El Precerámico medio de Huarmey: historia de un sitio (pv35-106)

PV35-106 es el único sitio correspondiente al Precerámico medio que se ha podido ubicar en el área de Huarmey. Presenta la característica de tener una industria lítica muy particular, compuesta fundamentalmente por piezas astilladas y guijarros con golpe bipolar. El fechado radiocarbónico calibrado nos da para este yacimiento un lapso de tiempo que oscila entre cal. 5750 y cal. 4950 años a.C. A juzgar por los restos recuperados en las excavaciones, se trata de un grupo humano sedentario cuya economía básica fueron los recursos marinos. Pero hay indicios que ya se estaba iniciando un proceso hortícola. Las características culturales del sitio tienen parecido con las de la cultura Mongoncillo del vecino valle de Casma. Por todas las evidencias, parece que PV35-106 representa la transición entre la cultura Paijanense (Complejo Chivateros) y el Precerámico final.PV35-106 est le seul site correspondant au Précéramique moyen qui a pu être localisé dans la région de Huarmey. Le site se caractérise pour avoir une industrie lithique très particulière, composée fondamentalement par des pièces esquillées et des galets avec taille bipolaire. La datation radiocarbone date le site entre environ cal. 5750 et cal. 4950 av. J.C. D’après les restes récupérés dans les fouilles, il s’agirait d’un groupe humain sédentaire ayant une économie basée sur les ressources marines. Mais il y a aussi des indices qui montrent qu’un processus d’horticulture était en train de se développer. Les caractéristiques culturelles du site ressemblent à celle de la culture Mongoncillo de la vallée voisine de Casma. En accord avec les évidences, on peut conclure que le site PV35-106 représente la transition entre la culture Paijanienne (Complexe Chivateros) et le Précéramique final.PV35-106 is the only site found in the area of Huarmey that belongs to the Middle Preceramic. The principal characteristic of this site is that it displays a very particular lithic industry, which consists mainly of splintered pieces of stone and pebbles with bipolar percussion. The radiocarbon date situates the site between cal. 5750 and cal. 4950 BC. According to the remains found in the excavations, the site would have been inhabited by a sedentary human group with a marine-based economy. But there are also indications that a horticultural process was developing. The cultural characteristics of the site are similar to the Mongoncillo culture of the neighbouring valley of Casma. All the evidence leads us to conclude that PV35-106 represents the transition between the Paijanense Culture (Chivateros Complex) and that of the Late Preceramic

Visual and interactive legacy outputs

Development and dissemination of up to 6 visual / interactive outputs aimed at stakeholder group

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This study gives an overview of Project STARS (Studies on Trajectories of Adolescent Relationships and Sexuality), a four-wave longitudinal study of 1297 Dutch adolescents. First, the sample, measures and four sub-projects are described. Second, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine how key variables from the individual domain (impulsivity), parent domain (parent-adolescent relationship quality), peer domain (involvement with peers) and media domain (time spent on social networking sites), and their interactions predict changes in the experience with sexual behaviour of adolescents across time. Results showed that higher levels of impulsivity, lower quality of relation with parents, more frequent involvement with peers and more time spent on social networking sites at baseline predicted increases in sexual experience of adolescents over a subsequent 1.5-year time period. No interaction effects among the domains were found. The findings highlight the significance of a multi-domain approach to the study of adolescent sexual development

Linkage analyses in Caribbean Hispanic families identify novel loci associated with familial late-onset Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: We performed linkage analyses in Caribbean Hispanic families with multiple late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) cases to identify regions that may contain disease causative variants. METHODS: We selected 67 LOAD families to perform genome-wide linkage scan. Analysis of the linked regions was repeated using the entire sample of 282 families. Validated chromosomal regions were analyzed using joint linkage and association. RESULTS: We identified 26 regions linked to LOAD (HLOD ≥3.6). We validated 13 of the regions (HLOD ≥2.5) using the entire family sample. The strongest signal was at 11q12.3 (rs2232932: HLODmax = 4.7, Pjoint = 6.6 × 10(-6)), a locus located ∼2 Mb upstream of the membrane-spanning 4A gene cluster. We additionally identified a locus at 7p14.3 (rs10255835: HLODmax = 4.9, Pjoint = 1.2 × 10(-5)), a region harboring genes associated with the nervous system (GARS, GHRHR, and NEUROD6). DISCUSSION: Future sequencing efforts should focus on these regions because they may harbor familial LOAD causative mutations

Cross-Species Analyses Identify Dlgap2 as a Regulator of Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer\u27s Dementia.

Genetic mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and dementia remain poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of the Diversity Outbred mouse population to utilize quantitative trait loci mapping and identify Dlgap2 as a positional candidate responsible for modifying working memory decline. To evaluate the translational relevance of this finding, we utilize longitudinal cognitive measures from human patients, RNA expression from post-mortem brain tissue, data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Alzheimer\u27s dementia (AD), and GWAS results in African Americans. We find an association between Dlgap2 and AD phenotypes at the variant, gene and protein expression, and methylation levels. Lower cortical DLGAP2 expression is observed in AD and is associated with more plaques and tangles at autopsy and faster cognitive decline. Results will inform future studies aimed at investigating the cross-species role of Dlgap2 in regulating cognitive decline and highlight the benefit of using genetically diverse mice to prioritize novel candidates

Historia de un campamento del Horizonte Medio de Huarmey, Perú (PV35-4)

Se presenta el estudio de un campamento temporal del Horizonte Medio situado en el desierto costero peruano al norte del valle de Huarmey. Se ha excavado la parte central del mismo pues presentaba la mayor cantidad de basura y dos fogones. Se ha podido establecer a base de la cerámica encontrada, que el sitio corresponde al Horizonte Medio 3. Los artefactos hallados son muy pocos, lo que es lógico dada la corta ocupación del sitio. Sin embargo se ha podido estudiar los abundantes restos botánicos y animales así como los fecales de llama que estaban acumulados en el lugar. También se ha encontrado coprolitos humanos. De ambos se ha realizado el examen polínico. Además de los excrementos humanos se ha efectuado el análisis del contenido de plantas y animales así como el parasitológico.Cet article étudie un campement temporaire de l’Horizon Moyen situé dans le désert côtier péruvien au nord de la vallée de Huarmey. La partie centrale du site a été choisie pour les fouilles car elle offrait la plus grande quantité de déchets ainsi que deux foyers. Il a été établi que le site correspondait à l’Horizon Moyen 3 grâce à la céramique qui y fut trouvée. Peu d’outillage a été trouvé en raison de la courte occupation du site, mais les restes abondants d’animaux et botaniques ainsi que les restes fécaux de llamas et humains accumulés sur le site ont fourni de précieuses indications. Les résultats des examens polliniques des coprolithes ainsi que les analyses du contenu de plantes, animaux et parasytes présents dans les coprolithes humains sont présentés ici.This is a study of a Middle Horizon temporary campsite located in the peruvian north coastal desert of the Huarmey Valley. The excavation was undertaken in the central part of the site since it contained the largest quantity debris and evidence of two bonfires. Its age was established using pieces of ceramic found on the site. A few artifacts were founded, probably due to the brief occupancy of the site, but were able to study the abundant botanical and animal remains, as well as llama and human coprolites. We present the results of tests for pollen in both the llama and human coprolites, as well as of tests for plant, animal, and parasite content in the human fecal remains are presented here

Pre- and postnatal high fat feeding differentially affects the structure and integrity of the neurovascular unit of 16-month old male and female mice

Compelling experimental and clinical evidence supports a role for maternal obesity in offspring health. Adult children of obese mothers are at greater risk of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke. These offspring may also be at greater risk of age-related neurodegenerative diseases for which mid-life obesity is a risk factor. Rodent diet-induced obesity models have shown that high fat (HF) diet consumption damages the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the adult brain. However, there is currently little information about the effect of chronic HF feeding on the BBB of aged animals. Moreover, the long-term consequences of maternal obesity on the cerebrovasculature of aged offspring are not known. This study determined the impact of pre- and postnatal HF diet on the structure and integrity of cerebral blood vessels in aged male and female mice. Female C57Bl/6 mice were fed either a 10% fat control (C) or 45% HF diet before mating and during gestation and lactation. At weaning, male and female offspring were fed the C or HF diet until sacrifice at 16-months of age. Both dams and offspring fed the HF diet weighed significantly more than mice fed the C diet. Postnatal HF diet exposure increased hippocampal BBB leakiness in female offspring, in association with loss of astrocyte endfoot coverage of arteries. Markers of tight junctions, pericytes or smooth muscle cells were not altered by pre- or postnatal HF diet. Male offspring born to HF-fed mothers showed decreased parenchymal GFAP expression compared to offspring of mothers fed C diet, while microglial and macrophage markers were higher in the same female diet group. In addition, female offspring exposed to the HF diet for their entire lifespan showed more significant changes in vessel structure, BBB permeability and inflammation compared to male animals. These results suggest that the long-term impact of prenatal HF diet on the integrity of cerebral blood vessels differs between male and female offspring depending on the postnatal diet. This may have implications for the prevention and management of age- and obesity-related cerebrovascular diseases that differentially affect men and women

Association of Long Runs of Homozygosity With Alzheimer Disease Among African American Individuals

IMPORTANCE: Mutations in known causal Alzheimer disease (AD) genes account for only 1% to 3% of patients and almost all are dominantly inherited. Recessive inheritance of complex phenotypes can be linked to long (>1-megabase [Mb]) runs of homozygosity (ROHs) detectable by single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between ROHs and AD in an African American population known to have a risk for AD up to 3 times higher than white individuals. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Case-control study of a large African American data set previously genotyped on different genome-wide SNP arrays conducted from December 2013 to January 2015. Global and locus-based ROH measurements were analyzed using raw or imputed genotype data. We studied the raw genotypes from 2 case-control subsets grouped based on SNP array: Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium data set (871 cases and 1620 control individuals) and Chicago Health and Aging Project-Indianapolis Ibadan Dementia Study data set (279 cases and 1367 control individuals). We then examined the entire data set using imputed genotypes from 1917 cases and 3858 control individuals. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The ROHs larger than 1 Mb, 2 Mb, or 3 Mb were investigated separately for global burden evaluation, consensus regions, and gene-based analyses. RESULTS: The African American cohort had a low degree of inbreeding (F ~ 0.006). In the Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Consortium data set, we detected a significantly higher proportion of cases with ROHs greater than 2 Mb (P = .004) or greater than 3 Mb (P = .02), as well as a significant 114-kilobase consensus region on chr4q31.3 (empirical P value 2 = .04; ROHs >2 Mb). In the Chicago Health and Aging Project-Indianapolis Ibadan Dementia Study data set, we identified a significant 202-kilobase consensus region on Chr15q24.1 (empirical P value 2 = .02; ROHs >1 Mb) and a cluster of 13 significant genes on Chr3p21.31 (empirical P value 2 = .03; ROHs >3 Mb). A total of 43 of 49 nominally significant genes common for both data sets also mapped to Chr3p21.31. Analyses of imputed SNP data from the entire data set confirmed the association of AD with global ROH measurements (12.38 ROHs >1 Mb in cases vs 12.11 in controls; 2.986 Mb average size of ROHs >2 Mb in cases vs 2.889 Mb in controls; and 22% of cases with ROHs >3 Mb vs 19% of controls) and a gene-cluster on Chr3p21.31 (empirical P value 2 = .006-.04; ROHs >3 Mb). Also, we detected a significant association between AD and CLDN17 (empirical P value 2 = .01; ROHs >1 Mb), encoding a protein from the Claudin family, members of which were previously suggested as AD biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: To our knowledge, we discovered the first evidence of increased burden of ROHs among patients with AD from an outbred African American population, which could reflect either the cumulative effect of multiple ROHs to AD or the contribution of specific loci harboring recessive mutations and risk haplotypes in a subset of patients. Sequencing is required to uncover AD variants in these individuals

Limits of Life and the Habitability of Mars: The ESA Space Experiment BIOMEX on the ISS

BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment) is an ESA/Roscosmos space exposure experiment housed within the exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 outside the Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS). The design of the multiuser facility supports—among others—the BIOMEX investigations into the stability and level of degradation of space-exposed biosignatures such as pigments, secondary metabolites, and cell surfaces in contact with a terrestrial and Mars analog mineral environment. In parallel, analysis on the viability of the investigated organisms has provided relevant data for evaluation of the habitability of Mars, for the limits of life, and for the likelihood of an interplanetary transfer of life (theory of lithopanspermia). In this project, lichens, archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, snow/permafrost algae, meristematic black fungi, and bryophytes from alpine and polar habitats were embedded, grown, and cultured on a mixture of martian and lunar regolith analogs or other terrestrial minerals. The organisms and regolith analogs and terrestrial mineral mixtures were then exposed to space and to simulated Mars-like conditions by way of the EXPOSE-R2 facility. In this special issue, we present the first set of data obtained in reference to our investigation into the habitability of Mars and limits of life. This project was initiated and implemented by the BIOMEX group, an international and interdisciplinary consortium of 30 institutes in 12 countries on 3 continents. Preflight tests for sample selection, results from ground-based simulation experiments, and the space experiments themselves are presented and include a complete overview of the scientific processes required for this space experiment and postflight analysis. The presented BIOMEX concept could be scaled up to future exposure experiments on the Moon and will serve as a pretest in low Earth orbit