Nobody's land? The oldest evidence of early Upper Paleolithic settlements in inland Iberia.

The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.

Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before .

The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000-116,000 years ago), before -linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation.

The colonial legacy of herbaria.

Herbarium collections shape our understanding of Earth's flora and are crucial for addressing global change issues. Their formation, however, is not free from sociopolitical issues of immediate relevance. Despite increasing efforts addressing issues of representation and colonialism in natural history collections, herbaria have received comparatively less attention.

Three Millennia of Vegetation, Land-Use, and Climate Change in SE Sicily.

This study presents the first Late Holocene marine pollen record (core ND2) from SE Sicily. It encompasses the last 3000 years and is one of the most detailed records of the south-central Mediterranean region in terms of time resolution. The combined approach of marine palynology and historical ecology, supported by independent palaeoclimate proxies, provides an integrated regional reconstruction of past vegetational dynamics in relation to rapid climatic fluctuations, historical socio-economic processes, and past land-use practices, offering new insights into the vegetation history of SE Sicily.

Archaeobotanical and chemical investigations on wine amphorae from San Felice Circeo (Italy) shed light on grape beverages at the Roman time.

We hereby investigate the pitch used for coating three Roman amphorae from San Felice Circeo (Italy) through a multidisciplinary study. The identification of molecular biomarkers by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is combined with archaeobotanical evidence of pollen and plant tissues of Vitis flowers. Diterpenic chemical markers together with Pinus pollen and wood revealed Pinaceae tar coating.

First characterization of a Bronze Age textile fibre from Sardinia (Italy).

This paper describes a case study of a linen yarn found inside a spiral bronze necklace fragment during an excavation campaign in la Prisgiona, a Nuragic settlement, near Arzachena, in north-east Sardinia. The site is one of the most interesting settlements of the Nuragic period. Abandoned after a fire, it was no longer inhabited, thus allowing the preservation of the Nuragic stratigraphy.

Holocene forest dynamics in central and western Mediterranean: periodicity, spatio-temporal patterns and climate influence.

It is well-known that the Holocene exhibits a millennial-scale climate variability. However, its periodicity, spatio-temporal patterns and underlying processes are not fully deciphered yet. Here we focus on the central and western Mediterranean.

Palaeoloxodon and human interaction: depositional setting, chronology and archaeology at the Middle Pleistocene Ficoncella site (Tarquinia, Italy).

The Ficoncella site in northern Latium (Italy) represents a unique opportunity to investigate the modalities of a short occupation in an alluvial setting during the Lower Palaeolithic. The small excavation area yielded a lithic assemblage, a carcass of Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and some other faunal remains. The main objectives of the study are to better characterize the depositional context where the Palaeoloxodon and the lithic assemblage occur, and to evaluate with greater precision the occupation dynamics.

A new scenario for the quaternary history of European beech populations: palaeobotanical evidence and genetic consequences.

Here, palaeobotanical and genetic data for common beech (Fagus sylvatica) in Europe are used to evaluate the genetic consequences of long-term survival in refuge areas and postglacial spread. Four large datasets are presented, including over 400 fossil-pollen sites, 80 plant-macrofossil sites, and 450 and 600 modern beech populations for chloroplast and nuclear markers, respectively. The largely complementary palaeobotanical and genetic data indicate that: (i) beech survived the last glacial period in multiple refuge areas; (ii) the central European refugia were separated from the Mediterranean refugia; (iii) the Mediterranean refuges did not contribute to the colonization of central and northern Europe; (iv) some populations expanded considerably during the postglacial period, while others experienced only a limited expansion; (v) the mountain chains were not geographical barriers for beech but rather facilitated its diffusion; and (vi) the modern genetic diversity was shaped over multiple glacial-interglacial cycles.

Combined chemotherapy with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, decarbazine, and radiotherapy for advanced lymphoepithelioma.

Twelve consecutive patients with advanced lymphoepithelioma and no previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy were observed in our Division between January 1975 and December 1980. Primary treatment of 11 evaluable patients with doxorubicin (Adriamycin), bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) for at least three cycles resulted in complete remission (CR) in four patients; partial remission with a less than 50% reduction of tumor volume in four; partial remission with a greater than 50% reduction of tumor volume in one; and no response in two. With the addition of radiotherapy in doses of 4500-6000 rad to the primary tumor and the bilateral laterocervical lymph node chains, the combined treatment resulted in CR in eight patients.