Funerary practices in megalithic tombs during the Argaric Bronze Age in South-Eastern Iberia: the cemetery of Los Eriales

The transition between the Copper Age and the Argaric Bronze Age in south-eastern Iberia has traditionally been understood in an evolutionary framework that would have involved the replacement of some cultural forms by others. The chronology of megalithic societies has changed this assumption, revealing that the continuity of ancestral funerary practices is also a key feature of the Bronze Age. In this context, the new radiocarbon series from Los Eriales discussed in this paper can be considered a key contribution. Three main aspects stand out according to their statistical analysis: i) Los Eriales should be considered the most recent Iberian megalithic cemetery, as ritual activity began in the last centuries of the third millennium cal BC; ii) funerary activity took place during short events of intensive ritual depositions spanning a few decades, mainly in the 21st and 18th centuries; and iii) Los Eriales cemetery was mainly used during the Argaric period, which means the coexistence of two very different funerary practices: collective megalithic rituals and individual intramural inhumations. The continuity of megalithic rituals can be explained in terms of resilience to the social fragmentation that characterised Argaric societies.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. This research was supported by the FEDER programme–University of Granada (A-HUM-123-UGR18 and B-HUM-174-UGR20), the Regional Government of Andalusia (P18-FR-4123), and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-114282GB-I00)

Burial taphonomy and megalithic ritual practices in Iberia: the Panoría cemetery

Supplementary Information The online version contains supplemen- tary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01716-5.Our ability to build precise narratives regarding megalithic funerary rituals largely depends on an accurate understanding of bone assemblage formation. The cemetery of Panoría offers an excellent opportunity for exploring the ritual variability through the study of funerary taphonomy, as four of the nine recently excavated dolmens are remarkably well-preserved. Based on a multi-proxy approach that includes the contextual archaeological features, skeletal preservation and representation indexes, taphonomic processes, and radiocarbon chronology, three main ritual practices can be outlined: (i) primary sequential inhumations followed by the differential in situ decomposition of skeletal remains; (ii) the selective removal of crania and long bones; and (iii) the curation of subadult crania and probably long bones. The use-life of tombs, the intensity of mortuary depositions, and the intentional protection of specific bones appear as key aspects for understanding the variability in bone assemblage formation.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/ CBUAEuropean Regional Development Fund FEDER–programme–University of Granada (A-HUM- 123-UGR18 and B-HUM-174-UGR20)Regional Government of Andalusia (P18-FR-4123)Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-114282 GB-I00

Lung anatomy, energy load, and ventilator-induced lung injury

High tidal volume can cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), but positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) is thought to be protective. We aimed to find the volumetric VILI threshold and see whether PEEP is protective per se or indirectly

Copper(II) and silver(I)‑1,10‑phenanthroline‑5,6‑dione complexes interact with double‑stranded DNA: further evidence of their apparent multi‑modal activity towards Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Tackling microbial resistance requires continuous efforts for the development of new molecules with novel mechanisms of action and potent antimicrobial activity. Our group has previously identified metal-based compounds, [Ag(1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)2]ClO4 (Ag-phendione) and [Cu(1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione)3](ClO4)2.4H2O (Cu-phendione), with efficient antimicrobial action against multidrug-resistant species. Herein, we investigated the ability of Ag-phendione and Cu-phendione to bind with double-stranded DNA using a combination of in silico and in vitro approaches. Molecular docking revealed that both phendione derivatives can interact with the DNA by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Cu-phendione exhibited the highest binding affinity to either major (− 7.9 kcal/mol) or minor (− 7.2 kcal/mol) DNA grooves. In vitro competitive quenching assays involving duplex DNA with Hoechst 33258 or ethidium bromide demonstrated that Ag-phendione and Cu-phendione preferentially bind DNA in the minor grooves. The competitive ethidium bromide displacement technique revealed Cu-phendione has a higher binding affinity to DNA (Kapp = 2.55 × 106 M−1) than Ag-phendione (Kapp = 2.79 × 105 M−1) and phendione (Kapp = 1.33 × 105 M−1). Cu-phendione induced topoisomerase I-mediated DNA relaxation of supercoiled plasmid DNA. Moreover, Cu-phendione was able to induce oxidative DNA injuries with the addition of free radical scavengers inhibiting DNA damage. Ag-phendione and Cu-phendione avidly displaced propidium iodide bound to DNA in permeabilized Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells in a dose-dependent manner as judged by flow cytometry. The treatment of P. aeruginosa with bactericidal concentrations of Cu-phendione (15 µM) induced DNA fragmentation as visualized by either agarose gel or TUNEL assays. Altogether, these results highlight a possible novel DNA-targeted mechanism by which phendione-containing complexes, in part, elicit toxicity toward the multidrug-resistant pathogen P. aeruginosa

The Chalcollithic Ditched Enclosure of Cerro de los Vientos (Puente del Obispo, Jaén)

ABSTRACT:En este trabajo se da a conocer el recinto de fosos prehistórico Cerro de los Vientos, localizado en la población Puente del Obispo (Jaén, España). Se presentan su planta completa, las estructuras que lo componen, la caracterización de los componentes cerámicos y líticos hallados en sus rellenos, dos dataciones inéditas y el análisis polínico realizado en el yacimiento. Estos estudios han permitido reconocer la construcción de dos fosos concéntricos y más de noventa fosas circulares realizadas durante la Edad del Cobre. Un espacio de ocupación que, además, experimentará la construcción de nuevas estructuras en negativo, algunas construcciones en mampostería y la completa amortización de su foso central durante la Edad del Bronce. Todo ello demuestra la larga duración del yacimiento durante la prehistoria reciente.El presente trabajo forma parte del proyecto de investigación “Innovación, hibridación y resistencia cultural. Las sociedades de III y II milenios cal BC en el sur de la Península Ibérica” (HAR2017-82932-P). Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements