A Middle Palaeolithic wooden digging stick from Aranbaltza III, Spain

Aranbaltza is an archaeological complex formed by at least three open-air sites. Between 2014 and 2015 a test excavation carried out in Aranbaltza III revealed the presence of a sand and clay sedimentary sequence formed in floodplain environments, within which six sedimentary units have been identified. This sequence was formed between 137±50 ka, and includes several archaeological horizons, attesting to the long-term presence of Neanderthal communities in this area. One of these horizons, corresponding with Unit 4, yielded two wooden tools. One of these tools is a beveled pointed tool that was shaped through a complex operational sequence involving branch shaping, bark peeling, twig removal, shaping, polishing, thermal exposition and chopping. A use-wear analysis of the tool shows it to have traces related with digging soil so it has been interpreted as representing a digging stick. This is the first time such a tool has been identified in a European Late Middle Palaeolithic context; it also represents one of the first well-preserved Middle Palaeolithic wooden tool found in southern Europe. This artefact represents one of the few examples available of wooden tool preservation for the European Palaeolithic, allowing us to further explore the role wooden technologies played in Neanderthal communities

Del (9q) AML: clinical and cytological characteristics and prognostic implications

Del (9q) is a recurrent cytogenetic abnormality in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). We report an analysis of 81 patients with del(9q) as a diagnostic karyotypic abnormality entered into the Medical Research Council AML trials 10, 11 and 12. Patients were divided into three groups: (i) Sole del (9q), 21 patients; (ii) Del(9q) in association with t(8;21), 29 patients; (iii) Del(9q) in association with other cytogenetic abnormalities, 31 patients. Sole del(9q) was associated with a characteristic bone marrow phenotype at diagnosis: a single Auer rod was found in all cases examined. There was also an association with erythroid dysplasia (74%) and granylocytic lineage vacuolation (90%). The incidence of all three of these features was significantly higher (P < 0·05) in the sole del(9q) group compared with control cases lacking del(9q). The overall survival (OS) of all 81 patients was compared with a control group of 1738 patients with normal cytogenetics entered in the same trials over the period of investigation. The 5-year OS for patients with del(9q) was 45%, compared with 35% for the control group (P = 0·09). Patients with del(9q) in association with t(8;21) had a 5-year OS of 75%, which was significantly better than the groups with either sole del(9q) (40%) and del(9q) with other abnormalities (26%; P = 0·008). Karyotyping indicated a common area of deletion in the region 9q21–22, which was present in 94% of cases. It is likely that the deletion of single or multiple tumour suppressor genes located in this region may underlie the pathogenesis of del (9q) AML

A multigene phylogenetic synthesis for the class Lecanoromycetes (Ascomycota): 1307 fungi representing 1139 infrageneric taxa, 317 genera and 66 families

The Lecanoromycetes is the largest class of lichenized Fungi, and one of the most species-rich classes in the kingdom. Here we provide a multigene phylogenetic synthesis (using three ribosomal RNA-coding and two protein-coding genes) of the Lecanoromycetes based on 635 newly generated and 3307 publicly available sequences representing 1139 taxa, 317 genera, 66 families, 17 orders and five subclasses (four currently recognized: Acarosporomycetidae, Lecanoromycetidae, Ostropomycetidae, Umbilicariomycetidae; and one provisionarily recognized, 'Candelariomycetidae'). Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses on four multigene datasets assembled using a cumulative supermatrix approach with a progressively higher number of species and missing data (5-gene, 5+4-gene, 5+4+3-gene and 5+4+3+2-gene datasets) show that the current classification includes non-monophyletic taxa at various ranks, which need to be recircumscribed and require revisionary treatments based on denser taxon sampling and more loci. Two newly circumscribed orders (Arctomiales and Hymeneliales in the Ostropomycetidae) and three families (Ramboldiaceae and Psilolechiaceae in the Lecanorales, and Strangosporaceae in the Lecanoromycetes inc. sed.) are introduced. The potential resurrection of the families Eigleraceae and Lopadiaceae is considered here to alleviate phylogenetic and classification disparities. An overview of the photobionts associated with the main fungal lineages in the Lecanoromycetes based on available published records is provided. A revised schematic classification at the family level in the phylogenetic context of widely accepted and newly revealed relationships across Lecanoromycetes is included. The cumulative addition of taxa with an increasing amount of missing data (i.e., a cumulative supermatrix approach, starting with taxa for which sequences were available for all five targeted genes and ending with the addition of taxa for which only two genes have been sequenced) revealed relatively stable relationships for many families and orders. However, the increasing number of taxa without the addition of more loci also resulted in an expected substantial loss of phylogenetic resolving power and support (especially for deep phylogenetic relationships), potentially including the misplacements of several taxa. Future phylogenetic analyses should include additional single copy protein-coding markers in order to improve the tree of the Lecanoromycetes. As part of this study, a new module ("Hypha") of the freely available Mesquite software was developed to compare and display the internodal support values derived from this cumulative supermatrix approach