) and subsequent radiofrequency ablation ( RFA) ( n = 44; median survival 45 months) as compared to patients receiving chemoembolization alone (n = 107; median survival 13 months) or patients treated by tamoxifen only (n = 21; median survival 6 months). Chemoembolization alone significantly (p <= 0.004) improved survival time in VISUM stage 1 - 2 patients but not (p = 0.341) in VISUM stage 3 patients in comparison to those treated by tamoxifen. Conclusion: Both liver resection or combined chemoembolization and RFA improve markedly the survival of patients with HCC

Radiofrequency Thermal Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinomas

Although surgical resection remains the best option as potentially curative therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma, radiofrequency thermal ablation has begun to receive much attention as an effective minimally invasive technique for the local control of unresectable malignant hepatic tumors. Most recent radiofrequency devices equipped with a powerful generator and larger needle electrode permit larger thermal lesions, up to 5 cm in diameter, with a single ablation. In this article, the author reviews the technical developments and early clinical results obtained with radiofrequency ablation techniques

From Patterning Genes to Process: Unraveling the Gene Regulatory Networks That Pattern Heliconius Wings

Butterfly wing patterns have emerged as exceptional model systems with which to link the developmental and genetic processes that generate morphological variation with the ecological and evolutionary processes that shape this variation in natural populations. Among butterflies, research on species within the genus Heliconius has provided remarkable opportunities to explore how phenotypic diversity is generated within the context of an extraordinary adaptive radiation. Wing pattern diversity among the 48 species and hundreds of intraspecific variants arose within the last 12–14 million years and includes striking pattern convergence between distantly related species, as well as marked pattern divergence between closely related populations and species. Here, we synthesize recent research aimed at gaining a mechanistic understanding of how this variation is generated. This research integrates decades of controlled crossing experiments, and the discovery of major wing patterning genes (optix, aristaless1, WntA and cortex) with recent functional genetic manipulation using CRISPR/Cas9 targeted mutagenesis. The emerging data provides a rich framework with which to explore the repeatability of evolution, particularly within the context of how natural selection acts on divergent gene regulatory networks to generate both highly convergent, as well as highly divergent phenotypes. Overall, the functional data show that the gene regulatory networks underlying pattern variation diverge rapidly in Heliconius; yet these networks retain enough flexibility so that natural selection can drive the evolution of nearly identical patterns from different developmental genetic starting points. Moreover, for the first time this research is starting to illuminate the links between the genetic changes modulating pattern variation and how they influence the larger gene networks that are ultimately responsible for patterning a butterfly wing. There are still large gaps in our understanding, but current research priorities are well laid out and experimental methodologies are in place to address them. The challenge is to synthesize diverse research strategies into a cohesive picture of morphological evolution

Los ovejeros del fin del mundo y su relación con la tecnología : percepciones acerca de las reservas forrajeras para uso estratégico invernal

Tesis para obtener el grado de Magister Scientiae en Estudios Sociales Agrarios, de FLACSO. Sede Académica Argentina, en octubre de 2011El trabajo intenta establecer las razones, motivos y/o circunstancias que han llevado a que los productores ovinos del Ecotono Fueguino mantengan por tantos años un sistema de producción caracterizado entre otros aspectos por la no adopción generalizada de tecnologías de suplementación/alimentación invernal, a pesar reconocer su sentida necesidad ante eventos climáticos graves. Asimismo, describe las características principales del proceso de colonización en dicha región, indagando acerca de los instrumentos de política que permitieron la conformación de este estrato productivo, autoproclamado como “estancias chicas”. Analiza el proceso histórico de incorporación de tecnologías u otras actividades productivas complementarias, indagando cuales fueron las motivaciones principales para su adopción. Indagar con base en los relatos de descendientes de los pioneros, qué criterios prevalecieron a la hora de adoptar y mantener este sistema particular de explotación que no utiliza reservas forrajeras invernales. También investiga sobre cuáles las razones que motivan hoy la no adopción de las reservas forrajeras tendientes a afrontar las pérdidas económicas ante inviernos graves. Por último, analiza cuáles serían los criterios actuales para la incorporación de tecnología, sus percepciones sobre ella y sobre el rol que el ingeniero agrónomo o profesional agropecuario debiera tener.AER UshuaiaFil: Livraghi, Enrique. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro Regional Patagonia Sur. Agencia De Extensión Rural Ushuaia; Argentin