Insights into the Late Mesolithic toolkit: use-wear analysis of the notched blades. Case-studies from the Iberian Peninsula

During the last decades we have gained a considerable amount of data about the Mesolithic lithic toolkit in the Western Mediterranean. A large set of instruments probably existed for a variety of pur-poses: foraging practices (both hunting and fishing), food processing, crafting activities, etc. Dispos-able tools, scarcely elaborated, coexisted with formal and more complex instruments, often com-posed of multiple parts and realized on a variety of raw-materials (e.g. stone, shell or bone inserts; bone or wood hafts, etc.). In this paper we will consider one particular type of tool that appears in the Western Mediterranean starting from the Seventh-Sixth millennia BC: the notched and denticulated blades. We will consider and interpret from a functional viewpoint materials from five different Late Mesolithic contexts: the Cocina Cave and Vallmayor IX in the NE of the Peninsula, Artusia rock-shel-ters in Navarre and Atxoste and Mendandia rock-shelters in the Basque country

Insights into the Late Mesolithic toolkit : use-wear analysis of the notched blades. Case-studies from the Iberian Peninsula

International audienceDuring the last decades we have gained a considerable amount of data about the Mesolithic lithic toolkit in the Western Mediterranean. A large set of instruments probably existed for a variety of purposes: foraging practices (both hunting and fishing), food processing, crafting activities, etc. Disposable tools, scarcely elaborated, coexisted with formal and more complex instruments, often composed of multiple parts and realized on a variety of raw-materials (e.g. stone, shell or bone inserts; bone or wood hafts, etc.). In this paper we will consider one particular type of tool that appears in the Western Mediterranean starting from the Seventh-Sixth millennia BC: the notched and denticulated blades. We will consider and interpret from a functional viewpoint materials from five different Late Mesolithic contexts: the Cocina Cave and Vallmayor IX in the NE of the Peninsula, Artusia rock-shelters in Navarre and Atxoste and Mendandia rock-shelters in the Basque country.Durante l'ultimo decennio, la nostra conoscenza dello strumentario litico Mesolitico nel Mediterraneo Oc-cidentale si è considerabilmente arricchita. Sappiamo che esistevano una varietà di strumenti utilizzati per scopi diversi: l'ottenimento di alimenti (sia attraverso la caccia, che la pesca), l'elaborazione di tali alimenti, la produzione di artefatti, etc. Strumenti di natura speditiva, scarsamente elaborati, coesisterono con strumenti formali, più complessi, spesso costituiti di più parti e di materie prime diverse (es. inserti in pietra, conchiglia, osso, manici in legno od osso, etc.). In questo articolo ci concentriamo su un particolare tipo di strumento che compare nel Mediterraneo Occidentale tra il VII-VI millennio a.C.: le lame a incavi e dentico-late. Consideriamo i materiali provenienti da cinque diverse siti del Mesolitico recente: la Grotta Cocina e il sito di Vallmayor IX nel nord-est della Penisola Iberica, il riparo sottoroccia di Artusia in Navarra e i siti di Atxoste e Mendandia nei Paesi Baschi e ne proponiamo un'interpretazione funzionale

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective