The metallic artifacts of the prehistoric fortified settlement of Leceia (Oeiras) inventory and analytical study

This paper presents the results of a study carried on a collection of 144 metal artefacts from the Early (ca. 2800-2600/2500 a.C.) and the Middle/Final Chalcolithic (ca. 2600/2500-2000 a.C.), found at the site of Leceia (Oeiras, Central Portugal) during the excavations conducted between 1983 and 2000. A systematised analysis of the collection was provided in order to enumerate the different typologies found in the site and to determine their chemical composition. From a typological point of view, a great diversity of artifacts was found, namely, punches, fish-hooks, flat axes, chisels, saws, ingots and foundry remnants. Elemental analysis, by X-ray Fluorescence, shows that the artefacts were made of copper, with a variable occurence of arsenic, nickel, silver, antimony, bismuth, lead and iron. In this paper, data is exposed and discussed within the regional early metallurgy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lightweight Automated Feature Monitoring for Data Streams

Monitoring the behavior of automated real-time stream processing systems has become one of the most relevant problems in real world applications. Such systems have grown in complexity relying heavily on high dimensional input data, and data hungry Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. We propose a flexible system, Feature Monitoring (FM), that detects data drifts in such data sets, with a small and constant memory footprint and a small computational cost in streaming applications. The method is based on a multi-variate statistical test and is data driven by design (full reference distributions are estimated from the data). It monitors all features that are used by the system, while providing an interpretable features ranking whenever an alarm occurs (to aid in root cause analysis). The computational and memory lightness of the system results from the use of Exponential Moving Histograms. In our experimental study, we analyze the system's behavior with its parameters and, more importantly, show examples where it detects problems that are not directly related to a single feature. This illustrates how FM eliminates the need to add custom signals to detect specific types of problems and that monitoring the available space of features is often enough.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. AutoML, KDD22, August 14-17, 2022, Washington, DC, U

Actinomycosis Causing Recurrent Perianal Fistulae

Actinomycosis is a rare but easily curable infection that should be considered in the differential diagnosis of perianal fistulizing disease. We present the case of a 26-year-old woman with complex perianal fistulae, including trans-sphincteric and suprasphincteric fistulous tracts and a rectovaginal fistula, requiring multiple abscess drainages, seton placement, and antibiotic courses, with little improvement. After extensive investigation, Actinomyces spp. was identified in anal cytology. The patient underwent a 6-week course of intravenous penicillin followed by oral amoxicillin, with remarkable improvement. This case illustrates the importance of pursuing less common diagnoses in refractory complex perianal disease, such as actinomycosis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clear-water scour at comparatively large cylindrical piers

New long-duration clear-water scour data were collected at single cylindrical piers with the objective of investigating the effect of sediment coarseness, Dp=D50 (Dp = pier diameter; D50 = median grain size) on the equilibrium scour depth and improving the scour depth time evolution modeling by making use of the exponential function suggested in the literature. Experiments were carried out for the flow intensity close to the threshold condition of initiation of sediment motion, imposing wide changes of sediment coarseness and flow shallowness, d=Dp (d = approach flow depth). The effect of sediment coarseness on the equilibrium scour depth was identified; existing predictors were modified to incorporate this effect for U=Uc ≈ 1.0; Dp=D50 > ≈60 and d=Dp ≥ 0.5; the complete characterization of a known scour depth time evolution model was achieved for U=Uc ≈ 1.0, 60 < Dp=D50 < 500 and 0.5 ≤ d=Dp ≤ 5.0

PACAP/GCGa is an important modulator of the amphioxus CNS-hatschek’s pit axis, the homolog of the vertebrate hypothalamic-pituitary axis in the basal chordates

The Hatschek's pit in the cephalochordate amphioxus, an invertebrate deuterostome basal to chordates is suggested to be the functional homolog structure of the vertebrate adenohypophysis based on anatomy and expression of homologous neuroendocrine genes. However, the endocrine potential of the cephalochordate Hatschek's pit remains to be demonstrated as well as the physiological actions of the secreted neuropeptides. In this study, we have explored the distribution and characterize the potential function of the amphioxus PACAP/GCG precursor, which is the ortholog of the hypothalamic PACAP neuropeptide in vertebrates. In amphioxi, two PACAP/GCG transcripts PACAP/GCGa and PACAP/GCGbc that are alternative isoforms of a single gene with different peptide coding potentials were isolated. Immunofluorescence staining detected their expression around the nucleus of Rohde, supporting that this structure may be homologous of the neurosecretory cells of the vertebrate hypothalamus where abundant PACAP is found. PACAP/GCGa was also detected in the infundibulum-like downgrowth approaching the Hatschek's pit, indicating diffusion of PACAP/GCGa from the CNS to the pit via the infundibulum-like downgrowth. Under a high salinity challenge, PACAP/GCGa was upregulated in amphioxi head and PACAP/GCGa treatment increased expression of GHl in Hatschek's pit in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that PACAP/GCGa may be involved in the regulation of GHl via hypothalamic-pituitary (HP)-like axis similar as in the vertebrates. Our results support that the amphioxus Hatschek's pit is likely to be the functional homolog of pituitary gland in vertebrates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anéis vasculares na infância: diagnóstico e tratamento

Objetivo: apresentar a experiência do Serviço de Cirurgia Pediátrica do Instituto da Criança do HCFMUSP no diagnóstico e tratamento de crianças com anomalias do arco aórtico e definir a importância dos exames complementares para o diagnóstico. Métodos: estudo retrospectivo de 22 crianças com diagnóstico de compressão traqueoesofágica por anel vascular tratadas no Instituto da Criança, no período de 1985 a 2000, investigando-se dados clínicos pré e pós-operatórios, exames complementares e evolução. Resultados: a anomalia vascular mais freqüente foi artéria inominada direita anômala (10 casos), seguido de duplo arco aórtico (7 casos) e arco aórtico à direita (5 casos). Os sintomas predominantes foram respiratórios (86%) e de início precoce (76% desde o período neonatal). Entretanto, o diagnóstico definitivo na maioria dos casos (60%) só foi estabelecido após 1 ano de vida. O exame mais importante para o diagnóstico foi o esofagograma. A correção de todas anomalias foi realizada por toracotomia póstero-lateral esquerda. Não ocorreram complicações cirúrgicas. A evolução foi pior nos casos operados mais tardiamente. Todas as crianças permaneceram sintomáticas por até 6 meses, apesar de significativa melhora no pós-operatório. Conclusão: o diagnóstico de anel vascular deve ser investigado nas crianças com sintomas respiratórios de início precoce e nas "chiadoras" de difícil controle. O diagnóstico pode ser realizado de forma simples através do esofagograma. Os demais exames de imagem acrescentam poucas informações e são dispensáveis na maioria dos casos. Os sintomas respiratórios podem persistir com menor intensidade por períodos variáveis no pós-operatório.<br>Objective: To present the study carried out by the Pediatric Surgery Department of Instituto da Criança at the Medical School of Universidade de São Paulo regarding the diagnosis and treatment of children with aortic arch abnormalities and to define the role of complementary exams for diagnosis. Methods: Retrospective study of 22 patients with diagnosis of tracheoesophageal compression treated at Instituto da Criança from 1985 to 2000, analyzing pre- and postoperative clinical data, diagnostic exams and outcome. Results: The most frequent diagnosis was right aberrant innominate artery (10 cases), followed by double aortic arch (7 cases) and right aortic arch (5 cases). Respiratory symptoms (86%) and early manifestation (76% since the neonatal period) were predominant. Nevertheless, most cases (60%) had the definitive diagnosis established only after 1 year of life. The most relevant examination for the diagnosis was the esophagogram. The correction of all the anomalies was carried out through left postero-lateral thoracotomy. There were no surgical complications. The outcome was worse in patients with delayed treatment. All children remained symptomatic for up to 6 months, although they had significant improvement in the postoperative period. Conclusions: The diagnosis of vascular rings should be considered in children with early respiratory symptoms and in the wheezing baby with difficult control. The diagnosis may be established just through the esophagogram. Other image studies add few information and they are unnecessary in most cases. Less severe symptoms may persist for variable periods

A multibiomarker approach in the clam Ruditapes decussatus to assess the impact of pollution in the Ria Formosa lagoon, South Coast of Portugal

The Ria Formosa lagoon is an ecosystem whose water quality reflects the anthropogenic influence upon the surrounding areas. In this lagoon, the clam Ruditapes decussatus has a great economical importance and has been widely used as a biomonitor. A multibiomarker approach (d-aminolevulinic acid dehy- dratase, metallothionein, lipid peroxidation, acetylcholinesterase, alkali-labile phosphates, DNA damage) was applied to assess the environmental quality of this ecosystem and the accumulation of contaminants and their potential adverse effects on clams. Clams were sampled in different shellfish beds in the period between July 2007 and December 2008 and abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen of seawater and organic matter in the sediment), condition index, metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb), TBTs and PAHs concentrations were measured in clam tissues. Data was integrated using Principal Component Analyses and biomarker indices: IBR (Integrated Biomarker Response) and HSI (Health Status Index). This multibiomarker approach enabled discrimination of a time and space trend between sites with different degrees of anthropogenic contamination, identifying one of them (site 2) as the most stressful and summer months as the most critical period for clams due to an increase of environmental stress (anthropogenic pressure along with extreme environmental conditions, e.g. temperature, dissolved oxygen, organic matter in the sediments, etc). The selected biomarkers provided an integrated response to assess the environmental quality of the system, proving to be a useful approach when complex mixtures of contaminants occur

Isolation of a novel aquaglyceroporin from a marine teleost (Sparus auratus) Function and tissue distribution

The aquaporins (formerly called the major intrinsic protein family) are transmembrane channel proteins. The family includes the CHIP group, which are functionally characterised as water channels and the GLP group, which are specialised for glycerol transport. The present study reports the identification and characterisation of a novel GLP family member in a teleost fish, the sea bream Sparus auratus. A sea bream aquaporin (sbAQP) cDNA of 1047·bp and encoding a protein of 298·amino acids was isolated from a kidney cDNA library. Functional characterization of the sbAQP using a Xenopus oocyte assay revealed that the isolated cDNA stimulated osmotic water permeability in a mercury-sensitive manner and also stimulated urea and glycerol uptake. Northern blotting demonstrated that sbAQP was expressed at high levels in the posterior region of the gut, where two transcripts were identified (1.6·kb and 2·kb), and in kidney, where a single transcript was present (2·kb). In situ hybridisation studies with a sbAQP riboprobe revealed its presence in the lamina propria and smooth muscle layer of the posterior region of the gut and in epithelial cells of some kidney tubules. sbAQP was also present in putative chloride cells of the gill. Phylogenetic analysis of sbAQP, including putative GLP genes from Fugu rubripes, revealed that it did not group with any of the previously isolated vertebrate GLPs and instead formed a separate group, suggesting that it may be a novel GLP member.This work was supported by project PRAXIS XXI/2/2.1/BIA/211/94 from the Portuguese National Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), co-financed by EU structural funds, DG-Fisheries Project Q5RS-2002-00784 (CRYOCYTE) and an EU Biotech grant (QLRT2000-00778). C.R.A.S., J.C.R.C. and J.F. were in receipt of FCT fellowships PRAXIS XXI/BPD/22040/99, PRAXIS XXI/BD/19925/99BPD/22033/99, respectively

Benzothienoquinolines: new one-pot synthesis and fluorescence studies of their interaction with DNA and polynucleotides

Revised version. "Available online 10 August 2014"In this work, we were able to obtain the benzothieno[3,2-b]quinoline 1 and benzothieno[2,3-c]quinoline 2 using a new one-pot procedure from the reaction of the commercially available 3-bromobenzo[b]thiophene-2-carbaldehyde with 2-aminophenylpinacolborane under Suzuki coupling conditions using a stereochemically hindered ligand, 2-(cyclohexylphosphane)biphenyl and Ba(OH)2.8H2O as the base. Fluorescence properties of the benzothieno[3,2-b]quinoline 1 and the benzothieno[2,3-c]quinoline 2 were studied in solvents of different polarity. Both compounds exhibit a solvent sensitive emission, compound 1 being less fluorescent (quantum yield < 0.05) than compound 2 (quantum yield between 0.04 and 0.10). The interaction of these compounds with salmon sperm DNA and synthetic double-stranded heteropolynucleotides, poly(dA–dT)•(dA–dT) and poly(dG–dC)•(dG–dC), was studied using spectroscopic methods, allowing the determination of the intrinsic binding constants and binding site sizes. The interaction of both compounds is stronger with adenine-thymine (A-T) base pairs. Compound 1 is the most intercalative in salmon sperm DNA (47%) and polynucleotides (46%-49% of intercalated molecules), while for compound 2, 41% is intercalated in salmon sperm DNA and only 8% in poly(dG–dC)•(dG–dC). Docking studies indicate that compound 1 interacts more strongly with DNA than compound 2, with a significant value of binding free energy in the case of intercalation. Minor groove binding is also very favorable and, probably, both mechanisms occur with a preponderance of intercalation in the case of compound 1. Overall, these results indicate that both benzothienoquinolines interact with nucleic acids by both intercalation and groove binding.Foundation for the Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal), for financial support to the Portuguese NMR network (PTNMR) and also to FEDER and QREN for financial support to the Research Centres, CFUM [Strategic Project PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037291)] and CQ/UM [Strategic Project PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2013 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037302)], and to the research project PTDC/QUI-QUI/111060/2009 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-015603) also financed by COMPETE/QREN/EU. FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE are acknowledged for the PhD grants of A.R.O.R. (SFRH/BD/90949/2012) and M.S.D.C. (SFRH/BD/47052/2008), for the Post-Doc. Grant of R.C.C. (SFRH/BPD/68344/2010) and for support to MAP-Fis Doctoral Program