New Oldowan localities at high level within Kilombe Caldera,Kenya

New occurrences of early artefacts ascribed to the Oldowan tradition come from localities at high level within the caldera of the extinct Kilombe volcano, located in the central rift valley of Kenya. The trachyte cone and caldera of Kilombe volcano formed at ca. 2.5 Ma, and the record of >130 m of sediment-fill indicates that the caldera subsequently held a lake for long periods during the Early Pleistocene. The Oldowan artefact localities, dated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and palaeomagnetism to ～1.78 Ma, lie east of the centre of the caldera, on the west side of an ancient small lake, which later drained away as a gorge formed on the east side of the mountain. The artefacts are dominantly made of Kilombe trachyte, and are associated with a fauna of large animals including Hippopotamus gorgops. These are the first Oldowan localities to be discovered in a new area of the Kenyan rift valley in the last thirty years, and their presence at high level in rugged landscape indicates that the associated hominins were exploiting a full range of environments.     

Between simplicity and complexity: The knapping flexibility on cobbles at the early Neolithic site of Zengpiyan Cave (12–7 ka), Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,southern China

The cobble industry in southern Chinese provinces was for a long time called large and simple “chopper-chopping tool tradition,” which persisted from the Early Pleistocene to the Middle Holocene. This recognition is 50% true and 50% false because it does not reflect the entire archaeological reality. On the one hand, the so-called “chopper-chopping tool” category often characterizes or dominates the lithic assemblages; on the other hand, a “chopper” from site A could be different from another “chopper” in site B. This distinction is important since the typological names lost their validity when conducting comparative studies inter- and intra-sites. The cobble tool industry of the Zengpiyan cave site (Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China) is an excellent example of this terminological dilemma, which presents some extent of both simplicity and complexity, underestimated in its production strategies. We could also find substantial flexibility between the two ends (simplicity and complexity) during the selection and exploitation of the cobble/pebble blanks. Although chopper-chopping tools are predominant at the site, the variability of their morpho-structures and techno-functional organization indicate that they are not just simple chopper-chopping tools sensu stricto but have their specific characteristics which could not be found in their typological names. In this context, we need to re-evaluate the previously so-called “choppers” in south China with a techno-functional approach before comparing different lithic assemblages. Compared with other contemporary sites, the Zengpiyan technical system is not far from those found in South China and mainland Southeast Asia. For example, it has similarities with the Sonvian phenomenon in northern Vietnam and some other sites in southern China. While very different from the Hoabinhian technocomplex, the Zengpiyan assemblage raises questions about the kinship with other Late Pleistocene lithic facies. Further technological studies on a larger number of sites in these regions are still needed to understand better the prehistoric techno-cultural relationships between the industrial assemblages of southern China and those bordering the Far East.     

The Early Middle Palaeolithic lithic industry of Dederiyeh Cave,Northwest Syria

The Lower-to-Middle Paleolithic transition of the Levant has attracted much attention, particularly because the early Middle Paleolithic is the period when the earliest anatomically modern humans fossils known to date in Eurasia have been attested in that part of Asia . The associated lithic assemblages are a significant source of information for investigating the cultural landscape of this important transition. This paper presents a new dataset from the 2003–2009 excavations at Dederiyeh Cave, northwest of Syria. A techno-typological analysis of the lithic industry reveals a common practice of blade blank production, which corroborates the other known early Middle Paleolithic assemblages of the Levant. However, its strong emphasis on Levallois core reduction and sidescraper manufacturing is noteworthy. The significance of this finding deserves further research from multiple viewpoints, including the functional and spatio-temporal variability of hominin activities in this period. It will be also important to interpret the techno-typological diagnostics of the early Middle Paleolithic assemblage of Dederiyeh considering its geographic location at the northern end of the Levant, distant from the previously known sites in the central and southern Levant.     

The SKX 1084 hominin patella from Swartkrans Member 2, South Africa: An integrated analysis of its outer morphology and inner structure

SKX 1084 is an isolated partial patella from Swartkrans Member 2, South Africa, attributed to a small-bodied Paranthropus robustus. This study provides complementary information on its outer conformation and, for the first time for a fossil hominin patella, documents its inner structure in the perspective of adding biomechanically-related evidence to clarify its identity. We used X-ray micro-tomography to investigate SKX 1084 and to extract homologous information from a sample of 12 recent human, one Neanderthal, and two adult Pan, patellae. We used geometric morphometrics to compare the outer equatorial contours. In SKX 1084, we identified two cancellous bony spots suitable for textural assessment (trabecular bone volume fraction, trabecular thickness, degree of anisotropy), and two related virtual slices for measuring the maximum cortico-trabecular thickness (CTT) of the articular surface. SKX 1084 shows a more complex articular shape than that for Pan, but still simpler than typical in Homo sapiens. At all sites, its CTT is thinner compared to Pan and approaches the condition in humans. This is also true for the expanded volume of the cancellous network. However, at both investigated spots, SKX 1084 is systematically intermediate between Homo and Pan for trabecular bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness, a pattern already shown in previous analyses on other Paranthropus postcranial remains. In the absence of any structural signal from patellae unambiguously sampling Paranthropus, as well as of comparable evidence extracted from specimens representing early Homo, our results do not allow rejection of the original taxonomic attribution of SKX 1084.     

Mise en place d’une équipe d’experts en physique médicale au Luxembourg : organisation, résultats qualité et radioprotection en médecine nucléaire (2002–2011)

Implementations of the statutory UE requirements concerning ionizing radiation in the medical domain (96/29/Euratom, 13th May 1996; 97/43/Euratom, 30th June 1997) have changed quality control in medical imaging departments. In Luxembourg, the Ministry of Health and the “Union of Luxembourg Hospitals” have thus created a “Medical Physics Cell” (five Medical Physics experts). It is in charge of implementing a standardized program of Quality Assurance (QA) and radiation protection relative to patients as well as staffs, on a coordinated national basis, in all five in-hospital nuclear medicine departments of the country. The program distributes QA controls between three levels, various periodicities and degrees of expertise. It sensitizes staff and medical doctors by trainings and facilitates ISO accreditation. From 2002 to 2011, in all five in-hospital departments of nuclear medicine of a small country, image quality, radiation protection and reference values of each medical equipment were defined and implemented in a standard way. In 2011, the medical physics cell, the driving force leading to the institutionalization of the discipline within the nuclear medicine departments, is considered as a partner rather than as a control body by the teams in charge of the nuclear medicine departments.     

Design and coverage of high throughput genotyping arrays optimized for individuals of East Asian, African American, and Latino race/ethnicity using imputation and a novel hybrid SNP selection algorithm

Four custom Axiom genotyping arrays were designed for a genome-wide association (GWA) study of 100,000 participants from the Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health. The array optimized for individuals of European race/ethnicity was previously described. Here we detail the development of three additional microarrays optimized for individuals of East Asian, African American, and Latino race/ethnicity. For these arrays, we decreased redundancy of high-performing SNPs to increase SNP capacity. The East Asian array was designed using greedy pairwise SNP selection. However, removing SNPs from the target set based on imputation coverage is more efficient than pairwise tagging. Therefore, we developed a novel hybrid SNP selection method for the African American and Latino arrays utilizing rounds of greedy pairwise SNP selection, followed by removal from the target set of SNPs covered by imputation. The arrays provide excellent genome-wide coverage and are valuable additions for large-scale GWA studies.     

Les stratégies de débitage dans les industries lithiques archaïques des premiers habitants de l’Europe

Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 sites at Orce in the south of Spain, and Vallonnet cave in the south of France, are some of the oldest sites in Europe, testimonies of the first settlements of these territories. The Orce sites, dated around 1.3-1.2 Ma, have given away numerous lithic artifacts principally issued from an important débitage activity. The beginning of flake production processes is few represented into these two consummation sites. In return, full débitage flakes are in high proportion, with generally short dimensions, in consequence of which, in some case an intense core reduction. Two percussion methods are identified: with direct percussion or on anvil. Sometimes, there was débitage on flake, taking advantage of the inferior face natural convexity of the core-flake, permitting the maximal exploitation and the economy of the best raw materials. The bipolar percussion on anvil permitted the maximal exploitation of the short dimensions supports, often in naturally cubic or sub-cubic form. A lot of the producted flakes, sometimes called “pièces esquillées”, show some scales on the distal and/or proximal transversal edges, issued from this bipolar knapping method. In the Vallonnet cave, where the occupation levels are dated around 1 Ma, the lithic industry show a lot of percussion tools and hammerstone flakes, but also some core reduction flakes and some very rares cores, especially in flint. This good raw material was chosen for the débitage, and the flakes show on superior face several anterior removals, and a butt which could reveal a striking platform preparation. At the gates of Europe, in Georgia, Dmanisi site give away an abundant lithic industry associated with faunal and human remains, dated around 1.81 to 1.77 Ma. Amid the lithic assemblages, cores are rather frequent and are characterized by a poor degree of exploitation, most often unifacial, and high frequency of cortical striking platforms. Raw materials, essentially volcanic cobbles, were from local origin, and the knapped supports were often chosen for their angular morphology adequate to begin the débitage in easier way, débitage which was essentially by direct percussion.     

Biomechanical models to simulate consequences of maxillofacial surgery

This paper presents the biomechanical finite element models that have been developed in the framework of the computer-assisted maxillofacial surgery. After a brief overview of the continuous elastic modelling method, two models are introduced and their use for computer-assisted applications discussed. The first model deals with orthognathic surgery and aims at predicting the facial consequences of maxillary and mandibular osteotomies. For this, a generic three-dimensional model of the face is automatically adapted to the morphology of the patient by the mean of elastic registration. Qualitative simulations of the consequences of an osteotomy of the mandible can thus be provided. The second model addresses the Sleep Apnoea Syndrome. Its aim is to develop a complete modelling of the interaction between airflow and upper airways walls during breathing. Dynamical simulations of the interaction during a respiratory cycle are computed and compared with observed phenomena.     

Early steps of metabolism evolution inferred by cladistic analysis of amino acid catabolic pathways

Among abiotic molecules available in primitive environments, free amino acids are good candidates as the first source of energy and molecules for early protocells. Amino acid catabolic pathways are likely to be one of the very first metabolic pathways of life. Among them, which ones were the first to emerge? A cladistic analysis of catabolic pathways of the sixteen aliphatic amino acids and two portions of the Krebs cycle is performed using four criteria of homology. The cladogram shows that the earliest pathways to emerge are not portions of the Krebs cycle but catabolisms of aspartate, asparagine, glutamate, glutamine, proline, arginine. Earliest enzymatic catabolic functions were deaminations and transaminations. Later on appeared enzymatic decarboxylations. The consensus tree allows to propose four time spans for catabolism development and corroborates the views of Cordón in 1990 about the evolution of catabolism.