Estudiar un doctorado: la importancia de estar acompañado en un entorno académico disciplinar

La formación de investigadores es un tema que debe reflexionarse desde distintos ángulos analíticos, los cuales permitan entender, entre otras cosas, los aspectos sociales que mueven a los doctorados y su desempeño dentro de las diferentes disciplinas científicas. Estos fenómenos sociológicos han sido poco abordados en la investigación y literatura científica. En la última década algunos investigadores se han interesado en estudiar, profundizar y documentar este tema. Al respecto, Campbell expresa “el proceso de socialización en el manejo de estudiantes de doctorado es una actividad sumamente importante y muy poco estudiadas las actividades involucradas en la investigación académica y científica”. (Campbell, 2003: 899). De forma generalizada el tema de formación doctoral se aborda desde los siguientes aspectos: la investigación documentada, la escritura científica que surge de las prácticas de literacidad en cada disciplina, el trabajo colaborativo de los cuerpos disciplinares y las publicaciones en revistas o libros especializados; sin embargo, los aspectos de aprendizajes explícitos e implícitos, las relaciones entre iguales o las actividades inherentes al aprendizaje de la ciencia han sido poco documentadas

Clustering Main Concepts from e-Mails

E–mail is one of the most common ways to communicate, assuming, in some cases, up to 75% of a company’s communication, in which every employee spends about 90 minutes a day in e–mail tasks such as filing and deleting. This paper deals with the generation of clusters of relevant words from E–mail texts. Our approach consists of the application of text mining techniques and, later, data mining techniques, to obtain related concepts extracted from sent and received messages. We have developed a new clustering algorithm based on neighborhood, which takes into account similarity values among words obtained in the text mining phase. The potential of these applications is enormous and only a few companies, mainly large organizations, have invested in this project so far, taking advantage of employees’s knowledge in future decisions

Deciphering the record of hyaenic activity in the Early Pleistocene site of Fuente Nueva-3 (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

FN3 is an open air site, dated ~1.4 Ma. Their archaeological levels preserve evidences of human presence, consisting in lithic artefacts and cuts and percussion marks on bones. The lithic remains are associated with abundant macromammals bones with a very wide size range, from proboscideans to small mustelids. Carnivores are represented, mainly, by isolated teeth, bellowing to canids, ursids, felids and hyaenids, and their activity is recorded by the presence of different tooth marks types. However, there exists an important difference in the carnivore record between the levels, consisting in the presence of more than 200 coprolites in the Upper Level, whereas in the Lower Level these elements are practically absent. For the identification of the defecating organism, different analyses have been performed. The morphological study evidences the presence of the seven shape-types of pellets, although the most common morphologies are round, oval and disk. The colour of hyena faeces is also very characteristic, colour analysis of FN3 coprolites shows a predominance of whitish and very pale brown tonalities. To determine the composition, the samples were studied by XRD, XRF and SEM. The results have revealed that the coprolites mostly consist of calcium phosphate. These data are consistent with the expected composition of faeces in an organism that ingests a large amount of bones, in addition, macroscopic observation of the coprolites surface evidence the presence of numerous fragments of digested bones within them. All these features allow us to adscribe the FN3 coprolites to the hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, species of which several teeth have been found at this site.This record manifests a great difference between both archaeological levels, showing in the Upper Level a scenario were hominin and hyaenids coexisted and competed for food resources, whereas in the Lower Level hyaenas were practically absent, and the main modifying agent was early Homo.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The earliest cut marks of Europe: a discussion on hominin subsistence patterns in the Orce sites (Baza basin, SE Spain)

Ancient evidence of human presence in Europe is recorded in several Early Pleistocene archaeopalaeontological sites from Spain, France and Italy. This is the case of Barranco León (BL) and Fuente Nueva-3 (FN-3), two localities placed near the town of Orce (depression of Baza and Guadix, SE Spain) and dated to ~1.4 Ma. At these sites, huge assemblages of Oldowan tools and evidence of defleshing, butchering and marrow processing of large mammal bones have been recovered together with a deciduous tooth of Homo sp. in the case of level BL-D. In this study, we: (i) describe in detail the anthropic marks found in the bone assemblages from these sites; (ii) analyse patterns of defleshment, butchery and marrow processing, based on the modifications identified in the cortical surface of the fossils; and (iii) discuss on the subsistence strategies of the first hominins that inhabited the European subcontinent during Early Pleistocene times.Este trabajo ha contado con el apoyo de la Consejería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes de la Junta de Andalucía (contrato Exp.B090678SV18BC), el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidad (proyectos CGL-2016-78577-P y CGL-2016-80975-P), la Generalitat de Catalunya con la subvención GENCAT 2017SGR 85

Plio-Pleistocene hydrothermal events of the Baza Basin (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain) and their paleoecological implications

Los rellenos continentales sedimentarios de edad Plioceno inferior a finales del Pleistoceno medio en la cuenca de Baza (depresión de Guadix-Baza, SE de España) son mundialmente conocidos por su elevado grado de completitud estratigráfica y la excepcional conservación de su registro fósil de vertebrados terrestres. Estos sedimentos se depositaron en ambientes fluvio-lacustres y conservan abundantes asociaciones de restos de grandes mamíferos, incluyendo las evidencias más arcaicas de presencia humana en Europa occidental, ubicadas en los yacimientos de finales del Pleistoceno inferior de Barranco León y Fuente Nueva-3, datados ambos en ∼1,4 Ma. Desde finales del Mioceno, la cuenca se vio sometida a intensa actividad tectónica, mostrando depósitos originados en antiguas surgencias de aguas termales. Estas surgencias se desarrollaron a lo largo de una amplia malla espacio-temporal, ligada a fracturas tectónicas, mostrando mayor concentración en la subcuenca de Orce desde el Plioceno superior al Holoceno. El análisis de la composición de las silexitas y otras facies asociadas a estas fuentes termales muestra la presencia de marcadores geoquímicos y mineralógicos ligados a escenarios hidrotermales. El aporte continuado de las fuentes termales en la cuenca de Baza dio como resultado biotopos muy ricos y productivos, capaces de soportar una elevada diversidad y biomasa de mamíferos terrestres. Ambientes geológicos, hidroquímicos y ecológicos similares se encuentran alineados con surgencias termales en África oriental, el Corredor Levantino y el área circum- mediterránea. Proponemos como hipótesis que la presencia de tales corredores hidrotermales favoreció la dispersión de los homininos y otros grandes mamíferos durante el Plio-Pleistoceno, dando lugar a la primera colonización humana de Europa.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. This work was supported by Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo,Junta de Andalucía, EXP: BC.03.174/19 10153, M. Patrocinio Espigares, Research Groups RNM-146, Paul Palmqvist, RNM-199, Paul Palmqvist,UMA18-FEDERJA-188, M. Patrocinio Espigares, PAIDI 2020 postdoctoral grant, Isidoro Campaña, Generalitat de Catalunya, 2021SGR 01238 (AGAUR), Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro, Comunidad de Madrid, Programa de Atracción de Talento, Guillermo Rodríguez-Gómez, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, CEX2019-000945-M, Bienvenido Martínez-Navarro

Sharing food with hyenas: a latrine of Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the Early Pleistocene assemblage of Fuente Nueva-3 (Orce, Baza Basin, SE Spain)

The Early Pleistocene archeological site of Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3) preserves some of the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe, including a huge assemblage of Oldowan tools and evidence of butchering and marrow processing of large mammal bones. Moreover, there is also evidence of the regular presence of carnivores at the site, including a small proportion of bones that show tooth marks, the majority of which can be attributed to the giant, short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and there are 220 coprolites, most of them from the Upper Archeological Level. In order to identify the defecating agent, we analyze here the coprolites and compare them with other specimens from the literature and with scats from zoo spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). The morphology, color, size, and chemical composition of the FN3 coprolites allow us to attribute them to the hyena P. brevirostris, which is also represented at the site by fossil specimens. In addition, we evaluate the origin of the accumulation of coprolites and discuss on the role played by the scavenging hyenas in the accumulation and modification of the bone remains unearthed at the site, which allows evaluating the contribution of the giant hyena to this Early Pleistocene site. Finally, based on the lithology of layer 5 of the Upper Archeological Level, fine sands and clays deposited in a salt-lake environment, we hypothesize that this layer may have acted as a quicksand where large-sized animals like elephants were trapped and their carcasses lured scavenging carnivores.Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEJunta de AndalucíaGeneralitat de CatalunyaMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciónComunidad de Madridpu

A comparison of the taphonomic attributes of quarries VM3 and VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

The site of Venta Micena (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain), a rich Fossil-Lagerstätten of late Early Pleistocene age (1.6-1.5 Ma), preserves a diverse assemblage of large mammals. Up to date, >24,000 skeletal remains have been unearthed from the surface excavated (~400 m2) in the two main quarries of the site, VM3 and VM4, which represents a density of fossils of >60/m2. Although this density is not homogeneously recorded across the 80-120 cm thick VM stratum, which outcrops over ~2.5 km, it suggests that tens of millions of fossils were preserved in the micritic limestones of this lithological unit. VM3 has been interpreted as a den of the giant hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris in the plain that surrounded the Baza paleolake. Taphonomic analyses showed that the hyenas: (i) scavenged the prey hunted by the hypercarnivores, sabertoothed felids and wild dogs; (ii) transported the remains to their communal den as whole carcasses or selected anatomical parts; and (iii) fractured the skeletal parts according to their marrow contents and mineral density, which resulted in well-defined consumption sequences. In the case of VM4, an excavation quarry ~350 m distant from VM3, preliminary taphonomic analyses of the assemblage showed several differences, including: (i) a higher frequency of elements in anatomical connection than in VM3; (ii) a lower proportion of bones tooth-marked by carnivores (5.5%) compared with their frequency in VM3 (29.4%); (iii) a lower proportion of remains with salivary and gastric alterations (0.06% in both cases) than in VM3 (0.34% and 0.15%, respectively); and (iv) a less advanced degree of weathering (90.8% of bones show weathering stage 0 in VM4 compared to 75.9% in VM3).ICAZ Taphonomy Working Group, CSIC, MNCN Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

The late Early Pleistocene site of Fuente Nueva-3 (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain): a hyena latrine developed on a quicksand trap for megaherbivores?

The late Early Pleistocene archaeological site of Fuente Nueva-3 (FN3), which lies in the Guadix-Baza Depression (SE Spain) and is dated to ~ 1.4 Ma, contributes some of the oldest evidence of hominin presence in Western Europe, including a huge tool assemblage of Oldowan tradition, manuports (i.e., unmodified stones used as percussion tools) and abundant fossils of large mammals, some of which preserve anthropogenic marks related to defleshing, butchering and marrow processing. In addition, there are bones with tooth marks produced by scavenging carnivores. The fertile layers of the FN3 section have been grouped in a lower archaeological level (LAL) and an upper archaeological level (UAL). Both levels preserve abundant skeletal remains and lithic tools. However, the LAL shows a high density of manuports, which suggests that hominin activity was more intense at this level, while the UAL preserves many remains of megaherbivores, particularly proboscideans (Mammuthus meridionalis), and almost all coprolites unearthed from the site, which points to a greater involvement of the giant hyenas (Pachycrocuta brevirostris). In this paper, we (i) test for statistical differences in the composition of the faunal assemblages preserved in the UAL and LAL; and (ii) analyze particle size in the fertile layers of both archaeological levels. Our results show that megaherbivores are comparatively overrepresented in the UAL, specially by young elephants, while other medium-to-large and large-sized ungulates, particularly equids, are more abundant in the LAL, showing a predominance of adult individualsFounding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU

Acceleration of the DNA methylation clock among lynch syndrome‑associated mutation carriers

The research leading to these results has received funding from "la Caixa" Foundation (Ref: CAIXA2017/1) for library preparation, sequencing, and employment of research personnel, from The Fundacion Progreso y Salud, Junta de Andalucia, Spain and from DPI2017-84439-R of MINECO, Madrid and FEDER for sequencing and employment of research personnel. Finally, grant ref. A-BIO-470-UGR20 from University of Granada and FEDER has funded article processing charges (APC) and sample processing expenses.Background: DNA methylation (DNAm) age metrics have been widely accepted as an epigenetic biomarker for biological aging and disease. The purpose of this study is to assess whether or not individuals carrying Lynch Syndromeassociated mutations are affected in their rate of biological aging, as measured by the epigenetic clock. Methods: Genome-wide bisulfite DNA sequencing data were generated using DNA from CD4 + T-cells obtained from peripheral blood using 27 patient samples from Lynch syndrome families. Horvath’s DNAm age model based on penalized linear regression was applied to estimate DNAm age from patient samples with distinct clinical and genetic characteristics to investigate cancer mutation-related aging effects. Results: Both Lynch mutation carriers and controls exhibited high variability in their estimated DNAm age, but regression analysis showed steeper slope for the Lynch mutation carriers. Remarkably, six Lynch Syndrome-associated mutation carriers showed a strong correlation to the control group, and two sisters carrying Lynch Syndrome-associated mutations, with no significant difference in lifestyle and similar chronological age, were assigned very different DNAm age. Conclusions: Future studies will be required to explore, in larger patient populations, whether specific epigenetic age acceleration is predictive of time-to-cancer development, treatment response, and survival. Epigenetic clock DNAm metrics may be affected by the presence of cancer mutations in the germline, and thus show promise of potential clinical utility for stratified surveillance strategies based on the relative risk for imminent emergence of tumor lesions in otherwise healthy Lynch Syndrome-associated mutation carriers.La Caixa Foundation CAIXA2017/1Junta de AndaluciaSpanish Government DPI2017-84439-REuropean CommissionUniversity of Granada A-BIO-470-UGR2

Déjà vu: on the use of meat resources by sabretooth cats, hominins, and hyaenas in the Early Pleistocene site of Fuente Nueva 3 (Guadix‑Baza Depression, SE Spain)

The late Early Pleistocene archaeological site of Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain), dated to ~1.4 Ma, provides evidence on the subsistence strategies of the first hominin population that dispersed in Western Europe. The site preserves Oldowan tool assemblages associated with abundant remains of large mammals. A small proportion of these remains show cut marks and percussion marks resulting from defleshing and bone fracturing, and a small proportion of bones also show tooth marks. Previous taphonomic studies of FN3 suggested that the hominins had secondary access to the prey leftovers abandoned by sabretooth cats and other primary predators. However, a recent analysis by Yravedra et al. (2021) of the frequency of anthropogenic marks and tooth marks has concluded that the hominins had primary access to the carcasses of a wide variety of ungulate prey, even though the frequency of evisceration marks is strikingly low. In this rebuttal, we analyse the patterns of bone preservation in FN3, which show that the exploitation of bone marrow by the hominins after hammerstone breakage was a usual activity at the site. Our study also reviews the evidence available on the lesser abilities of sabretooth cats for carcass processing compared to pantherine felids. This reinforces the hypothesis that primary predators provided the hominins the opportunity to scavenge sizeable chunks of meat and bone marrow of their prey carcasses before the arrival of hyaenas. Finally, we also provide new inferences on resource availability and competition intensity among the members of the carnivore guild in FN3, which reinforce our interpretation that a secondary access by the Oldowan hominins to the prey leftovers of sabretooth cats was an optimal foraging strategy in the Guadix-Baza Depression.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad Málaga/CBUA This work has been granted by projects CGL-2016-78577-P, CGL-2016-80975-P, and PID2019-111185GB-I00 of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and University, “Junta de Andalucía” (FEDER) project UMA18-FEDERJA-188, “Generalitat de Catalunya” grant GENCAT 2017SGR 859, and by Research Group RNM-146 from “Junta de Andalucía.” Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBU