Shells and humans: molluscs and other coastal resources from the earliest human occupations at the Mesolithic shell midden of El Mazo (Asturias, Northern Spain)

Human populations exploited coastal areas with intensity during the Mesolithic in Atlantic Europe, resulting in the accumulation of large shell middens. Northern Spain is one of the most prolific regions, and especially the so-called Asturian area. Large accumulations of shellfish led some scholars to propose the existence of intensification in the exploitation of coastal resources in the region during the Mesolithic. In this paper, shell remains (molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms) from stratigraphic units 114 and 115 (dated to the early Mesolithic c. 9 kys cal BP) at El Mazo cave (Asturias, northern Spain) were studied in order to establish resource exploitation patterns and environmental conditions. Species representation showed that limpets, top shells and sea urchins were preferentially exploited. One-millimetre mesh screens were crucial in establishing an accurate minimum number of individuals for sea urchins and to determine their importance in exploitation patterns. Environmental conditions deduced from shell assemblages indicated that temperate conditions prevailed at the time of the occupation and the morphology of the coastline was similar to today (rocky exposed shores). Information recovered relating to species representation, collection areas and shell biometry reflected some evidence of intensification (reduced shell size, collection in lower areas of exposed shores, no size selection in some units and species) in the exploitation of coastal resources through time. However, the results suggested the existence of changes in collection strategies and resource management, and periods of intense shell collection may have alternated with times of shell stock recovery throughout the Mesolithic.This research was performed as part of the project “The human response to the global climatic change in a littoral zone: the case of the transition to the Holocene in the Cantabrian coast (10,000–5000 cal BC) (HAR2010-22115-C02-01)” funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. AGE was funded by the University of Cantabria through a predoctoral grant and IGZ was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through a Juan de la Cierva grant. We also would like to thank the University of Cantabria and the IIIPC for providing support, David Cuenca-Solana, Alejandro García Moreno and Lucia Agudo Pérez for their help. We also thank Jennifer Jones for correcting the English. Comments from two anonymous reviewers helped to improve the paper

Towards a robust robotic assistant for comprehensive geriatric assessment procedures: updating the CLARC system

27-31 de agosto 2018, Nanjing, ChinaSocially assistive robots appear as a powerful tool in the upcoming silver society. They are among the technologies for Assisted Living, offering a natural interface with smart environments, while helping people through social interaction. The CLARC project aims to develop a socially assistive robot to help clinicians perform Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) procedures. This robot autonomously drives some tests and processes, saving time for the clinician to perform more added-value activities, like designing care plans. The project has recently finished its first two phases, and now it faces its final one. This paper details the current prototype of the CLARC system and the main results collected so far during its evaluation. Then, it describes the updates and modifications planned for the next year, in which long term extensive evaluations will be conducted to validate its acceptability and utility.*This work has been partially funded by the EU ECHORD++ project (FP7-ICT-601116), the TIN2015-65686-C5-1-R, the CSO2017-86747-R (MINECO and FEDER funds) and University of Malaga/Andalucia-Tec

L'effet de la pratique du tennis sur la masse osseuse est plus durable chez les anciens joueurs hommes que chez les femmes

Dorado García C., Sanchis Moysi J., Vicente Rodríguez G., Garcés G., Calbet J. A. L. L'effet de la pratique du tennis sur la masse osseuse est plus durable chez les anciens joueurs hommes que chez les femmes. In: Les Cahiers de l'INSEP, n°35, 2005. Les sports de raquette. Données scientifiques et méthodologiques. Applications pour l'entraînement. pp. 223-225

Depositional and geochemical dynamics of Mediterranean Watershed-Lake Systems (WLS) during the Anthropocene: disentangling human and climate forcings in the Iberian Peninsula during the last millennium

In the context of sustainable socio-economic growth, water availability, soil conservation and land degradation are key factors in the Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula. Our knowledge of Mediterranean Watershed-Lake Systems (WLS) dynamics in the context of recent Global Warming and the Great Acceleration is hindered by the absence of integrated studies that include varied geographic contexts and long term time series. In the Mediterranean regions of the Iberian Peninsula disentangling climate and anthropic factors is more complex due to the long history of human impact. The forecasted intensification of the hydrological cycle (flood intensity and frequency) associated to global warming will likely lead to higher sediment mobilization and sediment delivery to the lakes, increase in carbon fluxes and bioproductivity and also in metal and other pollutant mobilization from the watersheds The MEDLANT project applies a multidisciplinary approach to understand environmental, paleohydrological and climate dynamics in WLS during the Anthropocene based on high resolution lake records for the last millennium. We use a transect of lake paleorecords from NE Iberian Peninsula to test these hypotheses by comparing recent changes with those occurred during other warmer periods - as the end of the Little Ice Age and during the Medieval Climate Anomaly - and also during the main phases of human impact (Roman, Medieval, late 19th- Early 20th century). Available data suggest that synergetic effects between climate and humans have intensified erosion, heavy metal mobilization and C storage in Mediterranean WLS. However, increase in extreme events caused by climate change and reforestation due to rural exodus have had opposite impacts in sediment delivery in recent times. Dynamic models for Mediterranean WLS will include their response during climate and anthropogenic disturbances and the complex synergetic effects obtained from paleolimnological records.Peer Reviewe

Variedades tradicionales de melón para agricultura ecológica, un reto para la mejora: el Meló d'Or

El melón es un cultivo tradicional en España, donde existe una gran diversidad de variedades. Entre estas se encuentra el 'Meló d'Or', variedad autóctona de Ontinyent muy apreciada por su calidad. Hemos identificado los factores limitantes del cultivo de esta variedad con prácticas ecológicas y sostenibles. Se utilizaron 3 campos de ensayo con diferentes condiciones agroecológicas, cultivando plantas sin injertar e injertadas en 2 patrones, uno de melón y otro de calabaza. Se realizaron seguimientos de las plagas y enfermedades que afectaron al cultivo y se evaluó la producción y calidad de los frutos. El estrés causado por hongos del suelo fue el principal factor limitante de la producción en campos con cultivo previo de melón. El estrés salino no fue limitante y, combinado con el injerto, resultó en producciones adecuadas y de elevada calidad, con un incremento del dulzor de los frutos. La variedad tradicional fue altamente susceptible a los hongos de parte aérea y a virosis, transmitidas por áfidos y mosca blanca. El aprovechamiento de la variabilidad natural de la especie para introducir resistencia a estos patógenos es la mejor estrategia para que ésta y otras variedades tradicionales sean una alternativa real en sistemas agrícolas de reducido impacto ambientalLos autores agradecen la financiación recibida por el proyecto PROMETE0/2017/078 de la convocatoria de investigación para grupos de excelencia (financiado por la Conselleria d'Educació, lnvestigació, Cultura i Esport, Generalitat Valenciana) y el proyecto AGL 2017-85563-C2 (financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades con cofinanciación de Fondos FEDER).Publishe

Measurable Residual Disease Assessed by Flow-Cytometry Is a Stable Prognostic Factor for Pediatric T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Consecutive SEHOP Protocols Whereas the Impact of Oncogenetics Depends on Treatment

Altres ajuts: Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER); Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER).Robust and applicable risk-stratifying genetic factors at diagnosis in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) are still lacking, and most protocols rely on measurable residual disease (MRD) assessment. In our study, we aimed to analyze the impact of NOTCH1, FBXW7, PTEN, and RAS mutations, the measurable residual disease (MRD) levels assessed by flow cytometry (FCM-MRD) and other reported risk factors in a Spanish cohort of pediatric T-ALL patients. We included 199 patients treated with SEHOP and PETHEMA consecutive protocols from 1998 to 2019. We observed a better outcome of patients included in the newest SEHOP-PETHEMA-2013 protocol compared to the previous SHOP-2005 cohort. FCM-MRD significantly predicted outcome in both protocols, but the impact at early and late time points differed between protocols. The impact of FCM-MRD at late time points was more evident in SEHOP-PETHEMA 2013, whereas in SHOP-2005 FCM-MRD was predictive of outcome at early time points. Genetics impact was different in SHOP-2005 and SEHOP-PETHEMA-2013 cohorts: NOTCH1 mutations impacted on overall survival only in the SEHOP-PETHEMA-2013 cohort, whereas homozygous deletions of CDKN2A/B had a significantly higher CIR in SHOP-2005 patients. We applied the clinical classification combining oncogenetics, WBC count and MRD levels at the end of induction as previously reported by the FRALLE group. Using this score, we identified different subgroups of patients with statistically different outcome in both Spanish cohorts. In SHOP-2005, the FRALLE classifier identified a subgroup of high-risk patients with poorer survival. In the newest protocol SEHOP-PETHEMA-2013, a very low-risk group of patients with excellent outcome and no relapses was detected, with borderline significance. Overall, FCM-MRD, WBC count and oncogenetics may refine the risk-stratification, helping to design tailored approaches for pediatric T-ALL patients

Deep MRD profiling defines outcome and unveils different modes of treatment resistance in standard- and high-risk myeloma

PETHEMA/GEM Cooperative Group.Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) carrying standard- or high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities (CAs) achieve similar complete response (CR) rates, but the later have inferior progression-free survival (PFS). This questions the legitimacy of CR as a treatment endpoint and represents a biological conundrum regarding the nature of tumor reservoirs that persist after therapy in high-risk MM. We used next-generation flow (NGF) cytometry to evaluate measurable residual disease (MRD) in MM patients with standard- vs high-risk CAs (n = 300 and 90, respectively) enrolled in the PETHEMA/GEM2012MENOS65 trial, and to identify mechanisms that determine MRD resistance in both patient subgroups (n = 40). The 36-month PFS rates were higher than 90% in patients with standard- or high-risk CAs achieving undetectable MRD. Persistent MRD resulted in a median PFS of ∼3 and 2 years in patients with standard- and high-risk CAs, respectively. Further use of NGF to isolate MRD, followed by whole-exome sequencing of paired diagnostic and MRD tumor cells, revealed greater clonal selection in patients with standard-risk CAs, higher genomic instability with acquisition of new mutations in high-risk MM, and no unifying genetic event driving MRD resistance. Conversely, RNA sequencing of diagnostic and MRD tumor cells uncovered the selection of MRD clones with singular transcriptional programs and reactive oxygen species–mediated MRD resistance in high-risk MM. Our study supports undetectable MRD as a treatment endpoint for patients with MM who have high-risk CAs and proposes characterizing MRD clones to understand and overcome MRD resistance. This trial is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01916252