Phoenician colonization in the Iberian Peninsula: Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño (Guardamar del Segura, Alicante)

Este trabajo da a conocer los primeros resultados de la investigación de los autores en el enclave fenicio del Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño de Guardamar (Alicante). Dichos trabajos, consistentes en la revisión de los materiales exhumados en los años noventa y en el estudio arquitectónico con motivo de unas recientes tareas de consolidación, ayudan a definir más claramente el primer impacto de los agentes comerciales orientales en la costa levantina de la Península Ibérica y a comprender el desarrollo urbano del área del Bajo Segura que arrancó en época arcaica (siglos VIII-VII a.C.). El análisis de fotografías antiguas, anteriores a la destrucción parcial del enclave, ha permitido reconstruir su dimensión original (superior a una hectárea) y buena parte de su lienzo amurallado. Estos datos permiten considerar, además, el carácter urbano del yacimiento, anteriormente publicado como un pequeño fortín. En paralelo, los materiales arqueológicos procedentes de su última ocupación, fechados a finales del siglo VIII a.C., nos llevan a considerar que se trató del primer enclave colonial del Bajo Segura, abandonado en esas fechas por una población que se trasladó a un enclave de mayor tamaño y ubicado en mar abierto, conocido por el topónimo moderno de La Fonteta.In this paper the results of recent archaeological research in the settlement of Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño (Guardamar, Alicante) are presented. The research consists of the study of the materials excavated in the 1990s and an architectural analysis during recent restoration works. This new research allows us to better understand the first evidence of Phoenician colonization on the Alicante Coast as well as the settlement pattern in the area of the mouth of Segura River during the Early Iron Age. The analysis of old pictures, made before the partial destruction of the site, has allowed to reconstruct its original dimensions (over one hectare) and a large part of its walls. New data allow us to observe the urban features of the site, which was previously published as a small fort. In parallel, the archaeological materials from its last occupation, dated to the end of the eighth century BC, make us think that it was the first Phoenician site in the Segura mouth. It was abandoned at that time and the population moved to a larger site, located by the open sea and known by the modern name of La Fonteta.Investigación realizada bajo los auspicios del Excmo. Ayuntamiento de Guardamar del Segura y enmarcada en el Proyecto RYC2011-08222 “Transferencias culturales en el Mediterráneo Antiguo” del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad

Morpho-Functional Architecture of the Golgi Complex of Neuroendocrine Cells

In neuroendocrine cells, prohormones move from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex (GC), where they are sorted and packed into secretory granules. The GC is considered the central station of the secretory pathway of proteins and lipids en route to their final destination. In most mammalian cells, it is formed by several stacks of cisternae connected by tubules, forming a continuous ribbon. This organelle shows an extraordinary structural and functional complexity, which is exacerbated by the fact that its architecture is cell type specific and also tuned by the functional status of the cell. It is, indeed, one the most beautiful cellular organelles and, for that reason, perhaps the most extensively photographed by electron microscopists. In recent decades, an exhaustive dissection of the molecular machinery involved in membrane traffic and other Golgi functions has been carried out. Concomitantly, detailed morphological studies have been performed, including 3D analysis by electron tomography, and the precise location of key proteins has been identified by immunoelectron microscopy. Despite all this effort, some basic aspects of Golgi functioning remain unsolved. For instance, the mode of intra-Golgi transport is not known, and two opposing theories (vesicular transport and cisternal maturation models) have polarized the field for many years. Neither of these theories explains all the experimental data so that new theories and combinations thereof have recently been proposed. Moreover, the specific role of the small vesicles and tubules which surround the stacks needs to be clarified. In this review, we summarize our current knowledge of the Golgi architecture in relation with its function and the mechanisms of intra-Golgi transport. Within the same framework, the characteristics of the GC of neuroendocrine cells are analyzed

Murallas fenicias de occidente. Una valoración conjunta de las defensas del Cerro del Castillo (Chiclana, Cádiz) y del Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño (Guardamar, Alicante)

En estas páginas vamos a realizar un estudio y valoración de conjunto de las fortificaciones de dos enclaves fenicios arcaicos localizados en dos espacios geográficos de máximo interés para el estudio de la presencia colonial en el ámbito hispano: el Cerro del Castillo de Chiclana de la Frontera (Cádiz) y el Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño de Guardamar del Segura (Alicante). Ambos ejemplos son, hasta el momento, los dos únicos conocidos en suelo español que presentan unas murallas de compartimentos, casernas y casamatas de tipología y modulación oriental. Este tipo de fortificación se generalizó en los ambientes costeros de sirio-palestina desde el Bronce Medio y, según se desprende de los datos que aquí se presentan, fue trasladado al extremo occidente a lo largo del siglo VIII a.C., en un momento en el que la empresa comercial fenicia necesitaba de una arquitectura flexible, casi inmediata y eficaz, tanto militarmente como para el almacenaje de productos.In these pages we will carry out a study and comprehensive assessment of the fortifications of two archaic Phoenician enclaves located in two geographical areas of maximum interest for the study of Colonial presence in Iberia: the Cerro del Castillo (Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz) and the Cabezo Pequeño del Estaño (Guardamar del Segura , Alicante). Both examples are, so far, the only known on occident presenting casemate-walls and Phoenician modulation. This type of fortification is developed in the coastal environments of Syrian-Palestinian from the 12th century B.C. and they were moved to the extreme West during the 8th century BC, at a time where the Phoenicians needed a flexible, almost immediate and very effective architecture, both militarily and for storage

Preliminary advance of Archaeoseismic evidences in a settlement Phoenician (8th b.C. Century), Guardamar de Segura (Alicante, Spain)

En este trabajo se presenta uno de los episodios sísmicos más antiguos registrados en una población de la Península Ibérica, al menos, que se tenga constancia hasta este momento. Más exactamente, en un poblado fortificado del siglo VIII a.C ubicado en las proximidades de Guardamar de Segura en Alicante (España). A continuación, se expone tanto el contexto arqueológico-histórico del yacimiento, como las evidencias del terremoto visibles aún en la muralla.This work supposes to expose one of the oldest seismic episodes recorded in a population of the Iberian Peninsula, at least that is known until this moment. More precisely, in a small Phoenician fortress from the 8th century BC in the vicinity of Guardamar de Segura in Alicante (Spain). Next, the archaeological-historical context of the site is exposed, as well as the evidences of the earthquake still visible in the wall

Vesicular Tubular Clusters between the ER and Golgi Mediate Concentration of Soluble Secretory Proteins by Exclusion from COPI-Coated Vesicles

AbstractWe have determined the concentrations of the secretory proteins amylase and chymotrypsinogen and the membrane proteins KDELr and rBet1 in COPII- and COPI-coated pre-Golgi compartments of pancreatic cells by quantitative immunoelectron microscopy. COPII was confined to ER membrane buds and adjacent vesicles. COPI occurred on vesicular tubular clusters (VTCs), Golgi cisternae, the trans-Golgi network, and immature secretory granules. Both secretory proteins exhibited a first, significant concentration step in noncoated segments of VTC tubules and were excluded from COPI-coated tips. By contrast, KDELr and rBet1 showed a first, significant concentration in COPII-coated ER buds and vesicles and were prominently present in COPI-coated tips of VTC tubules. These data suggest an important role of VTCs in soluble cargo concentration by exclusion from COPI-coated domains

From Phoenician Astarte to the Iberian Mother-Goddess. Analysis of the archaeological documentation from the sanctuary of Castillo de Guardamar (Alicante)

Este artículo se concentra en las fases más antiguas del yacimiento ubicado en el cerro del Castillo de Guardamar del Segura (Alicante). Junto a la presentación de un lote de materiales arqueológicos en su mayoría inéditos o poco conocidos, se plantea la existencia de un santuario que pudo estar activo desde el siglo VIII a.C. A partir del análisis de los distintos hallazgos y de la iconografía de las terracotas existentes, se propone una advocación para este espacio sacro: la diosa Astarté fenicia, cuyo culto se pudo prolongar en este lugar a lo largo de prácticamente todo el primer milenio a.C.This article focuses on the earliest phases of the site located on the hill where the castle of Guardamar del Segura (Alicante) lies. Along with the presentation of several mostly unpublished or little-known archaeological materials, the existence of a sanctuary that could have been active since the 8th century BC is proposed. Based on the analysis of the different finds and the iconography of terracotta figurines, the dedication of this sacred space is proposed: Phoenician goddess Astarte, whose cult would have continued throughout practically the entire first millennium BC in this place.El trabajo se enmarca en el Proyecto LIMOS. Litoral y Montañas en transición. Arqueología del cambio social en las comarcas meridionales de la Comunidad Valenciana (Prometeo 2019/035) financiado por la Generalitat Valenciana

Cutting edge: Regulation of exosome secretion by the integral MAL protein in T cells

Exosomes secreted by T cells play an important role in coordinating the immune response. HIV-1 Nef hijacks the route of exosome secretion of T cells to modulate the functioning of uninfected cells. Despite the importance of the process, the protein machinery involved in exosome biogenesis is yet to be identified. In this study, we show that MAL, a tetraspanning membrane protein expressed in human T cells, is present in endosomes that travel toward the plasma membrane for exosome secretion. In the absence of MAL, the release of exosome particles and markers was greatly impaired. This effect was accompanied by protein sorting defects at multivesicular endosomes that divert the exosomal marker CD63 to autophagic vacuoles. Exosome release induced by HIV-1 Nef was also dependent on MAL expression. Therefore,MAL is a critical element of the machinery for exosome secretion andmay constitute a target for modulating exosome secretion by human T cells. The Journal of Immunology, 2015, 195: 810–814.Peer Reviewe

Innovación en el diseño de centrales hidroeléctricas a principios de siglo XX. La ingeniería arquitectura de Casto Fernández-Shaw en la presa de La Jándula

The power plant location in the first hydroelectrial dams was a relevant issue at the end of XIX century and early XX. Different solutions were tried, some of them with very interesting aesthetics results and hydraulic and structural implications. Such is the case of La Jándula dam, inaugurated in 1930, that includes the power station inside the dam. This article examines the possible national and international inspirations of this singular solution, corroborating the hypothesis of its unprecedented nature. The collaboration of the architect Casto Fernández-Shaw in the design and integration of the engine room was decisive, because it achieved a result of an aesthetic quality and formal expressiveness unprecedented in a work of hydraulic engineering, as well as the birth of a style Shaw himself defined as architectural engineering.La ubicación de la sala de máquinas fue un factor relevante en las primeras presas hidroeléctricas de finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX, que originó el ensayo de distintas soluciones, algunas de ellas con resultados estéticos e implicaciones hidráulicas y estructurales de gran interés. Tal es el caso de la presa de La Jándula, inaugurada en 1930, que incorporaba la central en el seno del cuerpo de presa. El artículo indaga los posibles antecedentes nacionales e internacionales de esta solución tan singular, corroborando la hipótesis de su carácter inédito. La colaboración del arquitecto Casto Fernández- Shaw en el diseño e integración de la sala de máquinas fue decisiva, ya que logró un resultado de una calidad estética y una expresividad formal sin precedentes en una obra de ingeniería hidráulica, así como el nacimiento de un estilo que el propio Shaw definiría como ingeniería arquitectura

Peri-Golgi vesicles contain retrograde but not anterograde proteins consistent with the cisternal progression model of intra-Golgi transport

A cisternal progression mode of intra-Golgi transport requires that Golgi resident proteins recycle by peri-Golgi vesicles, whereas the alternative model of vesicular transport predicts anterograde cargo proteins to be present in such vesicles. We have used quantitative immuno-EM on NRK cells to distinguish peri-Golgi vesicles from other vesicles in the Golgi region. We found significant levels of the Golgi resident enzyme mannosidase II and the transport machinery proteins giantin, KDEL-receptor, and rBet1 in coatomer protein I–coated cisternal rims and peri-Golgi vesicles. By contrast, when cells expressed vesicular stomatitis virus protein G this anterograde marker was largely absent from the peri-Golgi vesicles. These data suggest a role of peri-Golgi vesicles in recycling of Golgi residents, rather than an important role in anterograde transport

MAL regulates clathrin-mediated endocytosis at the apical surface of Madin–Darby canine kidney cells

MAL is an integral protein component of the machinery for apical transport in epithelial Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. To maintain its distribution, MAL cycles continuously between the plasma membrane and the Golgi complex. The clathrin-mediated route for apical internalization is known to differ from that at the basolateral surface. Herein, we report that MAL depends on the clathrin pathway for apical internalization. Apically internalized polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR), which uses clathrin for endocytosis, colocalized with internalized MAL in the same apical vesicles. Time-lapse confocal microscopic analysis revealed cotransport of pIgR and MAL in the same endocytic structures. Immunoelectron microscopic analysis evidenced colabeling of MAL with apically labeled pIgR in pits and clathrin-coated vesicles. Apical internalization of pIgR was abrogated in cells with reduced levels of MAL, whereas this did not occur either with its basolateral entry or the apical internalization of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins, which does not involve clathrin. Therefore, MAL is critical for efficient clathrin-mediated endocytosis at the apical surface in MDCK cells