Latitudinal gradient in dairy production with the introduction of farming in Atlantic Europe.

The introduction of farming had far-reaching impacts on health, social structure and demography. Although the spread of domesticated plants and animals has been extensively tracked, it is unclear how these nascent economies developed within different environmental and cultural settings. Using molecular and isotopic analysis of lipids from pottery, here we investigate the foods prepared by the earliest farming communities of the European Atlantic seaboard. Surprisingly, we find an absence of aquatic foods, including in ceramics from coastal sites, except in the Western Baltic where this tradition continued from indigenous ceramic using hunter-gatherer-fishers. The frequency of dairy products in pottery increased as farming was progressively introduced along a northerly latitudinal gradient. This finding implies that early farming communities needed time to adapt their economic practices before expanding into more northerly areas. Latitudinal differences in the scale of dairy production might also have influenced the evolution of adult lactase persistence across Europe.

Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers.

The pressures on honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations, resulting from threats by modern pesticides, parasites, predators and diseases, have raised awareness of the economic importance and critical role this insect plays in agricultural societies across the globe. However, the association of humans with A. mellifera predates post-industrial-revolution agriculture, as evidenced by the widespread presence of ancient Egyptian bee iconography dating to the Old Kingdom (approximately 2400 BC). There are also indications of Stone Age people harvesting bee products; for example, honey hunting is interpreted from rock art in a prehistoric Holocene context and a beeswax find in a pre-agriculturalist site. However, when and where the regular association of A. mellifera with agriculturalists emerged is unknown. One of the major products of A. mellifera is beeswax, which is composed of a complex suite of lipids including n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and fatty acyl wax esters. The composition is highly constant as it is determined genetically through the insect's biochemistry. Thus, the chemical 'fingerprint' of beeswax provides a reliable basis for detecting this commodity in organic residues preserved at archaeological sites, which we now use to trace the exploitation by humans of A. mellifera temporally and spatially. Here we present secure identifications of beeswax in lipid residues preserved in pottery vessels of Neolithic Old World farmers. The geographical range of bee product exploitation is traced in Neolithic Europe, the Near East and North Africa, providing the palaeoecological range of honeybees during prehistory. Temporally, we demonstrate that bee products were exploited continuously, and probably extensively in some regions, at least from the seventh millennium cal BC, likely fulfilling a variety of technological and cultural functions. The close association of A. mellifera with Neolithic farming communities dates to the early onset of agriculture and may provide evidence for the beginnings of a domestication process.

Rizotomia seletiva posterior ou tratamento neuroevolutivo bobath para a criança com disfunção neuromotora espástica? / Selective posterior rhizotomy or bobath neuro-developmental treatment for the child with spastic neuromotor dysfunction?

A espasticidade encontra-se geralmente presente em crianças com Disfunção Neuromotora. Neste estudo, abordamos duas formas de tratamento que atuam na normalização do tônus, sendo uma cirúrgica e outra conservadora. A Rizotomia Seletiva Posterior caracteriza-se pela secção parcial das raízes aferentes lombo-sacrais. Já o Tratamento Neuroevolutivo Bobath utiliza técnicas manuais para adequar o tônus e, concomitantemente, proporcionar funcionalidade a criança. O objetivo do trabalho consiste na análise criteriosa das duas terapias, visando avaliar a necessidade de submeter o paciente a um procedimento invasivo. Pretendemos, desta forma, ampliar os conhecimentos dos profissionais que constituem uma equipe multidisciplinar, no sentido de facilitar a escolha do tratamento adequado para estas crianças com Disfunção Neuromotora. Independentemente do método eleito, é importante ressaltar que a qualidade de vida deve ser sempre priorizada. Portanto, o paciente precisa ser tratado como um todo, adequando o tônus e permitindo-lhe função. E de extrema importância a avaliação criteriosa individualizada, uma vez que a Rizotomia Seletiva Posterior pode atuar come complemento a reabilitação, na promoção de melhores resultados.(AU)

Spasticity is generally found in children with Neuromotor Dysfunction. In this study, we approach two forms of treatment that act in the normalization of the tone: one surgical and other conservative. The Selective Posterior Rhizotomy is characterized by the partial section of the afferent lombosacral roots. As for the Bobath Neuro-developmental treatment, some manual techniques are used to adequate the tone, and accordingly, to allow the children to make use of their functions. The objective of this paper is to analyze carefully both therapies, aiming at evaluating the need to submit the patient to surgery. We intend to enlarge the knowledge of professionals taking part of a Multidiscipline team, to facilitate the choice of the best treatment for children with Neuromotor Dysfunction. Regardless of the method chosen it is important to remark that the quality of life must be a priority. Therefore, the patients have to be treated as a whole, enabling them to adequate tone and allowing them to use the function. It is extremely important to have a very careful individual evaluation, once the Selective Posterior Rhizotomy can be a complement to rehabilitation for a better outcome.(AU)

Rizotomia seletiva posterior ou tratamento neuroevolutivo bobath para a criança com disfunção neuromotora espástica? / Selective posterior rhizotomy or bobath neuro-developmental treatment for the child with spastic neuromotor dysfunction?

A espasticidade encontra-se geralmente presente em crianças com Disfunção Neuromotora. Neste estudo, abordamos duas formas de tratamento que atuam na normalização do tônus, sendo uma cirúrgica e outra conservadora. A Rizotomia Seletiva Posterior caracteriza-se pela secção parcial das raízes aferentes lombo-sacrais. Já o Tratamento Neuroevolutivo Bobath utiliza técnicas manuais para adequar o tônus e, concomitantemente, proporcionar funcionalidade a criança. O objetivo do trabalho consiste na análise criteriosa das duas terapias, visando avaliar a necessidade de submeter o paciente a um procedimento invasivo. Pretendemos, desta forma, ampliar os conhecimentos dos profissionais que constituem uma equipe multidisciplinar, no sentido de facilitar a escolha do tratamento adequado para estas crianças com Disfunção Neuromotora. Independentemente do método eleito, é importante ressaltar que a qualidade de vida deve ser sempre priorizada. Portanto, o paciente precisa ser tratado como um todo, adequando o tônus e permitindo-lhe função. E de extrema importância a avaliação criteriosa individualizada, uma vez que a Rizotomia Seletiva Posterior pode atuar come complemento a reabilitação, na promoção de melhores resultados.

Spasticity is generally found in children with Neuromotor Dysfunction. In this study, we approach two forms of treatment that act in the normalization of the tone: one surgical and other conservative. The Selective Posterior Rhizotomy is characterized by the partial section of the afferent lombosacral roots. As for the Bobath Neuro-developmental treatment, some manual techniques are used to adequate the tone, and accordingly, to allow the children to make use of their functions. The objective of this paper is to analyze carefully both therapies, aiming at evaluating the need to submit the patient to surgery. We intend to enlarge the knowledge of professionals taking part of a Multidiscipline team, to facilitate the choice of the best treatment for children with Neuromotor Dysfunction. Regardless of the method chosen it is important to remark that the quality of life must be a priority. Therefore, the patients have to be treated as a whole, enabling them to adequate tone and allowing them to use the function. It is extremely important to have a very careful individual evaluation, once the Selective Posterior Rhizotomy can be a complement to rehabilitation for a better outcome.