Quinoa, potatoes, and llamas fueled emergent social complexity in the Lake Titicaca Basin of the Andes.

The Lake Titicaca basin was one of the major centers for cultural development in the ancient world. This lacustrine environment is unique in the high, dry Andean altiplano, and its aquatic and terrestrial resources are thought to have contributed to the florescence of complex societies in this region. Nevertheless, it remains unclear to what extent local aquatic resources, particularly fish, and the introduced crop, maize, which can be grown in regions along the lakeshores, contributed to facilitating sustained food production and population growth, which underpinned increasing social political complexity starting in the Formative Period (1400 BCE to 500 CE) and culminating with the Tiwanaku state (500 to 1100 CE). Here, we present direct dietary evidence from stable isotope analysis of human skeletal remains spanning over two millennia, together with faunal and floral reference materials, to reconstruct foodways and ecological interactions in southern Lake Titicaca over time. Bulk stable isotope analysis, coupled with compound-specific amino acid stable isotope analysis, allows better discrimination between resources consumed across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Together, this evidence demonstrates that human diets predominantly relied on C3 plants, particularly quinoa and tubers, along with terrestrial animals, notably domestic camelids. Surprisingly, fish were not a significant source of animal protein, but a slight increase in C4 plant consumption verifies the increasing importance of maize in the Middle Horizon. These results underscore the primary role of local terrestrial food resources in securing a nutritious diet that allowed for sustained population growth, even in the face of documented climate and political change across these periods.

[Fetal supraventricular tachyarrhythmias refractory to initial therapy]. / Taquiarritmias supraventrículares fetales refractarias al tratamiento inicial.

Fetal arrhythmia is an unusual cause of admission in critical care unit. We report three cases of pregnant patients with gestational age of 27 to 32 weeks, with diagnosis of fetal sustained supraventricular tachyarrhymias; which were resistant to digoxin as first line therapy. Two fetuses had supraventricular tachycardia and were converted with flecainide in association with digoxin. A remaining hydropic fetus suffering atrial flutter with 2:1 auriculo-ventricular conduction, failed to restore sinus rhythm with digoxin alone or in association with flecainide nor amiodarone, and required premature c-section at 30a week of gestation. Due to amiodarone administration the neonate suffered transient neonatal hypothyroidism.