Ancient DNA re-opens the question of the phylogenetic position of the Sardinian pika Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), an extinct lagomorph.

Palaeogenomics is contributing to refine our understanding of many major evolutionary events at an unprecedented resolution, with relevant impacts in several fields, including phylogenetics of extinct species. Few extant and extinct animal species from Mediterranean regions have been characterised at the DNA level thus far. The Sardinian pika, Prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829), was an iconic lagomorph species that populated Sardinia and Corsica and became extinct during the Holocene. There is a certain scientific debate on the phylogenetic assignment of the extinct genus Prolagus to the family Ochotonidae (one of the only two extant families of the order Lagomorpha) or to a separated family Prolagidae, or to the subfamily Prolaginae within the family Ochotonidae. In this study, we successfully reconstructed a portion of the mitogenome of a Sardinian pika dated to the Neolithic period and recovered from the Cabaddaris cave, an archaeological site in Sardinia. Our calibrated phylogeny may support the hypothesis that the genus Prolagus is an independent sister group to the family Ochotonidae that diverged from the Ochotona genus lineage about 30 million years ago. These results may contribute to refine the phylogenetic interpretation of the morphological peculiarities of the Prolagus genus already described by palaeontological studies.

Bioarchaeological and paleogenomic profiling of the unusual Neolithic burial from Grotta di Pietra Sant'Angelo (Calabria, Italy).

The Neolithic burial of Grotta di Pietra Sant'Angelo (CS) represents a unique archaeological finding for the prehistory of Southern Italy. The unusual placement of the inhumation at a rather high altitude and far from inhabited areas, the lack of funerary equipment and the prone deposition of the body find limited similarities in coeval Italian sites. These elements have prompted wider questions on mortuary customs during the prehistory of Southern Italy. This atypical case requires an interdisciplinary approach aimed to build an integrated bioarchaeological profile of the individual. The paleopathological investigation of the skeletal remains revealed the presence of numerous markers that could be associated with craft activities, suggesting possible interpretations of the individual's lifestyle. CT analyses, carried out on the maxillary bones, showed the presence of a peculiar type of dental wear, but also a good density of the bone matrix. Biomolecular and micromorphological analyses of dental calculus highlight the presence of a rich Neolithic-like oral microbiome, the composition of which is consistent with the presence pathologies. Finally, paleogenomic data obtained from the individual were compared with ancient and modern Mediterranean populations, including unpublished high-resolution genome-wide data for 20 modern inhabitants of the nearby village of San Lorenzo Bellizzi, which provided interesting insights into the biodemographic landscape of the Neolithic in Southern Italy.

First Bronze Age Human Mitogenomes from Calabria (Grotta Della Monaca, Southern Italy).

The Italian peninsula was host to a strong history of migration processes that shaped its genomic variability since prehistoric times. During the Metal Age, Sicily and Southern Italy were the protagonists of intense trade networks and settlements along the Mediterranean. Nonetheless, ancient DNA studies in Southern Italy are, at present, still limited to prehistoric and Roman Apulia. Here, we present the first mitogenomes from a Middle Bronze Age cave burial in Calabria to address this knowledge gap. We adopted a hybridization capture approach, which enabled the recovery of one complete and one partial mitochondrial genome. Phylogenetic analysis assigned these two individuals to the H1e and H5 subhaplogroups, respectively. This preliminary phylogenetic analysis supports affinities with coeval Sicilian populations, along with Linearbandkeramik and Bell Beaker cultures maternal lineages from Central Europe and Iberia. Our work represents a starting point which contributes to the comprehension of migrations and population dynamics in Southern Italy, and highlights this knowledge gap yet to be filled by genomic studies.

Efectividad de la Expansión Maxilar en la Corrección de Apiñamiento en Dentición Mixta. Revisión Sistemática / Effectiveness of the Maxillary Expansion in the Correction of Crowding and Mixed Dentition. Systematic Review

RESUMEN: El apiñamiento en edades tempranas, se refleja cuando el tamaño dental no coincide con la longitud de arco. De este modo, resulta importante determinar si la expansión del maxilar podría solucionar por sí solo el problema de apiñamiento en el sector anterior, teniendo en cuenta que este tratamiento es uno de los más antiguos y que comúnmente se ha enfocado en la resolución de alteraciones transversales en dientes posteriores empleándose a edades tempranas. El objetivo fue determinar si la expansión maxilar es efectiva o no, en la corrección del apiñamiento en dentición mixta mediante el análisis de la evidencia disponible. Se realizó una revisión sistemática en español e inglés, para establecer la máxima evidencia posible, con las indicaciones de la guía PRISMA. Dos artículos cumplieron con la calidad de la revisión. En el primero se estableció que el apiñamiento mejoro despues del tratamiento de expansion maxilar, con una recidiva menor en la dentición permanente. En el segundo, se encontró que el apiñamiento en los incisivos permanentes superiores fue corregido cuando se retiró el aparato expansor. Se concluyó que la evidencia actual no tiene la suficiente calidad metodológica para llevar a una toma de decisión. Se recomienda hacer ensayos clínicos aleatorizados en este tema.

ABSTRACT: Crowding at early ages is reflected when tooth size does not coincide with arch length. Thus, it is important to determine whether maxillary expansion alone could solve the problem of crowding in the anterior sector, bearing in mind that this treatment is one of the oldest and has commonly focused on solving transverse alterations in posterior teeth used at an early age. The objective was to determine whether or not maxillary expansion is effective in correcting crowding in the mixed dentition by analysing the available evidence. A systematic review was carried out in Spanish and English, to establish the maximum possible evidence, with the indications of the PRISMA guide. Two articles met the quality of the review. The first established that crowding improved after the treatment of maxillary expansion, with a minor recurrence in the permanent dentition. In the second, it was found that crowding in the upper permanent incisors was corrected when the expanding appliance was removed. The current evidence is not of sufficient methodological quality to lead to a decision. Randomized clinical trials are recommended in this area.