Genome-wide data from medieval German Jews show that the Ashkenazi founder event pre-dated the 14th century.

We report genome-wide data from 33 Ashkenazi Jews (AJ), dated to the 14th century, obtained following a salvage excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt, Germany. The Erfurt individuals are genetically similar to modern AJ, but they show more variability in Eastern European-related ancestry than modern AJ. A third of the Erfurt individuals carried a mitochondrial lineage common in modern AJ and eight carried pathogenic variants known to affect AJ today. These observations, together with high levels of runs of homozygosity, suggest that the Erfurt community had already experienced the major reduction in size that affected modern AJ. The Erfurt bottleneck was more severe, implying substructure in medieval AJ. Overall, our results suggest that the AJ founder event and the acquisition of the main sources of ancestry pre-dated the 14th century and highlight late medieval genetic heterogeneity no longer present in modern AJ.

[Gestational diabetes mellitus : what after delivery ?] / Diabète gestationnel : et après ?

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) occurs in an increasing number of pregnancies. Due to its disappearance after delivery, GDM can be underestimated despite description of many risks for mothers and offsprings later in life. These women are at higher risk for metabolic abnormalities and cardiovascular disease. Overweight/obesity, metabolic disturbances, cardiovascular complications and lower cognitive abilities are more frequent in offsprings. These two populations need an early and adequate prevention of metabolic and cardiovascular disorder from a public health point of view. Lifestyle (healthy diet and exercise) is the best advice to promote in these families. For these women with previous DG, breast-feeding as long as possible and metformin may also be part of the management.

Le diabète gestationnel (DG) complique un nombre croissant de grossesses. Parfois banalisé en raison de sa fréquente disparition après l'accouchement, le DG expose pourtant les mères et leur progéniture à des risques non négligeables dans leur vie. Les mamans ayant présenté un DG sont à plus haut risque sur les plans métabolique et cardiovasculaire. Parallèlement, les enfants présentent des risques accrus sur les plans pondéral, métabolique et cardiovasculaire ainsi que d'éventuels troubles cognitifs. Identifier ces deux populations et leurs risques respectifs est une mesure importante en termes de santé publique. Une bonne hygiène de vie est le meilleur conseil à prodiguer à ces familles tout au long de leur vie. L'allaitement prolongé et la metformine peuvent également être suggérés comme éléments protecteurs sur le plan métabolique.

[Gestational diabetes mellitus†: management in 2020 and long-term risk]. / Diabète gestationnel†: prise en charge en 2020 et risque futur.

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a frequent complication of pregnancy. Its diagnosis and management tend now to a better uniformization than in the past years, even if some guidelines still remain debated. Nevertheless, useful actions in GDM's management, as well as the follow-up regarding the long-term metabolic risk for women who underwent this dysglycaemia in a limited time are now quite well described in the literature. In this review, we aim to discuss recent data related to this very particular metabolic disease.

Le diabète gestationnel est une complication fréquente de la grossesse. Son dépistage et sa prise en charge tendent, enfin, à s'uniformiser, même si différents éléments sont toujours débattus. Par contre, les grands principes de prise en charge et les données quant au risque de présenter des troubles métaboliques futurs sont bien décrits dans la littérature depuis plusieurs années. Nous évoquons ici les informations actualisées relatives à cette pathologie métabolique si particulière.

Interactions between Trypillian farmers and North Pontic forager-pastoralists in Eneolithic central Ukraine.

The establishment of agrarian economy in Eneolithic East Europe is associated with the Pre-Cucuteni-Cucuteni-Trypillia complex (PCCTC). PCCTC farmers interacted with Eneolithic forager-pastoralist groups of the North Pontic steppe as PCCTC extended from the Carpathian foothills to the Dnipro Valley beginning in the late 5th millennium BCE. While the cultural interaction between the two groups is evident through the Cucuteni C pottery style that carries steppe influence, the extent of biological interactions between Trypillian farmers and the steppe remains unclear. Here we report the analysis of artefacts from the late 5th millennium Trypillian settlement at the Kolomiytsiv Yar Tract (KYT) archaeological complex in central Ukraine, focusing on a human bone fragment found in the Trypillian context at KYT. Diet stable isotope ratios obtained from the bone fragment suggest the diet of the KYT individual to be within the range of forager-pastoralists of the North Pontic area. Strontium isotope ratios of the KYT individual are consistent with having originated from contexts of the Serednii Stih (Sredny Stog) culture sites of the Middle Dnipro Valley. Genetic analysis of the KYT individual indicates ancestry derived from a proto-Yamna population such as Serednii Stih. Overall, the KYT archaeological site presents evidence of interactions between Trypillians and Eneolithic Pontic steppe inhabitants of the Serednii Stih horizon and suggests a potential for gene flow between the two groups as early as the beginning of the 4th millennium BCE.

Anthropogenic impacts in North Poland over the last 1300 years--a record of Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni and S in an ombrotrophic peat bog.

Lead pollution history over Northern Poland was reconstructed for the last ca. 1300 years using the elemental and Pb isotope geochemistry of a dated Polish peat bog. The data show that Polish Pb-Zn ores and coal were the main sources of Pb, other heavy metals and S over Northern Poland up until the industrial revolution. After review of the potential mobility of each element, most of the historical interpretation was based on Pb and Pb isotopes, the other chemical elements (Zn, Cu, Ni, S) being considered secondary indicators of pollution. During the last century, leaded gasoline also contributed to anthropogenic Pb pollution over Poland. Coal and Pb-Zn ores, however, remained important sources of pollution in Eastern European countries during the last 50 years, as demonstrated by a high (206)Pb/(207)Pb ratio (1.153) relative to that of Western Europe (ca. 1.10). The Pb data for the last century were also in good agreement with modelled Pb inventories over Poland and the Baltic region.