Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2025-04-08"
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- The role of environmental changes in the development of the agricultural economy during pre-aksumite and aksumite culturesPublication . Mekonnen, Degsew Z.; Olivera, Hugo R.; Gomes, Ana; Mekonnen, DegsewThe northern highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea (NHE) hosted the earliest agricultural and urban societies in sub-Saharan Africa: the Pre-Aksumite and Aksumite cultures. However, the role of environmental shifts in the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture and state formation remains unclear. This study reviews 95 peer-reviewed articles on paleoenvironmental data from the NHE and adjacent regions (6000-1000 BP), integrating recent archaeobotanical and archaeological findings. We draw three main conclusions: (1) Paleoenvironmental conditions during this transition were highly variable, with differing tempos and magnitudes of change across the region. (2) The emergence of early agriculture and Pre-Aksumite societies in the NHE was not directly driven by environmental changes around 3500 BP. Instead, social dynamics and interactions among local human groups provided a more plausible explanation. (3) The NHE highlands experienced a shift towards higher humidity during early Aksumite period, specifically between 2500 and 2000 BP and 1500 and 1000 BP. This climatic shift likely enhanced agricultural productivity, facilitating food surpluses that underpinned the expansion of the Aksumite Kingdom. These results suggest that while early agriculture was culturally driven, later state development was more closely tied to environmental factors. To understand the interplay between environmental and socio-cultural factors in the NHE, we recommended interdisciplinary approach integrating, paleoenvironmental, archaeological, and archaeobotanical and genetic studies. This will enhance data resolution, mitigate geographical biases, and refine our understanding of complex societies in the Horn of Africa.
- Links between extremes in GRACE TWS and climate patterns across iberiaPublication . Neves, Maria C.The Iberian region relies heavily on groundwater and is highly vulnerable to climate variability, making it crucial to understand factors influencing water availability. The aim of this research was to assess how large-scale climate patterns affect total water storage anomalies (TWSAs) in Iberia, particularly in relation to persistent droughts and floods. To address this, I analyzed TWSAs derived from a reconstructed dataset (GRACE-REC) spanning from 1980 to 2019, first at the scale of the entire Iberian Peninsula and then across its main river basins. The links between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), East Atlantic (EA) and Scandinavian (SCAND) patterns, TWSAs, and hydrological extremes were quantified using wavelet and principal component analysis. The results reveal that the NAO exerts the strongest multiyear influence on TWSAs, with periodicities of approximately 10 and 6.5 years, particularly in the southern river basins (Tagus, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir). EA and SCAND have stronger influences in the northern basins (Douro, Minho, and Ebro), driving 2- to 3.5-year cycles. Coupled phases of climate patterns, such as NAO+ and EA- (or SCAND-), correspond to extreme droughts, whereas NAO- and EA+ (or SCAND+) correspond to wet conditions.
- A relação entre a meta-desumanização e a saúde mental geral: os papéis mediadores da auto-desumanização e da fusão cognitiva numa amostra da população LGBPublication . Nunes, Paula; Giger, Jean-ChristopheMembros da comunidade Lésbica, Gay e Bissexual (LGB) têm uma maior probabilidade de desenvolver problemas ao nível de saúde mental e uma pior qualidade de vida em comparação com a população heterossexual. A investigação sugere que o facto de pertencerem a uma minoria sexual representa per se um fator de risco para desenvolver patologias a nível da saúde. Este estudo pretender investigar se existe uma relação entre a meta-desumanização e a saúde mental geral, como também, analisar se a auto-desumanização e a fusão cognitiva podem ser mediadoras nesta relação. 162 participantes responderam a medidas de autorrelato dos construtos em estudo; 62 participantes identificados com o género feminino (42%), 81 participantes com o género masculino (50%) e 13 participantes como não binários (8%), com idades compreendidas entre os 19 e 54 anos de idade. As correlações de Pearson refletem correlações estatisticamente significantes e positivas entre as variáveis, como também, as análises de mediação sugerem que meta-desumanização é um preditor significativo da auto-desumanização, da fusão cognitiva e da saúde mental geral. Os resultados também sugerem que a auto-desumanização é um preditor da fusão cognitiva e esta, por sua vez, é um preditor da ansiedade e insónia, dos sintomas somáticos, da depressão grave, mas não do disfuncionamento social. Estes resultados sugerem que níveis elevados de meta-desumanização podem contribuir para uma pior saúde mental geral porque aumenta a vulnerabilidade dos membros desta comunidade à auto-desumanização e fusão cognitiva.