El poblamiento humano del NW peninsular durante el Paleolítico Antiguo: un yacimiento Achelense de finales del Pleistocento Medio en Arbo (Pontevedra)

Este libro recoge una síntesis con los principales resultados de las investigaciones desarrolladas en el yacimiento paleolítico de Arbo (Pontevedra). Con una datación mínima de 118.000 años, este lugar se perfila como unos de los yacimientos arqueológicos más antiguos del noroeste peninsular. A su vez, esta cronología es una de las más recientes, en el suroeste de Europa, para la tecnología lítica identificada aquí: el Achelense de grandes lascas de filum africano. Esta y otras circunstancias hacen de este yacimiento, y en general de la cuenca baja del río Miño, un área especialmente significativa para desentrañar y conocer los procesos culturales de estos remotos grupos humanos

A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)

Pleistocene archaeology records the changing behaviour and capacities of early hominins. These behavioural changes, for example, to stone tools, are commonly linked to environmental constraints. It has been argued that, in earlier times, multiple activities of everyday life were all uniformly conducted at the same spot. The separation of focused activities across different localities, which indicates a degree of planning, according to this mindset characterizes later hominins since only 500,000 years ago. Simbiro III level C, in the upper Awash valley of Ethiopia, allows us to test this assumption in its assemblage of stone tools made only with obsidian, dated to more than 1.2 million years (Myr) old. Here we first reconstruct the palaeoenvironment, showing that the landscape was seasonally flooded. Following the deposition of an accumulation of obsidian cobbles by a meandering river, hominins began to exploit these in new ways, producing large tools with sharp cutting edges. We show through statistical analysis that this was a focused activity, that very standardized handaxes were produced and that this was a stone-tool workshop. We argue that at Simbiro III, hominins were doing much more than simply reacting to environmental changes; they were taking advantage of new opportunities, and developing new techniques and new skills according to them

Secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) reactivity to acute psychosocial stress in children and adolescents: The influence of pubertal development and history of maltreatment.

Background: Mucosal secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) is an antibody protein-complex that plays a crucial role in immune first defense against infection. Although different immune biomarkers have been associated with stress-related psychopathology, s-IgA remains poorly studied, especially in youth. Objectives: The present study investigated how s-IgA behaves in front of acute psychosocial stress in children and adolescents, including possible variability associated with developmental stage and history of childhood maltreatment (CM). Methods: 94 children and adolescents from 7 to 17 years (54 with a current psychiatric diagnostic and 40 healthy controls) drawn from a larger Spanish study were explored (EPI-Young Stress Project). To assess biological reactivity, participants provided five saliva samples during an acute laboratory-based psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C). Samples were assayed for s-IgA, as well as for cortisol. Pubertal development was ascertained by Tanner stage and CM following TASSCV criteria. Results: We observed s-IgA fluctuations throughout the stressor, indicating the validity of TSST-C to stimulate s-IgA secretion (F(4,199) = 6.200, p <.001). Although s-IgA trajectories followed a reactivity and recovery pattern in adolescents, children exhibited no s-IgA response when faced with stress (F(4,197) = 3.406, p =.010). An interaction was found between s-IgA and CM (F(4,203) = 2.643, p =.035). Interestingly, an interaction between developmental stage, CM history and s-IgA reactivity was identified (F(12,343) = 2.036, p =.017); while children non-exposed to maltreatment exhibited no s-IgA changes to acute stress, children with a history of CM showed a similar response to adolescents, increasing their s-IgA levels after the psychosocial stressor. Conclusion: Acute psychosocial stress stimulates s-IgA secretion, but only after puberty. However, children with a history of maltreatment exhibited a response resembling that of adolescents, suggesting an early maturation of the immune system. Further studies are needed to clarify the validity of s-IgA as an acute stress biomarker, including additional measures during stress exposure. Keywords: Acute stress; Adolescents; Childhood maltreatment; Children; Developmental stage; TSST-C; secretory Immunoglobulin A (s-IgA)

Ichnological and archaeological evidence from Gombore II OAM, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia: An integrated approach to reconstruct local environments and biological presences between 1.2 and 0.85 Ma

New ichnological data are available at the prehistoric site of Melka Kunture, Upper Awash Valley in Ethiopia. Excavation of new test pits enabled us to explore the volcanic and fluvio-lacustrine sequence at the Gombore II Open Air Museum archaeological site (ca. 0.85 Ma). This has allowed a detailed reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and of the fauna present in the time interval between 1.2 and 0.85 Ma. Various-sized mammals, birds, molluscs as well as hominins left tracks throughout the sequence, and document a varied fauna and associated behaviours. Most of the hominin tracks were made by young individuals on the basis of size and are some of the earlier child tracks to be reported. The mollusc traces document the presence and orientation of water streams which, according to the associated vertebrate traces, were visited by hominins, mammals and birds. Most of these traces were found within levels traditionally considered barren for archaeology, yet they all document life activity and are always in situ. This confirms the potential of the ichnological research as an important complementary tool for archaeological investigations

Early human occupations in Northwest Iberia: the archaeological record of the Lower Mino basin during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene

The Miño River is one of the main Atlantic basins of Iberia and preserves extensive Pleistocene deposits. However, there is presently limited information concerning the first human occupation history of this region. Existing research undertaken across the region has identified a significant number of Large Flake Acheulean (LFA) sites with African affinities. These sites are associated with former fluvial environments and are now preserved as a sequence of fluvial terraces along the Miño River, located between relative elevations of + 40 m and + 20 m, and dated to between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 9 and 6. The chronological range and observed technological patterns are similar to those recognised in other areas of South western Europe, particularly the central Iberian Peninsula and Aquitanian region (France) during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene.Eduardo Méndez-Quintas, Manuel Santonja, Alfred Pérez-González, Martina Demuro, Lee J. Arnold and Mathieu Duva

A ocupação paleolítica da margem esquerda do Baixo Minho: a indústria lítica do Sítio de Pedreiras 2 (Monção, Portugal) e a sua integração no contexto regional

A crescente realização de trabalhos arqueológicos em jazidas paleolíticas permite atualmente uma melhor compreensão do tecno-complexo Acheulense à escala peninsular, e a sua integração no contexto africano e euroasiático. No presente trabalho pretende-se aprofundar a discussão em torno das características tecnológicas das indústrias líticas peninsulares da segunda metade do Pleistocénico Médio, através da análise da indústria lítica da jazida de Pedreiras 2 (Monção, Alto Minho). Da realização de trabalhos de campo no local, no contexto do Projeto Miño-Minho, resultou a recolha de materiais associáveis ao tecno-complexo Acheulense, que testemunham a ocupação da região numa área onde até recentemente se conheciam achados isolados de materiais coevos, e cujos dados cronométricos permitem enquadrar a sua cronologia na segunda metade do Pleistocénico Médio.The recent increase of archaeological survey has allowed a better definition of the Acheulean techno-complex in the Iberian Peninsula, and its integration in the African and Eurasian context. This paper aims to extend the discussion around the technological features of the peninsular lithic industries of the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, through the presentation of the data from Pedreiras 2 (Monção, Alto Minho). The site excavation, on the scope of the Miño-Minho Project, allowed to recover lithic artefacts associated with the Acheulean techno-complex, testifying human occupation in a region where, until recently, only isolated remains were known, and whose chronological data fits its chronology into the second half of the Middle Pleistocene. Keywords: Middle Pleistocene; Lower Palaeolithic; Lithic industry; Large flake Acheulean (LFA); Lower Minho basi

A surge in obsidian exploitation more than 1.2 million years ago at Simbiro III (Melka Kunture, Upper Awash, Ethiopia)

International audienc

Effects of JAK1/2 inhibition on bone marrow stromal cells of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patients and healthy individuals

Objective: Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) commonly share hyperactive JAK-STAT signaling affecting hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and their progeny. The JAK1/2 inhibitor Ruxolitinib has remarkable clinical efficacy, including spleen reduction, improvement of constitutional symptoms, and bone marrow (BM) fibrosis reversal. Whether this is due to inhibition of JAK2-mutated HSC only, or whether Ruxolitinib also affects BM stroma is not known. Methods: This study investigated potential effects of Ruxolitinib on BM mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), which are not only major regulators of hematopoiesis but also contribute to fibrosis, from 10 healthy donors and 7 JAK2V617F-positive MPN patients. Results: Ruxolitinib moderately inhibited the growth of healthy donor MSC (HD-MSC) and MSC from JAK2V617F+ MPN patients (P-MSC) in short- and long-term assays. The clonogenic potential of HD-MSC was not affected by Ruxolitinib. JAK-STAT signaling, however, was markedly inhibited in both HD-MSC and P-MSC, the latter of which showed higher expression of fibrosis-associated and hematopoiesis-maintenance genes. Moreover, Ruxolitinib reduced MSC secretion of MCP-1 and IL-6. Conclusion: Ruxolitinib affected JAK2 signaling in MSC at clinically relevant doses, which is likely to contribute to the normalization of the inflammatory milieu in MPNs. Thus, combined HSC and stroma-directed interventions have the potential to improve constitutional symptoms and reduce stromal proliferation in MPNs

Ecosystem services and social perception

In a nutshell:▪ There is a variety of benefits that IRES provide to our societies, from the provision of materials such as water and timber, to iconic species, the regulation of biogeochemical cycles, and space for cultural manifestation and as a corridor for both wild and herded animals.▪ Drying and rewetting processes, timing and duration of different aquatic phases, have an effect on the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as on the provision of ecosystem services and on the social perception of them.▪ There are intrinsic and relational values associated to IRES that are not usually recognised, including sense of place, cultural identity, social cohesion or nature stewardship.▪ There is a long list of indicators that can be used to assess the provision of ecosystem services, and different techniques of monetary and non-monetary methods can be applied to assess their value.▪ Public participation is also necessary to understand the multiple values of IRES and to improve social perception. Participatory mapping, citizen science, and scenario planning are some of the methodologies can be employed