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Bones and teeth are biological archives, but their structure and composition are subjected to alteration overtime due to biological and chemical degradation postmortem, influenced by burial environment and conditions. Nevertheless, organic fraction preservation is mandatory for several archeometric analyses and applications. The mutual protection between biomineral and organic fractions in bones and teeth may lead to a limited diagenetic alteration, promoting a better conservation of the organic fraction. However, the correlation between elemental variations and the presence of organic materials (e.g., collagen) in the same specimen is still unclear. To fill this gap, chemiluminescent (CL) immunochemical imaging analysis has been applied for the first time for collagen localization. Then, Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) and CL imaging were combined to investigate the correlation between elemental (i.e., REE, U, Sr, Ba) and collagen distribution. Teeth and bones from various archeological contexts, chronological periods, and characterized by different collagen content were analyzed. Immunochemical analysis revealed a heterogeneous distribution of collagen, especially in highly degraded samples. Subsequently, LA–ICP–MS showed a correlation between the presence of uranium and rare earth elements and areas with low amount of collagen. The innovative integration between the two methods permitted to clarify the mutual relation between elemental variation and collagen preservation overtime, thus contributing to unravel the effects of diagenetic alteration in bones and teeth. Results - Bone samples. - Tooth sample. Discussion Materials and methods - Sample preparation. - Laser ablation ICP–MS analyses.

This study focuses on the analysis of bronze finds and other objects employed in metallurgical activities from the Middle and Recent Bronze Age site of Solarolo-via Ordiere (Ravenna, Italy) investigated between 2006 and 2019. Materials were found both in Middle and Recent Bronze Age layers, as well as from trenches/survey, and include mostly pins and daggers with typological affinities with other bronzes in Romagna and, more in general, in the central Po plain. Noteworthy is the presence of a golden spiral from the Middle Bronze Age 2 layers. The analysed artefacts also include metal fragments, bronze drops and implements involved in metallurgical activities, such as blowing pipes, tuyères and stone moulds, which imply casting and postcasting activities taking place at the settlement. Lead isotope analyses of 6 bronze samples designate the southern side of the Eastern Alps as preferential provenance of copper, except for one dagger constituted of copper plausibly originated from the ores of the Mitterberg area (Austria). Technological and experimental analyses suggest that the overall metallurgical production at Solarolo was not particularly complex. Objects were often re-used and re-adapted, as consequence of wear and fragmentation. Starting from the significant frequency of pins, we experimented the reproduction of two types of pins, documented in Northern Italy during these phases, namely “Cattaragna” and “con testa a rotolo” types. The experiments allowed a better understanding of the chaîne opératoire, from the production of stone moulds to the final refining of the surfaces.

A 3800 year-long radiocarbon-dated and highly-resolved palaeoecological record from Lake Fimon (N-Italy) served to investigate the effects of potential teleconnections between North Atlantic and mid-to-low latitudes at the transition from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 to 2. Boreal ecosystems documented in the Fimon record reacted in a sensitive way to millennial and sub-millennial scale Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation patterns. The high median time-resolution of 58 years allows the identification of five abrupt event-boundaries (i.e., main forest expansion and decline excursions) synchronous with the sharp stadial/interstadial (GS/GI) transitions within dating uncertainties. During Heinrich Stadial 3 (HS 3) we reconstruct more open and dry conditions, compared to the other GS, with a dominant regional scale fire signal. Linkages between local fires and climate-driven fuel changes resulted in high-magnitude fire peaks close to GI/GS boundaries, even exacerbated by local peatland conditions. Finally, palaeoecological data from the HS 3 interval unveiled an internal variability suggesting a peak between 30,425 and 29,772 cal BP (2σ error) which matches more depleted δ18O values in alpine speleothems. We hypothesise that this signal, broadly resembling that of other mid-latitudes proxies, may be attributed to the southward shift of the Northern Hemisphere storm tracks and the associated delayed iceberg discharge events as documented during other HS.

Strontium isotopes in biogenic apatite, especially enamel, are widely employed to determine provenance and track migration in palaeontology and archaeology. Body tissues record the 87Sr/86Sr of bioavailable Sr of ingested food and water. To identify non-local individuals, knowledge of the 87Sr/86Sr of a non-migratory population is required. However, varying factors such as tissue turnover rates, feeding selectivity, Sr content, digestibility of food, and the ingestion of mineral dust can influence body tissue 87Sr/86Sr. To evaluate the Sr contribution of diet and water to mammalian hard tissues 87Sr/86Sr, controlled feeding studies are necessary. Here we present 87Sr/86Sr from controlled feeding experiments with two rodent species (Rattus norvegicus, Cavia porcellus). Due to the continuous and fast incremental growth of rat and guinea pig incisors (~0.1 – 0.5 mm/day), their enamel is expected to record isotopic dietary changes. For Experiment-1: Diet Switch, animals were switched from their respective supplier food to a pelleted experimental diet containing either insect-, plant-, or meat-meal and a staggered-sampling approach was used to monitor the 87Sr/86Sr changes in rat incisor enamel and bone over the course of the experiment. In Experiment-2: Basic Diets, separated cohorts (n = 6) of rats and guinea pigs were fed one of the three pelleted diets and received tap water for 54 days. While the rat incisors showed a complete tissue turnover, the slower-growing guinea pig incisors partially retained supplier diet-related isotopic compositions. In addition, one group of rats fed plant-meal pellets received Sr-rich mineral water, demonstrating that drinking water can be an important Sr source in addition to diet. Additionally, a leaching experiment showed that only a small fraction of diet-related Sr is bioavailable. Finally, in Experiment-3: Dust Addition, guinea pigs were fed pellets with and without addition of 4% of isotopically distinct dust (loess or kaolin). Animals that received kaolin-containing pellets displayed increased enamel 87Sr/86Sr. Intra-population 87Sr/86Sr variability within each feeding group was small and thus we conclude that it should not affect interpretations of 87Sr/86Sr in provenance studies. However, the differences between bulk food and leachate 87Sr/86Sr highlight the importance of Sr bioavailability for provenance studies and Sr isoscapes.

Fil: Menendez, Lumila Paula. Konrad Lorenz Institute; Austria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas; Argentina

Age estimation is a fundamental aspect in juvenile osteological studies and, as such, there are many methods that rely on ontogenetic-related changes to bone morphology. The talus, being a small and compact bone, is generally well preserved in archaeological contexts, but little is known about its morphological trajectory during growth. To better nderstand this we apply a (semi)landmark-based approach to an ontogenetic sample of 26 modern human juvenile tali (known age/sex = 12; unknown age/sex = 14), grouped by 5 age categories ranging from 0 to 15 years. A template of 11 landmarks and 205 semilandmarks were applied to 26 microCT-based digital models of the juvenile tali. These were superimposed by Generalized Procrustes Analysis with the semilandmarks freely sliding against recursive updates of the Procrustes consensus. Finally, individuals of unknown age/sex were projected into the form-space determined from a Principal Component Analysis of the known sample. Our results show that most of the morphometric variation is explained by PC1 (⁓91%), which is highly correlated with size and accounts for ontogenetic allometry. Negative scores (i.e., youngest) are related to a small and globular morphology. The positive scores (i.e., oldest) account for an elongation of the talar body, which is mainly related to the development of the neck and growth of the lateral malleolar facet. Overall, our preliminary results suggest that age-related morphological variations of the talus may be used to determine the general age of juvenile skeletal remains, which could be valuable to many archaeological and forensic researchers.

This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge about the millennial scale climate variability characterizing Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) in S-Europe and the Mediterranean area and its effects on terrestrial ecosystems. The sequence of Dansgaard-Oeschger events, as recorded by Greenland ice cores and recognizable in isotope profiles from speleothems and high-resolution palaeoecological records, led to dramatic variations in glacier extent and sea level configuration with major impacts on the physiography and vegetation patterns, both latitudinally and altitudinally. The recurrent succession of (open) woodlands, including temperate taxa, and grasslands with xerophytic elements, have been tentatively correlated to GIs in Greenland ice cores. Concerning colder phases, the Greenland Stadials (GSs) related to Heinrich events (HEs) appear to have a more pronounced effect than other GSs on woodland withdrawal and xerophytes expansion. Notably, GS 9-HE4 phase corresponds to the most severe reduction of tree cover in a number of Mediterranean records. On a long-term scale, a reduction/opening of forests throughout MIS 3 started from Greenland Interstadials (GIs) 14/13 (ca. 55–48 ka), which show a maximum in woodland density. At that time, natural environments were favourable for Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs) to migrate from Africa into Europe as documented by industries associated with modern hominin remains in the Levant. Afterwards, a variety of early Upper Palaeolithic cultures emerged (e.g., Uluzzian and Proto-Aurignacian). In this chronostratigraphic framework, attention is paid to the Campanian Ignimbrite tephra marker, as a pivotal tool for deciphering and correlating several temporal-spatial issues crucial for understanding the interaction between AMHs and Neandertals at the time of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition.

Introduction to the Special Issue "Peopling dynamics in the Mediterranean area between 45 and 39 ky ago: state of art and new data", Quaternary International, 551, 1-6 pp. in the framework of the European Research Council, ERC CoG no. 724046 SUCCESS (awarded to S. Benazzi; website: http://www.erc-success.eu).

Durante l'ultimo periodo glaciale le calotte dell'emisfero Nord (ed anche l'ice field alpino) si sono più volte espanse e contratte assumendo configurazioni diverse (Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008; Lambeck et al., 2010; Monegato et al., 2017) e raggiungendo la massima estensione intorno a 22 mila anni fa (Hughes et al., 2016) durante l'Ultimo Massimo Glaciale (UMG). A queste maggiori oscillazioni climatiche e glaciali, si sono sovrapposte variazioni climatiche a scala millenaria: i cicli Dansgaard-Oescheger (DO cycles). Tale instabilità climatica, i cui picchi caldi e freddi sono detti, rispettivamente, Greenland Interstadials (GIs) e Greenland Stadials (GSs), è documentata a scala globale. Alla scala dell'emisfero boreale, record paleoclimatici ad alta risoluzione mostrano un marcato raffreddamento durante i GSs a cui sono associati Heinrich events (HEs) (Guillevic et al., 2014; Darfeuil et al., 2016). Per meglio comprendere i meccanismi che regolano tale variabilità climatica e le risposte degli ecosistemi terrestri agli HEs, verrà preso in considerazione il record pollinico del lago di Fimon all'interno della cerchia dei Colli Berici (Vicenza), che documenta la storia ambientale della Pianura Veneta e del margine prealpino a partire dalla Penultima Glaciazione (Pini et al. 2010). Nuove indagini stratigrafiche, geocronologiche e polliniche ad alta risoluzione (media di 1 campione/80-120 anni), hanno evidenziato fasi di apertura forestale con espansione di ecosistemi di semideserto a sud delle Alpi durante il MIS 3. In particolare, fra circa 27 e 35 mila anni fa, dati biostratigrafici e datazioni radiocarboniche restituiscono un robusto quadro cronologico per l'intervallo che precede, documenta e segue il GS 5.1-HE3 (30,6- 28,9 mila anni fa, cronologia GICC05, Rasmussen et al., 2014). Pinete dominate da Pinus sylvestris con betulla erano diffuse fra 35-30 mila anni fa nel settore prealpino sud-orientale. Il lago di Fimon era un bacino con acque poco profonde soggetto a oscillazioni del livello lacustre fino a 25505±99 anni fa (età 14C BP, median probability: 29599 anni cal BP), quando si sviluppa una torbiera a Cyperaceae che si mantiene per circa 2500 anni. All'inizio di questa fase, con un cambio centrato a circa 29,5 mila anni fa, le foreste subiscono una brusca contrazione (percentuali polliniche della componente arborea si riducono dal 70 al 30%), accompagnata dalla riduzione del segnale degli incendi a scala locale. Si espandono praterie (Gramineae, Asteraceae, Cichorioideae) con arbusti xerici e piante erbacee di ambiente steppico (Hippophae, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Ephedra). Tale evento, di durata millenaria, può essere correlato alla fase freddo-arida dell'HE3, visibile in altri record pollinici continui in Nord Italia (Azzano decimo; Pini et al., 2009) e area mediterranea (Lago Grande di Monticchio, Tenaghi Philippon; Wulf et al., 2018). La fase successiva: interstadiali GI 4 e GI 3 (rispettivamente 28,9 e 27,78 mila anni fa, cronologia GICC05, Rasmussen et al., 2014), è caratterizzata da una nuova espansione di pinete con larice, betulla e ginepro, e dall'intensificazione di incendi a scala locale.

Archaeological information and paleoanthropological analysis align both teeth to Neanderthal. These results point out that the Broion and Roccia San Sebastiano teeth represent, along with the deciduous tooth Cavallo D (from the final Mousterian deposit of Grotta del Cavallo) [5], the most recent Neanderthal remains in Italy currently known.

We obtained high-resolution elemental maps (pixel size ranging between 10 and 20 ?m) of the dental crown. - The two Roman teeth showed clear Pb variation through the crown, highly correlated with enamel growth trajectories, likely linked to lead environmental exposure during the individual's lifetime. - Individual SCR313: Pb peak at ~410 days, visible in both dentine and enamel. - Individual SCR249: low pre-natal Pb levels, that increase post-natally; a Pb peak coincides with the neonatal line. - We identified several areas in both enamel and dentine affected by post-depositional processes.

Human osteological samples (n = 23) taken from different anatomical parts of 11 individuals from the early modern (16th–18th century AD) site of Roccapelago (Modena, Italy) were systematically analysed for δ13C, δ15N and trace elements to investigate their diet. δ13C and δ15N correlate and show a high variability between individuals, attesting to the dietary contribution of C4 plants. This is supported by pollen analysis of the burial site samples, which revealed the presence of maize. δ15N correlates with Sr/Ca, suggesting that the main protein source could have been milk and dairy. We therefore interpret the strong correlation between δ13C and δ15N as evidence for C4-plant foraging practice and the exploitation of livestock for meat and milk, combined with possible direct intake of C4 plants. The Roccapelago site represents an important case study to track the evolution of the post-medieval diet and the introduction of maize cultivation in southern Europe, as also attested by historical sources.

During the Upper Palaeolithic animal teeth were consistently used by Anatomically Modern Humans as ornamental and symbolic objects used to facilitate individual and group-level interaction. Two key Northeastern Italian sites, "Grotta di Fumane" (VR) and "Grotta del Broion" (VI) show that Cervus elaphus teeth were often used for this purpose. While Grotta di Fumane yielded evidence of red deer incisors with groovings on the root, Grotta del Broion testifies to the use of deer canines and a completely different techonological approach based on preparatory scraping and perforation by rotation. An in-detail description of these processes thanks to stereomicroscope and 3D digital microscope allowed us to uncover a pattern of regional variabiliy in tooth choice and alteration practices that may be linked to the adaptive strategies of Aurignacian and Gravettian hunter-gatherers of Northern Italy as well as to the emergence of a symbolic behaviour which is deeply rooteed in human culture.

[Objectives] During the middle-to-upper Paleolithic transition (50,000 and 40,000¿years ago), interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens varied across Europe. In southern Italy, the association between Homo sapiens fossils and non-Mousterian material culture, as well as the mode and tempo of Neanderthal demise, are still vividly debated. In this research, we focus on the study of two human teeth by using 3D geometric morphometric approaches for a reliable taxonomical attribution as well as obtaining new radiometric dates on the archeological sequence., [Material and Methods] This work presents two lower deciduous molars uncovered at Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone-Caserta, Italy), stratigraphically associated with Mousterian (RSS1) and Uluzzian (RSS2) artifacts. To obtain a probabilistic attribution of the two RSS teeth to each reference taxa group composed of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we performed and compared the performance of three supervised learning algorithms (flexible discriminant analysis, multiadaptive regression splines, and random forest) on both crown and cervical outlines obtained by virtual morphometric methods. [Discussion] This site yields the most recent direct evidence for a Neanderthal presence in southern Italy and confirms a later shift to upper Paleolithic technology in southwestern Italy compared to the earliest Uluzzian evidence at Grotta del Cavallo (Puglia, Italy)., The authors are very grateful to the Municipality of Mondragone for supporting and funding the excavations. We also thank the Museo Civico Archeologico Biagio Greco, Mondragone, Caserta, Italy which provided funding, logistic support and welcomed the researcher since 1999 as well as an acknowledgement to the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Salerno e Avellino, Benevento e Caserta. V.S. acknowledges funding from the Alon Fellowship. This study received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 724046 – SUCCESS, http://www.erc-success.eu); the radiocarbon dating was supported by the ERC-RESOLUTION grant agreement No 803147, https://site.unibo.it/resolution-erc/en);); the DNA analysis was funded by the European Research Council (grant agreement number 694707 to Svante Pääbo) and the Max Planck Society. We thank E. Essel, S. Nagel, B. Nickel, J. Richter, B. Schellbach and A. Weihmann for work in the ancient DNA lab; and M. Meyer and S. Pääbo for their input. Open Access Funding provided by Universita degli Studi di Bologna within the CRUI-CARE Agreement.

Background: Venous Access Devices (VADs) are the most used devices in COVID-19 patients. Objective: Identify VADs implanted, catheter related thrombosis (CRT), catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), and accidental remove of VADs in both COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 free patients. Successive analysis was conducted comparing COVID-19 positive patients with COVID-19 free with inverse probability propensity score weights using simple regression to account for these two confounders (peripheral tip as central/peripheral and hospitalization as no/yes). Methods: This multicenter, retrospective cohort study collected data from seven hospitals in Lombardy during the pandemic period from February 21st to May 31st 2020. Results: A total of 2206 VADs were evaluated, 1107 (50.2%) of which were inserted in COVID-19 patients. In COVID-19 cohort the first choice was Long Peripheral Cannula in 388 patients (35.1%) followed by Midline Catheter in 385 (34.8%). The number of “central tip” VADs inserted in COVID-free inpatients and COVID-19 positive were similar (307 vs 334). We recorded 42 (1.9%) CRT; 32 (79.2%) were observed in COVID-19 patients. A total of 19 CRBSI were diagnosed; 15 (78.95%) were observed in COVID-19. Accidental removals were the more represented complication with 123 cases, 85 (69.1%) of them were in COVID-19. COVID-19 significantly predicted occurrence of CRT (OR = 2.00(1.85–5.03); p Conclusions: CRT, CRBSI, and accidental removal are significantly more frequent in COVID-19 patients. Accidental removals are the principal complication, for this reason, the use of subcutaneously anchored securement is recommended for a shorter period than usual.

Quartz luminescence finds applications on many fields, but much work still needs to be done to precisely characterize it. In this work, we made further developments on the study of luminescence of quartz from La Sassa, Tuscany: a sample with unique properties in this regard. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements allowed study of the excitation profile of the previously reported luminescence, showing an excitation maximum at around 4.3 eV, among other minor ones. This kind of luminescence has also been studied as a function of X-ray irradiation, showing that ionizing radiation desensitizes the photoluminescence emissions. New radioluminescence (RL) measurements have been done to study the effect of thermal annealing at 1000 °C, showing a more complex emission picture in the red region (1.8–2.0 eV), with multiple emissions. The data presented here allow more precise assumptions regarding the assignment of the centers responsible for each emission. The assignment has been confirmed by chemical profiles measured by laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma (ICP) mass spectrometry. The previously tentative assignment of non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHCs) has been disproved for the PL and LIF emissions and confirmed for the RL ones.

Laser Assisted Bioprinting (LAB) is recognized to be an enabling and versatile microfabrication technology for regenerative medicine and artificial tissue engineering. Current bioprinting concentrates on a layer-by-layer approach to print cells in consecutive stacks or nets, to recreate specialized tissue functions with a top-down approach. This synthering of proximal cells however reduces the long range correlation of tissue parenchyma and stroma given by natural development, as result of cells mobility and signaling. In this work, laminin, one of the main components of brain extracellular matrix is deposited by LAB on a biodegradable scaffold made of poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), providing chemical cues for the adhesion and differentiation of neural stem cells NE-4C induced by retinoic acid. Surface roughness and LAB induced aggregates promote the initial adhesion of neuronal stem cells to the PLGA substrate and influence the formation of clusters and interconnection between them. The amount of laminin delivered inside the spot area may be controlled down to sub-monolayer coverage and a positive correlation between the laminin spots and soma of trafficking cells is demonstrated, also by computational modelling. Anisotropic orientation of neurite outgrowth is induced upon differentiation, up to 70% of processes protruding from stem cell clusters. The comparative analysis shows that the topological cue plays a major role in enhabling cluster formation on the scaffold, but the bioprinted laminin spots appear to be regulating the strength of connection between them, opening the way to control the functional morphology of artificial neural tissue constructs.

In the present study, an innovative and highly efficient near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) method is proposed to provide spectral maps able to reveal collagen distribution in large-size bones, also offering semi-quantitative estimations. A recently introduced method for the construction of chemical maps, based on Normalized Difference Images (NDI), is declined in an innovative approach, through the exploitation of the NDI values computed for each pixel of the hyperspectral image to localize collagen and to extract information on its content by a direct comparison with known reference samples. The developed approach addresses an urgent issue of the analytical chemistry applied to bioarcheology researches, which rely on well-preserved collagen in bones to obtain key information on chronology, paleoecology and taxonomy. Indeed, the high demand for large-sample datasets and the consequent application of a wide variety of destructive analytical methods led to the considerable destruction of precious bone samples. NIR-HSI pre-screening allows researchers to properly select the sampling points for subsequent specific analyses, to minimize costs and time and to preserve integrity of archaeological bones (which are available in a very limited amount), providing further opportunities to understand our past.

The paper reports on the development of an analytical method based on the use of a new miniaturised short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrometer for the analysis of cultural heritage samples. The spectrometer is a prototype characterised by small dimension (45.0 mm in diameter x 47.5 mm in height x 60 g weight), easily handled and transferable out of research laboratories. The prototype enables the acquisition of spectra in the SWIR range of 1200–2200 nm, which is a unique feature for miniaturised spectrometers. The exploitation of this spectral range allows the detection of a high number of combination and overtone bands, which guarantees significant diagnostic power to the instrument. The present study lays a significant foundation to the development of analytical strategies based on miniaturised NIR spectrometers working in the SWIR spectral range for the characterization of complex samples such as cultural heritage specimens. Analytical performances of the new spectrometer were assessed on archaeological bones, cinematographic films and bronze patinas. The selected cases of study present challenging conservation issues not properly addressed, and their analyses usually require to be performed on-site, in places not easily accessible by restorers, archaeologists and/or scientists. The data acquired with the prototype, combined with a multivariate data analysis approach, show the possibility to i) differentiate between the materials used as a support for cinematographic film namely cellulose nitrate (CN), cellulose acetates (CA) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET); ii) sort out archaeological bone fragments according to their collagen content as an initial screening test for bones characterization; iii) differentiate between corrosion products on outdoor bronze sculpture, which is important for assessing the state of conservation of the artwork. The prototype enabled rapid information acquisition to guide restoration strategies, which need to be supported in real time by quick and easy analytical procedures.

Objectives The analysis of prehistoric human dietary habits is key for understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental changes on the evolution of cultural and social human behaviors. In this study, we compare results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope and dental calculus analyses as well as lower second molar macrowear patterns to gain a broader understanding of the diet of three individuals who lived between the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca., 17–8 ky cal BP) in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. Materials and methods We analyze individuals buried at the sites of Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Riparo Villabruna, and Mondeval de Sora (Belluno). The three burials provide a unique dataset for diachronically exploring the influence of climatic changes on human subsistence strategies. Results Isotopic results indicate that all individuals likely relied on both terrestrial and freshwater animal proteins. Even though dental calculus analysis was, in part, hindered by the amount of mineral deposit available on the teeth, tooth macrowear study suggests that the dietary habits of the individuals included plant foods. Moreover, differences in macrowear patterns of lower second molars have been documented between Neanderthals and modern humans in the present sample, due to a prevalence of Buccal wear among the former as opposed to higher values of Lingual wear in modern human teeth. Discussion Isotopic analyses have emphasized the contribution of animal proteins in the diet of the three foragers from the Eastern Alpine region. The possible intake of carbohydrate-rich plant foods, suggested by the retrieval of plant remains in dental calculus, is supported by the signal of macrowear analysis. Moreover, the latter method indicates that the distribution of macrowear in lower second molars (M2s) allows us to discriminate between Neanderthals and modern humans within the present reference sample. Overall, our results show these three prehistoric hunter-gatherers were well adapted to the environment in which they lived exploiting many natural resources.

Strontium isotopes and selected trace elements (Rb, Sr, REE, Zr, Hf, Th, and U) were measured on samples of Libyan Desert Glass (LDG) and a series of terrestrial materials (rocks, LDG-bearing soils, eolic sand) collected over a large area of southwestern Egypt to identify the LDG terrestrial parent material and the site where impact melting occurred. Samples include Upper Cretaceous hypersilicic sandstones outcropping at or near the LDG strewn field and Lower Cretaceous to Silurian sandstones from the Gilf Kebir Plateau highlands. Strontium isotopes and partially Zr, Hf, Th, and U, possibly reflecting the composition of detrital zircon grains, are effective indicators of the geochemical affinity between terrestrial materials and LDG, unlike Rb, Sr, and REE abundances. The best geochemical affinity with LDG was found in LDG-bearing soils collected at the base of intradunal corridors in the Great Sand Sea. Remarkably, abundances of the Zr group elements of the LDG Zr-bearing phase are distinct from all terrestrial detrital zircons from the area. We suggest a mixture of weathering products from sandstones of different ages, including Devonian and Silurian rocks from the Gilf Kebir highlands, as the most likely source for LDG. A loose sedimentary formation exposed 29Ma ago at the Earth’s surface, superimposed over hard bedrock, might have been the true terrestrial target of the impact, but because of its incoherent nature, it was rapidly destroyed, explaining the complete absence of any evidence of an impact structure.

Roccia San Sebastiano is a tectonic-karstic cave located at the foot of the southern slope of Mt. Massico, in the territory of Mondragone (Caserta) in Campania (southern Italy). Systematic excavation has been carried out since 2001, leading to the partial exploration of an important Pleistocene deposit, extraordinarily rich in lithic and faunal remains. The aim of this paper is to (1) present the stratigraphic sequence of Roccia San Sebastiano, and (2) technologically describe the lithic materials of squares F14 t18, t19, t20; E16 t16, t17, t18 recently recognised as Uluzzian. The stratigraphic sequence is more than 3 m thick and dates from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic. It contains different techno-complexes: Gravettian, Aurignacian, Uluzzian and Mousterian. In the Uluzzian lithic assemblage mostly local pebbles of chert were used in order to produce small-sized objects. The concept of debitage mainly deals with unidirectional debitage with absent or fairly accurate management of the convexities and angles; the striking platforms are usually natural or made by one stroke. It is attested the use of both direct freehand percussion and bipolar technique on anvil in the same reduction sequence. Amongst the retouched tools the presence of two lunates is of note. This study of the Roccia San Sebastiano Uluzzian lithic complexes is significant for understanding the dynamics of the transition from Middle to Upper Palaeolithic in the Tyrrhenian margin of southern Italy.

In this work, osteological and paleopathological analyses are combined with liquid-chromatography mass\ud spectrometry to study life and death of 30 non-adult individuals from an Early Medieval Italian funerary context\ud (Valdaro, 7th-8th cent. AD). We estimated individual sex by exploiting sexual differences in enamel-bounded\ud peptides. Enamel proteins were extracted through an acid etching of the whole tooth crowns for 4 samples\ud and through a partial digestion of small enamel chunks for the remaining 26 samples. Both protocols were\ud informative on the sex of the individuals through the identification of amelogenin isoforms (AMELX and\ud AMELY). In addition, low-mineralized tooth germs were analysed and they provided reliable information on the\ud infants’ sex. We observed the presence of 13 males and 17 females among the non-adults of Valdaro, not\ud significantly different from a random sample with an equal frequency of males and females. Cribra cranii and\ud endocranial lesion occurrence showed an association with sex, with higher frequencies in male individuals.

In recent years, the K2P family of potassium channels has been the subject of intense research activity. Owing to the complex function and regulation of this family of ion channels, it is common practice to complement experimental findings with the atomistic description provided by computational approaches such as molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, especially, in light of the unprecedented timescales accessible at present. However, despite recent substantial improvements, the accuracy of MD simulations is still undermined by the intrinsic limitations of force fields. Here, we systematically assessed the performance of the most popular force fields employed to study ion channels at timescales that are orders of magnitude greater than the ones accessible when these energy functions were first developed. Using 32 μs of trajectories, we investigated the dynamics of a member of the K2P ion channel family, the TRAAK channel, using two established force fields in simulations of biological systems: AMBER and CHARMM. We found that while results are comparable on the nanosecond timescales, significant inconsistencies arise at microsecond timescales.

The site of Riparo Broion (Vicenza, northeastern Italy) preserves a stratigraphic sequence documenting the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition, in particular the final Mousterian and the Uluzzian cultures. In 2018, a human tooth was retrieved from a late Mousterian level, representing the first human remain ever found from this rock shelter (Riparo Broion 1). Here, we provide the morphological description and taxonomic assessment of Riparo Broion 1 with the support of classic and virtual morphology, 2D and 3D analysis of the topography of enamel thickness, and DNA analysis. The tooth is an exfoliated right upper deciduous canine, and its general morphology and enamel thickness distribution support attribution to a Neanderthal child. Correspondingly, the mitochondrial DNA sequence from Riparo Broion 1 falls within the known genetic variation of Late Pleistocene Neanderthals, in accordance with newly obtained radiocarbon dates that point to approximately 48 ka cal BP as the most likely minimum age for this specimen. The present work describes novel and direct evidence of the late Neanderthal occupation in northern Italy that preceded the marked cultural and technological shift documented by the Uluzzian layers in the archaeological sequence at Riparo Broion. Here, we provide a new full morphological, morphometric, and taxonomic analysis of Riparo Broion 1, in addition to generating the wider reference sample of Neanderthal and modern human upper deciduous canines. This research contributes to increasing the sample of fossil remains from Italy, as well as the number of currently available upper deciduous canines, which are presently poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Dynamic self-assembly is an emerging area of research where properly designed self-assembly elements can be used reversibly to trigger and control some tasks at the molecular level. The interactions between decorated nanoparticles, NPs, are experimentally modifiable by a variety of stimuli that can also vary in time periodically or randomly. In coarse-grained simulations, we activate a switch, either periodically or randomly, which assembles-disassembles clusters of NPs. We then introduce a single catalytic NP(C) covered with catalytic moieties, C, and leave all remaining NP(R)s decorated with reactive moieties, R. The catalytic reaction that converts R into products P depends on the encounter of C and R. Particle-based simulations are here used to study the catalytic activity and reaction yields of decorated nanoparticles that aggregate/disaggregate with the application of time-varying perturbations. Static aggregation is not catalytically efficient because it traps the catalyst. The application of random perturbations that vary in time in the form of colored noises improves the reaction yields and can provide opportunities for more efficient catalytic activity. The work can also allow us to understand how in Nature many biological processes are affected or driven by random/noisy fluctuations of the environment.

International audience; In this work, we explored the isotopic composition of faunal (rodents, rhinoceros and bison) and human skeletal remains from the Middle Pleistocene layers of Isernia la Pineta (Molise, Italy). We particularly focused on high spatial resolution isotope analyses of tooth enamel by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS for strontium isotopes and by micro-drilling sampling for oxygen isotopes. Results from bone specimens were compared with the isotope variability of modern plants collected in the area surrounding the site, in a radius of about 30 km. While the human group seems local, macro-mammals show a higher degree of mobility.

Carbonate-bearing wedge peridotites attest the mobilization of carbon (C) by slab fluids/melts circulating in a subduction setting. In general, COH fluids are thought to derive from the dehydration/partial melting of the crustal portions of slabs, especially during the exhumation of crust-mantle melanges along continental subduction channels. In this study we combined textural observations with in-situ Sr isotope analyses of mantle carbonates occurring in different microstructural sites to test whether the fluids responsible for the carbonation of a mantle wedge are derived from the subducted continental crust or not. We focus on the Ulten Zone peridotites (Eastern Italian Alps) associated with high-grade felsic rocks, where carbonates occur mainly as dolomite and minor magnesite and calcite. In situ laser MC-ICP-MS analysis of peridotites representing different episodes of a complex metasomatic history, indicates that Sr isotopic variations can be linked to the different microstructural positions of carbonates. The C-metasomatism of the UZ peridotites is proposed to have occurred in two stages. The first stage is the HP‑carbonation at peak (eclogite-facies) conditions, with formation of interstitial matrix dolomite in textural equilibrium with hornblende to pargasite amphibole and Cl-apatite. This dolomite exhibits relatively unradiogenic 87Sr/86Sr present day values of 0.70487±0.00010, requiring different sources with respect to the associated migmatites and the overhanging mantle wedge. Carbonation continued during exhumation, with local injection of C-rich fluids forming a dolomite vein in association with tremolite and chlorite. The dolomite vein shows a wide range of 87Sr/86Sr (0.7036–0.7083), reflecting both the primary composition of carbonates and the consequent interaction with crustal fluids as expected in a crust-mantle melange. The second stage is C-remobilization by dolomite dissolution and precipitation of brucite intergrowths with calcite during the final exhumation. This remobilization event has resulted in a similar Sr composition to the precursor dolomite. The mantle wedge is therefore capable of storing carbonates which have been shown to represent a complex metasomatic evolution from eclogite-facies conditions to very shallow structural levels. Therefore, fluids released from subducting slabs of continental lithosphere might be responsible for the crystallization of metasomatic minerals such as amphibole, phlogopite and zircon in the overlying ultramafic rocks. Conversely, the role of these metasomatic fluids on the carbonation of mantle wedge is likely overestimated. The combination of geochemical, isotopic and textural evidence suggests that dolomite inclusions and interstitial dolomite are derived in large part from a distinct source of C-bearing fluids that could be related to depleted mantle wedge sources and/or trondhjemitic igneous activity. In contrast, at the end of exhumation, residual COH-fluids released by the associated stromatic gneisses and orthogneisses resulted in late-stage dolomite veins having the highest Sr isotope values in the Ulten Zone peridotites.

During the last decade, the in situ Lu-Hf isotope methodology has been widely used in Earth sciences and the number of laboratories performing Lu-Hf analysis has increased together with dedicated scientific software. However, free and user-friendly software for the Lu-Hf data reduction is currently missing. We present the 'Hf-INATOR', a new interactive Excel spreadsheet, simple to use and completely free (compatible with Libreoffice and Openoffice) that performs data reduction of the Lu-Hf analytical outputs and calculates the main parameters of the Lu-Hf systematic, such as the 2 sigma errors, the epsilon Hf-(0), the epsilon Hf-(t), the T-DM, the T-DM(C) and the f(Lu/Hf).