Sedimentary processes and palaeoenvironments from La Combette sequence (southeastern France):Climatic insights on the Last Interglacial/Glacial transition

International audienceDuring the Last Interglacial-Early Glacial transition (MIS5-MIS4; ~73 ka), substantial hydroclimatic changes affected morphogenetic processes, landform dynamics, and ecosystem variability over the Mediterranean sub-alpine valleys. This transition is mainly preserved in the northern Mediterranean region in continuous marine, lacustrine, and peat bog archives. To understand better local-to-regional hydro-sedimentary processes, their climatic significance, and their direct impact on prehistoric settlements, this manuscript reinvestigates a known continental sedimentary record with revised methods. The Middle Palaeolithic site of La Combette in the western Provence region (southeastern France) presents a thick sedimentary key sequence for studying environmental changes from the MIS5 to the MIS3. A review of previous studies with the integration of new micromorphological, sedimentological, physicochemical, malacological, and luminescence ages allows us to characterize the sedimentary processes and environmental patterns during this major climatic transition. Alternating warm and cold conditions and shifting vegetation patterns reflect the strong environmental instability of the end of the Last Interglacial Period. The emergence of a steppe-like ecology dominated by cryo-turbated loess deposition marks the beginning of the Early Würmian Glacial period (MIS4-MIS3; ~73 ka to ~50 ka), contemporaneous with the last Neanderthal occupation at La Combette rock shelter. Comparisons with regional palaeoclimatic data allow us to detail local climatic settings and provide evidence of divergences with larger-scale quantitative reconstructions during a period of significant environmental and socio-cultural shifts

Using ABM to explore the role of socio-environmental interactions on Ancient Settlement Dynamics

This paper presents a work in progress within the project « Modeling the role of socio-environmental interactions on Ancient Settlement Dynamics - ModelAnSet » developed by archaeologists, historians, palaeoenvironmentalists and computer scientists at University Côte d’Azur (Nice). Agent-based modelling is used to explore the respective role of environmental and social factors in the evolution of the settlement pattern and dynamics during the Roman period in South-Eastern France. The model aims at simulating the impact of the climatic and macro-economic conditions on the behaviour of Gallo-Roman landowners. According to the profit they derive from their farms and/or villas, which depends both on natural and socio-economic factors, the landowners can decide to maintain without change, improve, enlarge or abandon their agricultural holdings or to create a new one. Through the repeated landowners’ decision-making, the ABM thus simulates a changing macro-level settlement pattern, in terms of number, type and location of the settlements. The paper focuses on the conceptual model in order to present the model entities and the dynamics underlying their interactions, and explain our choices and hypotheses

Associations of Cumulative Sun Exposure and Phenotypic Characteristics with Histologic Solar Elastosis

Solar elastosis adjacent to melanomas in histologic sections is regarded as an indicator of sun exposure although the associations of ultraviolet (UV) exposure and phenotype with solar elastosis are yet to be fully explored

Female chromosome X mosaicism is age-related and preferentially affects the inactivated X chromosome

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events >2 Mb in 97 (0.25%) women. Here we show rates for X-chromosome mosaicism are four times higher than mean autosomal rates; X mosaic events more often include the entire chromosome and participants with X events more likely harbour autosomal mosaic events. X mosaicism frequency increases with age (0.11% in 50-year olds; 0.45% in 75-year olds), as reported for Y and autosomes. Methylation array analyses of 33 women with X mosaicism indicate events preferentially involve the inactive X chromosome. Our results provide further evidence that the sex chromosomes undergo mosaic events more frequently than autosomes, which could have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of mosaic events and their possible contribution to risk for chronic diseases

Female chromosome X mosaicism is age-related and preferentially affects the inactivated X chromosome

To investigate large structural clonal mosaicism of chromosome X, we analysed the SNP microarray intensity data of 38,303 women from cancer genome-wide association studies (20,878 cases and 17,425 controls) and detected 124 mosaic X events42Mb in 97 (0.25%) women. Here we show rates for X-chromosome mosaicism are four times higher than mean autosomal rates; X mosaic events more often include the entire chromosome and participants with X events more likely harbour autosomal mosaic events. X mosaicism frequency increases with age (0.11% in 50-year olds; 0.45% in 75-year olds), as reported for Y and autosomes. Methylation array analyses of 33 women with X mosaicism indicate events preferentially involve the inactive X chromosome. Our results provide further evidence that the sex chromosomes undergo mosaic events more frequently than autosomes, which could have implications for understanding the underlying mechanisms of mosaic events and their possible contribution to risk for chronic diseases

Detectable clonal mosaicism and its relationship to aging and cancer

In an analysis of 31,717 cancer cases and 26,136 cancer-free controls from 13 genome-wide association studies, we observed large chromosomal abnormalities in a subset of clones in DNA obtained from blood or buccal samples. We observed mosaic abnormalities, either aneuploidy or copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity, of >2 Mb in size in autosomes of 517 individuals (0.89%), with abnormal cell proportions of between 7% and 95%. In cancer-free individuals, frequency increased with age, from 0.23% under 50 years to 1.91% between 75 and 79 years (P = 4.8 × 10(-8)). Mosaic abnormalities were more frequent in individuals with solid tumors (0.97% versus 0.74% in cancer-free individuals; odds ratio (OR) = 1.25; P = 0.016), with stronger association with cases who had DNA collected before diagnosis or treatment (OR = 1.45; P = 0.0005). Detectable mosaicism was also more common in individuals for whom DNA was collected at least 1 year before diagnosis with leukemia compared to cancer-free individuals (OR = 35.4; P = 3.8 × 10(-11)). These findings underscore the time-dependent nature of somatic events in the etiology of cancer and potentially other late-onset diseases

L’éternelle gageure : l’exploitation de l’eau en milieu semi-désertique. Méthodes et techniques anciennes des Indiens Hohokam (Phoenix, Arizona)

L’éternelle gageure : l’exploitation de l’eau en milieu semi-désertique. Méthodes et techniques anciennes des Indiens Hohokam (Phoenix, Arizona

etude géoarchéologique et géomorphologique: La Bréguée, Alpes (Roquesteron-Grasse, 06), Rapport de fouille

etude géoarchéologique et géomorphologiqu

From the river to the fields: an integrated study of water systems towards a better understanding of socio-environmental interactions

From the river to the fields: an integrated study of water systems towards a better understanding of socio-environmental interaction