Persistent Place-Making in Prehistory: the Creation, Maintenance, and Transformation of an Epipalaeolithic Landscape

Most archaeological projects today integrate, at least to some degree, how past people engaged with their surroundings, including both how they strategized resource use, organized technological production, or scheduled movements within a physical environment, as well as how they constructed cosmologies around or created symbolic connections to places in the landscape. However, there are a multitude of ways in which archaeologists approach the creation, maintenance, and transformation of human-landscape interrelationships. This paper explores some of these approaches for reconstructing the Epipalaeolithic (ca. 23,000–11,500 years BP) landscape of Southwest Asia, using macro- and microscale geoarchaeological approaches to examine how everyday practices leave traces of human-landscape interactions in northern and eastern Jordan. The case studies presented here demonstrate that these Epipalaeolithic groups engaged in complex and far-reaching social landscapes. Examination of the Early and Middle Epipalaeolithic (EP) highlights that the notion of “Neolithization” is somewhat misleading as many of the features we use to define this transition were already well-established patterns of behavior by the Neolithic. Instead, these features and practices were enacted within a hunter-gatherer world and worldview

Effect of alirocumab on mortality after acute coronary syndromes. An analysis of the ODYSSEY OUTCOMES randomized clinical trial

Background: Previous trials of PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin-kexin type 9) inhibitors demonstrated reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, but not death. We assessed the effects of alirocumab on death after index acute coronary syndrome. Methods: ODYSSEY OUTCOMES (Evaluation of Cardiovascular Outcomes After an Acute Coronary Syndrome During Treatment With Alirocumab) was a double-blind, randomized comparison of alirocumab or placebo in 18 924 patients who had an ACS 1 to 12 months previously and elevated atherogenic lipoproteins despite intensive statin therapy. Alirocumab dose was blindly titrated to target achieved low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) between 25 and 50 mg/dL. We examined the effects of treatment on all-cause death and its components, cardiovascular and noncardiovascular death, with log-rank testing. Joint semiparametric models tested associations between nonfatal cardiovascular events and cardiovascular or noncardiovascular death. Results: Median follow-up was 2.8 years. Death occurred in 334 (3.5%) and 392 (4.1%) patients, respectively, in the alirocumab and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.98; P=0.03, nominal P value). This resulted from nonsignificantly fewer cardiovascular (240 [2.5%] vs 271 [2.9%]; HR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.05; P=0.15) and noncardiovascular (94 [1.0%] vs 121 [1.3%]; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.59 to 1.01; P=0.06) deaths with alirocumab. In a prespecified analysis of 8242 patients eligible for ≥3 years follow-up, alirocumab reduced death (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.94; P=0.01). Patients with nonfatal cardiovascular events were at increased risk for cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths (P<0.0001 for the associations). Alirocumab reduced total nonfatal cardiovascular events (P<0.001) and thereby may have attenuated the number of cardiovascular and noncardiovascular deaths. A post hoc analysis found that, compared to patients with lower LDL-C, patients with baseline LDL-C ≥100 mg/dL (2.59 mmol/L) had a greater absolute risk of death and a larger mortality benefit from alirocumab (HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.56 to 0.90; Pinteraction=0.007). In the alirocumab group, all-cause death declined wit h achieved LDL-C at 4 months of treatment, to a level of approximately 30 mg/dL (adjusted P=0.017 for linear trend). Conclusions: Alirocumab added to intensive statin therapy has the potential to reduce death after acute coronary syndrome, particularly if treatment is maintained for ≥3 years, if baseline LDL-C is ≥100 mg/dL, or if achieved LDL-C is low. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01663402

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI 2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity. Funding UK Medical Research Council, UK Research and Innovation (Research England), UK Research and Innovation (Innovate UK), and European Union

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p

Alterações fisiológicas da morte encefálica em potenciais doadores de órgãos e tecidos para transplantes Los cambios fisiológicos de la muerte cerebral en potenciales donadores de órganos y tejidos para trasplante Physiological changes of brain death in potential donors of organs and tissues for transplantation

Objetivou-se descrever as alterações fisiológicas da morte encefálica em potenciais doadores de órgãos e tecidos para transplantes. Estudo exploratório descritivo com dados prospectivos e abordagem quantitativa realizado nas unidades de emergência e terapia intensiva adulto de um hospital de Pernambuco no período de abril a outubro de 2011. A população constou de 32 potenciais doadores de órgãos e tecidos para transplantes. Após aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, os dados foram coletados, tabulados e analisados pela estatística descritiva pelo software SPSS 15.0 e apresentados em forma de tabelas. As alterações fisiológicas foram: hipotensão arterial (100%), hipotermia (75,0%), hipernatremia (62,5%), diabetes insipidus (37,5%), hiperglicemia (32,3%), infecção (25,0%), hipertensão arterial (9,4%) e úlcera de córnea (3,1%). Acredita-se que o conhecimento dessas alterações possibilita à equipe de saúde direcionar o cuidado ao potencial doador segundo as suas necessidades e, assim, manter o órgão/tecido viável para transplante.<br>El objetivo del estudio fue describir los cambios fisiológicos de la muerte cerebral en los potenciales donadores de órganos y tejidos para trasplante. Investigación exploratoria, descriptiva, con datos prospectivos y enfoque cuantitativo, hecho en las unidades de emergencia y de cuidados intensivos de adultos de un hospital de Pernambuco en el periodo de abril a octubre de 2011. La población fue formada por 32 potenciales donadores de órganos y tejidos para trasplante. Después de la aprobación en el Comité Ético de Investigación, los datos han sido recogidos, tabulados y analizados mediante estadística descriptiva por el programa informático SPSS 15.0, siendo presentados en forma de tablas. Los cambios fisiológicos fueron: hipotensión (100%), hipotermia (75,0%), hipernatremia (62,5%), diabetes insípida (37,5%), infección (25,0%), hipertensión arterial (9,4%) y la úlcera de córnea (3,1%). Se cree que el conocimiento de estos cambios permite al equipo de atención de la salud dirigir sus acciones al potencial donador de acuerdo a sus necesidades y así mantener los órganos/tejidos viables para el trasplante.<br>The objective was to describe the physiologic changes of brain death in potential donors of organs and tissues for transplantation. Exploratory descriptive study with prospective data and quantitative approach carried out in emergency and intensive care units hospital adult, in the period from April to October 2011. The population consisted of 32 potential donors of organs and tissues for transplantation. After approval of Ethics Committee, data were collected, tabulated and analyzed by descriptive statistics by SPSS 15.0 software and presented in tables. Physiological changes were: hypotension (100%), hypothermia (75%), hypernatremia (62,5%), diabetes insipidus (37,5%), hyperglycemia (32,3%), infection (25,0%), hypertension (9,4%) and corneal ulcer (3,1%). It was found that knowledge of these changes allows the team of health care to direct the potential donors according to their needs and thus keep the organ/tissue viable for transplant

Influence of friction models on FE simulation results of orthogonal cutting process

It is well-known that the reliability of finite element (FE) simulation results of cutting processes depends mainly on two factors: implementation of a well-defined constitutive model which can properly represent the severe deformation in chip formation process as well as the viability of the relation adopted to simulate the frictional condition at the tool-chip interface. In the current study, a systematic approach is presented to evaluate the performance of various friction models in three different FE commercial codes: Deform 2D, Abaqus/ Explicit and AdvantEdge. The frictional condition was analysed for two uncoated cemented carbide-plain carbon steel combinations: K10/AISI 1045 and H13A/AISI 1080. The results indicated that approximately similar ranges of minimum average error in simulation responses can be achieved, independently of the FE code used for simulation of the chip formation process and for both tool-work material combinations

A unique cluster of roo insertions in the promoter region of a stress response gene in Drosophila melanogaster

Transposable elements (TEs) are not randomly distributed in the genome. A genome-wide analysis of the D. melanogaster genome found that differences in TE density across 50 kb genomic regions was due both to transposition and duplication. At smaller genomic scales, promoter regions of hsp genes and the promoter region of CG18446 have been shown to accumulate TE insertions. In this work, we have further analyzed the promoter region of CG18446. We screened 218 strains collected in 15 natural populations, and we found that the CG18446 promoter region contains 20 independent roo insertions. Based on phylogenetic analysis, we suggest that the presence of multiple roo insertions in this region is likely to be the result of several bursts of transposition. Moreover, we found that the roo insertional cluster in the CG18446 promoter region is unique: no other promoter region in the genome contains a similar number of roo insertions. We found that, similar to hsp gene promoters, chromatin accessibility could be one of the factors explaining the recurrent insertions of roo elements in CG18446 promoter region.This work was funded by the European Commission (H2020-ERC-2014-CoG-647900). C.I. was funded by an ERASMUS+ fellowship. We acknowledge the support of the Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Economia i Coneixement de laGeneralitat de Catalunya (GRC 2017 SGR 880). We also acknowledge support of the publication fee by the CSIC Open Access Publication Support Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI)