Multiproxy study of 7500-year-old wooden sickles from the Lakeshore Village of La Marmotta, Italy

[EN] The lakeshore site of La Marmotta is one of the most important Early Neolithic sites of Mediterranean Europe. The site is famous for the exceptional preservation of organic materials, including numerous wooden artefacts related to navigation, agriculture, textile production, and basketry. This article presents interdisciplinary research on three of the most complete and well‑preserved sickles recovered from the site, yet unpublished. All the components of the tools are analysed: the stone inserts, the wooden haft and the adhesive substances used to fix the stones inside the haft. Our innovative methodology combines use‑wear and microtexture analysis of stone tools through confocal microscopy, taxonomical and technological analysis of wood, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of the adhesive substances, and pollen, non‑pollen palynomorphs, and phytolith analysis of the remains incorporated within the adhesive. This multiproxy approach provides a significant insight into the life of these tools, from their production to their use and abandonment, providing evidence of the species of harvested plants and the conditions of the field during the harvesting

Variation in Structure and Process of Care in Traumatic Brain Injury: Provider Profiles of European Neurotrauma Centers Participating in the CENTER-TBI Study.

INTRODUCTION: The strength of evidence underpinning care and treatment recommendations in traumatic brain injury (TBI) is low. Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has been proposed as a framework to provide evidence for optimal care for TBI patients. The first step in CER is to map the existing variation. The aim of current study is to quantify variation in general structural and process characteristics among centers participating in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study. METHODS: We designed a set of 11 provider profiling questionnaires with 321 questions about various aspects of TBI care, chosen based on literature and expert opinion. After pilot testing, questionnaires were disseminated to 71 centers from 20 countries participating in the CENTER-TBI study. Reliability of questionnaires was estimated by calculating a concordance rate among 5% duplicate questions. RESULTS: All 71 centers completed the questionnaires. Median concordance rate among duplicate questions was 0.85. The majority of centers were academic hospitals (n = 65, 92%), designated as a level I trauma center (n = 48, 68%) and situated in an urban location (n = 70, 99%). The availability of facilities for neuro-trauma care varied across centers; e.g. 40 (57%) had a dedicated neuro-intensive care unit (ICU), 36 (51%) had an in-hospital rehabilitation unit and the organization of the ICU was closed in 64% (n = 45) of the centers. In addition, we found wide variation in processes of care, such as the ICU admission policy and intracranial pressure monitoring policy among centers. CONCLUSION: Even among high-volume, specialized neurotrauma centers there is substantial variation in structures and processes of TBI care. This variation provides an opportunity to study effectiveness of specific aspects of TBI care and to identify best practices with CER approaches

Emergence of methicillin resistance predates the clinical use of antibiotics.

The discovery of antibiotics more than 80 years ago has led to considerable improvements in human and animal health. Although antibiotic resistance in environmental bacteria is ancient, resistance in human pathogens is thought to be a modern phenomenon that is driven by the clinical use of antibiotics1. Here we show that particular lineages of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-a notorious human pathogen-appeared in European hedgehogs in the pre-antibiotic era. Subsequently, these lineages spread within the local hedgehog populations and between hedgehogs and secondary hosts, including livestock and humans. We also demonstrate that the hedgehog dermatophyte Trichophyton erinacei produces two β-lactam antibiotics that provide a natural selective environment in which methicillin-resistant S. aureus isolates have an advantage over susceptible isolates. Together, these results suggest that methicillin resistance emerged in the pre-antibiotic era as a co-evolutionary adaptation of S. aureus to the colonization of dermatophyte-infected hedgehogs. The evolution of clinically relevant antibiotic-resistance genes in wild animals and the connectivity of natural, agricultural and human ecosystems demonstrate that the use of a One Health approach is critical for our understanding and management of antibiotic resistance, which is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development

Variation in general supportive and preventive intensive care management of traumatic brain injury: a survey in 66 neurotrauma centers participating in the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study

Abstract Background General supportive and preventive measures in the intensive care management of traumatic brain injury (TBI) aim to prevent or limit secondary brain injury and optimize recovery. The aim of this survey was to assess and quantify variation in perceptions on intensive care unit (ICU) management of patients with TBI in European neurotrauma centers. Methods We performed a survey as part of the Collaborative European NeuroTrauma Effectiveness Research in Traumatic Brain Injury (CENTER-TBI) study. We analyzed 23 questions focused on: 1) circulatory and respiratory management; 2) fever control; 3) use of corticosteroids; 4) nutrition and glucose management; and 5) seizure prophylaxis and treatment. Results The survey was completed predominantly by intensivists (n = 33, 50%) and neurosurgeons (n = 23, 35%) from 66 centers (97% response rate). The most common cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) target was > 60 mmHg (n = 39, 60%) and/or an individualized target (n = 25, 38%). To support CPP, crystalloid fluid loading (n = 60, 91%) was generally preferred over albumin (n = 15, 23%), and vasopressors (n = 63, 96%) over inotropes (n = 29, 44%). The most commonly reported target of partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood (PaCO2) was 36–40 mmHg (4.8–5.3 kPa) in case of controlled intracranial pressure (ICP) < 20 mmHg (n = 45, 69%) and PaCO2 target of 30–35 mmHg (4–4.7 kPa) in case of raised ICP (n = 40, 62%). Almost all respondents indicated to generally treat fever (n = 65, 98%) with paracetamol (n = 61, 92%) and/or external cooling (n = 49, 74%). Conventional glucose management (n = 43, 66%) was preferred over tight glycemic control (n = 18, 28%). More than half of the respondents indicated to aim for full caloric replacement within 7 days (n = 43, 66%) using enteral nutrition (n = 60, 92%). Indications for and duration of seizure prophylaxis varied, and levetiracetam was mostly reported as the agent of choice for both seizure prophylaxis (n = 32, 49%) and treatment (n = 40, 61%). Conclusions Practice preferences vary substantially regarding general supportive and preventive measures in TBI patients at ICUs of European neurotrauma centers. These results provide an opportunity for future comparative effectiveness research, since a more evidence-based uniformity in good practices in general ICU management could have a major impact on TBI outcome

Cultural traditions in the first village communities of the Northern Levant : functional analysis of the flint tools from Dja’de el-Mughara (Syria, EPPNB, 9e millennium)

À partir de 12000 BC. se mettent en place au Proche-Orient de profondes mutations sociales, économiques, techniques et culturelles qui, sur près de 5 millénaires, ont conduit à l’émergence de sociétés sédentaires dont l’économie alimentaire va reposer sur l’agriculture et l’élevage. Ce processus, la Néolithisation, s’observe au Levant Nord, notamment dans le village de Dja’de, occupé durant un millénaire par des chasseurs-cueilleurs en passe de devenir agriculteurs et éleveurs. Si l’industrie en silex des niveaux PPNB ancien (9e mill.) a déjà fait l’objet d’études technologiques et typologiques, aucune analyse tracéologique n’a été menée jusqu’à ce jour sur cet assemblage. Dans ce contexte où les rapports entre les hommes et leur environnement ont été profondément bouleversés, l’étude de la fonction des outils en pierre permet d’appréhender la nature de ces changements. Au cours de ce processus, il apparaît que la gestion de l’outillage devient plus complexe : l’intensité d’utilisation des outils s’accroit, le degré de réaffutage augmente, le recyclage est plus fréquent, les modalités de stockage évoluent. Cette analyse de l’outillage en silex de Dja’de a associé une approche fonctionnelle aux aspects habituellement étudiés (technologie et typologie). Pour cette phase encore mal connue du Néolithique précéramique, l’analyse des traces d’utilisation, appuyée sur l’expérimentation, a permis d’obtenir des éléments de réflexion nouveaux sur les activités au sein du village, sur les techniques mises en oeuvre par ses habitants et sur la gestion de l’industrie lithique et ainsi de mieux comprendre le mode de vie et l’organisation des sociétés préagricoles au Levant Nord.Starting from 12000 BC. deep social, economic, technical and cultural mutations took place that will lead to the emergence of sedentary societies in which the food economy will rely on agriculture and farming. This process –known as Neolithisation – can be observed in Northern Levant, particularly in the village of Dja’de that has been occupied during one millennium by hunters-gatherers who will eventually become farmers. Although the chipped stone industry of the early PPNB (9e millennium) has already been the object of technological and typological studies, no use-wear analysis has yet been done. In the context where relationship between humans and their environment changed, the study of the function of stone tools is primordial to understand the nature of these changes. During this process, it appears that the management of the tools becomes more complex: the use of the tools intensifies, the degree of sharpening increases, the recycling is more frequent, and the storage modalities evolve. This analysis of flint tools from Dja’de combined a functional approach with other aspects usually studied (technology and typology). For this period of the aceramic Neolithic that is still not well documented, the analysis of the traces of use, backed up by experimentation, has brought us new insights about the village activities, the techniques used by its inhabitants and the management of the lithic production, providing us a better understanding of the way of life and the organisation of pre-agricultural societies in Northern Levant

Une moisson expérimentale de céréales, Séranon (août 2016)

Du 22 au 27 août 2016, une session expérimentale de moisson et de traitement des céréales s’est tenue à Séranon, une commune de l’arrière-pays niçois située dans le parc naturel des Préalpes d’Azur. Organisées par Jimmy Linton et Fiona Pichon, ces expérimentations ont été prises en charge financièrement durant cette saison par l’Université de Liège et la Commission Européenne à travers les subsides de la bourse post-doctorale Marie-Curie Cofund de Jimmy Linton. Elles ont aussi bénéficié du so..

Sur les traces de savoir-faire anciens : la parure néolithique en pierre à l’épreuve de l’expérimentation

Archéorient - Le BlogSur les traces de savoir-faire anciens : la parure néolithique en pierre à l’épreuve de l’expérimentatio