Dental calculus and isotopes provide direct evidence of fish and plant consumption in Mesolithic Mediterranean

In this contribution we dismantle the perceived role of marine resources and plant foods in the subsistence economy of Holocene foragers of the Central Mediterranean using a combination of dental calculus and stable isotope analyses. The discovery of fish scales and flesh fragments, starch granules and other plant and animal micro-debris in the dental calculus of a Mesolithic forager dated to the end of the 8th millenium BC and buried in the Vlakno Cave on Dugi Otok Island in the Croatian Archipelago demonstrates that marine resources were regularly consumed by the individual together with a variety of plant foods. Since previous stable isotope data in the Eastern Adriatic and the Mediterranean region emphasises that terrestrial-based resources contributed mainly to Mesolithic diets in the Mediterranean Basin, our results provide an alternative view of the dietary habits of Mesolithic foragers in the Mediterranean region based on a combination of novel methodologies and data

Etarsko ulje četina duglazije (pseudotsuga menziesii mirb. Franco) iz različitih provenijencija

The essential oils of the fresh neddles from different provenances of Dougles fir (Pseudosuga menziesii) were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Monoterpenes, a-pinene, camphene, b-pinene, citronenal and bornyl acetate were identified by mass spectra and retention time correlations, as major constituents. The differences in the percentages of terpene components indicated division of 6 populations in two groups, one of them richer in a-pinene, camphene, and bornyl acetate and the other type in a-pinene, b-pinene and citronenal.Metodama gasne hromatografije (GH) i kombinacije gasne hromarografija-masene spektrometrije (GH/MS) ispitivan je kvalitativni i kvantitativni sadržaj etarskog ulja jednogodišnjih i dvogodišnjih četina duglazije (Pseudotstuga menziesii Mirb. Franco) različitih provinijencija

Etarsko ulje četina duglazije (pseudotsuga menziesii mirb. Franco) iz različitih provenijencija

The essential oils of the fresh neddles from different provenances of Dougles fir (Pseudosuga menziesii) were analysed by GC and GC-MS. Monoterpenes, a-pinene, camphene, b-pinene, citronenal and bornyl acetate were identified by mass spectra and retention time correlations, as major constituents. The differences in the percentages of terpene components indicated division of 6 populations in two groups, one of them richer in a-pinene, camphene, and bornyl acetate and the other type in a-pinene, b-pinene and citronenal.Metodama gasne hromatografije (GH) i kombinacije gasne hromarografija-masene spektrometrije (GH/MS) ispitivan je kvalitativni i kvantitativni sadržaj etarskog ulja jednogodišnjih i dvogodišnjih četina duglazije (Pseudotstuga menziesii Mirb. Franco) različitih provinijencija

Improving the molecular spin qubit performance in multivariate zirconium MOF hybrids by mechanochemical dilution and fullerene encapsulation

Enlarging the quantum coherence times and gaining control over quantum effects in real systems are fundamental for developing of quantum technologies. Molecular electron spin qubits are particularly promising candidates for the realization of quantum information processing due to their modularity and tunability, but there is a constant search for tools to increase their quantum coherence times. Here we present how mechanochemical dilution of active spin qubits in the diamagnetic zirconium-MOF matrix, in synergy with controlled encapsulation of fullerene guest, results in a significant increase in relaxation times and better qubit performances of the moderately porous MOF qubit array candidate. 10% diluted copper(II)-porphyrins as potential molecular spin qubits were incorporated in polymorphic PCN-223 and MOF- 525. Spin properties of this hybrid molecular spin qubit frameworks were studied by continuous-wave and pulse electron spin resonance/electron paramagnetic resonance (ESR/EPR) spectroscopy, showing that both spin-lattice and phase memory electron spin relaxation times, T1 and Tm, respectively, increased by the encapsulation of fullerene molecules into the MOF matrix. Specifically, PCN-223 with a larger filling of fullerene shows better performance in both relaxation times compared with the previously surpassing MOF-525 molecular spin qubit framework

Data from: Plum germplasm in Croatia and neighbouring countries assessed by microsatellites and DUS descriptors

At a certain period during the last century, former Yugoslavia (which among others used to include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia) was the biggest producer of plums in the world. Traditional plum cultivars, still grown in this region, represent a mixture of several species including: European plums (Prunus domestica L.), mirabelles (Prunus insititia var. syriaca (Borkh.) Koehne), and damsons (P. insititia L.). The basic problem with the utilization of this plum germplasm, either for cultivation or breeding purposes, is a lack of reliable pomology data or reference repositories that would enable positive identification of cultivars. In this study, 62 plum accessions (42 traditional Croatian accessions, six well-known traditional accessions collected from Serbia and Bosnia, and 14 international, reference cultivars) were assessed using microsatellite markers and distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) plum descriptors. Nine primer pairs amplified 168 distinct alleles, or on average 18.7 alleles per locus. A significant differentiation between the traditional plum cultivars and international reference cultivars, was detected through Fst (Fst = 0.022; P < 0.0001), analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA; f CT = 0.054; P < 0.05) and later confirmed by a factorial correspondence analysis (FCA). Bayesian method enabled the classification of mirabelle, damson, and European plum genotypes. Principal component analyses, based on 22 morphologic traits, managed to separate mirabelle accession from the European plum and damson accessions, but there was a general lack of correlation between the observed morphologic traits and the molecular data. Results of this study indicate that traditional Croatian accessions represent a diverse and underutilized plant genetic material, which should be conserved

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project: new research into the role of plant foods in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies of South-east Europe and Italy

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project is a new research programme aimed at reconstructing the importance of plant foods in prehistoric forager subsistence in Southern Europe, with a particular focus on Italy and the Balkans. The role of plant foods in pre-agrarian societies remains one of the major issues of world prehistory. Popular narratives still envisage ancient foragers as primarily ‘meat-eaters’, mainly as a consequence of the poor preservation of plant remains in early prehistoric contexts, and due to the employment of methods particularly focused on the contribution of animal protein to human diet (e.g. isotope analysis) (e.g. Bocherens 2009; Jones 2009; Richards 2009). Recently, new methods applied to archaeological evidence have provided a different understanding of hunter-gatherer dietary preference and interaction with the environment. Harvesting and processing might not have been the sole prerogative of agricultural societies, and plant foods seem to have played an important role amongst hunter-gatherers (e.g. Revedin et al. 2010)

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project: new research into the role of plant foods in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic societies of South-east Europe and Italy

The ‘Hidden Foods’ project is a new research programme aimed at reconstructing the importance of plant foods in prehistoric forager subsistence in Southern Europe, with a particular focus on Italy and the Balkans. The role of plant foods in pre-agrarian societies remains one of the major issues of world prehistory. Popular narratives still envisage ancient foragers as primarily ‘meat-eaters’, mainly as a consequence of the poor preservation of plant remains in early prehistoric contexts, and due to the employment of methods particularly focused on the contribution of animal protein to human diet (e.g. isotope analysis) (e.g. Bocherens 2009; Jones 2009; Richards 2009). Recently, new methods applied to archaeological evidence have provided a different understanding of hunter-gatherer dietary preference and interaction with the environment. Harvesting and processing might not have been the sole prerogative of agricultural societies, and plant foods seem to have played an important role amongst hunter-gatherers (e.g. Revedin et al. 2010)

SSR profiles and sizes of private alleles of 62 analysed plum accessions

Table1 - SSR profiles (allele sizes expressed in base pairs) of 62 analysed plum accessions (42 traditional accessions from Croatia, 6 traditional, regional cultivars from the neighbouring countries along with 14 international reference cultivars), investigated using 9 SSR markers. Table 2 -Sizes of 52 private alleles registered exclusively among traditional Croatian plum accessions and eight private alleles found only among international reference cultivars