Sobre a presença de lâminas de sílex oolítico (e outras matérias-primas exógenas) no povoado calcolítico do Outeiro Redondo (Sesimbra, Portugal): interacção durante o 3º milénio a.C. no sudoeste peninsular

The development of extensive exchange networks during the 3rd millennium BC, established and stengthened by the consolidation of stable archaeo-metallurgical societies, has bossted the long-distance circulation of raw materials and artefacts whose provenance areas are sometimes located more than 200 km away from the site they were ultimately used - thus being viewed as hyper-regional procurement/aquisition goods. The presence, in Chalcolithic contexts of the Portuguese Estremadura, of exogenous elements such as amber, ivory, variscite, and certain lithic raw materials used in the production of flaked stone and polished stone tools, indicates precisely the extent of these interaction diagrams, with diffusion routes covering vast geographic areas. Within the large and diversified set of the lithic industry from the Chalcolithic fortified settlement of Outeiro Redondo, located in the Western area of Setúbal peninsula (municipality of Sesimbra, Estremadura, Portugal) and occupied for most of the 3rd millennium BC, artefacts (exclusively large blades) were recognized whose macro-petrographic features indicate that they are elements produced using oolitic flint (to which one can associate the presence of other exogenous raw materials, such as rhyolite), mostly integrated in stratigraphic or strucutral contexts dated from the Middle Chalcolithic local chrono-zone (second half of the 3rd millennium BC). Such presence, coupled with the apparent absence of usable oolitic silicifications on the Jurassic formations of Western Iberia (but widely documented in Southern Spain, between the areas of Malaga and Granada), allows to integrate this site into those schemes of long-distance trade encompassing the whole Southwestern Iberia during the 3rd millennium BCE, as a recipient of items with an "exotic" character - although being debatable their "sumptuous consumption" as "prestige goods", precisely on the basis of the evidence from Outeiro Redondo, where the elements show intense use-wear marks.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SUR1 Receptor Interaction with Hesperidin and Linarin Predicts Possible Mechanisms of Action of Valeriana officinalis in Parkinson.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. A theoretical approach of our previous experiments reporting the cytoprotective effects of the Valeriana officinalis compounds extract for PD is suggested. In addiction to considering the PD as a result of mitochondrial metabolic imbalance and oxidative stress, such as in our previous in vitro model of rotenone, in the present manuscript we added a genomic approach to evaluate the possible underlying mechanisms of the effect of the plant extract. Microarray of substantia nigra (SN) genome obtained from Allen Brain Institute was analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis to build a network of hub genes implicated in PD. Proteins transcribed from hub genes and their ligands selected by search ensemble approach algorithm were subjected to molecular docking studies, as well as 20 ns Molecular Dynamics (MD) using a Molecular Mechanic Poison/Boltzman Surface Area (MMPBSA) protocol. Our results bring a new approach to Valeriana officinalis extract, and suggest that hesperidin, and probably linarin are able to relieve effects of oxidative stress during ATP depletion due to its ability to binding SUR1. In addition, the key role of valerenic acid and apigenin is possibly related to prevent cortical hyperexcitation by inducing neuronal cells from SN to release GABA on brain stem. Thus, under hyperexcitability, oxidative stress, asphyxia and/or ATP depletion, Valeriana officinalis may trigger different mechanisms to provide neuronal cell protection.Fil: Santos, Gesivaldo. Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia; BrasilFil: Giraldez Alvarez, Lisandro Diego. Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia; BrasilFil: Ávila Rodriguez, Marco. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; ColombiaFil: Capani, Francisco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas; ArgentinaFil: Galembeck, Eduardo. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; BrasilFil: Gôes Neto, Aristóteles. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana; BrasilFil: Barreto, George E.. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; ColombiaFil: Andrade, Bruno. Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia; Brasi

Solidaridad y acción política

El 26 de septiembre de 2014, en el estado de Guerrero, México, 43 estudiantes de la Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos de Ayotzinapa fueron detenidos y desaparecidos por policías municipales en colusión con integrantes del crimen organizado, ligados a la estructura del estado mexicano. En los hechos que arrebataron la libertad a los jóvenes, fueron asesinadas seis personas y 25 más resultaron heridas. La desaparición forzada y el asesinato indiscriminado son hoy día una constante en aquel país y en ese estado particular que posee una historia de resistencia popular acentuada desde la segunda mitad del siglo XX

Lithic raw material procurement and consumption during the Late Neolithic/Early Chalcolithic: the case of Casal dos Matos and Cabeça Gorda 1 (Vila Nova de Ourém, Estremadura, Portugal)

Este trabajo presenta la relación entre una potencial fuente de suministro de sílex (Casal dos Matos) y un yacimiento neolítico-calcolítico (Cabeça Gorda 1) ubicado en su entorno inmediato. La comparación macroscópica entre la materia prima utilizada para los artefactos de piedra tallada en Cabeça Gorda 1 y la que ocurre en Casal dos Matos sugiere una relación, al menos espacial, entre un área de suministro local y un contexto de consumo específico – reforzando así la evidente continuidad entre sitios de suministro local, producción y consumo en la Prehistoria de las antiguas comunidades campesinas en la Estremadura portuguesa, entre el Neolítico final y el Calcolítico inicial (3100-2600 cal ANE). Este trabajo no pretende presentar el estudio exhaustivo de la industria de la piedra tallada de Cabeça Gorda 1, pero sí establecer un marco conceptual, basado en los datos actualmente disponibles, para un modelo específico de explotación de materias primas mediante la comparación con otros casos de suministro de sílex en la misma región. Este marco conceptual puede utilizarse, no sólo para el área donde estos sitios se incluyen, sino también para otras regiones donde se pueden identificar contextos similares.This paper presents the relationship between a potential flint procurement source (Casal dos Matos) and a Neolithic- Chalcolithic site (Cabeça Gorda 1) located in its immediate surroundings. The macroscopical comparison between the raw material used for flaked stone artifacts in Cabeça Gorda 1 and the raw material that occurs in Casal dos Matos suggests at least a spatial relationship between a local procurement area and a specific consumption context – thus reinforcing the evident continuity between local procurement, production and consumption sites in the Prehistory of the ancient peasant communities in the Portuguese Estremadura, between the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic (3100-2600 cal BCE). This paper is not intended to present the exhaustive study of the flaked stone industry of Cabeça Gorda 1, but to set a conceptual framework, based on the currently available data, for a specific model of raw material exploitation by comparing with other instances of flint procurement in the same region. This conceptual framework can then be used not only for the area where these sites are included but also for other regions where similar contexts can be identified

On the extended Kolmogorov-Nagumo information-entropy theory, the q -> 1/q duality and its possible implications for a non-extensive two dimensional Ising model

The aim of this paper is to investigate the q -> 1/q duality in an information-entropy theory of all q-generalized entropy functionals (Tsallis, Renyi and Sharma-Mittal measures) in the light of a representation based on generalized exponential and logarithm functions subjected to Kolmogorov's and Nagumo's averaging. We show that it is precisely in this representation that the form invariance of all entropy functionals is maintained under the action of this duality. The generalized partition function also results to be a scalar invariant under the q -> 1/q transformation which can be interpreted as a non-extensive two dimensional Ising model duality between systems governed by two different power law long-range interactions and temperatures. This does not hold only for Tsallis statistics, but is a characteristic feature of all stationary distributions described by q-exponential Boltzmann factors.Comment: 13 pages, accepted for publication in Physica

Pb(II) binding to humic substances: an equilibrium and spectroscopic study

The binding of Pb(II) to humic acids is studied through an approach combining equilibrium and spectroscopic measurements. The methods employed are potentiometric and fluorometric titrations, fluorescence excitation−emission matrices (EEM) and IR spectroscopy. Potentiometric titration curves are analyzed using the NICA equations and an electrostatic model treating the humic particles as an elastic polyelectrolyte network. EEMs are analyzed using parallel factor analysis, decomposing the signal in its independent components and finding their dependence on Pb(II) activity. Potentiometric results are consistent with bimodal affinity distributions for Pb(II) binding, whereas fluorometric titrations are explained by monomodal distributions. EEM analysis is consistent with three independent components in the humic fluorescence response, which are assigned to moieties with different degree of aromaticity. All three components show a similar quenching behavior upon Pb(II) binding, saturating at relatively low Pb(II) concentrations. This is attributed to metal ion induced aggregation of humic molecules, resulting in the interaction between the aromatic groups responsible for fluorescence; this is also consistent with IR spectroscopy results. The observed behavior is interpreted considering that initial metal binding (observed as strongly binding sites), correspond to bi- or multidentate complexation to carboxylate groups, including binding between groups of different humic molecules, promoting aggregation; further metal ions (observed as weakly binding sites) bind to single ligand groups.Fil: Orsetti, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de Los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Marco Brown, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de Los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Andrade, Estela M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de Los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; ArgentinaFil: Molina, Fernando Víctor. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de Los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Analysis of 1-3 piezocomposite and homogeneous piezoelectric rings for power ultrasonic transducers

Some power ultrasonic transducers, such as Tonpilz transducers, require high-power transmitting capability as well as broadband performance. Optimized vibrational modes can achieve these requirements. This work compares the resonant characteristics and the surface vibration modes between a homogeneous piezoelectric ring and a 1-3 piezocomposite ring, both used in power ultrasonic transducers. This is the first step in the design of power transducers. Analytical models and finite element results are validated by electrical impedance measurements and the surface acoustic spectroscopy method. Excellent agreement between theoretical and experimental results was obtained. Results show that using piezocomposite ceramics minimize superposition of undesirable modes and increase the bandwidth, as shown in sonograms

Diferenciais de produtividade e taxa de câmbio real nas economias desenvolvidas e em desenvolvimento

In countries where per capita income is high the price level is higher than the level observed in countries where per capita income is low. This phenomenon is associated with real exchange rate appreciation in the rich countries and with the real exchange rate depreciation in the poor countries, in the long-term. The productivity-differential model (Balassa, 1964; and Samuelson, 1964), the relative-factor-endowments model (Heckscher-Ohlin) and Bergstrand’s (1991) non-homothetic tastes model, give different explanations for this phenomenon, and have already been tested on the empirical literature on international trade. The differentials development of the service complex model was elaborated by Lemos (1988) and was tested recently by Matos & Resende (2005), in the case of Brazil. Based on Matos & Resende (2005), in this paper an equation for the real exchange rate of a group of developed economies and of a group of underdeveloped economies was estimated (1957-2004). The econometric procedure used was based on the Johansen method. The results do not reject the hypothesis put forward in this paper.real exchange rate; productivity; services complex

Nonlinear Dynamic Modeling of Langevin-Type Piezoelectric Transducers

Langevin transducers are employed in several applications, such as power ultrasound systems, naval hydrophones, and high-displacement actuators. Nonlinear effects can influence their performance, especially at high vibration amplitude levels. These nonlinear effects produce variations in the resonant frequency, harmonics of the excitation frequency, in addition to loss of symmetry in the frequency response and “frequency domain hysteresis”. In this context, this paper presents a simplified nonlinear dynamic model of power ultrasound transducers requiring only two parameters for simulating the most relevant nonlinear effects. One parameter reproduces the changes in the resonance frequency and the other introduces the dependence of the frequency response on the history of the system. The piezoelectric constitutive equations are extended by a linear dependence of the elastic constant on the mechanical displacement amplitude. For introducing the frequency hysteresis, the elastic constant is computed by combining the current value of the mechanical amplitude with the previous state amplitude. The model developed in this work is applied for predicting the dynamic responses of a 26 kHz ultrasonic transducer. The comparison of theoretical and experimental responses, obtained at several input voltages around the tuned frequency, shows a good agreement, indicating that the model can accurately describe the transducer nonlinear behavior.We would like to thank the research agencies: PEDECIBA and CSIC of Uruguay, FAPESP and CNPq from Brazil and ‘Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad’ of Spain (Projects: DPI2012-37466-C03-01 and PTQ-09-02-017691).We acknowledge support by the CSIC Open Access Publication Initiative through its Unit of Information Resources for Research (URICI).Peer reviewe

Insufficient birth weight: factors associated in two cohorts of newborns in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil

OBJETIVO: Avaliar fatores associados ao aumento das taxas de peso insuficiente (PI) em duas coortes de recém-nascidos (RN) vivos e de parto único de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, separadas por 15 anos (1978/79 e 1994). MÉTODOS: Foram estudados 6.223 partos em 1978/79 e 2.522 em 1994, excluindo-se os RN de baixo peso. Associação entre PI e variáveis independentes (idade, trabalho, escolaridade e tabagismo maternos, abortos e natimortos prévios, número de filhos, situação conjugal, visitas de pré-natal, tipo de parto e hospital, categoria de internação, renda familiar, idade gestacional e sexo do RN) foi analisada por cálculo da Odds Ratio (OR) bruto e intervalo de confiança 95%, seguida de regressão logística múltipla. RESULTADOS: Em 1978/79, na análise ajustada, idade materna <20 anos (p=0,014), renda familiar <5 salários-mínimos (p=0,030), menos de quatro consultas de pré-natais (p=0,003), parto vaginal (p<0,001), sexo feminino (p<0,001), tabagismo materno (p<0,001) e prematuridade (p<0,001) estiveram associados a PI. Em 1994, os fatores associados ao PI foram: trabalho materno fora do lar (p=0,020), sexo feminino (p<0,001), tabagismo materno (p<0,001) e prematuridade (p<0,001). CONCLUSÕES: Variáveis socioeconômicas que atuaram em 1978/79 desapareceram em 1994, restando o sexo do RN, o hábito de fumar e a prematuridade nos dois períodos. Como houve diminuição do tabagismo materno e não houve modificação na proporção de nascimentos do sexo feminino, uma explicação para o aumento do PI seria o aumento nos nascimentos pré-termo entre as duas coortes.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate factors associated to the increase in insufficient birth weight (IBW) rates in two population-based-cohorts of singletons born alive in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil, separated by 15 years (1978/79 and 1994). METHODS: The first cohort (1978/79) comprised 6,223 newborns and the second (1994), 2,522, excluding low birth weight newborns. Independent variables association with IBW (maternal age, work, schooling and smoking; previous abortion, previous stillbirth, number of live births, maternal marital status, family income, occupation group, type of hospital, mode of insurance, number of antenatal visits, type of delivery; newborn gender and gestational age) were analyzed. The Odds Ratio (OR) was determined using a logistic regression model and 95% confidence limits were calculated. RESULTS: In 1978/79, maternal age <20 years (p=0.014), family income <5 minimum Brazilian wages (p=0.030), <4 antenatal visits (p=0.003), vaginal delivery (p<0.001), female newborn gender (p<0.001), maternal smoking (p<0.001) and preterm birth (p<0.001) were associated with IBW. In 1994, maternal work outside home (p=0.020), female newborn gender (p<0.001), maternal smoking (p<0.001) and preterm births (p<0.001) were associated with IBW. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomics variables associated with IBW in 1978/79 were not determinants in 1994. Newborn gender, maternal smoking and preterm birth remained significant determinants of IBW in both moments. Considering the decrease in rate of maternal smoking and the maintenance of female births, the increase in IBW could be explained by increasing rates of preterm birth in this interval of 15 years.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP