New data on the stratigraphy and chronology of the prehistoric site of Prazo (Freixo de Numão)

O sítio arqueológico do Prazo situa-se na freguesia de Freixo de Numão (Vila Nova deFoz Côa, Nordeste de Portugal). Após a sua descoberta, no início dos anos 80, o Prazo foialvo de várias campanhas de escavação orientadas para o estudo da villa romana e dos vestígiosmedievais existentes no local. Em 1996, os trabalhos de campo puseram a descobertoníveis datados do Neolítico Antigo. Entre 1997 e 2001, as escavações realizadas centraramsena análise destes níveis pré-históricos, revelando a existência de uma espessa sequênciaestratigráfica que, para além de conservar depósitos residuais plistocénicos, incluía igualmentesedimentos atribuíveis a grande parte do Holocénico antigo e médio. Este artigo pretendeapresentar a geoarqueologia e a cronologia da sequência pré-histórica do Prazo, quese organiza essencialmente em três conjuntos: um conjunto do Plistocénico superior (conjuntoPS), constituído por depósitos de vertente, e contendo um registo arqueológico (artefactoslíticos e estruturas antrópicas) datado provisoriamente do Paleolítico superior; umconjunto atribuído ao Holocénico antigo e médio (conjunto HA), igualmente composto por sedimentos de vertente e que forneceu elementos arqueológicos do Epipaleolítico/Mesolí-tico e do Neolítico Antigo; um conjunto do Holocénico recente (conjunto HR), correspondenteàs ocupações romanas e medievais do local. Neste texto discutem-se igualmente asdatações radiométricas disponíveis. Estes dados, embora preliminares, visam esclarecer questõesrelacionadas com a evolução ambiental do local e com as estratégias da sua ocupaçãodurante a Pré-história.The Prazo archaeological site is located near Freixo de Numão (Vila Nova deFoz Côa, north-eastern Portugal). The site, discovered in the early 80s, initially revealed asignificant historical record, having been a Roman villawhose occupation continued throughpart of the Middle Ages. In 1996, fieldwork there uncovered Neolithic layers. They were excavatedfrom 1997 to 2001, revealing also the existence of a pre-Neolithic occupation. Thispaper presents the geoarchaeology and chronology of the prehistoric succession of Prazo,which is arranged as follows: an upper Pleistocene complex formed of slope waste sediments,featuring upper Palaeolithic finds and structures; an early to mid Holocene succession, alsocomposed from slope waste deposits, containing Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic and EarlyNeolithic archaeological assemblages and features; and an upper Holocene complex, correspondingto occupations in the Roman and Middle Ages. The available data deriving fromthe geoarchaeological survey at the site and from an extensive range of radiocarbon dates are presented as part of a preliminary discussion of the environmental evolution and thesettlement strategies at the site

Effective lattice actions for correlated electrons

We present an exact, unconstrained representation of the electron operators in terms of operators of opposite statistics. We propose a path--integral representation for the $t$-$J$ model and introduce a parameter controlling the semiclassical behaviour. We extend the functional approach to the Hubbard model and show that the mean--field theory is equivalent to considering, at Hamiltonian level, the Falikov--Kimball model. Connections with a bond-charge model are also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, REVTeX 3.0, no figure

Sulodexide counteracts endothelial dysfunction induced by metabolic or non-metabolic stresses through activation of the autophagic program

OBJECTIVE: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) predisposes to venous thrombosis (VT) and post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS), a long-term VT-related complication. Sulodexide (SDX) is a highly purified glycosaminoglycan with antithrombotic, pro-fibrinolytic and anti-inflammatory activity used in the treatment of chronic venous disease (CVD), including patients with PTS. SDX has recently obtained clinical evidence in the “extension therapy” after initial-standard anticoagulant treatment for the secondary prevention of recurrent deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Herein, we investigated how SDX counteracts ED. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were used. Metabolic and non metabolic-induced ED was induced by treating with methylglyoxal (MGO) or irradiation (IR), respectively. Bafilomycin A1 was used to inhibit autophagy. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay for cell viability, terminal de-oxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay for cell apoptosis, Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis for gene and protein expression were used. RESULTS: SDX protected HUVEC from MGO- or IR-induced apoptosis by counteracting the activation of the intrinsic and extrinsic caspase cascades. The cytoprotective effects of SDX resulted from a reduction in a) ROS production, b) neo-synthesis and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL1, IL6, IL8), c) DNA damage induced by MGO or IR. These effects were reduced when autophagy was inhibited. CONCLUSIONS: Data herein collected indicate the ability of SDX to counteract ED induced by metabolic or non-metabolic stresses by involving the intracellular autophagy pathway. Our experience significantly increases the knowledge of the mechanisms of action of SDX against ED and supports the use of SDX in the treatment of CVD, PTS and in the secondary prevention of recurrent DVT

Hole dynamics in a quantum antiferromagnet beyond the retraceable path approximation

The one-hole spectral weight for two chains and two dimensional lattices is studied numerically using a new method of analysis of the spectral function within the Lanczos iteration scheme: the Lanczos spectra decoding method. This technique is applied to the $t-J_z$ model for $J_z \to 0$, directly in the infinite size lattice. By a careful investigation of the first 13 Lanczos steps and the first 26 ones for the two dimensional and the two chain cases respectively, we get several new features of the one-hole spectral weight. A sharp incoherent peak with a clear momentum dispersion is identified, together with a second broad peak at higher energy. The spectral weight is finite up to the Nagaoka energy where it vanishes in a non-analytic way. Thus the lowest energy of one hole in a quantum antiferromagnet is degenerate with the Nagaoka energy in the thermodynamic limit.Comment: RevTeX 3.0, SISSA preprint 156/93/CM/MB, 10 pages + postscript file appended, contains more accurate calculations in Fig.

The sequential price of anarchy for atomic congestion games

In situations without central coordination, the price of anarchy relates the quality of any Nash equilibrium to the quality of a global optimum. Instead of assuming that all players choose their actions simultaneously, here we consider games where players choose their actions sequentially. The sequential price of anarchy, recently introduced by Paes Leme, Syrgkanis, and Tardos then relates the quality of any subgame perfect equilibrium to the quality of a global optimum. The effect of sequential decision making on the quality of equilibria, however, depends on the specific game under consideration.\ud Here we analyze the sequential price of anarchy for atomic congestion games with affine cost functions. We derive several lower and upper bounds, showing that sequential decisions mitigate the worst case outcomes known for the classical price of anarchy. Next to tight bounds on the sequential price of anarchy, a methodological contribution of our work is, among other things, a "factor revealing" integer linear programming approach that we use to solve the case of three players

Bio-Assisted Tailored Synthesis of Plasmonic Silver Nanorings and Site-Selective Deposition on Graphene Arrays

The spontaneous interaction between noble metals and biological scaffolds enables simple and cost-effective synthesis of nanomaterials with unique features. Here, plasmonic silver nanorings are synthesized on a ring-like protein, i.e., a peroxiredoxin (PRX), and used to assemble large arrays of functional nanostructures. The PRX drives the seeding growth of metal silver under wet reducing conditions, yielding nanorings with outer and inner diameters down to 28 and 3 nm, respectively. The obtained hybrid nanostructures are selectively deposited onto a solid-state 2D membrane made of graphene in order to prepare plasmonic nanopores. In particular, the interaction between the graphene and the PRX allows for the simple preparation of ordered arrays of plasmonic nanorings on a 2D-material membrane. This fabrication process can be finalized by drilling a nanometer scale pore in the middle of the ring. Fluorescence spectroscopic measurements in combination with numerical simulations demonstrate the plasmonic effects induced in the metallic nanoring cavity. The prepared nanopores represent one of the first examples of hybrid plasmonic nanopore structures integrated on a 2D-material membrane. The diameter of the nanopore and the atomically thick substrate make this proof-of-concept approach particularly interesting for nanopore-based technologies and applications such as next-generation sequencing and single-molecule detection

Quantum Monte Carlo simulations of infinitely strongly correlated fermions

Numerical simulations of the two-dimensional t-J model in the limit $J/t \ll 1$ are performed for rather large systems (up to $N = 12 \times 12$) using a world-line loop-algorithm. It is shown that in the one-hole case with J=0, where no minus signs appear, very low temperatures ($\beta t \sim 3000$) are necessary in order to reach Nagaoka's state. J/t \ltsim 0.05 leads to the formation of partially polarized systems, whereas J/t \gtsim 0.05 corresponds to minimal spin. The two-hole case shows enhanced total spin up to the lowest attainable temperatures ($\beta t = 150$).Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The qq-boson-fermion realizations of quantum suprealgebra Uq(gl(2/1))U_q(gl(2/1))

We show that our construction of realizations for Lie algebras and quantum algebras can be generalized to quantum superalgebras, too. We study an example of quantum superalgebra $U_q(gl(2/1))$ and give the boson-fermion realization with respect to one pair od q-deformed boson operator and 2 pairs of fermions.Comment: 8 page

Iron-dependent trafficking of 5-lipoxygenase and impact on human macrophage activation

5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) is a non-heme iron-containing dioxygenase expressed in immune cells that catalyzes the two initial steps in the biosynthesis of leukotrienes. It is well known that 5-LOX activation in innate immunity cells is related to different iron-associated proinflammatory disorders, including cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and atherosclerosis. However, the molecular and cellular mechanism(s) underlying the interplay between iron and 5-LOX activation are largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated whether iron (in the form of Fe3+ and hemin) might modulate 5-LOX influencing its membrane binding, subcellular distribution, and functional activity. We proved by fluorescence resonance energy transfer approach that metal removal from the recombinant human 5-LOX, not only altered the catalytic activity of the enzyme, but also impaired its membrane-binding. To ascertain whether iron can modulate the subcellular distribution of 5-LOX in immune cells, we exposed THP-1 macrophages and human primary macrophages to exogenous iron. Cells exposed to increasing amounts of Fe3+ showed a redistribution (ranging from ~45 to 75%) of the cytosolic 5-LOX to the nuclear fraction. Accordingly, confocal microscopy revealed that acute exposure to extracellular Fe3+, as well as hemin, caused an overt increase in the nuclear fluorescence of 5-LOX, accompanied by a co-localization with the 5-LOX activating protein (FLAP) both in THP-1 macrophages and human macrophages. The functional relevance of iron overloading was demonstrated by a marked induction of the expression of interleukin-6 in iron-treated macrophages. Importantly, pre-treatment of cells with the iron-chelating agent deferoxamine completely abolished the hemin-dependent translocation of 5-LOX to the nuclear fraction, and significantly reverted its effect on interleukin-6 overexpression. These results suggest that exogenous iron modulates the biological activity of 5-LOX in macrophages by increasing its ability to bind to nuclear membranes, further supporting a role for iron in inflammation-based diseases where its homeostasis is altered and suggesting further evidence of risks related to iron overload

Double-pruning of ‘Syrah’ grapevines: a management strategy to harvest wine grapes during the winter in the Brazilian Southeast

Grape harvest in the major grapevine growing regions of Brazil occurs during the summer; a period with excessive rainfall. The climatic conditions during the Brazilian summer can have an adverse effect on fruit maturation and wine quality. This study compared the performance of 'Syrah' grapevines cultivated in two growing seasons. A double pruning management system was employed as a technique in the vineyard and the grapevines were cultivated in summer, a cycle normally adopted in the South and Southeast of Brazil and winter during 2005 and 2006 in a non-irrigated vineyard. Vine water stress was minimal for both growing seasons and photosynthetic rates were found to be lower in the winter than the summer. However, no differences in vegetative vigor were observed. The growing season was shorter in summer than in winter. This was predominately due to a faster ripening period in the summer. During the winter harvests, grapevines had a higher yield, accumulation of sugar, anthocyanins and total phenolic compounds, and the lowest rot incidence. Double-pruning proved to be a powerful tool to improve wine grape composition in the Brazilian Southeast. This management will allow the production of quality raw materials for the production of good wines, allowing Southeastern Brazil to enter the competitive globalized wine market.