Prediction of pressure-induced red shift of f->d(t2g) excitations in Cs2NaYCl6:Ce(3+) and its connection with bond length shortening

Quantum chemical calculations including embedding, scalar relativistic, and dynamic electron correlation effects on Cs2NaYCl6:(CeCl6)3- embedded clusters predict: (i) red shifts of the 4f->5d(t2g) transition with pressure and (ii) bond length shortening upon 4f->5d(t2g) excitation. Both effects are found to be connected which suggests that new high pressure spectroscopic experiments could reveal the sign of the bond length change.Comment: 6 pages text; 1 table; 3 figures; to be published in J.Chem.Phy

Firewood and timber exploitation during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC in the Western façade of the Iberian Northwest: wooden resources, territories and chaîne opératoire

As sociedades humanas estabelecem toda uma série de estratégias produtivas destinadas a obter os meios materiais necessários para a sua existência, entre elas, o aprovisionamento de lenha e de madeira. Estas estratégias, além de estarem condicionadas pela oferta ambiental, são igualmente resultantes das características culturais e das capacidades técnicas. Os dados arqueobotânicos que se apresentam procedem de vários lugares de habitação do Calcolítico e da Idade do Bronze da fachada ocidental do Noroeste peninsular com cronologias que abarcam o III e parte do II milénios AC (Martin em preparação; Martín et al. no prelo; Figueiral e Bettencourt 2007). Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar uma exploração diversificada dos recursos lenhosos que combinava a recolha de lenha e de madeira das áreas da floresta climácica com a proveniente das áreas de mato. As formaçãos arbóreas situadas nas margems dos cursos de água também constituíram fonte de aprovisionamento de combustíveis e, provavelmente, de madeira. A caracterização dos recursos usados em cada um dos casos de estudo permitiu-nos, igualmente, colocar hipóteses sobre o território de vivência, de circulação e de exploração de cada comunidade. A análise dendrológica das amostras registando o grau de curvatura dos anéis de crescimento anual, o diâmetro mínimo dos ramos ou troncos consumidos, a presença de tiloses e de depósitos de resina, a presença de madeira de reação, a conservação do floema e ou da casca, a presença ou a ausência de cicatrizes ou de anéis sinuosos, as mudanças no ritmo de crescimento, entre outras características, em inter-relação com determinados contextos arqueológicos (dimensões dos buracos de poste, por exemplo), proporcionaram, também, hipóteses relacionadas com a cadeia técnica-operativa dos recursos florestais. Ou seja, sobre a sucessão de operações realizadas pelas comunidades humanas desde a extração da matéria até à sua utilização final.This research was developed under the projects: A xestión do bosque e do monte dende a Idade do Ferro a época romana no noroeste da península Ibérica: consumo de combustibles e produción de manufacturas en madeira / Forest and scrubland management from Iron Age to roman period in the Northwest of the Iberian peninsula: firewood consumption and wooden manufacture production, IDEPatri-Deseño e desenvolvemento dun modelo de datos para unha IDE arqueolóxica da Idade do Ferro en Galicia /IDEPatri- Design and development of a data model for an archaeological SPI during the Galician Iron Age: (IDEPatri) 09SEC002CT. Xunta de Galicia, Paisagens da Idade do Bronze no ocidente peninsular / Bronze Age Landscapes in the West of Iberian Peninsula - SFRH/BSAB/986/10 e Geoindicators of natural and anthropogenic palaeoenvironmental evolution in the Portuguese NW, during de Holocene – 2010_CGUP/CCT/UM

Firewood and timber exploitation during the third and second millennia BC in Northwestern Iberia: wood resources, territories and chaîne opératoire

Human societies established productive strategies in order to obtain the material resources needed for their day‐to‐day life, including firewood and timber. These strategies were determined by the environmental supply, and also by the cultural characteristics and technical capacities of these communities. This paper presents charcoal analysis data from four Chalcolithic and Bronze Age open‐air settlements located in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and occupied during the third and second millennia BC. These results contribute to the knowledge of the exploitation of wooden resources, of the territories where these resources were collected, and of the firewood and timber production process. The identified wood taxa point to a diversified exploitation of the territory, where firewood and timber were collected and/or felled in the deciduous woodland, the river banks and scrubland areas. The characteristics of the wood elements used, the degree of growth ring curvature, the minimum diameter of twigs or logs, etc., as well as other data from archaeological contexts, such as the length of the postholes, were all taken into account to establish hypotheses related to the operative chaine of forest resources. The wooden resources consumed in each site allowed us to hypothesize about the territory of each community.As sociedades humanas estabelecem toda uma série de estratégias produtivas destinadas a obter os meios materiais necessários para a sua existência, entre elas, o aprovisionamento de lenha e de madeira. Estas estratégias, além de estarem condicionadas pela oferta ambiental, são igualmente resultantes das caraterísticas culturais e das capacidades técnicas das comunidades. Os dados arqueobotânicos que se apresentam procedem de vários lugares de habitação do Calcolítico e da Idade do Bronze da fachada ocidental do Noroeste peninsular com cronologias que abarcam o 3º e parte do 2º milénios AC. Os resultados obtidos permitiram identificar uma exploração diversificada dos recursos lenhosos que combinava a recolha de lenha e de madeira da floresta climácica com a proveniente das áreas de mato. As formações arbóreas situadas nas margens dos cursos de água também constituíram fonte de aprovisionamento de combustíveis e, provavelmente, de madeira. A análise dendrológica das amostras registando o grau de curvatura dos anéis de crescimento anual, o diâmetro mínimo dos ramos ou troncos consumidos, entre outras características, em inter‑relação com determinados contextos arqueológicos (dimensões dos buracos de poste, por exemplo), proporcionaram hipóteses relacionadas com a cadeia técnica‑operativa dos recursos florestais. A caracterização dos recursos usados em cada um dos casos de estudo permitiu, igualmente, colocar hipóteses sobre o território de vivência, de circulação e de exploração de cada comunidade.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

Ischemic Stroke and Epilepsy in a Patient with Tourette´s Syndrome: Association with the Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Good Response to Levetiracetam

The role played by different humoral factors, including antiphospholipid antibodies, in the pathogenesis of Tourette syndrome (TS) is still presently unclear. We present a patient with chronic and severe TS who, at the age of 16 years, presented an ischemic stroke in the left posterior cerebral artery and/or postero-inferior temporal branch of the left medial cerebral artery. A complete study was negative with the exception of a positive lupus anticoagulant. The stroke was related with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). The stroke manifested visual abnormalities and thereafter by secondary generalized complex partial seizures. The epileptic syndrome was initially difficult to control but responded dramatically to levetiracetam. With this therapy, the manifestations of TS, especially the tics, improved. We conclude that some TS cases may present APS. In addition, levetiracetam may be useful in the management of TS. Further investigations should pursue both these facts

Smartphone-enabled 3D printing of medicines

3D printing is a manufacturing technique that is transforming numerous industrial sectors, particularly where it is key tool in the development and fabrication of medicinees that are personalised to the individual needs of patients. Most 3D printers are relatively large, require trained operators and must be located in a pharmaceutical setting to manufacture dosage forms. In order to realise fully the potential of point-of-care manufacturing of medicines, portable printers that are easy to operate are required. Here, we report the development of a 3D printer that operates using a mobile smartphone. The printer, operating on stereolithographic principles, uses the light from the smartphone’s screen to photopolymerise liquid resins and create solid structures. The shape of the printed dosage form is determined using a custom app on the smartphone. Warfarin-loaded Printlets (3D printed tablets) of various sizes and patient-centred shapes (caplet, triangle, diamond, square, pentagon, torus, and gyroid lattices) were successfully printed to a high resolution and with excellent dimensional precision using different photosensitive resins. The drug was present in an amorphous form, and the Printlets displayed sustained release characterises. The promising proof-of-concept results support the future potential of this compact, user-friendly and interconnected smartphone-based system for point-of-care manufacturing of personalised medications