The genetic history of the Southern Arc: a bridge between West Asia and Europe

By sequencing 727 ancient individuals from the Southern Arc (Anatolia and its neighbors in Southeastern Europe and West Asia) over 10,000 years, we contextualize its Chalcolithic period and Bronze Age (about 5000 to 1000 BCE), when extensive gene flow entangled it with the Eurasian steppe. Two streams of migration transmitted Caucasus and Anatolian/Levantine ancestry northward, and the Yamnaya pastoralists, formed on the steppe, then spread southward into the Balkans and across the Caucasus into Armenia, where they left numerous patrilineal descendants. Anatolia was transformed by intra–West Asian gene flow, with negligible impact of the later Yamnaya migrations. This contrasts with all other regions where Indo-European languages were spoken, suggesting that the homeland of the Indo-Anatolian language family was in West Asia, with only secondary dispersals of non-Anatolian Indo-Europeans from the steppe

Evaluation of Hospital-Acquired Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Infections

Introduction: This study was performed to evaluate the incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, and crude mortality of hospital-wide hospital-acquired Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infections. Patients and Methods: A prospective surveillance study was performed from January 2000 through December 2009. Hospital-acquired infections were defined according to the standard definitions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results: During the study period, hospital-acquired S. maltophilia infection was diagnosed in 52 patients. S. maltophilia constituted 1.1% of hospital-acquired infection isolates and 1.5% of gram-negative microorganisms. The overall incidence was found as 2.1 per 10.000 hospital admissions. Patients with hospital-acquired S. maltophilia infection were documented in surgical wards (38%), medical wards (31%), and the intensive care unit (31%). The clinical manifestations were pneumoniae (38%), surgical site infection (25%), central venous catheter-related bloodstream infection (13%), urinary system infection (13%), peritonitis (6%), and skin and soft tissue infection (4%). The most common underlying diseases were malignancies (37%), chronic renal failure (15%), and cardiac failure (15%). Eighty-eight percent of the patients were on antibiotic treatment before infection. The most common antibiotics prescribed before the onset of infection were carbapenems and third-generation cephalosporins. The crude mortality was found as 13.5%. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (94%) and ciprofloxacin (79%) were found to be the most effective antibiotics against S. maltophilia. Conclusion: The incidence and mortality rate of S. maltophilia infections were found lower in our hospital. As S. maltophilia is associated with a high mortality rate and has high resistance to many currently available broad-spectrum antibiotics, it should be kept in mind in the etiology of a wide range of nosocomial infections in patients with risk factors

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom's northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom’s northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia.National Institutes of Health [GM100233, HG012287]; John Templeton Foundation [61220]; Allen Discovery Center program; Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation; Howard Hughes Medical InstituteThe newly reported dataset is described in detail in an accompanying Research Article, where we also acknowledge the funders who supported dataset generation (12). Analysis of data was supported by the National Institutes of Health (GM100233 and HG012287), the John Templeton Foundation (grant 61220), a private gift from Jean-Francois Clin, the Allen Discovery Center program, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (D.R.)

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia

We present the first ancient DNA data from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of Mesopotamia (Southeastern Turkey and Northern Iraq), Cyprus, and the Northwestern Zagros, along with the first data from Neolithic Armenia. We show that these and neighboring populations were formed through admixture of pre-Neolithic sources related to Anatolian, Caucasus, and Levantine hunter-gatherers, forming a Neolithic continuum of ancestry mirroring the geography of West Asia. By analyzing Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic populations of Anatolia, we show that the former were derived from admixture between Mesopotamian-related and local Epipaleolithic-related sources, but the latter experienced additional Levantine-related gene flow, thus documenting at least two pulses of migration from the Fertile Crescent heartland to the early farmers of Anatolia

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia

Literary and archaeological sources have preserved a rich history of Southern Europe and West Asia since the Bronze Age that can be complemented by genetics. Mycenaean period elites in Greece did not differ from the general population and included both people with some steppe ancestry and others, like the Griffin Warrior, without it. Similarly, people in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom around Lake Van lacked the steppe ancestry characteristic of the kingdom's northern provinces. Anatolia exhibited extraordinary continuity down to the Roman and Byzantine periods, with its people serving as the demographic core of much of the Roman Empire, including the city of Rome itself. During medieval times, migrations associated with Slavic and Turkic speakers profoundly affected the region.The newly reported dataset is described in detail in an accompanying manuscript, where we also acknowledge the funders who supported dataset generation (1). Analysis of data was supported by the National Institutes of Health (GM100233 and HG012287), the John Templeton Foundation (grant 61220), a private gift from Jean-Francois Clin, the Allen Discovery Center program, a Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (to D.R.).National Institutes of Health [GM100233, HG012287]; John Templeton Foundation [61220]; Allen Discovery Center program; Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group advised program of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation; Howard Hughes Medical Institut