Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum monococcum L. and Triticum turgidum L.) were among the principal 'founder crops' of southwest Asian agriculture. Two issues that were central to the ...cultural transition from foraging to food production are poorly understood. They are the dates at which human groups began to routinely exploit wild varieties of wheat and barley, and when foragers first utilized technologies to pound and grind the hard, fibrous seeds of these and other plants to turn them into easily digestible foodstuffs. Here we report the earliest direct evidence for human processing of grass seeds, including barley and possibly wheat, in the form of starch grains recovered from a ground stone artefact from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Ohalo II in Israel. Associated evidence for an oven-like hearth was also found at this site, suggesting that dough made from grain flour was baked. Our data indicate that routine processing of a selected group of wild cereals, combined with effective methods of cooking ground seeds, were practiced at least 12,000 years before their domestication in southwest Asia.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Chili peppers (Capsicum spp.) are widely cultivated food plants that arose in the Americas and are now incorporated into cuisines worldwide. Here, we report a genus-specific starch morphotype that ...provides a means to identify chili peppers from archaeological contexts and trace both their domestication and dispersal. These starch microfossils have been found at seven sites dating from 6000 years before present to European contact and ranging from the Bahamas to southern Peru. The starch grain assemblages demonstrate that maize and chilies occurred together as an ancient and widespread Neotropical plant food complex that predates pottery in some regions.
Over the past decade, increasing attention to the recovery and identification of plant microfossil remains from archaeological sites located in lowland South America has significantly increased ...knowledge of pre-Columbian plant domestication and crop plant dispersals in tropical forests and other regions. Along the Andean mountain chain, however, the chronology and trajectory of plant domestication are still poorly understood for both important indigenous staple crops such as the potato (Solanum sp.) and others exogenous to the region, for example, maize (Zea mays). Here we report the analyses of plant microremains from a late preceramic house (3,431 45 to 3,745 65 14C bp or approximately 3,600 to 4,000 calibrated years bp) in the highland southern Peruvian site of Waynuna. Our results extend the record of maize by at least a millennium in the southern Andes, show on-site processing of maize into flour, provide direct evidence for the deliberate movement of plant foods by humans from the tropical forest to the highlands, and confirm the potential of plant microfossil analysis in understanding ancient plant use and migration in this region.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract Purpose To validate a staging system for metastatic uveal melanoma that will facilitate planning, reporting and interpreting the results of clinical trials. Design Reliability and validity ...study. Methods The performance index, the largest diameter of the largest metastasis and alkaline phosphatase level at the time of diagnosis of metastases, and overall survival of 249 patients from 7 ocular oncology centers who died of dissemination were analyzed. Predicted median survival time calculated according to the Helsinki University Hospital Working Formulation was used to assign patients to stages IVa, IVb, and IVc that correspond to predicted survival times of ≥12, <12-6, and <6 months, respectively. The predictions were compared against observed survival. Results The three variables used to assign stage were independent predictors of survival in the validation dataset. Of the 249 patients, 44%, 44%, and 12% classified to Working Formulation stages IVa, IVb, and IVc, respectively. Corresponding median observed survival times were 18.6, 10.7 and 4.6 months and worsened by increasing stage ( P <. 001). Of 201 patients managed without surgical resection of metastases, 41%, 44%, and 15% classified to stages IVa to IVc, and their median observed survival times were 17.2, 10.0 and 4.6 months ( P < .001). Survival of 47 patients who underwent resection did not differ by working formulation stage ( P = .69). Conclusions This multicenter study confirms that the Working Formulation is a reliable and valid, repeatable system for dividing metastatic uveal melanoma into distinct prognostic subgroups, especially for stage-specific reporting of survival in prospective clinical trials.
Objective: To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of a 3-month duration, twice a-year, intermittent treatment with oral chondroitin sulfate (CS) in knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients.
Design: A ...total of 120 patients with symptomatic knee OA were randomized into two groups receiving either 800
mg CS or placebo (PBO) per day for two periods of 3 months during 1 year. Primary efficacy outcome was Lequesne’s algo-functional index (AFI); secondary outcome parameters included VAS, walking time, global judgment, and paracetamol consumption. Radiological progression was assessed by automatic measurement of medial femoro-tibial joint space width on weight-bearing X-rays of both knees. Clinical and biological tolerability was assessed.
Results: One hundred and ten of 120 patients were included in the ITT analysis. AFI decreased significantly by 36% in the CS group after 1 year as compared to 23% in the PBO group. Similar results were found for the secondary outcomes parameters. Radiological progression at month 12 showed significantly decreased joint space width in the PBO group with no change in the CS group. Tolerability was good with only minor adverse events identically observed in both groups.
Conclusion: This study provides evidences that oral CS decreased pain and improved knee function. The 3-month intermittent administration of 800
mg/day of oral CS twice a year does support the prolonged effect known with symptom-modifying agents for OA. The inhibitory effect of CS on the radiological progression of the medial femoro-tibial joint space narrowing could suggest further evidence of its structure-modifying properties in knee OA.
The initial management of patients with sarcoma is a critical issue. We used the nationwide French National Cancer Institute-funded prospective sarcoma database NETSARC to report the management and ...oncologic outcomes in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) patients with sarcoma at the national level.
NETSARC database gathers regularly monitored and updated data from patients with sarcoma. NETSARC was queried for patients (15-30 years) with sarcoma diagnosed from 2010 to 2017 for whom tumor resection had been performed. We reported management, locoregional recurrence-free survival (LRFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in AYA treated in French reference sarcoma centers (RSC) and outside RSC (non-RSC) and conducted multivariable survival analyses adjusted for classical prognostic factors.
Among 3,227 patients aged 15-30 years with sarcoma diagnosed between 2010 and 2017, the study included 2,227 patients with surgery data available, among whom 1,290 AYAs had been operated in RSC, and 937 AYAs in non-RSC. Significant differences in compliance to guidelines were observed including pre-treatment biopsy (RSC: 85.9%; non-RSC 48.1%), pre-treatment imaging (RSC: 86.8%; non-RSC: 56.5%) and R0 margins (RSC 57.6%; non-RSC: 20.2%) (p < 0.001). 3y-OS rates were 81.1% (95%CI 78.3-83.6) in AYA in RSC and 82.7% (95%CI 79.4-85.5) in AYA in non-RSC, respectively. Whereas no significant differences in OS was observed in AYAs treated in RSC and in non-RSC, LRFS and PFS were improved in AYAs treated in RSC compared to AYAs treated in non-RSC (Hazard Ratios (HR): 0.58 and 0.83, respectively).
This study highlights the importance for AYA patients with sarcoma to be managed in national sarcoma reference centers involving multidisciplinary medical teams with paediatric and adult oncologists.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The role of both hormonal contraception and pregnancy on the outcomes of desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) is debatable.
In the present study, we selected female patients of childbearing age from the ...prospective ALTITUDES cohort. The primary study endpoint was event-free survival (EFS), with an event defined as relapse or progression. We estimated the risk of events according to the use of hormonal contraception estrogen–progestin (EP) and progestin and pregnancy status using multivariate time-dependent models, controlling for major confounders.
A total of 242 patients (median age, 34.7 years) were included in the present study. The abdominal wall was the most common tumor site (51%). Patients were managed by active surveillance (80%) or surgery (20%). Pregnancy occurred within 24 months before, at the time of, and after DF diagnosis in 33%, 5%, and 10% of the cases, respectively. Exposure to hormonal contraception was documented within 24 months before, at the time of, and after diagnosis in 44%, 34%, and 39% of the cases, respectively. The 2-year EFS was 75%. After adjusting for DF location, tumor size, front-line treatment strategy, and hormonal contraception, we observed an increased risk of events occurring at 24 months after pregnancy hazard ratio (HR) = 2.09, P = 0.018. We observed no statistically significant association between the risk of events and current EP exposure (HR = 1.28, P = 0.65), recent EP exposure (within 1-24 months, HR = 1.38, P = 0.39), current progestin exposure (HR = 0.81, P = 0.66), or recent progestin exposure (HR = 1.05, P = 0.91).
In our study, a recent history of pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of progression/relapse in patients with newly diagnosed DF, whereas hormonal contraception did not demonstrate an association with progression/relapse.
•The role of hormonal contraception or pregnancy on DF outcomes is debatable.•We estimated the risk of progression or relapse according to the use of hormonal contraception and pregnancy status.•We found that recent exposure to hormonal contraception was not associated with DF outcomes.•A recent pregnancy was associated with a statistically significant increase in progression/relapse.•Abdominal wall DF outcomes showed similar findings as other DF outcomes.
This prospective nationwide cohort study aimed to investigate desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) outcomes, focusing on the prognostic value of CTNNB1 mutations.
ALTITUDES (NCT02867033) was a nationwide ...prospective cohort study of DF diagnosed between January 2016 and December 2020. At diagnosis, CTNNB1 molecular alterations were identified using next-generation sequencing or Sanger sequencing. The primary endpoint was event-free survival (EFS) (progression, relapse, or death). We enrolled 628 patients managed by active surveillance (AS), surgical resection (SR), or systemic treatment as front-line therapy.
Overall, 516 (82.2%) patients (368 females 71.3%, median age 40.3 years range, 1-89) were eligible for analysis. In 435 (84.3%) cases, there was one CTNNB1 molecular alteration: p.T41A, p.S45F, or p.S45P. The front-line management was AS in 352 (68.2%), SR in 120 (23.3%), and systemic treatments in 44 (8.5%) patients. CTNNB1 mutation distribution was similar across the three therapeutic groups. The median follow-up period was 24.7 (range, 0.4-59.7) months. The estimated 3-year EFS rate was 66.2% (95%CI, 60.5%-71.2%). DF harboring p.S45F was significantly associated with male sex (p=0.03), non-abdominal wall sites (p=0.05), pain (p=0.007), and large tumor size (p=0.025). CTNNB1 p.S45F mutation was not significantly associated with EFS, either in univariate (hazard ratio HR=1.06; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.65-1.73; p=0.81), or in multivariate analysis (HR=0.91; 95% CI, 0.55-1.49; p=0.71).
We found that CTNNB1 mutation profile was associated with unfavorable prognostic factors but was not a prognostic factor for EFS.
Geoinspired synthetic chrysotile nanotubes both stoichiometric and 0.67 wt % Fe doped were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Bending tests of the synthetic ...chrysotile nanotubes were performed using the atomic force microscope. The nanotubes were found to exhibit elastic behaviour at small deformations (below ca. 20 nm). Young's modulus values of (159 ± 125) GPa and (279 ± 260) GPa were obtained from the force‐deflection curves using the bending equation for a clamped beam under a concentrated load, for the stoichiometric and the Fe doped chrysotile nanotubes, respectively. The structural modifications induced by Fe doping altered the mechanical properties, with an apparent dependence of the latter on the number of constituting walls of the nanotubes.
The structural and mechanical properties of geoinspired synthetic chrysotile nanotubes (see figure) are studied in both stoichiometric and 0.67 wt % Fe‐doped forms. It is demonstrated that doping induces structural modifications and alters the Young's modulus value as well.
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