Escriure i mercadejar a la Baixa Edat Mitjana "Navigare necesse [est]..."

This article ties the expansion of the Mediterranean and Catalan prosperity to the growth, the changes and the maturing of the society in all aspects (politically, socially, culturally...) Two of the groups that illustrate the growth well and the changes that were taking place in Barcelona society are the craftsmen and craftswomen, liberal professionals and the merchants. The article relates the changes of the XIVth Century to the increase of the capacity to read and write of the men and women of these social groups. The books of accounts of two members of a Barcelona family of merchants and ships’s copyist of the XIVth Century, the Tarascó, are the testimony of the extension of “a functional” literacy, limited and closely together with the profession, work and religious practice. These and other private sources allow for the appreciation of the diffusion of writing. The people of the world of commerce and the sea are very conscious of the decisive value of writing not only for their professional activity, but also because it allows them to make note of, in order to be able, later on, to remember: desires, interests and preoccupations. The article, finally, offers a hypothesis of documentary genesis of books of mercantile accounts

La caixa de núvia. Un procés del segle XIV

A fourteenth century caixa de nuvia (a bride's case). This article studies a bride's case, or chest described in the records of a trial that took place in the late fourteenth century, preserved in the Archives of Crown of Aragon. The case was claimed by Eulàlia, a commoner from the region of Barcelona. We study the circumstances of the claim, and then consider the descriptions of the items and the relations between the items and the owner. We stress the structures and the functionality of the chest itself and the meticulous description of contents , mainly second hand household wear and engagement presents. We highlight the relationship between women, especially between the mother and the daughter, and the relationship between these women and their possessions

Els atuells de terrissa a les llars barcelonines vers l'any 1400

Quan el doctor Manuel Riu ens va demanar si podíem aportar quelcom de les nostres investigacions a aquesta monografia dedicada a la ceràmica medieval, ens va complaure molt de fer-ho. Pot sorprendre a algú que un equip de treball dedicat a investigar sobre la història de la vida quotidiana tingui alguna cosa a dir d'un tema eminentment tècnic, però hem de tenir present que una de les primeres tasques a realitzar, si volem apropar-nos a la historia de la vida de cada dia dels qui han viscut en altre temps, és intentar familiaritzar-nos amb les coses que els eren mes quotidianes, i que més quotidià per una mestressa de casa que una olla o un morter? Que més diari per qualsevol persona que I'escudella en la qual menjava la sopa o la copa amb la que bebia el vi

La caixa de núvia. Un procés del segle XIV

A fourteenth century caixa de nuvia (a bride’s case). This article studies a bride’s case, or chest described in the records of a trial that took place in the late fourteenth century, preserved in the Archives of Crown of Aragon. The case was claimed by Eulàlia, a commoner from the region of Barcelona. We study the circumstances of the claim, and then consider the descriptions of the items and the relations between the items and the owner. We stress the structures and the functionality of the chest itself and the meticulous description of contents , mainly second hand household wear and engagement presents. We highlight the relationship between women, especially between the mother and the daughter, and the relationship between these women and their possessions

Changes in activity and community composition shape bacterial responses to size-fraccionated marine DOM

To study the response of bacteria to different size-fractions of naturally occurring dissolved organic matter (DOM), a natural prokaryotic community from North Atlantic mesopelagic waters (1000 m depth) was isolated and grown in (i) 0.1-µm filtered seawater (CONTROL), (ii) the low-molecular-weight (<1 kDa) DOM fraction (L-DOM), and (iii) the recombination of high- (>1 kDa) and low-molecular-weight DOM fractions (H + L-DOM), to test the potential effect of ultrafiltration on breaking the DOM size continuum. Prokaryotic abundance and leucine incorporation were consistently higher in the H + L-DOM niche than in the L-DOM and CONTROL treatments, suggesting a different interaction with each DOM fraction and the disruption of the structural DOM continuum by ultrafiltration, respectively. Rhodobacterales (Alphaproteobacteria) and Flavobacteriales (Bacteroidetes) were particularly enriched in L-DOM and closely related to the colored DOM (CDOM) fraction, indicating the tight link between these groups and changes in DOM aromaticity. Conversely, some other taxa that were rare or undetectable in the original bacterial community were enriched in the H + L-DOM treatment (e.g., Alteromonadales belonging to Gammaproteobacteria), highlighting the role of the rare biosphere as a seed bank of diversity against ecosystem disturbance. The relationship between the fluorescence of protein-like CDOM and community composition of populations in the H + L-DOM treatment suggested their preference for labile DOM. Conversely, the communities growing on the L-DOM niche were coupled to humic-like CDOM, which may indicate their ability to degrade more reworked DOM and/or the generation of refractory substrates (as by-products of the respiration processes). Most importantly, L- and/or H + L-DOM treatments stimulated the growth of unique bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), suggesting the potential of environmental selection (i.e., changes in DOM composition and availability), particularly in the light of climate change scenarios. Taken together, our results suggest that different size-fractions of DOM induced niche-specialization and differentiation of mesopelagic bacterial communities.Versión del edito

Vertical Niche Partitioning of Archaea and Bacteria Linked to Shifts in Dissolved Organic Matter Quality and Hydrography in North Atlantic Waters

Understanding the factors that modulate prokaryotic assemblages and their niche partitioning in marine environments is a longstanding challenge in marine microbial ecology. This study analyzes amplicon sequence variant (ASV) diversity and co-occurrence of prokaryotic (Archaea and Bacteria) communities through coastal-oceanic gradients in the NW Iberian upwelling system and adjacent open-ocean (Atlantic Ocean). Biogeographic patterns were investigated in relation with environmental conditions, mainly focusing on the optical signature of the dissolved organic matter (DOM). Alpha- and beta-diversity were horizontally homogeneous [with the only exception of Archaea (∼1700 m depth), attributed to the influence of Mediterranean water, MW], while beta-diversity was significantly vertically stratified. Prokaryotic communities were structured in four clusters (upper subsurface, lower subsurface, intermediate, and deep clusters). Deep (>2000 m) archaeal and bacterial assemblages, and intermediate (500-2000 m) Bacteria (mainly SAR202 and SAR406), were significantly related to humic-like DOM (FDOM-M), while intermediate Archaea were additionally related to biogeochemical attributes of the high-salinity signature of MW. Lower subsurface (100-500 m) Archaea (particularly one ASV belonging to the genus Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus) were mainly related to the imprint of high-salinity MW, while upper subsurface (≤100 m) archaeal assemblages (particularly some ASVs belonging to Marine Group II) were linked to protein-like DOM (aCDOM254). Conversely, both upper and lower subsurface bacterial assemblages were mainly linked to aCDOM254 (particularly ASVs belonging to Rhodobacteraceae, Cyanobacteria, and Flavobacteriaceae) and nitrite concentration (mainly members of Planctomycetes). Most importantly, our analysis unveiled depth-ecotypes, such as the ASVs MarG.II_1 belonging to the archaeal deep cluster (linked to FDOM-M) and MarG.II_2 belonging to the upper subsurface cluster (related to FDOM-T and aCDOM254). This result strongly suggests DOM-mediated vertical niche differentiation, with further implications for ecosystem functioning. Similarly, positive and negative co-occurrence relationships also suggested niche partitioning (e.g., between the closely related ASVs Thaum._Nit._Nit._Nit._1 and _2) and competitive exclusion (e.g., between Thaum._Nit._Nit._Nit._4 and _5), supporting the finding of non-randomly, vertically structured prokaryotic communities. Overall, differences between Archaea and Bacteria and among closely related ASVs were revealed in their preferential relationship with compositional changes in the DOM pool and environmental forcing. Our results provide new insights on the ecological processes shaping prokaryotic assembly and biogeography.Versión del edito

Diversity and abundance of planktonic communities in the deep waters off the galician coast (NW Spain)

Comunicación oralPlanktonic communities play pivotal roles within marine ecosystems, affecting their structure, functioning and services. Although they have been extensively studied in the epipelagic ocean, the knowledge about these communities in the dark ocean is rather short. In this study, we explored patterns of abundance and biomass of a wide variety of taxonomic groups from the prokaryotes to mesozooplankton in the epi-, meso- and bathypelagic waters off the Galician coast. As expected, ciliate and zooplankton abundances are depleted in the bathypelagic waters relative to abundances of prokaryotes and nanoflagellates. The rate of decrease of zooplankton biomass with depth is twice as that of prokaryotes and nanoflagellates, indicating that relative contribution of mesozooplancton to the total plankton biomass decreases with depth. Overall, the diversity of prokaryotes in the dark ocean is almost as high as in the epipelagic layer, although the phylotypes are different. The major fraction of epipelagic ciliates belongs to alloricate genera, whereas tintinnids dominate the deep ciliate populations. Small copepods were dominant in the epi- and meso-pelagic zone. By contrast, foraminiferans, big copepods and myctophic fishes were more abundant in the deep ocean

Changes in bacterial activity and community composition in response to water mass mixing

PosterMixing zones and boundaries between different water masses are "hot spots" of marine biodiversity and activity. We aimed to investigate the effects of water mass mixing in the dark-ocean microbial communities by collecting and incubating natural bacterial communities from the Mediterranean Water (MW; at 1000 m depth), the Subpolar Modal Water (SPMW, 500m) and the Labrador Sea Water (LSW, 1800 m), and comparing them with artificially mixed communities. Mixing experiment 1 consisted of incubating at in sity conditions the original LSW and MW communities, plus a mixture of both (MIX1, dilution 1:1), whereas the Mixing experiment 2 included the original prokaryotic communities from SPMW and MW and a mixture of both (MIX2, dilution 1:1). Bacterial abundance and activity was monitored every 24 h over 8 days, while bacterial community composition and DOM characterization were assessed at the beginning (day 0), middle (day 4) and at the end of the experiment (day 8). Live prokaryotic cell abundance was higher in the MIX1 and MIX2 treatments as compared to the original communities. Moreover, MIX bacteria showed slightly higher leucine incorporation rates than MW or LSW. These metabolic responses were accompanied by changes in the optical properties of DOM, suggesting a change in the dynamics of the organic matter. Taken together, our results indicate differences in the bio-reactvity of the organic matter after mixing as compared to the original water masses that could influence the composition and activity of the bacterial community

Bacterial community composition and optical signature of DOM shape empirical leucine-to-carbon conversion factors in north-eastern Atlantic waters (0-4000 m)

Oral communicationMicrobial heterotrophic activity is a major process regulating the flux of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the ocean. DOM quantity and quality strongly influence its microbial utilization and fate in the ocean. In order to broaden the vertical resolution of leucine-to-carbon conversion factors (CFs), needed for converting substrate incorporation into biomass production by heterotrophic bacteria, nine dilution experiments were performed in the north Atlantic. We found a very consistent depth-stratification in empirical CFs values from epipelagic to bathypelagic waters (3.95 &#177; 0.05 to 0.90 &#177; 0.51 kg C mol Leu-1). Our results demonstrated that the customarily used CF of 1.55 kg C mol Leu-1 in oceanic waters leads to an underestimation of prokaryotic heterotrophic production in epi- and mesopelagic waters, while it causes a severe overestimation in bathypelagic waters. Pearson correlations showed that CFs were related not only to hydrographic variables but also to specific phylogenetic groups and DOM quality and quantity indicators. Furthermore, a multiple linear regression model predicting CFs from relatively simple hydrographic and optical spectroscopic measurements is provided. Taken together, our results suggest that differences in CFs throughout the water column might be mostly associated to the quality of DOM affecting the response of particular phylogenetic groups.ASL